Submitting podcasts to iTunes

Posted on By Mark Wilson

One of the few things I managed to get done last week was to submit the enhanced podcast (AAC) version of the Coalface Tech RSS feed to Apple for inclusion in the iTunes podcast directory.

Actually it’s remarkably straightforward but here’s a few pointers for anyone who is getting started with this podcasting lark.

First up – you need to understand that there are two things called iTunes:

  • Apple’s online store with audio and video content (depending on whereabouts you live in the world).
  • Apple’s media player for Windows and Macintosh PCs, used by millions of iPod and iPhone owners worldwide (as well as many people with other devices, I’m sure).

Next – you need to understand that podcasts are generally distributed using an RSS feed (just like blogs but with enclosures containing the media files). The RSS feed is structured using XML.

You can subscribe directly to the RSS feed (and even view it in a browser), or you can use a podcast directory (such as the iTunes Store).

James had created the original XML for our RSS feeds (one for the MP3 version and one for the AAC version of the podcast) using a feed generator (I’m not sure which one he used but there is a basic podcast RSS generator available in the TD Scripts webmaster utilities). Not all feed generators support the iTunes-specific metatags though and it’s useful to know what these do.

Armed with the two feeds (one with iTunes metatags for the AAC feed and one without for the MP3 which is not on iTunes), I tested them in my iTunes client application (selecting Subscribe to Podcast… from the Advanced menu to see what metadata is displayed in the feed and the downloaded episodes). This let me tune the tags until I saw something that approximated the desired information.

Once I knew the XML was correctly formatted (tested in iTunes and in various web browsers), the final versions were uploaded to the web (in testing you can use any accessible HTTP server but for live deployment you probably want to think about providing a reasonably permanent URL and the media files themselves need to be somewhere that bandwidth is not a problem – for Coalface Tech, that hosting is kindly provided by Australian Personal Computer, Internode and Sun Microsystems but I also considered using Liberated Syndication).

Next-up was time to submit the podcast to Apple for inclusion. There is a moderation process but within 24 hours we had received confirmation that we were live in the iTunes directory!

Coalface Tech in iTunes

And that was about it really – remarkably straightforward, especially when armed with Apple’s detailed instructions for making a podcast.

All I need to do each time we create a new episode is update the XML for the RSS feeds (create a new section for each episode) and notify iTunes that we have posted a new episode (although it should automatically check every day).

Managing stored credentials from the Windows command prompt using cmdkey

Posted on By Mark Wilson

I’ve been meaning to blog about a command which is a reasonably recent addition to Windows for a few weeks now – cmdkey.exe (thanks to John Craddock for highlighting this at a recent XTSeminars event).

Basically Microsoft’s cmdkey, introduced with Windows Server 2003 (and which should not be confused with Jason Hood’s companion for cmd.exe), is used to create, list and delete stored security credentials.

For example, I back up the notebook PC that I use for work to my Netgear ReadyNAS using SyncToy. My ReadyNAS does not support Active Directory but it does provide SMB/CIFS access. This means that I can authenticate directly against a share but the username and password do not match the cached domain credentials on the notebook PC.

Supplying credentials each time I need to connect (or forgetting to before attempting a sync) is inconvenient, so I used cmdkey to store the username and password that I use to connect to the share:

cmdkey /add:computername /user:username /pass:password

In this case cmdkey responded as follows:

CMDKEY: Credential added successfully.

Typing:

cmdkey /list

returns:

Currently stored credentials:

Target: computername
Type: Domain Password
User: username

and I can connect to a share without supplying any credentials:

net use h: \\computername\sharename

The command completed successfully.

Furthermore this drive mapping (and stored credentials) persists on reboot – when the computer is restarted, H: is visible as a disconnected drive in Windows Explorer but as soon as I double-click it I connect without a prompt to supply credentials.

Camera raw support in Windows Vista and later

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Most of my digital photography workflow takes place on a Mac, where I use Adobe Camera Raw and Bridge/Photoshop CS3 to handle camera raw images.  With my recent purchase of a netbook (which is small enough and light enough to take out with me on a shoot – and less expensive than a dedicated storage device like an Epson P-7000), it would be useful to view the images in Windows but the Microsoft Raw Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP has not been updated since 2005 and is not compatible with Windows Vista or later.

