Eric Hammersley

Virtual Strategy magazine contacted me a few weeks ago expressing an interest in my book, Professional VMware Server, and wanted to strike up an interview.

Well, they just posted the podcast today and, in my humble opinion, it turned out great. While you're at it, setup Virtual-Strategy.com magazine in your reading list. They have a wealth of information in their white-paper and podcast repository. Just make your first stop my interview.

Virtual Strategy Magazine - Book Review: Professional VMware Server

As some of you may have noticed from the post below my book is out and on the street.  In response to that I've started a new site, vmcoder.com, to take the automation and scripting discussion a step further.  Add it to you readers and join the discussion.

The next version of VMware Workstation to carry automation support, finally.

Over the next few days I'll be taking a look at Vix v1.1 and its new integration with VMware Workstation.  Being able to automate the Workstation product has been a sought after addition to the product for some time.  I'll whack out some sample code to see just where they are headed with this new integration.

Well, it was a busy summer. With events ranging from sporting events with the kids, mowing the lawn, and writing a book the summer just flew by.

Book? Yes, I wrote a book. Around March of this year I was contacted by Wiley Publishing to write a title for their Wrox imprint on VMware Server. You know, VMware Server, the free virtualization package for servers that VMware released around August of this year. This is one of the first titles released that covers VMware Server, which is something I'm very proud of.

Now this isn't your normal click here and go there type of book. I approached this title with the software development team in mind. Of course I splashed in my normal rant about writing software within virtual machines. It just wouldn't be me if I didn't. However the real meat revolves around VMware Server automation with CruiseControl.Net and Visual Studio Team System.

That in and of itself is a little vague so let me expand slightly. It doesn't take much to realize the value of testing software releases in virtual machines. Multiple operating systems spread across several different virtual machine images make testing and post release support child's play. The key is integration into your build environment. While the book covers setup of VMware Server as well as the creation of a base image library and tips to keep your environment organized the latter half is devoted to the integration of VMware Server directly into your build environment. I show how you can easily kick off nightly builds that seek out the proper test images, fire them up, and upload testing payloads to them for easy access.

To support this title I’ve created a new site called The Virtual Machine Coder. This site will augment the book material and provide a convenient jumping off point for further discussion and articles on the subject as well as software development in general. While the book revolves around VMware Server itself you’ll find I have a growing fondness for the Microsoft virtualization offerings as well. Please check it out, add it to your blog roll, and subscribe to it in your favorite reader.  I'll be moving my regular blogging over to the new site as well.

• Professional VMware Server (Eric Hammersley)
• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Wrox (Available: December 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470079886
• Available at Amazon.com and all major Book distributors

Ok, I’m not trying to dupe Slashdot here but it is some very interesting stuff.  Google Maps has posted updated (August 31st) aerial photos of the New Orleans area post hurricane Katrina.  The NOAA has also posted a set of very detailed aerial shots.  I suggest you check out both sets but if you want some really detailed views of the damage spend your time with the NOAA shots.

You can view the new google aerial shots here or you can go to maps.google.com and search for New Orleans then click the red Katrina button in the top right.

Be sure and check out the Superdome and toggle between the Satellite and Katrina buttons for a pre and post aerial view.

If you know where you are clicking the NOAA aerial shots provide MUCH BETTER detail and are taken from a much lower altitude.  You can also check out the NOAA aerial shots here.  NOTE: the photo orientation is not always North.

It took a while but here and here are two good up close shots of the Superdome from the NOAA site.  You can even see the emergency vehicles on the highway.  Oh, and the main New Orleans city grid can be navigated here.  The coverage is not complete but it gives you a really good idea.

I knew it was bad but honestly, after seeing the aerial photos up close I wonder how that city will ever get out from under this one.  Leave your comments after checking out the aerial shots.

In the Reuters article this morning “White House faces new questions on Katrina relief” they discuss the much debated FEMA Debit Card program. This article suggests, or states I guess, that FEMA has suspended this program and will now issue the $2000 in emergency disaster relief by direct deposit or CHECKS SENT BY MAIL!?!?!

Present day, an over crowded disaster relief station in Louisiana filled with people who have nothing but the clothes on their back, in a strange city, tired, hungry and exhausted from being recently displaced by hurricane Katrina and left stranded for days on end without assistance.

“Fill out this paperwork so we can get you your $2000 in emergency disaster relief.” says the FEMA worker who just finished lunch.  “What?” the displaced citizen of New Orleans replies, “How am I supposed to get my money from my bank account?  My bank is in New Orleans along with my debit cards and check book and I need the cash now.”  “Well,” replied the FEMA worker, “you can receive your emergency funds by postal mail, just provide us with your address and we’ll send it right out.”  Amazed and astonished the aid worker would even consider that a viable option the displaced citizen of New Orleans turns to him and beats the living shit out of him with his own clipboard.

and… scene.

