Setting up Trac, Mercurial and SSH on Windows
WARNING - This blog post is long 
This post has been edited since it was published. Please see the end of the article for any notes/modifications
Some Background Info
I had the need to do this for work recently. It was nothing short of a right royal pain in the butt. It was such a pain, in fact, that I have decided to document what I had to do to get it working so that other poor unfortunates will feel less pain if they have to do this themselves.
Almost regardless of the company and the software I'm working on, I use Mercurial for source code control. For the work I am doing at the moment, I was also using hg because the company I am involved with is relatively new and they hadn't yet sorted out a plan for version control or ALM. It was working quite well and I was pushing all my changes to my NAS box to make sure I had other copies backed up, etc. I was living the dream
Resolving Side-by-Side Configuration Issues
I've been meaning to blog about this for well over a year now, but for some reason I never got round to it. This came up in conversation the other day with a couple of workmates and it prompted me to revisit the issue.
Have you ever fired up an application on Windows XP and got the following error?
The application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.
Informative isn't it! What about if you fire up the same application on Windows Vista?
The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log for more detail.
This does tell us a little bit more about the problem, but not a lot more.
Reactivate? AGAIN!?
This is just a quick post to say how much Microsoft and their draconian OS licensing mechanism are pissing me off right now.
Last week my computer stopped booting. I didn't get around to looking at it until a few days ago because I had visitors over from the UK. Not just that, it is Christmas, and the last thing you want to be doing on your Christmas break is to be fixing computers.
Requisite Vista
When I started my new gig on the 15th of this month, I was handed a new laptop to do all my work on. It's a nifty little gadget with 3GB RAM! Very schmick. There was one catch..
... see, the company is migrating to Vista, which means I have to use it too. A while ago I posted my thoughts with regards to installing Vista, so as you can imagine it's a little bit strange having to use it.
Microsoft Take Auto-Update Annoyances Another Step Further
Microsoft's Automatic Update feature has always been annoying. I don't care who you are, none of you can possibly say that it's not annoying I thought that it wasn't possible for it to become any more annoying than it already is, but today I was proved wrong.
My main gripe was that almost regardless of the update, the machine needs to be rebooted. You've updated my desktop picture? Reboot required. My IE install has had another check box added to the options? Reboot required. Notepad's default font has changed? Reboot required.
Shortcuts: Windows
This is the first of a collection of posts that I'm going to be making about shortcuts in applications. I'm constantly on the lookout for keyboard shortcuts to aid in improving the speed of my day to day activities, and I thought it'd be a good idea to start sharing them with you. These posts will probably get edited a few times over the course of their lives as I find more shortcuts
Below is a list of shortcuts that I use for generally getting around Windows. Note that when I refer to the WIN key I am referring to the Windows/Start key that lies between CTRL and ALT on the keyboard. Most of these shortcuts will work regardless of the application you're currently using as these shortcuts are 'unwritten laws'. Some of these are pretty obvious, but I'll stick them in anyway. Some of them might be XP specific, but most of them will work regardless of the Windows version.
- WIN + E - Open a new Windows File Explorer window.
- WIN + R - Open the 'Run' dialog.
- WIN + F - Open a new Windows Search/Find window.
- WIN + U - Open the Utility Manager (most people don't even know this exists!).
- WIN + M - Minimise all windows.
- WIN + SHIFT + M - Restore all windows to the state they were in before pressing WIN + M.
- WIN + D - Toggles minimise/restore in the same way that WIN + M and WIN + SHIFT + M do.
- WIN + Pause/Break - Open the System Properties dialog.
- WIN + L - Lock the workstation.
- CTRL + ALT + DEL - If logged in to your machine as a domain user, this will bring up a user options dialog which allows you to change password, lock workstation, etc. If logged into a home machine that is not part of a domain this will invoke the Windows Task Manager.
- CTRL + ESC - Open the Start menu (handy for those without a Windows key).
- CTRL + SHIFT + ESC - Open the Windows Task Manager.
- ALT + TAB - Cycle through applications.
- ALT + SHIFT + TAB - Cycle through applications in the other direction.
- CTRL + TAB - Cycle through any tabs in the current application (eg. Firefox).
