Daily Cup of Tech

I’ve been doing some work in MediaWiki lately and found that I often need to move information from Word to MediaWiki.  Here is an awesome converter that I found which makes it a lot easier.  It’s not perfect but it sure is better than doing it manually!

Word2MediaWiki

Convert Microsoft Word document content to MediaWiki markup.

This is a Word Visual Basic macro. Usage requires a running copy of Microsoft Word that supports Visual Basic macros (Word 97 or greater).

Features

• Replaces smart quotes/double-quotes with dumb equivalents
• Escapes the following characters: * # { } [ ] ~ ^^ | ‘
• Converts external hyperlinks
• Converts H1-H5 headings
• Converts bold/italic/underline/strikethrough/superscript/subscript formatting
• Converts bulleted/numbered lists
• Converts simple tables.

Caveats

• No guarantees, no official support, just like the
• No in-document hyperlink conversion
• May not work well with documents that have highly customized styles/templates. It works best with documents written in the default “Normal” template
• Nested tables have not been tested and may not function as expected.
• Image/graphics/figures are not supported.

Installation

1. Download the Word2MediaWiki macro library
2. Start Word
3. Bring up the Visual Basic Editor (Tools->Macro->Visual Basic Editor or Alt+F11).
4. From the VBE, import the macro library (File->Import File…) and select the file you downloaded.

Usage

1. Open a word document to convert
2. Run the Word2MediaWiki macro by bringing up the Macros dialog (Tools->Macro->Macros… or Alt+F8), selecting Word2MediaWiki and clicking Run.
3. The macro converts the document to MediaWiki markup and places a copy of the content on the system clipboard.
4. Switch to a MediaWiki editor and paste the result.

Another option for you is to use OpenOffice 2.3 (and above). They have a MediaWiki conversion tool build right it!

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/01/30/convert-word-to-mediawiki-format/trackback/

I just ran across this and thought that it would be helpful to everyone out there. This is a direct cut and paste from their website:

Free Windows Tools

Desktop Central provides a set of free Windows tools that Windows Administrators might require on a day-to-day basis. It has a set of ten tools, viz: Wake on LAN, GPO Update, Shutdown/Restart Tool, Software Inventory Tool, Join/Unjoin Computer Tool, Remote Task Manager Tool, Currently Logged On User, Hard Disk Space Detector Tool, Local Users/Groups List Tool, and Remote Command Prompt Tool. This is very handy as it can be performed on multiple computers simultaneously. These tools are made available from the Desktop Central family and is provided as a separate download, which is absolutely free to use.

Wake on LAN Tool

Utility to boot computers in the network (LAN) from remote. It allows the administrators to boot multiple computers simultaneously. The Administrator has to just specify the IP Address, MAC Address and the Subnet Mask of the computers to wake them up.

GPO Update Tool

Utility to perform a GPO Update in the computers of a Windows Domain. GPOs are used to send configuration instructions to user and computer objects in the Windows Active Directory. By default, the GPO updates happen periodically, every 90 minutes. This utility helps the Administrators to perform a GPO Update on-demand on multiple domain computers simultaneously.

Shutdown / Restart Tool

Utility to shutdown or restart the computers of a Windows Domain. The Administrator can specify a common credential to perform this operation on multiple computers and can select the computers by specifying the Domain Controller.

Software Inventory Tool

Utility to retrieve the details of the software installed in the computers of a Windows Domain. The Software details include Software Name, Version, Manufacturer and Usage statistics. The software details can be exported as txt and csv formats.

Join/Unjoin Computer Tool

Utility to move a computer from one domain to another or from a domian to a workgroup or from a workgroup to a domain. It also provides the ability to restart the computer after this operation. The status of the operation is also displayed at the bottom of the window.

Remote Task Manager Tool

Utility to view the processes running in a remote computer along with its details like, Process ID, Memory Usage, Session ID, Priority, etc. It also provides an option to select the parameters to view. Apart from just viewing the processes, the administrators can also terminate a process.

Currently Logged On User

Utility to retrieve the details of the users logged on to a remote computer. The Administrator can specify a common credential to perform this operation on multiple computers and can select the computers by specifying the Domain Controller.

Hard Disk Space Monitor Tool

Utility to retrieve the information about the Hard Disk like Partition/Drives, Volume Name, Total Size, Free Space, and File System. The Administrator can specify a common credential to perform this operation on multiple computers and can select the computers by specifying the Domain Controller.The results can be exported to a CSV or Text format for a later reference.

