Apple begins recall of first-gen iPod nanos after battery problems

Apple has begun its recall program to replace the first generation iPod nano, after determining that there is a problem with the battery. Any iPod nano that was sold between September 2005 and December 2006 could “overheat and pose a safety risk”.

The company has said that it traced it to a single battery supplier, and says that the likelihood of the battery overheating increases as the battery ages. Because of that, you should stop using your old iPod nano NOW and replace it.

Apple will give you a replacement unit, free of charge. However, most likely, you’re going to get one of the later generations of the iPod nano. We’re not expecting Apple to just give you another first-generation iPod nano, because its five-to-six years old and most likely doesn’t have any more stock. I do have a first-generation iPod nano that is eligible for this, so we’ll see what Apple gives in return since they are keeping it all hush-hush.

Apple’s recall program includes Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. You’ll also need to make sure your serial number matches between the dates of manufacturer, which you can find on this handy image below:

If you do use the online form, then you have ten business days to get the product sent to Apple. For Australians, print out the dispatch label and go to the nearest Australia Post. You should not include the power or USB cord, or manuals, as they will not be returned to you. Please also note that it could take five business days for your package to sent to Apple, depending on your region.Then you will have to wait up to six weeks from when Apple receives your iPod nano to ship out a replacement unit.

If you don’t want to use the online form, you can head over to the Apple Store or an Apple Authorised Service Provider to help you send the product over to Apple for validation and trade it in.

The new iPod nano, whatever it is, is “warranted to be free from defects for 90 days from the date of service.”

Short URL: http://bit.ly/vpGaic

Article from:

http://techgeek.com.au/2011/11/13/apple-begins-recall-of-first-gen-ipod-nanos-after-battery-problems/

HP holding “all-hands” meeting tonight, finally decide the fate of webOS

UPDATE: Rumours are intensifying after Meg Whitman, current CEO of HP, told a room of HP and Palm employees that a final decision to continue or not continue to support the fledgling webOS will come in three to four weeks.

She says that “It’s really important to me to make the right decision, not the fast decision” and that if HP does decide to keep the platform it will “do it in a very significant way over a multi-year period.” The delay has been caused by the recent decision on HP PC business and the work behind HP’s Autonomy aquisition. If HP does decide to keep webOS, Whitman has suggested they will focus on tablets more than phones.

It’s going to be interesting, but today all we can say is stay tuned to TECHGEEK.com.au.

ORIGINAL: The rumours that HP is selling webOS have grown stronger since last nights report from Reuters. Now The Verge is reporting that, according to “multiple sources”, HP is holding a all-hands meeting tonight, led by Meg Whitman, that will decide the fate of webOS.

As we told you yesterday, the purchaser is rumoured to be IBM, Oracle, and RIM as well as a few unlikely contenders.

Details are scarce, but you can be sure TECHGEEK.com.au have all the news on the sale of webOS as it comes to hand. Fingers crossed something good happens.

Short URL: http://bit.ly/rPes1B

What Is the Security Intelligence Report?

With a collection of data from Internet services and over 600 million computers worldwide, the Security Intelligence Report (SIR) exposes the threat landscape of exploits, vulnerabilities, and malware. Awareness of threats is a preventive step to help you protect your organization, software, and people.

Worldwide Threat Assessment is an analysis of the global impact while Regional Threat
Assessment provides detailed telemetry by location. Protection methods appear in Managing Risk. SIR volume 11 provides data from January to June 2011 and features the ZeroDay article.

Link: 

http://www.microsoft.com/security/sir/default.aspx

Connect To VPN Before Logging In To Windows

In this post, we’ll look at two scenarios that involve establishing a VPN connection before logging in to Windows. In the first case, we need to authenticate to a domain to login. In the second case, the connection needs to be established automatically without a user.

NOTE: This article pertains to the built-in VPN client in Windows. There is however some discussion of Cisco clients in the comments below.

