Written August 4, 2009 in Note-To-Self

In struggling to get VMWare vSphere Infrastructure Client to work on my fresh Windows 7 installation, I came across the following instructions, which solved the problem for me:

1. Obtain a copy of %SystemRoot%Microsoft.NETFrameworkv2.0.50727System.dll from a non Windows 7 machine that has .NET 3.5 SP1 installed.

2. Create a folder in the Windows 7 machine where the vSphere client is installed and copy the file from step 1 into this folder. For example, create the folder under the vSphere client launcher installation directory (+%ProgramFiles%VMwareInfrastructureVirtual Infrastructure ClientLauncherLib+).

3. In the vSphere client launcher directory, open the VpxClient.exe.config file in a text editor and add a element and a element as shown below. Save the file.

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”utf-8″?>
<configuration>

<runtime>
<developmentMode developerInstallation=”true”/>
</runtime>
</configuration>

3. Create a batch file (e.g. *VpxClient.cmd*) in a suitable location. In this file add a command to set the DEVPATH environment variable to the folder where you copied the System.dll assembly in step 2 and a second command to launch the vSphere client. Save the file. For example,

SET DEVPATH=%ProgramFiles%VMwareInfrastructureVirtual Infrastructure ClientLauncherLib
“%ProgramFiles%VMwareInfrastructureVirtual Infrastructure ClientLauncherVpxClient.exe”

4. (Optional) Replace the shortcut on the start menu to point to the batch file created in the previous step. Change the shortcut properties to run minimized so that the command window is not shown.

You can now use the VpxClient.cmd (or the shortcut) to launch the vSphere client in Windows 7.

Note that this workaround bypasses the normal .NET Framework loading mechanism so that assembly versions in the DEVPATH folder are no longer checked. Handle with care.

via VMware Communities: vsphere client on Windows 7 rc.

Update #1: I found an even better howto (including screenshots!) here.

Phillip Cohen has an insightful post about how making your product easier to update, makes it more secure, because it’s not “painful” to update. He compares two of my favorite open source products, WordPress and Mediawiki.

He also included my favorite cartoon character, Calvin :)

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Written July 13, 2009 in Note-To-Self

I found this great list of clever things you can do with WordPress’ config file:

Many WordPress users know the wp-config.php file as the key to the WordPress database. It is where you set the database name, username, password, and location. [...] But what many users don’t know is that the wp-config.php file may be used to specify a wide variety of configurational settings, enabling you to improve the functionality, performance, and security of your WordPress-powered site.

via WordPress Configuration Tricks.

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Written July 12, 2009 in Note-To-Self

The Semantic MediaWiki quick reference is a one-page reference, created by Yaron Koren, for the MediaWiki extensions Semantic MediaWiki, Semantic Forms, Semantic Calendar and Semantic Drilldown. It can be downloaded here:

via SMW quick reference.

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Written June 25, 2009 in Projects

Version 2.10.10 of PHPList has been released. I’ve updated my WP-PHPList plugin accordingly. Here’s version 2.10.10:

download

Download: wp-phplist-2-10-10
Version: 0.3
Updated: July 2, 2009
Size: 46.7 KB

Powered by Drain Hole

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Written April 14, 2009 in Note-To-Self

This weekend, I had the need to format an 80GB USB drive as FAT32, so that the DivX AVI files on it would play on a standalone HDD recorder. To my dismay, Windows XP wouldn’t format the drive as FAT32, since it was larger than the 32GB “limit”.

I found this article, which provided a very easy solution – an executable tool called “fat32format.exe”, which ignored the 32GB “limit” :)

CrapControl.com: Article / How to format a large drive in FAT32.

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Written April 8, 2009 in Note-To-Self

Recently we had the need to have a Xen domU interact with a device attached to the serial port of it’s dom0 host. It’s not as easy to setup as as one would think! Here’s a quick howto. We used CentOS 5.3..

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Written January 30, 2009 in Projects

Version 2.10.9 of PHPList was released yesterday, to address another security vulnerability. I’ve updated my WP-PHPList plugin accordingly.

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Written January 20, 2009 in Note-To-Self

I was an Audible subscriber for over 2 years, and although I’m no longer active on a plan, I still have 50+ books that I’ve legitimately purchased. Each of them, however, is locked to my Audible username and password. I don’t tolerate DRM where possible, and I’ve done enough system reloads / iPod upgrades to be frustrated at the need to authorize my new devices, and de-authorize my old ones. (and get Audible to reset my devices, since it’s impossible to de-authorize a dead computer!)

Here are the steps required to convert your Audible titles to standard, un-restricted MP3 files, which you can then do what you want with. Note to scurvy pirates: the process still requires your Audible username and password!

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Written January 16, 2009 in Projects

Version 2.10.8 of PHPList was recently released, to address a security vulnerability. I’ve updated my WP-PHPList plugin accordingly.

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