I’ve been trying to enable the passive port range on an IIS6 FTP server. I did everything. I enabled direct metabase edit, set the range using ADSUTIL and then added the ports to the firewall.

It turns out that if you set the firewall to allow “FTP”, the passive port range will be ignored and the default passive port range will be used. To solve it, you’ll need to manually add port 21 and the ports defined in the passive port range… Strange but true.
(more…)

I've been trying to enable the passive port range on an IIS6 FTP server. I did everything. I enabled direct metabase edit, set the range using ADSUTIL and then added the ports to the firewall. It turns out that if you set the firewall to allow "FTP", the passive port range will be ignored ...

If you get the following error while trying to update the firmware on a Nokia Phone…

Nokia Software Updater has attempted to connect to the internet but has failed three times. This could be because of a poor-quality, slow or intermitent internet connection, or restrictions due to a firewall.

If requested by your firewall, Nokia Software updater needs the following applications to gain access to the internet:
nsl_host_process.exe
nsu_ui_client.exe

(more…)

If you get the following error while trying to update the firmware on a Nokia Phone... Nokia Software Updater has attempted to connect to the internet but has failed three times. This could be because of a poor-quality, slow or intermitent internet connection, or restrictions due to a firewall. If requested by your firewall, Nokia Software ...

As you may be aware, Space Shuttle Discovery is currently docked to the International Space Station as part of mission STS-128.

The shuttle is due to land at 00:09am on Friday 11 September BST (British Summer Time).

It just so happens that London will get one good chance to see the Space Station (and possibly Space Shuttle) before the Shuttle lands.

The best time for the sighting is Wednesday the 9th September at 20:34:44 BST. We would have only had average sightings, but since the ISS and Shuttle boosted their height (and adjusted their orbit) a little, we’re now getting some brighter viewing as more decent times.

(more…)

As you may be aware, Space Shuttle Discovery is currently docked to the International Space Station as part of mission STS-128. The shuttle is due to land at 00:09am on Friday 11 September BST (British Summer Time). It just so happens that London will get one good chance to see the Space Station (and possibly Space ...

Although both Apple and Microsoft say it’s easy moving between their platforms, things aren’t as easy as they seem.

You can struggle for hours trying to move your data. I’ve tried conversion tools and some emails always fail. The best method is to take advantage of IMAP, which will let you store emails on a server, then download them again.

If your ISP doesn’t give you an IMAP account, there are Lots of webmail providers such as gmail can give you an IMAP account.

Once you’re set up, just drag the emails into the IMAP folder and they will upload to the server.

Now, just configure your new client and download the emails. Done!

If you are worried about privacy, you can download and install hmailserver, create an account on that and then just send the messages to your local server.

Although both Apple and Microsoft say it's easy moving between their platforms, things aren't as easy as they seem. You can struggle for hours trying to move your data. I've tried conversion tools and some emails always fail. The best method is to take advantage of IMAP, which will let you store emails ...

Microsoft just upgraded Live Messenger.

If you happen to use Windows Server 2003 as your operating system of choice – As a lot of web developers do, you are now out of luck using Windows Live Messenger.

As of yesterday, you are forced to upgrade Live Messenger to the latest and greatest version, which um, er, doesn’t support Windows Server 2003. You’ll either need to upgrade to Server 2008, or downgrade to an older version Windows Messenger instead of Live.

Yes, we understand, Server is meant to be used as a server, but a lot of people use it as their main OS.

Microsoft really overlooked this one…

Microsoft just upgraded Live Messenger. If you happen to use Windows Server 2003 as your operating system of choice - As a lot of web developers do, you are now out of luck using Windows Live Messenger. As of yesterday, you are forced to upgrade Live Messenger to the latest and greatest version, which um, er, ...

Although VB had it’s limitations, it was damn easy to filter an input string for a numerical value.

Here is how to do it in C#. You’ll need to use System.Text.RegularExpressions in the header

private static int VBVal(string sInput)
{
        string sOutput = string.Empty;
        MatchCollection oMatches = Regex.Matches(sInput, "\\d+");
        foreach (Match oMatch in oMatches)
        {
                sOutput += oMatch.ToString();
        }
        return (int)sOutput;
}

Although VB had it's limitations, it was damn easy to filter an input string for a numerical value. Here is how to do it in C#. You'll need to use System.Text.RegularExpressions in the header private static int VBVal(string sInput) { string sOutput = string.Empty; ...

I’ve previously blogged about CHDK. It is the “Canon Hackers Development Kit” and is alternative firmware for Canon digital cameras. It never actually overwrites the camera firmware and can give a camera many extra features not available in the default firmware.

