AutoHotKey or AutoIt are better and they are free unlike Visual Basic.
Mod this up. I've used C++, Java, Perl, Ruby, vbscript, batch, and likely a few more to do this kind of thing in Windows over the years. For something this small I haven't found anything that beats AutoIt. It's so easy to learn and is fantastic for creating small, standalone executables with a GUI on Windows. This task is a perfect fit.
XP SP2 does support using Group Policy to limit USB storage devices to read only. Where I work the Corporate Security group doesn't even want to allow read access. That makes sense for a number of reasons, so that wasn't an option for us. Not to mention the fact that SP2 is a minority in our environment.
Our solution was to create a package for software delivery that does the following: 1) Create the reg key HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/USBSTOR if it does not exist. 2) Create a REG_DWORD value named Start if it does not exist. Set to 4. 3) Change permissions on the key, removing all inherited perms, and setting System:Read, Everyone:Deny
This will effectively disable any USB storage device and stop Plug and Play from installing any new drivers for USB storage. The job runs multiple times a day on each machine. In addition, it also reads machine names from an exception list (VIP users approved by Corp Sec) and takes no action (or reverses the changes) if it finds it's running on a listed machine. It also logs any non-exempt machine where an administrator has removed the restrictions manually.
My experience mirrors yours; my PowerBooks resume almost instantly. My Toshiba Satellite and IBM ThinkPad take longer and sometimes don't come back from sleep at all, requiring a reboot. Both of those are running XP SP 1.
We had the same problem where I work (large Wall Street firm). Problem occured on NT4 SP6a machines. Turned out to be a problem with the crypto api dll's. A reinstallation of SP6a was necessary to resolve the issue.
I wish you hadn't said that. Sounds like an idea Microsoft would love to implement. Can you imagine the amound of coin that would have netted them over the years?
Even with a cable connection, multimedia streaming over the internet stinks. 100mbits doesn't even really sound like that much now when considering that DVD-quality broadcasts will use 6 and HDTV quality will use 18. I think they're on the right track here. The telcos have no interest in building the infrastructure because they are already maxing their profit margins. I agree with the article, that high-speed data connectivity is no longer a convenience.
Being ahead of the curve, and probably only by a little bit at that, is the way to go.
I've been using MythTV for a few months and love it. I can't believe how well it works and how fast it's growing new features. The dev list is thriving and fun to follow. It works so well my non-techie wife even uses it without my help.
You haven't worked with NT in the real world for very long, my friend. Granted some people aren't very good at setting NT up but if you've only seen one BSOD you haven't been exposed to much NT. I'm a Tier 3 NT tech for a very large company and I've been working with NT and *nix for over 5 years on a full-time basis. NT is just not as stable and solid as just about any *nix box you can name. Unfortunately, application crashes in NT often cause problems with other applications or even worse, cause the whole OS to become unstable enough to require a reboot.
The government won their suit against Intel, my friend. Unlike M$, Intel was smart enough to realize that they would lose and that the bad publicity would turn the public against them the way it has with M$. Consequently, they settled out of court for an undisclosed punishment.
Slashdot Mirror
RIP Steve Jobs. Insanely great. Indeed.
Same here. Unreadable now. I used to read it all day on my iPhone 4.
I find the same. Didn't anyone test this on an iPhone before rolling this out?
Please elaborate.
Just like those evil retail stores. I hear they buy the product for less than they sell it!
AHAHAHAHA
Mod this up!
Problem solved.
AutoHotKey or AutoIt are better and they are free unlike Visual Basic.
Mod this up. I've used C++, Java, Perl, Ruby, vbscript, batch, and likely a few more to do this kind of thing in Windows over the years. For something this small I haven't found anything that beats AutoIt. It's so easy to learn and is fantastic for creating small, standalone executables with a GUI on Windows. This task is a perfect fit.
XP SP2 does support using Group Policy to limit USB storage devices to read only. Where I work the Corporate Security group doesn't even want to allow read access. That makes sense for a number of reasons, so that wasn't an option for us. Not to mention the fact that SP2 is a minority in our environment.
Our solution was to create a package for software delivery that does the following:
1) Create the reg key HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/USBSTOR if it does not exist.
2) Create a REG_DWORD value named Start if it does not exist. Set to 4.
3) Change permissions on the key, removing all inherited perms, and setting System:Read, Everyone:Deny
This will effectively disable any USB storage device and stop Plug and Play from installing any new drivers for USB storage. The job runs multiple times a day on each machine. In addition, it also reads machine names from an exception list (VIP users approved by Corp Sec) and takes no action (or reverses the changes) if it finds it's running on a listed machine. It also logs any non-exempt machine where an administrator has removed the restrictions manually.
Works surprisingly well.
My experience mirrors yours; my PowerBooks resume almost instantly. My Toshiba Satellite and IBM ThinkPad take longer and sometimes don't come back from sleep at all, requiring a reboot. Both of those are running XP SP 1.
I have done this exact same thing. Don't you love 'hacks' like this?
is how we refer to many of the meetings I'm forced to attend.
We had the same problem where I work (large Wall Street firm). Problem occured on NT4 SP6a machines. Turned out to be a problem with the crypto api dll's. A reinstallation of SP6a was necessary to resolve the issue.
I wish you hadn't said that. Sounds like an idea Microsoft would love to implement. Can you imagine the amound of coin that would have netted them over the years?
Build it and they will come...
Even with a cable connection, multimedia streaming over the internet stinks. 100mbits doesn't even really sound like that much now when considering that DVD-quality broadcasts will use 6 and HDTV quality will use 18. I think they're on the right track here. The telcos have no interest in building the infrastructure because they are already maxing their profit margins. I agree with the article, that high-speed data connectivity is no longer a convenience.
Being ahead of the curve, and probably only by a little bit at that, is the way to go.
With the loss of high-speed trans-atlantic travel it feels like we're going backwards. It's 2003 and we have nothing to replace it.
I've been using MythTV for a few months and love it. I can't believe how well it works and how fast it's growing new features. The dev list is thriving and fun to follow. It works so well my non-techie wife even uses it without my help.
There's nothing funnier than a post by a Microsoft apologist.
I was looking for something like this the other day.
Bunch of lamers.
has been doing this for some time now as well.
One question on an MCP exam does not indicate that Microsoft openly admits when someone else makes a superior product.
Yo, wake the fuck up skippy. The article also said that M$ believed that 20+k of the bugs were potentially real.
Are you a moron? M$ tried in a highly-publicized failure to convert Hotmail to NT.
You haven't worked with NT in the real world for very long, my friend. Granted some people aren't very good at setting NT up but if you've only seen one BSOD you haven't been exposed to much NT. I'm a Tier 3 NT tech for a very large company and I've been working with NT and *nix for over 5 years on a full-time basis. NT is just not as stable and solid as just about any *nix box you can name. Unfortunately, application crashes in NT often cause problems with other applications or even worse, cause the whole OS to become unstable enough to require a reboot.
The government won their suit against Intel, my friend. Unlike M$, Intel was smart enough to realize that they would lose and that the bad publicity would turn the public against them the way it has with M$. Consequently, they settled out of court for an undisclosed punishment.