RANT: Google Chrome Enterprise Installer Desktop Shortcut

Up to this point, I've found Google Chrome to be a great browser. But, I just installed the Enterprise version of Chrome to give the application to all users. To my chagrin, I found that it also forces a shortcut on the desktop and taskbar for all new users. There doesn't seem to be a way to stop those shortcuts from getting created for all new users of the computer. Hey Google, stop trying to be like Microsoft pushing IE down our throats. Not everyone wants to have Google Chrome shortcuts plastered every where. 

Perhaps I can put together a script that deletes these annoying shortcuts...

TIPS & TRICKS: Slow Wake for MacBook Pro

Apparently, Apple notebooks have a standby mode that is a deeper sleep than the standard sleep that happens when you first close the lid. This standby mode kicks in after an hour of normal sleep by default to help save battery power. Good feature to really help save battery drain while the computer is sleeping. 

However, there is a draw back. It takes about 10 to 15 seconds after the lid is open before a password can be entered. If I'm a hurry, 10 to 15 seconds seems like an eternity. 

Fortunately, there's a way to adjust this behavior. Here's the command to use in terminal:

sudo pmset -a standbydelay 86400




The 86400 is the number seconds in 24 hours. This can be adjusted to what ever works for you. To check the setting:

pmset -g

See the following blog for additional information:

http://www.ewal.net/2012/09/09/slow-wake-for-macbook-pro-retina/

Hope this helps you. 

TIPS & TRICKS: Microsoft Office Activation

In the office we use Volume Licensed installations of Microsoft Office. Each installation "phones home" every so often to extend the activation period. When Office "phones home" it talks to a KMS (Key Management Services) server, which grants additional time when it's a valid installation.

A second way to activate Microsoft Office is through a MAK (Multiple Activation Key), which has a predefined number of activations. This method is for machines that are not able to talk to a KMS server within a specified period of time.

Finally, there are retail versions that have unique codes for each installation or a unique code for a small number of installations within a household, usually 3 installations.

My problem was how to see which one of the above methods a particular installation is using, since the information in the Help menu does not give that information. Fortunately, there is a command line tool that will give that information:

cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus

This command needs to be run inside the Officex, where x is the number that corresponds with your version of Microsoft Office (i.e. Office14 for Microsoft Office 2010). The Officex folder is found in Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office or Program Files\Microsoft Office depending if you're running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Office.

In addition, there's a command to tell Office to activate or renew remaining grace period:

cscript ospp.vbs /act

Side note: For installations of Microsoft Office away from your corporate environment, you'll likely need some sort of secured connection (i.e. VPN) back to the office to use the activation/renewal command.

Printing to Adobe PDF in Firefox

Synopsis: User tries to take a webpage in Firefox 21.0 and convert it to a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat X, version 10.1.7. Going up to File > Print and selecting Adobe PDF works fine. The problem occurs after the print dialog box comes up, the Adobe PDF printer is chosen and the print button is clicked. Sometimes you get the window to choose the location to save the resulting file. But, the end result is a freeze of the Printing progress bar, which leads only to force quitting Firefox:

Sometimes after force quitting Firefox, this Creating Adobe PDF window comes up on the screen and just sits there:

Only thing I can do with this window is close it out without any further incident. 

Troubleshooting steps: 

• Reloaded Firefox
• Reloaded Adobe Acrobat
• Ran Firefox in Safe Mode
• Attempted to close out problematic processes just before printing
• Tested with different Windows users profiles on the same machine

all without success. The problem could be reproduced with Microsoft XPS virtual printer as well. Found a forum post that explained the problem in a bit more detail:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/937032

The article references Firefox 15 with a link to another forum post about even older versions of Firefox. But, the symptoms are pretty much identical. Basically, Firefox has trouble handling calls to Windows File common dialog, which should be pretty routine. Of course, this problem doesn't occur in IE or Chrome. Hopefully, I'll have some updates at some point down the road (i.e. Firefox fixed the problem with an update). For now, I have suggested to the user to try a non-Adobe PDF creator in the form of a Firefox plug-in or try to use a different browser if he anticipates he needs to create a PDF from a webpage. 

TIPS & TRICKS: Make Sure 'Display Name' Is Populated

Learned something new today about Exchange. Apparently, the Display Name field holds much more significance than I originally thought. When searching for users to create a new profile (i.e. hitting Check Name) in Outlook setup, it actually relies on the Display Name field to find the appropriate user in the Global Address List. I used to think that giving it the correct username was enough.

In the future, I will make sure to have Display Name filled out appropriately and not leave it blank.