Technical Tidbits from Diavosh

Kit Juckes appointed ECU Chief Economist

2009-09-10T12:08:00.002+01:00

The ECU Group recently announced that Kit Juckes has been appointed their new Chief Economist.

Kit will also be joining ECU’s Investment Committee and has 25 years experience in interest rate, currency, and credit markets.

Philip Manduca profile on ECU Group website

2009-08-13T10:50:00.002+01:00

Philip Manduca, ECU Group's Head of Investment, has a great introductory video discussing their currency management services.

It is part of a series of videos discussing the currency management programmes offered and an insight into issues like risk managment.

New page for Philip Manduca on the ECU website

2009-08-04T15:56:00.004+01:00

There has been a new profile page uploaded for Philip Manduca, ECU Group's Head of Investment, at http://www.ecugroup.com/theecugroup/philip-manduca.cfm.

Bullish market view by Neil MacKinnon

2009-08-04T10:17:00.003+01:00

Neil MacKinnon sounded unusually bullish in the currency manager's blog today as he decided yesterday's economic data showed more evidence of a rebound in global manufacturing activity.

How to control the layer flash movies appear in on screen

2009-07-20T10:38:00.001+01:00

Bump for great justice!

http://manisheriar.com/blog/flash_objects_and_z_index

The ECU Group plc :: Market Commentary 'blog'

2009-04-01T12:10:00.000+01:00

The ECU Group plc :: Market Commentary 'blog': "G20: A damp squib"

Neil is in a downbeat mood today as the G20 meet in London.

Tearing into the Governor of the Bank of England

2009-02-12T11:45:00.001Z

No-holds barred comments about Mervyn King from Neil MacKinnon in his blog today: http://www.ecugroup.com/resources/MarketCommentary.cfm

IMF downcast about the UK

2009-01-29T09:46:00.001Z

Neil MacKinnon from The ECU Group discussed the recent IMF and Institute for Fiscal Studies negative views on the UK.

More available at http://www.ecugroup.com/resources/MarketCommentary.cfm.

Record levels of US public to private debt ratio.

2009-01-28T15:56:00.004Z

Neil MacKinnon from The ECU Group discussed a brightening outlook for GBP and the record levels of US public to private debt ratio.

http://www.ecugroup.com/resources/MarketCommentary.cfm

Block Annoying Pop-Ups?

2007-04-17T16:27:00.000+01:00

Block Annoying Pop-Ups?

No thank you, but I would like to block stupid toolbars from being bundled with every utility I try and install.

Open Letter to Google:

Get your own browser, distribute it with whatever toolbars you like. Please leave my browsers alone.

Windows Vista ReadyBoost

2007-04-02T14:00:00.000+01:00

Seeing the problems in compatibility people have been having with their various USB memory sticks / thumb drives, I was keen to see if the sticks I had lying around would work.

My trusty Kingston DataTraveler U3 1G failed immediately and the ReadyBoost application log showed it had a pitiful random read speed of less than 500 KB/secs.

I noticed that the default allocation unit size was 4096 bytes, so I reformatted in FAT32 with 512 bytes, retested and received a rather splendid 5129 KB/sec random read speed.

I initially tried to up the ReadyBoost cache size from the suggested 870MB to the full capacity of the stick, but this failed totally and ReadyBoost wouldn't start. I deleted the cache file and recreated one, at the recommended size, and it has run like that ever since.

I've done a similar trick on other machines I've played with and half of the sticks I've tried, that initially don't show the performance necessary to run ReadyBoost will run if reformatted in the smallest allocation unit size they support. Give it a go!

I've not noticed any performance differences however, unless swapping between really memory intensive applications, it didn't improve performance in situations like 5-6 Office 2007 apps running.

If you are looking for the ReadyBoost logs, to see the performance of your own sticks, it's buried in Computer Management > Event Viewer > Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > ReadyBoost > Operational.

JavaScript Back Command

2007-01-04T16:41:00.000Z

I haven't found a downside to this command; it simply jumps back one page it the browser's history. I suppose having Java disabled might be a problem...

javascript:history.go(-1)

Also damn handy if you want to throw a visitor back a specified number of pages (like through a click-wrap page).

Ban Failed FTP Login Source IP Addresses

2006-12-14T16:25:00.000Z

Seriously; kudos needs to be awarded where due.

This is strong kung-fu...

http://blog.netnerds.net/2006/07/ban-administrator-ftp-login-attemps/

IE Dependent Sites Fail IE7

2006-11-28T15:43:00.000Z

Look, I'm all sympathetic with websites optimized for Internet Explorer - its the biggest out there. If you personally don't give a monkey's about who made what (my Atari is better than your Amiga...) you'll often take the most popular choice. Its all well and good banging on about 'standards-based web', but if the 'standards' are defined by and for the minority, then the majority don't really care.

