Enable Shut down prompt in Windows 7

One of the things that's bugged me since upgrading to Windows 7 is the lack of "confirmation dialog" when selecting the shut down button. A number of times members of our family have shut the machine down by accident, when switching users for example (shared family machine). Not really sure why Microsoft removed the confirmation for such a major task, but hey, not my call.

Anyhow, if you (like me) want a confirmation, you can do this very easily via the local group policy editor:

• Select start and enter gpedit.msc into search box and run the editor
• Go to Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System
• Then choose Display Shutdown Event Tracker and Enable.

Now when you select Shut down you have to confirm and put some text in a comment box (server ops styleee). The comment is overkill for a desktop really but way better than not having any confirmation at all.

Monitoring WiFi channels

Our home WiFi is pretty good, with a decent signal across the house, but there are occasions in the evening where performance is a bit inconsistent compared with the daytime. Not normally a major problem as we use homeplug for devices like TVs, PVRs, Blu-ray (iPlayer, YouTube etc) and music. We save WiFi for laptop/tablet browsing.

This got me thinking... why the WiFi performance inconsistency? We live in a cul-de-sac so surely not 'that much' interference from fellow neighbours? I needed to check, so downloaded inSSIDer 2, a free open source tool that 'scans the waves' for WiFi points in your area.

I installed it and ran for a few minutes (you can leave it running over 24 hours if you want and see all access points that have been switched on over that period).

As you can see from the screenshot, we are not on our own. Our access point is the one in red (PoorSignal, yes that is the SSID ho ho) and you can see that we are competing with 7 or so other access points in our spectrum - although we run on channel 4, that actually spans into neighbouring channels, see the graph, namely channels 1, 4, 6 and 7 in this case.

I'll leave it running for a while and then I will try changing my channel to a less congested area. Of course there are lots of other factors that affect performance (other devices, walls, mirrors etc) but lets see how it goes.

Give it a go!

Visual Studio 2010 SP1 installed

Finally found a convenient time to install VS 2010 SP1 (often difficult when you have several key projects on the go and you do not want to break your "known good" VS 2010 / TFS build). Anyhow, it is well worth installing... here's the info you need:

Web Installer:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=23691

List of changes:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/983509

Full readme:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=210711

Since the install I've had no issues so far - looking promising :-)

I need to upgrade the TFS server next. I'll try it on our dev TFS box first and see how that pans out first.

Web Designer and Content Manager - ideal for recent IT graduate

We are looking for someone to work on a dedicated project for one of our clients, which is a large multi-national company.

You will be required to:

- Create, design and administer sites in SharePoint

- Migrate content from existing web sites to SharePoint

- Discuss with users their requirements and design/implement sites accordingly

- Provide SharePoint technical support

If you have no experience in SharePoint, cross-training will be provided by your team colleague(s).

You may also have the opportunity to do some ASP.Net/C#/SQL work depending upon your experience and interests.

We are looking for someone who has an IT related qualification at degree level or equivalent, with both web and design experience. You will also need to be proficient in using HTML and CSS. Excellent communication and organisational skills are essential, and you should be able to use your initiative whilst being flexible to the demands of the users.

Experience of Sharepoint 2007/2010 (or similar CMS) and Javascript would be an advantage but is not essential. In addition, any Visual Studio 2008/2010, ASP.Net, C# coding and SQL database experience may also be beneficial if you wish to get involved with web development activities.

This contract is initially for 6 months (£14 to £16/hr, 37.5 hour week) but there may be the possibility of further work after this time, and would ideally suit a recent graduate or someone looking to broaden their IT skills.

To apply, please send your CV to lisa@visualizehr.co.uk and a covering email detailing your interest in this role by 28th June 2011.

UK Tech Days 2011 - sessions now available online

We had a great time at the May 2011 UK Tech Days Conference in Fulham, London (held in the Vue cinema complex with popcorn and 'everything'!). For those that could not make it, Microsoft have now published the sessions on the web:

http://uktechdays.cloudapp.net/home.aspx

The next best thing to being there, enjoy!