Monthly Archives: October 2009

linux as a file and print server to Vista PCs

Computer Aid Posted on by

I recently had a customer that was having some issues with using an XP Home PC as a file server… not an ideal solution, but since the office only had about 3 PCs, it should have worked.

Anyway, I can’t see the problem in action (its intermittent), so I take a guess that it might have something to do with the low limit on concurrent connections that you get with XP Home.

I check for any obvious problems with the server, but no major problems there. I also do some tuning.

A few days later, I’m told the problem is still there (ie sometimes printing doesn’t work, sometimes the network shares are not visible, sometimes network connections are lost/disconnected, and often, accessing network files is slow.

So I setup a “loan” server PC, and decide to use linux, together with Samba for file sharing and print serving.

pclinuxosI tried out Mepis Linux, but found that Samba somehow didn’t work well… So I eventually settled on PCLinuxOS 2009. I setup a Samba shared folder, and made sure all the permissions/security was set to “no security” (which is what the existing XP server had). I Also looked at the Samba website and followed their examples, to be sure I had everything setup correctly.

I also updated all the Samba packages, so I’d have the latest versions.

A test at my office worked well, but when I took the new server to the customer, I found my first stumbling block: All the Windows PCs were running Vista… After some initial problems, the extra Vista security seemed to cause ongoing security problems (only 1 PC kept asking the user for a username/password for accessing the shared folder, despite ticking the “remember password” box… all the other Vista PCs worked seamlessly).

The next problem was getting Linux to act as a print server (just like Sharing printers in XP). Well, it wasn’t as easy as sharing a printer in XP… it took me about 3 separate visits before I got it going.

Then the Samba file sharing got worse: Other PCs started asking for username/password (where they didn’t previously).

In the end, although Linux should make a great windows file and print server, in this case it just wasn’t to be.

I eventually re-commissioned the original PC, but uninstalled any software that wasn’t needed and tuned the PC for the best performance… and installed a gigabit Network switch (in case there were any network bottlenecks).

So far, the “improved” XP home server is now working well, and hasn’t missed a beat.

In the end, I’m left thinking: It shouldn’t be this difficult to make Linux/Samba work in a Vista environment.

I’ve managed to make Linux/Samba work well in an XP environment, but somehow, Vista seemed to cause extra problems that I couldn’t fully resolve.

Safari Browser: a quick evaluation

Computer Aid Posted on by

I just did a quick check of Safari, to see if its a suitable candidate in my quest to replace Maxthon as my default browser.

I like some of its features (particularly the multi-threaded tabs, similar to chrome).

apple-safariHowever, the first dislike is the border width… its very thin, which makes it difficult to resize on a large monitor. Its one of the reasons I’m leaving Maxthon.

Next, I want to see if I can place some toolbars (eg the bookmarks bar) next to the menu items. I like to make the most efficient use of empty space on the browser, since I like having the maximum possible space available for actually viewing websites.

Hmmm, that’s not possible either.

To me, Safari seems to be a toy browser. If I use Safari, them my browsing “experience” will be crap… the search continues.

The decline of Maxthon (myie2)

Computer Aid Posted on by

I have been using Maxthon from back when it was called MyIE2 (probably around 2001… so about 8 years in total).

For most of that time, it provided features (and customisability) that no other browser had. For that reason, I had used it in preference to IE, firefox, Opera, Safari, and Chrome.

Sadly, since the release of version 2.5, some of the customisability has been removed.

Its become increasingly obvious to me, that most of the removed features will not be re-instated.

Instead, the words that I keep hearing are: “it’s by design”.

To me, it like saying: “its not a bug, its a feature”… and its the sort of thing that immediately annoys me.

As an example: the new layout features a fixed window border width that totally ignores the width specified in the windows control panel display properties.

If you are still using a monitor that displays 640 x 480, then you won’t care… but most modern monitors have such high resolutions, that any application that doesn’t follow the display properties border width will immediately go into my “death row” list.

On top of that, the menu bar has now been  moved into the title bar… with no way to move it elsewhere (reminds me of IE7 and the unmovable “stop” and “refresh” buttons… a bad move by Microsoft).

Maxthon2I had been using an older version of Maxthon for nearly a year now… in the hopes that things would improve.

I eventually got tired of the occasional lockups, slowness, and huge memory leaks, so I upgraded to 2.5.7… only to find that the “new” version freezes after a few hours… Grrr

Back when it was called MyIE2, it was small, lightweight, fast, and reliable… but now it has lost its way.

Now, I’ll be seriously evaluating Firefox, Chrome, and Opera over the next few months, and eventually decide on one that suits me best… stay tuned as I keep you updated on my “Browser Wars”.

best porn websites?

Computer Aid Posted on by

I was thinking about many of the infected computers I’ve seen over the years, and its obvious (to me) that a common source of infection seems to be male computer users who view porn websites that are either laced with malicious code, or have adverts that lead to “bad websites”.

Sure, its easy to say “they got what they deserved”… but often, the affected computer also impacts other innocent users.

So I started thinking: its human nature for teenage boys (and even not-so-young men) to “stumble” onto these sites. After many thousands of years of evolution, the nature of male hormones are not likely to change in just a few years.

So telling guys “don’t do it” really doesn’t work.

What’s the alternative?

Since there is no easy way of knowing which sites are legitimate, and which sites are just out to infect you with a computer virus, then the only real option is to have a list of “safe” websites.

Am I offering to provide such a list?

No.

Generating and maintaining such a list would be a headache. Just imagine: a website gets approved as infection-free, then the owner suddenly activates malware on this site, infecting many unsuspecting people who thought they were safe.

But in the interest of trying to minimise infected computers, I can provide hints on some sites that are known to be infection free (at this time).

I won’t provide links, but finding the sites shouldn’t be difficult.

Also: If you are a minor, or if your local laws prohibit you from viewing these sites: then don’t go there. If you are easily offended, then don’t go there. If you object to this post for any reason: don’t read it.

redtube.com megarotic.com pornhub.com youporn.com tube8.com