Messages

51

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

« on: November 29, 2021, 12:36 PM »

@MilesAhead - just dawned on me.

If you open your Twitter page and another site to the right, you can tile vertically.
Thus have a larger view of what's going on Twitter as you surf to the right.

Just a thought.

-dantheman (November 28, 2021, 12:57 PM)

Cool.  Thanks.   

52

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

« on: November 29, 2021, 12:36 PM »

^ I've started using Edge for video on an older laptop. Was using a lot less resources than others I tried (Firefox, Vivaldi, I can't remember what else)

-tomos (November 24, 2021, 01:28 PM)

Edge does seem to be quick.  I hate how stuff keeps changing.  I liked the chrome based Opera at the beginning because I could use most chrome extensions but it did not launch 20 instances when you were only running a couple of tabs like chrome did.  Now Opera seems to have abandoned any attempt to optimize resource usage.  I also notice Edge seems to be updated a couple of times a week.  I hope the programmers aren't doing lines to keep up with that schedule.   

53

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

« on: November 24, 2021, 01:07 PM »

Firefox is a waste of space by now. Sad to see it detoriating for a decade.

-Tuxman (November 23, 2021, 08:23 PM)

I know.  It used to be cool.  The main reason I keep it on my system is because the browser that will stream video without stuttering on this cheesy Laptop seems to shift with every update.  I suppose I should get a W11 Laptop soon but there are so many options that vary so much I am not sure which way to go.  It seems to be way more treacherous than choosing a desktop.  Since I am unlikely to have free internet if I do land a subsidized apartment, a Lappy seems to be the only option.  With prices for everything going up I suspect the grocery bill will consume most of the remainder of my income, so paying for broadband will likely be out of the question.

My feeling at the moment is the Laptop should be Ryzen powered.  But I haven't done much reading on them.  Afa the trend in browsers they must have a developer requirement that only control freaks need apply.  I liked things better in the 90's when you could assume that most everything online other than your ISP was free.  Not only that but you could request features from extention authors.  Boy does that seem like a million years ago!

54

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

« on: November 23, 2021, 04:33 PM »

@MilesAhead - glad you got it! 

Although i still have a penchant for Firefox, Vivaldi is always nearby.
Brave is good too.
If video issues popup, usually one of these three will resolve the problem.

-dantheman (November 22, 2021, 04:22 PM)

Speaking of Firefox, I just wasted 90 minutes because they remotely disabled my speed dial.  I swear browsers waste more time just making decisions for you than anything other than Windows.  It drives me nuts.  If only there was a standardized dial so we could select all in one browser and paste into another it would be so cool.  But it has the advantage of keeping me from doing something productive I suppose.   

55

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

« on: November 22, 2021, 02:01 PM »

Btw, added Twitter and its button/icon came through in a few seconds.

-dantheman (November 22, 2021, 09:57 AM)

Thanks.  I will check it out.   

Edit:  I got it.   

56

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

« on: November 05, 2021, 11:40 AM »

I did not figure out how to add buttons to the panel but it does seem to install and run fine off a 128 GB micro sdcard.  Even streaming video.  Many new installs run snappy at first.  Time will tell.  I like it much better than the last time I tried it though.   

57

General Software Discussion / Vivaldi - add buttons to panel?

« on: November 04, 2021, 10:59 AM »

Just starting with Vivaldi again after a couple of years ignoring it.   

It does not seem to want to let me add an Extensions Button to the default panel to make it like Opera.  Is there a trick to it?

So far video streaming seems to look and act well.  I don't know why browsers start and stop buffering/freezing when the version gets updated.  I have to keep switching browsers to watch video.  The main reason I have so many browsers on this Celeron Nightmare from Hell.  (Just an aside.)   

58

General Software Discussion / Re: Opera Start Page Question

« on: November 04, 2021, 10:48 AM »

Hay, while we're playing whose got the most browsers.

-Stoic Joker (November 03, 2021, 03:38 PM)

Heh heh.  I wrote a kludgy browser utility BingThing that has 8 buttons for browsers.  That is enough for me these days.  I don't program anymore.  Maybe I'll get my feet wet again if I have someplace to park Desktop PCs(tm) along with broadband/WiFi access.   

59

General Software Discussion / Re: Opera Start Page Question

« on: November 03, 2021, 09:46 AM »

You can populate the start page with a bunch of dials at once by selecting multiple bookmarks and pasting them into the Fast Dial favorites folder.

-MilesAhead (November 01, 2021, 09:56 AM)

It supports folders, too.

I use Opera for work, and Vivaldi for everything else. (I love Vivaldi's multi-level tab stacking, a feature that Opera unfortunately does not have.)

-app103 (November 02, 2021, 04:06 PM)

I tried Vivaldi a few times.  It did not feel ready for prime time.  But that was around 9 years ago.  I should try out the portable version just to give it another go.   

Edit:  since Vivaldi was released in 2016 trying it 9 years ago was not possible.  I guess it just seems like that long.     I must have tried it on the Toshiba Laptop I had in those days.  Sorry for being a cup short of a coffee.   

60

General Software Discussion / Re: Opera Start Page Question

« on: November 01, 2021, 09:56 AM »

I used the first completely free version of Opera (v. 8.02) and stuck with it for many years.  Small and fast!

Since you are new to Opera I thought I would put in $.02 that may make it easier to get a few things off the ground quickly.  If the Opera extensions store does not have an extension to do something you want you may wish to install the "Install Chrome Extensions" extension.  Since Opera is chrome based many, but not all, chrome extensions will work with it.  You just hav to try them and see.  The other thing a bit unique to Opera, it has its own Fast Dial mechanism without having to install an extension.  The dials are ordinary bookmarks.  You can populate the start page with a bunch of dials at once by selecting multiple bookmarks and pasting them into the Fast Dial favorites folder.

