Chrome Remote Desktop BETA

Many people I know use remote support tools like Teamviewer to get their remote support tasks done quickly and with very little hassle. I have used Teamviewer before and I am very impressed with what it can do - the only problem is, if you have a conscience worth its salt, you won't use Teamviewer FREE for commercial use (as the usage terms forbid it). It's great to help grandma in Alaska get her printer working again but if you want to charge someone for support, you can't do it with Teamviewer FREE.

The "fairly recent" addition of Google Chrome to my PC arsenal has grown into a blossoming relationship as I find myself taking advantage of the Google Sync functionality (largely because Google decided 'not to be evil' and remove support for Firefox and not even release the Google Sync code as open source either). One of the latest add-on's that I've included in my Google Chrome toolbox is a little BETA application called "Chrome Remote Desktop BETA". This app functions almost identically to Teamviewer and best of all, it's absolutely FREE.

Since more users are slowly migrating to Chrome (and in my case, I recommend all my clients to use Chrome because of its wonderful integration with Google), Chrome Remote Desktop BETA is a must-have support tool.

MSExchangeIS service not starting in Exchange 2010 on VM

Recently we had to reboot an Exchange 2010 box to remove an agent and upon restart the MSExchangeIS service refused to start. The error message spat out in the Application Windows Log was -

Unable to initialize the Information Store service because  the clocks on the client and server are skewed.   This may be caused by a time change either in the client or the server,  and may require a reboot of that computer.   Verify that your domain is properly configured and  is currently online. 


The first thing I tried was a command line "net time \\dc-name.domain /set" to resync the times but this didn't make a difference, even though it did a resync.

After some more digging I came across this site that suggested the problem of time synchronisation is not with the VM itself but rather with the VMware host. To set up time sync in VMware it's these simple steps:

• Select the VMware host
• Configuration
• Under Software select Time Configuration
• Click on Properties (top right)
• Do the necessary
• Done!

Once we had synchronised the VMware host with the DC time everything worked again and the MSExchangeIS service would start.

Joy in the land.

FREEBIES: Worlds of Ultima

GOG.com is giving you the opportunity to be the happy owner of the Worlds of Ultima games: Savage Empire and Martian Dreams.

Just head on over to gog.com and claim your freebies!

Mymemory.com 60% off vouchers special ends midnight

If you're keen on high-quality photobooks with free international delivery then head over to mymemory.com before midnight tonight (UK time) and get yourself some vouchers at 60% off - these vouchers can be redeemed at a later stage and at this price you will be securing a phenomenal bargain.

I've used Mymemory.com several times before and their service and quality are both great!

60% off vouchers is a bargain because you are under no time pressure (or at least, a lot less time pressure) and you can give them away as gifts if needs be!

Go on! Do it! Do it now!

PS - first time buyers will also get a 5GBP discount on their first order

Free online backup service ZOVO is FREE

... for one year, in celebration of the HRH The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

What is Zovo? Zovo is an online unlimited backup facility - here's what they have to say:

Safely backup your files online

zovo safely and securely backs up all of your files online, from multiple computers. It works automatically in the background so that you don't worry about losing your precious files. You can restore files, even deleted ones, quickly and easily. It's totally secure, easy to use, and quick to setup. Best of all, you get truly unlimited storage space, so that you can back up all of your computers. No more excuses for not being "backed up".

Added features include streaming from your backed up data to your iPad or iPhone:

Stream your music & movies to your iPhone or iPad

zovo will change the way you use your iPhone & iPad. Using our free app and you can instantly stream all of the music and videos that you have backed up. You can also access your documents, presentations and photos too. Any data you have backed up is now instantly available to you, from anywhere.

What have you got to lose?

Sign up here for your free year: http://zovo.co/jubi/?lrRef=L0ALV

Telkom upgrade due 4th of June

UPDATE: According to a MyBroadband post, the upgrades will now only start in August...

I've just phoned Telkom and confirmed that 4 June 2012 marks the day Telkom upgrades their 384kbps lines to 1Mbps. Can you dig it? Finally, after HOW MANY YEARS do we get entry-level ADSL being 1Mbps?

At least the overall cost of ADSL is dropping but still, 2012 and we finally hit 1Mbps? This is a bit ridiculous. Thankfully things seem to be improving at a more rapid pace nowadays!