I did wonder if the technology had been absorbed into Windows Explorer and it seems it has… I found a forum post that suggests using Windows Photo Gallery and then installing some codecs (this post has more information on raw support in Windows Vista) but it turns out that the camera raw codecs are also available for direct download (i.e. with no need for Windows Photo Gallery) and after installation the raw file contents are available in thumbnails, previews and applications.

Unfortunately the major manufacturers (Canon and Nikon) do not produce codecs for 64-bit Windows (i.e. for people running high-end workstations with lots of memory for editing large images…) but the 32-bit codecs are fine for my little netbook with 2.5GB of RAM and there is 64-bit support for Adobe digital negatives (.DNG).

During installation, the Canon codecs complained that the screen resolution was not high enough on the netbook (1024×576) and refused to install but that was easily overcome by connecting to an external monitor with a higher resolution (no such issue with the Nikon codecs).

Incidentally, whilst I was researching this blog post I found that Microsoft also has an interesting program called Pro Photo Tools, which includes the ability to geotag photos, edit metadata, convert between raw formats, TIFF, JPEG and HD Photo; and work with Sidecar (.XMP) files (for interoperability with Adobe products – i.e. Bridge).  It too relies on the installation of the relevant raw codecs but should fit in quite nicely for some basic metadata tagging on the netbook whilst still in the field before transferring the images to the MacBook for any final tweaks when I get home.
Nikon raw image viewed in Microsoft Pro Photo Tools

Tracking down and removing unwanted software bundled with a new PC

Posted on By Mark Wilson

I’ve heard many comments over the years about the volume of crapware installed on new PCs but had not experienced it first hand until yesterday, when I was setting up a new Dell Inspiron 1525.

Even Macs come with some bundled software (e.g. trial versions of Microsoft Office and Apple iWork applications) but I was amazed by the volume of unrequired software that I needed to remove from this machine.

In fact, I think that now I understand why people think Windows Vista is so bad. It’s not Vista at all – its all the various add-ons that the OEMs bundle that confuse the user experience with bizarre interfaces and which generally gunk up the operating system by loading additional applications into memory (Dell even has an application to present a poor imitation of the MacOS X dock to Windows Vista users).  I don’t mind Microsoft Works (it’s useful if you don’t have a copy of Microsoft Office – although it should also be noted that alternative office suites are available); I don’t even mind a 30-day trial of a security suite (even though I think that McAfee, Symantec, et al are preying on the insecurities of vulnerable consumers); but, by way of an example, this is a list of all the items that I removed from the computer I was setting up:

  • Dell Dock
  • PCMService
  • Adobe Reader Speed Launcher
  • Google Toolbar Notifier
  • Tiscali Internet
  • Sonic Update Manager
  • Roxio Express Labeler
  • Remove Empty Program Folders
  • Google Desktop
  • McAfee Security Center
  • Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
  • NetWaiting
  • QuickSet
  • Browser Address Error Redirector
  • Live! Cam Avatar Creator
  • Internet from BT
  • OutlookAddinSetup
  • MediaDirect
  • Dell-eBay
  • Dell Best of Web
  • Digital Line Detect
  • Roxio Creator DE
  • Microsoft Works
  • Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Viewer
  • GoToAssist

So, how does one go about working out what’s safe to remove and what should stay?  A bit of Googling helps – to try and find out what some of the more esoteric items on the list really are – but there were three tools I found useful whilst cleansing this PC:

  1. First of all – the comically named PC Decrapifier is an excellent piece of software for identifying items that you may wish to remove.
  2. Next up, Autoruns is a Sysinternals tool which may be used to identify any programs configured during Windows startup/logon and can help to identify any remnants of the previous uninstallations.  As all that happens is the delection/selection of a checkbox, the changes made in Autoruns are non-destructive.
  3. Whilst the first two tools are freestanding applications and do not require installation, the third one does – and somewhat ironically the default installation options include the Yahoo! Toolbar (another unnecessary addition).  Even so, CCleaner is useful for clearing away any unused files and registry items (and is easily uninstalled afterwards).

