Topics

26

Mini-Reviews by Members / Mini-Review of GTAIV for PC [Ranting]

« on: February 12, 2009, 06:29 PM »

Alright, I'm going to go ahead and say that I might go nuts here and go from SFW to NSFW, so just a heads up.
Also, this is more or less a slanted review, aka <RANT>, but I do *try* to mention some positive things. It's hard.

Basic Info:

App Name	Grand Theft Auto IV
App URL	http://www.grandtheftauto.com/
App Version Reviewed	Latest, don't know the version number
Test System Specs	3.73Ghz Celeron D (overclocked), 775MHz/460MHz ATi Radeon HD2600 Pro PCIe 16x 256MB GDDR2 (overclocked), 2GB DDR2 RAM (overclocked), Creative Labs X-Fi Fatal1ty XtremeGamer Professional (64MB X-RAM)
Supported OSes	XP SP2+/Vista (SP1 as well)
Support Methods	Rockstar's website
Upgrade Policy	Free updates for bug fixes
Trial Version Available?	None
Pricing Scheme	$50 for PC version - cheaper if you know where to look (Amazon, eBay, etc)
Reviewer Donation Link	https://www.donation...oder.com/donate/1702
Screencast Video URL	None (I would post one, but 1/4 FPS wouldn't be very effective)
Relationship btwn. Reviewer and Product	None. I've loved the GTA series since I got into it at age 7, but nothing else.

Intro:

GTAIV is a sandbox/action/roleplaying game where you take on the role of Niko Bellic. You come to Liberty City, America on a promise from your relative and a string of lies ensues. He lets you live at his apartment, and the game drops you into its massive world. Usual GTA storyline start since GTA3.


Who is this app designed for:

Gamers that like free roaming, cop chases, shooting stuff, explosions, action, and GTA itself. Definitely going to be preferred by console gamers.


The Good:

• Great idea
• Cool new way of preventing players from exploring too much early on
• Good storyline at beginning
• Nice collection of cars
• Highly detailed objects
• Cop AI is insane

The needs improvement section (explanations from chats with Xfire friends available below some complaints):

NOTE: In the chats, I am "BabyTiger"

• Cop AI is insane
• Slow controls!
• Exploration can lead to police chasing you

Spoiler

[16:42] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: took me 30 minutes and way too much bad language to get back to my safehouse to NOT lose them
[16:42] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: no
[16:42] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: just exploring

• The driving physics, in a nutshell, suck - I take a turn at approximately 30MPH and I take it at least 150 ft BEFORE the turn, and still slam into the stuff on the other side. And this is on a 4 lane road! (Vehicle types tested: SUV, Bike, Sports car, Station wagon - the Landstalker, my favorite car, suffers *BADLY* from this)

Spoiler

[16:43] Friend: maybe you accidentally ran over someone's grandma
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: idk but the freaking cops are pissing me off
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: LOL
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: i was in a station wagon
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: the car would die first
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: and it did

• You can not lose the cops - seriously. What did they do to the police here? I got away 3 times and all 3 times the map flooded with red and blue again. Even my safehouse wasn't safe. Isn't that the point of a safehouse? To, you know, be safe?
• Alright, now this is sad - I'm a hardcore lover of GTA. But, this next point, is just depressing and embarassing to rockstar:

Spoiler

[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: the only fun part
[16:43] Friend: it was a midget cop's midget grandma
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: was when i was on the final road to get to the safehouse
[16:43] Friend: it was just a tiny little bumpy
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: 4000 degrees kelvin came on on my PSP
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: so it was kind of cool
[16:43] Friend: ?
[16:43] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: the song from portal
[16:44] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: 4000 Degrees Kelven

• ^ The best part about the whole game so far, is that when I was running from the cops yelling words that I desperately hope my parents didn't hear (*cough*), the song "4000 Degrees Kelvin" from Portal started playing on my PSP. The best part of GTAIV is when a part of a DIFFERENT game came into play!
• Now, I cannot stress enough the lag. Oh god. It makes me want to cry so badly. I was SO excited when I hit 21 FPS for that .2 seconds. It was all downhill from there...

Spoiler

[16:44] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: overclocked my GPU, CPU, no startup processes except Xfire, and everything else that I can do, and I get max like 9 FPS
...
[16:46] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: its alright when your on the edge of the city getting an amazing 13 FPS until the cops chase you, I guess
...
[16:51] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: its on lowest now, CPU is overclocked, GPU overclocked, newest drivers, ATI Catalyst is at Max Performance, and Ive applied a user-made patch to speed it up EVEN with V-Sync off via a command line switch
...
[16:51] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: 3.7GHz CPU and 775MHz GPU plus 2GB of DDR2 RAM (best I can get for mobo)
[16:51] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: handles Crysis just fine
[16:52] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: this is no Crysis
[16:52] [ToW]黃金網酪 BabyTiger: its a crisis though

Why I think you should use this product:

If you have some type of super computer or a love addiction for GTA (and it's hard to find one stronger than mine - I used to be able to mod GTA3/VC/SA down to the core files and back), its an alright buy. If you don't but you want to try it, RENT it for a console. It's the only way you'll get a decent framerate and (maybe) have some fun. GTAIV is a good game on the outside, but my experiences are nothing but negative.