Ok, I’m reading the news about how everyone (I’ve only included one example but there are more) is questioning Under Secretary Michael Brown’s background and ability to lead FEMA.  Apparently his biography posted on the FEMA web site is, well… skewed to look good.

Now, I don’t want to get into a political battle here but I have one very important question.

Why didn’t this come out during the Senate Nomination Hearing?  Isn’t that what they are for?

You can view the hearing documents here from the 107th Congress but be aware that the GPO database is being hit hard and therefore you might have your try several times before you get the document back.  I have provided a mirror of it here in case you have trouble getting to it.

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In addition to this the BBC is reporting now that Under Secretary Michael Brown has been replaced a head of disaster relief in Louisiana.  You can check out their story here.

It has been almost a month since Hurricane Katrina and nearly as long since I posted the article, “Financial Assistance for Katrina Victims is… sent by mail?”.  Since then I have received numerous responses to my article from displaced Katrina victims who are having all sorts of problems with FEMA and emergency assistance.  I want to share one of the responses with you that I received this morning.

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To whom it may concern:

On September 6th, 2005 I applied to FEMA for disaster assistance while at the American Red Cross shelter in Raleigh, North Carolina. I spoke with FEMA representative David #9496. I was asked questions about the damage received to my apartment and personal items. I explained to David that I was a New Orleans native and that after having to live in a flooded apartment with no electricity or water, severe damage to the kitchen ceiling, exterior balcony, broken bedroom windows, and after loosing several personal possessions while caring for my disabled mother for a week ..... I suffered severe hurricane and flood damage. FEMA had also declared that the zip code 70113 is a disaster area. This is the area in which I lived. However, my application was for disaster assistance was denied! I was unaware of the situation until I had a chance to check on the status of my application.

I called FEMA and spoke with representative #50027 and explained the situation. She told me that it is obvious that I lived in a disaster area and I would not have received a FEMA ID number and that apparently there was an error in the filing of my application. The person I spoke with was very friendly and helpful. She told me that my case was going to be referred to a caseworker and that the issue should be resolved in 3 to 4 days. I felt that things were starting to look a little brighter.

Since then I have called everyday to check on the status of my application. Every time I call a FEMA representative tells me they are going to refer my case to a caseworker and that it was under review - inspection. I've tried to check my status online but have had no luck retrieving the pin # I requested from the fema.gov site :(

On 9/16 at around 11:00 am, as an act of desperation, I decided to try and call FEMA yet again! Please keep in mind this is after repeatedly calling the same number daily over and over and over again until you get the standard voice greeting and then a hang up :)  Finally I got through, at about 11:45, and spoke with a FEMA representative. I was not quite sure if I was given a representative # but the person I spoke to was very unhelpful. She even tried to blame me for the situation because apparently she said my application read as me not having hurricane or flood damage. Needless to say that was the straw that broke the camel's back. The representative was rude and even laughing at the situation. She tried to tell me things I had heard over and over and over again. If there was more focus on fixing the problem I don't think I'd be writing this letter today. Lastly, after a heated verbal argument the representative hung up.
In the process, all the money I had has dwindled on food or some other unexpected expense. I have temporary shelter with a college buddy but it is not permanent or guaranteed daily. I am an independent, single, tax paying male.The owner of the store I managed canceled our last paychecks with PAYCHEX systems and claims he can not pay us. I have applied for food stamps and unemployment and haven't received either yet. I have also been looking for employment.

Thankfully, the American Red Cross was there to help me and my mother evacuate from my apartment in New Orleans to North Carolina. They assisted me by giving me a $360 debit card in which most went towards a plane ticket to Mississippi and food. Every time I call FEMA they send me to American Red Cross :(

Believe me I understand that I am very fortunate. I have not had life sustaining injuries and I really could care less about my physical properties. I know that FEMA is overwhelmed with calls and people that need help. That's why I was patient. I even dedicated a lot of my time helping people that were less fortunate during the hurricane. I have waited long enough! I need FEMA assistance to continue with my life. I have seen people that I have helped file applications for FEMA receive assistance within 3- 5 days of their claim. They have moved on with their lives. I feel like my wings have been clipped. Ii is obvious that I can't go back to New Orleans and that I need assistance. Katrina happened August 29 of 2005. Today is September 24, 2005. Why am I still suffering?

Kenneth Bryan

A friend of mine pointed me to this today and I got a kick out of it.  Having a bad day behind the keyboard?  Watch this and realize it could be worse.  :-)

EDIT: It looks like Google Video killed this one.  You can see it on YouTube here.

Weird Al- White and Nerdy

NOTE: This is not in reference to Web Templates. In VS2005 Web Projects are created through a different menu item.  If you here because you cannot find the web project templates make sure you select New... Web Site from the File menu.

