Exchange 2007 OWA/ActiveSync with Two SSL Certificates
Yes, it is possible. It's not pretty by any means (a proper Class 2 SSL Certificate is the best way to go), but it can be done. Click Continue Reading for the process.
An HTC DoA: Part 4
Continued from Part 3.
So the unthinkable has happened - I actually received the shipping label from HTC yesterday! I immediately boxed up the phone and dropped it at a nearby FedEx box, and then proceeded to hammer the F5 key on the FedEx tracking screen.
Also to my surprise was the fact that the shipping label was for Priority Overnight shipping, and that the package reached its destination at 7:45am (PST) this morning! I'll update this post later on when HTC contacts me regarding my refund.
Update (07/16/2010): Still no contact from HTC. However, after re-reading the initial email they sent, it does state:
Once we receive the items we will review the condition and we will contact you by phone or email if we have any further questions. If no additional information is needed a refund should show on your credit card within 14 business days of receipt of the return.
So at this point I'll be sitting back and waiting for my credit card balance to update. I did end up ordering the replacement phone from Google on Tuesday, and it arrived (in working condition, no less!) this morning! Good thing, to, because I hear that this is Google's last batch of N1's that they'll be selling through the web store....
Concluded in Part 5.
Fixed: Broken Permalinks in WordPress
I recently moved servers to a new host (a friend of mine had provided me with a free CPanel account on his VPS before this), and the transition had appeared to work rather well. Then, when I checked my blog stats this morning, something seemed off:
See that last big dip? Guess when that happened!
So I started looking around the site, and sure enough - the main pages displayed fine, however everything else was broken. In fact, anything with a 'fancy' permalink was 404'ing.
Once again, a quick Google search lead me to this thread on the WordPress forums. After digging around, I found the problem - in Apache's httpd.conf file on my new VPS, I needed to change the following line:
AllowOverride None needed to be AllowOverride All
Note, though, that there are two AllowOverride entries in httpd.conf - one wrapped in <Directory></Directory> tags, and one all by itself. The problematic one is the second AllowOverride entry that isn't wrapped in Directory tags.
TL;DR Version: If you enable fancy permalinks in WordPress, and start getting 404 errors in Apache even with a proper .htaccess file and mod_rewrite enabled, change AllowOverride None to AllowOverride All in httpd.conf - just make sure you do it to the second AllowOverride entry!
An HTC DoA: Part 3
Continued from Part 2.
It's day 5 now and still no shipping label. I called HTC again and got a slightly different answer out of this rep. This one told me that my ticket had *just* been escalated and was on it's way to the warehouse now. When I told him that the other agents had told me it had already gone up to the escalation team, he started backpedaling and said that although the ticket had been escalated it takes them time to look things over.
4 days? Ya, right.
So I asked for a supervisor. After waiting on hold (no music, just silence so you never know if you've been cut off), a 'supervisor' came on the line (supervisor is in quotes as, having working in a call centre before I have first hand experience pretending to be a co-workers supervisor - it's a very common practice). I asked again what was going on, and she had yet another story. Apparently, HTC's shipping system has been 'down' for 'a few days', and they have no ETA on things. She assured me, though, that (for real this time!) my ticket has been escalated, it should be at the attention of the warehouse, and I should have a label by Monday or Tuesday.
So, starting Monday afternoon (as nobody's around to man the phones on weekends), I'll continue with my daily phone campaign trying to find out when I can possibly expect to send back my wife's brick...err...Nexus One.
Continued in Part 4.
An HTC DoA: Part 2
Continued from Part 1.
Day four of the return process and no real progress to report. According to the details given to me by HTC on Monday (see part 1), I should have received a shipping label in my email the following day. When I didn't, I called HTC support back. The agent I spoke with told me to check my spam folder (already done - nothing), and then said that she would 'escalate the ticket' and a label sent out right away. I thanked her, disconnected, and waited.
And waited.
End of day Wednesday rolled around and still no shipping label. I called HTC again and was told that it can take an extra day when things go through the escalation process and that I should expect it to show up in my email no later than Thursday.