Local Users/Groups Tool

Tool to get the information about local users and groups in the remote computers. The user details include, Computer Name, User Name, Full Name, Caption, Status, etc. The group details include, Computer Name, Group Name, Caption, Description, and Status. The Administrator can specify a common credential to perform this operation on multiple computers and can select the computers by specifying the Domain Controller.The results can be exported to a CSV or Text format for a later reference.

Remote Command Prompt Tool

Free tool to open a command prompt of a remote computer and execute a command. The remote computer can be in the domain or a workgroup. The administrator has to specify a credential that has necessary privileges to execute the commands. The computer can be either specified manually or selected by speciying the Domain Controller.

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/01/30/free-windows-desktop-management-tools/trackback/

Post Sponsor: Frontier Label

A big issue that IT people come across on a regular basis is keeping track of their hardware. We all use a variety of methods do this from database tracking to network monitoring.  All of these are great ideas and have their place but there is often one small, low tech piece of the tracking puzzle that people forget: stickers!

It is critical that you have clear, visible labels on all critical equipment.  Each sticker must have a unique number on it that is recorded in your database.  Each sticker should also have a distinct appearance so that it is easily recognizable from a distance.  A great option is to have your corporate logo on the sticker.

Frontier Label has a number of products that would suit these purposes.  Since they produce full color labels which can each be individually customized, they are a great way to indicate to would be criminals, “We are keeping track of this item and will know if something happens to it!”

The other nice thing about stickers from Frontier Label is the fact that they do not look ugly.  Just because this is your tech equipment does not mean that it can’t look good.  Full color labels can easily fit into the decor of your office or home.

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/01/28/low-tech-solution-to-high-tech-problem/trackback/

LogMeIn is one of my must have applications.  I love the ability to remotely control my computer from pretty much anywhere.  But, there are somethings that I would like to have available which you can only get with the pro version which costs.

Being cheap frugal in these tough economic times, I am providing you with free ways to get some of the options that are only available in the LogMeIn Pro version.

File Sharing

This is probably the only aspect that I really miss from LogMeIn.  But, I have found a really simple way around it.  I have installed a program called Dropbox on all of my computers when I install LogMeIn.  DropBox lets be synchronize by files between the computers and also keeps a copy of the files online for me.

Now, when I remote into my computer via LogMeIn, all I need to do is copy a file to my DropBox and it magically appears back at my system that I am remoting in from.  Much better than trying to e-mail a 2GB file!

Printing

Another thing that I miss (but not nearly as much as file sharing) is the ability to print a file from my remote computer to my local computer.  I get around this problem by installing a PDF printer such as CutePDF, printing anything that I want to a PDF file, and saving the file to my DropBox.  I can then get the PDF at my local computer and print it locally.  Granted, there are a few more steps involved but the end result is the same.

Desktop Sharing

If you need to share your desktop with others, one of the best ways that I have found to do this is using Yuuguu.  Simply install the application, create an account, and share your desktop.  You are now collaborating with whomever you want.  All they have to do go to the website, enter a PIN and a user name.

Remote Audio

This is the only thing that I have not been able to reproduce is remote audio.  To be honest, this does not really bother me.  But, I’m guessing that I would probably be able to stream any audio that my computer produces using a streaming server.  That audio would then be available to my through my web browser.

Conclusion

With a bit of advanced planning, you can quickly get access to most of the abilities that LogMeIn Pro provides without the monthly cost.

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/01/27/expanding-your-logmein-frees-abilities/trackback/

I regularly use Google Apps to handle my e-mail for multiple domains.  But, as of January 14th, things have gotten a bit more difficult.

You can find a lot of links on Google to their premium edition of Google apps.  Unfortunately, it costs $50 per user per year.  So, your organization of 50 people will cost you $2500 per year.  But, if you can find Google Apps Standard Edition (and you don’t mind a couple of ads), you could get pretty much the same thing for free.  If only you could find it!

Well, to make your life easier, I am providing you with a direct link to sign up for a Google APps Standard Edition.  It is available at http://www.google.com/a/cpanel/domain/new.

For those of you unfamiliar with Google Apps Standard Edition, here is what you get:

• Gmail and Google Calendar to help businesses save money and keep employees connected. Mobile support and IMAP are included.
• Google Docs and Google Sites to enhance your company’s traditional
  productivity software and help employees share information efficiently.
• Free, ad-supported, up to 50 user accounts and 7.287689 GB / account
• 10 GB shared storage for Google Docs and Sites
• Self-serve online support
  

Enjoy your new account!

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/01/23/google-apps-standard-edition-harder-to-get/trackback/