Messages

226

Living Room / Re: Kudos/Respect for Mouser

« on: May 18, 2013, 12:36 PM »

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

-Rover (May 17, 2013, 10:33 PM)

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.  

227

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« on: May 13, 2013, 12:14 AM »

I also use Linkman Pro, but I have set MyBookmarks as my homepage/new tab page for the frequent visited pages. Previously I only used the bookmark toolbar in Firefox, but it became too crowded...

-Winkie (May 11, 2013, 01:54 PM)

One disadvantage of using a Firefox add-on to do this is that it works only in Firefox.  From time to time, I use Opera or Internet Explorer, and I have all my browsers set to use the same page of links on my hard drive as the browser's homepage.  That way, it doesn't matter what browser I use. 

228

General Software Discussion / Re: Goodbye OpenOffice, Hello LibreOffice

« on: April 24, 2013, 08:40 AM »

I second the recommendation for SoftMaker.  Several years ago, I began using what I think may now be FreeOffice (it was an earlier version of SoftMaker Office).  I liked it a lot, but I eventually decided to upgrade to the newer, commercial version for two reasons: it covered .docx format, and because I already had SoftMaker on my computer, I was eligible for the upgrade price.   For a small fraction of what I would have to pay for Microsoft Office, I have a program that meets my needs just as well.  I've experienced no compatibility problems with MS Office.  (I should mention that I use TextMaker more than the other parts of the SoftMaker suite.)

229

General Software Discussion / Re: Problems after you install Microsoft's security update 2823324

« on: April 22, 2013, 08:30 AM »

Semi-OT.
With regard to updates, beware of the last update of Malwarebytes Antimalware:
http://www.eteknix.c...-malwarebytes-monday

-Giampy (April 21, 2013, 02:30 PM)

Giampy, I think your message is rather misleading.  The update in question was a definitions update issued a week ago.  As the article you linked to reports, the faulty update was pulled just a few minutes after it was issued.  Malwarebytes issues a number of definitions updates every day, so when you say "beware of the latest update of Malwarebytes Antimalware," you're giving a rather misleading warning.  There have probably been more than 30 definitions updates issued since the faulty one; it's nowhere close to being the "latest update."  And though the faulty update did create some major problems for the thousands of MBAM users who received it,  I should also point out that most people who use MBAM never received the faulty update, since it was pulled so quickly after it was released.

230

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« on: April 20, 2013, 09:00 AM »

For my ultra-heavy-duty favorite pages, I made an entire (low tek) special home page with them. Thus it's available from anywhere, so I don't have to think about home comp vs phone vs friend's house vs net cafe vs hotel. It's just there.

-TaoPhoenix (April 19, 2013, 11:20 AM)

I do the same thing for sites I think I'll want to come back to fairly often.   For the rest, I use Linkman Pro, which I love for many reasons, including its superfast search capabilities.  I keep an identical copy of Linkman on my netbook.

231

General Software Discussion / Re: Linkman 8.80 released

« on: April 17, 2013, 08:59 AM »

Curt, I'm under the impression that Announce Your Software/Service/Product is really for NEW software/services, not for software that is well-known and long-established, such as Linkman.  Moreover, the guidelines in the section you suggest say specifically "Do not post about minor version updates to commercial software."

232

Living Room / Re: Bing Delivers 5X As Many Malicious Websites As Google

« on: April 14, 2013, 08:29 AM »

I used to use DuckDuckGo, but I found that it didn't find a surprising number of relevent sites that Bing and Google found.  I switched to Bing, but I often have to use Google, since it finds a lot of stuff that I'm looking for that I don't find on Bing.  I wish I could be more specific, but I no longer recall the details.  However, it happened often enough so that I now use Google a lot more.   

233

General Software Discussion / Re: Problems after you install Microsoft's security update 2823324

« on: April 14, 2013, 08:24 AM »

I don't think anyone has mentioned the weekly Windows Secrets Newsletter, but it includes a column called "Patch Watch" where Susan Bradley discusses the Microsoft Updates (and occasionally other updates as well) that have been newly released and talks about which ones she has had no problem with, which ones she or others HAVE had problems with, and offers a judgment: Install, Wait, Skip, Optional.  She updates her advice in the coming weeks.  I never install updates until I've read Bradley's column.  So far, it has served me well.  At times, I get Updates that she hasn't mentioned, but mostly she covers the ones I receive.  IIRC, the Newsletter is "pay what you wish" for a year's subscription.

There's also a Windows Secrets Forum.

