Jimiz.net – Jim Becher on the web

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I’ve been really happy with the nuget platform for adding packages to VisualStudio.  If you have not yet tried nuget head on over to nuget.org.  One of the more recent packages I’ve been using is the mini-profiler.

It is a little plug-in (can’t think of another term) that allows you profile a page and elements that are executed.

Here is the blog post that I originally learned of this tool http://www.hanselman.com/blog/NuGetPackageOfTheWeek9ASPNETMiniProfilerFromStackExchangeRocksYourWorld.aspxYou can install the mini-profiler by running the following command in your nuget command prompt

 

PM>  nuget install-package miniprofiler

Once installed you add 2 elements into your global.asmx.  Once you add those commands you can invoke the profiler around any area of code you would like to profile.

To display on the page you just a jquery command.

 

 

 

 

 

Number of View: 694

Vista and Windows 7 did not come with an SMTP server installed.   They removed this feature after smtp was found to be somewhat vulnerable on XP, and running on way too many developer PC’s.

 

I’ve been using papercut as a local smtp server when I am developing an application that has to send mail.  Papercut allows you to capture the mail and view it in both the raw content and html.  What a great little tool.s

You can download papercut from codeplex http://papercut.codeplex.com/

 

I have heard good things about SMTP imposter http://ssfd.codeplex.com/ however I have not used it.

 

Number of View: 591

I have been working on a windows 7 phone application. I know, many of you may give me a hard time about developing for winphone7 vs iPhone or android. Well, I’m working on getting to each of them eventually. Currently Phone 7 made sense.

So far development has been pretty straight forward. I was adding an application bar to the bottom of the app to allow for menu items and icons for actions. In doing so I could not for the life of me get the icons to show. I tried chaning he names the uri path and even the case of the images. No matter what I did I could not figure out why they would not show.

In the end, after some googling I found that it is an issue with the image file. In my case mail.png file.

The (.png) file has a visual studio property of Build Action set to Resource by default. If you change the image to content the image will show. What a crazy setting.

The fix was to change it to content. It seems strange that this would not be the default action for an image in a Win7Phone project.

Thanks to the UK solutions development team:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mcsuksoldev/archive/2010/07/14/windows-phone-applicationbariconbutton-not-displaying-icons.aspx

Number of View: 919

I’ve been commuting to work on my bike this last week. It has been great. The car was in the shop so I finally had a reason to commute. I’ve been planning on doing it but never was motivated enough to start the process. This last week I did not have a car so I had to. It turned out to be great. I even had after work meetings downtown.

Overall it was a great experience, and I will be doing it more in the upcoming weeks / months. I did learn a few items though. The major item is to be careful on 4lane streets without any bike lanes. Early morning they are clear and easy to ride, 5:00 PM is not a safe time.

I also learned that packing for work is an art. We don’t have showers at work so I took items to accommodate, but that meant packing it with me. Next time I’ll have items at work to use. Carrying a full backpack is a pain.

Here are some great commuter tips. http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/08/16/a-guide-to-a-simple-bike-commute/ After reading these, I had a few ah-ha moments.

I have two bikes:
A road bike : Fuji Roubaix http://www.fujibikes.com/bike/details/roubaix_3_0 I can’t say enough great things about this bike
A old Mountain bike: Schwinn S95 mountain bike that I modified for a commuter. Road tires and accessories.

I recommend also having a bike lock. I did not, so at my downtown meeting I had to risk the bike all alone. Overall, commuting on a bike is a great experience and exercise.

Number of View: 755

I get all types of security questions from home users.  How do I secure my wireless so people can’t use it?  How can I make sure people can’t steal files on my computer?  How can I keep the kids from going to sites they are not suppose to be on?

For the last one, how to secure and block sites I recommend OpenDNS.  Not only does open dns allow you to speed up your surfing (more on that later). It also allows you to monitor, maintain, and block sites that are used from your network.

To utilize OpenDNS you need to set your router’s dns service to use OpenDNS. This is a fairly simple task if you know how to admin your home router. In most cases your router is a (netgear, linksys, or dlink device). OpenDNS has instructions for most versions. Once you add their Primary (208.67.222.222) and Secondary (208.67.220.220) ip address to your router you are almost done.

You then create an account at openDNS and setup your rules. I choose the moderate setting and then modified it to block adult content and removed Proxy / anonymous sites (since I use wifi-vpn.com)

customized Settings

With a simple DNS change on your router you can now block all types of sites and specific urls. Example, if you wanted to block some specific port site or other url (www.xxxsomething.com) you would add this to the open dns block list. One of my colleagues at work has blocked facebook when his kids did not meet the grades or rules.

