Messages

26

Living Room / Re: No living room, ironically

« on: August 10, 2022, 03:53 PM »

-mouser (August 09, 2022, 04:32 PM)

Thanks Mouser.   

27

Living Room / Re: No living room, ironically

« on: August 10, 2022, 03:49 PM »

Good for you. Delighted to know that!

-cranioscopical (August 10, 2022, 10:24 AM)

Thank you.  It is such a relief to get started again.   

28

Living Room / No living room, ironically

« on: August 09, 2022, 04:04 PM »

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

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

29

General Software Discussion / Re: Need ur advice! Which language to learn.

« on: July 25, 2022, 01:34 PM »

Quick answer from a C++ coder.
Given your desire to focus on GUI stuff, I think C# would be a better choice than C++.

C++ is great for people who need to squeeze out maximum speed, but really wasn't designed for GUI stuff, and it shows.
C# has more modern elements and is much more friendly to GUI development.

-mouser (July 25, 2022, 11:11 AM)

I have to agree with Mouser.  I lost interest in VC++ when they started pushing "xamarin" UI stuff.  It is more like web design with tags than Windows programming.  C# is similar to Delphi Rapid Application Development.  The guys from Borland must have coded it for MS.  Even the forms are named "TForm1" when you create them.  Just like Delphi.  Plus you can find freeware controls written by programmers who will let you use them freely in many cases.  Definitely more fun than VC++.

30

General Software Discussion / Re: Can i install USB 3.0 on a Dual Core PC?

« on: June 21, 2022, 12:03 PM »

After inserting the Quantum Zero USB 3.0 in the PCI slot the Win xp wont boot to desktop.

-hulkbuster (June 15, 2022, 10:37 AM)

I suspect Shades is right.  One thing you might try if the card is current generation, the manufacturer might have a community forum.  If so it might be worth asking there if there are any updated drivers or settings/tricks that will allow it to work.  At least they may have a detailed list of required hardware for it.

Edit:  Also it may be worth running Speccy to get your hardware details.

31

General Software Discussion / Re: Can i install USB 3.0 on a Dual Core PC?

« on: June 16, 2022, 10:03 AM »

All I can find for specs is the Windows 7 forum hardware profile.  The USB 3.0 card and docking stations were SIIG.  Here's the specs from my profile if it helps any:


System Spec
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number:
HP Media Center
OS:
Windows 7 32 bit
CPU:
AMD 5200+ dual core
Memory:
2 GB
Graphics Card(s):
NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB
Monitor(s) Displays:
CRT
Screen Resolution:
1280x1024
Hard Drives:
500 GB Sata internal :

SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives
Keyboard:
PS/2
Mouse:
PS/2 Wheel Mouse
Other Info:
SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card (2 ports.)

32

General Software Discussion / Re: Can i install USB 3.0 on a Dual Core PC?

« on: June 15, 2022, 02:30 PM »

I added a USB 3.0 PCI express card to both an HP with AMD 5200+ dual core with only 2 GB ram, and an HP quad core AMD Phenom with 8 GB ram.  It was a dual port.  I forget the manufacturer but it was a German brand 5 Gbs card.  I had no problems.  Where it does not boot it sounds like there may be an IRQ conflict.  Some other device using the same  one.  Does it have jumpers to set an alternative IRQ?

I put these  cards in around 2010 or 2011 or so.  Plus I no longer have the PCs to look at.  I posted about them on this forum but the posts may have been discarded due to age.

33

General Software Discussion / Re: Operating multiple devices - easy solution for cables?

« on: June 14, 2022, 10:58 AM »

Overhead cables depending from the ceiling; the only drawback being the risk of inadvertent strangulation.

-cranioscopical (June 12, 2022, 11:22 AM)

Heh heh.  Actually not a bad idea.  Those cables that coil up like the old telephone cords could keep them out of the way when not in use.   

34

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

« on: May 06, 2022, 09:58 AM »

I just found a free music player app called CloudBeats that allows me to easily queue tunes to play directly from folders on my Google Drive.  I have only messed with it for a short time this morning.  But it only took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to add music files to the play queue without having to download them first.

Very intuitive to use.   

35

Living Room / Re: Legally Buy & Download Music Easily - Is it even possible any more?

