Messages

126

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Listary Pro for $9.95 on 17 December

« on: December 18, 2011, 04:14 AM »

Thanks. Now bought.

127

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 18, 2011, 04:11 AM »

No, the previous, returned, machine had different hardware throughout (and a different supplier). The problem with that one was either dodgy sata sockets or the Crucial ssd.

I'm going to try to get the MIMO working again in a minute. If you hear someone screaming, it will probably be me.

128

Living Room / Re: Apple, I hate you (again) and the web design community too

« on: December 18, 2011, 04:02 AM »

Thanks for adding a bit an explanation for the insanity, Edvard.

We may as well just all embrace the chaos.

129

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 17, 2011, 11:27 AM »

I don't honestly believe it's the MIMO hardware itself. But what exactly I don't know and don't see how I can resolve.

DisplayLink drivers - maybe.

The OCZ ssd corrupting data perhaps (I've now learnt that this brand of ssd has problems that my machine is experiencing, i.e. the bluescreen and freezes).

Two internal graphics cards powering three monitors - this probably doesn't help the DisplayLink driver.

The whole system - just isn't stable maybe and I ought to reinstall everything.

I did make a change to the system last night so that is likely to be the reason why the MIMO doesn't work. I installed "ShareMouse" so that I could control a Mac Mini as if it were simply an extra monitor to my machine. This all worked perfectly last night - but I didn't reboot my PC whilst testing (I think).

I was going to try installing the DisplayLink driver (which I've now removed) but I don't know if it's worth all this trouble. I'll probably get it to work and then another week or month from now the MIMO will be playing up again.

I suppose I've got to try haven't I. Phuuuuuuuuuuuuurgh. Does this desire to fiddle about with computers never stop. If I wasn't trying to tweak everything all the time the whole lot would, probably, just work.

MIMO, here I come again...

130

Living Room / Re: Apple, I hate you (again) and the web design community too

« on: December 17, 2011, 08:21 AM »

I was typing on an iPad for my previous post so didn't really want to say much - other than something flippant.

The whole web is very retarded, definitely 100% spot-on there Renegade. Why we have to have all these engines rendering things in ever so pernickety ways I don't understand. Who gains from not following a standard, why can't each browser just do the job properly and conform to a single standard - who is it going to hurt? What possible harm will it do to make each browser render exactly the same - what imaginary war do the browser developers think they are fighting. Or is it simply down to incompetence being unable to develop an engine that actually matches standards and guidelines - or are the guidelines not precise enough to follow (I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they aren't).

So, yeah, I'll be testing out Safari. On the PC and on the Mac, and on the iPad and iPhone and on whatever else piece of sh*t device they bring out in a year or two.

Honestly, I understand why different web engines might render things differently from each other - but for Safari to work inconsistently across Apple devices (and PC), that's just beyond hateful. Well, for this Xcode crap to not even simulate what it is meant to simulate - I mean, WHAT. Are you kidding. Why. Who is developing Safari? Are they deliberately making each of their devices behave differently - are they all insane.

What makes me angry (as Renegade posted elsewhere) is that the typical advice from the "web community" would be to go out and buy a Mac, stick Xcode on it and then happily test everything - EXCEPT THAT THIS DOESN'T WORK.

I don't come into contact with any real smug Apple-heads. If I ever do, and they are web designers/developers, I think I will be forced to smash their Mac over their heads. I'm sure that would seem like a perfectly rational thing to do given the mental torture Apple is determined to put me through.

131

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 17, 2011, 07:27 AM »

This is just beyond pathetic now...

I've just started the machine up and the MIMO isn't working. This is after an entire week of it working perfectly.

You'll be glad to know I won't bother making any more posts about whether the MIMO works or not. My final word will simply be that...

The MIMO Touchscreens do not work DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON ONE.

132

Living Room / Re: Apple, I hate you (again) and the web design community too

« on: December 17, 2011, 02:48 AM »

I do agree that it's all a bit of a waste of time to test for Safari, I'd rather forget about it if I had the choice. I just seem to get clients passed onto me that expect their sites to work on their own iPad, which is reasonable; the annoying thing is that almost no one else on the planet will be viewing these websites on an iPad.

It would be nice if I could think of a good reason to use this Mac Mini now that I know it isn't going to be as useful as I had hoped. Any ideas to use it in a duel Mac and PC setup? I can't think of a good reason to use it over my PC.

133

Living Room / Apple, I hate you (again) and the web design community too

« on: December 16, 2011, 01:50 PM »

Safari is the last browser I test web sites on. I don't use Macs, I'll only touch one if I really have to. So I've been trying several methods to avoid using a real bit of Apple hardware if I think I can get away with a simulator of some sort. But none of these simulators work 100% so I've finally accepted I need to use real Apple hardware.

