Software: VNC Thumbnail Viewer

Chances are if you're using VNC on a Windows platform in a fairly large-scale environment, on occasion you've needed to view multiple VNC connections at once.

A while ago I did find and make use of a handy freeware program that could filter through a range of supplied IP addresses and establish multiple VNC connections at the same time for your viewing pleasure: I just wish I knew what it was called or where I could find it now (note to self: find this software).

No matter, for the time being I have found another handy (in some ways HANDIER) multiple VNC viewer solution - its name is VNC Thumbnail Viewer.

Simply download the software and run it to get access to multiple VNC connections from one client. The added benefit of this software is that it's totally PORTABLE, and supports command line interactions.

Below is a little example of a 4-PC connection script so you can quickly and easily view 4 VNC PCs from a simple command line instruction:


VncThumbnailViewer_Win_1.4.2.exe HOST 192.168.%2 PORT 5900 PASSWORD %1 HOST 192.168.%3 PORT 5900 PASSWORD %1 HOST 192.168.%4 PORT 5900 PASSWORD %1 HOST 192.168.%5 PORT 5900 PASSWORD %1 


And an example of using it would be:
VncThumbnailViewer_Win_1.4.2.exe vncpassword 0.1 1.12 1.255

Quickly bringing up VNC connections with "vncpassword" on 192.168.0.1; 192.168.1.12; 192.168.1.255.
I really like this lightweight and efficient solution for VNC controls - it even supports RECORDING, although I haven't dabbled with that just yet.

For more information go to the homepage of VNC Thumbnail Viewer, and download it at:
http://thetechnologyteacher.wordpress.com/vncthumbnailviewer/

Command-line SMTP e-mailer

Want to send an email through a simple command-line batch file? Then check this out!

Combining the latest cellphones supporting e-mail and an SMTP server with BMAIL will turn your scheduled tasks into SUPER SCHEDULED TASKS (I know, lame, but it was worth a shot).

Basically, you deploy the BMAIL.EXE file somewhere, and then you just run your tasks as usual, and at the end of your batch file, chuck in a line like 

"c:\tools\bmail.exe -s mysmtp.server.com -t myemail@address.com -f this@is.from.me -h -a "Default Subject" -b "with this Body"

and then you'll get an email to your myemail@address.com address with an email entitled "Default Subject" - how handy is that? AND BEST OF ALL - IT'S LIGHTWEIGHT AND FREE!!

Go to http://www.beyondlogic.org/solutions/cmdlinemail/cmdlinemail.htm to download!

Portable FLASH plugin for portable Firefox

[ update: added in the location for FIREFOX portable plugins ]

Back in June 2009 I mentioned a way to run a portable SWF player; well, another need by an academic has caused me to investigate how to run a portable FLASH plugin from a portable browser, so I don't leave a footprint on the desktop PCs.

In my case, I'm very fond of portable Firefox, so I've incorporated the solution with this browser so anyone with a copy can simply take their browser anywhere, plug in their USB to any PC, and automatically have access to FLASH without needing to install anything more or have administrator privileges on the host PC.

It's not my solution (my colleague Soren grabbed it from here), but here I repeat it for your convenience.

Installing Flash Player Plugin on Firefox without having Administrator Access or Premissions

Last updated on Tue, 2010-02-02 16:43. Originally submitted by fabio on 2007-02-19 16:32.

UPDATE: The following guide, originally written for Firefox 2, has been used successfully on Firefox 3, Firefox 3.5 and Firefox 3.6. Users of Firefox Portable edition (versions 3, 3.5 and 3.6) also have been successful using this guide.
The Windows computers available at my University permits login only by autenticated users (students) who don't have Administrator access and permissions.
Installing software on those PC is then not possible.
Recently they finally installed Firefox 2 but without the Flash plugins, which is absolutly useful/needed.
I then tryed to install the Flash Player using the "standard" way (click on the missing plugin link then install the plugin..). However without administrator plugins it was not possible to install.
Then I started doing some tests trying to install the plugin manually. Now I have it installed and working perfectly!
This is how I managed to install it without administrator permissions:

