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Messages - phillfri [ switch to compact view ]

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1
For this functionality I create a custom toolbar. I simply create a folder under my user name (though the folder could be anywhere really). Keep the name of the folder short, like "GoTo". I add shortcuts to the programs I want quick access to inside that folder. You can add tooltips to the shortcuts for a short description of the program. You can also create subfolders, e.g. a subfolder with internet shortcuts to sites you access a lot or a subfolder with VNC links. Organize the structure however you want. Then right click on the taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbar. When asked, browse to the folder you created and select it. You'll get a toolbar that displays your folder name to the left of the system tray with a little ">>" next to it. Click on that, and and it displays your folder and all its subfolders and the shortcuts.

Its a totally user controlled, simple and easy solution for quick access organized as you want it to be that has been in Windows for years. It even accommodates drag and drop, e.g. drop a Firefox address bar icon onto the ">>", and it will be placed in the GoTo folder. You can also open the custom toolbar and drag and drop icons into subfolders. Never could understand why people never made much use of this feature for organizing content :>)

2
Living Room / Re: Cat & Dolphin Make Friends
« on: May 10, 2011, 12:55 AM »
We have a similar story going on here in my hometown of Buffalo, NY. You may have heard about this relationship between a mother goose who has lost her mate and a deer who has decided to be her protector on the news already. I guess quite a few news agencies picked up the story.
Deer protects mother goose (video)

3
There's only one place to go for this kind of advice!  :Thmbsup:
Inkjet Printer Forum

4
I'd check put the newer LCD TVs with built in wireless and internet (Vizio is pretty decent). I haven't reviewed them myself yet, but seems to me a wireless N LCD TV is what I would want with a wall mount unit. Certainly worth checking out before making any decisions on your configuration.

5
Living Room / Re: amount of RAM in a netbook
« on: May 09, 2011, 09:50 AM »
I have been running first Windows XP and then Windows 7 Home Premium on my Asus 1000H, the latter for almost 2 years now. When I got my 1000H, probably 3 years ago now (or more), the first thing I did was upgrade to 2gb ram (the machine's max) and a 7200 rpm 500gb hard drive. I've been using this laptop in a corporate work environment, running dual monitors (laptop and 19" LCD). I use mostly Browsers and MS Office type applications, do some occasional vba coding, and once in awhile run Chief Architect Home Designer 9 and photo programs. It works well, though its not a speed demon on the graphics and photo editing programs. I usually have several browser pages, a handful of Outlook windows, a couple instance of Word and perhaps Excel or Adobe Reader open at the same time. I am running aero, but you can turn that off if you want. I can run Youtube videos and stream Hulu on it without stuttering. As a side comment, I'd say get a physically well built netbook. I've taken mine on 4 extended European travel vacations to handle digital camera photo storage and processing and the original Asus eggshell design has held up well (hate the fingerprints though :>).

6
The Windows 7 wifi connector works great on my ASUS netbook anywhere I go (U.S. and Europe mostly). Click on the status bar icon and a list of available wireless routers comes up. Click on the one you want, and it will ask you for the password if you haven't used that connection before. Once you've entered the password, Win7 retains it in its list of connections and doesn't ask you again - unless the remembered password no longer works with that connection. You can also manage and prioritize the wireless connections from the Network Center. I place my home network first, then my work network, and then other networks (friends, family members, and public networks last). Albeit, I haven't played with certificates.

7
I second Image for DOS/Windows. Technically superior in every respect. I automatically run my OS image backups invisibly in the background while I continue working. You don't even know its running. GUI is easy to use also. A lot of nice software tools on the site, if one is so inclined.  Frequently updated. I paid $20.00 for this program a few years back. Have never had to pay for an update. Never had any problems with this software, albeit you need to read the manual to fully understand how to take advantage of capabilities beyond using the GUI.

