Removing iTunes and other software components

Image via CrunchBase

10-Dec-13

After installing Visual Studio 2013, I thought I wouldn’t need to install Visual Studio 2012 anymore. Hey, I have the higher version already, and in all aspects, that should be a ‘better’ software package. Unfortunately, when working on CSS styles, there is some mouse right-click context menu that isn’t there. I thought it really wasn’t there, but it is very clear in the eBook I am going through, Beginning ASP.NET 4.5 in C# and VB, at the point of doing styling and executing right-click and something-something should show, and it didn’t, I was wondering. You see, the eBook is designed for VS2012, but having VS2013, I used that instead.

Some of my PCs I still have VS2012, so I tried that right-click trick, and voila! There it is.

Build Style. Within the curly braces of a rule. Have in VS2012. Don’t have in VS2013.

When I searched the web on this issue, there it was, as clear as crystal, it is a bug in VS2013, and while it was already reported, and probably some fixes were done and released, probably… the bug remains.

So I had to install VS2012. And this is when my HDD space would be consumed. I run out of space.

And hunting for some software pieces that I think I can let go, I saw the Apple suite. Nothing against Apple products, but I don’t use them in this particular laptop, so I decided they will go, and of course, with many others.

As before, it is almost always a wild good chase, this removal or uninstallation of Apple products from PC. There are about 6 products to be removed, and searching for one does not turn up the others. I would remember seeing one article before that shows how to uninstall all 6, in sequence, and that I can’t find easily nowadays.

Also, some would talk about just uninstalling everything without any particular order, and say that a lot of things will still be left behind after the uninstallation is completed, and to say that to really clean-up any leftovers, use Revo Uninstaller. I have tried Revo Uninstaller before, and I would still use it given the chance, and finding the need for it. But I think that to do just the Apple suite of products, that is too much. Revo Uninstaller is one heavyweight software, and if you go beyond what you know, things will simply get screwed up.

What’s the option?

I would suggest to simply use CCleaner after doing standard (or normal) removal/uninstallation.

Anyway, here is the list, in order, of uninstalling Apple software products, from you PC.

After removal, restart, then run CCleaner. But do make sure you review the checkboxes first and uncheck anything that you don’t want cleaned up, as CCleaner sweeps and cleans, and deletes permanently.

1.    iTunes
2.    Apple Software Update
3.    Apple Mobile Device Support
4.    Bonjour
5.    Apple Application Support (iTunes 9 or later)

Reference:
Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8

Till then!

Related articles

• Declutter Your Computer: Tips and Software to Use
• I downloaded an app, but now I can't uninstall it
• Uninstall iTunes completely and then re install a new copy
• Apple Hires Top Industry Talent for iTunes Radio Monetization
• How To Uninstall Itunes
• Itunes Troubleshooting
• Mac or PC? Ten reasons why Macs are better than PCs
• Wednesday ULA: iTunes for Windows
• Apple Developers - iTunes Connect closing from Dec 21 - Dec 27th
• how do I Restore iTunes app on iPad 2?

Using Kies with my Samsung Galary R (GT-I9103)

Image by low.lighting via Flickr
12-Dec-2011


I wrote about my experience using iTunes the past week, and today, I am writing my encounter with Samsung Kies. Well, I didn’t have a plan to buy a new phone for myself last week, but it was just for my daughter, who is now entering secondary school next year. The deal was simply to get her a new phone, whose price 
is not exceeding her PSLE score, when she renews her phone subscription plan contract.


Well, I should have done this a long, long time ago, but it was only this year that I am moving over, due to some bad publicity that Starhub had, where the reception signal isn’t quite good.


That may have changed along over the years.


So from Singtel, the whole family will be migrating over to Starhub. That started with my wife, which was also when she got her iPhone, first quarter of the year, and then last week, one of my daughters, and at the spur of the moment, including me.


After attending worship service at the church, we had lunch, and decided to pass by and do window shopping for phones to probably buy, but actually, to check out the brand and model she’s been eyeing, since the November company road show they held at our factory, I mean, Starhub team. She saw the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S, but the price of the unit, under the plan we were targeting, whew! It’s quite for our budget, (but it is within her agreed amount, remember, PSLE score; we actually can buy 4 units…)


Our contracts were ended at the same time, somewhere in August, so anytime, we can sign up for a new one, and it was just a matter of time.


So we went to see and touch, check and compare, etc., etc., etc. Then what was available made her change her mind. It was due to the price, lower than what is offered for the Xperia arc S, but on another brand and model. That day, 4th of December, LG Optimus Sol and Optimus 2x, were just being released into the market, and they come with very good packages.


She decided first to get the Optimus 2x Plus package, which is Plus due to the charging dock, on top of the usual charger, and the additional 2GB SD memory. The phone already is fitted with 8GB internal memory, so that would already be sufficient.


And most of the phones we are checking are already on dual-core systems.


I am checking out the HTC Sensation XE, but I cannot buy yet due to the high unit price on the plan I am targeting. 


