Experts Exchange Newsletter

Experts Exchange adds Zones based on the needs and wants that you communicate to us in the New Topics Zone or when you email feedback@experts-exchange.com.

New Zone Advisors: We want to welcome nine members of Experts Exchange who have joined the list of Zone Advisors. They are Roonaan (PHP), mbizup (Access), MasonWolf (Blogs/PHP), inthedark (Mono), DrDamnit (Asterisk), b0lsc0tt (Web dev), peh803 (ASP), eoinosullivan (Macs), and rascalpants (Flash). Congratulations, all!

New Geniuses: Four members of EE earned Genius certificates in the last two weeks. war1, in email clients, and angelIII, in SQL Server 2005, became the second and third members of the Five Genius Certs club, joining lrmoore in that rarified level. Also earning Genius certificates were webtubbs, who earned his 1,000,000 points in Excel, and KCTS, whose certificate is in Windows Server 2003.

It's getting close! Experts Exchange is approaching its 2,000,000th solution. Keep your eye on the Countdown to 2 Million Technology Solutions for your chance to win one of three brand new Dell Laptops and a free year long membership. Ask, answer or guess to win your Dell laptop. We will be awarding a laptop to the asker and answerer of the 2,000,000th solution. We've also set aside one laptop for the person who guesses closest to the date and time of the 2,000,000th solution. 1,015 members have already submitted their guesses. Make sure you're strategizing, not procrastinating; guessing will close as we approach the final 500 solutions.

With over 10 years experience pioneering the online IT collaboration field, the most comprehensive knowledgebase of over 1.9 million proven solutions as well as hundreds of thousands of active members from around the world, Experts Exchange is the best resource for your IT staff... period.

Everyone's favorite online auction site, eBay, is one of our newest corporate clients! eBay is one of more than 70 organizations recognizing the value of supporting their company with the best Experts from around the world. Isn't time you backed your team with the best?

Every week, thousands of questions get asked at Experts Exchange. Most of them are pretty straightforward; someone has a problem, and someone has a solution. But there are always a few that come to the top, for any number of reasons: they are complex situations, or they involve a number of Experts collaborating on a solution, or they contain an interesting and informative discussion. So take a look.

Sometimes, we'll see a couple of Experts post that something isn't possible to do, and then someone will come along and say "wait a minute -- let's think about this", and when that happens, the truly special nature of Experts Exchange shines through. Zone Advisor Jay_Jay70 came across a question like that, having to deal with restoring a Primary Domain Controller. He gave step by step instructions, and got an offer of drinks in New York from TJacoberger1 for his efforts. Jay_Jay80 was busy; he also found time to rescue a question on missing GPOs on a Windows 2003 server. Nice work, James!

Other times, we'll come across a question that, to all appearances, isn't one that we think should be answered. Then, we'll find out that maybe, just maybe, we've goofed (to quote Netminder, one of our two Site Admins, "Ooops" is not a four-letter word), and we do what we can to rectify the error. Such was the case in a question about modifying an XBox. JstnCase wrote to us about it, and the question was reopened, with a very clear and concise comment added.

LeeTutor is the Zone Advisor for the Operating Systems zones, and specializes in Windows. In July of this year, he was named a Microsoft MVP. This article is republished from his website.

Windows XP has a number of built-in tools that home users might find helpful in diagnosing problems with their home networks. Some of the command line tools available are too advanced for home users and should be only useful to network administrators, but there are several that are not. You run the command line tools by starting a command prompt session, which is done by clicking the Start button, then typing CMD in the Run dialog box off the Start Menu, and clicking OK or hitting the Enter key. You then type the command in a window that looks very similar to the old MS-DOS prompt of previous versions of Windows. Each command has available various "switches" for parameters, which are specified by typing a / character followed by one or more other characters, that modify what the command does. With each command, you can type the command name and then follow it with a blank and the characters /? in order to get a display that shows the purpose and format of the command, as well as what switches can be used with it.

One of the most important commands to know about is IPCONFIG. This is the Internet Protocol Configuration tool, taking the place of WINIPCFG that was used in Win9x/ME. It displays the TCP/IP network configuration values. Without any switches, if you are connected to the internet, it displays your IP address and gateway address. (If you are connected to the internet through a router, it displays the IP which corresponds to the network's address of your computer on the internet.) Click here to view image.

The two main switches of interest to home users are /RELEASE and /RENEW. The first releases the current IP, and then the second renews it. This will sometimes resolve conflicts or invalid IP addresses which keep you from getting to the internet, causing "Page cannot be displayed" error messages.

