22nd February, 2007
More of the Same
Have a look at the ramifications of Bush’s new budget proposal. I can’t say that I’m surprised one bit. Mr. Taibbi’s article also hits the nail on the head in regards to the sad state of the media today and the public’s willingness to gobble up anything that is fed to them. Yay, America.
Posted at 10:30 am | Comment (0)
20th February, 2007
Why I Hate Microsoft (part 87 of a continuing series)
Right. So I’m in the process of updating our systems to be compliant with the Daylight Savings Time changes that go into effect this year; a Sisyphean task to say the least. Patches have been replaced by patches, sometimes by two in the same week, and the documentation is laughable at best. In my efforts to make some sense of the confusing jumble of documents littered throughout Microsoft’s “support” site, I’ve run across the following gems:
Knowledge Base article 930879 helpfully points out that the tool (provided by MS) doesn’t work with default settings.
Important Because of a known issue, MSEXTMZ.exe and MSEXTMZCFG.exe will not run correctly if they are installed in the default installation directory (C:\program files\msextmz). To work around this problem, install the files in the following directory:
C:\msextmz
The same KB article continues, stating that:
Before you run the Exchange tool, make sure that client and server computers are updated correctly with the operating system and application DST updates. These updates must be installed in the following order:
1. Install the Windows DST update on servers.
2. Install the Windows DST update on clients.
3. Install the Exchange DST update on Exchange Server 2003, on Exchange 2000 Server, and on Exchange Server 5.5.Note This step can be completed at the same time as step 1.
Just in case you hadn’t yet snorted your beverage out your nose, the KB article soldiers on.
Note Do not confuse the Outlook tool installer package that is named TZMove.exe with the actual Outlook tool executable file that is also named TZMove.exe.
So, we have a, more-or-less essential, tool released by Microsoft to address an issue that has been known about for 5 years that looks like it was put together in the wee hours of the morning after an extended bout of drinking.
Good job, once again, Microsoft.
Posted at 2:33 pm | Comment (0)
7th February, 2007
Snow
A big snow storm romped through the area yesterday, causing the usual traffic snarls and general slowdowns on the roads that are so typical in this part of the country with any sort of precipitation. My commute home took about twice as long as it normally does - annoying, but, being the heartless bastard that I am, I took much pleasure in noting the number of SUVs that were stuck in the ditch. For every Slappy McSmalldick I saw, sitting forlorn in their hopelessly mired Escalades and Explorers, my grin grew wider and my journey seemed shorter. I’d like to take this time to thank all the idiots who think that just because their vehicle has four-wheel drive they can drive like, well, idiots; you guys really brought some levity to my day.
Posted at 9:45 am | Comment (1)
