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Since the 1980s, I've worked with computers, watched them grow, shrink, change and improve. I've worked with a lot of users and solved a lot of problems in that time too, so I thought this would be a good place to share some of the random things I've found and solved. If you have some odd problem, email me. If I can figure it out I'll post the answer here.

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Location: Mansfield, Texas, United States

I am a veteran computer geek, but I prefer the term 'Hired Gun', since that gives the (misleading) impression that I know what I'm talking about. I have worked on all sizes of system as an engineer, developer, technical support and operations, and at all levels from Operator to CIO.
I have some certifications, but what they are depends on what Microsoft is calling them this week.

If you have a question, and don't mind the answer being posted, email me here, removing the spam stopper.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Cannot open an anonymous level security token

I'd been avoiding Internet Explorer 8 for as long as possible, but finally had to bite the bullet when I ended up with a new laptop with Windows 7.

One particularly unpleasant problem I encountered was with Business Objects when attempting to create a new Web Intelligence (webi) Document. I would get a Javascript error saying "Cannot open an anonymous level security token"

After a bit of cursing and some digging, I found out that its tied to DCOM, which meant running the DCOM Config tool, as follows:

1) Start, cmd, dcomcnfg
2) Select Component Services, then drill down to My Computer and right-click on it.
3) Select properties
4) Choose Default Properties
5) Change the Default Authentication Level to 'Connect'
6) Make sure the Impersonation level is set to 'Identify' (by default, it should be)
7) Hit ok, exit IE then reload.

That should take care of it. :)

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Got a bad Android Marketplace? Here's a Solution!

Many of you who bought Android Tablets or phones over christmas in the hopes of spiking the ball in the face of iPad/iPhone users, may have been disappointed to discover that the app store on your phone is 'a bit dodgy' . If you got a grey market phone, or perhaps got a generic tablet from China, the appstore is most likely less than stellar.

On investigating ways around this problem, you may have been told to talk to the manufacturer, the provider, etc.

These solutions will most likely, not help. Here's one that will: Amazon app-store!

Click here from your Android: https://www.amazon.com/app-email and you will be able to access angry birds, words for free and all the other important apps you have been missing. You will need an amazon account for one click ordering, but then you're good to go.

Enjoy!