Have you ever sent an SMS on your phone via Hyperterminal or called someone on phone straight from Hyperterminal? You might ask: why the fuss?

Well like me, you might need to do a project that requires automation of some phone actions (like calling or sending feedback SMS) or you just want to do everything from the Terminal.

So here we go...

1. Make sure you get a phone that can understand AT commands, not all phones can.
2. Get the data cable for the phone, be it serial or USB cable.
3. Make sure you have a serial/com terminal communication tool like the popular Hyperterminal that comes with windows XP or the free to download ones like putty, kermit and tterm.
4. Got to device manager on the windows OS ( for Linux users, please request me to give you the procedure as it is quite cryptic) and check under ports for the com port allocated to your data cable.
5. Run the terminal communication software, indicate the communication port, choose '8' data bits, parity 'None', 1 and handshake 'none', baudrate '9600' and stop bits '1'.
6. When the terminal indicates connected, enter 'at' (without the quotes), you must get an OK reply.
7.You will need to enter 'at+cmgf=1', to put the phone in data mode and not the default pdu (protocol data unit, an hexadecimal mode) mode, this is important if you want to send or read SMS using AT commands.
8. The following are the basic at commands you will need to read messages, send messages, place a phone call,end a call and get firmware information.
at+cbc (to detect battery level, between 1 and 100)
at+cgmr (get phone software version)
at+cpms="sm"."sm","mt" (this actually the default, but if you have changed it, this will reset the selected message memory back to sim memory)
at+cpms="me","me","mt" (to set selected message memory to phone memory)
at+cmgl="all" (display all messages in selected memory)
at+cmgl="rec unread" (display only unread messages in the selected memory)
at+cmgl="rec read" (display all read messages in selected memory)
at+cmgl="sto sent" (display all sent messages in selected memory)
at+cmgl="sto unsent" (display all unsent messages in selected memory)
at+cmgr=18 (read message in memory location 18, you indicate another location other tahn 18)
at+cmgd=18 (delete message in memory location 18)
at+cmgs="1234" (request to send message to phone number 1234, you will see symbol '>', enter your text message here and end it with ctrl+z, do not press backspace or enter)
atdt08001234 (dial phone number 08001234)

These commands with work on most phones that allow AT commands. If you desire to do additional stuffs not implementable with the commands above, you can use the Google search to search for the list of AT commands supported by your phone.

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Ofttimes you see someone trying to do some Oracle database administration, but can't seem to login or start the database.

Just go to https://localhost:1158/em
Disregard the warning and choose proceed/always accept.
Login with username 'SYS' (without the quotes)
Enter the password you provided during installation, then make sure you create your own administrator account.

If the oracle database is down and will not startup, go to Start, Run, enter 'services.msc', look for oracledbconsoleorcl and start service. Also start the oraclelistner service too. This will solve the startup problem. But if the service will not start, you probably were connected to a network during installation, this made oracle associate your computer with the IP address you were using during installation, hence you will need to be connected to a network with the same IP address for the service to start. You can install microsoft loopback adapter and configure it with the IP address Oracle associated your computer with (this IP address will sometimes show when your restart your computer, in a command prompt environment for emca or you can go to your oracle_home directory, db2/db1 subdirectory, oc4j subdirectory, and j2ee subdirectory, you will see a folder with its name starting with the ip address).

And if this is much trouble for you, you can just reinstall the oracle database software (it will indicate that the folder is not empty, don't worry just go ahead, because deleting the folder is not quite straight forward, you will have to delete them subdirectory by subdirectory, there is one folder that will refuse to delete). But make sure you are not connected to any network be it wired or wireless.

Good luck!

Of all the forces in the world
Forces that are as rigid as a wall
Even forces that are as dynamic as water
Or forces that smear as butter
Of forces that are as defined as gravity
Forces that has a speck of divinity
Or forces that seem to be in between
Of forces vile and always in a spleen
Even forces with faces covered with hood
Or forces that delight much in good
None is as great as Love

Of all the fiery emotions in a man
Emotions that make of one a villian
Even emotions that are placid as sleep
Or emotions that that make of one a schmaltzy sheep
Of emotions that enrage as jealousy
Emotions that freeze as envy
Or emotions as diaphenous as web of a spider
Of emotions that are as instinctual as hunger
Even emotions that are as artificial as anorexia
Or emotions that are as hybrid as insomnia
None is as forceful as Love

Of all the persons in existence
Persons that are...
None is comparable with Love
And God Almighty is Love

(Can you help me fill in the gap?)