« on: April 21, 2022, 09:08 AM »

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but I am curious if anyone knows the maximum quality possible when recording to cassette tape?  I used to have a tape deck/CD player/tuner system that would analyze an audio CD and dub it at 2x onto cassette.  Since the recording industry lost the battle long ago over cassette recording I wonder if anyone has taken a cassette so recorded and fed it into a PC to rip it as audio files?  Or is the quality so bad as to make it not worth the effort? (Assuming the source CD was a super high quality recording.)

Just asking for the sake of argument.   

36

General Software Discussion / Re: Have AV False Positives Improved? (Systemus 16 months later)

« on: April 12, 2022, 01:05 PM »

To give you an idea of how ridiculous false positives can be, I once wrote a single line program consisting of one hotkey that simply EXITED THE PROGRAM.  Nothing else.  Even that didn't come up clean in the virus scans.  As you might imagine, it was about that point that I stopped caring.

-skwire (April 12, 2022, 12:01 AM)

It occurs to me that the entire approach to "software safety checking" or whatever is entirely misguided.  Instead of "scanning" a program and guessing that it might have some code that looks similar to another program that someone said had some bad code, it may be a a better approach for some "authoritative" site to actually run it on a virtual machine to see what functions it hijacks.  If it only grabs keyboard and it is a hotkey program then perhaps nobody should panic.  But if it hijacks everything in sight then maybe it should be noted on the site.  I don't see how a quick scan that generates some kind of CRC result can tell you if the intent of the application is malicious.  It is just a quick and leaky prophylactic being sold to the public as far as I can tell.   

37

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

« on: April 08, 2022, 09:39 AM »

I noticed that there's a standalone version of QuickSwitch

-Nod5 (April 07, 2022, 02:53 PM)

I tried it out just now.  The menu method it uses seems much less awkward than using my PastePath utility.  When it shows a menu of open folders just click on the desired one.   

38

General Software Discussion / Re: WinPatrol appears dead

« on: April 05, 2022, 09:36 AM »

I forgot startup delay was one of the WinPatrol features.  It likely prompted me years ago to write DelayedCuts.

You have to manually add shortcuts using DelayedCuts.exe.  When you save the list it creates a shortcut to DelayedLoad.exe in the user's Startup folder.  It can be useful if some programs are dependent on others being already running etc..  By default it scrolls up a window by the tray showing which program is currently loading.  You can click the close 'x' on this window to skip that program.

The reason DelayedCuts insists you drag shortcuts on to add to the list is this guarantees the opportunity to specify the behavior of the program to be launched since you can specify most startup behavior in the shortcut options.

It is free to use at your own risk.  I use it every day on a Windows 10 Laptop so hopefully that indicates it is not obsolete on the newer Windows versions (yet.)   

Note that sometimes I find public library WiFi blocks my page.  I am not sure why.  But you should have no trouble downloading via your own ISP or similar network.

39

Living Room / Re: April Fools!

« on: April 02, 2022, 08:59 AM »

I hate that April Fools is a thing. I hate even more that it's become something that companies buy into.

-wraith808 (April 01, 2022, 09:28 AM)

I read Google news feed on my phone just because it is there.  Every day there are items that could be candidates for an April Fools story.  I am in Miami-Dade County in FL.  Any news item for Polk County either an off duty cop kills someone or murderers escape from prison or similar.  Seems like nobody in Polk County ever does anything sane.     In Massachusetts I worked with two brothers who lived in Brockton MA.  They complained that any news story not about Rocky Marciano or Marvin Hagler was negative.  Escaped murderer, drive by shooting etc..  On Amazon Prime Video there is a funny film called Wayne.  The lead roles were teens who lived in Brockton.  True to my coworkers' complaints, all the houses were run down, lawns unkempt etc.

I wonder if the Tom Brady/Bruce Arians fued is just an April Fools story sometimes.   

40

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

« on: March 23, 2022, 09:16 AM »

myTuner

I cannot seem to find wired earbuds that will work with over the air FM Radio apps.  The wire in the earphone jack is never tight enough to be dependable as antenna.  Besides, with myTuner I can listen to internet radio streams for stations I liked when I lived in Boston.

I haven't tried it while walking around yet.  But I did not see any comments complaining about dropped connectios so I hope for the best.   

41

Living Room / Re: Tips for failing eyesight? PC use

« on: March 02, 2022, 04:49 PM »

You could try "reading mode" which many browsers have.  That would help out the contrast and background colours, and you don't have to mess with addons.

-BGM (March 02, 2022, 03:37 PM)

A better idea for sure.   

