Scalix 11.4

Scalix 11.4 was released in late May and it looking more and more like an enterprise-ready product. Although currently in beta, they will have activesync support in June. Adding that to their NotifyLink offering gives some good options for mobile devices.

Other good updates include...

More stable Outlook client
Better CalDAV support
Overlaid calendars in webmail

I'm also very happy they decided to certify CentOS 4 & 5, giving full support for both...it is about time some vendors did this!

Check it out: http://www.scalix.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10789

Logitech Quickcam Communicate STX - First Impressions

Just picked up a few of these to do some video conference testing. They were on sale for $29 at Skype.com (normally $49). I have only been using it for a few days, but the video quality is good for a entry level webcam. Setup was very easy, I plugged in the camera and WindowsXP downloaded the drivers from Windows Update automatically. I started up Skype, camera was recognized and I started using it.

My only gripe so far is the "Universal Monitor Clip". It isn't a clip, just a bendable piece of plastic with indentations so it can grip onto a laptop or monitor. The problem is that it doesn't bend or grip well enough. I have had some trouble getting the camera to balance & aim properly on my Laptop (Dell D620) without having to adjust my screen angle.

Specs:
- True VGA (640 x 480) resolution
- Still image capture: 1.3 million pixels (with software enhancement)
- Video capture: Up to 640 x 480 pixels
- Frame rate: Up to 30 frames per second
- Field of view: 42º horizontal
- USB 2.0 certified
- Optics: Fixed focus

Link:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/webcams/devices/352&cl=roeu,en

AutoIT Timer/Countdown

I have started using AutoIT v3 to write automated installers and other scripted windows programming lately. When I send out an update to a client computer, sometimes I want to be able to notify the user and let them delay the update for a set amount of time. Using the TimerInit() & TimerDiff() functions I am able to pop up a message and begin a timer.

#include <GUIConstants.au3>
;
;milliseconds for timer, start the timer and label text
;
$ms = 3601000
$timer = TimerInit()
$labeltext = "The IT department needs to install the latest approved updates..."
;
;gui window with text, Install Now button and timer window
;
GUICreate("Software Update", 350, 330, -1, -1, $WS_DLGFRAME, $WS_EX_TOPMOST)
$Install = GUICtrlCreateButton ("Install Now", 100, 250, 150, 50)
$Label = GUICtrlCreateLabel($labeltext, 10, 10, 330, 200)
$Input = GUICtrlCreateInput("", 140, 225, 75, 20, BitOr($SS_CENTER, $ES_READONLY))
GUISetState (@SW_SHOW)
;
;wait for timer to expire or for Install Now button to be clicked
;each time around the loop, it will update the timer displayed on the screen
;
While (TimerDiff($timer) < $ms) and (GUIGetMsg() <> $Install)
;
$seconds = TimerDiff($timer)/1000
$diff = $seconds - ($ms/1000)
;
$minutes = Int($diff / 60)
$secondsRem = $diff - ($minutes * 60)
;
$minutes = $minutes * -1
$secondsRem = $secondsRem * -1
$time = StringFormat("%02d", $minutes) & ":" & StringFormat("%02d", $secondsRem)
;
GUICtrlSetData($Input, $time)
;
WEnd
;
Run("yourcommand.exe")

cwRsync = Easy Windows/Linux Backups

Just implemented rsync/cwRsync (Cygwin + Rsync) as our new backup solution. We have 6 Linux servers and 3 Windows Servers and were looking for a cheap easy to use solution. cwRsync allows us to use the rsync command on both windows and Linux. Rsync is handy because it only transfers the difference in the file, so you always have a full backup with minimal file transfers. With a little googling, you can setup compression, encryption and backup rotations.

cwRsync - http://www.itefix.no/cwrsync/
rsync - http://samba.anu.edu.au/rsync/