Topics

1

Non-Windows Software / Oxygen 13 lock screen battery percentage during charge?

« on: June 29, 2023, 05:01 PM »

I have Battery Screensaver which showed the battery charge during recharge on the lock screen.  It worked great up to Android 11.  I got a new phone with Oxygen 13 and apparently nobody has a way of doing this.  You have to tap the lock screen to see the awake screen and read the tiny status bar percentage.  Then it reverts to black.  I am hesitant to just leave it on the home screen to watch it charge since my phone would be unlocked.  Besides, this should be simple.  Why is it impossible?   

2

Living Room / Hard cherry candy almond shaped w/sugar

« on: June 16, 2023, 09:09 AM »

Anyone remember a hard cherry candy that was roughly the shape and size of an almond and had sugar granules stuck to it all over?  It was sold at variety stores in the 1950s maybe up until around 1960 or so.  I ate them often but cannot remember the name of them.

3

General Software Discussion / MS Edge non-enterprise 64 bit exists?

« on: April 07, 2023, 09:37 AM »

Microsoft Edge 64 bit downloads keep bringing me to the Enterprise Edition.  If I am running Windows 11 Home edition isn't that overkill?  Seems like it should not be this tough to find out what the deal is.  I wonder if the preinstalled version is lugging around too much database crap.  As I update it seems to get less stable.  So for now I have done the updater wammy similar to Opera.  Namely renaming the update exe file so that the About Box arrow spins forever.

Anyone have insight to simplify the issue?

4

Living Room / Easily clean porous tile floors?

« on: February 12, 2023, 11:59 AM »

Hi.  I am wondering if anyone has a solution to cleaning porous tile floors.  Every room in my apartment has the same porous tile floors.  Right now I am using the Swiffer method because I can throw the used wet pads into the trash.  However it is way too much work.  The tiles hold onto the dirt.  The least effort for me would probably be a wet mop and bucket such as that used by the cleaning staff for the common areas.  But I would not be allowed to dump black water down the drain as they are doing.

There must be some environmentally friendly way that takes less than 1/2 hour.


Any, hopefully inexpensive, suggestions?   

5

Living Room / No living room, ironically

« on: August 09, 2022, 04:04 PM »

Yay!!  After 9 1/2 years of living outside in the Greater Miami Area(tm) I got the robot phone call that the furniture for my new one bedroom apartment will be delivered and assembled tomorrow.  Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, but no living room.   

I don't know yet exactly what my expenses will be.  But I hope I will have enough left over to get WiFi so I can justify getting a Windows 11 Laptop to use at the kitchen table.   

6

Living Room / Subsidized apartment waiting list fees?

« on: February 19, 2022, 01:08 PM »

Hey.   

Since the people in Miami who are helping me to find subsidized housing are all connected to the homeless shelter that receives the largess of the bank that foreclosed on the condo I was living in, perhaps it is not paranoid to ask if anyone has ever heard of the low income client being charged a fee to get on the apartment waiting list?  (Sorry for the run-on sentence.)

I have found other discrepancies in some off the "information" I have gotten concerning other programs that benefit the public so now I tend to doubt anything I am told especially when it seems counterintuitive.  I was on several section 8 waiting lists in the past and was never asked for a dime to get on them.  Has anyone experienced the kind of thing I am talking about?

(I am talking about subsidized housing in the greater Miami Florida area.)

7

General Software Discussion / Vivaldi - add buttons to panel?

« on: November 04, 2021, 10:59 AM »

Just starting with Vivaldi again after a couple of years ignoring it.   

It does not seem to want to let me add an Extensions Button to the default panel to make it like Opera.  Is there a trick to it?

So far video streaming seems to look and act well.  I don't know why browsers start and stop buffering/freezing when the version gets updated.  I have to keep switching browsers to watch video.  The main reason I have so many browsers on this Celeron Nightmare from Hell.  (Just an aside.)   

8

General Software Discussion / Opera comes with kitchen sink?

« on: August 05, 2021, 09:35 AM »

Anyone notice that Opera chromium based browser has exploded in size all of a sudden?  Unbidden they added a bunch of features that bloated the carcass too much for me.  I went bacjk to version 76.0.4017.94 and installed it importing bookmarks and extensions from the default browser(which was the new Opera  update.)  Then I renamed opera_autoupdate.exe to opera_autoupdate_NOT.exe and deleted the subfolders full of old updates.