Well, here we are on Thursday and still no label.
I called HTC yet again, and was told that yes, I should have received the shipping label today. The agent then proceeded to tell me that he update the ticket, 'increase the priority', and that I should keep waiting.
Really, HTC? I'm normally a pretty patient guy, but come on! I've heard of American customers getting new, replacement phones within days, but we Canadians need to go through this gong show of a return process and then re-purchase the device because otherwise we end up a refurbished phone instead of a new one. This is bad PR, people. It's time to start spreading the news.
Find out what happens next in Part 3.
Short: Microsoft Security Essentials Upgrade Error 0×80070050
I downloaded the Microsoft Security Essentials Ongoing Beta from Microsoft Connect this evening, and as before it installed normally. However, when I tried to update it to the latest version (the setup file on Connect is very out-of-date) the definitions came in fine but the core product refused to upgrade and only provided the error code 0x80070050.
Event viewer wasn't helpful, a reboot didn't fix it, and neither did uninstalling/reinstalling. On a whim, though, I decided to try to the upgrade through Windows Update (after enabling Microsoft Update) and what do you know, it worked!
TL;DR Version: If you get the 0x80070050 error code while trying to upgrade MSE through the MSE program itself, enable Microsoft Update via the Windows Update Control Panel and do the upgrade from there.
An HTC DoA: Part 1
When Google first offered the Nexus One in Canada (by making a GSM version for AT&T, which is compatible with Rogers, Telus, and Bell in Canada), I jumped on. I had my order in the day the web store was updated, and in my hands by the end of the same week. Despite the cost, I consider it the best gadget purchase I've ever made.
Fast-forward to last week. With my wifes birthday coming up, I thought it would be nice to surprise her with a trip to the local Telus dealer (her carrier) for a shiny new phone. After looking at their offerings (the only two real considerations were the Motorola Milestone and the HTC Hero), she decided that she'd come down with a case of Phone Envy and wanted a Nexus One as well.
So, no big deal - we ordered the phone and waited. Unfortunately, due to the stat holiday on July 1st, the phone didn't arrive on Friday like expected and instead came in yesterday (the following Monday). I left the phone plugged in to charge, and when the light turned green to say all was well I fired it up.
And waited.
And waited some more.
The Boot Screen on my other, unlocked (and functional) Nexus One
After about five minutes of staring at the above picture (minus the lock on the bottom, as I hadn't gotten around to doing that yet), I got the feeling something was wrong.
I powered off the phone by pulling out the battery, then booted in to HBOOT mode (hold down the VOLUME DOWN key while pressing Power). That worked fine, so I tried to enter recovery. Unfortunately, I was met with the same screen. I tried several more times for both normal mode and recovery without success. Then I gave up and called Google.
At this point, I'd like to point out that I'm fairly certain it's just a software error. Unfortunately, the only way I could really do anything about that would be to Unlock the phone, which voids the warranty. As such, the call to support was warranted.
I called the number listed on the Google Phone Contact Support page (1-888-48-NEXUS) and after a few quick IVR choices I was greeted nearly immediately by a tech. He asked about the problem, what I had tried, and immediately agreed the phone was D0A and would need to be replaced. That's when things started to go downhill.
The problem is that I live in Canada, and HTC has a different policy for international orders than their standard 'send you a replacement and then send the old one back' policy for domestic ones. If you live in Canada and get a DoA phone, you have two options:
- Send it back via their normal repair process and get a refurbished phone (no option for a new one)
- Initiate a 'Buyers Remorse' return, get a refund for the device, and then order a new one.
The choice was fairly obvious - I ordered my wife a new phone, so that's what she was going to get. After gathering a little more information, the Google tech transfered me over to HTC support to process the return order.
As the new tech was going over the specifics, a thought occurred:
Me: Okay, so I do the return, and within 14 business days of you receiving the device and okay'ing everything, you credit the purchase price back, correct?
Tech: Yes, that's correct.
Me: So what about the duty charge that I had to pay CoD?
Tech: Oh, that. Hang on. --Pause-- Okay, I checked on that, and what happens is you'll get some paperwork from us once the refund has been processed. Once you have that paperwork, contact Customs and they'll be able to issue a refund.
