desktopTech

A couple of great new blogs

2010-05-05T14:26:00.001+01:00

Two ex-colleagues have recently started up blogs of their own and I highly recommend giving them a look!

Jim Wightman recently started work for the Solutions Accelerators team at Microsoft over in Redmond (jealous? me?). Jim is a dev of the uber-geek variety! Catch his musings at either;

http://blogs.technet.com/jimw/ ---> Programming for Windows

http://blogs.msdn.com/jimwdev/ ---> Coding blog

You’ll find Jim talking all things Windows deployment development, MDT coding, Windows Phone 7, Silverlight, .Net and occasional references to Star Trek, Dr Who and his menagerie of animals!

Paul Prior is one of those people who knows everything! Now I don’t mean from a big-headed point of view…I’ve worked with him, he does! (and he will let you know!). His blog is already on my list of daily reads, just don’t tell him! If Microsoft released it, you can bet your life Paul has installed, dissected and understood it. He’s an excellent Infrastructure Consultant and part time quick and dirty dev.

Look out for all things Exchange and SharePoint amongst others at;

http://blogs.x9000.com/

2010 Scripting Games!

2010-04-05T08:39:00.000+01:00

The 2010 Scripting Games are almost upon us. This year I'm determined to finally ditch the VBS go Powershell!

Grab this badge here!

Follow the Scripting Guys as they Tweet!

Multiple Connection issue with MDT 2010

2009-11-30T16:25:00.001Z

I’ve been putting together a Replace Scenario deployment for our XP to Windows 7 migration. Working on the USMT capture and restore I came across a minor headache with connections to my deployment share. When running my initial task sequence to capture user state, after answering the various questions from the wizard, I had the message ‘A connection to the distribution share could not be made’.

After a little research it turns out MDT sometimes baulks when logging in as one user and passing different credentials to the deployment wizard or setting them in cs.ini, which is exactly what I needed to do.

The problem lies with a function in ZTIUtility.vbs. The kind MDT team over at Microsoft have come up with a fix which worked just fine in our testing!

In your deployment share, navigate to the Scripts folder. (Make a backup copy of the ZTIUtility.vbs first!) Open the file in notepad and replace the following code in the MapNetworkDriveEX function:

Case Else
' Case &h800704C3 ' Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed.
' Case &h8007052E ' Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password.
' There was a some kind of fatal error.
If ErrDesc <> "" then
MapNetworkDriveEx = ErrDesc
Else
MapNetworkDriveEx = "Unable to map UNC Path " & sShare & " :" & "( 0x" & hex(HasError) & " ) "
End if
oLogging.CreateEntry MapNetworkDriveEx & "", iLogType
Exit function
End select

With this code

Case Else
Err.Clear
On Error Resume Next
oNetwork.MapNetworkDrive chr(sDrive)&":", sShare, False
HasError = err.number
ErrDesc = err.Description
On Error Goto 0
If Err.Number <> 0 Then
' There was a some kind of fatal error.
             If ErrDesc <> "" then
                                        MapNetworkDriveEx = ErrDesc
             Else
                                        MapNetworkDriveEx = "Unable to map UNC Path " & sShare & " :" & "( 0x" & hex(HasError) & " ) "
             End if
             oLogging.CreateEntry MapNetworkDriveEx & "", iLogType
                           Exit function
Else
      Exit Function
End If
End select

The original posting can be read at the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Team Blog.

Look at the basics first!

2009-11-27T13:09:00.001Z

Hands up who’s spent hours or days troubleshooting a problem, digging into the AD, ripping the code apart, testing, re-testing, blaming others, drinking more coffee…only to find out… well, the answer is too embarrassing to speak of!

I’ve been having issues getting my MDT builds to drop into a Specific OU, Workstation to be precise. The builds would deploy but ZTIDomainJoin would throw a wobbler at the Apply Network Settings phase. I’d ploughed through BDD.log, NetSetup.log, I’d checked and rechecked my Customsettings.ini syntax;

MachineObjectOU=ou=workstations,dc=mydomain,dc=net

I had checked and rechecked my account permissions to the Workstation OU but still it failed. If I removed the MachineObjectOU value, as expected the client dropped nicely into the default Computers container.

