Working for a Microsoft Partner provides me with the opportunity to run Microsoft products well before they hit the street. Often times I do that. That was the case with Windows Live OneCare. I started running it quite a while ago and it seemed to be a good product for just about all my Windows Desktop Security needs. It wasn’t until I signed up for the full license that I began to run into some interesting issues. One of which was that my Microsoft-based VPN client began to fail, which was quite annoying.

Anyhow, after an afternoon of googling about it and troubleshooting to try to figure out what was causing the issue, I finally boiled it down to either the Windows Firewall or OneCare. Well, they are one in the same when you are running OneCare. Long story short, I found and fixed the problem, which was that by default Microsoft disables the port for the connection that Microsoft’s own VPN Client needs to connect. Why? I don’t know. Ask Bill Gates. What I do know is how to change the setting, so I thought I would share that here.

1) Find the OneCare Icon in the System Tray. It looks like this, but could be Green, Yellow or Red.

2) Click on View or Change Settings

3) Select the Firewall Tab

4) Select the Advanced settings button

5) Select the Ports and Protocols Tab, scroll all the way down in the list and make sure that VPN - General Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is selected.

6) Click OK, then OK again, then close OneCare.

Test your VPN and it should connect just fine. No more cryptic Error 721 or Error 800 messages. Just a good smooth connection to your office so that you can put in those Bill Lumbergh weekend hours from the comfort of your own couch. Happy TPS Reporting. Don’t forget the cover sheet!

Well might be time for me to toss aside my scorn about iPods and give into the revolution. You see I had the old 2nd Generation 20GB iPod shown above that did not serve me well. The screen went out the first month I had it. Apple fixed that and sent it back to me, after about 4 weeks. Slowly but surely the battery issues crept in. I sent it into them again and got it back about three weeks later. That was 6 months after I got it back from the screen problem. I finally gave up on it and went out and found a replacement. I got an iRiver iHP-140. Which was the top of the line 40GB iRiver at the time. It still works, it’s just that the UI is pretty brutal and the controls are quite clunky. My wife can’t even turn the thing on, that’s how poor the design is.

Anyhow, I have decided that I am in the market for a new MP3 player and I cannot help but think that I’m going to end up with an iPod. They are the dominant player for a reason. What I am wondering is:

• Do I get one now, or is there something coming out that I should wait for?
• Do I need the video?

I have about 3000 songs, so one thing I know for sure is that I am likely going to end up with the 60GB.

Who knows? Not me, not yet. I’m off to research it a bit.

During my research, I found this eBook that I thought was worth mentioning. Here is how they describe it:

The Editors of iLounge are proud to announce the immediate availability of The Free iPod Book 2.2 for download. This edition is an expanded, improved follow-up to The Free iPod Book 2.0, which was recommended by The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg as the “free manual on getting the most from your iPod.” With four all-new sections and updates to many of the book’s previously-released sections, the 200-plus-page Free iPod Book 2.2 is a must-see for current and prospective iPod owners. Did we mention that it’s free?

Nike + iPod Sport Kit (section S)
Troubleshooting Your iPod (section T)
U2 iPod + iPod Pack-Ins (section U)
and Backstage at iLounge (section V).