How does it compare to similar apps:

If you want to grab a GTA game, get GTA3, VC or SA (GTA3/VC are the better of that set, IMO). GTA4 just doesn't run on the PC. I didn't think I'd see a game that would lag worse than Crysis (11-24FPS) but I've found it. Disappointed is the only word I can use to express how I feel.


Conclusions:

I don't think that, for the PC, it is worth the investment. Not only do you have to have a Games for Windows LIVE account, a Rockstar Games Social Club Account, the game itself, and a computer that had to cost as much as your house payment, but all I've heard from people that have all of the above is that they can't even hit 30FPS - and I can concur with that statement now.


Links to other reviews of this application:

Too many to mention: http://www.google.co...rch?q=gtaiv%20review

Alright, that's my "rantview". Just my . I'm curious what mouser thinks of it.

EDIT: Added another con
EDIT: Clarified some stuff
EDIT (5/29/09): Fixed incorrect word usage

27

Finished Programs / DONE: Scan computer for foreign language files

« on: February 09, 2009, 07:36 PM »

OK, here is a task that I hope someone can take on:

I need a program, somewhat like how DelEmpty works, for finding non-EN-US (changeable, for others) language files (INI, XML, etc) and listing them for review and one-click deletion. Is it possible to do this? If so, would there be any risks or drawbacks (other than not being able to switch from US English (or <your_language_here>)?

Any takers?

28

DC Gamer Club / Explore Island - A *MASSIVE* Trackmania Track

« on: February 07, 2009, 02:58 PM »

Declassified Intel:
Codename: Explore Island
Location: Somewhere in the Pacific

I've been working on Explore Island for the last month or so... it has gone from a simple little Checkpoint Hunter track to a respectable size city. It has a ground level Residential sector, Commercial district, and Airport. There is an above ground road system running through the Commercial and Coastal areas. Underground, a Tunnel and Subway system can be found. However, something changes.

Because of unknown complications with the island construction team, building has slowed dramaticaly. News reports fly out left and right about suspicious happenings at the Island. Communications are few and far between, and the status of the workers is unknown. This does not stop aspiring racers from tearing up the vacant streets, though!

Leaked Intel:
http://wreckedcarzz....ads/CONFIDENTIAL.pdf

City planning log:
http://wreckedcarzz....20Planning%20Log.txt

News Transcript:
http://wreckedcarzz....ews%20transcript.txt

News Transcript 2:
http://wreckedcarzz....20transcript%202.txt

(Just a few) Screenshots:

Starting point/GPS:


Airport:


River:


Pedal To The Medal:


Bay Area:


Warning: Holes in road may be deadlier than they appear:


GO GO GO:


Commercial area:


Coastal area:


Get the full set of images here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?nzmzj0jdmzk

NOTE: This track requires Trackmania United Forever - NOT the free Trackmania Nations Forever! For those that are interested, here is the pricing scheme for TMUF.
(Disclaimer: I am not related to Nadeo in any way, shape or form.)

29

DC Member Programs and Projects / Nag@Me - very simple reminder application

« on: February 06, 2009, 05:15 PM »

I just whipped up this tiny program for my dad, and figured it might help someone else out as well. Nag@Me is a very simple reminder program - you run it, tell it how often you want it to nag you, and what you want it to say. Hit OK and its off. To close the app, single-click the tray icon and hit the Cancel button.

Requires .NET 3.0+, Windows 2k or above

Screenshots:

Setup GUI:


Nag notification:


Tray icon (single click to restore Setup GUI):


Program info:


Hope someone finds it useful!

EDIT: New version available here: https://www.donation...16923.0;attach=38128

EDIT: Direct link: http://wreckedcarzz.wikidot.com/local--files/downloads/Nag%40Me.exe

30

Developer's Corner / Random error, does not happen all the time (VB .NET)

« on: January 29, 2009, 12:03 AM »

Alright, if you haven't done the BASIC Programming School here (that would be the language, the School is not BASIC ), and you plan on it, this may be a bit of a spoiler (not a lot, but there is code in the SS).

Anyways, I'm working on the 2nd Basic assignment. Easy stuff, nothing complicated at all - I've done it before. I whipped up a small little prog that does it quite nicely, except for approximately 1/2 of the time, this error appears in VB - A NullReferenceException has occurred. Alright... so I threw in a Try/Catch block to see if I could get the error to appear in a format that someone from planet Earth could read... and nothing. On Error Resume Next does the same thing. The error "details" make no sense at all.