Another command of special use to the home user is PING. This sends out 4 packets of 32-byte information to a particular internet host or network computer that you specify in the command, and then the response (if any) will be a measure of the response time. Long response times of several hundred milliseconds indicate a slow connection. If there is no response at all then you will received a message "Request timed out." (Some internet hosts, such as Microsoft, will not honor PING requests and will then cause the "timed out" message.) You can specify the destination of the packet information in two ways: using the IP address, or using the host name. For example, you can test your connection to dslreports.com with either of these commands:

PING 209.123.109.175

If the first command above succeeds but the second does not, you know that the problem is in host name resolution, not network connectivity. In that case you would need to check whether the DNS server addresses are configured correctly. Or you might have a HOSTS file in the Windows\System32\drivers\etc folder which has an invalid address for name resolution.

If you get timeout messages from both commands (such as the) above, then it is time to use the PING command to try and resolve whether the problem resides in a network connection. Begin by pinging what is called the "loopback address":

If this succeeds, then you have verified that TCP/IP is installed and configured correctly on your system. If it fails, then it may indicate corruption of the TCP drivers or a faulty network interface card.

Assuming success above, the next step is to ping the address of the local computer. For example, if you are on a network with local IP address of 192.168.1.101, then you would use this command:

If this fails, it may indicate a problem with the routing table or the driver for the network adapter. Otherwise, the next step is to ping the IP address of the default gateway, for example:

Failure in this case will indicate a fault in the network adapter, the router or other gateway device, the cables, or other hardware in the connection loop.

This Microsoft article gives further details on how to use PING to test a home network connection. The NETSTAT command can be used to display active TCP connections and the ports on which the pc is listening. One possible use is to check if spyware or Trojans have connected to your pc unknown to you. This Microsoft article gives further details.

An editor by trade, a writer by avocation and an Expert by happenstance, ericpete puts together the newsletter for Experts Exchange.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read a lot of what we've written that we live in a very small town -- I've said that two pickups and a tractor at a stop sign constitutes a major traffic jam, and that both city limits signs are on the same post, and that there are more bars (three) than churches (two). Well, the other day we were headed to the post office -- yep, no delivery out here unless we want to put the mailbox two blocks away -- when we saw three guys leaning up against a truck; my bride's comment was, "Must be a town meeting."

A little while later, we came across a column by Jeff Jarvis. For the uninitiated, Jarvis writes (among other things) a blog, and a couple of years ago, he wrote a piece that was an open letter to Michael Dell about Dell's products, company and service -- none of it flattering. The more recent article is not quite a mea culpa, but it does allow that somewhere along the line, Dell got a clue.

In the course of reading Jarvis' latest work, we found ourselves reading, for the first time in a while, the initial chapter of The Cluetrain Manifesto, a book published eight years ago that talked about the Internet and how it could change the way the world works; if you haven't read it, you should -- because you're a part of it, and it's a big part of your life.

The book lists 95 theses, but there really three central tenets. The first theme is that we -- the people who spend our time in almost daily, instantaneous communication with acquaintances (friends even) from around the globe -- are the market, and that those corporations who would sell to us had better get the message that whether your product is good or bad, those acquaintances will hear about it. The second message is that the employees of a company are a better barometer of what the market thinks of your product than any marketing study or focus group analysis, because like everyone else, your marketing and advertising is directed at them. The third point is that the difference between the people like us (on the outside) and the people like your employees (on the inside) has pretty much disappeared in the anonymity and cacophony that is the World Wide Web -- and you, as a producer of goods, had better get used to that.

A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter -- and getting smarter faster than most companies.

The market, the authors say, is a conversation -- not much different from the three guys leaning against the truck, except it involves a lot more people -- and those people can't be controlled. That makes for an entertaining world; like it or not, someone is going to find a way to post a video that offends someone somewhere (whether Google does something about it or not) and even if nations try to block the flow of information, it will still get through; China has its share of geeks.

Their solution for organizations that want to deliver a message: Listen. Enable. Engage. Don't try to convince people that they want what you have; make what they want available. The train's coming... and its headlight is what you see.

Almost everyone who has posted in more than one or two questions has seen the messages we leave when someone asks us to close a question, or when one of the Cleanup volunteers posts the notice recommending a course of action on a question. In general, it says that if you have an objection to the proposed recommendation, please tell us what it is, with the implication that if you agree with the suggested closure, you can ignore it.

That's your chance. If you agree, then it's perfectly fine to just move on; the CVs will appreciate it, because it will be one less notification in the InBox. If you do not agree, then you should state your case. One note: Experts Exchange is all about saving solutions to the PAQ, so while we appreciate the effort people take when they try to answer a question, saying that won't necessarily cause us to overrule a recommendation. You need to be specific about your answer, and tell us what makes you think it is worth saving.