Have you ever powered on your computer and found out that the cd drive icon is gone?
Or the wireless just would not connect?
Or the help is no longer working?
Or the dvd-ram drive is now seen as cd drive?
Or the system is now acting funny?

I will tell what I usually do after exhausting all other possible options, I go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and System Restore, I choose 'Restore to an earlier date', then choose a date (closest to today) that I am most certain the computer was working great.

This miracle working tool has saved me so much trouble a lot of times, such that whenever I am happy with the way my laptop works, I go to maually create a restore point. Actually, restore points are automatically created when an application is installed or uninstalled, though not always so for all applications, but you must have the system protection enabled/on.
.

I have, quite a number times, experienced this bluescreen error and I discovered that it is ofttimes caused by missing system files and error in the computer's registry.

Missing System Files: This usually occurs when you (unknowingly) tamper with the windows/system32 folder files, or occassionally by some worms or virus infection. Oftentimes, before the computer shows the bluescreen, you will notice it complains of some files not found (usually .dll files)

Registry Errors: Even if you don't do much with your computer system other than to type documents, play music and read pdf files, these registry errors still occur. Whenever you install an application, no matter how small, even Google toolbar, it always makes some changes to your registry and add new registry keys. Sometimes these changes become ill-organized and cause issues for the computer. Worst of all, if some keys get missing or refers to system files that are non-existent, the computer often shows system errors. On rare occasions (often triggered by unclean shutdown and uninstallation of some software), when the errors are much the computer may not be able to start-up leading most times to bluescreen

Preventive Measures:
For the first case, make sure no one tampers with your system files and use a password-ed Administrator account, not forgetting the default Administrator account (if you use XP), and get a good antivirus to protect you from virus attacks.
For the second case, always avoid unclean shutdown, be careful of what applications you install, 'cos when you uninstall an application there might be registry errors. So install only applications you trust and you will need. Also avoid hibernating all the times as it does not have the registry cleansing effect of a proper shutdown. Lastly and most importantly, use a registry repair tool or application to put the registry in proper shape occasionally,  especially after series of installations and uninstallations.

Possible Solutions:
In the first case, try to enter through safe mode and do system restore to an earlier date. If safe mode is not starting up also, you can do Advance repair/Recovery Console for XP using the XP bootable CD or try system restore using the Vista bootable DVD for Vista.
In the second case, you will most likely be able to enter through safe mode, just install any registry repair tool (be aware that some would not install in safe mode) and run them to repair the registry. I have actually done this before and the computer worked fine thereafter.

Stuck? Ask for specific help via the comment.

You would probably have heard that installing Linux on a virtual system is the safest (actually, right), but if you really want to enjoy the Linux operating software you will need to install it on another partition or disk and have it run as a real operating system on your PC.

In this post I will teach you how to do this without endangering your windows partition and operating system in anyway. I must let you know that I have done this a couple of times with Kubuntu 8.04 , Ubuntu 8.04, Mandriva 2009 and Kubuntu 9.04, but I am very sure it will work same way for Fedora core 10 and later, OpenSuse 11 and later.

STEP 1

For Vista: If you do not have a partition you will like to install the Linux on yet, you can shrink an already existing partition by right clicking on Computer, choose Manage, choose disk and volume management and right click on the partition you want to shrink, choose shrink, and indicate the size of the new partition you want. Now do not format the unallocated space, it is better to leave it this way. And if you already have a formatted partition that you want to use, do not bother doing this.

For XP: I really do not know a safe way to create a new partition from an already existing one, so I will assume you already have a partition ready for the Linux installation (I was told that Norton Partition magic works hassle-free but I have no first-hand experience on it). A great workaround is to let the Linux resize the windows partition and use some of the free space, I have done this using Mandriva 2009 before and it worked hassle-free. Just make sure you shutdown the Windows OS properly (not hibernate).

STEP 2

Insert the Linux bootable CD/DVD into the DVD drive (I will advice you to use live CD/DVD, it is more user friendly and very straight forward), then restart your computer, make sure it boots from the CD/DVD drive, choose 'Start the Linux OS without making any change to your system', though the exact text might differ from that, it always mean boot from the CD/DVD without installing the Linux operating system on your computer, it will only use your RAM without touching your hard disk.