I've stepped through the program using the debugging tools, and it won't trigger any debugging issues. What the heck, seriously?

Anyone got ideas?

31

Living Room / How to make an external HD SHUT UP?!?!

« on: January 25, 2009, 10:05 PM »

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

That's the sound my external HD is making. No, there is no damage to the drive - I love the thing, its in perfect condition (although a bit fragmented I assume). I recently moved my computer BACK from it's makeshift desk area (aka the tower of dead computers/cases with my PC on top) into my computer cabinet, once again, spewing hot air back at me (its winter, so it works). But I also have a new external HD that I use for backups - and the cable is about 18" long (1/2 meter?). Too short to stay in it's current position. So, logically, I moved it behind my monitor, inside of the cabinet. Out of sight, out of mind, into ear, teen-programmer-goes-axe-murderer.

I don't know WHY it's making such an annoying noise - my dad's WD "MyBook" 500GB drive doesn't, but this is a Maxtor 250GB One Touch III - and I don't really care why; but I *really* need suggestions on how to make this thing ST*U before I go nuts. I have used HD quieting cases before for internal drives, but I'm looking for something (preferably free, but anything at all is more than welcome) that will quiet this thing down (unplugging/bashing into wall excluded).

Thoughts? Anything?

Last second thought: It *just* (I mean literally as I went to hit "Post") turned itself off due to idling - is there a software that'll do that as SOON as read/write to the drive has "ended"? That might do it...

32

LaunchBar Commander / [Bug] LBC bad uninstall info

« on: January 24, 2009, 03:06 PM »

Found this while going through eliminating old apps - I've noticed this a few times, but never brought it up

LBC calls itself "MenuCommander" in the Add/Remove (or Programs and Features for us Vista users) menu. Not huge, but just thought I'd point it out.

33

General Software Discussion / The Worst Downloads of 2008 (CNET)

« on: January 21, 2009, 07:18 PM »

Download.com comes up with some very... whats the word... bizarrely interesting (that seems to fit) software from '08. Check it out here.

Summary:

• SKAT - Rat card playing game
• MB Free Psychic Color Test
• Alien Communicator
• Psychiatric Diagnosis Suite
• Automatic Print Email

In the little snippet about "Automatic Print Email", GreenPrint is mentioned - I use this program on ALL my computers, and absolutely love it (I'm not related to GreenPrint in any way other than an end user).

34

LaunchBar Commander / Visual "bug"/annoyance

« on: January 18, 2009, 03:12 PM »

Not much of a problem, but I'm always picky about the stuff I run on my computer and how it looks and all that... LBC's Control Panel drop down list doesn't show about 10 of the 25 icons. I *think* it worked fine on XP, but I've since moved up to Vista and brought LB with me. Just hoping that you could fix whatever is causing the "blank file" icons, mouser.

35

Living Room / WTF Moment: BSoD on a... printer???

« on: January 18, 2009, 02:16 AM »

Alright, this is a new one for me. In my entire life I have never had a printer do a fatal error such as this, and certainly not one being so reminiscent of the Windows BSoD. It was so weird I took a picture of it with my dad's (crappy) Treo 650 camera. You can barely make out the error message- it was something like STOP 0x86C4872 or something, along with some random diagnostic jargon a couple lines down. All the LEDs on the thing were blinking every 1/2 second, has to be one of the strangest things I've ever seen in tech.

As a side note: The printer has been acting up the last month or so, and will miss approx 1/2 of the page unless set on the "BEST" mode. We are looking for a new printer/copier/scanner/fax combo, with Wi-Fi, if anyone could recommend anything...

General image:


Up close:


EDIT: Also, the printer was AFK/Idle (no one was using the printer/PC for several hours) when this happened. My dad picked my sister and I up from our schools and when he went into his office once we got home, he exclaimed that his printer "went insane and is blinking with errors everywhere". That kind of made my day, too.

36

Mini-Reviews by Members / SharePod Mini-Review

« on: January 17, 2009, 01:47 AM »

Alright, my first review of anything here on DC, so please don't be too hard on me if I completely screw this up...

