OK, here’s another geeky one more for our own reference than anything else. If you are running a Windows 7 workstation on a Server 2003 network (including SBS 2003), the Previous Versions functionality may appear to be broken. You may see either nothing listed in the Previous Versions window, or everything may appear with the same date stamp. Windows XP workstations continue to function correctly.

There is a very quick fix to be applied to the server. Simply delete the following registry key

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\Parameters\DisableDownLevelTimewarp

No reboot is required. The fix is immediate.

UPDATE: We have had a situation recently where deleting this key changed the symptoms, but did not resolve the problem. In this case we re-added the key, and set the value to “1”, which did resolve the issue successfully.

I’ve been wanting one of the new Apple iPads since they were released in Australia a few weeks ago, but could I get the one I wanted? Noooo I could not. No 16g+3G for you! Apparently there’s a world wide shortage of this model or something-or-other. So today I coughed up the extra for the 32g+3G model. Same functionality, just cost a bit more. So day one impression? I love it!

Now let me say for the record that this thing won’t be for everyone. Some people are going to hate it. There’s certainly some things about it that I’m not a huge fan of. The fact for me though is that I carry around a laptop, and most of the time all I use it for is email, Office documents and the occasional bit of remote server support. In theory, all things the iPad should be able to do perfectly well.

The good news is, so far so good. I am (of course) writing this post on the iPad, and as a touch typer can say that I would prefer a proper keyboard, but apart from that it’s an extremely simple and functional device. Time of course will tell whether it becomes indespensable, or is relegated to the gadget graveyard.

Here’s an interesting one that we’ll be watching closely. Apparently the OS4 software update for iPhones recently released by Apple is causing problems with some Exchange servers. I’m guessing that the more iPhones you have hooking into your Exchange server the more likely this problem is to occur. Apple has released a quick and easy patch for the problem, but the patch must be installed on each iPhone individually. See the link for more details.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3398

Every now and then something comes along that is so simple in design and, even better, that simply just works, you can’t help but pause and wonder why on earth someone didn’t think of it before now. When was the last time you needed quick access to a file, but weren’t at your computer? Maybe all you’ve got with you is your iPhone? Or maybe you’re struggling to move large files between you and a client because they’re too big to email? Enter Dropbox.

The premise of Dropbox is painfully simple, in that it simply gives you a new folder on your computer. In fact, you can create a folder on any computer or smart phone that you care to install the Dropbox program on. But the magic is that, in effect, each device has ‘the same’ folder – in that, each time you save your document, the latest (and same) version of the document appears in each location.

So picture this; you’re working on a big project at your desk, saving key documents into your dropbox folder. You get a call from the client with a problem onsite, so you jump in the car and rush out there. Onsite there’s a problem with a supplier delivery that would be easy to sort out…if only you had your documents on hand. But wait! Dropbox to the rescue! You wip out your iPhone, open up your dropbox folder, and there’s the document you need, right where you saved it before leaving the office. Dropbox certainly isn’t the first product of its kind, but of all the ones we’ve tried here at the Garden Shed, it has one big advantage over the others – it works. And best of all for up to 2Gb of storage, it’s free! Now Dropbox won’t replace your server based storage (for a range of reasons), but in its place it has to be the best tool we’ve come across in quite a while.

This is one that’s cropped up more than once, so for my own reference I’m sticking it up here as a post.

Situation is that an Exchange 2007 distribution group has the ‘Managed By’ field set to a certain user. That user however is unable to manage the group membership as the setting may imply. When attempting to do so they receive the message

Changes to the distribution list membership cannot be saved. You do not have sufficient permission to perform this operation on this object.

This behaviour is by design. For details on granting the appropriate permissions check out this post…

http://www.howexchangeworks.com/2009/09/giving-user-enough-rights-to-manage.html

Right now, we’ve got a problem, and we need your help. We’re picking up so many great new clients and challenging projects that we’re having trouble keeping up. We’re only a small team, so every single team member has a big impact; we need the right person, and we need them now!

We are looking for a level 2 technician with the right skills and a can-do attitude. You’ll be hands on with everything from onsite to remote to project work, covering servers, desktops, networks, you name it. You’ll need a great attitude, and love working directly with clients. Think you’ve got what it takes? Here’s the fine print…

What skills and qualities are we looking for?