8
I'm strictly a home network guy - so my experience runs win31, Win98, WinMe, WinXP, WinVista, Win7. There are some not so great versions in this string that caused me partition troubles through the years :>) - albeit its gotten better since the latter versions of WinXP.

Being a home network guy, I do my setups manually. I just haven't found it worth the effort to write and test setup scripts.

 

9
Windows does have its history of being able to trash the OS partition, doesn't it :>)

Immediately after installing Windows 7 (clean install) I redirected the C:\Users\ folders to my D drive. All of them, including AppData for each user. I left the original C:\Users folders intact for those few programs that can't handle redirected folders. I found that Windows 7 networking and Media Player have some quirks that seem to cause issues if one doesn't redirect the entire C:\Users structure to the D: drive. And don't rename the core folders, e.g. "\Users", "\My Documents", etc.

Note: I Actually manually recreate the C:\Users folder structure on the D Drive, then I do the redirect/copy routine on the C:\Users folder and its subfolders. You may find that when redirecting the AppData folder(s) to the D drive you'll end up having to manually copy the AppData folder(s) contents to the D Drive to make sure you get it all. Some of the AppData folders contents may be in use while running Windows 7.

So I have the \Users, \Data, \Scripts, and \OSBkup folders on my D drive. This makes backing up a breeze. I use Image for Windows for timed backups of the OS partition to D:\OSBkup once a week. I use Synkron to synchronize/backup the D Drive folders to either a network or external hard drive (depending on the machine).

I've been running this setup on 5 machines, desktops and laptops, and haven't had any issues.


10
I'm running Win7 Home Premium on an Asus EeePC 1000H for about 2 months now ((your basic single core atom processor). It runs just fine, but it does get a bit slow with too many open apps/windows. I use it for my work and run Office 2010 beta with Outlook open all day, in addition to various open Firefox, Word or Excel windows. I probably have 7-10 windows open at any one time. Its not a speed demon, but it can handle it. Though, I do recommend 2gb of memory. I have no problems running flash videos. I do turn off all the fancy screen bling :>) and follow typical "speed up win 7 tips". Make sure you get a decent hard drive - 5400 rpm minimum. As for security, I use the free Microsoft Security Essentials - small footprint, efficient, relatively unobtrusive, decent reviews (no antivir stops everything).

11
When it happens to me I sometimes get a specific scripting error message referencing a download script. I've posted the error message on the Mozilla bugs site. Sometimes downloading works okay, sometimes it freezes Firefox, sometimes it just freezes the current tab in Firefox, and sometimes it just sits there for a minute or so and will eventually complete. There seems to be no consistency in the pattern.

I do notice that the problem seems more prevalent on my Asus EeePC 1000H than on my desktops. I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium on all my machines.

12
Living Room / Re: Open Source Proves Elusive as a Business Model
« on: December 10, 2009, 04:11 PM »
Think out of the box for a moment on this one. The real driver of the internet is NOT the profit margin on web activity - its the cost of alternative means to accomplish the same levels of communication, exposure, distribution, etc. The internet is by its nature a not-for-profit model, where the goal is not defined as maximizing profits, but rather maximizing benefit for a fixed amount of grant or contribution (dollars). How does everyone think we keep increasing economic productivity on a world wide level in the middle of a recession and super high un/under-employment? Its all about maximizing certain outputs for a set amount of dollar cost. The internet  is a mechanism for doing a LOT of things a lot cheaper than doing them any other way (without the internet).

13
Firefox downloading has been causing problems for lots of people for several minor releases now. Go to the Mozilla forums and you'll be overwhelmed by all the downloading bug posts! I started noticing it after the release of the 3.5.x series and I also notice the problems continue in the 3.6 beta series. Its gotten to the point where I'm almost ready to switch to IE8. (never thought I'd hear myself say that!)