Basic Info:

App Name	SharePod
App URL	SharePod Website
App Version Reviewed	SharePod 3.8.7 (25 September 2008)
Test System Specs	CPU: 3.6GHz Intel Celeron D (Single Core) RAM: 2048MB DDR2 OS: Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 iPod: Nano 5th gen (newest) 8GB USB interface (2.0 and 1.1)
Supported OSes	Win 2k and up I *think* (.NET 2.0+ required)
Support Methods	Forum
Upgrade Policy	Main program free, developer options appear to be lifetime (not sure)
Trial Version Available?	Freeware, developer source code available but no trial
Pricing Scheme	Free, source code and commercial license available
Author Donation Link	Donate to the creator of SharePod
Reviewer Donation Link	Link to your profile, in the format similar to this Donate to wreckedcarzz, the Author
Screencast Video URL	Somewhat basic video on how to set up SP, however the video author (not me) uses iTunes alongside SP - modify to your own situation (I merely skimmed the video)
Relationship btwn. Reviewer and Product	None - just a satisfied (and occasionally annoyed) user

Intro:

SharePod is an application to allow you to circumvent the use of iCrap (iTunes, for those of you still attached to the demon that have yet to realize it). I utilized this, along with the temporary assistance of SongBird, to prepare my iPod and skip iTunes altogether.


Main GUI:


Media GUI:


Copy completed GUI (same GUI when copy is in progress, just shows animated image instead of "Copy finished" text:



Who is this app designed for:

Anyone with an iPod/iTouch/iPhone that wants to ditch what could possibly be one of the worlds most annoying applications. Simple, smart, straightforward.


The Good:

• Simple GUI
• No frills options
• Easy to check for updates
• Well designed website
• Fast import and export
• Exports XML files to help those still using iTunes alongside SharePod (not sure WHY, but hey, whatever floats your boat)
• Light on resources
• Built in media player (!) - play RIGHT from your iPod
• Organizes music and videos automatically, drag, drop, forget (pictures and other items untested as of this writing)
• Tag editor and album art changer
• Eject iPod right from the window, single click

The needs improvement section

• The splash screen is a bit annoying
• You can NOT edit a song/video/etc more than once per launch or you lose all your changes in a nice little crash
• The organization options (title, album, etc) don't seem to work together with multiple rules (ex: Artist and Title)

Why I think you should use this product

It is a fast, lightweight and great little alternative to iTunes. Free and well built, I see no reason why any other application should be chosen over this one for the task of iPod syncs. It does its job, does it well, and does it fast.


How does it compare to similar apps

I tried a bunch of different odd programs around Google, including SongBird (I speak highly of this media player) - SB could not sync with the iPod, BUT it did prepare it so I could sync it with SharePod. SP basically blew everything out of the water for me.


Conclusions

Definately recommend it - anyone can use and understand it, and it can save you in the case of catastrophic computer reformat. SharePod sits on your iPod (not required, but why not?) so you can pull your music back in seconds (or minutes). Worth taking a serious look at if you are like me and hate iTunes, or just want a simple way to sync and go.


Links to other reviews of this application

None that I know of.

Extras

Below is my personal Autorun.inf from my iPod - it will autostart SharePod.exe in the root folder of your iPod (directly in the iPod, NOT in any subfolder). Note that I got this as a new iPod, set it up with SongBird and then use SharePod to sync it, so you may have to follow those steps to get the full disk space and potential out of your iPod as well.

Spoiler

[Autorun]
ShellExecute=SharePod.exe
Action=Start SharePod
Icon=SharePod.exe
Label=Brandon Seal's iPod
UseAutoPlay=1

37

Developer's Corner / Funny things that happen during debugging

« on: January 05, 2009, 08:10 PM »

Alright, I have been making a Stoplight simulation program (don't ask why ) over the last few days, and during debugging I had some STRANGE things happen due to so many things to consider and variables to take into account and whatnot - this is one of the images I got...

"STOPLIGHTS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY"


So, just curious what other things have happened to people while debugging? What happens when you have a "little" too much liquor and you try making that database application? <-- Not that I have done this... not saying I haven't

EDIT: Just for reference, this is a standard USA 4 way stoplight (taking into account timing only for 2 of the 4 ways... it's not a perfect science)

38

General Software Discussion / The Monkeys Have Hit The Button

« on: January 04, 2009, 10:55 PM »

Go ahead and laugh. It's OK. At least I know I'm not the only one laughing. Right?

Anyways, it would appear that the monkeys have hit the button - and from what I can assume, the first public alpha of the Cairo Shell will be released in 10 days.

Cairo is an alternative shell (ex: Explorer.exe, ugh) for Windows XP/Vista/7 (compatibility has been verified for all 3) - from the screenshots, news and hype, it should be one awesome shell replacement.

The Monkeys Have Hit The Button

Disclaimer: I don't do any testing or anything for the Cairo team; I'm just REALLY excited to see that this may FINALLY become a program that I can use. In all seriousness, it looks/sounds just amazing.

Last second edit: I know, the image is huge. Don't blame me, I didn't want to download it, edit it, upload it and re-link it.

39

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: Relog

« on: January 04, 2009, 03:31 PM »

Alright, I don't know if this can even be done in any programming language at all for Windows, but I figured asking can't hurt.

