Blog: General

Last week one day I had a message popup on my iPhone which said my Voicemail password was wrong.  The message caught me off-guard because I wasn’t trying to access my Voicemail and I hadn’t made any changes recently.  Also, I wasn’t sure if it was my voicemail with AT&T or my office voicemail in Cisco’s integrated messaging.  Since I was busy with other things, I didn’t pursue it.

After a couple of days, the message appeared again.  This time I thought I should find out what was happening.

I selected the button (don’t remember the name) to get more details and I learned it was the password with the AT&T.  On my iPhone I went to Settings > Phone > Change Voicemail Password.  There I was prompted to put in my old password (really just a four digit PIN).  I entered the old one which it took (so it means my old password was still valid with AT&T) then entered a new password, which was accepted.  Behind the scenes my phone updated my password.  After exiting Settings, two new voicemail messages appeared. [more]

The gotcha is not new, just surprising in its occurrence.  I had updated my iPhone to iOS 4.x.  I knew the update did not keep up with passwords, but I had reentered email passwords and VPN keys, etc. and everything I could think of at the time.  All appeared to be working.

The Voicemail password error didn’t not appear until a couple of weeks after my iOS update.  The time span was sufficient for me to not realize it was all a part of the update.  The long duration was because I had not received any voicemail.  When I did receive a Voicemail, my iPhone, which after the update did not have any password, tried to authenticate to AT&T and caused the error to appear.

So, after updating to iOS 4.x be prepared for weeks or months of password errors or requests.  Every time you attempt to contact a vendor of an App who had required you to register, you will need to reenter you password.  The message may say the password is wrong, but it really means the password which had been stored on your iPhone has been deleted.  Probably your password is not wrong, just missing.

I recently wanted change the offline files cache location in Windows 7.  Instead of the default location of C:\Windows\CSC, I wanted the offline files to be stored on my D: drive.  After checking around the Internet, I found several articles stating that moving offline files worked in XP, but didn’t work in Vista or Windows 7.  In the end, I found this blog post.  It worked.  However, I made one modification – I cleared the cache prior to moving the cache location and did not delete the original cache location after moving it.  My reasoning was 1) I wanted to clear the cache in order get rid of any residual offline files and 2) taking ownership and deleting a folder in the Windows directory seems like asking for trouble (besides I might need to move the cache back at some point). 

In order to clear the cache, add a DWORD registry key named FormatDatabase to HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC\Parameters, set the key to a value of 1, and reboot.  One word of warning, do not set both the FormatDatabase registry key and CacheLocation registry key mentioned in the blog at the same time and reboot.  Windows blue screened on me during the reboot.  I had to boot into safe mode and remove the CacheLocation registry key in order to avoid the blue screen.  The correct sequence is clear the cache, reboot, change the cache location, reboot.

I started receiving unwanted automated calls on my iPhone late one night.  Some automated calling service was calling my number about once an hour and there was only a recorded voice on the other side.  I needed to have my phone on and the ringer loud because I was expecting an important phone call early the next morning.  Muting the phone was not an option.  While searching for a solution, I found this website: [http://www.mylittleportal.com/call-block-cell-phone-number-iphone] “How to block any phone number on your iPhone for free”

The process is very quick, easy, and free:

1. Download this silent ringtone to your computer.
2. Open iTunes and copy the ringtone.
3. Sync your iPhone.
4. Make a new contact with the number you want to block and assign the silent ringtone to the contact.
5. Get a full night’s sleep.

A customer who has switch completely to PDF format for document storage, has a need to access Tagged Image File Format (TIFF/TIF) documents from prior years. They recently ungraded all their systems to Windows 7 with Office 2007. Previously they used Office 2007 which installed the Microsoft Document Imaging program by default. The default install of Office 2007 sets the Microsoft Document Imaging program to install and run on first use. However, the first use is to access an MDI format file and have installation permission. They do not have installation permission and never access MDI files. Because it is not installed users are unable to reorder, rotate and print individual pages of a TIFF/TIF document. This means in order to print page 20 of a 65 page document you must print all the pages.