14
Living Room / Re: Play Media Files on my Network House-wide?
« on: November 10, 2009, 09:51 AM »
Windows 7 Media Player 12 can stream to devices like stereo equipment, as long as the device is linked to the network. Actually, network lag will always mean that you can't stream to 2 devices simultaneously and expect the output to be synched, but steaming audio and video from/to another device on the network seems to work fine. I have a server and a desktop in my study, an HTPC in my livingroom and a laptop. I can start and stop streaming from any machine and stream from and to any machine. The only drawback is that Media Player 12 must be running on the streaming machines. But I usually stream from my server to my HTPC (linked to my receiver/amplifier). I just run Media Player on the HTPC all the time (from startup). With the addition of Libraries to Windows 7, and Media Player's inclusion of the libraries in its interface, there's almost no limit as to how you can arrange this setup on a network. I also use a home plug network to facilitate Wake on Lan coverage throughout the house (energy efficiency/savings). (Might be able to do that now with newer wireless?).  I'd investigate the possibilities with Win7 before dismissing it offhand.

15
Hmmm. I ran into a similar wireless issue in Windows XP a couple years ago. Wireless connection was intermittent. You don't notice so much if you're web browsing, but it can cause issues when streaming. Try turning off Windows wireless zero configuration. Google it. Its out there.

16
Portable Hard Drive here too. 160GB Thinkpad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive (physical encryption). After carrying all my data on this USB hard drive for the past year, it dawned on me that I'm collecting a lot of info on there (business and personal) that I wouldn't want someone to be able to have access to if my HDD were lost or stolen. I personally carry my HDD with me 90% of the time, but I don't take it dinner with me when I'm on the road :>)

17
General Software Discussion / Re: Make Firefox 3 load faster
« on: February 17, 2009, 09:14 AM »
Try the Firefox 3.1 beta2. It does seem considerably faster and more responsive than 3.06 in a lot of ways. Albeit, I'm not sure that load times are that much faster.

18
Living Room / Re: Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?
« on: January 29, 2009, 09:27 AM »
I bought my girlfriend an APC BACK-UPS RS 800VA (in the US). I have the 900VA unit on one of my computers at home. They both appear to be working fine - no issues. But they are very sensitive to line spikes.

My girfriend's condo was built back in the early sixties and hasn't been rewired since. Depending on circumstances - maybe electric usage in the rest of the building? - the APC unit will switch into battery mode and immediately switch back to the electric line. Some days it doesn't hapen at all. Other days its constantly switching like every 4 or 5 seconds. The unit pops up a message dialog box in the middle of the screen every time a switch takes place. I've found no way to turn this message off. It can get very annoying when you are trying to get work done.

BTW, I've contacted APC tech support about this issue on several occasions. None of the adjustments they have suggested make any difference in the way the APC unit will handle the spikes.

19
Living Room / Re: Help me build my new Home Theater PC
« on: November 06, 2008, 03:42 PM »
Actually I found a comparison review for you. Its in Swedish, but push the translation button. It will take a few seconds, but you'll end up with an english language page. Scroll down the page to the bottom and you'll see a comparison chart that you can double click on to enlarge. Actually, they cover a couple nice boxes in this review that I might take a look at myself. In the end, the CW02S-MXR gets a fairly decent rating (82 out of 100) - but it d^%# well better at $400.00 :>)

Comparison Review

Actually, there's a button at the bottom of the translated page that will take you to the home page of this site. Sadly, its all in Swedish - I couldn't fine an english language button anywhere. But it looks like they have a lot of good info here on HTPC equipment. If you use firefox I think there's an addin that will give you language translation on the firefox context menu. It might be worth installing that just to check this site out.

20
Living Room / Re: Help me build my new Home Theater PC
« on: November 06, 2008, 12:42 PM »
A case made of aluminum acts much more like an echo chamber than one made of steel, i.e. it amplifies internal case sounds. Higher end case manufacturers have tended toward using aluminum blended with other materials to counter this echo chamber amplification effect (increased noise level). I'd make sure that this case is appropriately blended aluminum and not just plain aluminum - giving recognition to the high-end nature of the HTPC you want to build and the money you're spending on it.

