Failed to access IIS metabase.

If you get an error saying "Failed to access IIS metabase." when you try to browse to a .Net App in the browser, it means that you installed IIS after you had ASP.Net installed.

To fix this problem all you need to do is run this command (on a command prompt) on your computer: %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regiis.exe -i

This will reinstall ASP.Net for use with IIS and in most cases fixes the error.

For reference, the full error that I received was as follows:

Failed to access IIS metabase.
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.
Exception Details: System.Web.Hosting.HostingEnvironmentException: Failed to access IIS metabase.
The process account used to run ASP.NET must have read access to the IIS metabase (e.g. IIS://servername/W3SVC). For information on modifying metabase permissions, please see http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=267904

Missing Tabs In Display Properties

Some spyware may create a desktop background to replace your own. After doing this, I’ve seen the display properties tabs for modifying the screensaver and wallpaper disappear to prevent the user from getting rid of the malicious wallpaper.

To bring these tabs back, navigate to the following Registry string:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Here, you will find the keys responsible. They are:

NoDispBackgroundPage
NoDispAppearancePage

These will likely be set to 1. Set them to 0 or delete them to get your tabs back.

Registry Editing has been disabled by your administrator

Many people face this error message when they try to open Registry Editor and they have a malware/spyware installed.

Thanks to http://windowsxp.mvps.org/tweakuirest.htm the following gives the solution for the same:

Removing the DisableRegistryTools restriction

For standalone Windows XP systems, perform the steps below to remove the registry editing restrictions.

Method 1: Using the REG.EXE console tool
1. Click Start, Run and type this command:
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableRegistryTools /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Please note that the above command is all one line, so please copy the complete command and then run it.

You should be able to launch Tweak UI, as well as the Registry Editor.

Method 2: Using the Group Policy Editor (Windows XP Professional only)
Click Start, Run and type gpedit.msc and press ENTER
Go to the following location:
User Configuration Administrative Templates System
Double-click Disable registry editing tools and set it to Not Configured
Exit the Group Policy Editor

Note: If the setting already reads Not Configured, set it to Enabled, and click Apply. Then revert it back to Not Configured. This ensures that the DisableRegistryTools registry value is removed successfully.

Spanish version of the article is here.

MySpace bids for socializing on Google phone

MySpace is the first to unveil an app for owners of the just-released G1 phone powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

News Corp. owned MySpace announced a mobile application for the G1 that can be downloaded wirelessly to the device through the Google-run Android Market. The Market is stocked with add-on programs and games built by third-party developers.

The T-Mobile G1 (made by HTC) costs $179 with a two-year contract in the US.

MySpace's Android application lets G1 users do many of the same things they can do from a desktop computer, like look at profiles and photos on MySpace. In addition, the application lets G1 users quickly upload photos from the phone to their MySpace profiles.

There's no mobile Facebook program for the Android Market yet, but both MySpace and Facebook have already courted iPhone users with programs that let people stay connected.

Mail Goggles launched by Gmail team

Google mail engineer Jon Perlow, has created Mail Goggles for Gmail.

The feature's name comes from the famous "beer goggles". When one enables Mail Goggles, it checks whether you really want to send that e-mail by prompting you to solve a few simple math problems after you click "send."

In his own words, "Sometimes I send messages I shouldn't send. Like the time I told that girl I had a crush on her over text message. Or the time I sent that late night email to my ex-girlfriend that we should get back together. Gmail can't always prevent you from sending messages you might later regret, but today we're launching a new Labs feature I wrote called Mail Goggles which may help."

"When you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you're really sure you want to send that late night Friday email. And what better way to check than by making you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you're in the right state of mind?" says Jon Perlow on his blog post on the Gmail Blog.

By default, Mail Goggles is only active late night on the weekend as that is the time you're most likely to need it. However, once enabled, you can adjust when it's active in the General settings.

"Hopefully Mail Goggles will prevent many of you out there from sending messages you wish you hadn't. Like that late night memo -- I mean mission statement -- to the entire firm," he added.

'Unbreakable' encryption unveiled

According to BBC, unbreakable encryption has been unvieled in Vienna where a network consisting of six locations across Vienna and in the nearby town of St Poelten, using 200 km of standard commercial fibre optic cables has been setup.

Quantum systems use the laws of quantum theory, which have been shown to be inherently unbreakable. "All quantum security schemes are based on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, on the fact that you cannot measure quantum information without disturbing it," Gilles Brassard of Montreal University explained. "Because of that, one can have a communications channel between two users on which it's impossible to eavesdrop without creating a disturbance. An eavesdropper would create a mark on it. That was the key idea."

Albert Einstein, who discovered the quantum properties of photons of light - indeed, discovered the very concept of the photon - always resisted quantum theory's spooky behaviour, "God does not play dice", being among his oft-quoted objections. But experiments eventually proved that he apparently does, and also laid the technical foundations for today's quantum information revolution - cryptography, teleportation, and computation.

The XML page cannot be displayed

This is a very common error people face when installing ASP.Net applications.

You finish installing the app and go to the corresponding URL in the browser and you see this error message "The XML page cannot be displayed. Cannot view XML input using XSL style sheet. Please correct the error and then click Refresh button, or try again later. A name was started with an invalid character. Error processing resource 'http://servername/applicationname/'."