Ok, so has anyone spotted my blindingly obvious error?

Workstation IS NOT THE SAME AS Workstations!

doh!

And the moral of this? Look at the basics before deep diving into everything else.

A Remote Desktop Connection Annoyance!

2009-11-27T12:04:00.001Z

For a while now I’ve often been frustrated by a trivial annoyance when I tried to remotely connect to my lab servers using RDC. When I come to login, the “Ease of Access’ window would open as I typed my password.

After living with this for a while I thought, I really should find out why this is happening! It turns out the shortcut for Ease of Access is Windows Key + U, as I was entering the letter U the window was popping up. It would seem my RDC session had the Windows Key on hence my pressing of U activated the application. A quick press of the Windows Key and all was fixed. Maybe next time I should sort out the trivial issues as well!

Technorati Tags: RDC,Remote Desktop Connection,Ease of Access,Windows Key

Windows 7 Issue with Group Policy Enforced Wallpaper

2009-11-25T23:18:00.001Z

If you are having issues after using the group policy setting User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Desktop\Desktop\Desktop Wallpaper whereby the desktop wallpaper isn't applied and a solid background is displayed instead, then check out this posting from The Deployment Guys for some insight.

http://blogs.technet.com/deploymentguys/archive/2009/11/20/windows-7-rtm-issue-with-group-policy-enforced-wallpaper.aspx

Understanding the MDT 2010 Configuration Database

2009-11-25T00:10:00.000Z

The guys at Xtreme have done it again, another great posting on the the MDT database. Part 1 covers the hows and whys of getting it configured with some basic fields and the equivalent in CustomSettings.ini.

http://deployment.xtremeconsulting.com/2009/11/24/understanding-the-mdt-configuration-database-part-1/

Understanding USMT with MDT 2010

2009-11-21T13:37:00.003Z

As the number of Windows 7 deployments continues to rise so will the need to understand the USMT tool. If you are using MDT 2010 and / or SCCM then this excellent article from the guys at XTREME consulting is a great start.

http://deployment.xtremeconsulting.com/2009/11/20/understanding-usmt-with-mdt-2010/

SCCM WAIK and MDT Versions

2009-10-26T12:11:00.001Z

If you are using SCCM with WAIK and MDT for OS deployment then the versions you need are important and depend on the OS’s you wish to deploy!

Thanks to Johan Arwidmark for this really useful posting!

http://www.deployvista.com/Home/tabid/36/EntryID/96/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Windows 7 RC1 available

2009-04-30T15:17:00.001+01:00

Microsoft have today made the RC1 version of Windows 7 available via TechNet and MSDN. The following are available;

Win7 Ultimate RC (x86)

Win7 Ultimate RC (x64)

Language Packs (x86 / x64) English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish

WAIK for Win7 RC and W2K8 RC

Windows Driver Kit for Win7 RC

W2K8 R2 RC (x86, x64, ia64)

As a result, it seems the whole Net has ground to halt as everyone rushes to download! Oh well, I’ll leave it till next week!

Register for Beta Exam 71-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring

2009-04-26T21:40:00.001+01:00

Registration begins: April 27, 2009

You are invited to take beta exam 71-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring. If you pass the beta exam, the exam credit will be added to your transcript and you will not need to take the exam in its released form. The 71-xxx identifier is used for registering for beta versions of MCP exams, when the exam is released in its final form the 70-xxx identifier is used for registration.
By participating in beta exams, you have the opportunity to provide the Microsoft Certification program with feedback about exam content, which is integral to development of exams in their released version. We depend on the contributions of experienced IT professionals and developers as we continually improve exam content and maintain the value of Microsoft certifications.

71-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring counts as credit towards the following certification(s).

· MCTS: Windows 7, Configuration

Availability

Registration begins: April 27, 2009

Beta exam period runs: May 5, 2009– May 18, 2009

Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta; we recommend that you register immediately! Beta exams have limited availability and are operated under a first-come-first-served basis. Once all beta slots are filled, no additional seats will be offered.

Testing is held at Prometric testing centers worldwide, although this exam may not be available in all countries (see Regional Restrictions). All testing centers will have the capability to offer this exam in its live version.

