Hacking aspSysInfo
Started by Björn and Rob, aspSysInfo is a clone of the ever popular phpSysInfo script for Microsoft IIS-based web servers written using Active Server Pages (ASP). Both of these scripts display system statistics (phpSysInfo) such as uptime, memory usage, file system resources, network information, and a device list of the host being accessed in a neatly formatted HTML page. Although aspSysInfo has been dormant for almost a year, phpSysInfo has continued on and is now compatible on Windows with IIS. It still requires (you guessed it) PHP to be installed which is overkill for–what amounts to–eye candy.
Installation for aspSysInfo is very straight forward. Unrar the file into a directory on your webserver and register two DLL files in the /components directory (i.e. ‘regsvr32 c:\path\to\file.dll’). A few options can be changed in /includes/config.inc. Everything should be ready now. The page can be viewed by pointing your web browser to the directory where aspSysInfo is installed. It should look something like this:
Note: Unlike the example system above, I am running Windows XP Pro SP2 but aspSysInfo should work on any modern version of Windows.
Instead, I saw this page with VBScript runtime error ‘800a0006′:
Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 Initial Review
Following up on my post announcing Vista’s availablity from yesterday, I want to elaborate on my experience running Windows Vista Beta 2.
Although the latest Beta 2 detected all of my hardware except my smartcard reader, I’m not impressed with a few major areas. 802.1x authentication does not work which is quite a large hindrance especially for corporate customers running secure wireless networks. Mainly, it does not work in my WPA2-Enterprise (WPA2 + AES + RADIUS) wireless network running at my home. Vista would send the proper authentication information and the Microsoft IAS RADIUS server (running on a 120-Trial version of Win2k3) would grant access (confirmed via logs) but Vista would not grab an IP address. Statically setting an IP also failed to provide network access. I had to pull out an old WEP access point and finally Vista worked wirelessly. Due to WEP’s insecurity, I have resorted to having to use the built in gigabit ethernet. Albeit that most of the public doesn’t have as elaborate of a wireless set up at home, but I’m surprised that this functionality is broken in Beta 2.
USB2 is horribly slow. I connected a USB2 memory stick to copy some files off the system when wireless wasn’t working. The new Vista file copy progress dialog displays transfer rate. The fastest it ever got was a molasses slow 300KB/s! Can you imagine waiting almost 10 minutes to transfer 150 megs locally? I almost went nuts. Again, I acknowledge this is beta software, but is it that hard to get USB Mass Storage drivers to work properly?
Windows Vista Beta 2 Available for (Legal) Download
Microsoft has just released Windows Vista Beta 2 for download. Scroll down to the country selection box and enter in your Passport ID. Microsoft will provide a serial number that can be used on up to 10 machines. The download is a DVD ISO image that must be burned before installing which should self-select against the most novice of users.
Once installed, Vista will complain about the lack of a virus scanner. At this time, both Computer Associates and Trend Micro are giving away free trial software. Give either one a try–they are both great.
Also go grab the lastest Vista drivers for your video card to get Aero Glass working. nVidia Vista drivers for x86 and x64 are available. Ati Vista drivers for Radeon cards for x86 and x64 are also available. Go to ATI’s main Vista Driver knowledge base article to pick the appropriate driver if you have a notebook or motherboard with built-in graphics. If after installing the drivers Aero Glass does not work after clicking the check box, chances are you need to have Vista reevaluate the performance rating of your system. Once that is done, an Aero Glass compatible system will yield the transparent interface.
When testing don’t be surprised with the numerous bugs, broken functionality, and many current applications failing to install–this is a beta! Although the latest Beta 2 detected all of my hardware except my smartcard reader, I’m not impressed. As per my previous post, there are some issues with 802.1x authentication which is quite a large hindrance. The other annoyance is the new non-admin user model. It is completely broken and illogical. Inevitably, those people that get Vista Beta 2 working on their hardware will complain about constantly being bothered to elevate privileges. The end result will either be people disabling the new protection scheme or learning to click without reading–both scenarios are disastrous and will render this protection useless.
Microsoft is encouraging users to submit anonymous comments. Please do so! Not doing so means that we shouldn’t expect every problem to be fixed in the release version.
The State of Dell’s Axim x51(v)
Something is rotten in the state of Texas… and no it is not ghost of a dead king but a bug-ridden PDA…
Shame on Dell and Microsoft. For nearly 5 months, I have complained (repeatedly) about system crashes (white screen of death), random battery drainage, disappearing memory cards, lack of WPA2 support and a crippled Bluetooth stack amongst the problems to have completely ruined my latest foray back in to the PDA world. To even suggest that I consider my PalmPilot Pro I purchased in 1997 to be a far more stable and usable device for basic PIM functions over a WM5 device is an embarrassment for the companies involved.
Although the Axim community has petitioned and complained on the phone for fixes, Dell’s oft repeated response to its customers has been “an update is coming in two weeks.” Right… the latest ROM update is version A06 released on January 3, 2006. Five months of “two week” excuses is not only frustrating but also led many to lose faith in the competence of Dell’s mobile computing division. A majority of Dell’s most technically savvy customers have already given up on any future updates including the anticipated AKU 2.0 for the Axim x51(v). What about an update including Microsoft’s Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Push Email? I’m sure it’ll be another two weeks but don’t count on it.
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