I am in need of a program to log me out, then automatically log me back in to Windows (Vista, specifically, but need XP support too). I would assume that the password would need to be stored somewhere - I personally don't care about encryption or anything, plain text file storage is fine for me.

Other things that would be nice...

• Hooking into Vista's little fly out shutdown/restart/etc menu thingy... whatever you call it.
• Ability to relog as a different user (or automatically do Fast User Switching and not a full Log Out, Login to different account)
• Scheduler to do this automatically

I'm hoping someone can pull this off... I "relog" a lot just to make sure changes to Windows and stuff are applied, and keep anything bad from going crazy with my RAM (*cough* Firefox *cough*). It would be really nice to not have to wait a few seconds for the Welcome Screen, enter my password and wait again. Just Relog and wait a few seconds.

-Brandon

40

Living Room / Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?

« on: January 01, 2009, 12:34 AM »

Alright, I got a bunch of issues and I believe that they may all be interconnected. I'm hoping that someone here can help me out

In order to simplify this, I'm just going to break it down problem by problem...

Problem 1: File downloads take 3-15 seconds to "unfreeze" the browser (FF particularly)
FF will halt for a matter of several seconds when I hit Save File. No idea why. IE kinda of lags a bit too.
Possible relation: Problem 2 (because it saves to the Desktop)
Steps taken to fix: Reinstalled FF, safe mode FF, no addons/themes

Problem 2: The Desktop folder takes a LONG time to load, Right Clicking in the Desktop (folder or the actual Desktop) takes 3-30 seconds to open the context menu, Desktop does not auto organize (even though it is on), refreshing takes anywhere from 5-30 seconds
Yea, tons of issues. No clue whats causing em
Possible relation: Problem 1 (causing problem 1)
Steps taken to fix: Cleaning, defragging, registry cleaning, registry compation, IOBit Advanced WindowsCare, everything Windows has as far as diagnostics

Problem 3: Task Scheduler is broken... completely
The Task Scheduler WILL NOT WORK! The service is running and Automatic, but I can't schedule tasks!!!
Possible relation: Problem 4 (causing problem 4)
Steps taken to fix: Cleaning, defragging, registry cleaning, registry compation, IOBit Advanced WindowsCare, everything Windows has as far as diagnostics

Problem 4: Windows Backup will not work
It won't let me schedule the backup (see Problem 3)
Possible relation: Problem 3
Steps taken to fix: Cleaning, defragging, registry cleaning, registry compation, IOBit Advanced WindowsCare, everything Windows has as far as diagnostics

I also had previous issues with Start Search not working, along with some other problems (since resolved). These are driving me NUTS and I simply cannot find solutions ANYWHERE. Spyware/virus scans come up clean, but this computer WAS infected a month or so ago. Also tried to repair Vista via the DVD's "Startup Repair" - no dice.

I can't really figure out what is going on, and I need help before I go nuts!!!

Help? Anyone? Please?

-Brandon

EDIT: As far as problems 3/4, I have the EXACT problem as this person: http://forum.soft32....n-ftopict170481.html

41

Living Room / Last second home-made gift ideas: HELP!!!

« on: December 21, 2008, 04:58 PM »

Ahh! I've done it again (this makes 4 years in a row, now) - I don't have ANY money for Christmas presents (paying back loans) and I need some suggestions for home made gifts. Last year I made a picture DVD, the year before I made cards and gave out what little money I had... I'm not creative. Anyone got ideas?

Anything simple will do, me and my sister need to make something up for 5 people each (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and me/her respectively)... I just need ideas. My dad uses his computer a lot so I thought maybe programming him something, but the rest of the family isn't "techy" enough to use anything I might make for a computer.

Any ideas? I can't be the only one out there that is going "oh ****" and panicking... right? Right? RIGHT?!?!?!?!

EDIT: A friend of mine on Xfire brought up food - that's out, I've been sick for almost two weeks now.

42

Living Room / Wreckedcarzz Sings "Still Alive" from Portal

« on: December 19, 2008, 08:28 PM »

Scancode was NOT involved this time! 100% voluntary (be that good or bad... your opinion).

I decided that, after watching "Idiots of Garrys Mod", "Idiots of Garrys Mod 2", and "Portal Credits Song - 'Still Alive'", I decided to make this sing-along of Still Alive. It didn't come out that bad (3 finished recordings, 3rd was chosen)!

Best listened to in a lower volume (Windows Sound Recorder isn't your prime upper-range volume recorder), but not half bad. I'm happy with the outcome.

For those curious why I made it: I smile every time I hear the lines "Now these points of data make a beautiful line. And we're out of beta. We're releasing on time." - Dunno why. Just makes me smile so big (ex: )

Hope you ... enjoy.

EDIT: The resulting MP3 is even worse than Audacity had within the editing interface. It's ... mediocre now.
EDIT: Uploaded my singing by itself. Listener discretion is advised.