Once you have set your rules / filters for OpenDNS you can now monitor what is being done on your network. OpenDNS has great reporting to show you how much traffic you have done and what domains people go to. Here is a sample of what people have gone to on our Family cottage wireless network.

Overall OpenDNS is a great tool for your home or business. It can block unwanted sites and also track usage and sites people should not go to.

Number of View: 1645

I have a lot of apps loaded on the iPad. Many of these apps are games, productivity, social media, and just entertainment. However, there are a few that are really tech and work related. Since I am in the IT field I found a few apps that I would recommend.

Remote Desktop

1. winadmin – $8.99 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/winadmin-ipad-edition/id364898965?mt=8

This is the most simple tool to use for remote desktop, it is easy to use and just works. It is a great tool for the price

2. desktop connect – $14.99 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/desktop-connect/id364907570?mt=8

This app does both VNC and RDP. It has a lot of potential.

3. iTeleport – $24.99 install soft on the PC – http://www.iteleportmobile.com/

4. iTap – $11.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/itap-rdp-remote-desktop-for/id317062064?mt=8

LogMeIn #29.99 – https://secure.logmein.com/products/ignition/iphone/

Well done app. This app allows you to remotely use LogMeIn and access to PC. This cost is worth it if you use LogMeIn.

jump – $19.99 – www.jumpdesktop.com

This app does both VNC and RDP.

Remote control – VNC

VNC is a great remote control software. It is free and open source, supports windows, linux and Mac.

screens – $19.99 http://edovia.com/screens

Screens is probably the best VNC iPad app. The cost is not cheap but it always works. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screens/id400012962?mt=8

realvnc – $9.99 – ok http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vnc-viewer/id352019548?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D6

Is the 2nd best I can recommend. The cost is attractive.

Mocha VNC Lite – free – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mocha-vnc-lite/id284984448?mt=8 just that unattractive / good for ocasional users. I used this prior to getting screen.

Here is another link discussing VNC

http://lifehacker.com/5713455/the-best-vnc-apps-for-your-ipad

SSH

iSSH – $9.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/issh-ssh-vnc-console/id287765826?mt=8

I love iSSH. It is simple and always seems to amaze me. From the quick control key send to the Xviewer that has a keyboard overlay.

SSH Terminal – $.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ssh-terminal/id369875227?mt=8

A basic SSH client. Not many features, but it works.

Network tools

IT Tools – $4.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/it-tools/id324054954?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

What a great tool. This allows you to ping, traceroute, DNS and arp tables.

iNetwork-utility -$2.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inetwork-utility/id378676317?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

The price of this app is fantastic. Ping, portscan, dns, whois, and Alexia info

zScan – $2.99 – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zscan/id381019397?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

A great network scanner. It will scan ports, udp, tcp, look for sql, banners. Overall a great tool to have.

Number of View: 971

I’ve got a few hacking items I need to eventually get to.

First I’d like to make a Pirate box. I think the concept is great for parties, groups and overall travel. Pirate Box (http://wiki.daviddarts.com/PirateBox)

I also have not used my pineapple in a while. If you are not familure head on over to hak5 to read. http://www.hak5.org/store/wifi-pineapple-version-2

I’ve demo’d this for a lot of people who are interested in hacking. I need to update the tools on it.

Number of View: 1301

I recently purchase a new (to me) laptop. I now get the fund job of installing all my favorite software. I’ve been tracking what I use for the last few years and have a few basic apps that I install right away. Below is my list. One addition this year is I am using allmyapps to install the latest releases.

Here is my list:

1. VS2010 / iis7 / vs2008

2. Chrome

3. Firefox

4. Dropbox

5. ISO burn

6. truecrypt

7. digsby

8. 7zip

9. itunes

10. VLC (video lan client)

11. Notepad ++

12. gimp (Graphical Image Manipulation program)

13. Magic Disk (mount ISO)

14. Tortoise SVN

15. Cdburn XP

16. Foxit Reader

17. ccleaner

18. windirstat

19. Skype

20. audacity

21. Utorrent

22. Thunderbird

23. Imgburn

24. microsoft Security essentials

Number of View: 825

I love technology. I love how the process of doing tedious tasks can be simplified. I can remember when creating an favicon was a true task. You had to download some type of app that would transform your image to a PNG then do some maniuplation to make it the right size.

Today there are some great sites that take your image (almost any size) and generate a favicon.

• http://www.favicon.cc/
• http://www.html-kit.com/favicon/
• http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/

If you are creating an iphone or ipad app you can also create an image online. Here is a pretty good site for doing so. http://www.midnightmobility.com/iphone-icon/

I thank those who run the above sites and how they have made my life easier. Happy icon generating.