Regional Restrictions: India, Pakistan, China

Registration Information

You must register at least 24 hours prior to taking the exam.
Please use the following promotional code when registering for the exam: WIN7J
Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta; we recommend that you register immediately.

To register in North America, please call:

• Prometric: (800) 755-EXAM (800-755-3926)

• Outside the U.S./Canada, please contact:

Prometric: http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp

MCITP Enterprise Admin!

2009-04-06T21:23:00.001+01:00

Today I passed the final exam needed to upgrade my MCSA 2003 to MCITP 2008 Enterprise Administrator. The final exam was the 70-647 Enterprise Admin exam. I found the official Microsoft Press study guide a real help for this exam and I’d love to go into details…but there the small matter of the NDA!

Internet Explorer 8 released

2009-03-19T16:26:00.001Z

The latest in Microsofts web browser, IE8 has been released today.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

TechNet Virtual Roadshow

2009-03-19T14:06:00.002Z

For those of you who don't have the time to attend the TechNet Roadshow, Microsoft are going virtual this year! There are two tracks, IT management and Key Technologies such as Windows 7. However, they need your help in deciding which sessions to show. You can vote for what you would like to see below.

Blog comments now on!

2009-03-19T09:12:00.001Z

Seems I’d left commenting disabled… doh! Now fixed, comment away!

Windows 7 Build 7048 changes

2009-03-11T15:19:00.001Z

This is an excellent article by Ed Bott on some of the functional and cosmetic changes that have made it into the the latest Windows 7 build. 7048 has been available to some partners for a couple of weeks, it’s also made it into the wild via the usual P2P and file sharing sites.

70-648 in the bag!

2009-03-09T20:59:00.001Z

Today was the third exam of four in my MCSA 2003 to MCITP upgrade. This was a pretty involved exam which combines both the 70-640 and 70-642. I read Brian Posey’s Prep Kit which covers just about everything you’ll need for the exam…oh and a good years worth of hands on! Again, my Hyper V environment proved invaluable for a practice lab. I’m not going into any of the exam details as they are detailed on Microsoft’s website…and I’d hate to breach the NDA! Onto 70-647!

Windows 7 start-up animation helps boot time!

2009-02-20T09:46:00.001Z

If you have had chance to play with a beta copy of Windows 7 you will no doubt have noticed the funky new start up animation. You could be forgiven for thinking this adds yet more overhead to the OS whereas it is actually smoother and uses less CPU / IO than previous start-up sequences!

The excellent Engineering Windows 7 blog goes into detail around the development process.

Windows 7 Beta download cut-off soon!

2009-02-09T14:21:00.002Z

Microsoft have announced that from 12th Feb Windows 7 will no longer be available to download through the Customer Preview Program (CPP). So if you haven't yet downloaded now is the time!

Get it here! http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

You will however still be able to request a key after this date. For all TechNet and MSDN subscribers the download will continue to be available.

MDT 2008 and Vista SP2 language packs

2009-02-09T13:47:00.001Z

The MDT workbench allows you to add a language pack when creating a reference build. However when testing Vista SP2 beta and its associated language packs I came across a small bug. If LPs have been added to the workbench they should appear as a selectable option during a light touch deployment, this works fine with RTM and SP1 LPs but not with the SP2 beta ones. After some feedback from Microsoft it turns out to be a simple scripting issue in DeployWiz_Initialization.vbs. This script contains a function (ConstructLPQuery) which queries the build version of the OS. This function caters for Server 2008 and Vista RTM and SP1 releases but makes no allowance for SP2. For the next release of MDT or maybe even a future update to MDT2008 this function is being made more generic. It is possible though to hack the current script and replace the occurrences of SP1 and 6001 with SP2 and 6002.

MDT 2010 beta update

2009-02-09T13:25:00.001Z

I’ve been using BDD / MDT since its shaky birth some 5 or 6 years ago. During this time its evolved into a fantastically stable and reliable tool for creating builds and performing deployments. Ok, its fair to say I’m an advocate! However, one cant help having a short wish list from time to time. I passed a request through to the team who develop MDT for a simple change a few weeks ago and it appears that change is making its into the next Beta release! Now I don't know if that was down to my request or if it was going to happen anyway but I’m glad to see it all the same.

