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I still use the Start button but could probably get used to alternative methods without too much problem.  99% of apps and tasks are started from the desktop or the Quick Launch bar or keyboard shortcuts.  Of course I am still on XP so I don't yet have a good feel for how big a jump Win8 will be but I see the Start button as a big deal.  However,  I still fail to see the logic of removing it unless there is an easy way to get it back you want it.

I never power down my computer so I was intrigued by the discussion of the how the power/on/off/shutdown hardware switch works.  The only time I have used it is when Windows (XP3) freezes so hard I can't recover any other way and I have always had to hold it for 3 seconds or so to get the power off.

Since my computer is 10 years old this year, I tested it.  (It's a Dell XPS bought in Feb 2002).  Sure enough a quick press on the button initiated a controlled shutdown.  So it has (potentially) worked that way for at least 10 years unbeknownst to me.

In case it is of interest to anyone, my XPS has operated flawlessly (the hardware) except for a dead DVD writer for the whole 10 years and continues to do so.  It has been running 7/24 all that time except for a few vacations.

That's probably because I would NEVER cut the power by holding in the power button or pulling the plug unless I absolutely had to!!!

I am not the most sophisticated member here but I dumped Adobe for Foxit Reader long ago and it works great for me.  It is much faster than Adobe, renders perfectly, and gives me options if I click on a PDF link in FF4. 

Donation Coder is obviously PC focused - on purpose or by accident?

Anyone coding for smart phones?  Is there a similar site for smart phone coders - particularly Android?

  I took it out of startup and usually run it after the Tuesday Microsoft updates.  It confirms the MS updates and then notifies me about everything else.   Helped me notice that anything from Adobe seems to require frequent security updates (one of reasons I switched to Foxit Reader - best move I made in a long time).

I am close to getting a smart phone and from what I've read the Pre tops all three being discussed here.  I assume no one is including it in the comparison because no one believes Palm will be around in the long run.   But even if they go out of business in the next 2-3 years, the phone will still work!  And if you are a geek you are going to want a new one in a couple of years anyway.

Anyone have experience with Pre and want to enlighten us on the merits of its UI or openness or?

This is definitely being sent to my mother! But I'm afraid I'll need to teach her how to follow a flowchart.

I don't know if you were just being funny or not but I seriously couldn't share this with anyone I help for that very reason!

I agree the logitech Trackman is a fine product.   However I am very used to the 5 buttons on the Microsoft product.  3 just doesn't cut any more.  I might even go back to a mouse if I could find one with 5 or more buttons.

I went to the Financial Fate site but it is not really day-to-day money management.   Nevertheless it couls be better than the spreadsheet I wrote to do the same thing so I sent them the following questions:

1.  What is your business model?   Since it is a privately owned company you must plan on making money.  How?

2.  What communication does your program maintain with your servers over the internet and for what purposes?

3.  I didn’t see any privacy policy on your website.  Do you have one?  Why not put it on the website?

4.  Is there any third-party software downloaded, installed, or executed as part of the download package or the program itself?

5.  Is the existence of any third-party software or any code executed that does not bear directly on the financial functions of the program disclosed clearly to the customer at time of install or when executed?

I'll try to remember to share the answers.

I would say if you had a laptop that you moved around the house - like to the recliner in front of the TV - you might want to retain your favorite mousing device without fooling around with a cord.  Other than that.....?

Thanks Deozann!  I don't know how I missed it - maybe I wasn't desparate enough when I was hunting and dismissed it because it didn't have enough buttons.  Logitech was the first place I looked I am pretty sure.

Anyway thanks to both of you for quick and useful responses.

Holy Cow!  I clicked on your link and there is a logitech thumb operated trackball on the first page!  Someone forgot to tell the Logitech webmaster because I have checked for such a thing on their website.  Sadly it apparently has only 3 buttons but I am ordering one anyway.

Thanks much Cranio!

I own and love a Microsoft Trackball Optical 1.0.   The trackball is thumb operated and it has 5 configurable buttons (including depressing the scroll wheel).   Of course I seem to be the only one left in the known universe who likes a thumb trackball since Microsoft and all other mouse manufacturers seem to have stopped making them.

