dnVideoScreenSaver 1.0 Released

At work I used the Microsoft Video Screensaver and some fun vids, but it's not Windows 7 compatible.


Unable to find a suitable replacement, I finally ended up making my own which also provides more control.


The source code is included, which may help anyone wanting to make their own VB.Net screen saver.


XP / Vista / Windows 7 / 32-bit / 64-bit: http://www.greycube.com/site/download.php?view.63

Spotify and MP3s

Spotify (http://www.spotify.com) just updated itself, and it now plays local MP3s !
This is awesome as I can now shuffle mode all my music in one place 🙂


Update on how this works:


You add 'local files' which are stored only for that spotify install, you can then play from the local list or add to a central playlist.
Playlists only store the track details, not the file location. This means MP3's can be in different folders on each PC and the playlist will still work, the track just has to be in the 'local files' list.


It is not perfect though:


You cannot navigate into local albums or artists, local files is just one big list.
You cannot specify a location to automatically scan for new tracks, manual importing is required.

Active Directory Password Policy Problem

Solved an interested issue, where changes to 'Maximum password age' and 'Minimum password length' in the 'Default Domain Policy' where not being applied, the 'MaxPwdAge' attribute was fixed at an old value. The the cause turned out to be 'Block Inheritence' on the 'Domain Controllers' OU (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q269236).


Turning off the block was not practical as it was preventing global software policies from being applied to the DCs. Making the 'Default Domain Policy' enforced was not practical as some sub OUs need to block it. Putting the password settings in 'Default Domain Controllers Policy' does not work. The solution was to create a new top level policy, enforced, but with just the password settings.

FOOTER TO GO HERE!