The final piece of the puzzle was removing the PowerPoint 2007 Viewer.  The Control Panel applet to uninstall or change a program didn’t display an uninstall button (just repair) and the source location was missing so even a repair didn’t work.  I downloaded and reinstalled a fresh copy but that still wouldn’t uninstall, so I dropped back to the command line:

powerpointviewer.exe /extract:./powerpointviewer

cd powerpointviewer

msiexec /x ppviewer.msi

Executing these commands extracts the contents of the PowerPoint Viewer installation package to a folder, changes directory into the folder and cleanly removes the application.  After having done that, I installed a full copy of Office on the computer (so I no longer required the viewer).

There is an argument that the payment to the OEMs to bundle this software helps us to pay less for our computers but it’s a lot of work just to strip a pre-installed OS back to the bare operating system, plus any OEM-specific support utilities (the reason for not just wiping the hard disk and starting over).  Thankfully, buying a new PC is not something I do too often – and the removal of the unnecessary items should help me when I’m faced with the inevitable task of supporting this computer following its presentation to a family member in a few days’ time…

Free online training for Hyper-V

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Whilst on the subject of Microsoft certification… I noticed on Gregg Robertson’s blog that Microsoft Learning are offering free online training for Hyper-V and System Centre Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008 (access code 9350-Y2W6-3676). The free training courses represent 10 hours of online study (Collection 6319: Configuring Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 – normal price £105.16) and cover:

  • Course 6320: Introducing the Hyper-V technology.
  • Course 6321: Configuring a virtual environment.
  • Course 6322: Deploying systems in a virtual environment.
  • Course 6323: Optimising a virtual environment.
  • Course 6324: Managing a virtual environment by using SCVMM.

Gregg also notes that Microsoft are offering a discount on exam 70-652 (promotion code USHYPERV).

Passed Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist exam 70-649

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Phew! Another one down – earlier today I passed the Microsoft exam for upgrading from Windows Server 2003 MCSE to Windows Server 2008 Technology Specialist (70-649), which takes me one step closer to updating my Microsoft certification from MCSE (on Windows NT 4.0, 2000 and Server 2003) to MCITP: Enterprise Administrator. This week’s blog post drought may have been welcome relief for some but it was largely caused by many early starts and late nights cramming my head full of Windows Server 2008 information.

As usual, I’m not publishing any exam details (test details are under NDA, yada, yada) but it’s public knowledge that this is an amalgamation of exams 70-640, 70-642 and 70-643 and it seems that it was my applications infrastructure score that dragged me down (I did OK on the AD portion and scored quite well on configuring network infrastructure)… not bad for someone who doesn’t get much of an opportunity to play with technology at work any more! I will say that I put way too much effort into my revision though… I’ll write a follow up post on the online training that I used from Microsoft Learning.

I have one more exam planned for this year (I plan to take 70-647 on Christmas Eve) – and that will complete the transistion from MCSE 2003 to the equivalent 2008 qualification (I’ve already passed 70-624).

Incidentally, I couldn’t get in to the test centres that I usually use (QA-IQ in Milton Keynes or Global Knowledge in Coventry) so I went to Computer Associated Decisions in High Wycombe. If anyone is thinking of taking a Prometric test there then I’d urge them to reconsider as it’s absolutely the worst testing experience I’ve every had. The test centre is one half of a retail unit on a housing estate and the cheap wood laminate flooring and thin plasterboard walls mean that sound is echoed and amplified around the unit so you can hear the people in the shop next door (at one point someone was in the shop with a small child and it was like having my 4 year old in the room with me whilst trying to think…) as well as the office behind (where the people working seem to think nothing of shouting – even when asked to pipe down by the receptionist). Unfortunately, that’s where I have to go back to on the 24th…

Coalface Tech: Episode 1 (Microsoft PDC 2008)

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Coalface Tech podcast graphic
Last month, James Bannan and I released a pilot episode of a new podcast called Coalface Tech – the idea being that IT Pros should have a slightly different take on IT industry developments to the professional journalists that cover this.

