Faster broadband promised. Yet again

Posted by Daniel on 01/04/2009 at 03:58 p.m. in Computers

Seems like this has been promised again and again for New Zealand. And so far there have been very few improvements. And off goes John Key promising “quantum faster” internet speeds (Stuff article). And yes, I agree that it’s great. Hopefully something happens this time.

But there’s still a few problems here.

New Zealand isn’t the most connected country in the world as it is, and we don’t exactly have huge “pipes” to the global internet backbone. Key is talking about 100mbps connections in homes and businesses which is great apart from the fact that most content isn’t in New Zealand. Instead we’d all be squashed into the Southern Cross cable decreasing speed to international resources.

But the biggest issue is data caps. New Zealand ISP’s love giving out low data caps for high prices, which is bearable at best with lower internet speeds. But if we’re connecting to the world at 100mbps, that 10gb plan of yours isn't gonna’ last too long.

Things have changed from the one shared computer per household of the 90’s and early 2000’s. Hardware is cheap – so it’s becoming the norm for people to have multiple machines accessing the web concurrently and for longer periods, meaning that more data is being transferred. For example I flat with 3 other people, we have a 10gb cap and we each have at least one computer. Our cap is gone long before our billing period is over, but it’s cheaper to pay the extra data costs than upgrade to the 20gb plan.

Think about your average YouTube video for example – they’re roughly 5-10mb in size. And that’s for a low definition stream. Add that up between the people in your household based on the number of videos they watch, it’s not too hard too see where your usage is going in just this area alone. Never mind general web surfing. And what about general downloads? Faster speeds make downloading big files (Game trails etc) painless, so it’s instantly more appealing to do so.

Or what about when you want to work from home (Something that Key is also pushing) via VPN? You need a consistently fast and stable connection. You wouldn’t want to wake up one morning to realise you’ve been restricted to 56kbps for breaching your data cap. Or get your internet bill to find you owe $100’s in extra data costs. And in the world of large files, this becomes a problem.

It also makes you think twice before using “cloud computing” applications. I love Live Mesh and use it on all my machines and it saves a lot of hassle. But while at home I have to be a bit more careful with my usage. For example I saved a large file into my documents at work recently by accident. When I got home I fired up Mesh only to realise it was trying to pull down 500mb. Luckily I stopped it at about 5mb, but they point is that 500mb shouldn’t matter. It’s the 21st century.

So my message to the government is this: Gives us fast internet sure, but before/when you do, do something about the miserable data caps ISPs enforce on us. Fast internet is nothing if we can’t make use of it.

Comments welcome

MyOS - A different type of WebOS

Posted by Daniel on 28/03/2009 at 04:22 a.m. in Computers

Something about the concept of a WebOS/Webtop/Web Desktop has always interested me. It seems like a cool idea to have your whole “operating system” running in a browser on some companies (or persons) server somewhere in the world. You would have access to all of your applications and documents anywhere in the world.  So it all sounds great right? Not quite so.

In a traditional WebOS you have an account which stores your settings an documents. You use the applications the vendor has included, and if you need something else, well you’re more than likely out of luck. Same goes for if you want to change some of the “system” files to fix a bug or make your own enhancement say. You are served up code form the vendor and there’s little you can do to control it. You just hope that it, and “your” applications work (though at the same time it should be of some comfort the vendor has tested their code).

This got me thinking – Why not have a WebOS that more closely matches a standard desktop operating system? Something with programming API’s for accessing the file system etc. Something where everyone has their complete own virtual file system, they can install their own applications without affecting other users. Even run the core system files from their own instances so if they feel like tinkering with how it works they can. And best of all - Allow users to develop their own applications using a range of built-in libraries and controls.

So about 5 months ago I started writing a JavaScript framework for my idea. It only took a few weeks to realise my original framework wasn’t going to be flexible enough to follow the desktop OS model I’m attempting to follow. So I started from scratch. And, so far, the new frameworks managed to fit what I need.

At a low level it takes care of loading application classes and stylesheets and keeping track of the core systems like authentication. Up higher are classes that create a common application framework making it far easier to get windows with control in them up on screen. The framework takes care of registering the users application with the Task Manager so it can keep track, and the loading/saving of application settings plus more.

