Useful tip if you ever need to get a Web server up & running on Windows ASAP. Use XAMPP:

http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html

It's a Windows installer that installs the following in minutes:

• Apache 2.2.4
• MySQL 5.0.33
• PHP 5.2.1 & PHP 4.4.5
• phpMyAdmin 2.9.2
• FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.22
• OpenSSL 0.9.8d

There's also a separate installer that adds Perl 5.8.

It's an ultra-low hassle way to get yourself a working PHP-enabled Web server + MySQL.

My PDA is an XDA, which runs the PocketPC operating system, and I use ActiveSync 3.7 to connect it to my PCs at work and at home (mainly to load it up with podcasts to listen to in the car). I am convinced ActiveSync is one of the worst pieces of software Microsoft has ever produced. I only use it because there seems to be no alternative. Apart from an appallingly poor interface, it is extremely prone to dropping the connection.

One annoying thing it does from time to time is to connect as Guest, rather than the "partnership" you have set up. Here's how I solved this problem when it happened again this morning.

1. Start > Run
2. Enter: REGSVR32 MSXML.DLL
3. OK
4. Start > Run
5. Enter: REGSVR32 MSXML3.DLL
6. OK
7. Restart Windows.
8. Connect the PDA.
9. If a dialog box is displayed for changing the device name, Cancel this.
9. The PDA may at this point connect as Guest again.
10. Disconnect the PDA and connect it again.
You should now connect using the existing partnership.

This did it for me. But there seem to be many things that could cause the automatic Guest connection. See www.pocketpcfaq.com/faqs/activesync/ for more assistance.

Microsoft Office 2007 and Vista come with some new Microsoft fonts. These fonts are used throughout Office 2007 – for example, for the Calibri is the new default body font in Word. This blog entry gives details and examples:

http://neosmart.net/blog/archives/182

I've adopted these fonts as the first-choice fonts for a new WebHelp system I'm currently working on:

Headers: Segoe UI
Body: Calibri
Code/user input: Consolas
Notes: Corbel

By default when you right-click a Web page in Internet Explorer and choose to View Source, the application used to display the HTML is Notepad. You would expect to be able to change this application in Internet Options, but you can't. Instead, you need to go in and hack the Windows registry.

The usual warning about the Windows registry applies here. Export a backup of any part of the registry you are about to amend. And if you are not sure what the registry is or how to edit it, then stop right here - it's probably better that you don't mess around with it. You can do serious damage by introducing errors into the registry. If you do want to continue, I'd recommend you make a System Restore Point just to be on the safe side.

Use regedit to edit the registry.

Go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
|
-> Software
   |
   -> Microsoft
      |
      -> Internet Explorer
         |
         -> View Source Editor
            |
            -> Editor Name

Change the value of the Editor Name registry key to the full path to the executable file for the editor you want to use. In my case I wanted to use UltraEdit, so I entered: D:\programs\UltraEdit\uedit32.exe

The change takes effect immediately.

If you want to remove a Windows service the logical thing to do is to go to the Services application, select the service and click on Remove, or right-click and choose Remove from the shortcut menu.

However, there are no such options. So there's no obvious way to remove the service. Here's what you have to do:

1.
In the Windows Services application, stop the service if it's currently running.

2.
You're going to be editing the Windows Registry, so make a Windows System Restore point first:
Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore
Select "Create a restore point" and follow through the wizard.

3.
When you've done this, click the Windows Start button and choose Run.

4.
Enter "regedit" (without the quote marks) and click OK.

This launches the Windows Registry Editor.
If you've never been in here, be careful. In fact you should probably get out and go and read up about the Registry before doing anything else.

WARNING: DON'T MAKE ANY CHANGES IN THE REGISTRY EDITOR UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

5.
In the Registry Editor browse to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services

6.
Expand the Services in the left pane.

7.
Right click the service you want to remove and choose Export.

8.
Save the Registry key as a file on your desktop - just in case you change your mind (or something goes wrong) and you need to reinstate it.

9.
In Registry Editor, right click the service you want to remove and this time choose Delete.

10.
Do the same thing (Export then Delete) to the same service in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Services
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet002/Services
etc.

11.
Close the Registry Editor.

12.
Restart Windows.

Note: you *must* restart Windows for the service to disappear completely. Logging off and back on again is not enough. Unless you restart the service will still appear in the Windows Services application.

13.
Once you restart Windows, check the Services application to make sure the service is gone.

If anything goes wrong, or you change your mind, use the exported keys on your desktop to reinstate the service. After a while, if you're happy no bad thing has happened, you can delete the exported registry keys.