42

Living Room / Re: Tips for failing eyesight? PC use

« on: March 02, 2022, 02:26 PM »

I notice for myself that on some web pages there is not much contrast as the background colors are often close to the foreground text color.  Depending on the browser you may be able to have it load a css page by default that may make reading text easier by overriding the background color of the page.

Just a thought.   

43

Living Room / Subsidized apartment waiting list fees?

« on: February 19, 2022, 01:08 PM »

Hey.   

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

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

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

44

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

« on: February 02, 2022, 10:12 AM »

I used to have a Moto e5 plus phone.  It came pre-configured shake the phone toggles the flashlight.  I got a OnePlus N10 5G phone and missed that feature.  I found an App that works even when the screen is off.  Shake-Torch is free and may be downloaded from the Google Play Store.  My phone has Android 11 so I assume the app is backward compatible to recent Android versions.

45

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 11 Announced

« on: January 31, 2022, 09:30 AM »

Nor does a browser.

-Tuxman (January 30, 2022, 01:49 PM)

I wonder if a reason for updating is that it feels spiffier for a month or so after an update.  It seems like every time I update Opera it streams video without buffering until the newness wears off.  Then I have to switch to Edge until the next Opera update.

46

Living Room / Re: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2022

« on: December 20, 2021, 09:06 AM »

Merry Christmas to all!

I second the motion!   

47

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Powershell Script to block certain part of the screen like the taskbar

« on: December 13, 2021, 09:33 AM »

re welcome

-MilesAhead (December 09, 2021, 09:34 AM)

thanks you very for chiming in, then I will use it with taskbar visible and locked if I must, is it possible to see the code for your freeware?

-Etanoder (December 12, 2021, 02:05 PM)

I have no objection to you reading the code.  But I did it in AutoIt3 and there are many reusable routines scattered across a bunch of include files.  Since I am on a hiatus from programming I have the code in online storage with only links on my Laptop.  The Lappy has only 32 GB of storage so I eliminated local copies as a space saving measure.  But you could probably find example code online in forums dedicated to PowerShell.  The call to set the work area is not that complicated.  It is just that I forget which files load what others.  The upside of using include files is reusable code but the downside is including one file may actually chain in a bunch of others and it can be messy.

A stand alone example is probably your best bet.

Edit:  Now that I think of it I believe only the setting "auto hide the taskbar" causes the screen resolution to be given as the work area.  The "lock the taskbar" setting has no effect on the reported work area info.  It has been years since I wrote these utilities.   

48

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Powershell Script to block certain part of the screen like the taskbar

« on: December 09, 2021, 09:34 AM »

I don't code in powershell but I have written small utilities to set the desktop work area.  I am chiming in just in case you may be unaware that it is a Windows quirk that if the Taskbar is not locked, the work area reported by the system will be the same as the current screen resolution, at least for single monitor systems.

In other words, if you like to run with a disappearing taskbar, setting the work area will have no effect.  I haven't heard anything about it being fixed in Windows 11 so I doubt it ever will be.   

If you wish to try setting the work area to see the effect you are welcome to download my freeware SetWorkArea



Edit:  Also this article may be of interest:
https://docs.microso...nfo-work-incorrectly

49

Living Room / Re: Nuclear missile silo keyboard repurposed for usb

« on: December 01, 2021, 05:30 PM »

Highly watchable

-mouser (December 01, 2021, 02:00 PM)

Interesting stuff.  I am curious about one thing though.  Has anyone scanned this keyboard with a Geiger counter?   

50

General Software Discussion / Re: Vivaldi - add buttons to panel?

« on: November 29, 2021, 12:44 PM »

After re-installing Vivaldi many a times, can attest that it's sync feature is excellent at remembering passwords (not so with Firefox) and re-instating extensions and more.

-dantheman (November 26, 2021, 02:15 PM)

I will have to check that out.  Nothing is more annoying than browser sync that does not provide an overwrite option.  You know, the merges just create a bunch of dupes.  Not my idea of convenience.

Also, with regards to computers, recall purchasing refurbished desktops (nowhere enormous as they used to be) with Win 7 and after about 7 years now, still working full speed. So much faster than Win 10! But buying any electronic stuff today is hard decision. Much like buying a new car. Even if you have the money, you're overwhelmed with so many options!!

I know.  We should try to pressure the manufacturers into providing a standard set of features at a minimum.  Stuff like backlit keyboards when applicable.  It is kind of lame to base your laptop choice on the fact that you occasionally need to type in the dark.