We’ve taken on board the feedback that we received and, whilst it’s still a bit rough around the edges, Episode 1 is now online at the APC Pro magazine website.

In this episode, we look at some of the major announcements from Microsoft’s 2008 Professional Developers’ Conference – Windows Azure and Windows 7 – as well as some interesting things to come out of Microsoft Research.

PDC may seem like old news now, but our aim is not to report the news – like this blog the intention is that we provide a commentary from the perspective of those who actually implement the technology.

If you like what you hear, then you might like to consider subscribing – there are two podcast feeds available (MP3 and AAC) – if you use iTunes then I recommend the AAC version as that’s the enhanced podcast with chapter markings and context sensitive links but MP3 should work for just about everyone. We’ve also submitted the AAC feed to the iTunes store (it’s still under consideration but will hopefully be in the index soon).

Coalface Tech (MP3 podcast) Coalface Tech (MP3 podcast).
Coalface Tech (AAC enhanced podcast) Coalface Tech (AAC enhanced podcast).

If you don’t like it, please tell us why. We’re still learning how to do this podcasting stuff and there’s a lot to take on board but we really would like feedback – including suggested topics for discussion.

Going forward, James and I hope to get an episode out every month. They are time-consuming to produce though, so please bear with us if the schedule is not as regular as we’d like.

Finally, here are the show notes for episode 1:

  • 00’00” Introduction (agenda) and summary of feedback from the pilot episode (excuse the ums and ers, we do get more confident after a few minutes; Mark should remember he’s not an Aussie; hopefully we’ve improved the production a little in this episode).
  • 02’23” Windows 7: James’ first view of Microsoft’s forthcoming OS release (he’s also written about Windows 7 for IT Pros); no massive changes between Vista and 7 – slicker and some new features but not a major release; touchscreen – a real possibility or just a niche technology?; Conchango/Tesco prototype WPF front end for online groceries; boot from VHD; Application compatibility is just as key to a Windows 7 deployment as it is to Vista – even the 6.1 version number is to maintain application compatibility!
  • 15’53” Slight diversion to discuss Mark’s plans for Windows 7 on Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook; and it turns out that James has been running Vista Enterprise SP1 on an Acer Aspire One; if you’re using an SSD drive then consider the NTFS partition alignment.
  • 19’25” Windows Azure: James interviewed Greg Stone (Microsoft Australia CTO); Azyure or Azuuure? (or Red Dog!); a hosted services platform to provide a flexible infrastructure, leveraging from existing development tools; watch out for spiraling bandwidth costs; not buying infrastructure looks attractive – as does rapid provisioning; a lot of the details are still to come (support, costs, etc.); usage-based billing may represent a challenge for some organisations; KPI-based model; this model will not suit everyone but Software plus Services is a little more realistic that software as a service; Microsoft Online Services are already competing with partners – what’s the impact on our jobs if the infrastructure goes into the cloud; Microsoft has proved that it does have a strategy for cloud computing.
  • 33’07” Microsoft Research: Surface becomes SecondLight; you can build a primative surface table with a cardboard box, a sheet of paper, a sheet of perspex and a webcam; heat sensors used to control building environmental systems; Microsoft Research is more interested in academic computer science than in new products.
  • 41’06” We want your feedback!
  • 41’37” Closedown: how to find James and Mark; a thank you to our sponsors – Australian Personal Computer, Internode and Sun Microsystems.
  • 42’36” End

My MacBook is broken (again)

Posted on By Mark Wilson

A few weeks after my Apple MacBook arrived, it had to go for repairs after the plastic top cover in front of the keyboard split.  To be fair to Apple, they repaired it under warranty (as they should – this is clearly a design fault – although they also scratched the top case and had to replace that too!).  Today, just 8 months later, I’ve noticed that it’s split again.  This is obviously a weak spot where my palm rests as I’m typing (after all, that is what the palm rest is for) but I’m not happy.  Looks like the Mac will be off to the Apple Store for repairs again soon but I really don’t want to be without my primary multimedia machine over the Christmas holidays.

Last week I wrote about how Steve Jobs said that Apple couldn’t produce a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk.  It seems to me that Apple doesn’t need the diversion of a small form factor PC (the context of Jobs’ comment) – they need to get the build quality on their normal (overpriced) models right first of all!