To resolve this issue, install the Microsoft Office Document Imaging program. To do this, follow these steps: [more]

1. Click Start, click Run, type “appwiz.cpl’, and then click OK.
2. In the Currently installed programs list, click the 2007 Office version that you have installed.
3. Click Change.
4. Click Add or Remove features, and then click Continue.
5. Expand Office Tools.
6. Click Microsoft Office Document Imaging, and then click Run all from My Computer.
7. Click Continue.

You then need to change the TIFF and TIF file associations to open using Microsoft Document Imaging.

1. Click Start, click Run, type “control /name Microsoft.DefaultPrograms”, and then click OK.
2. Click Associate a file type or protocol with a program, scroll down to TIF and TIFF.
3. Highlight TIF and Click Change program.
4. Click Browse, and  enter “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MODI\12.0\” in the address bar then enter.
5. Select MSPVIE.EXE and Click Open, Ok
6. Perform steps 3-5 for TIFF
7. Click Close.

You can then reorder, rotate and print individual pages of TIFF/TIF documents.

Microsoft Office Picture Manager (and iPhoto on the Mac) has a feature which helps organize digital photos.  In order to organize photos it is most helpful to be able to rename them, but renaming them is tedious if you have many photos.

If you are running Windows and have Microsoft Office 2007 installed the Picture Manager should be under All Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Tools -> Microsoft Office Picture Manager.  In Microsoft Office Picture Manager all you have to do to easily rename photos is open a folder of photos, select more than one, right click on one of the selected photos and choose Rename.  A work panel will open which allows you to enter a name which will be applied to all the selected photos as well as options for defining sequential numbering. [more]

For us in the CoNetrix Information Security group, we have many site photos to store after an audit. This renaming feature allows us to organize the images by branch name (fcblfxx) with the application filling in the “xx.”  Quick and easy.   For personal photos naming will probably involve using a description of an event like “2010Christmasxx” or “10thBirthdayxx.”

I use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse under Windows 7 (64-bit) that started to hang from time to time after I began using Windows 7.  I found that if I turned the BT radio off then back on it would work fine.  Sometimes it would hang after I stopped using the keyboard or mouse for just a few seconds.  Sometimes it was after I hadn't used it for several minutes.  Regardless, I couldn't see any relationship to how long it hadn't been used and when it would hang.

I found if I went into Device Manager > Bluetooth Radios and opened the properties to ThinkPad Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate and then unchecked the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" option, the problem went away. [more]

If you travel often, it's nice to have a fairly automated way to keep up with trips.  Tripit.com will collect and organize flights and other reservations (car, hotel, etc.) for you.  The account is free and the iPhone app is also free.  I've been using it lately and found it very useful.

You can forward the confirmation e-mail message from the airline, etc. to [email protected] and it'll automatically create and organize the trip information for you.  Of course you can update things online but the forwarding e-mail feature saves a lot of time. [more]

You can access the trip information from your iPhone app - which is really handy when you're on the road.

There is also an option for Tripit to send you reminders when it's time to get a boarding pass, etc.  Also, you can have it send you reminders (by e-mail, SMS, etc.) re: airline boarding gates, flight status, etc.

I found some excellent mono-space fonts at http://www.proggyfonts.com.  These fonts were designed by programmers for viewing code.  They save a lot of space and make it easier to read.  I really like the dotted or slashed zero characters they use, because it makes it so much easier to distinguish them from the letter '0'.  I personnally use proggy clean and proggy tiny (with slashed zeroes).

One of my few frustrations with my new iPhone was battery life – it seemed I had to charge my phone every day.  So, I googled to see if I could find some tips on how to increase my iPhone batter life.  While searching, I found a link from Apple (http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html) with the following tips that helped with preserving the battery life of my iPhone:

1. I implemented the following recommendations, and it has made a difference in my battery life – I even went a little over two days without charging on one occasion…
   Disable WiFi & Bluetooth when not needed
2. Disable unnecessary sounds (i.e. audio keyboard clicks)
3. Enable Auto-Brightness (note: uses the camera to automatically adjust the screen’s brightness)
4. Store the iPhone at room temperature & do not expose it to direct sunlight (exposure to heat causes damage to lithium-ion batteries due to intense ionization)
5. Turn off location services when not needed
6. Turn off EQ (equalizer setting for song playback)