Windows 7 Roaming Profile on Server 2003

I'm replacing all of the workstations and the server in one of our branch offices.
The server is running Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition. It's also the only Domain Controller, DNS Server, DHCP Server and Exchange server in that site.

The workstations are 6 new HP Desktop machines running Windows 7 Professional.

We've set up a very nice instance of "FOG" (http://www.fogproject.org/) for workstation imaging, running in a Virtual Machine on the server.

The idea is, we set up a single working image of one of these workstations and FOG can deploy that image (via Boot on LAN) to each of the workstations whenever we have a problem with the machines (viruses, etc). It even supports Multicasting so I can replace the images on all 6 machines simultaneously. Fog also runs a service on each machine, so that after it boots up with the generic image we can make changes (change computer name, join domain, etc). So it makes life much easier than our current solution (send the workstation back to Sydney to be rebuilt).

The problem I had was that we want to use roaming profiles on each machine, so that once the computer is imaged, it gets renamed by Fog, joins the domain automatically, and then the user can simply log on as themselves, and have their profile come down off the server, just as it was before the imaging took place.

Obviously at this point there will be a bunch of Windows Updates and AntiVirus updates that need to be done, but that's not a problem.

The problem I found was that Windows 7 (and Vista) profiles are apparently not compatible with Windows Server 2003.

The normal profile path (as defined in Active Directory) is \\servername\Profiles\%USERNAME% but when the machine logs on, it creates a new profile called \\servername\Profiles\%USERNAME%.V2 and then logs the user on with a Temporary Profile.

It never uploads the profile to the server, and therefore never syncs. Every time it logs on, you get the "You have been logged on with a temporary profile" error message, and no changes are ever saved.

Workaround:
- In Active Directory: Remove the value for "Roaming Profile". Leave it blank.
- Log on to the Workstation as the user you want to create the profile for.
- Log off the Workstation as the user
- On the Server, navigate to the Profiles folder and create the folder %USERNAME%.V2 with appropriate user permissions (Domain Admins (FULL), SYSTEM (FULL), %USERNAME% (FULL))
- Using Robocopy (http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd) copy the Profile from the Workstation to the new Roaming Profile folder:
robocopy \\workstation\C$\Users\%USERNAME% \\servername\Profiles\%USERNAME%.V2 /MIR /XD "Application Data"
- The important thing to note here is the '/XD "Application Data"' switch. This excludes the "Application Data" folder from being copied. This is VERY important, as if you don't do this you will get an infinite loop of Application Data folders which will cause a LOT of problems.
- Once you have copied the profile from the workstation to the server, you must then go back in to Active Directory and set the Roaming Profile path to be "\\servername\Profiles\%USERNAME%". <- Do NOT specify the .V2 folder, it'll automatically look for the .V2 extension.
- Log back on to the workstation as that user. You'll get a bunch of errors about how the profile has only been partially synchronised. This is OK to ignore, and won't come up again.

Make changes to your profile, log off, and back on again, and they should be there again and it shouldn't come up with any errors!

NSW Mobile Speed Camera Locations Google Maps / Google Earth Mashup

Having seen the list of Mobile Speed Camera van locations in NSW I flicked through and noticed that there were a lot that applied to me. Specifically, to my upcoming trip to the Snowy Mountains. At first glance, Coming from Sydney, I found 4 possible camera sites along the trip in each direction!

Using Google Earth, I've taken all of these sites and put them on to the map of Earth. Then using the Directions tab, I was able to overlay our route to the snowy mountains on the same map with all of the camera locations, and I discovered another 3 sites!

That's 7 potential camera locations in a single direction of travel from Sydney, and the annoying thing is: we pass through Canberra for a while and they've got these bloody cameras too!

Grab yourself a copy of Google Earth and install it.
Then download the .kml file that I created by clicking here, then click on "Free Download" and wait 60 seconds for the file to download.

You should then be able to see all the camera locations (as of today) and overlay your path on to the map using the Directions Tab. Then skoot along the path and see where the cameras are.

I'm sure someone will come up with a better way of doing this, if you do - let me know and I'll link it here.

I make no claims that this is perfectly accurate, and you are of course responsible for your own actions if you are caught speeding! This is just a guide, don't rely on it as it's likely to change at any time!

Good luck!

Telstra T-Hub what a Joke!

Telstra has given our company 5 T-Hub devices in order to evaluate whether we'd like to sell these to our customers. I was given the task to get the thing online, as nobody who had tried before me had any luck.