If I was on a 1/2 TB SSD I probably would not care but I am using 32GB of estorage and stuff gets cramped quickly!   

9

General Software Discussion / Anyone using Macrium Reflect Free 8 yet? Impressions?

« on: May 29, 2021, 11:42 AM »

Anyone using Macrium Reflect Free 8 yet?  Impressions?

I have been using Reflect Free v.7 to back up my laptop thing.  It only has 32GB of storage so just saving the whole thing is no big deal.  But I am curious if the v.8 of Free has any new bells and whistles.  Also I wonder if it is stable already.   

10

Non-Windows Software / Android Spark email client user data creep

« on: March 09, 2021, 02:56 PM »

I have switched to Spark email client on my Android 8.0 phone.  I like it but for one issue.  The User Data shown keeps creeping up even though it is only supposed to cache emails, not permanently store them locally.  Pushing the Clear Data Android option in storage would force me to reenter the account info etc..  Not a great solution.

I have also sent this question to Spark support.  If I get a solution from them I will post it here.

One of the features I like about Spark is that by default I get a notification of the email with options to delete or archive it, etc. without having to open the client UI.  Kind of neat for a freebie.   

11

General Software Discussion / Opera: opt out of sync?

« on: July 16, 2020, 09:12 AM »

Anyone know how to opt out of Sync in Opera browser?

Every time I sign in to Sync it erases all my speed dials.  It is a real time waster. 

12

Living Room / Series included with Amazon Prime

« on: August 28, 2019, 06:01 PM »

I thought it might be fun to exchange some TV series that are "included with Prime."  I am too thrifty to rent or buy shows.  But some of the original shows included with the basic subscription are quite funny.  Here are a few of my favorites:

The Patriot

The Boys

The Tick

Goliath


if you are nostalgic for 1950s TV shows it seems like they are buying every show I watched as a kid.  I think even Retro TV passed on The Donna Reed Show.  Anyway I am  bummed that The Patriot will not see a third season.  I loved that show.  Outrageous humor done deadpan.   

13

Non-Windows Software / Android 6.0 tablet recent windows close all?

« on: January 14, 2019, 08:23 AM »

My Android 6.0 phone has a button in the recent windows list to close them all with one tap.  What I want to know is why my Android 6.0 tablet cannot do the same?  All the apps I have tried do not work on the tablet.  It seems a tad strange that no utility can do it.  I am not talking about a kill running apps button.  Just one that closes all recent windows.  My tablet saves them between boots.  Sometimes I have to individually swipe 20 or 30 windows.  This has to have a fix somewhere.   

14

Non-Windows Software / open IMDB Android app with search anyone?

« on: November 17, 2018, 12:08 PM »

Anyone know how to open the IMDB Android App and search in one shot?

What I am doing now is typing
IMDB some search string

into a browser.  But that is losing out on the Android App altogether.  There must be some trick to open Android Apps with an argument.

I guess I miss the Windows "open with" type of deal.  All my devices are Android and I have not figured out how to avoid running an app and waiting for it to open so I can type in whatever I want it to do.  The newest Android I have is 6.0 so nougat and newer tricks will not work for me.  One of my tablets has Android 5 so if it worked from Lollipop up that would be ideal.

15

Living Room / SmartPhone battery "hot swap" and charge info

« on: September 17, 2018, 02:26 PM »

I have a couple of smart phone battery questions.  A link to an explanation is fine in each case as my searches have not stumbled upon any concise explanations:


1) Smart phone "hot swap" - what exactly it gains you.  Do you have to shut the phone down to swap etc.?

2) Wireless charging.  Can you lay batteries on a charge plate or do they have to be inside a phone or other gizmo that provides a charging circuit?

I am getting by for the moment with a vanilla Alcatel smart phone but I may be tempted to buy something more advanced in the future.  I am curious about these features but web articles I find seem to assume the reader already knows the details.

16

Living Room / W10 Laptop wish list

« on: May 08, 2018, 12:12 PM »

I am looking for a Windows 10 Laptop that comes close to the following wish list:

Priced in the $700 ballpark

Screen size 13.3 inches minimum, full HD

8 GB DDR4 Ram minimum

256 GB SSD minimum

Has both USB 3.0 AND 3.1 ports

CPU capable of supporting light to moderate programming environments

Light and compact


In addition to programming I would use it for entertainment(e.g. video streaming)


I would appreciate suggestions since my Laptop knowledge and experience is meager. 