So far MyOS is still very simple (and only runs in Firefox). Everything’s read-only and there’s currently no way to read/change files… or do much else from a users level. But from a developers level there is a lot of functionality to explore. You should be able to write complete applications without needing to write a single line of HTML, and there are a couple of objects based on C# like Lists and Dictionaries. There is even a registry-like library in the works. The only downside is that there’s little documentation at this point around the developer stuff.

FireShot capture #2 - 'MyOS' - localhost_1034_desktop 
MyOS Desktop with File Explorer and Dev Studio running (Please excuse the ugly red X button)

If you would be interested in helping with MyOS (Programming, Design, Documentation, Ideas etc) then please contact me! I’d love to work with someone on the idea. Sure it may never be a commercial application, but if you have some spare time and find these types of things interesting, it could be a bit of fun.

Want to see it?

You can play around with the latest public release at http://myos.danielwylie.me  - it includes a read-only version of Dev Studio. The ‘Run’ and ‘Explorer’ applications currently contain the most recent programming style – most of the other applications haven’t been updated in a while.

C# MSN Chat History Parser

Posted by Daniel on 21/03/2009 at 12:15 a.m. in Computers

This is a little parser I wrote a while ago with the intention of writing a program to merge my MSN History files together from multiple computers. I haven’t get gotten around to it yet though, so I thought I would share the source. Feel free to use it how you want.

MessageHistory.cs

 

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;     
using System.Xml;
namespace MSNChatParser 

{
    public class MessageHistory     
    {     
        private XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();     
        private string contactsEmailAddress = "";     
        internal List<Message> messages = new List<Message>();
        public List<Message> Messages { get { return messages; } }
        public string ContactsEmailAddress { get { return contactsEmailAddress; } }

        public MessageHistory()
        {}

        public MessageHistory(string XMLPath)
        {
            string fileName = XMLPath.Split('\\').Last();
            contactsEmailAddress = fileName.Substring(0, fileName.IndexOf(".xml"));
            doc.Load(XMLPath);
            Parse();
        }

        public MessageHistory(XmlDocument Doc)
        {
            doc = Doc;
            Parse();
        }

        public string ToXML()
        { 
            StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
            sb.AppendFormat("<?xml version=\"1.0\"?>");
            string Body = "";
            int sessionID = 1;
            int lastSessionID = 1;
            foreach (var item in messages)
            {
                Body += item.ToXML();
                sessionID++;
            }
            sb.AppendFormat("<Log FirstSessionID=\"{0}\" LastSessionID=\"{1}\">", 1, 1);
            sb.Append(Body);
            sb.Append("</Log>");
            return sb.ToString();
        }

        public void Parse()
        {
            XmlNodeList nodes = doc.SelectNodes("//Log/Message");
            foreach (XmlNode message in nodes)
            {
                messages.Add(
                    Message.FromXML(message)
                );
            }
        }
    }
}

 

Message.cs

 

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;    
using System.Linq;    
using System.Text;    
using System.Xml;
namespace MSNChatParser   
{    
    public class Message    
    {    
        public DateTime DateAndTime { get; set; }    
        public int SessionID { get; set; }    
        public string From { get; set; }    
        public string To { get; set; }    
        public string Text { get; set; }
        public static Message FromXML(XmlNode Node)   
        {    
            Message msg = new Message();
            msg.DateAndTime = DateTime.Parse(   
                Node.Attributes["DateTime"].Value    
            );
            msg.From = Node.SelectSingleNode("From/User").Attributes["FriendlyName"].Value;   
            msg.To = Node.SelectSingleNode("To/User").Attributes["FriendlyName"].Value;    
            msg.Text = Node.SelectSingleNode("Text").InnerText;    
            msg.SessionID = int.Parse(Node.Attributes["SessionID"].Value);
            return msg;   
        }
        public string ToXML()   
        {    
            StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();    
            sb.AppendFormat(    
                "<Message Date=\"{0}\" Time=\"{1}\" DateTime=\"{2}\" SessionID=\"{3}\">",    
                this.Date,    
                this.Time,    
                this.DateAndTime,    
                this.SessionID    
            );
            sb.AppendFormat("<From><User FriendlyName=\"{0}\" /></From>", this.From);   
            sb.AppendFormat("<To><User FriendlyName=\"{0}\" /></To>", this.To);    
            sb.AppendFormat("<Text>{0}</Text>", this.Text);    
            sb.AppendFormat("</Message>");
            return sb.ToString();   
        }
        public DateTime Date   
        {    
            get    
            {    
                return new DateTime(DateAndTime.Year, DateAndTime.Month, DateAndTime.Day);    
            }    
        }    
        public DateTime Time    
        {    
            get    
            {    
                return DateTime.Parse(DateAndTime.ToShortTimeString());    
            }    
        }
        public override string ToString()   
        {    
            return ToXML();    
        }    
    }    
}