1. Download the XPI archive of the Flash Player Plugin to your hard disk (right click on the download link then "Save link as.."). XPI archives are only ZIP files containing the files used by the plugins.
2. So you can safely rename the file you just downloaded, called flashplayer-win.xpi, into flashplayer-win.zip (you are changing its extension from .xpi to .zip)
3. Extract the files in the archive. You can use any program capable of opening .zip files (WinZip, WinRAR or the free and great 7-zip). There are also websites which can uncompress archives: wobzip.org.
4. Copy the files flashplayer.xpt and NPSWF32.dll to %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Plugins\
   
   
   • %APPDATA% is not a real folder. It's an alias. By inserting it in your windows explorer address bar, you'll be redirected to the real folder which holds your applications profiles and settings. The location of this folder depends on various setting that's why we need the alias and not an absolute path.
   • ...\PortableApps\FirefoxPortableTest\Data\plugins
   • You can open this folder simply choosing "Start → Run → Type in %APPDATA% → OK".
   • In case you don't have a Plugins folder you can create one and place your files there.
5. Restart Firefox
6. Enjoy your flash websites!

Portable screen capture software: Lightscreen Portable

You probably all know about the ALT+PRTSCN and CTRL+PRTSCN functions on your PC, but have you ever needed to do customised screenshots of your computer? Well, you can with Lightscreen!

BrYan's essentials

Good morning world.

Since I am growing older by the day (and minute, in fact), I have decided the only remedy to my onset of dementia is to keep track of information through this blog (which is one of the primary reasons I started this site).

I am starting a new label. It's called "essentials" and it will represent to me, a quick listing of all the essentials in my life. Links to essential lists, and so on. Essentially, it's what I need to have access to in order to recover my life if, for example, my computer were to crash (hopefully not a portent of things to come).

To start with, here's a link to my list of handy portable applications.

Portable ISO creator - LC ISO Creator

I'm all about mixing up analogies. It's an advanced gift that God blessed me with. If you found my previous post quite useful, you may also be in the market for a portable ISO creator (or CD/DVD snapshotter) since an ISO ripper and ISO mounter go hand-in-hand like two peas as tight as thieves... well, step up to the plate, LC ISO Creator, because it takes two to tango...

This little guy is very basic in its GUI, but all you really need is a "click to rip" button, right?

Check out my comprehensive PortableApps list here, or go here to get the guy for yourself:

http://lc-iso-creator.en.softonic.com/
http://www.lucersoft.com/freeware.php

Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel

There's a lot of good portable stuff out there, and in my mind a support guy's best friend is some freeware software that doesn't leave a footprint. Even better for a support guy is stuff that doesn't leave a footprint, and helps to emulate hardware that may or may not even exist on the system in need of your attention! Step up Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel... your moment has arrived!


If you need to have an ISO mounted on a PC but don't want to fiddle with DaemonTools (which I think has spyware on it now or something?), or something else that edits the registry, then look no further than VCDROM - it's lightweight (30k), portable, and can even run from the network!

I've added it to my list of "must-have" portable applications for support tools, and I really use it extensively!

Check out my comprehensive (i.e. work-in-progress) portable-applications list here.

And try these links for more on this particular application;
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=42
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916902
http://www.softpedia.com/get/CD-DVD-Tools/Virtual-CD-DVD-Rom/Virtual-CDROM-Control-Panel.shtml

BF1942 "Map Not Found" or "INVALID CD KEY" error

There's been a veritable bargain of games lately for the PC - my personal flavour of the moment is BATTLEFIELD 1942: WW2 ANTHOLOGY which is retailing for a meager R50, and includes BATTLEFIELD 1942, SECRET WEAPONS, and ROAD TO ROME. The back of the box says you can play 1 player per CD, and the game comes with 4 CDs, so to be legitimate, you can run a LAN of 4-players for R50. Our club has subsequently purchased about eight copies, so we can do up to 32 players without fear of retribution.

