Wednesday, November 11, 2015

And through the wire

2nd in what might be a short series!


In the distance what may be the only major UK story I've not used.


hmmm.

That was odd

Today (well yesterday) I met someone I never thought I'd meet.  Someone else who died.

Both of us have had stopped hearts, his through a conventional heart attack, mine a less conventional stage based electrical accident.  Both of us were restarted.

I never imagined I'd meet someone else who'd had the same experience.  And it was interesting to discover we'd both had similar post event experiences too.

Blimey.  That hasn't half made me thoughtful tonight.

Saturday, November 07, 2015

#Windows10 Modern apps start and then shutdown without any feedback.


Today I wanted to remote into a couple of machines to complete some work at the office without leaving the comfort of the house (essentially I’m lazy, like all good system admins!).
 
But on firing up the surface pro the modern Remote Desktop app came up with the red splash screen and then disappeared.  And again. And again.  I tried a reboot and windows update to no avail.  And a reboot didn’t fix it either.
 
It was also apparent that Tweetium and NextGen Reader had the same issue.  But “old fashioned” apps like Outlook were fine.  I checked out the store for updates, and that wasn’t playing ball either.  Just an error with a hex code.
 
But then I spotted the Action Centre on the taskbar was filled in with white (unlike this image which is empty)
It was probably an idea to check that out, and indeed there was a Network Firewall message which when when tapped took me to control panel, firewall.  Where there was a message about an error, and that I needed to re-validate my Microsoft Account for the machine
 
And, sure enough there was a verify link under my photo.  A quick click and the verification happened under the covers (although at one point it seemed as if I might need my credentials).
 
So, all was good there, and testing the modern apps played ball.  To add to things, the store updates began to run too.
 
Without any further work I guess the verification enabled these apps to talk to the store again to check licencing or similar and that’s why the started and then shutdown.
 
For completeness it should be noted that this machine is a domain joined Surface, but connected to a Microsoft Account for OneDrive, Apps, and synchronised configuration.  Your mileage might vary.
 
 
 

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Oh no. Not too big at all...

A somewhat oppressive addition to the Eastcheap landscape.

Monday, November 02, 2015

One of my favourite shops in London

Since the early 70's, although they go back to 1853.
Anyone remember 1:63360 OS maps? Better still, buying them as flat sheets to fold to your hiking plans?