When you list applications and OS packages in the workbench, there is no way to tell which are enabled or disabled without going into the properties of each. The next Beta release of MDT2010 will now show this setting in the workbench. A small change but one that save a lot of time when you have dozens of apps and packages and you forget to enable one when creating a build!

The long road to MCITP!

2009-02-04T21:30:00.003Z

I've finally started the push to upgrade my MCSA 2003 to MCITP Enterprise. I started off on the Microsoft certification track back in the NT4 days. From my first MCP (NT4 Workstation!) to MCSE NT4, MCSE 2000 then MCSA 2003...I never did get round to 70-296! So here we are again..ding ding, round four! First off was 70-643 Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring. After several months of working with 2008 and ploughing through Mackin and Desai's excellent Self Paced Training Kit I sat and passed this on Monday afternoon. One down two to go! Next up 70-648. This time I've gone for Brein Posey's The Real MCTS/MCITP Exam 70-648 Prep Kit. I'm one chapter in and quite enjoying the change in writing style, I wouldnt say I prefer one over the other and to be fair both the Microsoft Press and Syngress books are excellent value.

Microsoft announce Windows 7 SKUs

2009-02-03T23:31:00.004Z

This just in.....

Microsoft will be releasing full details tomorrow but it seems the following SKUs will be available for Windows 7

Starter
Home Premium
Professional
Enterprise
Ultimate

Update:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/feb09/02-03Win7SKU-QA.mspx

Acer Aspire One Netbook

2009-02-03T23:16:00.001Z

I love this! What more can I say? Well, as it turns out, quite a bit. I’m always on the lookout for new gadgets and have been toying with the idea of a netbook for some months. Knowing that I’d HAVE to run Windows I waited to find the right hard drive based model. I saw the Acer in my local Currys Electrical store for £199. Compared to the current eeePC, Toshiba and HP offerings the ‘bang for buck’ offered by the Acer was hard to beat.

So, the spec!

Atom N270 Dual core 1.6GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 120GB SATA disk, 8.9” Display, Wireless, 10/100 NIC, Built-in 0.3M pixel webcam, 3*USB, 1*SD slot for storage expansion, 1*SD slot (5-in-1 card reader).

What, only 512MB I hear you cry! Well, yes this is a drawback. I opted for the Linux based machine and decided to upgrade the RAM and OS myself. Now, this isn't for the faint hearted as a complete strip down of the unit was need to access the RAM slot. Why oh why Acer decided to make life this difficult is beyond me. I have many years experience of laptop repair so was happy to follow some disassembly instructions to get to the RAM socket, however, this isn't for everyone and no doubt voids any warranty! If anyone needs advice on this drop me a line!

Next was the OS. There was only one thing for it. Windows 7! I’m lucky enough to be working on a Windows 7 project and have had several months experience from the early pre-beta releases. I’ll save the details for a separate posting, but briefly I carried out a light-touch deployment using MDT (Microsoft Deployment Toolkit). This avoided the need for external DVD drives or fiddly disk config as some other postings I’ve seen suggest. However, it does require an MDT environment and experience with this product, so again not for everyone! Feel free to drop me a mail with any questions!

MSN Encryption for free!

2009-02-03T22:46:00.001Z

Originally posted June 02 2008

Conversations over MSN messenger are sent over the Internet in clear text format, this could be intercepted easily. IM sniffers are freely available for anyone on your network to view your conversations. So if you ever send phone numbers, bank details or anything else you don't want anyone but the intended recipient to read, take a look at Simp Lite from Secway. I found this a breeze to install and configure, ask your IM contacts to install it and you'll be having fully encrypted conversations in no time!

Authentication and encryption

SimpLite-MSN authenticates your contacts using RSA keys up to 2048 bits. Encryption is done using the following algorithms: AES (up to 128 bits) or Twofish. Those proven modern algorithms guarantee a strong security of your online conversations.

Support of the MSN Messenger instant messenger

SimpLite-MSN secures your MSN Messenger conversations, and can even color messages depending on their cryptographic state. Contacts' names can also be changed to a fixed value you specify, thus ignoring the screen name the contact configured in his messenger client.