- CTRL + SHIFT + TAB - Cycle through any tabs in the current application in the other direction.
- ALT + SPACE + N - Minimise the current window.
- ALT + SPACE + X - Maximise the current window.
- ALT + SPACE + M - Move the current window.
- CTRL + F4 - Close the current document/tab.
- ALT + F4 - Close the current application.
- CTRL + C - Copy the current folder/file/text/image/etc to the clipboard.
- CTRL + X - Cut the current folder/file/text/image/etc to the clipboard.
- CTRL + V - Paste the current folder/file/text/image/etc from the clipboard.
- CTRL + Z - Undo.
- CTRL + Y - Redo.
- Print Scrn - Take a screenshot of the entire desktop (including open Windows) and store it on the clipboard.
- ALT + Print Scrn - Take a screenshot of the current window.
Now we're past the shortcuts, I'd also like to show you some of the other commands that I frequently punch into the 'Run' dialog (WIN + R) to quickly launch to applications instead of using the Start menu.
- services.msc - Open the Windows Services dialog.
- compmgmt.msc - Open the Computer Management dialog. This is great as it has all the bits that you need to manage your machine, such as IIS, Services, Security, etc.
- eventvwr - Open the Windows Event Log viewer.
- iisreset - Reset IIS (if you have it installed).
- cmd - Open a command prompt.
- msconfig - Open the System Configuration Utility.
- calc - Open the Windows Calculator.
- notepad - See if you can figure this one out yourself ;).
- drive:\path\to\folder - Open a Windows File Explorer window at the specified location.
- mspaint - Open MS Paint for quick creation of images files from screen captures.
There the ones I can think of at the moment, if I think of some more I'll add them. Please give me a shout if you use one that I haven't mentioned!
A Crack in the Vista
I'm sure that everyone knew that this was going to happen at some stage. Whether or not they believed it'd happen so quickly is another matter. Either way, it's official, the new wonderdumpling operating system from Microsoft has been cracked. Aparently the activation and installation of the whole thing has been bypassed, and it's available on the web. Check out this SMH article for more information.
Why do they bother? Microsoft's software is always going to be a target for hackers and crackers, and I think it'd be a better use of time and resources if they focussed on improving the user experience and giving the user more control and power when using the OS instead of trying to labotomise the machine if the software is cracked (and hence causing a crapload of problems for legit users) then they'd find that their users would be happier and they wouldn't end up with so much egg on the face!
PCs for the Family
I know for sure that many of the geeks out there on the World Wide Wibbly have the "fun" task of sorting out every possible computer issue for any/all of their family and friends in the cases where they're not geeks themselves. I am one such geek, and I'll be honest and say that I do not mind helping out. It's actually a bit of fun! I starting pondering thoughts on this topic when I stumbled across Roy's MomPC blog post a week or two ago. I read the post with interest and think that it's quite a handy little reference for those people looking to achieve the same thing.
By the same token, I think there are some gaps in what was said. I also think that there's a fundamental flaw in the assumption that Windows XP has to be used as the operating system. I'll get onto that point a bit more in a moment, but for now I'd like to comment on a few other options that Roy hasn't covered.
Firewall
The main reasons for having a software firewall on Windows is to prevent nasty trojans from getting out to do their thing, and to prevent other trojans and script kiddies (skiddies) from getting in. Windows Defender is indeed one option, but it's not the only one. Tiny Firewall is a nice option (though it looks like it might not be supported any more!) which is free for home use, and there's always ZoneAlarm which is also free for home use. These two do a good enough job as well. The latter has improved somewhat now that it no longer "phones home" while protecting you
Antivirus
I've never been a huge advocate of AVG, so I don't agree with Roy on this point. Instead I have found that both the 32 and 64-bit versions of Avast do a very good job of keeping the baddies at bay. I've been using this for well over a year now at home, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. People's experiences do vary though, so take my comments with a grain of salt. If you're looking for a freebie that's good, then Avast is a winner.
I'd strongly recommend the use of Thunderbird for all email-based stuff. This removes the need for having Outlook and/or Outlook Express installed at all. It's got a built-in news reader and RSS feed reader, and is basically a fabulous comms application - better yet it's a freebie!