Scenario 1: Authenticating to A Domain At Login

Windows XP

At the Log On to Windows dialogue box, fill in the User name and Password fields.  Select your domain from the Log on to drop down. Then check the Log on using dial-up connection checkbox. (Click Options >> to reveal the Log on to drop down and dial-up checkbox if they are hidden.) Click OK.

The Network Connections dialog box will appear. Select your VPN connection from the drop down. Click Connect. The standard VPN Connect box will appear. Connect as normal. Once the VPN connection is established, the original Log On to Windows user name and password will be applied and you’ll be logged in.

Note: In the process above, you may receive a dialogue box asking for area code and other dialing options. Just humor Windows and fill it out. It won’t matter.

IMPORTANT: The “Anyone who uses this computer” radio button must have been checked when the VPN connection was created. Otherwise the VPN will not be present in the  Network Connectionsdrop down. If this is the case, just log on as a local administrator and recreate the connection.

Windows 7

At the login screen, click the Switch User button. A Network logon button will appear in the lower right corner next to the power button. Click this button and you will be presented with buttons for available network connections. Click on the button for your VPN. Enter your Username and Password, and click the arrow button (or press Enter).

IMPORTANT: The “Allow other people to use this connection” checkbox must have been checked when the VPN connection was created. Otherwise the VPN will not be present among the available network connections. If this is the case, just log on as a local administrator and recreate the connection.

Scenario 2: VPN Connection Without User Interaction

Credit where credit is due: The process in this scenario 2 section is drawn from this blog entry, which I stumbled upon early in my research of this topic.

Windows XP

What we’re going to do is install a system service that is started at boot and calls a batch file. The batch file will invoke a command that will start the VPN.

You will need three files available from Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools. At the time of this writing, the download is available from Microsoft here. Run the executable to unpack and install the tools. Note the directory where the installer puts the tools.

1. Put the commandrasdial connection-name username password into a batch file and name itautoexnt.bat.

• Connection-name is the name you gave the VPN connection when you created it.
• The “Anyone who uses this computer” radio button must have been checked when the VPN connection was created.
• Documentation on the rasdial command can be found here.

2. In the directory created by the Resource Kit Tools installer, locate autoexnt.exe, instexnt.exe, andservmess.dll. Move those files and autoexnt.bat to %SystemRoot%\System32\.

3. From a command prompt, run instexnt.exe install to install the service.

• Documentation on the AutoExNT service can be found here.

You’re done. Next time the machine boots, it will automatically establish the given VPN connection.

Windows 7 (64-bit)

Follow the process outlined above, but in step 2, transfer the files to %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\.

• The files must be transferred to this directory because they are 32-bit. 32-bit executables go in the SysWOW64 directory, and 64-bit executables go in the System32 directory. A discussion of why it works like that can be found here.

Windows 7 (32-bit) and Vista (32 & 64-bit)

I have not tested this on Windows 7 32-bit or on any version of Vista, though I imagine it would work just the same.

Drag and Drop Not Working in Windows 7

Applies To: Windows | Windows 7 | Performance and Maintenance

Scenario:-

I have a new problem that has cropped up just in the last week or two. I can no longer drag and drop my files and folders in Windows Explorer. I have Windows 7 on a HP Notebook. It came installed on the computer last December when I bought it (09). I've never had an issue with it since then, and I'm not sure how to find the settings to enable drag and drop or re-enable it. I know I've done it before on this machine, many times- and just noticed it first in  Thunderbird, (my email desktop application) then in explorer. I did recently install the SP1 (spelling??) a few weeks ago, and have installed a few other odds and ends programs, but I'm pretty sure drag and drop was working okay until a few days ago. 

Any help would be appreciated. As a genealogy writer, that's a must have feature. 

Most Helpful Reply in this webpage: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/drag-and-drop-not-working-in-windows-7/f6dcfa11-8c51-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5

In Windows Explorer, click a file with the left mouse button and keep the button held down. Then press the Escape key. Drag and drop is miraculously re-enabled.


I got this from http://it.thelibrarie.com/weblog/2010/06/drag-and-drop-stops-working/