STEP 3

After the Linux has finished starting up, click Install on the Desktop (you can explore the Linux OS before doing this). Answer the general step by step questions it asks you, but when it gets to the installation proper, choose the 'free space' ( if you have created an unallocated space in the step 1) or the free partition you prepared for the Linux. Enter ' / ' for the mount point ( where your root/default admin folder will be located), choose the ext3 filesystem and format. Complete the installation, if you see grub bootloader configuration, accept the default (except the time delay before it will automatically boot into Linux, this is usually 10 seconds, change it to 30 preferably). The computer will automatically restart, remove the Linux bootable and let the computer boot from hard disk. Do not be scared to see that there are three Linux options and one windows option, the grub bootloader that came with the new release of Linux automatically detects the windows, shows a normal mode Linux, a safe mode Linux and memory test Linux boot mode. If you want to boot into Windows select Windows and press Enter.

Voila! You now have Linux installed on your computer. If in anyway confused, reply through the comment.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Linux can access your Windows partition but Windows cannot access Linux partition, this is very useful in case you have problem with your Windows, you can still access and copy your documents in the windows partition

Linux is resistant to most viruses (in fact I do not know of any virus that affects Linux, so I prefer surfing the Internet and collecting data from external storage devices via my Linux OS)

Linux recognizes and interacts with most external devices like USB flash drive, Bluetooth, serial devices etc without any additional drivers installation.

If you have a Sony laptop, I will recommend Mandriva 2009 or Kubuntu 9.04 as it has the drivers for your wireless and screen brightness control (I had to install the drivers for my wireless from a source code on my Sony running Kubuntu 8.04, OpenSuse 11 also has the same problem).

If you use HP or Dell, I will recommend (K)Ubuntu 8.04 or later.

Never install Linux before Windows because Windows bootloader cannot detect Linux. But if you have no choice you can reinstall the grub bootloader.

If you want any further clarification, you can ask via the comment.

I did my Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam and got certified in August 2008. I was then in my penultimate undergraduate year. I am now in my final year, and in Nigeria we've got to go for a compulsory National Service (NYSC) year immediately after graduation. Hopefully I will end my NYSC on or before February, 2011 and I will be left with March to August to use my CCNA to actively get a job. I plan on taking the CCNA wireless concentration exam to revalidate my CCNA for another three years. Then I must do the four CCNP exams within two years of doing the first one. The CCNP will also expire after three years. If I go ahead to take CCIE, It will expire after 2 years. So, when will I really have a break? The most annoying part is that if I let the certificate expire I can no longer claim to be certified and my investment of time and resource in getting the certification becomes null.
Really, I think Cisco should make the CCIE be in versions like the OCP 10g, MCSE 2003, etc so people will only have to do upgrade exams and not forfeit their certificates after getting CCNA, CCNP and CCIE. The CCIE should not be made to expire or invalid.

What do you think?

There is one truth I have come to discover
The effect of which I will never recover
No matter how badly written a love letter
It will always convene the intent of the writer
No matter how badly I stammer
You will always get what I mutter
This truth is love's greatest attribute
It comes from a sincere heart with a clean repute
To create the unimaginable in the heart of the recipient
In a way unfathomable and greatly magnificient
This truth is the greatest secret of communication
Without which it will cease to be but deception
The frank sincerity that pierces through all pretence
And forms in every relationship the essence
The only thing that makes reasonable to us
The foolishness of God's love towards us
This truth is what makes people to me-ward
Foolishly stake their lives and all on God's word
Even when it seems like a paper chair
And sitting on it leaves you with no cheer
But with eyes clouded with tears and a heart deeply touched
We cast our all, be it little or much
On one whose love has got us deeply transformed
And to His likeness have we been conformed
Through the workings of this truth that is so deep
And simply is THE DEEP CALLS TO THE DEEP

Except in unusual cases
No day passes
And leaves for that day a space
On your nutritional diary's face

Except on unenviable days
You never will live some days
Devoid of a good night rest
Even if you throughout the day rest

Days that will keep your food unmoved
To God you pray to be removed
If for days you find it hard to sleep
Then you aren't far from the day of eternal sleep

In your bid to keep fit
You invest a lot to get a bed that is fit
From your desire to stay healthy
You never deny yourself of foods that are healthy

You believe for your day to be right
You need to sleep right
And for your concentration undivided
You food must be undivided

You know that a day of sleep
Benefits you more than hundreds without sleep
And that a man that is hungry
Is as good as a man that is angry

If sleep and food can be this beneficial
That you need them for your day to be right
Sleeping and eating are hardly providential
And inability to do them is a plight

How much more including God in your day
If sleep and food can make profitable your day
And the lack of them can make your day miserable
Will including God actively in your day make it less profitable?

