A MAC address or physical address is frequently needed when troubleshooting network or broadband connections. (MAC should be all caps because it is an acronym, standing for Media Access Control. If I were talking about an Apple computer, or a Macintosh, it would be proper to use 'Mac'.) Sometimes you might need to provide your MAC address to get onto somebody's wireless (if … [Read more...]
Simple Tip: Make Ping ‘Ping!’
The Linux ping utility has an audible option (-a) that just seems to make a lot of sense from a system administration point of view. Ping is typically used to see if the machine your own is connected to the network or if another machine on the network is accessible. If you're working on a system with a network problem, you might be diving under a desk, working behind the … [Read more...]
Resolve Internet Explorer Slowly Opening New Tabs
Internet Explorer introduced tabs with version 7 but one of the many reasons I prefer Firefox and increasingly Chrome is that they handle tabs better. To open a new tab, you can hit the key combo Ctrl+T or click the button near the current tab in any of those browsers. The problem with Internet Explorer, both version 7 and 8, is that it takes a noticeable amount of time for the … [Read more...]
Disabling Stationery in Outlook 2007 & 2010
This post is brought to you by that person (or persons) who use the stationery in Outlook to gussy up their e-mail messages. I'm sure you all know one or two. So, here's how they can turn it off and how we can prevent Outlook from showing it to us. Stationery in your e-mail looks something like a hideous 80s wallpaper is on the background of your e-mail, like this: Some … [Read more...]
Onto the Next Theme
All weekend, I've been tinkering with a new theme here at 404 Tech Support. If you've visited over the course of the weekend, you've definitely seen it (and I apologize if my tinkering disrupted your visit). I've still got a small handful of changes I'd like to make but the majority of the installation is done. I'm enjoying it because it has made my site more responsive and … [Read more...]