Delayed write failed: Ultron and PSEXESVC.EXE

I really don't like it when I google on error messages and get zero hits.

My corporate XP box is giving me two forms of the same delayed write error message (image left). They reference two paths:

\SMSW161\ADMIN$\PSEXESCVC.EXE

\ULTRON\ADMIN$\PSEXESCVC.EXE

The only Ultron I know dates to my childhood, it's not a very friendly name for a directory.

Of course it's natural to think about viruses, but I'd have thought there's be some more hits on the topic ...

 

Update 8/4/09: A virus, after all. Some variant of Win32/ilomo.bc – but one that seems to spread over a network rather than as a trojan.

Oddest OS X settings: Audio MIDI Setup

Just about every configuration feature in OS X is done through "System Preferences" (Preference Panes).

Just about - but not all. There are some audio settings that can only be performed by a very obscure utility ....

Mac OS X 10.4 Help: Using Audio MIDI Setup to configure your audio system

... You can use Audio MIDI Setup to configure the audio input and output devices you use with your computer, such as microphones and audio playback equipment. The settings you can change in Audio MIDI Setup depend on the audio device you are using. For example, you can adjust the level for each channel your audio output device has available, if the device supports changing the level. To learn more about using Audio MIDI Setup, open Audio MIDI Setup, in Applications/Utilities, and choose Help - Audio MIDI Setup Help...

Mostly AMS duplicates other preference panes, but the channel bit rates, speaker configuration and output volumes are uniquely managed here. Every few months someone uses AMS to solve some obscure sound related problem, occasionally it's a voodoo cure for other oddities.

It's strange that it persists over so many releases. It should be Pref setting, not a utility. I wonder if it finally goes away in 10.6.

(I have an odd feeling there as a similar utility in MacOS Classic 6 ...)

After the battle: The improved Google Voice Web App

As every geek knows, the demise of the Google Voice iPhone app marked the start of the Apple-Google wars.

Barring successful FCC arm twisting, Google Voice customers must use the mobile web app with the iPhone.

The good news is it's much better than the last time I looked at it. In my testing today it was very responsive. In fact, it was faster to use for placing a call to Canada than GV Mobile, the native app I've been using.

The GV web app follows RESTful principles, so I save a phonetop bookmark for a specific call. In my case, I can create a bookmark that takes me directly to the call setup for my regular Canada call.

To complete my regular long distance call I tap the bookmark, tap the "call" button (or SMS) then choose the calling number (defaults to my mobile) then tap call. I tried saving the last screen so it would be a 2 tap operation but it didn't work. So it's 3 taps, but it's significantly faster than using GV Mobile (but not quite as quick as using the long defunct GrandDialer).

It's not nearly as good as the dedicated iPhone app we aren't going to get, but for my purposes it's pretty decent. Note phone search only returns Google Contacts with a phone number.

OS X Tip: Open all windows from the dock

I've slowly come to love OS X Expose. It's moved me away from browser tabs and towards using F9 to view all windows in miniature.

Problem is, docked Windows don't show up, and there's no obvious way to undock them all.

The answer -- hold down the Option (alt) key and click on any docked window -- all windows for that app will undock.

I discovered this one simply by assuming someone at Apple would have a fix, and knowing that the Option key is often used for this sort of thing.

In Our Time - how to subscribe to the podcasts

With a bit of effort, I was able to dredge up my my first blog reference to the BBC Radio 4 History of Ideas program In Our Time. It was early 2005, and podcasts were new to me.

Only a bit more than four years ago.

Later I wrote a very geeky post about how to turn the useless streaming archives into useful audio files, but it appears I never wrote a general introduction about subscribing to IOT. Until now.

This is bit a less technical topic than my usual blog fair, but I'm featuring an In Our Time display at my 50th bd party tomorrow and I figured I'd attach this post as a handout. I'll be playing the Best of IOT from my library of 187 programs in a moderately quiet corner of the house.

Yes, it's the party of the year. It's a good thing the younger me isn't around to hear of it.

If you use iTunes there are two easy ways to subscribe (either one works)

1. Go to the iTunes Store. Find the search box and enter "In Our Time". Pick the icon that says "In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg".
2. Go to the BBC podcasts page for IOT and click on the iTunes icon.

That should do it. Only problem is they're done for the season, so you have to wait until the new season starts. The BBC doesn't let you go back and get old podcasts. If you miss them, you're out of luck.

That's why I'll be handing out a starter set of 57 of my favorite episodes on DVD at the party with more available on request. That should carry listeners through the summer.