234

General Software Discussion / Re: thunderbird alternative

« on: April 01, 2013, 01:40 PM »

can you suggest me a robust 100% yahoo/gmail web-mail-compatible alternative, feature rich as Thunderbird?

-kalos (April 01, 2013, 08:22 AM)

You might take a look at PostBox at http://postbox-inc.com/index.php.  There's a lot that will look familiar to Thunderbird users, and it claims to be what you're looking for.  For $9.95, you can hardly go wrong (and of course you can try it for free for 30 days).

235

Living Room / Re: Has my browser been hi-jacked?

« on: March 30, 2013, 06:47 PM »

Crabby3, thanks for explaining what you meant.  The reason I was confused is that Google is not a browser.  By choosing to use the Google search engine in the search box, you're not switching browsers, you're just switching search engines.  Google's search engine can be used with any browser.

236

Living Room / Re: Has my browser been hi-jacked?

« on: March 30, 2013, 02:16 PM »

Just installed Google and it works fine.    So... I'll just use it instead and keep Comcast as my *Bad-News Provider*.

-crabby3 (March 30, 2013, 09:10 AM)

Perhaps I missed something, but I'm not sure what you mean by "just installed Google and it works fine."  What do you mean by "Google"?  The search engine?  Gmail?  Google Reader (which is about to disappear)?  How is "Google" a substitute for Comcast?  I'm not trying to be snide, I simply don't understand.

237

General Software Discussion / Re: keylogger

« on: March 29, 2013, 10:23 AM »

Kalos, if you do almost all your typing in your browser, and your browser is Firefox, Chrome, or Safari, there's a terrific free add-on called Lazarus that will copy and save (for an amount of time you stipulate) everything you type in the browser.   I use an earlier version that's just for Firefox, and it has saved my bacon countless times.  The version I've linked to is said to work with Chrome and Safari as well.  

238

Living Room / Re: Google Reader gone

« on: March 27, 2013, 08:59 AM »

Thanks very much, 40hz.  I found the H-Open discussion helpful.

239

General Software Discussion / Re: screenshot and video capture software

« on: March 22, 2013, 12:26 PM »

Just thought I'd mention that, like tslim, I use HyperSnap for screenshots.  I've used it for years and love it.

240

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Google Reader - Mini-Review

« on: March 17, 2013, 07:36 PM »

I went to TheOldReader site, but I could find no way to join except to sign in using Facebook or Google accounts.  I have no desire to use either.  Is there a way to create a login independent of Facebook and Google?

241

General Software Discussion / Re: Listary 4 released - tons of new features

« on: March 16, 2013, 08:53 AM »

Find as you type is a unique feature of Listary that is not available in any other application. It allows you to type the search term directly (without a hotkey) in your favorite file manager. Currently Windows Explorer, open/save file dialogs, XYplorer and xplorer2 are supported. Directory Opus will be supported next week (GPSoftware is kind enough to release a new version to support Listary).

-Channing (March 16, 2013, 07:08 AM)

Channing, thanks very much for posting this.  I've ignored the info DOpus has been sending about new versions, since they're beta, and I tend not to mess with beta versions.  As a result, I had no idea that DOpus would soon support Listary.  As a very happy user of DOpus and Listary, I'm delighted to know about this.

242

Living Room / Re: Google Reader gone

« on: March 14, 2013, 03:54 PM »

OMG!  I moved to Google Reader a while ago after BlogLines announced it was going belly up.  Then, after I'd switched, apparently BlogLines revived, but I liked Google Reader better.  Sigh.  The only thing I know is that I do not want any RSS reader or other software that depends on Google's support.  It's bad enough that I have Gmail.     

243

Living Room / Re: Linked In... too linked in?

« on: March 12, 2013, 11:41 AM »

Though I would NEVER let LinkedIn, Facebook, or any other social network have access to my email addressbook, some people I know apparently do give access to these organizations.  If your email address is in their email addressbook, especially if it's the same or very similar to the one you've used for your account in that organization, that fact may generate a "do you know this person" message to you from, say, LinkedIn.  It has certainly happened to me. 

244

Living Room / Re: "Half of our users block ads. Now what?"

« on: March 10, 2013, 01:45 PM »

Several people have mentioned their dislike of ads that flash, buzz, or are obnoxiousl distracting in other ways.  Do adblockers exist that do or can deal only with such ads?  I know that I started using an adblocker and flashblock to deal with ads (and, for that matter, non ads) that I found distracting.  I might  be happy to switch to one that targeted only those kinds of ads. 

