What good is new TTS voice if you are unable to select?

Some people purchase new Text-to-Speech voices to spice up their home automation or screen reader. Or they just want a divorce of Sam or Anna. Regardless, one of the problems when moving to 64-bit Windows is, those voices designed for 32-bit system can't be selected!

Loss of investment? Not yet! While it's true that 64-bit applications can't use those voices, and 64-bit Control Panel Speech Applet can't see them, the 32-bit applet can set one of those as the default voice for 32-bit applications. On Server 2008 R2, its at C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Speech\SpeechUX\sapi.cpl.

Sometimes Microsoft Anna may insist to stay with you. She will if you have used TTS in any 64-bit application.

Now, what if you use TTS in JScript or VBScript in Windows Script Host? Simply run the script in the 32-bit version of wscript.exe or cscript.exe in C:\Windows\SysWOW64.

Where is Windows Calendar?

One of the useful applications removed in Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 is the Windows Calendar. I especially missed it because I never want any email/calendar bundle like Windows Live Mail. Here is how to get it back:

• Copy the Windows Calendar program folder from an earlier Windows installation to your new Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
• Optionally import your existing iCalendar (.ics) file.

Easy! Isn't it? Now to get the reminder feature to work:

• Create a WindowsCalendar folder in C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows (or whereever that is in your install)
• Set the security on that folder to NOT inherit but add existing parent permissions, and to allow Authenticated Users to create files/folders, write attributes/extended attributes, and read permissions.
• Optionally remove the permissions for Local Service and Network Service, and to change the owner to SYSTEM

Done!

What's up with the Server 2008 desktop graphics bugs?

When Desktop Experience is installed, Server 2008 provides similar visuals as Vista. One thing I noticed though, is that the desktop doesn't act the same as in Vista:

1. The drop shadow on icon text may disappear on hover.
2. The selection rectangle has dotted outline as in Windows XP* instead of translucent.
3. The selected icons don't have translucent background.

It turns out that the desktop SysListView32 control is styled differently. So now I have a simple startup program that finds the Progman window, then the SHELLDLL_DefView window, then the SysListView32 window, and adds the missing extended styles LVS_EX_DOUBLEBUFFER, LVS_EX_TRANSPARENTBKGND, and LVS_EX_TRANSPARENTSHADOWTEXT.

A more robust solution would create a message-only window in the background, listen for the TaskbarCreated message, and reapply the styles to the recreated SysListView32.

These would take care of 1 and 2, but not 3. May be a call to SetWindowTheme would work, but I haven't tried.

* Similar techniques can be used on XP to get the translucent selection rectangle, but will clear the wallpaper.

How to get the Security tab in XP Home?

Option 1:
How to add the Security tab to Explorer in XP Home (Download link of SCM)

Option 2:
Press F8 and boot to Safe Mode.

Option 3:
XP Home File System Hacks, See security tab and run with WFP disabled like in safe mode! or Security tab, ACLs in XP Home! Yeah!

Other Options:
Use the command line cacls or write your own GUI wrapper.