Monday, December 21, 2009

Why I pretend I don't know anything about computers (COMIC): http://digg.com/d31DTif?t

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Connect To A Shared Windows 7 Printer From Mac OS X Snow Leopard


Below I have listed a brief set of instructions on how to connect to a shared printer on a Windows 7 host from Mac OS X Snow Leopard.  These instructions assume that you already have a printer shared on your Windows 7 host (without a space in the share name) and have file and print sharing enabled in Windows 7.



On The Windows 7 Host:
  • Create a new user account used explicitly for printing.  This will allow you to change your password for your regular user account without having to change settings on your Mac.
    • Right-Click the 'Computer' icon on your Desktop and select 'Manage'
    • Expand 'Local Users and Groups'
    • Select Users
    • Right-Click anywhere in the list and select 'New User'
      • User Name: print
      • Description: Printer User
      • Password: <password>
      • Un-Check 'User must change password and next logon'
      • Check 'User cannot change password' and 'Password Never Expires'
      • Click 'Create'
On The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Host:
  • Open 'System Preferences'
    • Click 'Print & Fax'
    • Click '+'
    • Right-Click anywhere on the Toolbar and select 'Customize Toolbar'
    • Add the 'Advanced' icon to the Toolbar and click 'Done'
    • Click 'Advanced'
      • Type: Windows
      • URL: smb://print:<password>@<Windows7Hostname>/<PrinterShareName>
      • Name: <AnythingYouWant>
      • Print Using: Select Printer Software
      • Add
It's as easy at that. 


*To hide the new "print" user from the Windows Welcome Screen, do this.



Thursday, October 08, 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Interesting

Interesting comparisons....conservatives and liberals:
•If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
•If a liberal doesn't like guns, he feels that no one should have one.
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•If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.
•If a liberal is, he wants to ban all meat products for everyone.
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•If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
•A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.
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•If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
•If a liberal is homosexual, he loudly demands legislated respect.
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•If a black man or Hispanic man is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
•Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.
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•If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
•A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
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•If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
•Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.
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•If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
•A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God or religion silenced.
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•If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
•A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

What I Was Trying to Say . . .

What I was trying to say with my last post: http://digg.com/d3155Gk#

Monday, September 21, 2009

My Little Rant

Before Angela and I moved to Marshfield, we had had a great experience with Verizon Wireless as our wireless carrier. However, once we moved, the reception at our new apartment left a lot to be desired. We had little, to no reception anywhere on the north side of town. My first instinct was the check out the Verizon Wireless Network Extender. The Network Extender is a femtocell. As Wikipedia explains, a femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband (such as DSL or cable); current designs typically support 2 to 4 active mobile phones in a residential setting. A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable. What a great idea, I thought. The price was a ridiculous $249, didn't support 3G, and whenever we used it, it would use minutes against our plan. Furthermore, it used our Internet connection and allowed other Verizon customers to use it. So, let me get this straight . . . I get stuck paying $249 because Verizon has poor coverage in my house and they use my Internet connection to place my calls. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean how is me using this device detrimental to them? It is less burden on their network and more on mine. As long as it worked, I guess I didn't really care. After some research, I found out that we live in the Extended Enhanced Services Area, not the Enhanced Services Area. Therefore, the Network Extender wasn't an option.

Now, Verizon isn't the only wireless carrier that offers such a device. Sprint has the Airave, T-Mobile has the HotSpot@Home, and ATT is going to be coming out with the 3G MicroCell. All of them have a different pricing structure (both upfront and monthly), but all are nonetheless BS. Again, customers get stuck paying an upfront cost, and in some cases a monthly cost, because a wireless carrier has poor reception. Yet, by purchasing a femtocell they take less burden off the carrier's actual wireless network. IMHO, it would make more sense to charge customers the cost of the device and give unlimited minutes unconditionally. That way, you have a happy customer that has great coverage. In my case, I switched carriers and Verizon lost $150 a month from me (pennies for them).

Monday, June 08, 2009

About Apple's Keynote - From Digg.com Comments

This whole conference was crap. All Apple did was bash Windows, introduce a service pack for Leopard priced at 29USD, and introduce a phone which, well, is only evolutionary, and tell everyone in the US that tethering via AT&T isn't an option for god-knows-what-reason.

They also took out an ExpressCard slot from their MacBook Pros, worsened the battery situation on said laptops, and generally just ripped everyone off. What a waste of time.

What was with the Windows-bashing? They didn't even give a reason. All they said was that it's built on top of Vista... well, duh? Snow Leopard is built on top of Leopard. That's supposed to mean something? Apple is spending a good amount of effort trying to become the biggest troll on the planet... for what? What's the benefit? Too many of my friends were turned off by the unnecessary Windows-bashing; I guess if Apple was trying to win over the enterprise crowd, they did a good job of alienating them right from the start.


By gcnaddict

Sunday, May 24, 2009

New Computers

Shortly before graduating I decided it was time for a new computer. Apple was the first choice because of my desire to change to a Mac as my primary machine and their educational discount. So, I got this great deal on a previous generation iMac. Well, after about a week of using it, I noticed about 10 random specs on the screen. Turns out there was tons of dust trapped between the actual screen and the outside glass display. No good! One of my biggest pet peeves is dust trapped under screens. Either do it right or don't do it at all. Unfortunately, I sent my iMac back. I wasn't sure what to get next. The newer, Aluminum MacBooks have the same type of display, so it was between a Mac mini or a plastic, white MacBook. After reading about some problems with the Mac mini I decided to try my luck with the white MacBook. Ha! After about two days I noticed my gradient grays were showing up as a nastly yellow. Apple deemed the screen defective and now that is heading back. Now I stuck using my trusty, old iBook as the motherboard in my slightly, faster Windows PC decided to fail.

What do I do next?

To be honest, I thinking I'm going to pick up a Lenovo ThinkPad T400. I can get a great deal on an excellent computer for less than $1000. I really wanted a Mac, but until they can figure out their screen issues I'm done.

Monday, March 16, 2009