Posts filed under Tips'n Tricks

Authentication Required While Printing on OSX 10.5.2

Since I upgraded from OSX 10.5.1 to 10.5.2 I haven't been able to use my shared printer on on my Windows server. Every job I submit gives me an error saying On Hold (Authentication Required).

There's no way that I could submit the printjob to the server from my Mac.

It seems that there is a bug in the authentication mechanism on OSX 10.5.2. If you add a (network) printer by using the System Preferences, you get to browse to find the actual printer.

Posted on March 31, 2008 and filed under Annoying, Apple, Tips'n Tricks.

Awesome Screensaver

I listened to the latest 'This Week in Tech' podcast today. They mentioned a screensaver called FlickrFan. This screensaver can connect to flickr account and images to use in the screensaver. But it also downloads current Associated Press images in high quality and more. This results in awesome pictures from around the world covering the news in HIGH-RES. B.t.w. it's much more than just a screensaver, but I liked the screensaver-part best.
Posted on March 6, 2008 and filed under Apple, News, Photography, Software, Tips'n Tricks.

Display Full Path in Finder

One thing I hate is not knowing where I am. I had this in Windows, and I still have it OSX. By default OSX doesn't show the full path in the finder. This is annoying as hell. Especialy when you're having shares called 'Pictures', and the chances are quite big that you might have a local directory called 'Pictures'. You can't tell the difference. Using the following terminal command, you get the full path in the Finder. So no more 'Pictures', but '/Volumes/Pictures/' Terminal command: defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool YES killall Finder Simply replace the YES for NO to disable the feature. This is OSX 10.5 or higher only!!
Posted on January 29, 2008 and filed under Annoying, Apple, Tips'n Tricks.

Symcaimport and Windows Mobile Devices

It seems that my little upload / download page for adding root certificate authorities Symbian phones is also a big help for those who use Windows Mobile Devices.

Very strange that there are millions of smartphones on the market, and that everyone, regardless of the phones they have, experience the same problem. Why won't Microsoft (Windows Mobile) and the Symbian people simplify the interface of adding root CA's?

Posted on December 28, 2007 and filed under Symbian, Tips'n Tricks.

VDSL Roll-out Starts in 2008

W00t... KPN is finally starting to upgrade their network to support VDSL. This COULD mean a major speed upgrade for me. Currently I only have a 4Mbps ADSL2 line (but with a 1Mbps upload, thanks to XS4ALL). This is the maximum throughput for me, since I live too far from the distribution hub. Other interesting news is that KPN won't charge their customers for MOBILE data connections made from the 21st of December till the 30th of December 2007. So, it's all you can download via GPRS, UMTS :-)
Posted on December 21, 2007 and filed under Internet, Personal, Tips'n Tricks.

Aurora Be Gone

The default background image on OSX Leopard is this annoying Aurora/starfield kinda picture. To change this, just change the desktop background image by using the rightmouse button on the desktop.It's something different to change the background image on the login screen. Some searching revealed that it uses the DefaultDesktop.jpg in the /System/Library/CoreServices/ directory. 'Just' replace that file with your own picture. There is a small catch. If you replace it, it will get the wrong permissions on the file, and therefor won't show up on the login screen.Just 'reset' the permissions on the file like this:
  • sudo chown root /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg
  • sudo chmod 755 /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg
You may need to enter a username and password while executing these commands.
Posted on November 3, 2007 and filed under Apple, Operating Systems, Tips'n Tricks.

Remove Certificate From Nokia E61

Somehow, people are directed to my website by queries which contain the following key-words; 'remove', 'certificate', and 'e61'. So, here's a quick certificate uninstall guide:

Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Security Settings -> Certif. management -> Scroll down to the certificate you wish to delete -> Options -> Delete -> Confirm Delete -> Yes.

It's not that hard :) (the 'guide' is written for the e61i, but I doubt if it's much different on the e61)
Posted on October 12, 2007 and filed under Security, Symbian, Tips'n Tricks.

Google Search Results

By default, the Google search page is displayed in the language from the country you're in. You can change this in the 'preferences' on the Google page. The actual text near the language preference is:

Display Google tips and messages in: [<LANGUAGE>]

According to me that's only interface related and (at most) tips/local event related (like Queen's Day etc.). But it also influences the search results. Just try it by switching to several different languages.

Shouldn't search results be the same?

Posted on October 8, 2007 and filed under Annoying, Internet, Tips'n Tricks.

Configure the Nokia E61i for VoIP

The Nokia E61(i) phone is capable of making Voice over IP (VoIP) phone calls. The nice part is that you don't need your cellular carrier to make phone calls. All you need is a VoIP account somewhere. The world greatest ISP (in Holland), XS4ALL, gives 2 free VoIP numbers to its customers. So, it was time to get it working on my Nokia E61i. First of all, I wasn't familiar with the VoIP terminology, so I needed a manual for dummies on this. Luckely, the dutch tweakers forum gave me some answers on the topic. After configuring the phone I got error messages about not being able to connect to the service. I did read some reports on this, and they all mentioned that some phones didn't seem to work properly... Fortunately, a colleague of mine has the same phone, and he got it working. So, it could be something else... My DSL modem for example. A quick test showed, that when I used my neighbors open WiFi, I was able to connect to the service, so I needed to look at my modem. A quick search revealed that there was a new firmware (released by my ISP). After updating the firmware everything worked fine. One drawback though. The default outgoing call type is set to cellular, so every call you make will be using the normal GSM network. There is no easy way of switching this to VoIP. This can only be done in the the Phone menu (Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Call).
Posted on June 17, 2007 and filed under Tips'n Tricks.