Upon firing up the device, and following the setup wizard, step 3 (of 5) involved a software update. This software update promptly failed, and crashed out of the setup wizard. Luckily, the device simply started working as though the setup wizard HAD been completed, and away we went.

While the user interface is very clunky, and is far inferior to competitors devices (iPad?) it did, for lack of a better word, work. I was able to surf the web on my wi-fi, listen to on-line radio, look at footy scores, check out you-tube, and if it wasn't blocked by the proxy in my office, play around on facebook.

The music, videos, and photo systems seem to work well, though the screen resolution isn't great, and the frame rate for full screen video sometimes lags. I particularly dislike how the video freezes momentarily while you change the volume up and down.

I was even able to make phone calls to our receptionist with relative ease.

However, my success was short lived, the device started doing a software update (the update that had moments before, failed) and this time it seemed to be working. The device promptly rebooted in to a newer version of the OS and once again I am presented with the setup wizard, seemingly resuming from where it crashed out earlier.

This time, I was thwarted by step 5, the final step of the setup process:
Please enter your Bigpond login details.

I was somewhat puzzled, as the device is a Telstra T-Hub, not a Bigpond T-Hub.
Since I intended for the device to remain on-site so as to allow staff to play with it, I didn't want to enter any Bigpond internet connection login details in to the device. I didn't understand why this should be necessary.

I called the 1300 Number in the back of the manual, followed the prompts to technical support, and ended up at Telstra Line Activations. A gentleman there kindly explained that I had the wrong number, gave me the correct 1800 number, then transferred me to the "T-Hub technical support department", it rang, and I ended up at Bigpond Technical Support.

After explaining my situation to Bigpond Technical Support, they said they didn't know anything about the device, and that I should contact the T-Hub technical support department.

You can imagine my frustration at this point, but I persevered (explaining the process I'd been through on the phone system already). The monkey connected me back to the 1300 number that I had already called in the first place.

I followed the prompts, and ended up with having my call answered by a voice-less Telstra employee (who I suspect was the same bloke I spoke to already). He refused to acknowledge me, even though I could hear him breathing and typing on his keyboard.

After being magically placed on hold a couple times, he eventually hung up on me!

Getting pretty angry by this point, but I called the 1300 number again.

This time, I chose the "T-Hub Sales" department, and my call was answered almost immediately. Amazing.

I bit the ear off the guy who answered, who finally sent me through to the T-Hub technical support department.

The lady I got through to was somewhat frazzled by my call, I was a little upset by this point already, and she clearly had very little knowledge of the device.

I explained to her that I was stuck at Step 5 of the T-Hub setup process, It's asking me for Bigpond login details. How do I get past this without entering bigpond login details? I'm a telstra customer, why do I need to be a Bigpond customer too?

She seemed puzzled by this question. I think she's under some illusion that every person in Australia is a Bigpond customer. Apparently, Bigpond is the only ISP out there, and to use another provider would be silly.

As though she was reading from the fine print, repeated: "The T-Hub requires a Bigpond username and password in order to function." over and over again.

I explained to her that I was quite capable of using the device without bigpond login details moments ago (when the setup crashed). It worked fine, right up until the involuntary software update took over.
"The T-Hub requires a Bigpond username and password in order to function."

I explained to her that these were demonstration units sent to us by Telstra themselves, and that if I am unable to evaluate the product, there's no way I can recommend to our Managing Director that we should sell these devices to our customers.
"The T-Hub requires a Bigpond username and password in order to function."
Whatever, if you can't help me, please put me through to somebody who can!
"The T-Hub requires a Bigpond username and password in order to function, my manager will tell you this too.!"

After a bit of aggression, she took my number to have someone "more qualified" contact me, we ended our conversation.

I give up. I logged in to the system we use to store passwords, and I entered the login details of one of our Bigpond Cable internet connections. Made it past step 5, and the device started working again.

I demonstrated the device to my managing director, who seemed somewhat unimpressed...

Since the device was now working, I decided to take it home and see if I could find some practical use for it.

I've set it up next to my home computer, connected to my home wi-fi, and my Telstra phone line. I can make calls with it, and everything seemed to work fine for a couple of days.

My wife and I got home on Monday night, and we wanted to have a quick look at a mapping service. Since it was late and the computer was off, I picked up the T-Hub.
Finally, I've found a situation where the device can be somewhat useful. Finally, I've found a purpose for the device.

