Ryan's Blog

Export Windows Service List to Excel with Windows Powershell

Ryan Hoffman — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:53:21 GMT

I've always had Windows Powershell installed on my system, but never needed to really dive deep into it. Today, I saw a question on a forum, asking how to get a list of Windows Services into a printable format. That's when it hit me, Powershell would be perfect for this! So I checked out some Powershell documentation, and it turns out the Get-Service cmdlet is used to retrieve all the system services. If you simply pipe it to the Export-Csv cmdlet, it will output the services list into a Excel-readable CSV file. Here is the exact command I used (you can replace the path with the location you want the file to be saved):

Get-Service | Export-Csv -path "C:\services.csv"

This is a screenshot of the output of this command, viewed in Excel (I deleted some columns for easier viewing):

Get-Service Output Viewed In Microsoft Excel
(Click to enlarge)

It's also easy to filter the list with Windows Powershell. You can output only the started services, for example, by executing this command:

Get-Service | where {$_.Status -eq "Running"} | Export-Csv -path "C:\services.csv"

I'm going to be posting more about Powershell as I learn how to interact with it. This is going to change the way I accomplish tasks on my computer.

Mediafour Releases MacDrive 7 Compatible with Windows Vista x64

Ryan Hoffman — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:15:35 GMT

lWith Mac OS X 10.5, Mac owners can now enjoy Windows Vista x64 on their computers. The one major downside to using bootcamp, is that your Mac OS X partition is inaccessible while booted into Windows. Mediafour's MacDrive product changes all of that, as it is made specifically to solve this problem! Now with their 7.0 release, it fully supports Vista x64. This is great news for Mac owners who want to enjoy a true 64-bit operating system ;). For more information, pricing, and a demo, check out the Mediafour website.

In the past, I have used Mediafour's XPlay product to sync Windows Media Player with an iPod, and I can say it's a very well written product. I was extremely impressed with the design of the user interface, and the integration with Windows. I have no doubt that MacDrive 7 is just as well engineered!

VTech usb7100 Skype Phone on Vista x64

Ryan Hoffman — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:12:45 GMT

I might be a little late to the game, but I have Skype fever. Recently, I purchased SkypeIn and SkypeOut. I love how Skype picks up my Outlook contacts and lets me dial them straight from my PC. I also love that Skype has browser plug-ins that allow me to make calls from phone numbers in web pages!

A friend of mine gifted me a VTech usb7100 Skype phone. This phone was released before Vista was even out, so I was unsure if it would work. I plugged it in, and Windows identified it as a "USB Audio Device" and installed drivers for it. After that I went to the VTech website, downloaded and installed the latest version of the USB7100 application. It said everything was working, but no calls were working! Every time I made a call, Skype would say Call Canceled.

After doing some research, I found out the cause. VTech admitted that their software was not compatible with Windows Vista! Doh! Luckily after a few minutes of research, it turns out VTech Canada has a Vista compatible version! I have uploaded it to the driver database here, just in case it magically finds its way off the VTech Canada website (who knows!).

Skype works!
Click to enlarge

AMD Launches Three New Quad-Core Phenom Processors!

Ryan Hoffman — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:40:07 GMT

Hot off the presses! AMD has updated their quad-core lineup, and have released their new flagship Phenom processor! Here is the meat from the press release:

Today, AMD released the AMD Phenom™ X4 9950 Black Edition quad-core processor featuring Clock Multiplier Control. Combined with AMD OverDrive™ software – the industry’s most comprehensive Windows-based performance tuning utility – the latest Black Edition processor enables customizable platform performance and tunability.* For energy-conscious users, the energy-efficient AMD Phenom X4 9350e and AMD Phenom X4 9150e processors are now available. These processors, under the most extreme operation, consume no more than 65 watts, delivering the performance of four independent cores at a low wattage – ideal for development of small and sleek form factors that can help cut down on energy consumption, take up little space, and operate with low noise.

The new AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition processor offers gamers and enthusiast power users superb scalability and unprecedented customizable performance levels to run multiple processor-intensive applications simultaneously. The energy- efficient AMD Phenom X4 9350e and AMD Phenom X4 9150e processors benefit users by delivering the performance of AMD native quad core design with low-power consumption. These processors are designed for mainstream and energy-conscious users, and for digital media enthusiasts looking for enhanced digital content creation and consumption capabilities with energy efficiency.