A word on the BBC's web sites. There are no less than 3 confusing pages related to IOT, but at least now they more or less link to one another (they didn't used to). The pages are:

1. The original page with archives (RealAudio, yech).
2. The aforementioned podcast page.
3. The new page with links to the above two.

Better Byline: Add a post to twitter button

I like the iPhone’s Byline Google Reader client and I like how it works with Google Reader Shared items (my shared item feed, standard view).

My Shared Items are all searchable, they're a collection of things I found interesting. Google records what I like and share, and it helps build their search network. Lastly any interested person can subscribe to my shares and add their own.

That's great, but there's one missing piece. Byline could fill it in perfectly -- or a competitor could do it and challenge Byline's supremacy.

The missing piece is Twitter. I don't do or get much from Twitter -- I prefer blogs. I wouldn't mind experimenting more though; "tweeting" on topics I find interesting. I'm not going to give up my Shared Item workflow to do that however. If only I could have everything ...

Happily, I could. Byline could add a button that would take my Byline Shared Item comment and post it as a tweet along with a shortened url pointing to the feed item. I could tap one button to Tweet my comment, another to post the same comment to Google Reader shared items. Tags would get hash marks in Twitter, labels in Google Reader.

Win win, and a big win for Byline. Or someone else who wants to challenge them ...

(This idea is hereby offered free of charge to the public domain -- so no stupid patents but anyone can use it.)

Buying my Chrome OS (XP) Netbook

Apple saved me some money the other day.

Apple persuaded me that I should forego a MacBook Air or new MacBook in favor of a netbook running Google Chrome atop creaky old Windows XP.

Thanks Apple.

I thought of waiting for Windows 7, but then reality spoke up. Regardless of what anyone might say, I know that Windows 7 won’t really work on a paltry Netbook. In any case Microsoft will pull XP from the market, jack up the price of the OS, and try to push everyone to high end machines (Ballmer has said as much publicly).

Makes more sense for me to buy an XP Netbook before Win 7 comes out, and just run Chrome and Windows Live Writer. It will be my preview version of Chromestellation.

I’m going to need a companion data service, but I’ll add that as a dongle or use the Verizon MiFi (No love for AT&T here) …

… the Novatel MiFi 2200, available from Verizon starting in mid-May ($100 with two-year contract, after rebate). It’s a little wisp of a thing, like a triple-thick credit card. It has one power button, one status light and a swappable battery that looks like the one in a cellphone. When you turn on your MiFi and wait 30 seconds, it provides a personal, portable, powerful, password-protected wireless hot spot…

…The MiFi gets its Internet signal the same way those cellular modems do — in this case, from Verizon’s excellent 3G (high-speed) cellular data network. If you just want to do e-mail and the Web, you pay $40 a month for the service (250 megabytes of data transfer, 10 cents a megabyte above that). If you watch videos and shuttle a lot of big files, opt for the $60 plan (5 gigabytes)…

…If you type 192.168.1.1 into your Web browser’s address bar … the MiFi’s settings pages magically appear. Now you can do geeky, tweaky tasks like changing the password or the wireless network name, limiting access to specific computers, turning on port forwarding …

…The MiFi recharges from a wall outlet; it still works as a hot spot while it’s plugged in…

With the MiFi you can get your App Store-plagued iPhone off AT&T’s dying data network.

So, which Netbook to buy? Here Amazon, as usual, is my friend. The #1 seller in Amazon’s netbook category is the $380 ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook (with $20 for an upgrade to 2GB)

Display: 10.1-inch 1024x600 LED-Backlit Widescreen LCD (Color-Shine/Glossy Screen Technology)

Intel CPU: Intel Atom N280

Wireless Data Network: WLAN: 802.11b/g/n (draft 2.4GHz n) & Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR

Camera: 1.3M Pixels

Audio: Stereo Speakers, High-Definition Audio CODEC, Digital Array Microphones

Storage Cards: 2-in-1 MMC, SD(SDHC) flash card slot

Input/Output: 1 x VGA connector, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x LAN RJ-45, 2 x audio jacks: Headphone & Mic-in

Dimensions: 10.31 (W) x 7.01 (D) x 1.02~1.44 (H) inches

Weight: 2.81 lbs (with battery)

Or what about the Acer Aspire One for $300? That one also comes with an evil AT&T service plan option (integrated 3G dongle) …

To be updated with my purchase decision …

Update 7/31/2009: In response to a provocative comment, I clarify my perspective on the logic of AT&T/Apple's actions.