Easy installation and configuration

SimpLite-MSN ships as a Microsoft Installer package. It is easily installed by any Microsoft Windows user. A configuration wizard then helps configuring SimpLite-MSN.

Convenient interface

The SimpLite-MSN graphical insterface allows you to quickly customize SimpLite-MSN by attributing sounds or messages to each cryptographic event. You are thus directly informed when starting a conversation whether it is secured or not.
The graphical interface also features a key manager for managing your key pairs or foreign keys.

IE 7 Pro

2009-02-03T22:44:00.001Z

Originally Posted May 30 2008

Here's another great little download I've been using for a few weeks now. IE Pro 7 is an add-on to Internet Explorer 7 and goes a long way to answering some of its missing functionality of IE7. Once installed the only visible change is an icon addition in the bottom right hand corner of an IE window.

Right clicking the icon lists the config menu, or double click for preferences.

Some of the cool features IEPro give you are;

Crash Recovery - If IE crashes this allows you to open all or some of the lost pages.

Flash Blocking - Block annoying Flash ads.

Download Manager - Integrated download manager to speed up downloads.

Windows Update Downloader

2009-02-03T22:41:00.002Z

Originally Posted May 29 2008

If like me you have spent hours downloading from Windows Updates all of the patches XP requires once the OS has been installed, rebooting and running Windows Update again then you need this application!

Windows Updates Downloader will list and download all of the updates released since the last service pack release (including the service pack).

In the screen shot you can see XP SP3 is listed along with all patches and updates post SP3. Update lists (at the time of writing) are available for XPSP3 x86 and x64, Vista SP1 x86 and x64, Exchange 2003, Office 2003, W2KPro, W2K3.

2009-02-03T20:49:00.002Z

Originally posted May 26 2008

2008 Scripting Games Entries

My entries for the Beginners VBScript section of the 2008 Scripting Games

Event 1

Dim arrCards (4)
arrCards (0) = "7"
arrCards (1) = "5"
arrCards (2) = "7"
arrCards (3) = "7"
arrCards (4) = "k"

For Outer = 0 to UBound(arrCards)
For inner = (Outer + 1) to UBound(arrCards)
if arrCards(Outer) = arrCards(Inner) Then
count = count + 1
End if
NextNextwscript.echo "There are " & count & " sets of pairs in this set"

Event 2

Const HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002
strComputer = "."

Set objReg=GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & _
strComputer & "\root\default:StdRegProv")
strKeyPath = "Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts"
objReg.EnumValues HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKeyPath, arrEntryNames

For Each strValue in arrEntryNames
countall=countall+1
rtstr = right (strValue,10)
if rtstr = "(TrueType)" then counttrue=counttrue+1
if rtstr = "(TrueType)" then wscript.echo(strValue)
Next

Wscript.echo
wscript.echo "TrueType: ", counttrue
wscript.echo "Total: ", countall

Event 3

Set ObjFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objNewFile = objFSO.CreateTextFile("c:\Temp\Newfile.txt", 2)

ObjStartFolder = "c:\scripts"
Set Objfolder = ObjFSo.GetFolder(objstartfolder)
Set ColFiles = Objfolder.files

For Each Objfile in ColFiles
if objFSO.GetExtensionName(objFile.name) = "txt" then
set filesys = objFSO.GetFile(objFile)
set objReadFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(filesys, 1)
strText = objReadFile.ReadLine
objNewFile.WriteLine(strText) + vbCrLf
End If
Next

Event 4

Const ForReading = 1
thisscript = Wscript.ScriptFullName

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(thisscript, ForReading)

strCharacters = objFile.ReadAll

strCharacters = Replace(strCharacters, vbCrLf, "")
Wscript.Echo "There are " & Len(strCharacters) & " characters in this script!"