I am worried that if anything happens to this one I'll be forced back into the pack having to move the mouse around or using an ordinary trackball.  I have thus searched a ton of stores on and off line and have gone to eBay in desparation.  On eBay the few I found were from questionable sellers, used (too risky), or more than I want to pay (especially since I don't believe any are really new - I have puchased new on eBay before and gotten reconditioned).

Picture is attached and info on the product can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/...af9ef9724d3d&type=ovr

Bottom line:  Anyone know of a reliable source for the product or a comparable product that I have somehow failed to come across in my search?  Maybe you have one you didn't like and so didn't use much tucked away in a drawer?

BTW - this is the one and only Microsoft product I have ever owned that I really liked (although I just don't have enough motivation yet to change OS).  I have had it since 1998 if I remember correctly and it still works perfectly - with occasional removal of lint.

Does Passwords Max HotSync with Palm?

I strongly suspect this has already been done or can be done with commercial software but I can't find it.

I have an occasional need to download a file from a server on the internet and save it on my hard drive.  I know that URL snooper will find the URL for me but once I know the URL, how do I copy/download the file?   A small simple program that will extract the file to my hard drive when it is given the URL would be very nice.

Alternativley, if there is already an easy way to do it, I would be grateful to learn it.   I have grabbed photos from web pages by right clicking and using the save target function.  However I don't see that option when I right click on a URL to a .wav file, for instance.

Maybe it was that I didn't want to pay for it twice - once for Palm and once for Windows.  I'll give it another look.

Thanks.

My personal choice is eWallet by Iliumsoft.  It has flaws but keeps all passwords in a hierarchial format (if desired), it pastes the ID and password into web pages (if the page is launched from eWallet), and the biggest reason I use it - it syncs with my Palm T|X.  It also has formats for many other kinds of personal information that you might want to keep with you on the PDA but should be encrypted - bank account numbers and pins, family SSNs, etc.  If it would allow drap and drop onto web pages it would be near perfect for me (see KeyWallet below).

I also use KeyWallet.  It allows you to drag and drop the ID and Password both at the same time into web pages.  For that reason it is often handier than eWallet so I keep the most commonly used ID/passwords in both with hot keys to get them open quickly.  If I keep the number of passwords in KeyWallet small, they all fit on the screen without scrolling making for a really quick open, drag, drop for logging into web sites.

I tried RoboForm a while back and don't remember what I didn't like about it except that it was more a form filler than a password manager (as stated earlier in this thread).  It also doesn't sync with Palm.  That is a major requirement for me.

I am not really interested in trying others unless someone knows a good one that is also a form-filler AND syncs with Palm OS.   Then I would jump in a minute -- maybe even pay for it!

There is a lot about Quicken I don't care for but it is quick, reliable, and easy to use once you get your data loaded and into the rhythm.  Of course everyone has a different level of detail they want to track and way of doing things so it is a personal choice.

BTW - Quicken does NOT require you to store your data online as was implied above.  I don't remember if it is the default mode or not but it is quite simple to set the program so your data does not leave your desktop.

The worst part about the program is the yearly updates at full cost.  The "improvements" are minimal and people who just pay for the upgrades without question are throwing money away.

Last but not least, when I transferred data from Quicken to TurboTax (one of the advantages cited above) I found the process to be buggy and the resulting taxes to be flawed - usually resulting in too much tax.   Several years ago I used TurboTax AND let an accountant do my taxes for a couple of year and the accountant saved me more than the cost of his fee and the TurboTax cost combined both years.  I have not used PC tax software since.   (Disclaimer - everyone's tax complexity and knowledge is different).

Rocker452 - is the Hotkeys at http://qliner.com/hotkeys/overview.htm a decendent of the Hotkeys that was written in the 90's by SheAr Software?

I see I am not nearly geek enough for this group.  I find the standard Windows QuickLauch bar to be sufficient for the majority of stuff I use regularly.   I supplement that with Hotkeys for those that I use the most (a program that is not supported nor updated but continues to work so I continue to use it) and Find and Run Robot for those used less frequently.

I've used GoldWave for years, on and off.  I can't remember if it is free though.  If not it is upgraded for life for the one-time fee as I continue to download the updates and upgrades without problems.  Uses LAME codec for MP3.  A zillion features but still relatively easy to use and has never crashed despite moving hundreds of vinyls to MP3.

www.goldwave.com

Wiiiindy