Messages

126

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« on: July 06, 2020, 09:05 AM »

When looking to purchase something, I generally start by reading the Amazon one star reviews. That can get depressing though, cause there doesnt seem to be anything out there that doesnt come with problems -- maybe a lot of that is to do with the minimal quality control these days.

-tomos (July 02, 2020, 03:28 PM)

I know what you mean about the very negative reviews.  I try to read somme positive ones to start.  But I keep an eye out for minor disappointments about a feature that may be more important to me than the general user.  Then I check out a couple of the "do not buy this piece of crap" reviews just in case there is a major problem that does not show up on all units.   

127

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« on: July 06, 2020, 09:00 AM »

NOTE: The above links aren't necessarily where I bought the item from.

-4wd (July 02, 2020, 07:57 PM)

Thanks for the info.  The earphone jack thing is kind of insidious.  When buying a phone you are likely to worry if other stuff will work rather than the jack.  For example I might want to make sure the fingerprint scanner works and just assume the earphone jack will since they have had so many decades to perfect it.   

128

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« on: July 02, 2020, 09:25 AM »

The main thing I find disappointing is that the new Moto phones do not seem to want to improve on 720P resolution.  Such a big heavy phone should have 1080P FHD.

...

Another less than stellar "feature" of my e5 is that any photos I take look like total crap.  Streaming video isn't too bad if the WiFi has good bandwidth, but anything less than 1080P is unacceptable these days.

-MilesAhead (July 01, 2020, 09:44 AM)

Well, it is their budget phone series, most manufacturers have a line that is 720p, ordinary camera, 2-3GB RAM, 16-32GB eMMC Flash, MTK or SD4xx SoC, etc, (eg. Samsung Galaxy A01) ... you'd need to move to their G series for better specs ... which is what they hope you do.

-4wd (July 01, 2020, 07:44 PM)

I just checked out the Moto G8 Power specs.  At $250 USD it does provide 1080P screen res, 4GB ram, 64GB storage.  What I find inexplicable with the Moto series is the inability of the unlucky few like myself, to use the earphone jack.  As incredible as it sounds if you look through the Motorola forums you will see a small percentage of reports that describe how no standard stereo set of earbuds will work.  How can such old technology not work?  It is totally bizarre.  I have to use a blue tooth headset.  Granted the sound is much better but I would like to be able to keep a set of buds in my pocket for stuff like listening to phone messages without digging out a headset.  Needless to say with the volume maxed I still cannot hear my messages through the speakers.

I am sure some will think I am crazy but it seems these complaints span several years.  There always seems to be a fly in the ointment with every electronic device I purchase.  It is very frustrating.  I tried 3 sets of bud-like blue tooth headphones thinking they would at least be easier to carry.  None lasted more than two weeks.  They all instantly transitioned from working fine to dead door nail.

129

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« on: July 01, 2020, 09:44 AM »

New phone after 2.5 years: Oppo A52, probably one of the best bang-for-buck phones currently available.

-4wd (July 01, 2020, 07:57 AM)

My Moto e5 plus is 1.5 years old.  3 GB ram, 32 GB storage, 5000 mah battery for about $150 from Metro by TMobile.  The main thing I find disappointing is that the new Moto phones do not seem to want to improve on 720P resolution.  Such a big heavy phone should have 1080P FHD.  Also I have short fingers so I have to work the touch screen using both hands.

Another less than stellar "feature" of my e5 is that any photos I take look like total crap.  Streaming video isn't too bad if the WiFi has good bandwidth, but anything less than 1080P is unacceptable these days.  My $100 W10 Laptop is 1920x1080 FHD for that matter.   

Edit:  I should also note the phone came with Android 8.0 Oreo with no upgrade path I know of.  Just the occasional security update that nags incessantly until you install it.

130

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« on: June 11, 2020, 09:14 AM »

For us, the living : a comedy of customs by Robert A. Heinlein

131

General Software Discussion / Re: Thoughts on Windows 10 pagefile size?

« on: June 08, 2020, 09:20 AM »

I don't ever trust Windows to set the page file size properly. Too many times I work on a server that is wonked out and I see it is set to "let Windows manage my page file size" and it the size is like 1200mb even when the "windows recommended size" is like 6144. Put it on a separate partition if you can, but manually set the low and high limits to be identical, if you have space to make it the same as your memory size then do that. If you tweak it try to measure your performance gains, otherwise go for stability.

-x16wda (June 07, 2020, 02:31 PM)

I found it curious that when I let Windows manage my virtual memory in XP Home the starting pagefile size was insanely small.  After the machine was a couple of years old the OS was hosed by malware.  A good excuse to reformat the drive and install XP Pro.  Boy was I surprised when after the install was completed accepting the default suggestions, the pagefile initial size as installed by MS was the size of ram with the max size set to twice the size of ram.  Why should I take MS advice when they ignore it themselves?   

I will be glad when I can get a desktop where the only traditional HD storage is stuff rarely accessed like old movies or whatnot.  But we may all be running OS/3 by then.   

132

Find And Run Robot / Re: A similar function to Listary's Quick Switch function?