43

DC Gamer Club / The 2008 gaming year is not over yet!

« on: December 19, 2008, 02:33 PM »

I have just finished coding 2 programs (7 hour job, its 1PM (13:00) here now) that will make TrackMania fans jump in happiness

DownloadForever and UploadForever are two relatively small programs that do just what they say - download and upload (tracks!).

The process behind them both is relatively simple - the Uploader takes your input (track file, name, type, difficulty, DC name) and makes a temporary text file of data - it then uploads the data and appends it to a list on the Mazecraze.dcisv.com server, and then uploads your track.

The Downloader grabs the text file list from the server and gives you all the info on each map. As of right now, the maps are NOT sorted (ABC order just because that's how I uploaded them).

I am only making the downloader available right now because I need to fix an issue with the uploader, but go ahead and enjoy, uploader will be ready soon!

44

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / NANY 2009 Release: MiniBrowseIE

« on: December 11, 2008, 04:11 PM »

NANY 2009 Entry Information

Application Name	MiniBrowseIE (pronounced (in US English) "Mini-browsey")
Version	0.2
Short Description	A small and light web browser with advanced capabilities
Supported OSes	Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008
Web Page	None yet
Download Link	ZIP file
System Requirements	A Windows XP SP2 (or newer) based computer .NET 3.0 or greater IE7 required for Personal Data cleaning
Version History	v0.1 - Working model with basic functionality v0.2 - Working model with all features except General Options and Keyboard Shortcuts (RSS is in the works, it is much more complicated than planned)
Author	Wreckedcarzz

Description
A basic internet browser utilizing the Internet Explorer rendering engine. I have been attempting to create a fully functional browser that is "so good, I will use it personally", however I have yet to achieve that goal- this app aims to change that (for the 3rd time encounting, again from the ground up).

Previous builds were:

• Fully functional (basic tabbed browser) yet buggy "BasicBrowser" - using the IE engine. It was alright, but I only used it on rare occasion, and it didn't "feel" like a good quality program.
  
• Semi-functional (basic tabbed browser), slightly less buggy "MiniBrowse" - using the Gecko engine. Still in development, although I am giving up hope rapidly for it.

Features
It *should* (due to time constraints) include (by the NANY deadline):

• History (complete)
• LinkView (complete)
• Favorites (complete)
• Website security notification (complete)
• RSS (in-progress, will be released in an update)
• Printing (w/ previews)
• Privacy options (complete)
• General options (will be released in an update)
• Keyboard shortcuts (will be released in an update)

Planned Features (in addition to above)

• Parental controls
• Password saving
• Better tab control (close button directly on tab, etc)
• Switch back over to the Gecko engine (eventually)

Screenshots
Main interface:


Clear Personal Data:


History and favorites center/sidebar:


LinkView:


Security notifications (site encryption, Web Security Guard link):


Usage
Installation
Go to the Download Link above and Open/Save (whatever you like) the ZIP file. Extract the files contents to a folder of your choice. Make sure all 4 files are in the same folder, or errors may occur (if the history.his or favorites.fav are deleted, MiniBrowseIE will error BUT re-create them after the error message).

Using the Application
There is no "setup" time (after installation, that is ).

Note: The current version does not require installation and can be run from virtually any media (its under 500k in size!)

Uninstallation
Delete the MiniBrowseIE folder and contents (wherever you extracted it to)

Known Issues
None at this time, however be warned that this program is unstable at this point (as of this post) - I am using it currently, however I am still debugging it "constantly" (every few minutes). I won't release a beta until it is at least stable for normal usage (meaning that I can't find any bugs during a couple days use).

EDIT: Spelling, grammar, bad BBCode
EDIT: Updated items on list
EDIT: Screenshots moved and labeled, added download
EDIT: Updated information, official first release

Update: RSS should be done by the deadline, printing will be worked on afterwards (I will setup automatic updating ) - I had to backtrack due to lost data (!) but I have recovered and made a few tweaks and improvements, more info soon!

Update: RSS is implemented but not fully working, I will have it fixed in an update. Automatic updating is a go!

45

General Software Discussion / Gmail: Looking for a desktop version

« on: December 01, 2008, 08:38 PM »

Hi everybody,

A couple of days ago we got some mail saying that our TV/phone/ISP is changing our internet and TV service - we will get 7MBPS instead of 3, but they are changing the email addresses from @qwest.net to @q.com - apparently some Microsoft hosted thing. My dad and I are annoyed at the forced change, however I have chosen to use my Google account and long-dormant Gmail email to be my new main address.