Helpers.cs

using System;   
using System.Collections.Generic;    
using System.Linq;    
using System.Text;
namespace MSNChatParser   
{    
    public class Helpers    
    {    
        public static MessageHistory RemoveDoubles(params string[] Files)    
        {    
            MessageHistory History = new MessageHistory();    
            foreach (var File in Files)    
            {    
                History.messages.AddRange(    
                    new MessageHistory(File).Messages    
                );    
            }
            History.messages = (from h in History.Messages select h).Distinct().ToList();   
            return History;    
        }
        public static MessageHistory RemoveDoubles(params MessageHistory[] History)   
        {    
            MessageHistory history = new MessageHistory();    
            foreach (var hist in History)    
            {    
                history.messages.AddRange(hist.Messages);    
            }    
            history.messages = (from h in history.Messages select h).Distinct().ToList();    
            return history;    
        }
        public static MessageHistory LoadFromMultipleFiles(params string[] Files)   
        {    
            MessageHistory History = new MessageHistory();    
            foreach (var File in Files)    
            {    
                History.messages.AddRange(    
                    new MessageHistory(File).Messages    
                );    
            }    
            return History;    
        }
        public static MessageHistory MessagesSince(MessageHistory History, DateTime Since)   
        {    
            var msgs = (from h in History.Messages where h.Date >= Since select h).ToList();    
            MessageHistory newhist = new MessageHistory();    
            newhist.messages = msgs;    
            return newhist;    
        }    
    }    
}

How to use

You can either create a new blank MessageHistory object or you can use the Helper to load multiple files into the object

MessageHistory history = Helpers.LoadFromMultipleFiles(“File1.xml”, “File2.xml”)   
foreach(var Message in history.Messages){    
   Console.WriteLine(Message.From);    
}

You can also convert everything back to it’s original XML format using the ToXML methods. If you call ToXML from the MessageHistory object it will add all the Messages it contains to the document.

Flight Simulator X on iMac rocks!

Posted by Daniel on 12/03/2009 at 11:39 p.m. in Computers

A couple of years ago I used to spend many hours playing Flight Simulator 2002 on my aging computer, dreaming of being a real 737 pilot. And loved every moment of it. I spent a huge amount of time modding the life out of it. I had 100’s of custom planes, “high detail” Wellington scenery, and a whole lot of other add-ons.

Now things have changed a little. I have this thing called a job. And that takes up 90% of my day, leaving me little time to do other things. And while I’m no closer to being a real pilot, my love for planes (or anything “manly” (cars, trains, planes, boats, etc) according to Katie) is still as strong as it ever was.

With the recent purchase of my 24” iMac, I decided to give Flight Simulator X a shot on it. After getting Windows 7 Beta installed I popped in the Flight Simulator disc and hoped for the best. I mean, I didn’t really expect it to run all that well, especially because it was running in Boot Camp, and on a beta version of Windows.

And WOW was I in for a surprise. I can run it at medium quality (full for aircraft), full air traffic, and full land traffic at native resolution – 1920x1200px. Even my old work machine couldn’t run it that well (and it had a supposedly better video card) and on the glossy screen of the iMac, it looked, put simply, incredible.

The ability to play to game at home has renewed my addiction to flying. And Flight Simulator. This was boosted further by my purchase of the Saitek Pro Yoke Flight System. While not too fun on the bigger aircraft I normally fly due to autopilot, it makes flying the smaller planes amazing. It’s almost as easy as driving a car. Sure it’s a pain to transform my desk every time I want to fly. But that will have to do till I can build my own Flight Simulator (and build up a large amount of debt doing so).

And last night I began my modding phase. While I’m yet to get any scenery, I have added Air New Zealand skins to all of the default planes from FlightSim.co.nz which I have been using from my FS2002 days. While I only got time to fly the Air NZ 747 last night, I realised just how good the paints are now. The aircraft looked amazing. And because it was a re-paint of the MS 747, everything just worked.