Are web services really the right answer for small business IT?

Posted on By Mark Wilson

A few months ago I moved my home/small business IT to Google Apps. After a few years of running my own servers, it was a big step for me to trust someone else to run it for me but it seems to be working OK… up to a point.

You see, Google may be managing my e-mail, calendar, etc. but they are not backing it up. After all, it’s not very often that you get something for nothing in this world and that’s what I’m paying Google – nothing. So, I needed to find a way to back up my GMail (I have the information on how to do this – I just haven’t finished putting the process in place). Then there’s the migration of my previous Exchange Server data to Google. It’s possible, but painfully slow, using a client application to transfer messages with frequent timeouts (with 10 years’ worth of e-mail to transfer, I’ve given up for the time being – and that’s just for one user).

Software as a service is all very well, backed up with proper service level agreements – but using anything less than that in a business context is really a bit risky.

After all, what happens when that service that you’re paying absolute nothing for stops working?

But it’s really reliable – isn’t it? Yes, undoubtably, Google Apps and competing platforms are reliable but not entirely infallible. And when they fail, you can bet your bottom dollar that it won’t be a good time for you.

Yesterday I was trying to send e-mail from Google Apps Mail (GMail) and I got an HTTP error 500 (server generated error). Today I’ve been having a few problems too – and I’ve had to turn off Calendar and Contacts syncing with my iPhone (where iTunes syncs with Google) because it was hanging… so it seems that all is not well in the part of the cloud where my data sits.

Google Mail server unavailable error

But it’s not exclusively a Google problem. FolderShare is too old - time to upgradeSeeing what Microsoft is doing around Windows Live wave three had made me start to think that maybe I backed the wrong horse until the early hours of this morning, when I sat down at my Mac to be told that the version of Windows Live FolderShare I was using no longer worked and that I should upgrade to Windows Live Sync (just like that, without any warning, although it does seem that some users received an e-mail in advance). Even though I’m really busy at the moment, trying to juggle work (where it’s appraisal season and I need to make sure I hit all of my management’s ill-thought-out-and-not-very-SMART objectives), exam study (MCSE 2003 to MCITP Enterprise Administrator 2008 upgrade), blogging (not much of that happening right now), podcasting (ditto), Christmas preparations, spending some time with my family, etc., etc., I did update to Windows Live Sync… Windows Live Sync is too old too...only to find that the current Mac client also claims to be too old and that I should download a new version from… the place where I downloaded this version from – arghh… (at least it seems I’m not alone).

And so what exactly is my point? Well, my point is that, when I operate the infrastructure, I plan when the upgrades happen – I don’t just sit down at my computer one day to be told that I must upgrade right now to continue using a service. Frankly I could do without this week’s Google Apps problems, Windows Live Sync upgrades, etc. and would rather upgrade at my convenience.

Cloud computing is all very well – but the current wave of web services are not ready for the enterprise and I’m even starting to question whether they are ready for small business IT (at least not without retaining some on premise IT service provision). I’m sure that the chargeable services that Amazon, Microsoft, et al are putting together will change things over time but it’s still early days yet and running a business on free, pre-release software (yes, that’s what a beta is – even if it’s an incessant beta) is probably not a smart idea.

Computer clamping

Posted on By Mark Wilson

There’s just been a bit of entertainment in the office where I’m working today as one of my colleagues accidentally locked his computer to the desk!

Having seen a spare desk with a full size keyboard, mouse, screen and port replicator/docking station, he hooked up his laptop and started working – only to find that the docking station had a security device attached and he couldn’t release the PC without a key.  Furthermore, the keyholder had already gone home and wasn’t answering his mobile phone.

To be honest, I would have fallen for this myself – I didn’t know that the security device worked that way (I would have assumed that I needed to lock the PC in place with a key and not just attach it to a locked docking station) but, for those with a permanent desk and a docking station in a predominantly hot-desking environment, this could become a lucrative sideline in computer clamping – the principle being that if someone uses your desk they can pay to have you come along with a key and unlock their laptop!