AVG Internet Security 8 Firewall x64 Review

Ryan Hoffman — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:32:00 GMT

There are many firewall choices for Windows x64 users, so I've decided to take a look at some of the most popular products that are compatible with Windows Vista x64. The first firewall I will look at is the one included in AVG Internet Security 8.

AVG Internet Security 8 64-bit is approximately a 50mb download. Installation was very straightforward, with just a few simple dialogs asking the location you want to install the product to, and what features you want to be installed. Unfortunately, the installation is probably the easiest part of configuring this product.

After the product is installed, a Firewall Configuration Wizard launches to guide you in initially setting up the firewall. The first question it asks you is, "How is your computer connected to the Internet?". The wizard gives you four choices: Standalone computer, Computer in domain, Computer on the move, Small home or office network, and instructs you for the ideal configuration you should select ALL. This part of the wizard is very confusing, and does not really provide a clear explanation of the right choice. For example, if this computer is joined to a domain, isn't it on a office network? Why is joined on a domain even a choice? Also, it is unclear what settings each choices effects.

Network configuration options
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The wizard then scans your hard drive for known applications that will need access through the firewall. I think this is a good feature, but I worry that scanning my computer will give access through the firewall to applications that I might not necessarily want. In fact, after the search completes, it does not even show you the results!

Scanning for applications
(Click to enlarge)

After the Wizard was finished, a "Network Detected" dialog appeared, asking me to name the network, and choose how it is used. Now it wants me to pick which type of network that I've specified I had earlier in the initial wizard. Still confusing!

Network Detected
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Next, a safe adapters settings screen pops up. It seems like this setting will override the network setting I just chose prior in the Network Detected screen. Does this mean my firewall is protecting my main network card at all? It is not clear!

Safe adapters settings
(Click to enlarge)

That is the last screen that pops up. Configuration is now done! Although, I'm not quite sure if the configuration is correct! The usability of this firewall is extremely poor, and needs a lot of work. One nice bit of UI that the product has is the main screen of AVG Internet Security 8, showing all of its services and the status of each.

AVG Internet Security
(Click to enlarge)

To conclude, AVG Internet Security 8's firewall is compatible with Vista x64. It's configuration is extremely complex, due to the poorly designed setup wizards. I recommend consulting the help documentation if you were to use this firewall on your machine, as the wizards themselves do not contain enough information to help you make good decisions! The usability problems have affected this products overall rating!

AVG Internet Security 8 Firewall

Extended64.com Overall Rating - 3/10

Pros:

Nice looking dashboard showing all services

Cons:

Extremely hard to configure due to poor wording in the UI!

How To Upload Drivers In The Driver Database

Ryan Hoffman — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:03:42 GMT

Did you know that all registered users at Extended64.com can upload drivers into the Drivers Database? This is a guide to show you how to do just that!

Step 1: Log in! You need to be a registered user to upload drivers. Click the login link at the top of the website.

Step 2: Go to the Driver Database page. It's in the top navigation.

Step 3: Click the "Upload" button in the top right corner of the Driver Database. Choose the category of your driver.

Step 4: You can either upload a driver directly to the database, or specify the URL where the driver can be downloaded. Click the Specity File / URL button, to choose where to upload the file from. If you are uploading the file from your computer, choose the Upload File option, and hit browse to select the file. If you are linking to a URL, choose the Link to URL option and enter the URL which the file can be downloaded at. After you are done with either choice, choose "Save".

Step 5: Enter a detailed name, description (optional), and add descriptive tags for the driver! Make sure you add the Operating System as a tag, like "Vista x64" as shown in the example. Also, try to use existing tag names, instead of making new ones!

Step 6: Click the Save button. You're now done!

Site Upgraded!

Ryan Hoffman — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:09:00 GMT

I've upgraded the website to CommunityServer 2008! Telligent has done a great job with this new release, and I'm really digging all the new features! Stay tuned!

Live Earth is ROCKING

Ryan Hoffman — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 02:59:39 GMT

Now, this has nothing to do about 64-bit. In fact, I'm going to guess that this won't even work in a 64-bit browser - but who cares. I feel like a kid in a candy store with all the simultaneous performances that I can switch between - thanks to MSN's streaming of this awesome event. Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, AFI, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are just some artists im looking forward to see.

I urge any music fan to check out the stream, you can find it at http://liveearth.msn.com/.

