Daily Cup of Tech

Well, it took over a year, but we now have definitive proof that the Lost USB Drive application works! When I launched the Lost USB Drive Experiment in early June of last year, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had all but forgotten about the experiment.

So, imagine my surprise when I had this in my inbox this morning:

Dale,

I recently took over Costa Coffee Eastleigh and have found your USB Memory stick, I’m not sure how long it has been here but if you would like to pop in and collect it I will put it to one side.

Thanks

Matthew
Store Manager

Costa Coffee
27-29 Market Street
Eastleigh
SO50 5RG

To be honest, I was a little shocked! But, at the same time, this totally made my day! Just goes to prove that there are some honest people out there and that a little ingenuity can go a long way!

If any of you are in the area of Matthew’s store, go in, congratulate him on his honesty and integrity, and buy the biggest, most expensive coffee on the menu! Way to go, Matthew!

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2008/06/11/long-lost-drive-found/trackback/

Every single IT person will tell you to maintain your Windows security updates. It is critical, we are told, so that we can keep our computers safe. While I don’t completely agree with the statement (I’ve personally experienced an “update” that has completely killed a mission critical server), it is important to be able to update your system with the required patches.

Most people use Windows Update and many IT administrators use Windows Software Update Services (WSUS) to deploy these patches. While both works well, I personally prefer AutoPatcher. And here’s why:

1. It uses way less bandwidth than Windows Update. You download the patches once and you are done. You can now easily deploy all of the update to several computers, even computers without Internet access.
2. AutoPatcher does more than just update Microsoft applications. It is completely customizable and you can use it to install pretty much anything you want.
3. You can deploy AutoPatcher updates over a network without a bunch of registry hacks. Unless you are running Active Directory, you need to perform a number of registry hacks to get WSUS to work.
4. You do not need to install the Windows Genuine Advantage “critical” update in order to install other updates. You can keep your information to yourself.
5. AutoPatcher can be run unattended over a network or from a log-on script.

If you have never used this amazing tool, I would really encourage you to give it a try. It’s freeware so all it will cost you is your time.

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2008/05/16/why-autopatcher-beats-windows-update-and-wsus/trackback/

It has been long time since I have watched television like “normal” people. Ever since I found bittorrent, there was no turning back!

The problem that I have is that I am a pack rat! Once I download a TV episode, I don’t want to get rid of it. After all, I used up all that bandwidth!

So, I’ve started organizing my television shows into three categories:

1. Downloaded - these are shows that have just completed downloading and are in their original form from the Internet
2. Unsorted - these shows are in in one central location and should be in playable format. These are all my new shows that I probably have not watched yet
3. Sorted - once I have watched a show, the shows get moved into appropriate folders based on series and season name

The issue that I have run into in the past is that once an episode is downloaded, it may not be in playable format since many shows are archived, typically into RAR files. This means that I needed to manually extract these files or move the playable files to the Unsorted folder so that I could watch them.

I finally got fed up with this and I thought that there had to be a better way. It took me a couple of evenings work but I finally came up with a batch files that does the work for me! I simply have Windows programmed to run the batch file on a regular basis and it extracts all of the RAR files to my preferred location and moves all of the AVI files there as well (without copying the samples).

Here is the contents of that batch file:

@echo off
setlocal
cls

rem Set program variables below:
rem sourcedir - where files are saved once they have been downloaded
set sourcedir=C:\Downloaded

rem destinationdir - where you want all of the playable files to be placed
set destinationdir=C:\Unsorted

rem winrarpath - location of the unrar program
set winrarpath=C:\Program Files\WinRAR\

rem filelist - the name of the file which will store all of the RAR and AVI file names that have been processed
set filelist=FoundFiles.txt

rem tempfile - name of the temporary file that will be created and then deleted during the cleanup process
set tempfile=TempFile.txt

set path="%winrarpath%";%path%

echo Extracting new RAR files...
for /R "%sourcedir%" %%R IN (*.rar) DO find /C "%%R" %filelist% > NUL & if errorlevel 1 call unrar e -o- -y "%%R" *.* %destinationdir%\ & echo %%R>>%filelist%

echo Adding sample AVI files to no copy list...
for /R "%sourcedir%" %%R IN (*sample*.avi) DO find /C "%%R" %filelist% > NUL & if errorlevel 1 echo %%R>>%filelist%

echo Moving new AVI files...
for /R "%sourcedir%" %%R IN (*.avi) DO find /C "%%R" %filelist% > NUL & if errorlevel 1 echo Copying %%R... & copy "%%R" %destinationdir%\ & echo %%R>>%filelist%

echo Cleaning up %filelist%...
for /F %%R IN (%filelist%) DO if exist "%%R" echo %%R>>%tempfile%
del %filelist%
rename %tempfile% %filelist%

All you need to do is copy this file and save it as TorMove.cmd.  Then edit the three variables:

• sourcedir
• destinationdir
• winrarpath
• filelist
• tempfile

Only the first three are critical.  You just need to make sure that the last two do not clash with other files.