So at this point, I may have to wait three weeks for credit from HTC (although apparently it usually doesn't take that long), and then I can file a claim to get my ~$70CAD that I paid for taxes back.
All was said and done, and I prompted received a confirmation email repeating what the agent said. However, as of posting I still haven't received a FedEx shipping label in my email as promised. I called HTC back, and they escalated the ticket and said they'd resend the label, so now I'm waiting on that. Once I've got the label in and the phone sent away, I'll order another N1 and see what happens.
Tales from Support: Shorts
Here's a collection of a few short Tales that aren't quite big enough for posts of their own. Hope you enjoy!
How to Talk Yourself Out of a Sale
A few years ago, I was doing a quick-and-dirty wiring job for a friend and needed to grab a thousand foot spool of CAT-5e Ethernet cable. At this point, I hadn't really developed any contacts in town, so I ran out to one of the local computer shops (we'll call it "Pete's Computers and Machines") that tended to carry more than just systems and basic accessories. When one of the salesmen finally acknowledged me, the following conversation ensued:
Him: What can I get for you?
Me: I need a thousand foot spool of CAT-5e - no ends, it's going in the wall and I've already got jacks.
Him (after a brief pause): No, you need these. *points to a wall displaying a myriad pre-made, bagged cable*
Me: No...I need bulk cable. I need to do a few long runs from a patch panel to wall jacks. All of this stuff isn't long enough and has ends.
Him: I don't know why you'd think you need bulk cable. Really, this will do for anything you need.
Me: Let me explain this one more time. I'm running cable. Specifically, it's going from a patch panel in a utility room, through a drop ceiling, and then down a wall in to a box with a jack there. I need about a thousand feet for a few runs. Do you have what I need?
Him (flashing a beaming smile): Of course. *pointing to the same bags on the wall* Right here!
Me: ....
Needless to say, I never went there again.
A New Definition of Professionalism
A friend of mine that does low voltage wiring/telecom systems asked me to help him with a small job - the customer just wanted some jacks installed on either end of a direct-bury CAT-5e cable, but wanted two wireless routers and a debit machine configured as well. As I used to do debit machine installs in a past career I agreed to help.
After driving an hour to get to the job site, we got everything setup and working to the owners liking. I gave them a tutorial on how to use the debit and then we left. Later, the customer contacted my friend and told him that, by bringing someone in who specialized in networking and debit machines that he was being 'unprofessional'. The customer went on to say that if my friend ever wants to 'make it big in the real business world', he should just do it himself, even if it takes three times as long, costs three times as much, and needs a second visit to fix things.
That customer was branded a P.I.T.A and neither my friend or myself will be doing any work for him in the future. It's funny how some people don't want things done right or cheap.
Story Concept: Batman vs. Dr. Contra Septivis
Note: I had this idea come to me yesterday. I can't remember what sparked it, but I'd love to see a full comic made from this. Hey, DC, let's talk!
Edit: For those who found this posting looking for the origin of the phrase "I'm the goddamn Batman", look here: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/im-the-goddamn-batman
Read more after the break.
Howto: Find the Serial Number on a new Dell Monitor
I picked up a few Dell P2210t 22" widescreen LCD monitors the other day.
Very nice!
As part of my asset acquisition process, I have to document serial numbers and assign an asset tags to each new asset. When I turned the monitor around, though, I ran in to a problem:
WTH?
Hey, uh, Dell? Did you forget something?
Well, actually they didn't. Apparently all of the required labeling is too much of an 'eye sore', so Dell has decided to hide it:
Pretty Sneaky, Dell
I would have appreciated it if Dell would have made more of an effort to point out where it is (I actually had to refer to the unpacking diagram to show me), but that's it. Hidden with the USB ports is a small little pull-out card. Now that I know it's there, though, it does make it easier to get a serial number off of a monitor when I have to figure out which asset belongs to which program when someone has inevitably pulled off the asset tag.
Fun Fact - Number of times the word 'ass' appears in this post: 6.
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