This case has been out there for 2+ years or more now, and there are almost no revews on it. That tells me to be careful because the HTPC geeks have not been hitting on this product. There must be a reason. My guess is first the price, and second the aluminum construction.

21
Living Room / Re: Help me build my new Home Theater PC
« on: November 06, 2008, 09:23 AM »
4wd - I've been using a Gyration remote for awhile now and I like it. It works as a psuedo keyboard/mouse via a USB dongle. That should give you an idea of the versitality potential of the Gyration. I also saw a new freeware software program at ZDNet yesterday that allows you to run commands based on mouse gestures. It sounds like the perfect match for use with the Gyration. I think that will be my next little project :>)

Josh - Streaming music has its problems. You get staggered output room to room due to timing delays in network communications. No one has ever been able to resolve that issue. I opted for a decent RF unit that plugs into my PC and broadcasts FM signals throughout the house. I just put a good (or not so good :>) FM radio in each room (they're cheap enough) and, wala, synchronized music throughout the house. Not the highest sound quality I agree, but decent enough.

22
Living Room / Re: Help me build my new Home Theater PC
« on: November 06, 2008, 03:45 AM »
I am presently building an HTPC myself, and my investigations have brought me to pretty much the same conclusions as 4wd on this subject.

I went with the GA-MA78GM-2SH with the AMD 4850e X2 processor, albeit I'm shooting for a generic mATX case (steal, not aluminum) with a Seasonic SFX 350w 80 Plus power supply and a Gyration remote control. This combo is more than enough to handle an HTPC scenario and will still allow me to use the unit for other purposes if I've a need to.

Stay away from the Seagate 750 and 1000 gb hard drives. Failure rates have been very high on these units (read up at Newegg) and they run hot as hell - which means you'll need good cooling and fans make noise. I bought a 750GB Seagate for an external backup unit and I had to put it in an enclosure with a fan. You can burn your fingers if you touch one of those things after they've been running for awhile!

23
General Software Discussion / Re: looking for...a wiki?
« on: September 13, 2008, 09:44 PM »
this is pretty trivial but I have an idea I've been kicking around for a couple of days and I need some guidance...

we recently moved office and the new site doesn't have any white boards - that could be a good thing, but it doesn't leave us anywhere to note our teams whereabouts (planned leave, meetings, etc)

I was thinking along the lines of a 'web' page that could sit on one the local machines and provide the same basic function, ie a simple table where we can add a name, and details of upcoming events/absences (see the attached HTML example).  It shouldn't be static, rather users should be able to edit or update their respective entries

It seems to me that a wiki would do exactly what I want, but I've never really gotten into them (love the idea, just can't quite grasp the reality) so I have no idea whether or not there's something out there that might fit (from literally thousands :o)

any ideas?

EDIT - 04Sep 11:20 added the attachment i forgot to add (DOH!!)



There's only one answer for you if you want to minimize your efforts and maximize ease of use: Deki Wiki. Can be run as a virtual VMware machine on Windows XP/Vista. VMware server is now free for commercial use (I wouldn't use the V2 yet, stick with V1.07). The basic Deki Wiki is also free. It took me about 15 minutes to install a test system at work. You'll love how easy this one is too work with.

You can get VMware server here: VMware Server
You can download the VM for Deki Wiki here: Deki Wiki  Use the red "Download VMware" button to download.

Install VMware server first then the Deki Wiki VM.

It may look a bit daunting, but all the fancy things they show on the web site demos is where you can go with this wiki if you want to. It also functions out of the box like a straight old-fashioned wiki application, with a way better than average end user interface.

Deki Wiki has a helpful community forum also. Have fun.

24
Around here we all use DownloadHelper plugin for Firefox. It gets updated frequently, works with a LOT of download sites, and is so easy to use that even non-technical people can use it. Of course, it does appear to be limited to .flv files.

25
tomos - That spreadsheet is locked.

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