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Messages - Stoic Joker [ switch to compact view ]

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5951
i would LOVE to see some proper screensaver creations made by dc coders.
(by proper i mean a screensaver that obeys the standard screensaver options and api).
There are two very basic (ugly) screensavers on my website that come with C++ source code. The code is stripped down to the absolute minimum necessary to follow proper SS behavior using the standard SS APIs.

However... I did these years ago so the code may look like crap...

http://www.stoicjoke...Utilities/BallSS.zip
http://www.stoicjoke...tilities/BlankSS.zip

5952
Living Room / Re: Microsoft drop OneCare subscription product
« on: December 03, 2008, 08:42 AM »
Is it my imagination or isn't Windows Defender supposed to be an anti-malware application? Why do they need to release a new free application when it is already built into Vista, is going to be in Win7 and can be installed in WinXP ? (not that it is worth bothering with as I have yet to hear of a single person who has had Windows Defender actually defend against anything)
Now you have.

I've been recommending it to a select group of business clients (approx 50 users) for about a year. This group is comprised of a cross section of users with varying skills, from safe to have Domain Admin rights to probably safer with a pad and pencil... Granted WD was being backed up by SpyBot Search and destroy's SD Helper but WD did it's share and I only had to intercede (for a cleanup) once.

Every one was given the same lecture about updating things in a timely fashion, and what not to click on before the "test" began and was then left to their own devices (as it were...).

During the same period there was a steady stream of walk-in clients using every over-the-top resource hogging Baby-Sitter level "Security Suite" on the market that had managed to completely cripple their machine by inanely clicking on anything that appeared on the screen.

Hence I am firmly entrenched in the less-is-more camp an will continue to recommend WD. :)

5953
Living Room / Re: A fork in the road - dangers of web services
« on: November 25, 2008, 11:39 AM »
I'm never going to rely on having important data (solely) on the web ... Unless the server it's hosted on is phyically mine.

Tis an Evil Cloud coming me thinks.

5954
Living Room / Re: How the Web Was Won: An Oral History of the Internet
« on: November 21, 2008, 03:03 PM »
Very interesting reading, thank you.

5955
Living Room / Re: church managment software
« on: November 14, 2008, 04:20 PM »
www.PowerChurch.com seems to be popular with some of the churches in this area. I haven't had to deal with it much (which is a good thing), other than upgrading a client to a new version. From what I've seen it's fairly straight forward, quite stable, easy to use, and given I don't recall anyone saying they wish it had X...feature rich.

5956
Registry compaction (as in, simply re-creating the hive files) shouldn't cause problems, but registry "repair" or "cleanup"? I've stayed clear from that kind of stuff for quite some time.
Me too, as all to often they end up breaking something that is impossible to spot until it's to late.
Btw, I wonder if registry compaction might actually be counter-productive? If you keep the extra "fluff" around (but keep the hive files defragmented), the "fluff" can be re-used without causing the hive file to grow (and thus possibly causing file fragmentation). On the other hand, re-using the "fluff" can cause internal fragmentation. Ho humm.
Anything within reason (/moderation).
Compacting it after a few month of extensive software testing = Good Idea
Compacting it every weekend, Just to be thorough... is foolish

I think the main scale tipper is the one two punch of both internal fragmentation/head space/slack/"fluff" coupled with external file level fragmentation. Granted a truely robust database should be able to handle a some abuse...but... Once that combination goes past a certain point lunching the db is only a matter of time.

This is (part of) why large high speed/traffic/demand databases like Exchange must be segregated to their own partition, to prevent catastrophic interaction with other files that need to be allocated around as the elbbubmug grows.

Sure the registry is a much tinyer ... but the same (albeit scaled-down) rules still apply.

5957
People should only get a free upgrade (Vista -> Win7) if they're willing to ware an "I'm too Stupid to Own a F'ing Computer" T-Shirt.

There is nothing wrong with Vista that a half ounce of common sense (on the users part) won't fix (e.g. Loose the 3rd party CrapWare).

5958
Living Room / Re: Rats! MS Auto Updates Got Me Again!
« on: October 18, 2008, 11:02 AM »
Am I the only person who has NEVER had a problem with an update from MS? Any problem I have is usually caused by another product and NOT the Windows OS or a patch to one of its components.

Same here, never had any issues.

Me either, and that includes a very large client list. My current Vista x64 machine was built (by me) with all leading edge components as they're cheaper than cutting/bleeding edge and fast enough for me...and has never had an issue with any of the updates.