Until you have big, serious players like First Direct Bank (an online-only derivative of HSBC) who only support Internet Explorer - as long as it isn't IE7. I wouldn't even care if they suddenly turned around and said I had to use Firefox/Opera/Lynx - its only a browser after all.

BUT; its not very impressive to see an online bank who doesn't support any current browsers!

Sympathise with the little guy; but name and shame those who ought to know better.

Browse like the Googlebot

2006-10-16T13:16:00.000+01:00

I needed to browse a few sites I was managing, but I needed to see what the Googlebot actually saw. I'd used Lynx (http://lynx.browser.org) to see what the site looked like in text, but that wouldn't show me any responses that the server had specifically for Google.

Rather than play with my IE or Maxthon settings, it was faster to add the option to Firefox:

Start Firefox and open about:config
Right-click and add a New, String
Call the string: general.useragent.override
Create the value: Googlebot/2.1 (+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html)
Done!

You can now check your site's behaviour when the Googlebot comes a'crawlin'.

This is handy if your webdev team have promised that particular content is only visible to Google, or if a lazy webdev team have decided that someone who has hacked their useragent string ought to be able to see all content unrestricted... ;)

If you want more information on how user-agent parameters have evolved, as well as a great list of agent strings, head over to the beautiful Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_agent for more details.

OpenOffice Sweet or Sucks?

2006-08-11T19:00:00.000+01:00

Its odd how they've made so much effort to get OpenOffice up to a credible (it truly is!) alternative to MS Word, but why-o-why did they go for such annoying options like selected text being highlighted in black?

It looks like you are working on an Amstrad PCW... Get a move on guys!

XML Exports from Microsoft Office

2006-07-10T16:01:00.000+01:00

So you want to use 'standard' formats to work with your developer, but all he does is turn his nose up at all the additional markups MS use in their XML formats, and you really don't want another bit of wobbly freeware on your nice clean machine?

Enter everyone's favourite geriatric datahandler; MS Access. Open your Excel spreadsheet in Access, and then hit File, Export... and simply uncheck the schema options.

Cool :)

Unless of course; you've found an easier way? (no, a GPL-inspired rant won't really help)

Sharepoint WSS Backup Routine

2006-06-19T09:50:00.000+01:00

I've been dead impressed by the free Sharepoint WSS (Windows Sharepoint Services) bundled with Server 2003 R2 or available as a free download, but after spending ages building my sites and customising them, and loading them with content, I discovered the kicker...

There isn't a user-friendly way to do backups.

If you buy Sharepoint Portal Server (SPS) and use full SQL Server for the database you have a plethora of lovely tools available, but if you are cheap and just use the free version of WSS and the WMSDE data you are in a wee bit of trouble.

Not knowing anything about SQL I had quite a bit of trouble working out how to script everything I needed, and to my surprise I couldn't really Google up anything useful. So please find below my scripts, feel free to use them and post back any suggestions you have :)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

You need two scripts, the first one includes the SQL backup command, and the second one runs the SQL backup based on the script, backs up IIS using the iisback.vbs script MS have already provided, and writes output to a log file so you only need to check in one place.

You need to copy each of these two scripts into textfiles, rename them as I have suggested, and then add your own database name and paths. I have used the Sharepoint database STS_1_DB and the backup path C:\Backup. You can easily find your Sharepoint WSS database name from your Sharepoint admin pages; Virtual Server Settings\Manage Content Databases. Drop these files into your backup directory, run them manually, check your output matches the logfile, and then simply schedule them to run nightly or as appropriate.

:::::::: backupsharepoint.sql :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

backup database STS_1_DB to disk = 'c:\Backup\SharepointSQL-DB.bkf'
go
backup database STS_Config to disk = 'c:\Backup\SharepointSQL-DB.bkf'
go

:::::::::::: EOF ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

N.B. Note that the content and config databases are both streamed into the same backup file for convenience.

::::: backupsharepoint.bat :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

@echo off
rem Log start
echo Backup started... > sharepointbackup.log
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
date /t >> sharepointbackup.log
time /t >> sharepointbackup.log
rem Take copies of the old backup files
echo.
echo Archiving...
echo.
copy SharepointIIS.MD0 SharepointIIS.MD0.old /y
copy SharepointIIS.SC0 SharepointIIS.SC0.old /y
copy SharepointSQL-DB.bkf SharepointSQL-DB.bkf.old /y
del SharepointSQL-DB.bkf
rem Script to backup Sharepoint main database in MSDE
rem and to backup the related IIS configuration
echo.
echo Starting MSDE backup routine
echo.
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
echo Starting MSDE backup routine >> sharepointbackup.log
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
rem This command logs into MSDE as the active Windows account
rem and runs the backup command script
rem you must have IISBACK.VBS and BACKUPSHAREPOINT.SQL files
osql -E -S SHAREPOINT\SHAREPOINT -i backupsharepoint.sql -n >> sharepointbackup.log
dir SharepointSQL-DB.bkf >> sharepointbackup.log
echo.
echo MSDE Backup routine completed
echo.
echo Starting IIS backup routine
echo.
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
echo MSDE Backup routine completed >> sharepointbackup.log
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
echo Starting IIS backup routine >> sharepointbackup.log
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
rem This command calls the IIS backup script
call :IISBACKUP
dir SharepointIIS.* >> sharepointbackup.log
echo.
echo IIS Backup routine completed
echo.
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
echo IIS Backup routine completed >> sharepointbackup.log
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
rem Log completion
echo. >> sharepointbackup.log
echo Backup completed... >> sharepointbackup.log
date /t >> sharepointbackup.log
time /t >> sharepointbackup.log
exit