So, I bought a cheap Mini Mac with Lion installed. This allowed me to download and install Apple's Xcode developer crap which comes with iPad and iPhone simulators. I thought it worth the cost as this was guaranteed to work perfectly - it's all Apple hardware and software and Xcode is designed for developing Apple apps. It has got to work.

But it doesn't. It is totally pathetic. The simulators are not 100% accurate. Which, to me, means they are a bad joke. I suppose I should expect this kind of thing from the messiahs of marketing manipulation.

What I don't like is that I've been searching for hours for people discussing this problem and I can only find two posts throughout Google - both of the them by the same person. It appears that the whole web design community is oblivious to how bad things are, well, all except the other guy and me.

I'm now going to be forced to use a real hardware iPad and a real hardware Mac and a real hardware iPhone (which I'll have to buy) just so I can test for the occasional "bug" in Safari's rendering of web pages.

Thanks Apple. Thanks for being absolutely, totally, rubbish. (I'll forgive the web design/development community as they are mostly Apple fan-boys anyway, i.e. already completely deluded.)

134

Living Room / Re: Ground Hog Day - failed system image restoring yet again

« on: December 14, 2011, 03:07 AM »

^

re testing an image - do you (people) mean to do a test restore to the actual windows partition that was backed up?

-tomos (December 14, 2011, 02:01 AM)

Yes. You need to know that your backup/restore routine is going to work 100%. Otherwise it isn't a backup method at all.

The only real way of knowing if it works is to go through the whole restore process. So, it would make a lot of sense to do that at the earliest point possible; no point installing software and setting your computer up and THEN making a backup - if the backup process doesn't even work.

Now, if you know your backup/restore process works AND then find one day that it doesn't, it's all a bit too late. In which case it would have been a good idea to have a secondary backup/restore process to fall back on. Maybe that scenario hardly ever happens - I honestly can't remember if I tested my system at the beginning or not.

135

Living Room / Re: Ground Hog Day - failed system image restoring yet again

« on: December 13, 2011, 04:59 PM »

Okay, having read about even more people with OCZ vertex 3 ssd problems it now seems very, very likely that this is the problem with my machine. And it also sounds like OCZ haven't resolved the problem regardless of the firmware updates they released.

Looks like I can resolve this problem very quickly by hammering a 6" nail through the ssd.

136

Living Room / Re: Ground Hog Day - failed system image restoring yet again

« on: December 13, 2011, 04:42 PM »

It might help if you mentioned what code the BSOD contained.

-Stoic Joker (December 13, 2011, 04:36 PM)

I'll start paying more attention to what it is and write it down - but, as I've just posted before I saw your post above, the machine also likes to freeze so no bluescreen codes there.

One pattern (I think) to these problems is that they tend to happen in the afternoon - perhaps when the ssd is getting too hot???

137

Living Room / Re: Ground Hog Day - failed system image restoring yet again

« on: December 13, 2011, 04:38 PM »

Adding a bit more, for what it's worth...

...looking around the web, people are reporting that the OCZ ssd likes to bluescreen and freeze - which is exactly what this new machine does, and yep, I have a OCZ ssd. This is what I suspected but didn't want to believe (I had to return the previous "new" machine because the ssd in that one died after 5 days).

If I do anything with all this testing rigmarole, I'll first just rip out the ssd and stick a proper drive in its place. In fact, I think I'll just order a small drive tomorrow and try putting the windows backup onto it.

138

Living Room / Re: Ground Hog Day - failed system image restoring yet again

« on: December 13, 2011, 03:40 PM »

This does not necessarily meet the criteria for incompetence. Incompetence is knowing how to do a job, but failing to do it anyway.
This case looks more like either ignorance or a lack of adequate training (or both) is what got you here.

If that is the case, then it is a management failure (and grossly unfair) to put someone into a a job - a position of responsibility for something - without ensuring that they are adequately equipped to properly execute that job/responsibility to the best of their ability. - paraphrased from W.Edwards Deming.

If you had known better, but still took the risk anyway, then that would probably be a different matter.

Good luck with the recovery.

-IainB (December 13, 2011, 03:20 PM)

Oh, I do know better. I've been using system backups since Ghost was made available to me (before Norton picked it up) when it took away the pain of reinstalling Windows off of floppy disks. So, I've simply become lazy and happy to pretend that I don't have time to test backups - because they've GOT to work, they can't fail, I haven't time for them to fail, that's just not an option.