objFile.Close

Event 5

'example use: cscript file.vbs April 19, 2008
'
'No quotes around date passed

M = (Wscript.Arguments(0))
D = cint(Wscript.Arguments(1))
Y = (Wscript.Arguments(2))

dday = cint(datepart("d", Date))
fdate = M & " " & D & " " & Y

WScript.Echo "Days: " & DateDiff("d" , date, fdate)
mth = DateDiff("m", Date, fdate)
WScript.Echo "Months: " & mth

if (D < dday) then
mth = mth - 1
end if

newdate = DateAdd("m", mth, Date)
ansDay = DateDiff("d", newdate, fdate)

Wscript.Echo "Month: " & (mth) & " Day: " & (ansDay)

Event 6

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile("C:\scripts\coffee.txt", 1)
e = 0
l = 0
c = 0
Do Until objFile.AtEndOfStream
strLine = objFile.ReadLine
if left(strLine, 1) = "E" then
a=split(strLine, " ")
e=e+a(1)
end if
if left(strLine, 1) = "L" then
a=split(strLine, " ")
l=l+a(1)
end if
if left(strLine, 1) = "C" then
a=split(strLine, " ")
c=c+a(1)
end if
Loop
objFile.Close
wscript.echo "Espresso :" & e
wscript.echo "Latte :" & l
wscript.echo "Cappucino :" & c

Event 7

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFolder = objFSO.GetFolder("C:\scripts")

dtmOld = DateAdd("m", -10, Now)
AllFolders objFolder

CopyTextFiles objFolder

Sub AllFolders(Folder)
For Each subFolder in Folder.SubFolders
CopyTextFiles subFolder
AllFolders Subfolder

Next
End Sub

Sub CopyTextFiles(subFolder)

set colFiles = subFolder.Files

For Each objFile in colFiles
arrSplitName = Split(objFile.Name, ".")
strExtension = arrSplitName(UBound(arrSplitName) - 0)
If strExtension = "txt" and objFile.DateCreated > dtmOld Then
objFSO.CopyFile objFile.Path, "C:\old\"
Wscript.Echo objFile.Name
i = i + 1
End If
Next
Wscript.Echo
Wscript.Echo "Total Files: " & i

End Sub

Event 8

{html}
{head}
{title}Randon Guess{/title}

ID="objHTAHelpomatic"
APPLICATIONNAME="Random Guess"
SCROLL="no"
SINGLEINSTANCE="yes"
WINDOWSTATE="normal">
{/head}

{body}
Enter a number between 1 and 50

{/body}
{/html}

Event 9

Const adOpenStatic = 3
Const adLockOptimistic = 3
Const adUseClient = 3
Set objConnection = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
Set objRecordSet = CreateObject("ADODB.RecordSet")
objConnection.Open "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; " & "Data Source=c:\scripts\pool.mdb"

objRecordSet.Open "SELECT * FROM swimmingpool", objConnection, _
adOpenStatic, adLockOptimistic

objRecordSet.MoveFirst
Do Until objRecordSet.EOF
c = objRecordSet.Fields.Item("customer")
l = objRecordSet.Fields.Item("length")
w = objRecordSet.Fields.Item("width")
d = objRecordSet.Fields.Item("depth")
s = objRecordSet.Fields.Item("slope")
ss = objRecordSet.Fields.Item("sstart")
se = objRecordSet.Fields.Item("send")
If s = -1 Then
Volume = (l*w*((se+ss)/2)*1000)
Else
Volume = (l*w*d*1000)
End If
Wscript.Echo "Name: " & objRecordSet.Fields.Item("customer")
WScript.Echo "Volume of Water: ", volume
objRecordSet.MoveNext

Microsoft 2008 Scripting Games

2009-02-03T17:08:00.003Z

Originally Posted 25th May 2008

The 2008 games are well and truly over, entries have been marked and prizes awarded. I'm posting this a little late in the day, but the 2009 games will soon be with us!
A colleague and I entered the games, my entry was in the beginners class as I don't regularly script but was keen to find an excuse to! My colleague, Jim, entered in the Advanced class as well he should being a developer ;-)
I entered all but the last event having the valid excuse of my daughter arriving in the world when I would otherwise have been completing event 10! I managed a respectable 90 points and besides the certificate awarded to anyone reaching 60 points, was emailed to say I'd won a Dr Scripto Bobblehead! Well, both the certificate and bobblehead have arrived and have a new home in my study!