:IISBACKUP
iisback /backup /b SharepointIIS /v HIGHEST_VERSION /overwrite >>sharepointbackup.log
copy %systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\metaback\sharepointiis.* c:\backup >>sharepointbackup.log

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Watch out for linewrapping on the second batchfile. Enjoy, mes braves :)

Sharepoint Installation Errors

2006-04-25T13:43:00.000+01:00

As many of you know, Windows Server 2003 R2 is now available. What does R2 mean? Well its a rollup of fixes and a whole load of new applications and tools.

The first one I jumped on was the upgrade of an old R1 server to R2 spec by adding components one at a time. After installation of Windows Sharepoint Services SP2 I couldn't even log in.

Some ASP.NET components are not correctly registered and lead to this issue. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823379 provides a step-by-step guide to re-registering the necessary components.

Removing Network Load Balancing Service Errors

2006-04-12T10:29:00.001+01:00

I'm one of those technocrati that likes anything that isn't needed on a server or workstation to be removed. It makes troubleshooting easier, and lets face it; we all know there are loads of services running which are useful to some people, but not to me...

Removing Network Load Balancing Service from an adapter (not just removing the binding, but uninstalling it) gives you some of those little annoying "A service or driver failed to start" messages when you reboot.

Remove this irritation by chopping the relevant keys out of the ol' registry:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=268437

Removing Network Load Balancing Service Errors

2006-04-12T10:29:00.000+01:00

Creating T-Shirts and Marketing Gear

2006-04-11T11:28:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I stumble across sites that I can't believe I've missed for so long. I used to make custom T-Shirts for my friends with my comic art as 'exclusive' designs. They loved them, but it took (literally) hours to create each one and a slip with the pen made it a write-off.

CafePress http://www.cafepress.com/?pid=5118548 lets you upload your own artwork, and select a great range of products to display your images on. My site at www.cafepress.com/diavosh and www.cafepress.com/fairybutterfly has my first uploads and its certainly an easier way of keeping friends happy when the days are so busy!

Slow Logoff Windows 2003 Terminal Server

2006-03-27T16:47:00.000+01:00

I've been having problems on a few of my sites running Windows 2003 Server in Terminal Server Mode where logging off can take several minutes. The usual culprit, spyware of some sort, could not be found on any of the systems but a new tool from Microsoft called the "User Profile Hive Cleanup Service" seems to have cleared the issue.

It doesn't work immediately, bur after a few logon/logoffs the delay appears to have gone.

Get the tool here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1b286e6d-8912-4e18-b570-42470e2f3582&displaylang=en

Planning for Windows Vista

2006-03-14T12:29:00.000Z

Several of my clients have been asking for strategy plans in anticipation of the release of Windows Vista (http://www.microsoft.com/vista) later on this year. The move to 64bit computing is, in my opinion, several years overdue.

The launch of Vista and the release of the 'Longhorn' server versions shortly after will be an excellent time to make a co-ordinated move to the new architechture. I am recommending that no bulk purchase of new hardware are planned for the next six months, nor are any new licensing agreements entered into. For general desktop requirements we will standardise on x64 capable hardware with a minimum of 1GB RAM.

Windows Vista Enterprise will be the standard desktop platform - I'm particularly keen on 'Windows BitLocker', a total drive encryption service, particularly for mobile users. Windows Vista Ultimate will probably be deployed to senior management users who rank high enough to get access to all the toys on a company machine! Its great to finally get media features and not to be locked out of the corporate domain :)

Disable Wireless Networking Balloon Tips

2006-03-04T15:03:00.000Z

Why-O-why...

Surely everyone who uses an XP laptop is sick of the Wireless Networks balloon tip popping up all the time. Why can't we disable it and leave all the rest of the moderately useful tips enabled?

MS, in their wisdom, only leave us with http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307729 the ability to disable Notification Area Balloon Tips on a per user basis...

Starting a business

2006-03-04T14:33:00.000Z

www.direct.gov.uk is a surprisingly good place to go. Anyone expecting goverment style waffle and confusing instructions ought to head over there and follow some of the learning paths.