« on: March 06, 2020, 07:18 AM »

... the Windows folder settings must have "Display full path in Title Bar" enabled.  ...
-MilesAhead (March 04, 2020, 03:58 PM)
I'm probably missing something here, but why not get the Explorer window paths via ComObj?

-Nod5 (March 04, 2020, 05:46 PM)

I did an explorer folder watcher utility(FolderCache) and looping through all windows for a match bogged things.  If in response to a hotkey press it should be fine though.  It is informative watching how you approach the features.  I may end up using yours rather than my own at some point.   

133

Find And Run Robot / Re: A similar function to Listary's Quick Switch function?

« on: March 04, 2020, 03:58 PM »

There are several scripts, such as this one but it's not working that reliability in my experience.

There are also scripts that allow to select a currently opened folder from a list, which is more convenient than nothing, but it's still not as efficient.

-About:blank (March 03, 2020, 02:01 PM)

Some time ago I was trying to create a similar AHK Tray program to paste the last active Explorer Window path into the active window, such as a save or open dialog.  It works after a fashion using the file folder caption to get the folder path.  It does not work with shell objects or library locations such as This PC or Documents because searching through all the open windows is very slow.  As a speed trade off I used the stipulation that the Windows folder settings must have "Display full path in Title Bar" enabled.

It would be great if we could figure out a way to have it work for all folders.  I have attached a Zip with source I will upload to my site soon.  If anyone finds any errors or has suggestions to make it work without relying on the window caption I would welcome them.

134

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« on: February 29, 2020, 10:34 AM »

I finally got to read Cosmic Engineers by Clifford D. Simak at  https://archive.org/details/books

Simply search on the title and either borrow the book or add yourself to the wait list.  Creating an account is free.  You can read Ebooks right in your browser.  The site is great for finding stuff that does not come up in Libby online library app.

135

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« on: February 20, 2020, 11:58 AM »

Yes, you can customize the pinned tiles, but the actual menu, you can only remove sub-sections.  If I actually ever used the start menu, it would be a bit lackluster.  But I think that they're trying to get people to use search more, as when I do use the start menu, I just start typing the name of the item that I want, and it works.

-wraith808 (February 20, 2020, 10:46 AM)

Also sometimes when I am looking for a program shortcut in a crowded folder of them on my desktop I remember that typing the shortcut name will seek it out.  I suspect many Windows users do not realize they can do that even though there is no search box .   

136

General Software Discussion / Re: What was a great program that's now been forgotten?

« on: January 25, 2020, 02:18 PM »

For those with a Western Digital set top box or something similar it may still be very useful.

-MilesAhead (January 24, 2020, 10:46 AM)

Common problem with a WDTV Live was it couldn't handle MKV's that had compressed headers, (I still have and use one), remuxing to use uncompressed headers made the files playable, format translation wasn't necessary.

-4wd (January 24, 2020, 12:31 PM)

I just use MakeMKV and have had no problems with my WDTV Hub nor Live playing them.

-wraith808 (January 25, 2020, 12:13 PM)

Nice program.  I have a registered copy.  Unfortunately I no longer have the desktop PC with BDROM, TV, set top box etc..   

137

General Software Discussion / Re: What was a great program that's now been forgotten?

« on: January 25, 2020, 09:27 AM »

For those with a Western Digital set top box or something similar it may still be very useful.

-MilesAhead (January 24, 2020, 10:46 AM)

Common problem with a WDTV Live was it couldn't handle MKV's that had compressed headers, (I still have and use one), remuxing to use uncompressed headers made the files playable, format translation wasn't necessary.

-4wd (January 24, 2020, 12:31 PM)

One thing cool about the WD box, it would play HD resolution avi files.  My upconverting Philips DVD players would not.  It was insane to reduce avi files to ntsc only to upconvert them.  The WD saved me all that hassle.  Granted I did not come by 1080P avis every day, but still...   

138

General Software Discussion / Re: What was a great program that's now been forgotten?

« on: January 24, 2020, 10:46 AM »

Here is a program I used to make MP4 files compliant so that my set top box would play them.  MkvToMp4  The last rev was in 2013.

It worked especially well in batch due to the multi-threaded implementation.  The function was to make an output file that was MP4 compliant by demuxing, fixing the audio to meet the standard, then remuxing.  The program is portable.  I had an external SSD in a docking station.  The program along with input, intermediate and output files should all be on the SSD.  Due to the lightning fast random access characteristics of the SSD I would watch the progress bar zip through the files.  The video was not reencoded.  Only the audio track was modified.

For those with a Western Digital set top box or something similar it may still be very useful.

139

General Software Discussion / Re: What Android Apps Do You Use?

« on: January 15, 2020, 07:37 AM »

I get around Miami on the MetroRail.  More than anything I use the MDT Tracker.  The latest update totally destroyed the App.  Instead of an easy to use interface they want you to create an account and set up the ability to buy tickets/passes using the app.  As soon as I found the old v. 1.5 apk I put 1.5 back on.  Adding insult to injury the thing would open and hang!!

Is it just me or are computer programs being deliberately made slower and harder to use?  Stuff that used to be one screen is stretched across three just to slow you down.  In Walgreens to buy something with my EBT Card I have to hit a dozen buttons plus enter the PIN.