This is caused due to the fact that the .aspx and .asmx extensions are not registered in your IIS website properly. Perform the following steps to remedy the solution:

1) Open IIS (Start->Run->inetmgr)
2) Right click your website (virtual directory) and select properties.
3) Click the configuration button.
4) In the Application Configuration screen, click add and browse to the path 'C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_isapi.dll' and in the Extension box type '.aspx' and click ok. Perform this step again for the .asmx extension pointing to the same executable file.
5) Click OK and close the properties box.

Now test your website and it should work fine. Please note that the above steps are for IIS 5.1, but the steps in IIS 6.0 mimic these closely.

Hope this helps!

Put your labels to the right in Gmail

A Google engineer came up with a new utility that allows you to see the list of all your labels to the right of your email list which helps you if you have a long list of email to display and do not want to scroll up or down to select a label.

Read more about this feature here.

Google to dump user data faster

Google is to halve the amount of time it stores users' personal search data. The search provider said it will anonymize identifiable IP addresses on its server logs after 9 months.

Google currently collects and stores information from each search query, holding information about the search query itself, the unique IP address and details about how a user makes their searches, such as the web browser that is being used.

The company says it needs this information to improve its various services and to help fight threats such as fraud, spam and malicious attacks, and to aid "valid legal orders" from law enforcement agencies.

In June last year, Google announced it was cutting the amount of time such data was stored from 24 to 18 months.

Microsoft slashes Xbox prices

Microsoft announced that it is slashing prices of its flagship gaming device, XBOX 360, in the US. This will take the price of the basic model down to $199, approximately $50 cheaper than Nintendo Wii. It said that prices for the other Xbox models will drop by $50.

The US cut follows a similar move in Japan. In late August Microsoft announced that Japanese prices of the Xbox 360 would fall in September. The cut meant an Xbox Arcade will cost 19,800 yen ($182), also cheaper than the Wii. Earlier this year, in March Microsoft cut European prices making the recommended price for the Arcade £159.99, lower than the European price for a Wii.

IE8 Beta 2 Launched

The IE team launched IE8 Beta 2 which can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/ie8.

You can watch videos of IE8 at http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&user=-3161786097973413883 and http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/videos.aspx. IE8 is a very developer friendly browser. You can download add-ons for IE8 at http://www.ieaddons.com/. Some of my favorite add ons include Web Slices and Accelerators.

Some cool features of IE8 Beta 2 include color-coded tabbed-browsing and accelerator support. Accelerators are services that you access directly from the webpage in the context of what you’re doing, letting you bookmark, define, email, map and more with a simple selection. Even your search providers are available as Accelerators. Some Accelerators provide previews so that you can view the result without having to leave the current webpage. Clicking on an Accelerator opens a new tab with the full result. You can download accelerators from http://www.ieaddons.com/en/accelerators/

Also, there is better support for when website you are viewing in a tab crashes - now instead of closing the whole IE window along with other tabs open in the same window, only the tab with the crashing website will close!

Technology behind Live Maps

Mark Brown posted this video of the technology behind Live Maps. It shows how the mapping is planned and conducted in an airplane and then edited once they are back on the ground.

You can check out the video here.

Microsoft adds new features to .NET

Microsoft has introduced new features in .NET with their Service Pack 1 (SP1) release of .NET Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008.

Most of the stuff included in the service pack releases is new features and functionality rather than bug fixes and updates to existing feature-set. For example, .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 adds a new concept called the .NET Framework Client Profile, which enables an application to be delivered with just what is needed to install and run the app, rather than the whole framework. This can reduce the size of installation files by 86.5 percent, according a Microsoft spokesperson. Other major features in .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 include a 20 to 45 percent improvement in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications and changes to the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) to change the way data and services are accessed.

The changes in the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 are listed here.

Microsoft Launches SQL Server 2008

Microsoft has released a new version of SQL Server which promises to make the life of database administrators easier.

For database administrators, the addition of new management functionality makes SQL Server 2008 a great new product. The new policy management, multiple server query capability, configuration servers, and data collector/management warehouse offer powerful new abilities for database administrators who are often responsible for managing large and complex database environments with hundreds or thousands of databases on dozens or even hundreds of servers.

The new Multiple Server Interaction and Configuration Servers capabilities will come in handy when one needs to execute queries against multiple servers at the same time. One can register servers in the Management Studio and then place those servers together under a grouping. When needed to execute a policy or query against all the servers in the grouping, one can simply right-click on the grouping and do so.

Another great new management feature is the Data Collector. Database administrators often need to collect management data from a large number of servers, and many of these DBAs have created their own custom solution for doing so. The Data Collector is a built-in mechanism that eases the task of collecting management-related data. It allows you to use the SQL Server Agent and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) to create a framework that collects and stores your data while providing error handling, auditing, and collection history.

Another new feature, Hot Add CPU, lets you add additional CPUs to a database server without affecting the availability of the databases residing on that server.

SQL Server 2008 also introduces sparse columns, which allow NULL values to be stored without taking up any physical space on the disk. Because sparse columns do not consume actual space, tables that contain sparse columns can actually exceed the 1,024 column limit.

You can access tutorials for SQL Server 2008 at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms167593.aspx and can see the details for various editions of SQL Server at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144275.aspx