Work has been continuing over at Two Guys Tech. Today we released the third podcast, "Someone’s in the kitchen with Art".

We’ve had some technical difficulties with Show 002 - The Chris Streisand effect, but we’re getting things squared away.

Art is still hard at work on the website, although when I posted a video tutorial this morning, the embed code made drupal have a bit of a seizure and re-arranged the page.

The video goes over how to change folder view options in Windows XP,so it’s pretty basic, but we’re trying to help out all levels of users. We’re going to get some more technical stuff up there pretty soon.

Besides letting you guys (and gals) know what I’ve been up to, I also wanted to point out some of the people that we’ve linked to, since our site isn’t being crawled by anything yet, the linkback notices aren’t going out.

Teckh had a interesting way to get around Vista’s UAC, which inspired me to mention my favorite way to work around UAC, which I covered in the podcast, and I also have the steps in the show notes.

We also talked about Virtual memory, and the difference between Memory (RAM) and Storage (Hard Drive). This was inspired by a question from Kellypea. That part is somewhere around 22 minutes into the podcast.

One thing we are in need of, is feedback. Our goal is to try to help people make use of technology, so questions are welcome, but any feedback would be appreciated. You can send email to feedback at twoguystech.com.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you listen in and visit Two Guys Tech!

Posted in Tech, TwoGuysTech, Vista, How To, Windows, WebSites 4 Comments »

Now, it may just be me, but is this cheaper than it used to be? Amazon lists Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 for $289

The Windows Vista Ultimate without SP1 lists for $319, formerly $399.95.

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t follow pricing that terribly closely, but this does seem to be cheaper than it was in the past. Anyone?

Posted in Vista, Microsoft, Windows 9 Comments »

I tell you, I don’t know where I’ve been lately, but I came pretty close to missing out on this one. Today is the launch date for Windows Server 2008!

Also included in this launch is SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. Microsoft is hosting launch events all over the World, and I’ve heard they usually give out some decent swag there too.

If, like me, you just can’t get away for one of these events, you can visit the launch web site, titled “Heroes happen {here}”. They have a “Virtual Launch Experience site, where you can see key notes and other neat things.

I’ll have to admit that, like Vista, I wasn’t really waiting for Server 2008 to come out. I didn’t have a whole lot of anticipation built up, and although I’ve installed it a couple of times, mostly release candidates, I just haven’t had much time to play with it. It doesn’t help Server 2008’s cause that I’m really a big fan of Windows Server 2003, and to be honest, it works extremely well. So I’m in no hurry to replace it.

Wait a Second, did I mention the Virtual Launch experience?

Yes, I sure did (third paragraph), but that was before I took a look at it. Holy Cow did Microsoft go to a lot of trouble to set the Virtual Launch Experience site up. Not only is the site really slick looking, almost like a virtual tour, all of the sessions are viewable from the site, including the keynote. You can bookmark sites, and even put content into your “BackPack”, which you can then download later. Pretty neat!

Does this mean anything for Microsoft Certifications?

If you are one of those types who goes chasing certifications, then this is also a milestone for you, since the products that will enable you to get the new Microsoft certifications are now available. Now you can get some hands on experience with them.

If you already hold a Microsoft Certification on Server 2003, then you can upgrade, or keep going with other certifications, but in my book, this is a good time for those who don’t currently hold any Microsoft Certifications.

Once you take and pass one of Microsoft’s tests, the clock starts ticking. When the product you are certified on goes away, you have to take an upgrade test, or take a totally new test. Either way, that means you have to start studying again.

With 2008 just being released, then that should mean you have a bit of time before you have to worry about it. Since Microsoft has re-structured their certifications, I was waiting for Server 2008 to finally be released until I considered doing anything.

As with any product release, I’m really curious to see what the word is about compatibility, and if anyone runs into issues with it.

Posted in Server 2003, Server 2008, Development, Certifications, Microsoft, Windows No Comments »

This was a good chance for Microsoft to add something funny to the end of an error message.

I was trying to start the “Performance Logs and Alerts Service” on a server, and it started and then stopped immediately. I then received this error message.

“The Performance Logs and Alert service on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some Services stop automatically if they have no work to do, for example, the Performance Logs and Alerts service.”

Microsoft could have saved some words if they just said “for example, this one”. Another option would be to add “Dumb A$$” to the end of the message.

Posted in Server 2003, Funny, Windows, Errors 4 Comments »

Ever have one of those programs that just won’t uninstall cleanly? I especially hate it when a program leaves a bunch of services that still manage to start, and lock files in their directory.

I ran across a nifty command to help remove at least the service portion of those programs, so that you can then remove the files in those folders. In a command prompt just type:

“SC delete %servicename%”

The tricky part to this is that the service name isn’t necessarily what appears in the services applet.

If you open the service that you want to delete, the top of the general tab has “Service name:” on top. That is the service name that you should use.

If we were removing the “Google Updater Service” in the picture below. We would use the name “gusvc”. Click on the picture for the full sized version.

Posted in Command Prompt, Windows 3 Comments »