Setting it up is quite simple, but if you encounter any hiccups when playing it, here's how to fix some of the more common ones I've come across:


If you install the game with everything, you can then just simply pull the EA GAMES folder out of PROGRAM FILES, and Robert's your uncle. A portable copy of BF1942 if you are on the move with your friends, or want to play it (legally, of course) on different machines. It's fully portable!

There will, however, need to be a few tweaks to get it to work on a portable flavour without the CDs (which I only condone if you are legitimate owners of enough "licenses" to play it).

1. To circumvent the CD check, you need to download a NO-CD crack from somewhere like GAMECOPYWORLD.
2. If you load the game up, with this NO-CD crack (or with a legit. CD), it should load fine. Starting a multiplayer game may render a "INVALID CD KEY" error, in which case you need to make sure your machine has the registry key updates for the game you want to join;
   
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Electronic Arts\EA GAMES\Battlefield 1942\ergc]
   @="2522369338354310241300"
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Electronic Arts\EA GAMES\Battlefield 1942 The Road to Rome\ergc]
   @="2505756655947052330605"
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Electronic Arts\EA GAMES\Battlefield 1942 Secret Weapons of WWII\ergc]
   @="4UKKBKREGHHHYCNF9S9J"
   
   
3. If the error reports "MAP NOT FOUND" it's because the MOD you're using hasn't got a REGISTRY update, and this applies primarily to Road to Rome and Secret Weapons (as above).

With those changes made to the game, you should now be able to play and enjoy!

Not seeing a server? Maybe your firewall is blocking the port!

Can't get DEDICATED SERVER to run over a LAN with portable installations (i.e. "CANNOT CONNECT TO SERVER" error), don't worry - I get that too... haven't figured that one out yet!

Enjoy :)

Portable SWF player

I've recently faced the task of setting up our LAB machines to be able to support SWF files for a Mathematica workshop to be held in the forthcoming weeks. The problem is, why should I now deploy SWF support on the LAB machines just for one workshop, and face a lifetime of headaches from kiddies playing their favourite (and noisy) movies ad infinitum? Enter, the portable SWF player...

If you go to http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/updaters/9/sa_flashplayer_9_debug.exe you should find just what you're looking for - a portable flash player! Enjoy :)

Great digital camera tool

Back in 1999 I bought myself a Chicony DSC-800 digital camera for R1,500.00 which could do 1024x768 photographs (800k) and stored these onto a 2MB Smart Media card (yes, 2MB). Since I was practically the first guy in the city to own a digital camera, I took a lot of photographs - over time, it became almost impossible to keep track of them all, especially when I upgraded my memory to a whopping 8MB. True, back then the camera couldn't store EXIF metadata, but the problem of cataloging multiple excursions of photo-sets was as real then as it still is today.

If anyone's like me, they are going to have quite a few digital photographs they want to keep for posterity (or until the next HDD crash, if they don't back up). It becomes a real mission if anyone's like me, and also hoards all 2GB of photographs on your memory card for months, and then multi-dumps them all over the place with no idea which are duplicates, which are from what date or category, etc. To add insult to injury, you'll have multiple events clumped into one subfolder and "conveniently" renamed by the MS picture renaming tool, so your 2006 Christmas photo's are clumped with your 2007 knee-surgery photo's along with your 2009 graduation photo's (not all literal examples here, although if I finish my MMedSc in time, this could all be true, but I digress) as "Christmas 2006".

If only we could use our EXIF-compliant cameras to our advantage! Introducing...

Namexif (TM)

This little beauty professes to rename your photographs into EXIF data, so not only does it help you clump them by date order (which to be honest is the most sensible way to catalog pictures), but you can now compile your friends' photographs of the same holiday together with yours! No more Christmas 2006 albums which last beyond Christmas 2009! Neatly and conveniently store all of your photographs in the right place, at the right time (pun intended).

I give this my "Two enthusiastic thumbs up" award for PortableApp category (it's truly portable), and I give it my "5 Stars" award for the useful software category.