5959
Living Room / Re: Should Microsoft become an OEM (PC manufacturer)?
« on: October 13, 2008, 01:33 PM »
No, please no!! Not another apple in the bussiness. Things are good as they are now, for me :)
+1.
+2.

5960
Living Room / Re: Recommend a keyboard
« on: October 13, 2008, 01:31 PM »
I've got one of these: Saitek Eclipse It ran about $60 ... and was/is well worth it. Smooth, tactile, clean & compact. The back lighting could stand to be a bit better (for me ... but I'm old), but I have used it without (too much) issue (frequently) in a completely dark room.

5961
Living Room / Re: Why Does Microsoft Make File Type Names So Long?
« on: October 12, 2008, 09:53 AM »
Deozaan,

Rare? I have a heck of a lot of subfolders in My Pictures and My Music - not too rare, actually.

Jim
Hence the "Apply this Template to all subfolders" checkbox in the Customize Folder tab of the folder properties dialog.

5962
General Software Discussion / Re: The Vista Immersion Experiment
« on: October 12, 2008, 09:25 AM »
I have UAC turned off completely on my Vista notebook. And before anyone complains how crazy that is, I am the one and only user of this machine, and I have used every Microsoft OS they have ever released without an infection by being careful and using the computer wisely. So, no - I am not "living dangerously". It serves no useful purpose that I can determine other than to make users stop and think before they act. And I believe that I do that myself. If not, well I will pay the price, correct?

As for why some have so much difficulty getting UAC turned off, is it possibly limited to certain editions? I have Ultimate installed on my notebook.

Jim

Yes you are, and so am I ... Understanding the risk is the first part of mitigating it. It's a little thing called the law of averages. Yes skill counts, but sooner or later you end up being far enough of your game to slip up and get blown outa the water. I not sure at this point if it was Virtual PC issues or Visual Studio hiccups that caused me to disable it...but I'm seriously considering revisiting the situation to see if there is another (UAC enabled) option.

I fell off my game in a street race once, and wrapped a car around a telephone pole ... So I'm not quite as cocky as I used to be about "skill" ;)


All editions of Vista allow you to disable UAC.

5963
General Software Discussion / Re: The Vista Immersion Experiment
« on: October 11, 2008, 12:30 PM »
Why can't I turn off the bar that has "Organize", "Views" (etc), and the big bar in the bottom that has selection details?
Organize Menu->Layout->Deselect anything you don't want.   With the new address bar's handy ability to move laterally in the file system I never use the tree view any more.
That won't let me turn off the organize/views/etc. menu itself, though :) - the "big bar in the bottom" turned out to go away when I selected "use windows classic folders". Better than nothing.
Classic Folders? Zoiks! I'd hate to go back that far :) The Details pane (pain...) can/is removed via the method I mentioned earlier. While the organize menu/speed bar is a bit anoying it's only so when displaying both it and the classic file menu bar which I haven't used in years (I'm all context menus and hot keys) There are around 300 Windows keyboard short cuts built into Windows and I (collect) use as many of them I I can remember.

Now the default Vista window border size of 4px is revolting and burried in Windows Color and Appearance->Classic Appearance Properties->Advanced->Border Padding  I've found 2px to be a tollerable balance for this setting.

5964
Living Room / Re: Inane Question...
« on: October 11, 2008, 11:44 AM »
I call mine +=[ Library ]=+ which makes it easy to find by keeping it at the top of the folder list

5965
Living Room / Re: One answered question before you died
« on: October 11, 2008, 11:41 AM »
Maybe the last question should be "Why are humans so arrogant as to think they have any greater importance in the universe than anything else?"

I love you.


But seriously, I once had an Ultimate Question. Being an Adopted child, it was who is my Mother? Due to the power of the internet that question was answered...and I am truly better for it.

5966
General Software Discussion / Re: The Vista Immersion Experiment
« on: October 11, 2008, 11:26 AM »
Why can't I turn off the bar that has "Organize", "Views" (etc), and the big bar in the bottom that has selection details?
Organize Menu->Layout->Deselect anything you don't want.   With the new address bar's handy ability to move laterally in the file system I never use the tree view any more.

5967
If all the feedback you get is positive ... You're probably being lied to...

Newbies occasionally get flamed in any circle not just the Internet ... and some questions really do warrant a smack in the forehead.

Here's (an example) a question I really got (in it's entirety) from one of the client's where I work.

