Windows 8.1 Pro RTM auto-resize guest display not working in VirtualBox 4.2.18

Microsoft changed course and released Windows 8.1 to MSDN and TechNet users earlier than planned. It was made available last Sept 8, 2013. This got me excited to play with this latest version. Downloading the ISO was quite frustrating as I can't use Firefox Download Them All plugin, just does not work. Downloading via IE10 was also painful but there is a workaround.

VirtualBox also released 4.2.18 last Sept 6, 2013. This must be good, two good products released in the past few days.

Upgrading of VirtualBox didn't work the first time. I have to do a repair to get it to work. So essentially, I have to install it twice.

Installing of Windows 8.1 into VirtualBox was nonevent. But getting guest additions was challenging. I had to read lots of blogs including VirtualBox 4.2.18 release forum discussion topic.

So, how did I get guest addition auto-resize to work? I have to install guest additions *twice*!

This is what was working for me:

1. Install guest additions... then reboot.
2. After reboot auto-resize was still not working.
3. Install guest additions again.... then reboot.
4. This time auto-resize worked.

Note: VM guest configuration was pretty much default. No 3D/2D acceleration was enabled.

XFCE: Install a lighter weight version of XFCE in Ubuntu 13.04

Default XFCE 4 install in Ubuntu comes with a lot of applications that I don't need. So I always install from alternate method using mini.iso to have a bare bones system and yet usable. I have been using LXDE for a while but I think it is time to experiment with XFCE. From a minimal install of Ubuntu, adding XFCE with minimal applications is a breeze, like:

$: sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends xubuntu-desktop

XFCE: Remove Mail Reader entry in menu

How to remove Mail Reader entry in XFCE menu.

1. As a matter of good practice, backup the original configuration. Create a backup folder in your home directory like ~/backup.
2. Copy /usr/share/applications/exo-mail-reader.desktop to ~/backup.
3. We will be making global (machine level) change so all users will not see Mail Reader entry. Edit exo-mail-reader.desktop using your favorite editor, comment out the line like #OnlyShowIn=XFCE; then add the following line NotShowIn=XFCE;.

XFCE: Installing application that responds to PrintScreen

I have installed a lighter weight version of XFCE in Ubuntu 13.04 (link). This does not have Print Screen support by the default, like pressing Prt Scr does nothing. To get it to work install xfce4-screenshooter like:

$: sudo apt-get install xfce4-screenshooter

Powershell Quick Tips: Get currently logged on user

PS C:\> Get-WMIObject win32_process -Filter "Name='explorer.exe'" | ForEach-Object {Write-Host $_.GetOwner().User}

Keywords:
WMI
Win32_Prococess
User

Math online learning resources

Free and paid Math resources

IXL Math and English - http://www.ixl.com/
That Quiz - http://www.thatquiz.org/
ywad Math - http://ywad.dlinkddns.com/

Enable directory browsing for IIS 8 Server Express

Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web Update 3 comes with IIS 8 Server Express. By default, the server is configured not to list directory contents for security reasons. But since I am using it for development purposes, security is not my main concern but speed of development.

When trying to browse a directory, you may get this error message:

HTTP Error 403.14 - Forbidden The Web server is configured to not list the contents of this directory.

To enable browsing do:

1. Open console (cmd.exe)
2. Change directory to C:\Program Files\IIS Express
3. Type appcmd set config /section:system.webServer/directo
   ryBrowse /enabled:true to enable browsing.