• 2+ years experience working with SMB clients
• Demonstrated customer service focus. Must enjoy working with clients.
• Formal qualifications required. Tertiary, diploma or relevant industry certification (MCSE, etc)
• Strong SBS base, as we primarily work with the Microsoft stack. Cisco, linux, scripting, etc an advantage.
• Reliable vehicle and a current Queensland driver’s licence
• Excellent communication skills and personal presentation

What’s on offer?

• $60K + super
• Convenient Albion location
• A full range of work – onsite, remote, server, network, desktop.
• Further education/training opportunities
• Make your mark. We want to grow. Do you?

Want to join our team?

To apply, send your CV and a covering letter that tells us:

• What interested you most on our website – www.grassrootsit.com.au
• In your opinion, what makes good customer service?

If you’re anything like I used to be (and still am to an extent), If I had a file and it needed to be saved it was going in ‘My Documents’ or at work my ‘G Drive’. It made sense I mean it was my document it seemed like a perfectly sensible place for it to go… little did I realize that ‘My documents’ soon became ‘My Nightmare’ Even worse was when ‘My Documents’ got so out of control I just started saving to the desktop. I remember thinking ‘I’ll surely see it there’… It didn’t take long for my background image of the junior cricket team I coach to disappear along with any ideas I might have had of where anything was on my computer.  It got so bad that I thought I had developed early onset Alzheimer’s! I could have sworn I’d created a document at some point I just could not for the life of me find it in ‘My Documents’. Sound familiar?

I thought that this organisation affliction may affect more than just me so here are a few tips on getting organised tech-style.

First of all if you are organising your work computer it’s probably your Company drive that needs some work usually named something like ‘G:’ or ‘F:’. It is also worth mentioning that files saved to the server (e.g. your company drive, G: etc.) will automatically be protected (backed up), if you are however simply saving to your ‘My Documents’ folder or Desktop then your documents aren’t necessarily backed up. Just think about what that means for a second. If you computer crashes, or perhaps you leave your laptop in a taxi – your documents are gone, and there won’t be much that can be done to recover them. Scary thought, huh?

Now let’s get to organising… to start, DELETE everything you don’t need. Give your PC a good solid clean out.  If you remove all superfluous files at the start it will make every other step a lot easier.

 Now saving everything to your Company drive folder isn’t a bad thing (in fact it’s generally encouraged); you just need to have neatly organised sub-folders within. Below are a few tips for devising a system that makes sense.

• A good way to think about your computer filing system is to start broadly and narrow down from there, clicking on a few subfolders will be far less irritating than not even knowing where to start.
• Keep it simple – Use as short a naming scheme as possible, especially for folders. Consider the broad areas in which you work in and name folders accordingly. It may be for example; ‘Clients’, ‘Marketing’ and ‘Sales’. You can get a little more detailed when naming a specific document.
• Adopt a naming system that you use for all your documents, make sure that it is something that can be sorted easily i.e. by date or client name etc.  Here at Grassroots IT our main focus is on our clients, this means we deal with multiple clients daily so the system that I have adopted looks like this “clientname_date_description”, also I use the United States date format so that it is sorts in order of creation in my folders.
• Try to get a naming scheme to be implemented across the board in your workplace, if this is not possible ensure you re-name any files you save that are emailed to you to fit in with your system.
• Avoid excessively large folders, if you have a great need for a large folder e.g. you have a thousand clients a good way to make this folder manageable is to create folders to sort them alphabetically i.e. have ‘A_Clients’, ‘B_Clients’ folders etc.
• Avoid having a Miscellaneous folder or maniacally saving to your desktop, if it’s important enough to save than take the extra 10-30 seconds and file it properly it could save you ample time and heart-ache in the future. Also this will help to avoid saving those files that really don’t need to be kept.
• Last but not least ALWAYS BACK UP if you’re backing up all your files regularly AND they’re organized you will always have what you need at your fingertips. remember this is done automatically if you’re saving to your server.

Try applying these simple tips and any others that work for you to your work or home computers, the same can also apply for your email inbox so you can efficiently get through your days without the unnecessary stress of a messy ‘My Documents’ or Company drive.