That was until we got a queue number, waited, and when called, sat down, and started discussing with the attending personnel. While her particulars are gathered, I stood up and walked around, to do the final view of the phones, for her (in case there might be better units on second thought), and that’s when I saw the Samsung Galary R, being offered for $11, at the same plan she’s getting. I was wondering, what is this phone coming to? It is supposed to be a better unit, I think, but why $11 only?


That’s when I saw the date at the price tag: 3-4 Dec only. So I rushed to check with the guy who has been pushing the LG units, and he said, that’s for 2 days only, yesterday, and today, then it will be back to its original price: $348, at your subscription plan.


So I tried to bargain with my daughter and told her about the other phone, but she can’t be persuaded, and her mind can’t be changed anymore: it was already 2 times she’s changed her choice. She won’t anymore. So my wife told me, why not I get it for myself. 


So I did!


Then my wife was telling me to wait for the other phone, which really is my choice, but I said, this is already a very good deal, and besides, the difference in the features aren’t really killer features, but the price is. So I decided to buy the phone and get my contract signed up at the same time, too.


By the way, I keep on confusing by saying ‘renew my plan’, but since we are porting over from Singtel to Starhub, it is not a renewal… it is a new contract. So the renewal, that will probably be in the next 2 years or so.


So there’s the story about my buying the phone, the Samsung Galary R (GT-I9103) en punto.




Using the Kies


I was thinking, this is software that would be quite frustrating and irritating, much like the iTunes, but I was wrong. Kies was so simple, and it was easy to use. I am immediately able to set the preferences, and of course, copy music and video files, within the hour, which included the downloading of the installer, and from the initial run, I don’t think there is anymore of tweaking setting, which are under the hood. Perhaps it was designed that way – and why not – things like this shouldn’t be so complicated so everybody can use it without any assistance from the customer service personnel.


You would immediately see the similarity of iTunes and keys, the device and the library. But with Kies, you are able to copy the files into your device by pasting it into the folders under the device. If you have done that, and then copy the same file in the library folders, Kies detects that as a duplicate file, demarked with filename(2), much like what Windows do, in case you accidentally copy over what has been edited with the original file.


But anyway, one thing I found is that I spent much time trying to convert video files into different WMV formats, and I can’t get the video frame that fits the screen size of GT-I9103 to a ‘T’. After trying so many frame sizes, copying these into the device by ‘paste’ or Ctrl-V’ into the device folder, and then viewing the videos, the size, no matter what I select, are either narrow, or short; it’s either the length or height that is a mismatch. Sometimes both.


But one time, when I plugged in the unit into the laptop, I decided to click on the option in the Autorun window that opens the device in Windows Explorer. I mean, I do that now and then, but this time, I used Windows Explorer to view the folders, then copy one of the video files that I have been converting for a thousand times (okay, that’s an exaggeration…), and when I played it on the device, it was a surprise: the video frame was an exact fit!


So that’s it. Why bother converting externally, when upon copying over, it will be converted into the right frame size and format by the laptop/phone software, automatically? Actually, the setting are there in the Kies, to automatically convert, but this is another way to copy music and video files, and get them in the correct playable format, and some more, being in the right video frame size? 


Some things we learn the easy way, and some things, the hard way.


But we learn.


Till then. Shalom!

Related articles

• Display Files In Windows 7 Libraries, Favorites Differently (ghacks.net)
• iTunes Windows 7 Problems - BEX error (chimac.net)
• Oliver Reichenstein's unusable iPad app (fawny.org)
• Have You Been Helping Sparky To Find His Girl? (calvintimo.com)
• Sparky's Back in Singapore's First Interactive Commercial by StarHub (calvintimo.com)
• Change The Default Folder Picture In Windows Explorer (ghacks.net)
• How Do I Sync My iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a New Computer Without Wiping Out All My Data? [Ask Lifehacker] (lifehacker.com)
• Samsung Galaxy S II update (Android 2.3.5) (vodafone.com.au)
• DiskAid 5.0.4 - Advanced File Transfers from iOS to OS X Without iTunes (themactrack.com)
• StarHub introduces new Multi SIM plan (Singapore) (wirelessfederation.com)

What's been happening lately, July 2011

Image by jepoirrier via FlickrI have been tied up lately doing a number of things, and fixing a couple of things at work, and at home.

At the work front, I thought I'm done experimenting with ODP.NET 11g, but I was not!

And what could be worse, our old desktop PC broke down, and kept on flasing the blue screen of death, with a very consistent message that says:

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME.

And the other newer machine, a laptop, stopped recognizing my wife's iPhone 4 device.

To which, when I was looking up some help in the web's wealth of stored information, I came upon a 1-liner, attributed to a man (whom you will find out if you look up the line below):

iTunes ain't done 'til  Windows won't run.

How about that?


At Work

I look after 3 PCs, with one machine as my primary platform for developing applications and designing systems, reading mails, looking up the web, etc., etc. This runs on XP, and I have installed VS2005 and lately, VS2010. I was originally running oracle 8i, and in the past couple of weeks, when I attempted to install ODPwithODAC112021, my system crashed, leaving me no other choice but to do a full, forced uninstall of all Oracle client installations. This I did, and after a thorough clean-up, I managed to reinstall 3 sets: Oracle Instant Client, ODAC92070, and finally, ODAC112021, xcopy version.