The other consideration would be brick and mortar availability.  I don't want to have to return a lemon via UPS.

17

Non-Windows Software / share SongFlip for Android playlist across devices?

« on: January 31, 2018, 01:52 PM »

I am just looking to avoid making the same playlist manually over and over.  Some nice Ambient and other stuff on SongFlip but the App itself is like an Easter Egg Hunt.  Also I found if I have no WiFi it will download in the background using my phone data.  But if I have WiFi I know no way to force it to download.  Seems like it expects you to have a data unlimited plan on your phones.

18

Non-Windows Software / Google Play Store Android updates not new

« on: October 17, 2017, 01:48 PM »

I keep running into this where I go to Google Play Store and it shows Updates available under My Apps and Games.  But often I check the version and it is the same as the one already installed.  I have two Android tablets and a phone and the issue happens across all the devices.  Kind of weird.

Has anyone run into this?  It is kind of a time sink to check the version number before installs.  I do not use Auto Update because I like to pick what to update depending on the What Is New info.

19

Living Room / irma-geadon

« on: September 13, 2017, 05:49 PM »

Third day after Irma.  I am mostly worn out from humidity but otherwise OK.  I hope all DCers  made it through alright.  I will post again when the college opens.  Most likely that will be next Monday.

Until then ...

20

Non-Windows Software / Android 6 tablet Cmd keys?

« on: May 03, 2017, 08:47 AM »

Anyone know what  Cmd keys on either side of the spacebar are for?  I get no reaction from them.  This is keyboard built into the tablet case.  Not onscreen.

Search gets me nothing.

21

Non-Windows Software / Android Raindrop.io or alternative

« on: April 28, 2017, 06:56 AM »

Since it is a bit of a pain to use regular bookmarks in chrome on Android I thought I would try out Raindrop.io.  I installed it as an Opera(chrome based) extension in Windows, then installed the App on Android.  It works, but when launching from the bookmark in the Android App it seems like the browser becomes embedded in the App somehow.  The expected controls such as back and forward arrows disappear and all I have is the device Back Button.

Not really smooth.  If someone knows of a similar bookmark sharing mechanism that is better to use I would appreciate a heads up.   

22

General Software Discussion / Opera 45.0.2552.453 Beta fixes video play memory leak

« on: April 24, 2017, 09:22 AM »

Opera 45.0.2552.453 Beta fixes video play memory leak.

I have found in the past that just playing an hour of video I could easily end up with 1/4 GB of cache.  If this is the memory leak they are referring to I am not certain.  But I have installed the beta to find out. 

Edit:  Note that after pressing the Download Button you are given several download options.  Supposedly the beta downloads, either 32 or 64 bit, have the video play memory leak fix.

23

General Software Discussion / Firefox 53.0 is released

« on: April 19, 2017, 02:29 PM »

Firefox 53.0 stable is released.

Release Notes

24

General Software Discussion / Considering going Android all the way

« on: April 18, 2017, 07:43 AM »

At least until I get a desktop PC I am considering going Android all the way.  The Ten Ton Toshiba(tm) is just too heavy to drag around.  The only thing binding me to it is Windows Programming.  I just purchased an RCA Viking 10.1" Tablet.  It has a keyboard, mouse pad and touch screen.  In effect it is a neat little Laptop for $100.  The fly in the ointment is going without coding.  But I am not coming out with anything new anyway   Perhaps the next thing will be to do some Android Apps..

With Windows 10 I feel the Windows Desktop days are numbered anyway.
The other thing a bit annoying is the  tendency of Tablets to only support USB 2.0.  But my USB 3.0 thumb drives should run a bit faster then a USB 2.0 would.  Plus it is more likely I will back up via WiFi in any case.  It is hard to imagine no Dos/Windows but I cannot push this weight around anymore.  It is doing bad things to my body straining against the load all the time.  It may be time to bite the bullet and go Linux/Android all the way.

25

General Software Discussion / imgur bbcode?

« on: April 12, 2017, 09:02 AM »

imgur used to have a button to copy the bbcode for pasting in foums.  I tried wrapping the image address in image tags.  No good.  Anyone know the secret and why they did away with the convenient button?



The above smudge is what happens when using the image file url inside image tags.