245

General Software Discussion / Re: language learning software

« on: February 17, 2013, 11:57 AM »

Frankly, I've never found any reviews of language-learning programs really useful (in my case, I was interested only in programs for learning Spanish).  So much depends on what level of proficiency you're at, whether you're interested primarily in written or oral proficiency, how you like to learn (visually, orally, etc.), how much time you're able to devote, how much money you're willing to spend, etc. etc. etc.  The reviews I've seen don't deal adequately with these differences.  Renegade mentioned Rosetta Stone.  I imagine that some people find it useful, but I tried it for free via my public library and hated it.  I didn't like the visual style, and I found it insufficiently challenging.  Several other people have expressed similar dissatisfaction with it on a forum that I read.  But most comparative "reviews" of Spanish-learning programs recommend RS highly--perhaps the writers were given "incentives" by RS?  I don't know.  

I've tried a number of programs dedicated to teaching Spanish, and I've liked relatively few.  The one I like best is called Learning Spanish Like Crazy, which now has three levels.  But though it worked very well for me, I know other people who didn't care for it.  I've seen it mentioned in some comparative discussions, but I didn't find any of those discussions useful.  

Buena suerte, kalos.

246

Living Room / Re: Java - Critical Patch Released

« on: February 10, 2013, 05:54 PM »

Thanks very much, Krishean and 40hz.  I've decided that for now, I don't need JavaRa.   However, I'm glad to know about your script, Krishean. 

247

Living Room / Re: Java - Critical Patch Released

« on: February 10, 2013, 09:24 AM »

40hz, have you used JavaRa?  It sounds useful, but I'd like to know that it won't create problems (e.g., wrong removals from the Registry).  I'd feel more comfortable installing and using it if I knew that you and/or other DC folks had some good experiences with it.  Perhaps I should change my username from cyberdiva to Nervous Nelly   

248

General Software Discussion / Re: Agent Ransack 2010 freeware lightweight - Desktop Search

« on: February 09, 2013, 04:10 PM »

did you use the free version first cyberdiva?
just wondering do you remember what prompted you to get the pro version?

This seems like a biggie (just in pro version):

More precision with enhanced Boolean expressions
supporting NEAR, LIKE, wildcards and sub expressions

Comparision page:
http://www.mythicsof...type=filelocatorlite

And if you came across any weak points in your use of it (thanks!)

-tomos (February 09, 2013, 12:44 PM)

Yes, I did start with the free version.  I think the enhanced search capabilities of the Pro version appealed to me, though I think when I made the switch the differences between the two versions may have been more pronounced than they are now.   As for weaknesses, the only weakness I've noticed--and it applies to both the Pro and the Lite versions--is that both are at times substantially slower than search programs that index one's files.  But I never found an indexing search engine that I liked as much as I like FileLocatorPro (or Lite).  For me, the indexing programs had several drawbacks.  Often, they included only a limited number of file extensions.  Also, I wasn't delighted with having an indexing program always running.  Some allowed me to turn the indexing off and index only when I asked them to, but that resulted in there being files they knew nothing about.  Also, in at least one case, the index was humongous. 

I still have one indexing search program on my computer, an old copy of Yahoo Desktop Search, which indexes only when I tell it to.  However, I rarely use it.  I find my needs are well met by Everything and FileLocatorPro. 

249

General Software Discussion / Re: Agent Ransack 2010 freeware lightweight - Desktop Search

« on: February 08, 2013, 10:46 PM »

There's been some mention of Everything, but Everything is quite different from Ransack/FileLocator Lite/Pro.  I have both Everything and FileLocatorPro on my computer.  I love Everything and use it almost every day.  However, it can only search for file or folder names--it doesn't search their contents.  So if I just want to find where I put a particular file, or whether program X is on my computer, Everything is marvellous.  But if I don't remember the filename, or I'm not interested in the filename but rather in the content, FileLocatorPro is terrific.  It doesn't take up time and resources indexing, and its searches can be exquisitely fine-tuned.  Though it can take a long time, I'm at times pleasantly surprised at how fast it finds what I'm looking for.

250

General Software Discussion / Re: On data storage and applications going cloud (Surfulater, Mindjet et al.)

« on: February 08, 2013, 08:45 AM »

To give students a single machine license will just push students (the future generation of office workers!) not to bother with MS Office at all. There are increasingly fewer reasons why they should need MS Office anyway.

-dr_andus (February 08, 2013, 03:25 AM)

+1.  I was frankly astonished at what seems to me a very wrongheaded move on MS's part.  Then again, I decided years ago that I didn't need MS Office and moved to SoftMaker Office.  I've been very pleased.