Twice I’ve installed Visual Studio 2005 (I use the Software Developer flavor, if that matters) and in the end I’ve been missing an item template or two.

Example…  I create a new Class Library project, right click the project and choose Add.  The dialog box that appears gives me a list of installed Item Templates.  After staring at it for several minutes I decided I was missing “Class”, the template to create a new class file.  Of course I could just choose Empty file and go on… but who wants to do that.  ;-)

Here’s what I think happened.  Visual Studio has a cache on disk of all the installed item templates.  My guess is that my cache got messed up.  This didn’t just happen once however, it has happened twice now.  How do you fix it?  Well, here you go.

First, close Visual Studio.  Open a new ‘Visual Studio 2005 Command Prompt’.  Once there type the following command at the prompt, press enter and wait…

devenv /installvstemplates

This will rebuild your item and project template cache.  Works like a charm.

EDIT: This doesn't appear to be working for a lot of people.  I apologize for that.  Don't let it discourage you from trying however I do not have any other solutions.  If someone does please post and I'll include it in the article.

EDIT2: There are many good solutions in the comments below.  Read on and most likely you will find your solution.

Yeah, I'm guilty.  I tried VSS 2005.  To be absolutely honestly I have stayed away from VSS for so many years because I had no interest in losing my projects to corruption.  This fear led me to be a Sourcegear Vault user, which by the way is a very nice product.  Never the less I figure VSS 2005 must be better than it's previous release, VSS 6, so I decided to give it a shot on a small project.  It went pretty well until I stumbled into the Internet Plug-in setup with SSL.

VSS 2005, which it seems to look quite a bit like VSS 6 has some new functionality, most notably the Internet Plug-in.  This enables you to access VSS over HTTP protocol via web services.  Now, I'm used to this, it's how Vault works, but the configuration was less than forgiving.

To start it off you need to create a new VSS database.  This is simple enough since the VSS Admin tool gives you a nice wizard to help you out.  This connects you to the database and displays the users in the main admin interface pane.  Seems simple enough.

Next I click on Server Settings and enabled the Internet Plug-in without SSL.  Bam, the VSS Admin tool says I need to connect to my database via its UNC path.  Ok, so that tells me I have to share it. I open up Explorer and share the folder.  Mind you I AM reading the instructions as I'm doing this even though it may appear as though I'm not.  I share the folder and switch back to the VSS Admin interface, click the menu and choose to Open a new VSS database.  Bam, can't, it's already open.  Ok, so I need to close it.  Well, this isn't that easy.  The database that's open has a default set to automatically open on startup that you can't deselect.  You need to add the database to the list, with a different name since it already exists in the list, but this time by UNC path.  Move the default open selection to the new UNC path listing and close and re-open the admin tool.  *sigh*

Ok, now I'm connected to the database by UNC path so I go back into Server Settings and enable the Internet Plug-in without SSL.  After a silly amount of time waiting on it to complete the change it clears and the attempt to open the VSS database via the Internet Plug-in from Visual Studio works.

So... being the curious sort I decided to enable SSL on the Internet Plug-in.  Wow was that an evolution.  Right off I can tell you that enabling SSL makes VSS a very touchy beast.  Unless the SSL cert is just perfect it will fail and the admin tool will just report that it couldn't be enabled.  No other errors or detailed information is provided, just that it failed.  That's when Google and the Microsoft Newsgroups came in.  Alin Constantin, an MS guy that I'm guessing works in the VSS group, posted a nice write-up on his site with the steps required to get this to work.  He also outlines what criteria have to be met in order for SSL to be enabled.  Something neither the help nor the KB does in any way.

You can find Alin's document here Installing and configuring Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Internet (Remote) access

Now, thanks to Alin, it works with SSL enabled.  There was a little pain involved but no where near what I've gone through with other apps.  If you are installing VSS 2005 I recommend you read Alin's document above before you attempt to enable the Internet Plug-in.

I have some favorite features that I want to share.  No, it's not the ribbon bar although it is pretty cool.

The first is the addition of the Font Formatting menu to right click and select operation.  Insert some text into Word 2007 and click and drag it to highlight.  The closer you move the mouse to the top of the selection a Font Formatting tool will appear.  I absolutely think this is an awesome addition.  It also appears on right clicks in the current document.  I attached a screenshot below to demonstrate.

The next one is the new Smart Tags.  I love what they have done here.  Suppose you have a document that states a wind speed, say 50 MPH.  How fast is that in kilometers?  The smart tag knows.  Give it a shot, type in 50 MPH in Word, or an Outlook message for that matter and take a look at the smart tag that is formed.

