Jim Zimmerman's Technical Blog

Wordbook plugin.

Jgz — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 04:28:34 +0000

I am trying to get the wordbook plugin to post on my facebook wall.

Event ID 21 and 42 – Terminal Server license errors.

Jgz — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:26:46 +0000

If a Windows Terminal server client receives the following kind, they need to remove the corrupt license registry key on the client. The following two messages were identified on a Citrix license server.

The solution was to remove the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSLicensing

The key will be recreated the next time the client connects to the Citrix server.

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How to increase shmmax kernel parameter in linux.

Jgz — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:14:06 +0000

Used the following to modify the shmmax kernel parameter in Fedora 13 after updating postgresql on a machine running WiKID for two-factor authentication.

Modifies the parameter:
# sysctl -w kernel.shmmax=67108864
Changes the parameter so a reboot is not required.
# sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf

To keep the new setting after rebooting:
# vi /etc/sysctl.conf
…
kernel.shmmax=67108864
…

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Hex editor – vi?

Jgz — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:03:14 +0000

Open the file as your normally would ( For example, vi mybinary.fil):
To view in hex:
Enter the following from command mode: :%!xxd

To switch back:
Enter the following from command mode: :%!xxd -r

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Yourls restored.

Jgz — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:28:02 +0000

I ended up having to just restore the old files. Someday when I get more time, I will figure out what is wrong. I believe the plugin is too new for the version of Yourls I am running (1.2).

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YOURLS plugin after upgrade.

Jgz — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:41:25 +0000

I am having trouble with the yourls plugin for WordPress, since I updated it this morning. It keeps saying the username or password is incorrect despite manually verifying them. Might have to test sending some tweets. Sorry.

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More AT&T, iPhone musings.

Jgz — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:54:06 +0000

Recently, I was up in the heart of San Francisco. As somebody who lives about 15 miles north of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and gets ok AT&T/iPhone service, I have to say that I think that people that are complaining in the Bay Area are a bunch of spoiled, whining babies. From every corner of the city, I was amazed by the great service I was getting compared to what I get at home. Just goes to show you, it is all relative. Come to Santa Clarita Valley and then you guys might have something to complain about.

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Create a custom SMS/MMS tone on an iPhone.

Jgz — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:50:55 +0000

To create a custom SMS tone for a jailbroken iPhone on MacOS from iTunes:

1.) Start iTunes.
2.) Go to Preferences/General.
3.) Click “Import Settings” next to “Ask To Import CD.”
4.) Change “Import Using” from “Mp3 Encoder” or other to “Aiff Encoder.”
5.) Right click on the song you want to convert and go to “Get Info.”
6.) Click on the Options tab and go to “Start Time” and “Stop Time.”
7.) Enter the desired time range that you want and click “Ok.”. It should be less than 30 seconds in duration.
8.) Right click the clip and click “Create AIFF Version.”
9.) Rename the resulting .aif file to sms-received[1-6].cap.
For example: Rename myfile.aif to sms-received1.cap.
10.) Ensure that ssh is installed on your jailborken iPhone.
11.) Replace one of the sms-received[1-6].caf files in /System/Library/Audio/UISounds with your newly created sms-received[1-6].cap file. I used FileZilla to transfer the file from my Mac to the iPhone, but you can use any sftp/scp client or the command line from Terminal.
12.) Now, on your iPhone, you can find your newly create sound in Settings/Sounds/”New Text Message.” The selection names do not change, but you can select each one to hear the sample to find your custom SMS/MMS text sound.
13.) Remember to switch back to Import Settings in iTunes.

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How to repair Dell boot record to access restore partition.

Jgz — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:31:01 +0000

The boot record on a Dell E310 was modified over time as a result of various system updates. I was unable to access the restore partition, when the OS needed to be restored, using Ctrl-F11 at the BIOS boot screen. To restore the boot record so that I could use Ctrl-F11, I created a bootable DOS CD using the fdfullcd.iso from the FreeDOS site (http://www.freedos.org/). Then, I created another CD with the dsrfix.exe (http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/files/dsrfix.zip) utility on it. I unzipped the dsrfix.zip file and burn the contents of the zip file onto a CD.

From here, I booted the FreeDOS CD. Then, I removed the FreeDOS CD and put in the dsrfix CD. I ran mscdex.exe at this point. However, I do not believe that was necessary. Then, I switched to the E: drive and ran dsrfix. I had an alert on pbr descriptor 3. Next, I ran dsrfix /F. This repaired the record so that Ctrl-F11 worked. Thanks to Dan Goodell (http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/). According to Dan’s site, his utility has been tested on the following Dell systems: Dimension 1100, 2400, 3000, 3100, 4550, 4600, 4700, 5000, 5100, 5150, 8200, 8300, 8400, 9100, 9150, B110, E310, E510, E520, E521, XPS 400, XPS 410, XPS 720, XPS Gen 4. Inspiron 500m, 510m, 600m, 630m, 640m, 700m, 1150, 1200, 1300, 1501(AMD), 2200, 5100, 5150, 6000, 6400, 8600, 9300, 9400, B120, B130, E1405, E1505, E1705, M710, M1210, XPS, XPS Gen 2, XPS M1710. Vostro 200.

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iPhone 4 and iPhone3Gs

Jgz — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:07:12 +0000

Got my iPhone4 on Wednesday (6/23/2010), so I spent the previous weekend jailbreaking and unlocking my 3Gs. Unfortunately, I used Spirit to jailbreak my 3.1.3 iPhone3Gs with the 05.21.01 baseband and it was the first time I did jailbreak the phone. So I was unable to update it to IOS4. I need it be unlocked to work on Tmobile. Nonetheless, using it was better than I thought it would be, but the signal in my home is really weak unless I am upstairs. I am keeping an eye out to figure out how I can update it to IOS4 and unlock it.

By the way, I like the new phone a lot. I had issues getting it ordered, but I only did it through Apple. And I have to say to everybody that was complaining about AT&T, Apple had their own issues too. A lot of the time was when it was verifying my AT&T account, but there were other times when it was all Apple. I was able to get my order processed at about 5pm Pacific time.

My only issues so far have been the sharp edges. I hate having to use a case, but I think I going to have to. Also, I have noticed the signal degredation, when holding the phone in my left hand, which I do all the time. The case should help with that too.

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