Problem is, I am used to the old POP3 system - open up your email app of choice, wait for incoming messages, wait for outgoing messages, read 4 messages, delete 67 spam messages, and be done. I have used the account gradually over the last 2 days (home sick) and I like how it works and how it looks, but I *really* need a desktop application version of it. Does Google offer anything like that yet, or will I have to make a small program to do it for me?

Also, I have heard that Gmail is supposed to be really powerful and all - I've messed with the options, it used to forward the occasional email to my main address, but I'm curious what it can do. I'm not a fan of Google's software, but I'm willing to try

46

Living Room / When a home server goes to the dark side: A hands on experience

« on: November 20, 2008, 04:51 PM »

NOTE: Watch for overuse of bold-ed words

When a home server goes to the dark side: A hands on experience - brought to you by your local forum idiot, wreckedcarzz!

I'm sure everyone here at DC has had the overjoying ... feeling (if you want to call it that) of knowing that your system has been hosed by a <insert malicious software type here>. But I figured I would give my experience here, just because it is a little on the oddball side.

I have a total of 6 (working) computers in my house, 5 connected to the internet. Of those 5, 3 are now equipped with security measures. As of 24 hours ago, 1 of them was equipped with similar measures. During those 24 hours, I experienced something that was both aggravating and frightening: my homebrew "home server", was the target of a seemingly random (and lucky) IP hit-and-run virus infection. Now that wouldn't be an issue if the target had been this PC (my gaming machine), that I recently got advice for on securing, because it is quite solidified now. The problem would lie elsewhere, due to my own fault and/or laziness.

Yesterday, November 19th, 2008:

I came home with a friend and was ready to play some COD4 on the LAN. No problem. We both booted the machines (he plays on the Gateway "server"), and loaded the map. But the Gateway timed out. This repeated for some time as I tweaked the console to enable longer timeouts, but the FPS was staggeringly low and map load times were at least 10x longer than normal. He asked to switch PCs so I could fix it, and I found that BOINC and LogMeIn had errors when I tried to start them. I ran the usual maintenance scheme (Cleaning, registry cleaning, reboot, prep for defrag) - but I didn't get to the defragment. When the computer rebooted, a command prompt window opened, touting the name "dl.exe". However a quick C+A+D reveals that the actual filename is (I'm guessing here, it has since been deleted) "nvbdl.exe". Hmm... but that file appears to be (according to its properties) a "Microsoft Windows Operating System" file. OK, it must be legitimate. I rebooted again and it reappeared, so I opened up the D:\ drive and launched the Spyware Terminator installer. Once again I get an error that it cannot start. This happens with ANY EXE in the folder, so I try something else. It launches fine. I managed to get Windows Defender to scan over the network, but it came up clean. Well... maybe... lets do a Windows XP Repair!

About 3 hours later, everything is the same, just Windows seems... better. As my friend leaves, I move the hard drive to my gaming computer and run a scan with Windows Defender (this time it is a local disk). Again, clean. I gave up for the night and concluded that "I did have a virus, and the only thing that hadn't gone wrong today was that my room hasn't caught fire [yet]".*

Today, November 20th, 2008:

I come home from school on early release and get to work on the Gateway. I put the hard drive back in the original machine and manage to get Firefox to load the Spyware Terminator download. 2 hours later, at over 1500 entries, ST has completed its scan and has quarantined the EXEs - if I had to guess, I would say at least 80% of them on the machine. It is a miracle that Windows' core files didn't take a beating. Maybe the Repair helped after all.

I'm currently running another "Full Spyware & Virus Scan", with nothing coming up, but the battle hasn't ended nearly that easily.

Following a recommendation I found here at DC, I downloaded and now use a great piece of software called GoodSync. It does a fantastic job. If you already know where this is going, you haven't seen half of it.

As I install Spyware Terminator and System Protect (related programs, same publisher) onto all the systems, the laptop starts to "freak out". Windows (GUI, not the OS) start to lag. The control panel throws a fit and won't respond. The installation pushes on.

An hour later, the laptop is still scanning with 555 virus entries and counting. Now, if you don't understand how the laptop was infected, it may help to know that:

• The laptop syncs with the Gateway
• The Gateway was still scanning and removing at laptop boot time
• The laptop syncs at logon
• The laptop only has Windows Defender and Windows Firewall

Therefore, while the Gateway was being rid of its viruses, the laptop was receiving them, but in a legitimate file sync.

The other computers' status are unknown, but appear clean.

The Gateway is still running its scan, and it is far from secure, but I guess that's the price of running a fileserver on an unsecured LAN (the computers, not the Wi-Fi) in the router's De-Militarized Zone (like I said, I'm lazy, and it hosts a LOT of games). Plus, Windows hadn't had it's non "Urgent" updates yet. It's like leaving the keys in front of the open door with a pot of gold in the living room. And I just got burglarized.


Moral of this story: Don't let this happen to you.