Office Applications
For most home users, I personally feel that buying a licenced copy of Microsoft Office is overkill. People write a letter here and there, they might open a few word docs that are downloaded off the web, or want to open up some crappy powerpoint presentation with the latest "fluffy bunnies in tu-tus wishing you wealth, happiness and friendship for the rest of your days" accompanied with some cheezy music and awful text animations.
At the end of the day, OpenOffice is more than sufficient for these purposes. Again, it's free software, it has fairly regular releases (given that it's a rather large application) and it's cross-platform too. I can't see the need to go for another office application which costs a fortune when 9 time out of 10 this will suffice.
Of course, there are cases where people need more than just a standard word processor. OpenOffice has its quirks and pitfalls, and if you're looking to go for a package with a lot of functionality then MS Office might just be on the cards for you.
Browser
FireFox. 'Nuff said.
The Key Point - What Operating System?
As I stated at the start of this post, I'm not really sure why Windows XP has to be the default installation for a family PC. The big thing that most people will focus on here is usability, followed closely by the range of software and support for things such as scanners, digital cameras and MP3 players - which you can't argue with to a point.
In Roy's case, I think Windows XP is unnecessary. I think a default installation of Ubuntu with all the required software set up would be more than enough for the default family PC. It'd be a lot easier to secure, wouldn't require constant maintenance and reinstalling every few months like Windows does, and doesn't cost a bean. Ubuntu with FireFox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice and perhaps a few games (Solitaire, Mahjongg, etc) would keep the average non-geek family member amused for hours, and would probably cover most, if not all, of the things that the users want to do. The set up of a software firewall wouldn't be so much of an issue since there's very little (to no) malware that runs on Linux, hence it's probably not needed. You don't need to run antivirus software (though I still think you should) on Linux as 99.99999% of viruses are targetted at the Windows platform. Finally, auto-updates are on by default which means the OS keeps itself up to date just like the Auto-update feature of Windows.
Bring on Ubuntu installs for the family I say! There's no need to give yourself the extra workload of maintaining a family Windows machine when it doesn't have to have Windows running on it. Do yourself, and your family a favour - get yourself a Linus distro, and just see how much longer it lasts before you have to blast it away and reinstall from scratch.
What About Going the Other Way?
I just thought I'd add this last post as a bit of food for thought before signing off today. This link comes from a bloke who's been through the pain of wanting to move away from Windows, only to find that the results were just as, if not more, painful than sticking to what he knew. Have a read of this blog entry to see that the grass isn't necessarily greener.
It definitely makes you wonder if the effort is going to be worth it.
Virtual Vista Stuff-Up
OK, so it looks like I might have been misinformed (er... wrong :)) by stating that the basic versions of Vista can't be installed on VMs. That'll teach me not to read the licencing details properly myself! It looks like it was a slight misunderstanding of the terms and structure that MS used in stating the rules. I won't go into the details myself since Ed Bott has already done it for me. So, MS haven't shot themselves in the foot in this regard, but they still seem to be doing it in other ways.
One of those ways, which is now 100% confirmed, is that you can only move your installation of Vista to a different machine (read: different hardware) once and once only. Again, this is confirmed courtesty of Ed Bott. Instead of being able to reinstall when you buy a new mobo, and then reinstall again after you buy a new CPU, you may well have to fork out for another Vista licence due to the hardware change. What a lovely feature!
Yesterday's chat (via previous post on Vista) with Bryce got me thinking about what other peoples' thoughts were regarding the whole stance MS are taking with Vista, and during my searches I found this post by Chris Pirillo (a long-time MS user) which covers his views on said topic. It's quite an interesting read He also took a bit of time to post on his blog after writing the article to cover some other points, again well worth reading. It's good to see another long-term MS user with the balls to speak out loud and say that Macs are becoming more appealing by the day. I agree with him when he says that MS isn't really making this a difficult decision to make.
I've never been a huge fan of Macs, partly because I never had to use them and Windows was familiar, but as time goes by I'm rethinking my position. I keep saying that there's not enough software out there for me to make the move to Mac (and Linux), but not I'm thinking that I need to make the switch and become one of the developers that can help sort that problem out 
So, sorry about my stuff up, but it doesn't really improve my view of Vista by much anyway!