REDELIJKHEID
After the challenges with the iCalDAV server in OSX, I gave up on getting the Addressbook server up-and-running. Somehow, the clients couldn't wouldn't connect. No matter what configuration parameters I tried.
This week I tried to get it up-and-running again. Mainly because I can't concentrate for longer than two hours for my Cisco exams next week. Sometimes you need to clear your head.
For some reason I found the solution within the hour. No idea what the original problem was exactly.
;)
Dell U2711 MonitorThanks to some fortunate circumstances I've been able to get a new 27 inch monitor; The Dell U2711 Ultrasharp PremiumColor.
I was in need of a new monitor, since my old 24" Dell 2407WFP has some problems generating proper colors. Something which is quite important when fooling around with photographs on a computer. Another reason is that my the screen wouldn't work 'properly' with my new 27" iMac.
The 27"-er has a whopping resolution of 2560 x 1440 (WQHD), which is 'slightly more' than your average monitor. This monitor has an IPS panel, which is much better in rendering true colors than the old TN display.
The desktop real-estate is enormous (the same as the 27" iMac). Only problem so far is that my mobile devices aren't capable of using the full capacity of this display. Both my MacBook and Windows 7 Dell E6500 (work laptop) only go as high as 1920 x 1200. So I either have have some black borders, or I have to settle for a stretched screen. In both cases; the image is still extremely good. The display will be used as a second display on my 27" iMac.
It's been three weeks exactly (well, almost), and my new iMac i7 27" went to the repair shop.. (*sniff*).
The iMac booted normally this morning, but after a couple of minutes, the fans started kicking in. A new sensation for me. I have never heard a fan in this, or my other (i)Macs. At first I thought that my external drive (Drobo) started making the noise, but the Drobo was silent.
Turned out the fans in my iMac started blowing (hard), and the airflow was relatively warm. Too warm for a Mac which has been switched on for about 10 minutes with no real CPU intensive tasks running.
First I checked the Activity Monitor and 'Top' in the Terminal app to see if there was some program that consumed too many CPU cycles. Nothing there. On average, the CPU was 3% busy.
Next thing to do was resetting the PRAM/NVRAM by holding the Option-Command-R-P combination during a power-on of the iMac. This also made no difference (booting went a bit faster though).
Come on.... it isn't even Monday. It's Friday for crying out loud.
What happened you ask? Well.....
I got an e-mail with a XLS file attached (I know.. shit happens). So I tried to open it, but I got a reminder that I hadn't (re)installed Office 2008 on my new iMac. But not to worry. I have the official Microsoft Office 2008 DMG (with matching serial number) on my Drobo, so the installation was done in a matter of minutes.
This is when it happened. Starting office resulted in this error: "Office did not install correctly". It even had a link to a Microsoft article explaining I needed an update. But the update wouldn't install since it was for OSX 10.4 (or something). Installing the latest update didn't solve it either.
Well, remove Office and reinstall it then... That didn't work either. Still the same error.
Searching the Interwebs resulted in a suggestion to remove everything Microsoft from the Mac.... And so I did. Especially the locations like:
/Library/Preferences/
~/Library/Preferences/
should be free of everything Microsoft. After trashing the Trash I reinstalled Office 2008. This time I was asked to enter my name and serial number. Something that didn't happen the first times. Then it occurred to me; I had copied my preferences (and other settings) when I migrated from my old to my new iMac. I guess that Microsoft doesn't support that.
It would have been nice if they had an option in the Removal Tool (which they generously supply) to remove EVERYTHING. I think that they didn't forget it. I think that this is by design. Just to screw with us Mac user.
One can not have enough screen "real-estate" when working with photos, or while exploring your web-development skillz. So, a single display is simply not an option in my case......
Next to my 27" iMac stands a Dell 24" TFT Display. This Dell display is being abused for two things;
using the input selector on the TFT display.
Since I'm a guy and I rock at multitasking (*cough*), I have both my Windows (work) laptop and my iMac powered on. In this scenario I have only one active display on my iMac. The second display should therefor not be used, and this is where Apple fails miserably.
There's probably more than enough information on this subject, but there's something I ran into;
After the iOS 4.2 update, I also got a iPhone Carrier update through iTunes, and brave as I am, I installed it.
Afterward, several options in the Settings -> General -> Carrier menu of the iPhone were gone. Specifically, the settings regarding the Cellular Data settings, MMS. Basically, all the stuff I had to do manually as described in this blogpost.
Apple must have included the KPN Carrier settings in their Carrier Support package. Checking the default carrier profile location (/Users//Library/iTunes/iPhone Carrier Support/) showed the KPN_nl_iPhone.ipcc profile.
This does make it easier to upgrade to another iOS version, because each earlier upgrade erased the settings I had entered manually the time before. On the downside; The profile could also be updated to remove/disable tethering on the iPhone on the KPN network.
The ipcc file mentioned earlier is the one distributed on (or around) November 24th, 2010.
I should think that the title says it all. Just watch the video.
Holographic Architectural Imaging by Zebra from Core77 on Vimeo.
Michael Klug of Zebra Imaging demonstrates their holographic architectural representation system.
Today, my very first PayPal spoof/phishing mail arrived. So finally, my e-mail address has been recorded in your average cyberpunk database. Note, that the (Dutch) grammar and spelling in the e-mail is appalling. Just what you expect from a default translation program like Google Translate or Babelfish.
It's no surprise that a lot of cyberattacks originate from the the 'excellent' People's Republic of China. Some of these attacks are funded by or even originating from the Chinese government. Well, the latter is definitely true.
My (private) ssh server is a point of interest to the Chinese government, since they are trying to get in.
Every couple minutes a possible break-in entry is recorded in my logs. I guess that they decided not to hammer the front door, in order to evade automatic blacklisting of the originating IP.
reverse mapping checking getaddrinfo for mail.zdpri.gov.cn [218.108.28.189] failed - POSSIBLE BREAK-IN ATTEMPT!
I checked the IP and it seems to host the web-mail for the Zhejang prov. Development Planning & Research Institute [1].
I guess it's time to tighten the timers on blacklisting.....
B.t.w. The reporting on the IP was provided by Splunk. Excellent tool for digging in logfiles and reporting.
;)
Soligor Extension TubesSince I have no real specialty (yet) in the field of photography I do own a macro lens (a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG). Playing around in the macro field I find that the 1:1 representation of the subject isn't always what you want. Sometimes you need, or want more magnification. There are several ways of achieving a higher magnification ratio. One of them is using so-called extension tubes.
;)
Taken with a Lensbaby Composer and a 36mm Extension Tube