Now I'm off to go download and copy ALL those 40GB of files back onto the D:\ drive... oh boy, what a great week...

* On a side note, I had a REALLY crappy day

47

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: Recieve signals from remote control

« on: November 17, 2008, 09:47 PM »

After an hour of searching and trial/error, I can not figure out how to get AutoHotkey to recognize my Happauge Windows Media Center remote, so I am turning to the AHK gurus here to see if you all can help me out

I have no idea how IR works other than the fact that it is an invisible beam of light and all that... but I simply need to be able to press a button on my remote control and have it open my (one and only) DVD drive. I have skrommel's EjectCD and CloseCD, so it doesn't even need to do anything, just launch those two apps (but if that could be built in that would be just awesome). Not sure if it can be done, but that's why I'm asking

If possible, can it have:

• User-specified button(s)
• User-specified action(s)
• Multiple options (Red button does X, Green button does Q, etc)

Hope someone has the expertise to pull this off, and if nothing else, it should be a challenge

48

DC Gamer Club / Any fellow PSP users/modders here?

« on: November 10, 2008, 08:01 PM »

I have gotten my 2nd PSP (first was lost, long story) and am looking into modding again. I can do soft-mods and just basic things, but it would be nice to be able to dive into it and maybe even program for the thing (http://www.psp-programming.com/tutorials looks promising). I know we have a couple DS players and whatnot, but there have to be some gamers here at DC that have PSPs

Also, while not exactly on topic, looking into the same thing with iPods, but I have absolutely no experience with modding those...

49

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / My First Ubuntu Program (MFUP) by Wreckedcarzz

« on: October 21, 2008, 06:51 PM »

Background information:

As most of the forum regulars know, I program heavily in Visual Basic .NET for Windows - mostly for personal use, but I do publish a few applications here at DC ("SnapSuite", "MiniBrowse", etc). I have been looking for a way to program in Ubuntu for a while now, trying to avoid C/C#/C++, as well as Java at all costs. WINE won't run Visual Studio, and there is no .NET for Linux.

After several months of searching, I stumbled upon Gambas 2 while finalizing my Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex install. The website seemed to imply that it is geared to C# and GTK#, but I gave it a shot anyways - it seemed like a good program from what I was reading. I had issues with the initial setup on my desktop (my own fault), and ended up giving up for the night.

Today, I started a project on my laptop in Gambas, just messing around in class. This time I didn't check the option as I did previously (the one giving me the error), and was able to build a GUI without much trouble. I ended up coding the thing up in the principal's office (unrelated), and figured out how to make a .deb package for Ubuntu. I had some real fun making the About box as well

Information:
This program doesn't really DO anything, it is more like a show of "this can be done". Just sort of interesting to tinker with for a couple minutes - everything works as it should.

How to install:

Download, extract and locate the .deb file - it should be called "test_0.0.3-1_all.deb"

Launch the .deb file and you should get a prompt similar to this:

Click "Install Package" and wait for installation to complete:

When the installation finishes you should see something like this:

Now close that dialog and the "Install Package" button should now say "Reinstall Package":

Installation is complete! You can close the Package Installer now!

Program in action:

Navigate to your Applications -> Other menu, and find "MFUP by Wreckedcarzz" - click to launch it:

This is the main GUI, just a few controls - the scrollbar at the bottom is locked in place:

The About box, IMO, priceless :

How to uninstall:

Navigate to your Applications -> Accessories menu, and find the Terminal:

In the terminal, type "sudo apt-get remove test":

Hit Enter and wait for a Y/N prompt to appear in the Terminal:

Press Y, followed by Enter to complete uninstallation:

Uninstall complete!

If you like it (or if you don't), let me know - I do plan on making actual Ubuntu applications (ones with a purpose), but I figured that this little project was interesting enough to post here

-Brandon

50

Living Room / My computer is older than YOUR computer!

« on: October 13, 2008, 09:22 PM »

*Restrains emotion*

I have just acquired a Packard Bell Legend 406CD. It has an Intel Pentium CPU @ 75MHz (ITS THE FUTURE, MAN! ), 8MB RAM, a 850MB hard drive and runs Windows 95. It boots into Windows - kb works (although it has 2 keys broken, I don't care - its Windows 95!), mouse functions fully as well. Looks to be fully functional, no problems yet. I'm so happy!!!!

I might have the oldest functional computer here, now that I have this; and the neighbors were going to toss it in tomorrows trash pickup!

Here are some pictures:

Can you beat that? It has to be a functional computer that is older than that (so something running Windows 95 or earlier, as the machine DOESN'T STATE its manufacturing date anywhere ). I had an image that proved it was running Windows 95 (winver.exe), but freaking ImageShack kept timing out

BTW, if anyone has $20 to spare, I wouldn't mind some RAM for it for my birthday in 3 weeks...

-Brandon