So, like I say, I'm incompetent. I ought to hand in my resignation and start basket weaving for a job or something. But I'm self-employed so I'm stuck with my own IT Dept. run by a total arrogant sod who believes testing is for losers.

edit:
Just thought I'd better add. Now I'm not even sure if did or did not test the first backup I made for this new system. I'm beginning to think I did test it as I've had issues with Paragon before. So, if I DID test it, that means I can't even trust it when it works. Which then implies that one method of backup isn't enough. Looks like I've just got to start taking matters seriously if I want things to remain reliable. It's all a bit of a game at the moment; gambling on whether the computer will work or not. And I can't afford that - so I'm being more stupid than I first thought.

139

Living Room / Re: Ground Hog Day - failed system image restoring yet again

« on: December 13, 2011, 03:14 PM »

I admire your determination to keep telling me to check the machine out. I think I will, but not until February at the earliest.

I used to find it all a challenge and I would be determined to resolve the problem, even if it took a few days. Now, I just find it very tiresome and annoying and would rather just pay for a computer that worked - but that's exactly what I've meant to have done with this new machine, I paid with the (unrealistic) assumption that it would work.

It's even more annoying as I know I could plug my six year old machine back in and everything would just work - slower, I admit, but I wonder if that really matters now. What's the point of speed if it's not stable.

Anyway, I could moan about it all day and think of plenty of reasons why someone should just wave a magic wand for me and make everything work. I'll just have to prepare for the inevitable week(s) of reinstalling and testing.

140

Living Room / Ground Hog Day - failed system image restoring yet again

« on: December 13, 2011, 02:13 PM »

Not really sure how many times this has happened, maybe it's just the once and I'm reliving it Ground Hog Day style, over and over - until I get it right.

Here's the scenario:

1) New, one month, old machine.

2) Bluescreens a few times a week - only pattern I can see is that Gmail or Google Reader are open in Firefox 8 sometimes.

3) Made several system backups during the month using Paragon 2011.

4) Not tested any of the backups - didn't think I needed to, it's a NEW system, why would it not work?

5) Today, restarted after bluescreen and firefox has lost all the settings I've carefully done. Putting the setttings back will take longer than I want... so, I decide it's time to use the most recent system backup and quickly get everything working again.

6) Paragon completely fails and decides to destroy the drives boot manager files instead.

7) I waste an hour trying to get Paragon to work, then have a brainwave and realise that the Windows boot disk will fix the boot manager problem - assuming Paragon has been so pathetic it hasn't even removed my system files.

8 ) Windows does fix the boot manager and the machine boots into the last known good system. Phew.

9) I type this post whilst waiting for Windows built-in backup to make a system image...




So, here we are again. Another thread about why you should check your backup/recovery process. I feel like I've been very lucky as Paragon could have really mucked things up for me. Now, I've got to assume that Windows backup will work when I need it to - the problem being that I can't afford to test it right now; if it fails then I've got a week's worth of installing and setting up to do.

It seems that a golden rule ought to be that backup/recovery should be tested at the earliest point possible, i.e. immediately after installing windows. If the process fails, then you've only wasted an hour (or less) rather than an entire week, or month, of reinstalling everything and configuring to your usual requirements.

Does this mean Ground Hog Backup Day is finally over for me? I really hope so. I'm sick of my own incompetence with all this - it's almost like a compulsion to fail. It's just sick. If I ever write a post like this again, I want Carol Haynes to come here and confiscate all my computer equipment (Carol, I'll gladly pay you for the trouble).

141

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 12, 2011, 07:05 AM »

I wonder if there are any other differences with the "touch 2"?

-nudone (December 11, 2011, 08:34 PM)

Well, one trifling way in which it differs from yours is that it works  

-cranioscopical (December 11, 2011, 11:23 PM)

Ah, but my MIMO now works perfectly, better than expected. I may even buy another just so I can have two perfectly working MIMOs.

And, as 4wd has pointed out, it sounds like you MIMO will soon not be working or, at least, your USB ports will be smoldering along with your burnt out motherboard.  

142

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 11, 2011, 08:34 PM »

I see. Well, definitely only a single standard type cable on this MIMO. I wonder if there are any other differences with the "touch 2"?

143

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 10, 2011, 12:50 PM »

The MYMO had two USB cables IIRC. So I was a bit surprised that the MIMO only had one. I think Chris has the 10 inch screen?..

144

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 10, 2011, 09:26 AM »

You can run several instances of WinButtons (by giving it a -f filename command-line parameter for a specific file, and -t xxx -l yyy for a specific desktop position) that are positioned side by side so you have quicker response when switching apps in a context-sensitive config (less buttons to redraw), and because of less screen updates, there's less distraction for the user.