In any case the web version of the train tracker seems to still be available in the old format:  MDT Tracker and the 1.5 apk can be downloaded from PureApk here

140

General Software Discussion / Re: BingThing 1.6.1.0 guilty pleasure

« on: December 09, 2019, 02:37 PM »

I am not set up to compile BingThing.exe anymore.  Since having Windows 10 I see that if BingThing 1.6.1.0 cannot register the hotkey it quits with a dialog box.  This is not good.  So out of necessity I reverted back to version 1.5.9.0 but I included a compiled BingThingHotkey.exe to do the hotkey work.  If you unzip to a folder not underneath a system folder(i.e. stay clear of the Program Files folder trees) things should work Ok. 

BingThing.zip version 1.5.9.0 has been uploaded to MilesAheadSoftware and the index.html has been edited to reflect the change.  Sorry for the hack but I only have a little notebook W10 to work with so I cannot do anything ambitious. 

141

General Software Discussion / Re: Best reliable freeware download sites?

« on: October 29, 2019, 12:59 PM »

Snapfiles is back

They still are my #1 choice, generally, when not downloading from the programmer/company site.

-Steven Avery (October 29, 2019, 10:00 AM)

I see now why I did not get the message you did about the hardware failure.  I was clicking a speed dial that went directly to the new rdownloads page, generating a 404 error.  It is easy to forget the fundamentals when using all these shortcuts and gimmicks.  I always liked Snapfiles too.

142

General Software Discussion / Re: Best reliable freeware download sites?

« on: October 28, 2019, 06:48 AM »

Now they just say:

"Down for Maintenance"

-Steven Avery (October 26, 2019, 09:08 AM)

 

143

General Software Discussion / Re: Best reliable freeware download sites?

« on: October 26, 2019, 08:00 AM »

My favourites go-to's are:

Snapfiles

-BGM (July 24, 2019, 10:01 PM)

Speaking of Snapfiles they seem to be having issues.  No DNS record etc..  Anyone know if they went dead door nail?

144

Living Room / Re: Android annoyances

« on: October 11, 2019, 07:16 AM »

2) How can I set the phone not to dim the screen when a specific app is running?

You could try the StayAlive App

Even without donating it has useful features.  It has a setting to only keep the screen alive when a certain app is running.  I am not sure if this feature is one of the donation enabled ones.  I use the program to reduce how often I hit the power button on my phone.  I may need to keep this model for a few years.   

-MilesAhead (October 10, 2019, 09:30 AM)

MILES!!!

-superboyac (October 10, 2019, 11:05 AM)

Rumors of my death have only been slightly exaggerated.   Lollygagging here in Miami feels comatose at times.   
 

145

Living Room / Re: Android annoyances

« on: October 10, 2019, 09:30 AM »

2) How can I set the phone not to dim the screen when a specific app is running?

You could try the StayAlive App

Even without donating it has useful features.  It has a setting to only keep the screen alive when a certain app is running.  I am not sure if this feature is one of the donation enabled ones.  I use the program to reduce how often I hit the power button on my phone.  I may need to keep this model for a few years.   

146

Living Room / Re: good Videos [short films] here :)

« on: September 26, 2019, 03:04 PM »

The scientific community downgraded Pluto from a planet a while ago.  No conspiracy- if it was a recent video, it would hopefully know that fact.

-wraith808 (September 20, 2019, 04:01 PM)

Imagine how you would feel if you were Supreme Ruler of an entire planet and they downgraded the planet's status on you.  I wonder if you could bring a law suit to get the status restored?   

147

Living Room / Re: Movies you've seen lately

« on: September 26, 2019, 02:59 PM »

Uncanny is a cute Indie flick you can watch free on the IMDB site.  For those who can enjoy dialog based stories with virtually no special effects.   

148

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« on: September 11, 2019, 05:27 PM »

Dr. Bloodmoney  by Philip K. Dick

149

General Software Discussion / Re: How to tell what is making my disk drive go crazy

« on: September 04, 2019, 06:14 PM »

One easy thing to check is for an inordinate number of retries.  A drive diagnostic from the manufacturer should show that up.  Sounds can be misleading.  My Phenom I quad core made all kinds of fan noise whenever the CPU usage went over 1%.  I assumed it was the CPU fan.  But it turned out to be a fan on the GPU.  Replacing the GPU with one on a clearance sale for $19 quieted things down.  I just wish I did it sooner.  I put up with that noise for years until the GPU died.   

150

Living Room / Re: Series included with Amazon Prime

« on: August 29, 2019, 02:04 PM »

I thought The Man in the High Castle was good.  Also, I can recommend Jack Ryan.

-wraith808 (August 28, 2019, 11:31 PM)

Jack Ryan is pretty cool.  I like PKD and watched all the first season and most of the second of Castle.  The Multiverse thing blows my mind.  I recently read Recursion by Blake Crouch.  I found myself wondering why I wanted the "original" version of the protagonist to find happiness just because I met him first in the story.  I haven't come to terms with infinate variations of everything I guess.