Tonight I’m going to install all the Air New Zealand/Qantas/Jetstar/Pacific Blue skins for the 737, 747 and A320. Might also try some scenery from around the place. Will even try and post some screenshots!

Useful links:

Wellington Traffic Gadget

Posted by Daniel on 20/02/2009 at 05:47 a.m. in Computers

Here’s a prototype of a webcam gadget. It pretty much displays images from around Wellington and updates itself every couple of mins. It’s pretty cool to watch during rush hour (if you’re into that sorta thing).

It requires a rather large monitor to display on – it’s rather tall. I have only tested it in Windows 7, but I’m guessing that it will run fine in Vista as well.

I’m currently working on a new, less crude version. Should be out in the next week or two.

Download

Apple Support: Day 2 = Results(?)

Posted by Daniel on 14/02/2009 at 12:31 a.m. in Computers

On Wednesday night I rung Apple as that was what everyone was recommending. For some reason I thought Apple support was meant to be good. How mistaken I was. The call was logged through to someone in America, and to some guy who didn’t understand how we say ‘Z’ in New Zealand (zed vs zee).

After I had given the guy my iMac’s serial number and my name, he decided it was time to try and sell me something. He went on for a couple of minutes about the “benefits” of Apple Care. And this was after I had clearly stated I didn’t want to purchase it. And then, just to top it off, he tried to sell my a Time Capsule. Y’know, for just in case my failing pixels destroyed my hard drive. Or something.

Turns out he didn’t want to know me anyway. Apparently one red stuck pixel in the middle of the screen is acceptable. So he gave me a number to ring and I was on my way.

Next morning I gave Toucan Computers in Wellington a call. And the guy on the phone said that he could do something if needed. But suggested I contact Dick Smith first as they can do a DOA.

Now in the time this happened, Dick Smith had Twittered me . So I sent an email off to them, as requested, and then phoned the store I purchased the Mac from to explain my findings. And, about an hour later, to my surprise, I got a phone call from one of the top guys at Dick Smith New Zealand!

And he had some very good news.

Dick Smith are going to replace it as soon as they can get one in stock, and take it up with Apple themselves! I do wonder why they couldn’t just do this in the first place, surely a satisfied customer is more important than, well, anything else? Well anything else that’s at least reasonable.

So big kudos to Dick Smith here for standing by the products they sell! I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again.

And Apple should be ashamed of themselves. If they want to call their computers the best, they should stand by them when something goes from. And they really shouldn’t try to sell me products I don’t want when I ring up about a faulty product.

I’m not too sure if I would buy another Apple machine. I will see how my new iMac goes, and make up my mind then.

But why all this over one measly pixel you may be thinking? Well it’s simple. When I purchase an expensive computer, and from Apple, I expect it to be an expensive computer. And an expensive computer is supposed to be built well. And a stuck pixel doesn’t show quality to me.

Now, if the pixel was on the very edge of the screen, I wouldn’t really care because it’s out of the way. But it isn’t. Its in the centre of the screen, so it bothers me. Especially considering I use it for web design and development where white is a very prominent colour.

So hopefully the new iMac will have no problems. It truly is an amazing machine, and has been a joy to use. Don’t think I will be giving Apple a call anytime soon though. Don’t really fancy them trying to sell me products when there’s something wrong with the one I already own.

Update: Just got another call from Dick Smith and they have a new one in stock for me! Will be going to pick it up tomorrow.

Update 2 (26/02/2009): Have had the new machine for nearly 2 weeks and all seems to be well. Didn't enjoy carrying the box through town though - you feel like an Apple billboard.

Apple Support: Day 1 = Stupid

Posted by Daniel on 12/02/2009 at 03:55 a.m. in Computers

I am yet to blog about it – but last week I purchased a 24” iMac after months of consideration. And until last night everything had been going fine. It had been one of the nicest machines I've ever used.

Then last night while surfing the web I noted a little black spot on the screen. At first I thought it was dust. After using the Apple branded cloth to wipe it down, it was still there. My heart sank. A dead pixel on my one week old iMac. I know some people wouldn't care, but me? I do.

So I went in to Dick Smith and asked them what they would do about it. And they said they’d replace it at no cost to me. Great! Or at least I thought.