Windows Vista - The Best 64-bit Windows Operating System to Date

Ryan Hoffman — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 04:39:00 GMT

When a new Microsoft product is released, everyone focuses on the product's problems. You might have seen Mary Jo Foley's article sharing some of Vista's "gotchas" - including one gotcha shared by yours truly. I'm happy to say, that there are plenty of real reasons why 64-bit Windows Vista is worth the plunge - especially if you have existing computers running Windows XP x64 / Windows Server 2003 x64. Here are my 3 favorite improvements over Windows XP Professional x64:

1. All Windows Vista Editions are available in 64-bit flavors
From Windows Vista Home Basic to Windows Vista Ultimate Edition; all the editions and their features are in Windows Vista are available in full 64-bit glory. This opens up incredible possibilities, just think... 64-bit Media Center!
2. Built-in applications are really 64-bit this time
Yes, you heard me. From Windows Calendar, to Windows Media Center, when you run these applications, they run natively on your x64 processor. Gone are the days of where the taskbar Windows Media Player doesn't work (because Windows Media Player in XP x64 was 32-bit, and Explorer was 64-bit), and gone are the days with all those *32 next to processes!
3. When you buy a 32-bit Windows Vista Edition, you can switch to 64-bit Edition for free.
Buying an edition of Windows Vista means you've bought that edition - and that edition is available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. A Windows Vista Home Premium product key will work on the 32-bit or 64-bit version - and that's the same for all the editions.

There are plenty more great improvements for 64-bit Windows Vista. We'll dive down into more details soon!

Your Server Is Only Reliable As The Network Hardware In Front of It

Ryan Hoffman — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 03:46:00 GMT

As you might have noticed, Extended64.com and Bink.nu were down for a few hours today. Our servers were fine - the firewall sitting in front of them was the culprit. We're back now - and hopefully we'll be more stable.

Windows Vista Coach Tour Wrap Up

Ryan Hoffman — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 09:39:00 GMT

This week, I’ve had an opportunity of a lifetime – I got to spend five days on the Windows Vista Coach. In those five days, I’ve ridden the bus up and down the east coast, stopping in many cities at malls, computer stores, and as many other places that we could (while maintaining somewhat of a schedule). I’ve learned a great deal speaking to the many people who have hopped on board the bus, especially the many ways people use PC’s running Windows.

Microsoft’s marketing line is “The ‘wow’ starts now” – and we were getting plenty of wows from our visitors. I had a blast demoing all the new features in Windows Vista that I have been using for the past year - Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Calendar, Flip 3D, Instant Search, and Windows Sidebar (to name a few!). One of the hands-down favorites that people loved to see was Windows Vista’s new version of Media Center. I handed out a bunch of business cards, and look forward to keeping in touch with some people I’ve met on the road. I’m especially anxious to know how Vista is running for them after they get it on their PC’s.

The most memorable part of the trip, for me, was our ride through Washington, DC. I’ve never been to DC before, and we drove past many famous landmarks. I was lucky enough to get a great shot of the coach driving past the Capitol Building – that was a great “vista”!

The four other people on the bus, Nick White from Microsoft, Terri Straton from TheTabletPC.net, Brandon LeBlanc from MSTechToday.com, and our excellent driver, Charlie, has made the last week an incredible amount of fun. Without them, this trip would certainly not have been the same.

Note: Just want to point out, the tour is continuing still - just without me. I have real world obligations this week ;).

Certified for Windows Vista? Not Good Enough for x64!

Ryan Hoffman — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 01:47:00 GMT

The biggest shock of the day: hardware certified for Windows Vista does not guarantee that it is supported under 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. This is bad news for the adoption of 64-bit Windows on the desktop. What’s the point of the logo, when it only is half true?

One Month Later: My experiences with Windows Vista

Ryan Hoffman — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 08:39:00 GMT

Last week, the Bink.nu news poster "Spy" wrote about his experiences with Windows Vista. I have been using the final version of Windows Vista since it was released on MSDN, and I have had a completely different experience then Spy. The first thing I'd like to do, is share the specs of the systems that I use Windows Vista on.