For radio control applications, specifically aerial photography, there is a real bonus in being able to control a camera to take photos from the radio control unit.

CHDK will allow your camera to take photos when 5volts is supplied on the +ve pin of a USB cable. I’ll be using this feature to show you a simple way of interfacing a channel from your RC gear to the camera.
(more…)

I've previously blogged about CHDK. It is the "Canon Hackers Development Kit" and is alternative firmware for Canon digital cameras. It never actually overwrites the camera firmware and can give a camera many extra features not available in the default firmware. For radio control applications, specifically aerial photography, there is a real bonus in ...

Forty years ago, Michael Collins was in orbit around the moon and two brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin (Jr) were sitting inside Eagle at Tranquility Base on the moon getting ready to make history and be the first men to ever walk upon a foreign body.

At 03:56:15am tomorrow UK (summer) time, back in 1969, Neil Armstrong placed his left foot upon the lunar regolith and said the words “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind”, while the world’s population united as history was made. Mankind will forever cherish the most important moment in modern history, as one of our own, a homo sapien simultaneously explored a new world and gained the capability to escape our certain future of extinction on Earth (home sweet home).

Voyaging to another “heavenly” body (I’m not a religious man) wasn’t without it’s risks, and President Nixon didn’t want to be caught out in the event of a disaster.  A speech was prepared for the possibility of Buzz and Neil being the first men to walk on the moon, and die on it.

Here is the speech.  Revealed in 1999, it was prepared by Nixon’s speechwriter at the time, William Safire…

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Just reading the speech above chokes me up as I appreciate the risk that these men faced. I’m disheartened that being an “80′s child”, I didn’t witness this historical moment with my own eyes, having only witnessed it on VHS, DVD, Satellite Television and YouTube. I can only hope that one day I will be down here taking a breath of Earth’s lifesaving air while I can look up knowing that astronauts above me have left the safety of low earth orbit on a new voyage of discovery.

It’s time for mankind to make another leap. It’s been too long. We need to look beyond fossil fuels, health & safety and explore the heavens again. Not to prove anything to other nations, but because, in the words of Frank Borman (Apollo 8 Commander), “Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit. “.

Forty years ago, Michael Collins was in orbit around the moon and two brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin (Jr) were sitting inside Eagle at Tranquility Base on the moon getting ready to make history and be the first men to ever walk upon a foreign body. At 03:56:15am tomorrow UK (summer) time, ...

NASA has reported that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has sent back its first images of Apollo lunar landing sites. They say they will be releasing the images at 12 noon EDT (5pm London Time), today, Friday 17th July. Here is a link to the press release.

Update: The photos have been released at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html – Not the clearest, but once the satellite gets to it’s final orbit, we should expect images of the resolution I wrote about below.

The actual photos will probably be released at http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc_browse.

Now, for the bad news… Although the orbiter has a high resolution camera, reportedly able to do one pixel per sqare foot (0.3m resolution), this is at perigee (the closest point of orbit) and at nadir (directly overhead). So far, the best images released are half of that (one quarter of the resolution) at one pixel per 0.56m.

I decided to work out what to expect to see.

The lunar lander module has a maximum diameter of 9.07m. At 56cm per pixel, this makes the lander 16 pixels in diameter… or like this:

Now, let’s overlay it on the moon, with a shadow:

Image sources are:
http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/mwade/project/apollo.htm
http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc_browse/view/iom20090703

I hope you weren’t expecting more than this…

At some of the Apollo sites, there will be tracks from the lunar rover. The rover is 72 inches wide, which is 1.82 metres, or 2.8 pixels, but the actual wheel tracks will likely be under half a pixel wide so possibly detectable by their shadows.

The foot prints will come in at around 0.5 x 0.25 pixels, hardly detectable.

We should be able to see the actual rovers at 3×4 pixels, and the PLSS (Life support back packs), provided they are lying flat at around 1×2 pixels, but bright white.

Although these images will be of great interest to us Apollo fans, the people who believe it was hoaxed won’t change their minds.

NASA has reported that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has sent back its first images of Apollo lunar landing sites. They say they will be releasing the images at 12 noon EDT (5pm London Time), today, Friday 17th July. Here is a link to the press release. Update: The photos have been released at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html ...

For those of you that use twitter, I’m going to be tweeting the Moon Landing Live (Well, 40 years late).

You can find the twitter feed at www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho.
(more…)

For those of you that use twitter, I'm going to be tweeting the Moon Landing Live (Well, 40 years late). You can find the twitter feed at www.twitter.com/ApolloEcho. An in case you were wondering, I've automated the whole thing. I've trawled through newspapers, mission transcripts and other sources to try and get at least ...