me think :): Apr 24, 2010

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Disaster and Misfortune

A moment's pleasure will bring unending disaster and misfortune

- www.tbsn.org

- wong chee tat :)

SQL Server 2008 R2 released to manufacturing

The R2 refresh of Microsoft's flagship database was completed and released to manufacturing today. SQL Server 2008 R2 boasts improved scalability, with support for up to 256 logical processors, and easier centralized management of multiserver deployments.
The major focus with the new release is Business Intelligence, with improved end-user accessible analysis features, richer report building, and a new feature called Master Data Services to improve management of mission-critical business data. Also new is an event-processing framework, StreamInsight, providing monitoring and analysis of streaming data sources like RFID sensors and Web server logs.
As is typical with RTM announcements, there's no word yet on when the software will actually reach distribution channels; expect Technet, MSDN, Software Assurance, and retail availability over the next few weeks.

- wong chee tat :)

Broken McAfee DAT update cripples Windows workstations

By Peter Bright

McAfee pushed out a virus definition update, 5958, at 06:00 PDT that causes false positive identification of the critical Windows system file svchost.exe. Machines running Windows XP Service Pack 3 using the 5958 definitions will delete the file, causing many key Windows services to fail to start. The Windows file is being mistakenly detected as W32/wecorl.a. Failure to start svchost.exe causes Windows to automatically reboot, hindering repair efforts.

At the time of writing, McAfee's support forum appears to have either gone offline or collapsed under the load, making threads about the issue inaccessbile. Before going offline, the company advised the following measures:

Boot the system into safe mode

Drop the attached extra.dat in c:/program files/common files/mcafee/engine

Reboot into normal mode

Rebooting into Windows normal mode type “shutdown /a” in the run line this aborts the automatic shutdown.
This will allow them to apply the exclusion.

The shutdown command must be run as an Administrator; regular users aren't able to abort shutdowns in progress.

The broken DAT should now be purged from the McAfee's distribution network (Akamai expected the purge to be completed by 09:45 PDT), and an updated version, 5959, was made available at around 10:15 PDT.

This updated version is identical to 5958, with the problem definition removed.

At this point, anyone who hasn't been bitten by the problem should be safe. That may be little consolation to the estimated tens of thousands of computers damaged already. With unconfirmed (Update: now confirmed) reports that big customers like Intel have been hit by the problem, that number is set to grow.

This is not the first time a virus scanner has caused such a problem; a month ago, BitDefender had a similar issue, though the McAfee issue seems a little easier to repair. Just as with the BitDefender issue, this is something that would be trivially detected with even basic QA, which makes the regularity of such problems perplexing.

Users in our Windows Technical Mojo forum are discussing the issue along with some possible fixes.

Update: Official solutions from McAfee

- wong chee tat :)

就想賴著你

- wong chee tat :)

Punggol home for two new BTO projects

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artists' impression of Punggol Emerald and Punggol Wave BTO projects

SINGAPORE : Two new Built-To-Order (BTO) projects have been launched in Punggol Town making 1,429 government flats available.

In addition, the Housing and Development Board said it will launch another 7,400 BTO flats from May to September 2010, bringing the total number of flats launched in the first three quarters of 2010 to about 12,000.

It said the upcoming projects will have a good geographical spread, covering areas such as Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Sengkang, Yishun and Woodlands.

As for the latest BTO projects, Punggol Emerald and Punggol Waves, these feature Studio Apartments along with three, four, and five-room flats catering mainly to first-timer home owners.

The Housing and Development Board said in a news release Tuesday that Punggol Emerald, located at the junction of Punggol Way and Punggol Central, will have 856 standard flats.

This will comprise 188 units of Studio Apartments, 96 units of 3-room, 350 units of 4-room and 222 units of 5-room flats, with a mini-mart and shop included as part of the development.

The Studio Apartments at Punggol Emerald will be priced from $73,000 while the 3-5 room flats will be priced from $166,000 for a 3-room unit to $333,000 for a 5-room flat.

As for Punggol Waves, it will be located south of the future Punggol Town Centre and along Punggol Walk.

The development will feature 573 units, comprising 105 units of 3-room, 259 units of 4-room and 209 units of 5-room flats, along with a Student Care Centre.

The 3-room flats will be priced between $150,000 and $186,000 while a 5-room unit will cost between $330,000 and $385,000.

Applications for the new flats can be submitted online from April 20 to May 3.

The HDB said that to keep public housing affordable for first-time homebuyers, new flats are priced below equivalent market prices based on the prices of resale flats in the area, as well as factors such as location, project design and prevailing market conditions.

The purchase of the Punggol BTO flats will come under the new conditions set in March 2010, to reinforce the privileges of citizenship.

So first-time buyers in a household comprising a Singapore Citizen and a Singapore Permanent Resident will have to pay a $10,000 premium on top of HDB’s selling price.

This covers the $10,000 housing subsidy that's withheld for the of a new HDB flat or a resale flat with the CPF Housing Grant, and will be restored should the Singapore Permanent Resident family member take up citizenship or if the couple has a Singapore Citizen child while still in ownership of that flat.

- CNA

- wong chee tat :)