Also, you do not need to use WinRAR.  If you do not have this program, UnRAR for Windows will work just fine.

Once you have modified your file, save it and then schedule Windows to run it as often as you want!

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2008/05/14/automatic-torrent-extractormover-script/trackback/

Building forms for your website is a real pain in the backside. There are so many different aspects of the form that you need to know in order to get everything just right.

When a friend from work asked me if I knew of some easier way to create forms, I realized that I didn’t have a quick and easy answer for him. So, a bit of time on Google and some typing later and I have created a nice list of useful form building resources.

• pForm - a really good online form building tool that lets you create a customized form and then download the form for use in your website. Really easy to use and set up.
• JotForm - offers a free and a premium account option. If you are looking at using the forms on your own website, there is very little reason to purchase the premium option. Provides a number of very professional tools that provides you with a maximum of flexibility. It even includes a really nice form building wizard.
• PageBreeze - while this is not an online tool, it is an HTML editor that will allow you to create forms using a simple drag and drop method. You just need to do some basic HTML changes to connect it into your website.
• FormMaker - much like our first two entries, FormMaker is also web based. One of the advantages that it has over the other forms is that it allows you to capture data and store it on their servers for later access. There is no charge for the form maker but it does require an account.
• <STRONG><CONTACT> - An application designed specifically for creating contact forms. It will generate both the PHP and the CSS code required for the contact form to create the look and feel you want.

I know that all of the major IDEs out there have some sort of a form builder in them but if you are looking for a fast and dirty form, this may be a quick alternative.

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2008/05/13/form-building-resources/trackback/

I would be completely lost without my Internet connection. I had my central firewall die one day and it only took a few minutes for me to go into withdrawal! But, a lot of the times it is just sitting there doing nothing. And, like the lazy house guest who takes the trash out once a week, you really wish you could get more out of it.

One of the ideas that I have been working on is setting up my Internet connection with a WiFi hotspot so that people who are in the area and want quick Internet access can pay a small fee and get what they need.

This is a project that is still in the research phase but I have already made some really interesting discoveries.

1. I am probably going to use a piece of software made by Coova called CoovaAP. It is based on OpenWrt and allows you to turn several different stand alone commercial WiFi routers/firewalls into a full blown manageable hotspot. From the website:“CoovaAP is an OpenWRT-based firmware designed especially for HotSpots. It comes with the CoovaChilli access controller built-in and makes it easily configurable. CoovaAP is perfect for just about any HotSpot application - from WPA Enterprise (with RADIUS accounting) to Free WiFi with Terms of Service acknowledgment to commercial HotSpot captive portal applications. Use the embedded captive portal for a simple self contained HotSpot or use your own captive portal and RADIUS back-end. It is all up to you!” Other options that I have been looking at include WiFi-CPA and Worldspot.net.
2. If you are planning on doing this, make sure you read your Internet provider’s terms of service. You may not be allowed to do this without putting yourself at risk of being cut off!
3. You may want to look at boosting your WiFi signal to allow for the greatest amount of coverage. There are several ways to do this.
4. Make sure that you set up traffic shaping so that you can give your own computers priority over those who are using the hotspot. After all, it is your Internet connection.
5. Split up your internal network and protect it with a separate firewall. The last thing you want is your hotspot clients getting access to your personal information.
6. I’m still trying to figure out how to allow users to pay automatically when they create an account. It looks like PayPal will be the first most logical choice.
7. If you have a number of Internet connections in several different places, you could set up a single sign-on configuration to make it really easy for your clients.
8. It will be very important to determine how lucrative this will be because it could potentially be worth getting more Internet connections specifically for this purpose.

I think there could be some real opportunity here.  What are your thoughts?

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2008/02/08/make-your-internet-connection-pay-for-itself/trackback/