Data Recovery in the Event of a Hard Drive Failure

Are you running Vista and can't get Adobe Reader to install? Well you aren't alone. It was recently listed as one of the top complaints regarding Vista. Fortunately, we have an answer to the issue. Actually, two answers!

First, unless you logged right into the administrator account, or you are a power user and have turned off User Access Control (UAC) you will need to turn it back on, then install Adobe. I would then recommend you leave UAC on for normal operations. To do this, go to Control Panel, click on User accounts, then click on the setting to turn UAC on. Restart your computer, then install Adobe.

If that doesn't work, or UAC was NOT turned off, then you can install Adobe in Windows XP compatibility mode. Browse to the folder where you placed the Adobe installer file. Right click it, and select the compatibility tab. Check "run this program in compatibility mode" then select Windows XP in the list. Adobe should then install.

To your success,

Tim

This following is from one of the many technical blogs that we follow. It is worth reading in regards to Daylight Savings time. The change comes at a different time than normal again this year. Not all computers can cope with it.

To your Success,

Tim

Daylight Savings Time for 2008 will end this weekend on Sunday, November 2nd. This is a reminder to those who have not applied their DST patches to the SBS 2003 network to do so as soon as possible. Common issues that are fixed by these patches include:

1. Calendar items and appointments in Outlook are off by an hour

2. Timestamps in OWA are off by an hour

3. Time skews between patched and un-patched machines

4. Date and Time fields are off by an hour in Sharepoint

5. SQL Server notifications are delayed

For the full list of updates that are applicable to the SBS 2003 environment please visit:

http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2007/02/13/extended-daylight-saving-time-sbs-2003-and-you.aspx

There are several methods to check for these updates, including:

1. Use the official Microsoft Daylight Savings Time Help Center at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst

2. Run the SBS 2003 Best Practices Analyzer from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3874527A-DE19-49BB-800F-352F3B6F2922&displaylang=en

3. To check the OS only (client or server) run the "w32tm /tz" command.

If you have any further questions on DST and the DST changes please see: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst

How to check the timezone setting using "w32tm /tz":

The output will look like this for the Central timezone on a patched machine:

Time zone: Current:TIME_ZONE_ID_DAYLIGHT Bias: 360min (UTC=LocalTime+Bias)

[Standard Name:"Central Standard Time" Bias:0min Date:(M:11 D:1 DoW:0)]

[Daylight Name:"Central Daylight Time" Bias:-60min Date:(M:3 D:2 DoW:0)]

What you want to look for is M:11, this translates to “Month 11: November” for start of Standard Time. (M:3 which is “Month 3: March” for start of Daylight Standard Time.)

An unpatched machine will show the following: Time zone:

Current:TIME_ZONE_ID_STANDARD Bias: 360min (UTC=LocalTime+Bias)

[Standard Name:"Central Standard Time" Bias:0min Date:(M:10 D:5 DoW:0)]

[Daylight Name:"Central Daylight Time" Bias:-60min Date:(M:4 D:1 DoW:0)]

A patched machine that does not have "Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes" set will show:

Time zone: Current:TIME_ZONE_ID_DAYLIGHT Bias: 360min (UTC=LocalTime+Bias)

[Standard Name:"Central Standard Time" Bias:0min Date:(M:11 D:1 DoW:0)]

[Daylight Name:"Central Standard Time" Bias:0min Date:(M:11 D:1 DoW:0)]

You have to be careful what you say nowadays. A case in point revolves around a post I recently made on a blog that tracks the industry my company is in. I was commenting on the site about a particular business model we use and how it has simplified our billing, etc. Another poster asked me what software we used to track some specifics. I replied back with the name of the software, but added a caveat that we were in the middle of implementing a different solution.

Wow! You would think it was a presidential press release! Within 12 hours, I had 2 phone calls, and several emails from upper level vice presidents of the company we were dropping. And this company has over 20,000 users (I'm told).

There are a few interesting lessons to be learned here, I think. First, if you don't want anyone to know what you are doing, don't email or post anything regarding the information you are trying to keep from the public. While this particular information regarding our software change is by no means top secret, I really didn't need this particular interuption from our business of providing excellent customer service. Secondly, you never know where your comments will end up, no matter how benign they may seem. A few little comments started a firestorm from upper level management in a company much larger than mine.

So, the moral is, don't post anything you don't want known. ANYWHERE. Social networking performs at the speed of the Internet.

To your success,

Tim

It looks like WiFi is finally available while you are on your flight. American Airlines has been testing a new WiFi service from GoGoInflight which allows you to get high speed Internet access (for a fee, of course) while you are cruising at 30,000 feet. From most reports I have read, the service works well, and is fairly reliable. So, now you can send and receive those emails, download that important presentation you forgot to bring with you, or just surf the web.

The service is priced at $12.95 for now. No reports on whether the connection will slow down if more users login on the same flight. It will be interesting to see if only higher level executives utilize the service to work while enroute, or if companies will now expect employees to get more work done while they are getting paid to travel. I expect other airlines to quickly follow suit.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this. Should employees be reasonably expected to work while flying on company business now? Do you see it as an intrusion on the other passengers?

To your success,

Tim