25 Jul 2011
I have tested this in both a development and a production Windows Server 2008 R2 environment, extending the schema to allow Mac OSX computers to received managed preferences direct from the Active Directory (AD), and not requiring a separate OSX directory server to supply those preferences.
I don’t understand why Apple don’t just give people the pre-made ldif file, with it configured to add only missing classes and attributes. The current method involves having to buy OSX server to do this, which is crazy (This may have changed in 10.7, I don’t know yet).
Anyway, below is the correctly configured ldif file that will add the required attributes and classes to an AD schema. The environment I tested it in was a standard AD, with schema extensions for System Center Configuration Manager (SSCM) applied.
The following file is supplied with absolutely no guarantees and may in fact cause your Active Directory environment to spontaneously combust, or develop an unhealthy craving for human brains
ADSchemaExtension_OSX10.6.ldif
You should add this schema modification to the AD schema, by using the following command:
ldifde -i -u -f ADSchemaExtension_OSX10.6.ldif -s server:port -b username domain password -j . -c “cn=Configuration,dc=X” #configurationNamingContext
If you run this command on the schema master, you can omit the username/password and server/port part from the command, as so:
ldifde -i -u -f ADSchemaExtension_OSX10.6.ldif -j . -c “cn=Configuration,dc=X” #configurationNamingContext
More information on ldifde is in the technet article for ldifde.
Once the schema has been extended, you can treat the AD as a direct replacement for the OSX Open Directory Server in regards to managing preferences.
The next step is to join your Macs to the domain with the AD connector and set up your administration machine to control preferences for Macs in the domain, by installing the Server Admin Tools for OSX 10.6.
23 Jul 2011
Just thought I would share some of the books I have read recently.
Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero - Dan Abnett
A brilliant romp through an alternate-universe England where ‘The Arte’, a form of magic takes the place of science and technology.
Rule 34 - Charles Stross
If you are familiar with the definition of rule 34, or any of Stross’ earlier work, this is for you. It’s probably his best novel so far, with his ‘Laundry Files’ series a close second.
Ender’s Game - Orson Scott Card
A book I re-read a lot, I came back to it again recently. This really is an exceptional novel.
The Space Wolf Omnibus - William King
Space Wolf: The Second Omnibus - William King, Lee Lightner
A great set of stories set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, following Ragnar on a heart-stopping journey as he rises through the ranks of the Space Wolves.
Vitals - Greg Bear
A story about bacteria, the Soviet Union and people attempting to find eternal youth. Not convinced? I thought it was great!
There are some more I have read recently, including more from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, zombies and other near future sci-fi. But I’ll leave them for later.
18 Jul 2011
Just a quick post about something I did a long while ago (but have recently updated).
Ethernet Cable Wiring
It’s a guide on making Ethernet cables I created a while ago, parts of it can be used as handouts or part of an information pack for students. It has proven quite useful and attempts to walk people through a ‘correct’ way to make cables. I sourced information from a couple of websites, including a great article here.
23 May 2011
Most people living in the UK aren’t aware, or don’t care, that transferring or ‘format shifting’ media from one format to another is against the law. Examples of this would be ripping a DVD, or writing a CD containing legal music downloads.
Although no-one has been prosecuted under this law, it means every day people have to break the law to get the entertainment they want, in format they want (PC, portable media player, etc.) In some other countries, including the USA, format shifting is not explicitly forbidden as it is in the UK and is generally assumed to be legal.
This problem of format shifting has been discussed on and off for years by various people, but no headway appears to have been made, so the UK continues to be behind the curve in changing copyright laws to fit the modern day. Hopefully this latest report for the government pushes this issue into the spotlight and gets the attention it deserves. It seems that the UK government is finally coming around to the need to change the law in regards to format shifting of media content after being under pressure from the public to change the law. Unfortunately, there also seems to be pressure in the opposite direction from established businesses and organisations that seek to keep that things as they are.
There have been reports in the past (like the Gowers Review) that advocated allowing format shifting, to give people freedoms that citizens from other countries already enjoy, but over half of the recommendations Gowers put forward, less than half of them have been implemented.
The newest review of Intellectual Property (IP) law, titled the Hargreaves Review, also advocates making format shifting legal, but does not go as far as to also recommended other freedoms such as ‘fair use’. The report eventually goes on to say:
5.31 The Government should introduce an exception to allow individuals to make copies for their own and immediate family’s use on different media. Rights holders will be free to pursue whatever compensation the market will provide by taking account of consumers’ freedom to act in this way and by setting prices accordingly.
From Page 53 - Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth
Hopefully if this exception is put into law, prices for music, video and other media will not increase in the future, as this practice of format shifting already goes on today and a reduction in revenues cannot be attributed to this exception being made law. Unfortunately, the reality is that we can probably expect a price hike, even if it’s only slight.
The recommendations of the Hargreaves report may hopefully open the door to further reforms of intellectual property law in the future and bring the UK to a place that better reflects how media and other content covered by copyright and intellectual property law are used.
20 May 2011
A few changes, some big (header images), some small (loads of small CSS positioning changes).
I expect changes will continue, as always, these things are works in progress for the most part as I see things that could be better.
Everything else has been pretty much left as it was, for the moment. I will be doing some recording this Sunday for the ‘Metal project’ and I’ll be getting back into the Rails development with a vengeance, ill probably work on some ideas I’ve had for some build up projects to get me used to various aspects of rails development.