NOTE: the placement of the smart tag dialog is a little screwy, it needs to be below the item taged and not above because it covers the text being linked.  I have 50 MPH in the screenshot twice in order for you to get the full effect.  The one being shown is actually under the smart tag dialog.

Ok, so I found this by accident.  You know on the status bar at the bottom of your Office application how you have sections for CAPS Lock, Insert, page count, etc.?  Well, in Office 2007 you can customize what information you want to see in the status bar from a predefined list.  It's pretty cool.  Open Word, Excel, whatever (not Outlook) and right click on the status bar at the bottom of the window.  You will receive a menu like the one below.  Play around with it... a simple but nice addition.

Seen this?

Many have reported this error and others have drawn the correlation between the error and the size of your virtual HD.  I’m going to bring the two together.

Since we are talking about Beta bits there are several “issues” to work around in order to get a good install of Vista Beta 1 up and running.  In previous posts you’ve read that there are several workarounds for the “RAW” disk problem.  You can basically “Choose your own adventure” by either formatting with XP or 2k3, diskpart with SHIFT-F10 or just let the installer do it all but with a kind re-boot in the middle.  They all accomplish the same thing.

Here’s the thing, and I’m not sure I understand why but if you create a virtual HD in VMware for your Vista install and give it anything less than 8.0 GB it will fail.  4GB the install won’t even leave the starting blocks.  If you give it 6GB the install will start only to stop with the error above.  Try 7GB and the error above will crop up once again.  The magic number appears to be 8GB.  If you give your VM at least an 8GB virtual disk it will complete the install.

Now, why you may ask.  I’m interested in this as well.  We know the installer checks for minimum disk space, that is apparent if you try to install with a 4GB disk.  Since VMware doesn’t magically shrink an expanded disk we know it’s not about temporary disk storage during install or the completed install would leave a virtual disk file of 8GB instead of one at 2GB(if my memory serves me correctly).  My guess is an installer flaw or bug.  The graceful notification of a 4GB disk being too small tells me that the installer was built with a disk space requirement around the 4–5GB range.  The hard crash of the installer at disk sizes between 4GB and 7GB lead me to believe it is an installer oversight/bug.  Any way you slice it you must at least give it 8GB.

NOTE: This was written for Vista Beta 1.  The comments below will help with respect to more current beta's.

If you are attempting to install Vista Beta 2 in VMware the reported minimum size is 16GB for your virtual disk in order to avoid the error.  - Thanks Robert, Mondo and any others I missed

As most of you well know the Office 2007 Beta 2 has been release to the public.  Honestly it is so stable I'm running it for everyday use.  This has of course allowed me to uncover a few “issues” if you will.  Being the diligent tester that I am I wanted to submit these bugs, or at the very least find out if they had already been discovered.  My search of MSDN and the Microsoft site itself for a way to do this unfortunately returned no results.  Now, I know you can go to resources from within the program's setting dialog but that isn't really the place for this type of communication.

Out of frustration in not being able to find a place to let the product team know about the “issues” I posted an article over on the Channel9 forum found here.  A kind user was nice enough to post a link to what Microsoft is calling the Smile program.  Essentially it is a feedback application that runs in your taskbar that displays a smile and a frown.  You can click which ever one applies, a smile for positive feedback and a frown for negative feedback.  It will take a screenshot of your desktop and sends it along with the text you submit.  It's not a bug report, which is really what I wanted to submit, but it will work just fine.  I wanted to share in case others are having trouble finding where to submit issues that aren't part of the official beta team.  Yes, it's a silly little program and I don't really like it sitting there running all the time but since I'm not part of the beta it's the only option I have.

The links in the Channel9 article point you to Jensen Harris's blog, a member of the Office UI team.  There he describes the Smile program and welcomes the feedback.  According to him it goes straight to the product team itself.  Top notch.

If you haven't tried it out yet Office 2007 is an excellent suite.  Head over to the Office 2007 beta 2 download site and grab it.  You won't be sorry.  I plan on posting a few of my favorite new features here in a little bit.  I promise, I'm not going to say “The Ribbon Bar is awsome“ although I do like it.  Enjoy.

It's here.  VMware Server RC1 is really shaping up to be a great release. It's late so I'll just paste in part of the announcement for the details.

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We are pleased to announce that VMware Server Release Candidate 1 is now available. You can download the new VMware Server Release Candidate 1 by following the link for “Existing Users” and simply register using the same serial numbers from prior VMware Server beta releases. Alternatively, you can request for new serial numbers by following the link for "First Time Users."

In addition to bug fixes, VMware Server Release Candidate 1 also includes exciting new features such as:

• Enhanced performance optimizations
• Experimental support for SUSE Linux 10.1 as guest and host operating system
• Experimental support for 32-bit and 64-bit FreeBSD 6.0 as guest operating systems