September 2012 archive

Shortcuts to Restart, Hibernate, Standby or Shutdown Your Computer

Here’s a tip that might be handy for those using Windows 8 or most other recent versions of Windows. If using the charms bar in Windows 8 makes your head explode then you might fancy creating a shortcut to restart, hibernate, standby or shutdown your computer. It’s very easy to do as follows: Right click …

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Attunity, MS SQL and Oracle – Back to the Drawing Board

Earlier this week, I shared my intention to try and use Attunity to satisfy my requirement to get MS SQL Server to connect to Oracle to facilitate the transfer of data from various databases. Unforuntately for me this idea was stopped in its tracks because the Attunity connectors are designed to be used with MS …

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Current Cost EnviR CT Clamp Installation

It’s taken a while but I’ve finally arranged for an electrician to come out to install the CT clamp for the Current Cost EnviR Power Monitor in the electrical meter cupboard outside. Given that I was taking today off to get an extra day for the long weekend and also take delivery of a brand …

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An Alternative to Connecting MS SQL Server to Oracle

For a little while now I have been trying to get MS SQL Server 2008 R2 on Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit to connect to an Oracle 10g database but have run into some issues doing so with some other more complicated solutions. My approaches to date have involved extra Oracle client software and working …

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Major Milestone – 100,000 Visits :)

Okay, it’s time to blow the old trumpet here šŸ™‚ Last night, the blog racked up its 100,000th visit to the site and 125,000 pageviews since things kicked off on 30/01/2010. That’s not too bad at all given that this started off as a bit of a hobby to help keep me in the swing …

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Save Time Waiting in Queues With myRTA

Just a quick tip for today. I am currently in the process of selling a vehicle and have found that getting out to the RTA can time consuming. Driving out to the closest branch, waiting your turn to get called up to the counter, explaining what you want, filling in a form, etc. if your …

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Electric Vehicles and Novated Leasing

While I am waiting for a new 2012 Toyota Prius to have its novated lease approved I thought I’d share aĀ conundrumĀ that I discovered when doing my research for a new vehicle prior to locking in another Prius. One option that my wife and I had on the table has to retain the 2008 Toyota Prius …

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Incoming Gadget – Panasonic NR-BY552XSAU Inverter Refrigerator

Perhaps not something you check out everyday but something I thought worth sharing nonetheless. A while ago our Fisher and Paykel Q E442B fridge suffered from someĀ unscheduledĀ maintenanceĀ after its circuit had been tripped. While the fridge was repaired and has been working well for nearly three months, I thought it would be a good idea to …

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An Easier Way to Friend People on Nintendo 3DS

Here’s a quick tip for Nintendo 3DS gamers out there. Friend codes can be a pain to swap particularly if you’re in a hurry but there is a quicker way to friend someone if they are in the immediate area. Just do the following: Tap the smiley face up the top of the dashboard screen, …

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Boost Windows Security With EMET 3.0

Thanks to John Tomic for this tip. While Microsoft does a reasonable job keeping on top of the various security vulnerabilities found in its software your system will still be exposed to threats between the time they are identified (if at all) and the time when the patch is successfully installed. Like insurance, it can …

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