Number of View: 724

I love to browse engadget and gizmodo to see the new things in tech.  Technolust is just something that is in me.   The most interesting lists I have seen in a while are the CES 2011 items to watch and the travel gadgets.

I’ve had this link bookmarked for a while. The tech is a bit old, but the items are good. http://www.vagabondish.com/12-killer-travel-gadgets-every-geek-needs/.  I think a solar backpack / charger of some type is just a great idea.   I can’t say how valuable a waterproof case is.  For those who know me, I’m fond of the ziplock waterproff case for the iPhone.

The like page has a good list of items for 2011. I have to say this will be the year of the tablet.  Though, I can’t wait for what Apple will do with the iPhone 5.  If NFC comes to the phone, I’d love to do a few little programs with that.

http://likepage.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-gadgets-in-2011.html

http://mashable.com/2011/01/06/gadgets-to-watch-2011/

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1827576_1827591_1827997,00.html

I’m not sure why these top 10 / 20 / 30 lists are so intriguing to me, I just really like them.

 

Number of View: 1145

I’m a network abuser. I use my internet connection for everything. VPN access when at any public wifi location (VPN ddwrt). I also use it for Streaming movies on netflix, backup for my data (mozy, dropbox, rsync for business data) and just general browsing. So overall I am using a lot of data. When comcast put their 250GB limit in place I was worried (I’ll post on this later).

What the cap did was make me think about my network usage. I realized that I have created more of my own cloud service locally (internal home backup and syncing) vs using online services. Just doing this has cut down on some of my internet usage. The main thing I can’t see changing is our TV / Movie streaming. From netflix, youtube, and hulu we are always watching something.

Netflix just made news as Netflix’s share of digital movie units, either downloaded or streamed, was put at 61 percent between January and February.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20043475-93.html#ixzz1INT6Z4Jm

That is a huge market share, as well as a lot of bandwidth.  When you watch an HD move it uses more bandwidth than a standard Definition movie.   That said, how much bandwidth are you using.  Are you consuming all your allocated bandwidth on Netflix?   Here is a pretty good breakdown of what that usage looks like:

Netflix Movies (HD): These guys are around 3.8Mbit, which means it’s about 3600MB for a 2 hour HD movie.
Netflix Movies (SD): Each of these movies are around 500-700MB each, depending on the length of the movie.
Netflix TV Shows (HD): A 30-minute TV show will be about 1500MB.
Netflix TV Shows (SD): A 30-minute TV show will be about 400MB.

Even though that is a lot of bandwidth you would need to watch a lot of HD movies to hit the cap.  Around 70 HD movies in a month depending on the quality.   That is a lot of movie watching.  However, if you have a large family (as I do) and some are using their computer, others on the TV, and ipad; you would build up some usage (I’m not sure that the netflix account would even allow this).

That is a lot of bandwidth.  Netflix is using our internet bandwidth (that I purchase from comcast) to deliver their service.   Until recently this did not matter, because comcast did not have a cap.  Now that the average consumer is using more, the providers have to find a way to either cap (conserve) their bandwidth or charge more.   I’m not against this model at all, I just want to have bandwidth available.   A few years ago, a person would purchase high speed internet and only use a fraction of it.   Now, with out knowing they are using more and more bandwidth.  Their media devices; wii, ps2, and xbox are online.   The new TV and DVD players are hooked to pandora and netflix.   They are getting more content from youtube and netflix on their Computer.    I’m ok with paying, what I don’t want is my neighbor’s youtube addition to cause my backups to go slow (I don’t want others to hinder my internet usage).

It was recently posted that netflix has 20% of peak US bandwidth usage. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/netflix-instant-accounts-for-20-percent-of-peak-u-s-bandwith-use/ That is amazing.

 

There is a lot more going on behind the scenes on who controls the bandwidth and who pays for the internet bandwidth.  For now, just realize that if you are streaming movies you are using your bandwidth that you pay for.   It is amazing how quickly the internet has changed our TV / Media viewing.   People now at least understand what streaming video is.

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– UPDATE: Part 2

A few years back, while in Holland during the summer I ran into an old friend on the beach. He was with his kids and they had long boards and were walking down the beach. My friend was wearing the strangest shoes. I had never seen shoes with toes on them. That was the first time I had seen vibram five fingers. After talking to him he used them for everything, skateboarding, walking, and just being with the kids.

The next day I headed down to The Outpost and purchased a pair. I think they only had one color and one type. They were $89 bucks for the sprint. I wore them for the afternoon (took me a while to get them on) and then a few days outside. They were not the most well built shoe, and the seams on the toes started to break after a week. I took them back and got another pair this time a size larger and have had them since. That was back in the summer of 08 or 09. I have been happy with them since.