We also wanted to pass along some advice on why you might not be getting responses to your question, from jason1178, one of the good folks who watch the Community Advisor zone.

What I'm really frustrated with is why my question is not understood.

Not getting a direct answer is something that happens here. As much as I would like to tell you that every Expert has perfect reading comprehension and/or fully understands a situation based on a paragraph or two, we both know that isn't the case. This is why it is important to stay engaged in your question ... your responses clarified and/or refocused the issue for the Experts and moved things forward towards a resolution. The give and take between Asker and Expert is what truly drives the process and sets Experts Exchange apart from some of the other sites out there.

Another common mistake Askers make is modifying the question after an answer is posted. Let's say you ask "What does 2 + 3 equal?" and an Expert responds "5." The asker, realizing that he/she misstated the question now posts "Okay, I get that. But WHY does 2 + 3 = 5?"

This is a classic Asker mistake and one that leads to a less-than-satisfactory experience on everyone's part. Unless the Expert who happened to answer the initial question is also a student of Descartes, he or she may be unable to answer the second question and gives up with an "I don't know" or worse, doesn't respond at all. Since some time has elapsed from the initial post, there is also a strong likelihood that the question has slid down the list of open questions and fewer Experts are looking at it or not posting in it due to Expert Professional Courtesy (giving someone a chance to finish what they start). So now the Asker is sitting and waiting for more responses that never come. Eventually he/she gets frustrated and asks that the question be closed. The Expert now has to defend the initial answer as correct while the asker maintains it wasn't the information they were looking for. Some poor Cleanup Volunteer or Moderator has to sort out the mess and no one comes away happy.

In the above example, once your INITIAL question has an answer it's time to award points and start a new question based on the information obtained to this point. Each time you post anew, your question is exposed to the population in the Zones you choose and if you write titles and question text clearly and concisely you should pull in different Experts with the expertise you are looking for.

Do you have a suggestion on how I can pose the question better?

There are many things you can do to maximize your question's chances.

Research Zones!: Prior to posting, you should research possible Zones from the All Zones tab. Enter a keyword or two from your question and see which Zones come back as best matches. Look at the Zones that come back. See who the Top Experts are in each one. Does the Zone appear busy? If not, make sure you add a Zone that is higher up in the tree to your list of Zones to make sure your question is seen by the maximum number of Experts.
Use all three Zone slots when asking: This is the most common Asker mistake. Every question posted on Experts Exchange can appear in up to three Zones and you do yourself a disservice by not posting to all three. Because Experts use the Filter feature to get notifications of new questions by email, it is in your best interest to have that notification go out to as many Experts as possible. So even if you have to stretch a little bit to get that third Zone in there, do it.
KISS, but not too much: Experts Exchange is one instance where "Keep It Simple, Stanley" really helps. Keep your question and title simple, direct, and on point. Resist the urge to tell us details about your life or about how urgent this question is to your existence. Think about not posting your source code in the initial question, but instead let Experts know you have it to post if needed and use some of that space to write an extra sentence or two describing your problem. Oftentimes, that extra description includes a critical detail or two that gets the Experts going in the right direction whereas having to wade through ten pages of source code to find the one line with the syntax error is off-putting and may cause people to skip your question.

As you are discovering, asking questions on Experts Exchange is an art form. You have to balance how much information to give in the initial post against the Zones you choose and remember to modify your writing style if you tend to write dense and confusing prose (I'm now referring to myself here).

There is no magic bullet. You will learn as you go and get responses, just not great responses every time. You may never get that, but if you choose Zones carefully, write carefully, and stay engaged, then the site should work for you.

Ever wanted to work for Cisco?: Cisco is looking for a few good ideas, and is willing to pump some money into them. We have one that involves cell phones and contracts and annoying AT&T, but that's another story... Or maybe it isn't. Google finally came clean about its plans for cell phones on Monday.

What goes around comes around: This looks suspiciously like an idea that was born a very long time ago (in Internet time, that is): lists of links; it was called a home page -- except that you didn't have advertising shoved at you. If you're into a more multi-dimensional approach, there's also Twine.

Speaking of which... a few weeks back, we were going to post a note about a story here, but it was linked from one of those "news aggregator" sites, and by the time we got around to writing the newsletter, it was no longer on the page we had bookmarked. So we did what everyone does when they want to find something: we searched, using the title of the story -- normally a pretty reliable device. We got TONS of results, all of which turned out to be other news aggregators who had linked to the same page we had. We went through about 20 pages of results -- and never did find the story.