-Ath (December 10, 2011, 09:19 AM)

Right, didn't know that. That sounds like a better way of switching layouts. I shall attempt that when I do the new layouts.

145

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 10, 2011, 09:04 AM »

Okay, okay... OKAY!!! Whilst watching my computer boot-up over the next few days I shall also be punching myself in the face several times. This should be enough to prepare me for when everything goes wrong again.

Currently the MIMO is working. Yes. Yes, it is. I don't believe it's an hallucination (I do accept I might be so delirious I'm imagining everything - including typing this post).

So, why is it working?

1) I've updated the motherboard bios.

2) I've updated the DisplayLink driver (I say updated, but it is the same as one I installed before).

3) I've removed auto log on with my account. So the system pauses (at the logon screen) with only one monitor active until I log on.

I'm assuming the bios update has helped the most - but it could simply be the log on pause. Whatever, I don't wish to experiment to find out what it is - as it might all stop working again.

It's working better than ever. No flashing screens or USB failed connections. Oh, I've just remembered something that might be important:

4) The MIMO is connected to a USB port on one of the DELL 20" monitors (I assume this is a powered USB port). This is the port that was working before I started complaining at the beginning of this week. Also, the MIMO does NOT work when connected directly to the motherboard USB ports; this arrangement rolls into a cycle of USB dis/connect attempts.

Now, if i can get past the next week without any bluescreens I shall be absolutely euphoric.



I will also create some new WinButtons layouts. I first thought that 30 to 40 buttons would the right amount (or even more) but I now think it's way too many. Keeping layouts to around 20 buttons or less will, hopefully, be easier to remember.

Or, perhaps, it simply requires more training when using the larger button arrangements.

146

Living Room / nice personal message just received from a new friend

« on: December 09, 2011, 12:08 PM »

f_77 was so kind to send me this personal message via the forum:

Dear Friend,

Do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your personal ethics although, I wish to use this medium to get in touch with you because of its fastest means.

I am Barrister.Jafiq Bello, The Solicitor and Executor of my late client,who died of kidney cancer with un-identified family or relative. I am contacting you to stand in as a next of kin to his deposit of 12.500,000.00(Twelve Million Five Hundred  Thousand Dollars ) with one of the leading banks here in West Africa.

On confidence of patent recovering, I will give you more information, hence you will corporate with my due understanding and knowledge of bringing this claim to a best conclusion,i want you to understand that i am contacting you for your family inheritance,I will like you to contact me with my private email address([email protected]) so that i will give you more information regarding your family inheritace.

Regards
Jafiq Bello

147

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 08, 2011, 06:14 PM »

Something I have noticed is that the MIMO properties state it is controlled by my secondary graphics card. This seems a bit odd to me as I'd expect it to state something like "displaylink" instead.

If these touchscreens really are controlled by the system gfx cards then that seems like an inherent flaw. My main gfx card is maxed out controlling a 30" monitor and the secondary card is running two 20" screens. Which, to me, indicates the MIMO hasn't the resources available to it.

But then, I've no idea how this displaylink stuff works.

148

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 08, 2011, 06:03 PM »

The new pc is from a different supplier, who tested the machine with a 24 hour over clock burn in before sending it; which makes me think I won't find any problems with it like bad ram.

The old AMD 4800 based machine never bluescreened but had the same issue with the MIMO. If things did get bad I'd go back to using that machine.

I think the MIMO has trouble because I've got two graphics cards. I'll test that theory out by removing one of the cards. But even if that is the problem, there is little I can do to rectify it. I'm definitely not going down the path of buying new graphics cards.

149

Living Room / Re: What were these architects thinking?

« on: December 08, 2011, 05:26 PM »

I guess the angle used in the photograph doesn't help matters, it looks 9/11 related to me. I certainly wouldn't want to gaze up at such a site and be reminded of the twin towers every time.

150

Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« on: December 08, 2011, 05:17 PM »

I must have explained things badly. I can reboot fine, it just doesn't make any difference to the MIMO. I can never really predict what will be required to make the screen work.

To compound the problem, my new computer isn't perfect. It will bluescreen a few times a week. I thought leaving gmail or google reader open were the cause but that pattern was broken yesterday.

And so, I am really close to just thinking f*ck all this computer sh*t. If the problems get any worse I'm just going to call it quits and find another line of work. I haven't the will to send this new machine back, it took over a month to arrive, and I'm determined to run it after having to return the previous machine.

Anyway, I'll try again with the MIMO at the weekend, probably. But, honestly, I'd be happier if the pc would just stop bluescreening.