I turned on the screen, and the device booted up (I should have mentioned, the device shuts itself off completely every time you turn the screen off. And you have to boot it up every time you want to use it. Annoying, but only takes about 30-40 seconds to boot up). I was prompted with a message: "This device has detected that you are not using a Bigpond Internet connection. Broadband services will be disabled until such time as you are using a Bigpond Internet connection."

My internet connection is with TPG. But my phone line is with Telstra. Once again, I fail to understand why I can't surf the web on this device without being locked in to a Bigpond internet connection!

Shocked and pretty damn angry, I pressed OK, and sure enough every useful application on the device was grayed out, and all I could do was make phone calls.

I turned the device off, and have not touched it since.

I returned to work on Tuesday after a long weekend, and received a phone call in the middle of the day. It was a bloke from Telstra, he sounded like he was calling from Sydney, and spoke with an Aussie acsent. Finally I thought, I'll get this issue worked out and get back to my testing.

"The T-Hub requires a Bigpond Internet connection in order to function."

What a F**king Joke!

A motivator

A motivator I created some time ago...

Pirate vs Paying Customer

This is very true! When will the industry figure out they're alienating their own customers!?!?

Facebook embedded in to Engadget website! What the?

Where the hell did that come from? Why is my facebook page embedded in to the Engadget website? It's a static image, like a screenshot. I can't interact with it except by double clicking it and ending up at my facebook page.

If Engadget's website can access my facebook account to do this, what's stopping other malicious websites doing the same!?!?

Am I overreacting here?

Stephen Conroy is an idiot

Stephen Conroy, Minister for broadband communications and the digital economy, is an idiot.

Don't take my word for it, he proves my point pretty well in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUohfIhFET8

Conroy claims that the national filter will be used to block content like Child Pornography and the likes. When one opposes the national filter, it seems like the issue is twisted around to the Child Pornography issue in every video and article I have ever read.

The problem is, I've been using the internet since 1997 (at the age of 11 or 12). Over the last 13 years, I'd estimate I have spent somewhere around 20,000+ hours on the internet. This may even be a conservative estimate.
I have NEVER stumbled across child pornography, not once in my entire life.

I remember when I was very young, I went LOOKING for pornography, and I couldn't even find a set of boobs!!! I was using search engines like altavista and yahoo, etc. I wasn't able to find anything!

Today, search engines like Google enable SafeSearch by default, and restricts (fairly well I might add) results to those which I would consider safe for children. While this is not a means of blocking all pornography on the internet, it's certainly not bad!

In today's world, if Child Pornography is found on the internet, it is removed VERY quickly by the appropriate law enforcement agency/ISP. No first world country permits the distribution or viewing of child pornography! One might even go so far as to say that there is NO easily accessible child pornography on what every day citizens call "the web".

I am not saying that Child Pornography doesn't exist, I am certain that it does otherwise we wouldn't be debating it. I am also NOT condoning child pornography in ANY way at all!
However, the people who are filming, distributing, and viewing child pornography are NOT using usual channels to do so. They're using gateways, anonymous proxies, and vpns to encrypt and hide their activities. They're using technologies like TOR and private P2P networks.

In the same way that 25 years ago, dirty old men met in dark alley ways and private areas to exchange illegal goods, so too today are people using the darkest corners of the internet to exchange dirty and despicable content! But they don't go to Google and search for "Child Porn"!

Senator Conroy, I challenge you to use Google or any MAJOR search engine, to find Child Pornography on the web. I challenge you to PROVE that such content is stumbled upon by children, or indeed ANYBODY in this country, during the course of normal web usage. I challenge you to answer the questions being asked of you in the YouTube video I linked above.

During the Howard Government, there were internet filtering products like SafeEyes and the likes that worked very well for families with children. When these products were easily available to families, I deployed to a few families and was very happy with the results. As an experienced internet user, I was unable to reasonably bypass or disable the product, or easily find content that I would consider inappropriate for children.

When the Rudd government came to power, they swiftly disabled access to services like SafeEyes, and now all we have is a bunch of propaganda from Conroy about implementing a national broadband filter.

Please explain to me how removing FREE access to filtering products for the average australian family, and replacing it with a bunch of speech, has done ANYTHING positive for the country! Anything at all!?!?

Rudd, bring back the voluntary filtering products introduced by the Howard Government.

Rudd, get rid of Conroy. The louder he screams, the lower your approval rating goes. Surely you've noticed this?

Rudd, Get your act together and bring back the voluntary, pc-based products that Howard implemented! They worked well, and I would even go so far as to suggest they work BETTER than filtering a static list of websites that Conroy seems to hell bent on filtering.

Conroy, stop being an idiot! If you can.