Have you ever thought that Outlook 2003 can be configured to give functionality of a BOT (a short name for roBOT). Right from Unlocking user accounts in Active Directory to restarting specific Services on Active Directory, or for that purpose any machine, you can cleverly use Outlook. In the Rules wizard just create different rules with criteria something like,Check if the SENDER is <abc@xyz.com>
Then
If SUBJECT is
Then EXECUTE APPLICATION
Else Ignore
Else IgnoreIn the above given scenario I can configure an IMAP/POP3/Exchange account in Outlook on a PC. As soon as Outlook finds all the above criteria satisfied it executes the specified application. With regards to application I am referring to Windows based scripts freely available on the net.
You can now be worried about Spamming. But the security in these Rules ensure that just anyone cannot get the job done by just sending the mail. In the Rules Wizard you can specify the E-mail addresses from which this account will perform admin activities on received E-mails.
So with this setup Outlook can help in doing many repetetive Admin activities, but in an unattended manner... like a BOT. The only requirement is you need to continuously run Outlook in a Remote or Console session of the said PC.Example:
1. Subject: UNLOCK testuser, Application: unlock.vbs, Activity: Unlocks the testuser account when a specified E-mail ID sends E-mail with the above mentioned Subject.
2. Subject: RESTART DHCP, Application: dhcp-restart.cmd containing (NET STOP "DHCP Server" & NET START "DHCP Server"), Activity: Restarting the DHCP service without any users intervention.Outlook 2003 as a BOT is my creativity or you might say my invention. I have frankly not found anyone using Outlook for such a useful purpose. I am right now researching on having a Datacentre with Artificial Intelligence & which is self healing. I would love inputs from different people thinking in this direction.
Just look around Dadar station. You will find that all drains have been totally covered by wooden sleepers. Why ??? Not because they want to keep the drains clean, but to hide the pathetic condition of the highly choked drains from the public. Even when this activity of drains being covered started, the Western Railway didn't ensure to clean the drains before covering them. The same situation prevails in many more stations.
Now coming to 2 critical bridges built over nallas. Incidentally both of them come between Goregaon & Jogeshwari stations. Especially the one just before Jogeshwari station is fully choked with plastic bags with hardly any space for water to pass. Also the water which passes is used for crop cultivation besides the Railway tracks. So you know what kind of healthy vegetables we eat day to day.
When Monsoon arrives 2 most important agencies i.e. Western Railway & BMC, start acting reactively rather than being proactive about regular cleaning to prevent flooding. BMC is also not strict in implementing the 50 micron plastic bag regulation. Any implementation of regulation means another channel for the local Police to syphon in some under-table funds.
I guess every Mumbaikar should believe in "Prevention is better than cure" policy. Avoid taking plastic bags from shopkeepers. Don't dump your small little wastes like chockolate wrappers, food packets in the open. Always try to locate a nearest dustbin to dump garbage.
TOGETHER WE CAN & WE WILL BE MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN
(Issued in Public Interest)
On this Republic I finally replaced my big old Sony SPP-Q110 Cordless Phone with a brand new Beetel Cordless Phone (Black Color). After exploring the new Phone for about 2 days or so I was amused by the fact that how technology is rapidly changing & how innovative Gadget makers are becoming. You will realize this as & when you read my complete review about this model.
First of all it has a Polyphonic Base Unit with LCD Display, Dial Pad, Speaker Phone & a reciever with wires. So even if there is a Power Failure, your Cordless Phone still continues to function as a normal Phone. Wait...wait... don't worry about Power Failures as the Power Supply to this Phone as an inbuilt rechargable Battery which can be turned On or Off depending on your requirements. So if your area is severely affected by Power problems you can permanently keep this On. The Battery is only consumed during a Power Failure, else it directly operates from raw Power. The CLI is shown on the LCD Display. The CLI in the Base unit can store 29 incoming calls. The LCD Display helps you to view & change all the phone settings such has Ringtone, Date, Time, etc. You can select upto 16 different Poyphonic tones in the Base Unit. All said, now let me mention the most interesting feature of the Base Unit... the CLI system is a TALKING CALLER ID system. So I guess you have already got it... whenever there is an incoming call the Phone loudly reads out the incoming number. There is also another interesting feature associated with this Phone which is the ANTI-TAPPING feature. This feature can be both a boon & bane. Coz if this remains enabled you cannot use any of your parallel Phones at home because the Cordless Base Unit starts beeping loudly & jams the Phone line. The benefit being that your privacy is not intruded.Now coming to the Handset, it has a pretty small form factor as compared to other Cordless Handsets avaialble in the market. It closely resembles those old Nokia 55xx Mobile Handsets. Its LCD Display shows the Date & Time & also the last 35 Incoming calls in CLI mode. The only drawback with the Handset is that it is not Polyphonic & lacks Speaker Phone feature.Both the Base Unit & the Handset have extendible Antenna's & gives you a whopping range of 30 metres. So I could actually use my Handset from the Terrace in 8th Floor though I stay in the 2nd Floor. The INTERCOM feature allows you to talk between the Base Unit & the Handset & also allows to you transfer calls amongst each other.All in all the Phone is an excellent one & I would rate it 4.5 on 5. Would have rated it 5 on 5 if the Handset was Polyphonic & had Speaker Phone feature.
Are you a Desktop Support or Helpdesk Engineer & desperately seeking a permanent solution to all device driver problems & Device Manager errors. Then why don't you visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310123 . This is an excellent site which gives you the answer to all Device Manager error codes in Windows XP.