Later that fall, my wife and brother-in law read a book called “born to run” that talked about barefoot running. Being a runner I was interested in reading. What I did not know what that the five-fingers were part of that barefoot running craze. That winter I started running on the treadmill with the five-fingers. Up until that time I used them for just being outside, running around with the kids and driving.

I got up to about 10 miles indoors, and figured I’d start outside when it got warm. My second run out with the five-fingers I hit a large rock on my middle foot and got a huge bruise. That got me out of running barefoot for a while. It took me till laste summer to jump back into the five-fingers to run.

I’m now a happy runner in my five-fingers. It is just funny that I got started for other reasons than running. Overall what a great shoe. I intend to get another pair or getting the new more “more shoe like” merrells.

Number of View: 680

What browser do you use. I’m a chrome user. Have been for about a year. The features that draw me to chrome are the very simple view with tabs, easy search by the address bar, and sync of the bookmarks. Also, did I mention speed.

These great features that set chrome apart are not part of both IE9 and the new Firefox. I’ve read the reviews of each and decided to try them for myself. I have to say that I’m impressed.

So far I’ve found that the good features (download manager, minimal window size, and speed) have all been addressed by firefox and ie9.

In terms of reasons to use a browser, I’ve been in love with firebug on firefox for a long time for development. however, recently I’ve been using the inspect element in chrome as well.

In my own personal test I was taken by the performance of FireFox. It appeared to run faster and open quicker than before.

Though I’ve started using FireFox as the default browser for the last 2 days, I have also been using ie9.
IE9 has incorporated a lot of nice features from both FF and chrome. I even like the on browser modal notification for downloads and issues.

Overall both browsers have succeeded in adding new features, being faster, more secure, and more of a minimal feel. Can’t wait to see what else is coming.

Number of View: 862

I love the press and the new release that Apple is getting with the iPad2. I recently read an article regarding the Xoom vs the iPad http://blogs.computerworld.com/17907/motorola_xoom_versus_the_ipad_2_the_xoom_is_a_clear_winner

The base argument is around the horsepower and processor in the device, the multi tasking features, flash support (soon), gyroscope, and tabs on the browser. As I look at how the iPad is used at our house and how I use it. I don’t think I need any of those things. They are nice, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not what I use.

An interesting counter argument is brought up by Robert Scoble (http://scobleizer.com/2011/03/02/no-apps-no-sale-ipad-2-vs-motorola-xoom-vs-rim-playbook-vs-hp-touchpad/) I agree with his view.

1. Apple iPad 2. Has apps. 65,000 of them.
2. Motorola Xoom. Has no apps. Oh, sorry. 16. At least no apps designed for the large format. Designing an app that works on a smart phone isn’t the same as designing one that works on a large screen. Most of the apps I’ve “stretched” really suck compared to their iPad equivalents.
3. HP TouchPad. Has no apps. Heck, it isn’t even shipping yet.
4. RIM PlayBook. Has no apps. Heck, it isn’t even shipping yet.

Overall the new tablets that are coming out may have better hardware than the Original iPad but are very close with the iPad. If you are a hardware junkie then you may care. If you surf the web, remote into computers, use an ssh terminal, play games, watch movies, or check email. You probably don’t care. You just want an easy to use robust device, like the iPad. The item I am amazed that people forget it the battery life… I think Apple wins on that item.

You also want apps. What a simple word “app”. Apple has them, the others don’t. Yes, the apple store may be the only place, and it’s not open to everything, but it is solid. I’m a linux user at home and a passionate opensource advocate, but the iPad is such a solid device.

What are your thoughts?

Number of View: 1311

In light of the recent events where Gmail lost some users mail. I thought it is appropriate that I post the method I use to back mail. Not only is this method useful for gmail but also google apps or any other mail system that can use IMAP or POP.

To make sure that everything is safe I use Thunderbird. Thunderbird allows you to both consume / use mail and also create a solid backup solution. On my server in the house I install thunderbird and then connect it to all my main mail systems (Gmail / google apps).

To enable IMAP or POP you need to go into gmail mail settings | Forwarding and POP /IMAP

Once thunderbird is configured you can have it download all the mail and attachments.

On a windows system the files are stored at:
c:\users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles
C:\users\jimiz\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles

You will then see a guid like folder

So take a few minutes download thunderbird. Point it at Gmail (add your credentials) and start downloading your mail. I forgot to mention that I just add that folder into the sync process to Dropbox for a all around backup.