You need God more than you can ever imagine
Only tell Him to come dwell richly in you
And cleanse you from all sins that you can imagine
And help you to serve Him with all in you

When nothing seems to go right
And life has never been so slight
When all hope fades like a beam
And breath has never been more slim
When friends seem to be of no help
And are as irritating as a kelp
When thoughts put you on a slippery slope
To scope things that kill hope
When you always fake a fine countenance
At a high cost of sustenance
And living in God's promises is as in a fool's paradise
Like a fool betting his life on a ship's merchandise
When consolation in the bible makes you like an aramean
Who with a fool's head came and went back with twain
When righteousness is like a paper chair
And sitting on it leaves you with no cheer
When God's word seem to rigid and ideal
Too spiritual and supernatural to be real
When God seems farthest from you
Never has he been nearer to you
When God has never been farther
He really has never been nearer

There is an innate desire God has put into everyone of us, the desire to be the BEST. If you doubt it, then consider this: Why do you feel sad whenever you end up in a second position in any competition?

I remember when I was very young, probably five years old, I wanted to be the best in everything including dangerous games like jumping from a tall platform. And when I watched cartoons, I see myself as more powerful than Hercules, braver than Aladdin and more adventurous than Gulliver. But as I grew a little older, I realized that I could not be the best in everything. So, I do not mind having the poorest performance in outdoor games, but I feel very bad if I do not emerge as a winner in any board game. Clearly put, I love to be the best in the things I am good at. And as I grew much older, I realized that I did not need to compete with other people before I could satisfy my desire to be the best.
The second strongest emotion in anyone is this innate desire to be the best, second only to sexual emotion. When it possesses you, you will tend to see others as a threat to your success. Consider politicians, they think that they are very popular, highly regarded and more qualified for a political position than any of their fellow contestants. They let their second strongest emotion get the best of them, so when they lose in an election they find it hard to accept their loss because it makes them feel inferior to the winner. They regard election as a means of sealing their confidence in themselves. Indeed, to me, they are psychologically miserable (their fulfillment depends on their acceptance by others).

Dear friend, what about you?
Do you rely on the outcome of a competition to satisfy your invincible desire to be the best? Competitions are meant to reward excellence and not to give fulfillment. All that you need to be the best and be fulfilled is to make a magnificent appearance in the book of greatness with the special aid of your unique skills. The way to make such an appearance is by seeing other people as your pathway to greatness. Every person is a line in the book of greatness, if you do him harm he will not give you space in his life (line). For every good you do him, he will put a dot for you in his life (line). If you invest in his life and help him find joy, there will be big dots for you in his life and the lives of his children till the third generation. And guess what? Your dots have a unique colour, so when they are present in many lines of a page (which is a generation) they form a beautiful pattern on that page in the book of greatness.

Never forget that seeking fulfillment from competitions will only make you psychologically miserable. Involving your second strongest emotion in any competition makes the competition unhealthy since it will run down the runners up. Rather than relying on the competitions to make you the best, give your best in all you do and you will become the best, simply because, you can not sow your best and reap less. Remain blessed as you remember your creator in the days of your youth.

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Day in day out, God is working

Working for your salvation

About two millennia plus a decade ago

He gave His all, I mean His all

His one and only Son

His express image and wisdom

The embodiment of His word and glory

Of whom prophet Isaiah said –

Wonderful counselor, Mighty God

Everlasting Father, Prince of peace

I wonder what would remain of God

If Jesus had fallen to satan’s temptations

God would have lost His one and only Son

His express image and wisdom

The embodiment of His word and glory

In fact, God would have lost all

I mean His all

And He did not stop there

Ever since the ascension of Christ

He has been giving His all

I mean His all

He has given the church

His physical representatives and ambassadors

Making some missionaries

Many pastors, some evangelists

And others interceding for your soul

So many lives have been sacrificied

All in a bid to bring you salvation

From the times of the early apostles

Through the time of the pope supremacy

To this time of great corruption and discrimination

On daily basis, lives are lost

Lives that God could transform like Enoch

Or gloriously call home like Elijah

But rather in a bid to bring you more help

He let them suffer the world’s persecution

And the humiliating sting of death

What more do you want from God?

To convince you that He truly cares

And that He is your best option

Why do you frustrate God’s efforts?