"Can you tell me why I can't send Email to Germany from my AOL Email account on my home computer"

Now... I manage the client's network under contract so I'm obligated to come up with an answer, however there are several problems with the question.

I'm only responsible for their Exchange server, which (as usual) is running flawlessly.

I don't work for AOL so have no access to their server status updates.

The only thing I'm being given as a target, is an entire frigging country.

If I encountered this question on a forum, it would be best for all parties involved if I did not answer (and I usually don't) as tact is something I'm frequently in short supply of by the end of the day.

No I am not advocating newbie bashing. I'm simple trying to show how/why it can happen. It isn't wrong, it's just best kept in check, and one of the things I like about this site is it that (IMO) does not happen here. ...Other people (with thinner skins) may however perceive answers given differently...

5968
I'm still trying to figure out why you're backing up client machines to anything...Critical data should never be stored on a client machine. If user folders are stored on the server, then they're already there to be backed up when the time comes, and you can use the (built-in to windows) offline files to do a real time (bi directional) sync of the files back to the client machine if there are server availability issues to keep the files available to users.

Backing up a bunch of clients to a server, that is then backed up to something else can't possibly scale well at all (too many steps/failure points/administrative overhead).

5969
General Software Discussion / ASUS mobo dead
« on: September 25, 2008, 06:01 AM »
 :( Sorry, I hadn't intended to be a prophet of doom ... Glad you had a spare.

5970
Living Room / Re: Vuln. Alert: Browser 'Clickjacking'
« on: September 23, 2008, 05:31 AM »
Scripting in all its forms is far to prevalent, fueled by the need to pack more Wow into every page for a typical end user to be able to sort through what is and what is not OK. Compounded by the simple fact that "Bad Sites" are next to impossible to identify until after the fact. Sure some are obvious, but others (well intending but poorly secured servers) are much harder to spot until it's too late.

What Article? The one you started this thread with, or the one (paper link) I add above? The paper link I add above goes into great (memory stack & code level) detail on exactly what is being done with the popular browser plug-ins to bypass the various security mechanisms. It also includes some registry hacks which will help to mitigate the threat. <-That and other options are what I was hoping to have a discussion about.

5971
Living Room / Re: Vuln. Alert: Browser 'Clickjacking'
« on: September 21, 2008, 09:42 PM »
Actually it looks like Sun (Java) boned it worse than Adobe (acrobat & Flash).

Sure killing all scripting works, but it's throwing the baby out with the bath water ... There has got to be a balance point somewhere.  I was actually hoping for a bit more detailed discussion about the exploit.

5972
Living Room / Re: Vuln. Alert: Browser 'Clickjacking'
« on: September 21, 2008, 09:22 AM »
Anybody else get the impression that this is more of an Adobe issue, than a browser issue?
Yes indeed. Though sensationalism is getting out of hand if they're using the phrase "affecting anyone who uses a browser to surf the web" when they're actually referring to adobe reader.

Ehtyar.
I'm thinking maybe we jumbed the gun on calling this poo. I ran across the following articles that while not directly related, does seem to depict the type of exploits available using this attack surface.

http://searchsecurit..._gci1324395,00.html#

Refers to:

http://taossa.com.ny...protection-bypasses/

Which contains the paper:

http://taossa.com/ar.../bh08sotirovdowd.pdf

Which was a bit over my head in spots, but the parts I could follow are quite troubling. It seems that ALSR, DEP, & NX can all be somewhat bypassed using techniques outlined in this article.

Thoughts?

5973
General Software Discussion / Re: WipeOut... Useful tiny app.
« on: September 20, 2008, 06:53 PM »
I don't get it. Why not just press Win+M to minimize or Win+D to show your desktop?
(My thoughts exactly) It's to easy...?

5974
General Software Discussion / ASUS mobo dead
« on: September 20, 2008, 06:51 PM »
Only time I've seen an optical drive lock-up that tight is right before it died. I've got a Plextor DVD burner now, but before that I had a Lite-on and used CDR-Win exclusively. The Lite-on drive did what you're describing for a while right before it died. I have no issues with the Plextor/Imgburn combo now.

*Shrug* ...Just thinking out loud.

An IDE channel will still run at the speed of the slowest device.

5975
Living Room / Re: [NSFW Humor]: The funnier side of Mac vs. PC
« on: September 20, 2008, 06:38 PM »
ROFL Mac. Nobody Gives a Shit.  :up:

That made my day.

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