Desktop (Custom Built):

AMD Athlon64 FX-60 Dual Core CPU (2.61ghz)
2gb of DDR1 RAM
128mb nVidia GeForce 6800GT
Two 80gb SATA2 7200rpm Drives (One is OS drive)
250gb SATA2 7200rpm Drive
Hauppauge WinTV PVR-USB2 TV Tuner
Dell 20.1" Widescreen LCD (Res: 1680x1050)

Laptop (Gateway M-285e Tablet PC):

Intel Core Duo T2400 (1.83ghz)
2gb of DDR2 RAM
128mb ATI Mobility Radeon x1400
60gb SATA2 5400rpm 2.5" Drive
14" Widescreen Tablet LCD (Res: 1280x768)

On a clean install, both machines run very well. All of my hardware is installed, and works perfectly - this is one of the major reasons why I have a good Vista experience. On both machines, I have a similar software configuration: Office 2007, Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005, Codesmith Studio 4.0, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Windows Live Messenger, AIM 6.0, Skype, Napster, Audacity, and I even have Firefox installed. Right now on my desktop, I have all of the following applications running: AIM, 2 Remote Desktop Connections, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Management Studio, CodeSmith Studio 4.0, Visual Studio 2005, 9 Notepads, 6 Internet Explorers (all with several tabs open), Word 2007, Outlook 2007, 3 Command Prompts, 11 Windows Live Messenger windows, Windows Media Player, and 2 explorer windows open. My system is not slower with all these applications open, and all the applications are responding nicely.

My favorite part of Windows Vista (currently) is the new version of Media Center. I have an XBOX360, and I use it as a Media Center Extender - it all has worked flawlessly for me. There's no better feeling then coming home at night, and seeing all the newly recorded TV shows that are ready to watch!

The biggest problems I've had with Windows Vista are with software incompatibilities. For example, the default installation of Napster freezes when I launch it. With some compatibility settings enabled, Napster runs perfectly fine. I run my systems with UAP turned on - as I feel this is something that I need to have enabled, if I'm going to support it on my friend's machines. Skype, SQL Management Studio, and Visual Studio all require administrative privileges, so I have the "Run this program as an administrator" compatibility setting in each application's shortcut.

My current system uptime is 11 days, 14 hours - and this proves that Windows Vista is highly reliable for me. I've not once experienced a system crash, in fact, Vista feels more reliable then XP at first.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with Windows Vista. I don't think I would be happy using an XP machine anymore - I am too accustomed to the enhancements that Vista offers.

Windows Vista Add A New Font Dialog

Ryan Hoffman — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 15:19:00 GMT

There is a dialog in Windows that hasn't changed since the Windows 3.x generation. If you're in the Fonts folder, the context menu has an option to "Install a new font...". Clicking this option provides the decade plus old dialog box. I have been telling Microsoft about this issue for the last TWO years. Since there has been no change, I recently wrote a quick article about this on Bink.nu. Unfortunately, this article is now being used to prove why Mac OS X is better, why Microsoft doesn't care about Vista - just to name a few of the wrong points to take away from my article.

Microsoft's response on this whole thing, is that no one uses this feature, and since drag and drop is another way to install fonts, there is no use in fixing this minor dialog for use in the current century. How did I find the dialog? Well, one day, long ago, when Windows 3.1 was the biggest and the best we had, I used this dialog. The whole "Drag and Drop" story wasn't really there during those days, and there was no Explorer! File Manager didn't have any type of extension for the Fonts folder (I don't even think the shell extension concept was around then...), and the only way to add Fonts was in the Control Panel. Naturally, when I used later versions of Windows, this Font dialog was second nature to me, so I found it and used it to install Fonts.

Now, I may be a weird user that actually uses the "Add A New Font" dialog in Windows, but for years I have thought of ways to expand and improve it. For one, it should search your system for all font files, and show you previews of the found fonts (and not just the font's name). It would be simple to use, so that installing a font never took more then two clicks, and it would appear in a modern Windows Vista task dialog. When selecting a bunch of fonts, if a font already exists on the system, it should be skipped automatically (this is behavior is different then today, and it certainly isn't ideal), and it should have an animated font installation copy dialog (kind of like the new File Copy windows).

Now, this may be a lot of work for Microsoft, but it would be certainly worth it. It's a way to turn a non-feature into a positive, and a way to make sure Windows Vista is all around polished. Maybe this could make a Vista service pack :-).

Telligent Internship Completed

Ryan Hoffman — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 22:10:08 GMT

In the last two months, I feel like I've become a member of the Telligent team. I have brought home many great memories, and a lot of great lessons that will help me over the course of my life and my career.

What makes Telligent great is not the free drinks, the ping-pong table, or Counter-Strike gaming; it's the amazing employees who come in early, and leave late in the afternoon.

What exactly did I work on at Telligent? Today, Rob Howard spilled the beans. I worked on the case management system in the Telligent CRM. So there you have it ;).

I'd like to thank everyone at Telligent who made my internship possible. I have a lot of respect for a company that put up with a punk 19 year old kid (me) for two months ;).