Got a phone call a short time later saying that Apple doesn’t think one pixel is an “acceptable amount for replacement”. What the fuck? How can you have an acceptable amount? I could understand it if the computer was 10 years old, but it’s a brand new machine. It shouldn’t have any dead pixels after a week. And if it does, Apple should replace it. I paid enough for the machine.

So tonight I have to ring Apple and log a support request with them. And then apparently a technician, sorry genius, has to have a look at it and “asses the damage”. If they just replaced my machine, I would again be happy. Here’s to hoping they will do something. Or it will be going back to where it came from.

The trip that was...

Posted by Daniel on 30/01/2009 at 11:23 a.m. in Other

Note: This is a long post that probably goes off topic a little and was actually written a long time ago. Sorry for any odd things

Well this is a little late, have been back in New Zealand for a few months now (it feels like forever), but I thought I would reflect on quite possibly one of the coolest things I’ve ever done – Travel around Europe.

Code Camp – Auckland, New Zealand

I flew out of Wellington very early in the morning on the 31st of August to Auckland to attend Code Camp. Arrived in Auckland around 8 am, checked into my accommodation, and went off with Owen to the venue.

The day, while long, was really interesting and I learnt quite a lot that I otherwise wouldn’t have known, especially around Linq to SQL which I now love. Met a few people there, and also saw Scott Hanselman do his thing – that guy is brilliant at speaking.

The biggest surprise of the day was winning a 30gb Zune which is rather cool.

Tech Ed 2008 – Auckland, New Zealand

Would love to go to this again, there was so much to do and learn. I was stuffed by the end of each day, but it was real fun and the hands on labs were real cool. Love (some of) the free stuff that came in the bag, but most of all the bag. Used it since I got it.

Also enjoyed Auckland more than I thought I was going too.

On the Tuesday night I boarded the Air New Zealand flight to Los Angles International. It was my first long haul flight and time on a 747 since I was a couple of months old. Was far to excited to sleep for the first few hours, but boredom kicked in eventually and the earplugs came to the rescue.

LA Airport

Landed in middle afternoon and MAN it was hot! The guy at customs didn’t understand what I mean when I replied to him saying “How are you?” with “Not bad”. Had to explain it to him. Maybe it’s a kiwi thing? I thought it was quite funny personally.

Walked around the airport a bit, but when you have 9 hours to kill, it’s not the most exciting place in the world to be. Spent most of that time trying to get my cell phone working, turned out to be quite easy once I found out it was on “Flight Mode” ;-)

Orlando/Disney World

After a horrible flight from LA (we had to dodge a hurricane which made the flight about 2 hours longer and extremely bumpy) I spent the morning and lunchtime sitting around the airport waiting for Katie. And after spending 9 hours in LA, Orlando airport was amazing, there was so much more to do.

Disney World was incredible. If there’s one thing you have to do before your old, it’s that. We stayed at one of the Disney World resorts (see here) which meant we got to skip certain lines and various things like that. But the best part was free transport between all the parks, Downtown Disney AND the airport. Disney made it incredibly easy to make the most of the time there.

We made it to all of the parks, one a day. Wouldn’t recommend it, you end up very exhausted by the end. But all the parks are really well done, especially Magical Kingdom, Epcot and the water parks.

I would highly recommend the Disney World Resorts to anyone wanting to go to Disney, it makes life a lot easier, and the whole experience a lot more “Disney”

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157606687695353/
Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607361713553/

London

Out of all the places we went, my favourite has to be London. There was just something about the whole place that I loved. Sadly we only got to spend two days there, but we got most of the “touristy” things we wanted done. I will definitely be going back there one day. Hopefully to work and live as well.

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607362064459/

Penkridge, Middle of nowhere, England

Spent a few days with Katie’s family in a tiny village. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t amazing.

Alicante, Spain

Spent a week in Alicante staying with Katie’s brother. It was really nice, heaps of sun, and hot. It’s really fun being in a place that doesn’t speak English, even if you end up with the wrong food and can’t understand what they’re yelling at you.

The beaches there are really nice if you don’t mind the occasional topless old oily lady walking past. The castle is definitely something you have to do there as well – the view is amazing.