We see a lot of that on blogs, too. The next time you're on one of the more popular blogger's sites, take a look at the comments. It's amazing how many of them are links from other blogs linking back to the article. No commentary on the substance -- just a link -- which is probably good for the page rank of both, but not much good in the way of contributing to the conversation. We just have to wonder -- is anyone actually writing anything that anyone is reading?

Yeah, but what does getting beaten up in Manhunt feel like?: First came the Nintendo Wii -- that neat little device that finally gets the kids up off the couch. Now comes a vest that lets you feel the impact of getting pummeled by some weird looking Ninja or shot by one of those faceless nasties.

Segregation mostly ended: It seems like it was only a few days ago that Google decided to join in the fray that looked to cross the boundaries that are the various social networking sites. Last week, the gauntlet was thrown down in a big way, as MySpace -- owned by News Corp. and therefore the online gem of one of the world's largest media conglomerates -- joined Google's Open Social initiative, and will use the Google API, rather than developing its own application platform. That leaves Facebook as the only major player in the social networking market that hasn't signed on, begging the question: Was selling a small slice to Microsoft really a good idea?

Help wanted: chairman. Must be able to withstand other nations' desire to not let the US control the development of the Internet for seven years AND keep those adult entertainment folks from getting their own TLD, all while smiling. Salary: You're kidding, right?: Vint Cerf is retiring as the chairman of ICANN.

Big deal. We bought one two years ago at Fry's for less than that: WalMart is selling a desktop running Linux for $199. They're also selling an Acer with Windows. All of this is, of course, a prelude to Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving in the US -- when the traditional shopping season starts. The big retailers don't want you to know what their prices are, and they really don't want their competitors to know -- but posting those ads has become a cottage industry. Considering we've been seeing Christmas stuff on sale in stores for three weeks now, it's really much ado about nothing.

Follow the money: The news a few weeks ago that Comcast is squeezing the traffic from file-sharing sites -- the ones that consume more bandwidth -- wasn't really a surprise; nor was it terribly surprising that a few people have protested to the Federal Communications Commission. What is even less surprising is that the FCC isn't likely to do anything about it, since Congress is taking its time on the net neutrality issue.

Oh, but you don't go...: The Ticketmaster-run system that is handling sales to the 2008 Beijing Olympics crashed under the pressure of 200,000 orders per second. Go figure.

A horse designed by a committee: Someone once said that if we ever get the feeling that computers are taking over the world, we can organize them into a committee, and that will do them in. So why does it seem like that's what's going on in the cybersecurity arena?

Almost a sure bet to show up on YouTube: Yahoo's chief executive is in Washington to "clarify" what happened when the company turned over information to the Chinese government that led to the arrest and imprisonment of a journalist.

A while ago, I bought a new laptop, and it predictably came with Vista installed. I really don't use it much, but that doesn't mean I don't want to keep it free of viruses -- so when my Zone Alarm subscription expired on my desktop, I decided to install it on the laptop as well.

Now, I'm not going to go so far as to say that's a mistake. But there is at least one thing that the Zone Alarm version for Windows XP does that the Vista version doesn't -- and it might make you want to think twice. The main thing that it doesn't do is have updates for its anti-spyware system, so when it gets down to it, you might as well just buy the ZA anti-virus program (and not the suite) and be done with it. This is a list of what the Zone Alarm suite doesn't do, although they say they're going to hopefully include it one of these days:

* Spy Site Blocking
* Privacy Protection
* IM Protection
* Parental Control
* MailSafe/Email Security
* ID Lock

You would think, all things considered, that I would spend a lot more time wandering around Google than I do -- but I think most of us just use it to search with or to get email from. But I found a few things the other day that will probably get me to use it a little more often. For instance, you can type in "time in Bulgaria", and it will tell you what time it is. Google also lets you get a four-day weather forecast by typing "weather London" -- which is handy for me, because we do like to go places on short trips. There's a video that shows a bunch of other little secrets too.

I came across FreeRice.com the other day. It's actually an idea I like. You play the game (it's a vocabulary test), and each time you play, you see advertising. The ads pay for the rice that gets donated to the U.N. World Food Program. And the game can actually be pretty addicting. There are fifty levels, and every time you get three words correct in a row, you go up a level. They say that it's rare for people to get above level 48.

All of you guys out there who are still wondering if the girl behind the glasses really exists had better start paying attention to where that little game you're playing (you know... the one you downsize when the boss wanders by your cubicle) came from.

I'm a big fan of the national Do Not Call list (except that someone around here used our home phone number on a card once, and we get occasional calls because of it), so I'm really interested in the idea of a Do Not Track list. I don't need some computer watching everything I do just so it can send me the ads it wants me to see, adjusted for the company paying the most money.