I left all the other 2 PCs alone - or so I thought.

I couldn't rest. The curiosity in me kept on brewing, until it burst into a continued attempt, which I picked up again, and this time, on the other 2 PCs (small server PCs, which are actually normal desktop PCs, but which we use to house our small applications and batch jobs).

I've installed VS2005 and VS2010, if I havent' done so, and tried to install ODAC112021 using xcopy version on both machines.

And while I attempted to fit all three into the same mould, to the end of making my applications and programs run virtually in any of the 3, my attempts failed. Then I tried again. Which still failed. Then I tried again. Still failed. In fact, I've lost count of how many times I've been trying and failing, attempting and not succeeding... and now, I have stopped, but only temporarily.

I will keep on trying, and I will continue testing, until I succeed. I am learing a lot in the process, and I am very sure, sooner or later, I would just be surprised that things are working as I expected them to work.

Isn't that a sweet victory?


At Home

At the home front, my 2003 desktop PC is acting up lately, until it stared me in the face with the sullen and unrelenting blue screen of death: UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME is all that it keeps on saying.

I tried to do a repait, using my laptop to fetch help from the mighty web wizard, but whatever I find, and whatever is suggested by completely anonymous nerds and wizards, it didn't help me to do the recover.

I guess my C: drive was really that corrupted. I did find that somehow, this would be cause by power shutdown without a proper PC shutdown (caused by kids who has no cares in the world, huh! other than their playing activities - which includes flicking the switch on or off).

After several attempts to repairing, I had to do a reinstallation of my XP OS, and since this is not the first time, I already had my installer disc ready.

Tooks hours, to days, to install back the softwares needed by my older kids who use that PC, not to mention the updates that should be installed from time to time, and with time being measured by hours, I've been sleeping late this week and in the past, but I am able to catch some 15- to 30-minutes of shuteye during lunchbreak, so that ain't so bad after all.

My wife has been rearranging the plants in and out of the house as well, and laying them out anew at the front corridor, to keep insects (hazardous, that is) and mosquitoes at bay.

And after all the caring and tending, one of the orchids (the pink one) is starting to shoot out some buds from the stalks where flowers used to bloom. Yes, the stalks are still alive, and in one of the tips, some buds are getting a bigger bump from day to day.

This is the first flowering after they were brought home. Can't wait to see them open up!


At church

And last Saturday, 23rd July, I was able to complete a 3-hour session with a small team on basic music lessons, primarily focused on vocals, and a little bit on keyboard-playing. Of course, a lot of music theory has to be injected, and a lot of practicums has to be carried out, for what use is head knowledge, if it ain't gonna be applied.

At least we know that we don't know yet while we learn it, and we know there's a lot of ground to be covered, and we're not stopping now till we're up to some heights.

Now, isn't that some ambitious target? It should be. And we are getting all the help that we can.

3 sessions more, and there will be some flowers budding up. Expecting to sea and hear the team do well as we all give our best.


Till then!

Related articles

• ODP.NET and VS2010 (mycompuquest.blogspot.com)
• OCZ fails to kill off Blue Screen Of Death issue (go.theregister.com)
• The business of notes (macleans.ca)
• Step by Step Guide to Backup or Recover an External Hard Drive (brighthub.com)
• BSOD with video playback (edugeek.net)
• Request for Technical Help (daylightatheism.org)
• DisplaySearch: Shipments of Mobile PCs in China Forecast to Outpace Desktops in 2013 (prweb.com)
• Time for FDA and ODAC to decide on Avastin in breast cancer (pharmastrategyblog.com)
• Those Rainy Days... (kreeshie.wordpress.com)
• Previous Post (mamadoveonabox.wordpress.com)

Out for the week

Image via WikipediaI am on external course for the whole week, brushing up on my .NET knowledge.

As it turns out, I really need to have a refresher course: a lot I've already forgotten, and many I have ignored. I have picked up a few things to "enhance" the performance of my existing applications, and a few more things to help me develop better applications in the future.

Hopefully, the whole-week course is really going to be a boost in my coding skill.

Till then...

Related articles

• .NET Reflector to Go from Free to Paid (devx.com)
• Announcing Release of ASP.NET MVC 3, IIS Express, SQL CE 4, Web Farm Framework, Orchard, WebMatrix (weblogs.asp.net)
• Hanselminutes Podcast 252 - ReactiveUI extensions to the Reactive Framework (Rx) with Paul Betts (hanselman.com)
• Pro Dynamic .NET 4.0 Applications (Apress) (i-programmer.info)
• How to Fix AVG Fatal Error When Installing AVG (brighthub.com)
• Hanselminutes Podcast 251 - HTML5 Basics with Mads Kristensen (hanselman.com)
• TWC9: AutoTune.NET, Portable Libraries, Facebook + Azure, SQLR2 BI, (channel9.msdn.com)
• .NET on the Net May 1-7: Popfly gets some new tools (blogs.sitepoint.com)
• Hanselminutes Podcast 248 - Executable Specifications with Gojko Adzic, Jonas Bandi and Aslak Hellesoy (hanselman.com)