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607361570731/

Nice, France

We arrived in Nice after spending a night in an airport in Switzerland, so we were both really tried. But we still went out and explored the area, and man was it worth it! Nice is beautiful! We stayed in a hostel up a big hill (for lack of a better term) and caught the trams in and out of the downtown area. Gotta love 1 euro tram rides.

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607570851172/

South Coast of France

Katie’s (other) brother met us in Nice with a rental car to drive us around in. He took us around a couple of place in the South Coast of France. Can’t remember all the places we went to, but I know we made it to Cannes, Monaco, Juan le Pin and a few others.

Out of all the places we visited on the South Coast, Monaco was my favourite. It would have been nice to spend a night there, but of course, its incredibly expensive.

South Coast: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607539313100/
Monaco: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607801671343/

Genoa, Italy

Katie’s brother dropped us off at the train station in Genoa, so we didn’t really see very much of it. The port was nice though.

Milan, Italy

I was quite disappointed with Milan, it was really polluted and… I’m not 100% sure… there was just something about the whole place that didn’t feel right.

The stores were real cool though (obviously). I found a three story electronics store which was interesting. Brought a digital camera from there as well which proved to be fun as no one spoke English or anything close to it. But we got it in the end.

I did enjoy the hotel we stayed in though. It was simple to say the least, but you can’t go wrong with free breakfast and WIFI.

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607802512473/

Venice, Italy

Amazing amazing amazing! Seriously, Venice is sooo cool! Even though we didn’t stay in Venice itself, the camp site we stayed in was only a 10 minute bus ride to the main area.

The strangest thing about Venice is that there were no cars (obviously, but still). It’s strange after being surrounded by them all the time. Makes you realise how loud and annoying they are. That’s not to say some of the boats aren’t loud though.

Venice was very touristy, I’m not sure how many of the people there are locals, but unlike other places, because there were so many tourists and no locals, they weren’t really annoying.

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/dwnz/sets/72157607755825493/

Second part coming sometime...

Xero API Wrapper Update and Samples

Posted by Daniel on 29/01/2009 at 10:14 a.m. in Computers

It’s been a while since I released my initial Xero API wrapper, and I have made a few changes since then, so I thought it’s time for a small release.

The code you checkout on Codeplex now has a sample application in which you can get a rough idea of how  it fits together.

Note: This release is a source-only release. You will need to check the project out of source control. The wrapper will be going through a huge update in the next month or two with the new release of the API.

https://XeroLabs.svn.codeplex.com/svn

Changes

  • Moved the ContactObjects to the default namespace – you can still call them the old way, but it will throw warnings.
  • Changed the GetContacts() method to Get() to match naming standards. Again old will work, but it will throw errors.
  • You can now pass the auth object in to the get methods meaning you don’t need to create the object first
  • You can also create the auth object by passing in parameters instead of setting properties after it’s been created

Samples

Get All Contacts:

static Communication.XeroAuth auth = new Communication.XeroAuth(
    "Network Key",
    "Customer Key",
    "https://networktest.xero.com/"
);

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    ContactCollection collection = ContactCollection.Get(auth);
    foreach (var contact in collection.Records)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(contact.Name);
    }

    Console.ReadKey();
}

Create New Contact

static Communication.XeroAuth auth = new Communication.XeroAuth(
    "Provider Key",
    "Customer Key",
    "https://networktest.xero.com/"
);

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    ContactRecord rec = new ContactRecord(auth);
    rec.Name = "Daniel";
    rec.EmailAddress = "name@example.com";
    rec.Save();
}

The whole wrapper works in roughly the same way so it should be fairly simple to pickup from those two sample.

Have fun!

Zune on Windows 7

Posted by Daniel on 16/01/2009 at 06:59 a.m. in Computers

I finally got around to plugging my Zune in again only to find that the Zune software doesn’t pick the device up on Windows 7.

After a little bit of playing around, I got it to go. Here’s how:

  1. Plug your Zune in and let it do it’s thing. When its finished, open up Device Manager and uninstall your Zune

    Device Manager Uninstall
  2. Press Ok to any popup boxes
  3. Wait 10 seconds or so for it to fully uninstall, then run the Zune software as Administrator (Right click Zune Icon – Right click Zune - Run As Administrator

    Zune
  4. When the Zune software has loaded, plug you’re Zune back it. It should hopefully work. If not, unplug the Zune, close the software, and do step 10 again.
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