Category Archives: GeekStuff


Removing Windows Messenger from Outlook Express

I noticed tonight that even though I don’t have Windows Messenger active that msmsgr.exe was showing up in my Task Manager when I ran Outlook Express. I checked the OE settings: “log into messenger automatically” was not selected. I uninstalled Windows Messenger from Add/Remove Windows Components but it still ran when OE launched. I remembered that I got an update to version 4.7 from Windows Update but I didn’t see that listed in the uninstall list. I got rid of it though… how?
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Maiko “Home” Movie

Every now and again I have to pause and marvel at how the Internet has changed the subtleties of life. I’m no stranger to see an “online community” (having grown up on modem connections) yet I sometimes find myself in awe of the neatness that is the ‘net. Joi Ito has posted a QuickTime movie of two maiko dancing, while a geiko played a shamisen. I find it simply amazing that within a few minutes I can download a movie that a guy made and watch something that I would have had to fly to Kyoto (Japan) to see [assuming that I could even get into an ochaya (tea house) in the first place which I doubt]. I just seem to find that to be somehow… incredible.

Virtual Spring Cleaning?

I’ve officially switched over to the IBM ThinkPad T41 and will get around to selling my Sony Z1A on eBay once the holidays are over. I know that might sound odd but I don’t want to get into a “I need it by the 25th!” issue, so I’ll hold off on it. Besides, it will give me a chance to make sure I got all the old bits off of it, before I restore it and send it away.

The thing that I’ve noticed is that I’m feeling a sense of “cleanliness” that I usually only feel after thoroughly cleaning a house… something about leveling a HD and rebuilding everything from the OS up seems to make me feel… good, in a clean way. Am I the only Geek that feels that on a clean install of your OS or am I still basking in post Return of the King goodness?

Whoops! + Done!

Seems that my hosting company is looking to make a number of significant upgrades to their platform which means that my server is going for a little ride. The problems are numerous but the tech staff at the ISP have been working hard to get the transition done quickly. So for the next couple of days, I’m going to take a hiatus on posting – I recommend a hiatus on comments as well as they might not be there tomorrow! When the site has been moved I’ll start posting again…

Update: All the moving is done and it looks like all of the server related stuff (like moving the data from MT which is a nightmare for non-Linux heads!) seems to be OK now too. Back to [un]business as [un]usual!

R.I.P. Pocket PC

Writing is on the wall for a beloved device former known as the Pocket PC (now Windows Mobile 2003 device). I hate to say it, but I feel I have to. After a seven year love affair with Windows CE I have finally decided that a hand-held device isn’t for me anymore. What’s worse is that my iPaq 1940 is only about three months old and I still believe that it’s the best Pocket PC out there…
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And Who Says Snow Isn’t Helpful?

With the most recent bout of snow, it’s brought a site “enhancement”. I’ve noticed that the comments part of this site have gotten slower and since I can’t control the power of the hosting server, I can help prevent duplicate posts. Of course to do this, I also had to make a change to the core of MT… more on that below, but at least you don’t have to worry about double-clicking into multiple posts.
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w00t: Flash the MPx200

I love it when the UberGeeks get involved with consumer electronics: it makes things so much easier for everyone else. Seems that the folks over in MPx200.org’s forums have a sticky post about flashing the Motorola MPx200 to use a non-AT&T version of the firmware. For those of you that bought it from someone other than AT&T, this isn’t a big deal. For those of us that did, this firmware is supposed to return the phone to a generic Motorola state. According to the posts online this means that the phone regains use of 900MHz band (huge in Europe/Asia) and some other software (including the “missing” picture/camera software) but it does not unlock the phone for use with other carriers; that still requires a code from places online. [I probably won’t bother trying this as the phone suits me fine right now, but you guys can feel free to play with it!]

Buffy Lives in Port Charles?

So I had to get my Jeep repaired the other day, and they had a TV playing in the waiting room. No cable of course, which means that only a local ABC station comes in on it – Dr. Phil was playing when I dropped off the car and when I came back, one of the daily soap operas was playing. I can’t believe people make fun of me for watching cartoons and SciFi – they are far more realistic than what I saw on ABC’s daytime TV that day.
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Is 20MB For a Framework Too Big?

I was talking to Steve about this the other day and it caused a bit of Geek soul searching within me. Ever since I started writing SharpMT I get about one email a week complaining about the .NET Framework being required. The complaints range from that it’s needed at all to it being too big or that it uses too much memory. My usual reaction is “stop bitching about it and go click Windows Update to get it.” Why so short and snippy a response? That’s a bit longer in telling…
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Offline Blog Writers: a Review

Here’s something for ya: Greg over at the Epicenter has compiled a matrix of features for four of the “best known” offline Blog writers. Gave me a B+ which is better grades than I used to get in high school, so I’m pretty freakin’ stoked about his opinion of SharpMT. Also, this is a good way to see what the other contenders offer in features if SharpMT isn’t for you – after all, while I love helping people write Blogs and use almost all of the feedback that I get from users, I’m not going to wage a product war for a larger share of a freeware market! I’m in it for the fun of coding and support our fellow Geek – not for global conquest or business reasons… charging nothing for a product is not a good business model!

What the Hell? Internet Explorer Patch Edition

What the hell is going on with IE? I thought this was just me or my notebook’s mouse, but I’ve seen this on another machine that is running with a Trackball Explorer (which is dead on accurate with it’s clicks) so I think it’s the code that’s misbehaving. The scroll bars seem to be all funky now, with the November IE Patch Roll-up that I installed this morning – I seem to be scrolling more than I used to and it just started today and it only happens with IE…
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New Saga Begins

And a new saga begins. Actually, it sorta continues. Segues, maybe? I start a new gig today as a contractor, something that I haven’t done in about ten years. It’s also my first day of work at a new company in almost seven years. And because today is Veteran’s Day, the normal quagmire of traffic found each day on Connecticut’s highways was non-existent (meaning that I only had to completely stop just twice on Interstate 95 – hell, it means that I was actually going fast enough to have to stop!) which gives me time to hangout in a Dunkin’ Donuts – I can’t get into the building until 8:30. And the holiday season still looms on the horizon…
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