Login with username and password (forgot your password?)

So take a moment to consider how DC has been a good thing in your life.  You might want to say thanks..

I'd definitely like to add my thanks to Mouser-- for this site, for the great example he has set as the person in charge, for the terrific software programs he has created, and for his unflagging help and patience.   But, as Mouser has often pointed out, for a site to be successful, it takes more than just a great administrator, it also takes a terrific group of people who form the community.   I'd like to thank the many people who make this site so interesting, so useful, and so welcoming.  I'm not a programmer, just a software enthusiast, but I've always felt comfortable here.   

DITTO!!   

I replaced the default icon on the desktop with the individual icons for Writer, etc. and noticed some speedup.

Then I found this tip for speeding up LibreOffice and noticed a 10 second faster opening of the program.  Tip

i normally use AbiWord as it is light and fast.  not to mention, its free!  But this time around, I am wanting a spreadsheet and presentation program.  This computer was donated to these people and they dont have alot of money to purchase software with.  So I am trying the free stuff.

cpu was Celeron 2.4

My problem with LibreOffice is how resource intensive it is (and OpenOffice before it). A computer tech installled it on an old notebook my employer has provided for employee use - it's running an anaemic Intel duo-core chip, Vista 32-bit, and "rocking" 2GB RAM. LibreOffice was a pig to open and significantly slowed the machine when running.

Darwin, I am with you.  I just installed LibreOffice 4 on a fresh install of Win XP.  Its an older machine with 1 gig of RAM and a older Celeron processor like 1.8.   Before Libreoffice, it was zipping along pretty good with not too many lags.  Now its pretty much crawling.   

I may have to try the portable version or a different alternative.

your welcome

i bought in to a 10 pack license of Viper 2013 Antivirus for $50.  no problem with the price.  the real problem comes from all the popups that are being allowed in. I have went onsite at a business to repair 2 computers so far.

my preliminary research showed Vipre to be a pretty darn good piece of software... but now I am not so sure.

Anyone else have any thing to say on this?

Dave

eM Client has a very simple interface which I like.  We shall see how well it works as I use it more.  I have been a long time user of Thunderbird but its search has frustrated me in finding things.

I am trying to remove the vocals from a mp3 to make a karoke version - that is instrumental only.

I have tried using the instructions for Audacity like these

it removed most of the vocals but not all.  They were quieter but may still be too loud. i do not know if my vocals were center panned or not as that seems to make a difference.

is there another program that works better than Audacity 2.0.3?

thanks for the help,
Dave

i tried it today with systemrescue cd and trk.  but they couldn't connect to the hard drive.  the laptop even gives a S.M.A.R.T. error now telling me the hard drive is in danger of failing.

oh well.....

XP Pro SP3 BSOD with a unmountable_boot_volume error.  In googling the problem, it says to boot into the recovery console and run chkdsk /p and when that is done, run fixboot.

So I run chkdsk /p and at 50% it says The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems.  it sounds like the drive is now toast.

But is there any tools that might allow me to save some files (documents, photos, music, etc)?  Like a linux distro and which one would be the best?

I personally wouldn't worry about it too much but the laptop belongs to my daughter and she really wants some of those files.

any help would be appreciated!

haven't been a fan of mouse gestures.  I am trying Scroll to top/bottom.  seems to work ok.

Used to have one of those type of mice, but not anymore.

Sometimes I get lazy and don't want to reach for the home key on the keyboard.  I would rather use my mouse to go to top page of a site without scrolling with the mouse.  In IE, you can right click the scroll bar and choose top and it will go there.  I do not have that option in Firefox 19.0.

Does this option even exist?

When I worked in the tractor dealership, we sold these

you will notice it doesn't say anything about using them on automobiles.

I realize that Edvard.  I know my dad had one on his 55 Chevy and had to take it off.  It's quite possible that it was a local law.  Too bad he isn't around to ask.  

I always thought those "suicide knobs" were illegal.  S

they were outlawed in Kansas years ago.  But they served a purpose before power steering became popular.  I noticed your picture even had the button that you could press to lower the know so that you couldn't use it.  I think everyone has had the knob slam into their hand on the rebound.

4wd, here in farm country (western Kansas) we call them "widow makers", because they can be quite dangerous.  Also one of the first companies to make them was HiLift hence they are also known as a HiLift jack.

heated seats are the bomb!   

Guys, maybe I am not looking at the fuel consumption properly but a liter and a gallon are not equal.  1 gallon=3.7541 liters.  But I cannot get get my head wrapped around the mpg differences shown in Carol's VW comparisons.

but then again, maybe it ain't worth the energy!

you mean rebooting the server for updates, doesn't count as an offline day?

I didn't think that there was much difference between LibreOffice and OpenOffice... just two different companies doing it.

Renegade, maybe you should get a walk in freezer, then there would be enough room for you and the laptop.  A guy could work all day at that rate.  But then you might have to worry about freezer burn!

Ianb, wouldn't it be better to not have the moisture or "warm humid air" going into the laptop?  I have not been sold on the laptop cooling pads that have the fans in them and are powered by USB. 

But I also have to wonder about putting it into the freezer... how good can that be for it??

Man that nosquint is the bomb!  just trying it out on my own computer and it rocks!