The Weblog of David Johnston. Consists mainly of obscure articles about computer and Internet related problems I've encountered. http://blog.dkj.me/ 60 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:00 +1000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:55 +1000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:55 +1000 Emulation allows our old software to live on long after the hardware has passed away. The cross-platform Mini vMac emulates a Mac Plus and allows me to boot from an image of my old 40MB hard drive running System 6. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091226a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091226a Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:45 +1000 I recently had an intermittent problem where my PC would fail to power-up. Despite signs of life from the power supply it turned out that it was indeed at fault. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091217a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091217a Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:45 +1000 If your photos fail to appear in SkyDrive it's because you've done the right thing and disabled third-party cookies. But there's no need to resign and drop the defences. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091215a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091215a Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:00 +1000 The upgrade to 9.10 wasn't all that easy. In particular there's a font rendering bug in Firefox 3.5 that is quite annoying. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091107a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20091107a Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:30 +1000 My solution to high CPU utilisation with *nothing* running after installing CS4 on Mac OS 10.6.1 "Snow Leopard". http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20090924a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20090924a Sun, 01 Feb 2009 11:00 +1000 How to use Vista's Complete PC Backup to replace a defunct drive, apparently not something it's designed to do. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20090201a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20090201a Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:15 +1000 Switching Windows Media Center to permanently use a different display is simple, but it's not obvious. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20090104a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20090104a Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:00 +1000 Apple released their new MacBooks and MacBook Pros early this morning Australian time. Here are a number of points I felt were significant. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20081015a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20081015a Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:30 +1000 Who knew dictionary writers had a sense of humour? http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080829a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080829a Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:30 +1000 This is an interesting meme handed down amongst deep sea researchers. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080813a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080813a Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:20 +1000 I upgraded my RAM today and became a member of the ever growing "5.9 Club". http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080707a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080707a Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:45 +1000 A letter I wrote to DL.TV made it onto the show! I comment on that, and the recent apparent "backflip" that Telstra have made over their ADSL2+ network. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080621a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080621a Thu, 29 May 2008 11:15 +1000 I learn how to remove uneeded packages from a Debian based linux system. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080529a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080529a Mon, 26 May 2008 16:40 +1000 If you have an iPod you should try headphones like these to see if they are compatible with your ear type. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080526a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080526a Wed, 21 May 2008 10:20 +1000 If you use an entire drive to install Ubuntu onto, the installer assumes that Ubuntu will be the only operating system on the computer and changes the clock to suit itself. Not a valid assumption in the case where I installed Ubuntu to a USB flash drive. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080521a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080521a Fri, 16 May 2008 16:50 +1000 With the promise of "wear leveling" and ever decreasing prices, the operation an operating system installed on flash memory in now feasible. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080516a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080516a Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:20:00 +1000 Here is a note I made whilst upgrading to Ubuntu 8.04 on my HP nx6125. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080427a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080427a Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:30:00 +1000 Here are the notes I made whilst installing Ubuntu 7.10 on my HP nx6125. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080413a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080413a Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:50:00 +1000 If you accidently clicked "no" after entering a password in IE7 and you really meant to click "yes", here's how to reverse your decision. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080331a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080331a Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:00:00 +1000 This card sucks as is. I reflashed its BIOS to return it to its stock configuration. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080309a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080309a Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:30:00 +1000 At 5am each morning I wanted two things to happen: my podcasts to be downloaded and my redundant EyeTV recordings to be deleted. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080221a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080221a Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:15:00 +1000 My brother and I made a huge mess in the lounge room this afternoon. Computer parts and tools everywhere! http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080219a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080219a Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:30:00 +1000 The 10.5.2 update broke my iSync, here's how I fixed it. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080214a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080214a Sat, 02 Feb 2008 08:00:00 +1000 I like the feeling of "having done right" when I return my trolley as directed. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080202a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080202a Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:10:00 +1000 Whilst there's an immediate appeal to the MacBook Air, people should be aware of a number of facets before purchasing. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080116a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080116a Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:30:00 +1000 Installing Fedora within Virtual PC for Windows still isn't as easy as it should be. Here is a step-by-step guide for doing so. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080111a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20080111a Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:00:00 +1000 If you are feeling left out of the Gmail IMAP party it may be because you are a believer in the Queen's English. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071231a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071231a Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:00:00 +1000 Mac users should know that AppleCare doesn't cover a Mac that physically falls to pieces. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071215a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071215a Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:50:00 +1000 Such a simple feature brings me such great happiness! http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071208a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071208a Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:35:00 +1000 I had problems again this week with the Windows Update control panel in Vista. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071128a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071128a Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:55:00 +1000 If you've accidently switched off hibernation in Vista, here's how to switch it back on. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071118a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071118a Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:25:00 +1000 An easy way to fix upset icons in Vista. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071108a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071108a Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:05:00 +1000 What to do if you want to remove the shelf in the dock. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071102a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071102a Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:45:00 +1000 A few Terminal commands that I used in Mac OS 10.4 that still work in 10.5. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071030a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20071030a Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:30:00 +1000 Installing Fedora within Virtual PC for Windows isn't as easy as it should be. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070929a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070929a Tue, 22 May 2007 22:00:00 +1000 I had the problem whereby as long as I had selected "Get updates for more products" Windows Update would fail to work. Here's the fix. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070522a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070522a Sat, 12 May 2007 13:05:00 +1000 How to delete some of the mysterious folders that appear in Media Center. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070512a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070512a Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:00:00 +1000 Make all your media files appear in Media Center and Media Player. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070423a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070423a Sat, 21 Apr 2007 17:30:00 +1000 I think I know the best way to stop a screaming sound apparently coming from a CPU. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070421a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070421a Sat, 24 Feb 2007 13:10:00 +1000 System Restore in Vista wastes many gigabytes of disk space on a large drive. Here's how to cut it down to size. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070224a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070224a Wed, 17 Jan 2007 09:45:00 +1000 After using Windows 2000 recently, I now know just how annoying XP's autoplay is even when it's supposed to "Do nothing". http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070117a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20070117a Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:10:00 +1000 Tiger doesn't like having it's "Applications" icon changed. After hunting around I found it's source. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061216a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061216a Sun, 22 Oct 2006 15:30:00 +1000 Restore GRUB after [re]installing windows under Fedora Core 5 http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061022a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061022a Fri, 13 Oct 2006 23:15:00 +1000 Mac users leave a trail of these files everywhere they go. Here's how to stop it. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061013a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061013a Thu, 12 Oct 2006 21:00:00 +1000 Contrary to what a number of sites say, you don't need to edit the wpa_supplicant config file at all in Fedora Core 5. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061012a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061012a Sun, 8 Oct 2006 14:15:00 +1000 These URLs are handy if you do a number of installs. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061008a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061008a Sun, 1 Oct 2006 10:50:00 +1000 I managed to get the Broadcom BCM4318 rev 02 WLAN adapter working on a HP nx6125 under Fedora Core 5, using nsdiswrapper and wpa_supplicant. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061001a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20061001a Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:30:00 +1000 Mount windows partitions in linux at boot. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20060925a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20060925a Tue, 6 Jun 2006 20:00:00 +1000 Dashboard is a dog, here's how to send that puppy to a greener pasture. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20060606a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20060606a Tue, 9 May 2006 19:00:00 +1000 I now realise what the last digit is in the cryptic string that you use as a phone number when using your bluetooth mobile phone as a modem. http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20060509a http://blog.dkj.me/index.php?article=20060509a