I have a low powered laptop so I find that video streaming often forces me to use Edge.  But for doing my email and checking out forums etc..  I always use the Opera Fast Dials.

Welcome to the big O!   

61

Living Room / Re: Programming/Coder humor

« on: October 12, 2021, 09:47 AM »

BOOleans

-Deozaan (October 10, 2021, 02:37 AM)

Heh heh.   

62

General Software Discussion / Re: Question, suspicion of a keylogger

« on: September 03, 2021, 01:04 PM »

This smells like spam to me.

-Deozaan (September 02, 2021, 05:29 PM)

Hmmm, spam about a key logger.  Are they talking about that key you need to get the spam out of the can, or ...   

63

General Software Discussion / Re: WinPatrol appears dead

« on: August 31, 2021, 09:16 AM »

I wasn't trying to be prophetic since WinPatrol was a valuable utility for me for years, but it is officially gone, website and all. Users report that it still works, but the learn function no longer does, which means it no longer "learns" whether a startup is allowed or not. I haven't found a suitable alternative . 

-Joe Hone (August 06, 2021, 04:46 PM)

no alternative?!  so crazy.

-superboyac (August 30, 2021, 10:30 PM)

Looking for alternatives I found this article

There seems to be some inaccuracies in it though.  I used WinPatrol on my desktop PCs for quite awhile.  I remember the original author spent a lot of time vetting people who were willing to take it over and selected one.  This was before 2013.  I don't remember exactly but I know for sure the original author did retire and sold the program and web site.  The main feature I liked was blocking apps autostarting.  It seemed like every program wanted to load into the tray so that startup seemed instant.  The more things change...  a recent Edge browser update pulled the same gimmick in Windows 10.  It started loading itself in the background on startup by default.

I see now too that Opera based on chromium, which used to be stingy on resources is now loading 14 exe instances on startup when the only tab is the speed dial.  So tedious.   

64

Living Room / Re: Programming/Coder humor

« on: August 26, 2021, 09:10 AM »

There are two hard problems in programming: Naming things, caching things, and off-by-one errors.

-Deozaan (August 24, 2021, 04:22 PM)

Heh heh.  I take your pointer.  But it seems like with programming the deeper you drill down the more you discover whole arrays of unresolved issues.  At least that was my initialized impression.   

65

General Software Discussion / Re: Convert free format DVD to mp4 or similar

« on: August 18, 2021, 10:48 AM »

Sites like AfterDawn have a lot of guides on how to comvert video files, rip DVDs, etc. Consult those first. Some of those are quite old, but are still valid.

-Shades (August 18, 2021, 07:43 AM)

It has been years since I did video conversion but I remember VideoHelp as one of the better sites.  Of course my knowledge may be dated.  Some of the software I used is no longer developed. 

Another cool thing about video help, it has a list of "remote hacks."  Many region one dvd players will revert to region free if you follow the instructions posted by users of the particular dvd player.  I had 2 models of Philips DVD player and an Oppo.  They all became region free after entering the remote control sequences listed on dvd help.

66

Living Room / Re: Is anyone else's cat afraid of circles on the television?

« on: August 16, 2021, 09:07 AM »

The Mysterons

-4wd (August 14, 2021, 04:10 AM)

What did you think of the reworked Captain Scarlet episodes?  I preferred it when it was obvious they were puppets.  I don't really get the point of the video "upgrades."

-MilesAhead (August 14, 2021, 09:10 AM)

I've never seen the remade version, haven't seen the original since about the time it came out, (along with Joe 90 and the other Century 21 marionette series).
Still manage to catch one of the original Thunderbird episodes once every few years though, they seem to get repeated quite often.

-4wd (August 14, 2021, 06:42 PM)

I think the first of that type I watched was Supercar.  I was 10 years old when the show debuted.  Tough to believe that was 60 years ago.   


Edit:  I guess the computer regenerated version of Captain Scarlet is called New Captain Scarlet

67

Living Room / Re: Is anyone else's cat afraid of circles on the television?

« on: August 14, 2021, 09:10 AM »

The Mysterons

-4wd (August 14, 2021, 04:10 AM)

What did you think of the reworked Captain Scarlet episodes?  I preferred it when it was obvious they were puppets.  I don't really get the point of the video "upgrades."

68

Living Room / Re: Is anyone else's cat afraid of circles on the television?

« on: August 14, 2021, 09:07 AM »

I could not say.  I was too scared to watch the entire video.  Those colored circles just kept getting bigger and closer!  OMG!!

-MilesAhead (August 12, 2021, 09:39 AM)

The same kind of thing happened to people who were kidnapped by aliens in a flying saucer.  Don't fall into holes in the ground, even if a rabbit jumps into it. You will end up in Wonderland, probably with long hair and wearing a dress. There is a version for women also, but they usually are the ones that find themselves in a flying saucer.

-Arizona Hot (August 13, 2021, 03:18 PM)

Speaking of extraterrestrials, you notice how the government is sneaking up on admitting there is alien life?  First they find some microscopic one celled Martians dead for thousands of years.  Next thing you know one of those land rovers on Mars will discover a subterranean highway system.  The down side is the system will be littered with toll booths.  Tourists from other planets will likely be hit with a hefty surcharge. 

69

Living Room / Re: Is anyone else's cat afraid of circles on the television?

« on: August 12, 2021, 09:39 AM »

What's up with that?

-mouser (August 11, 2021, 01:30 PM)

I could not say.  I was too scared to watch the entire video.  Those colored circles just kept getting bigger and closer!  OMG!!

70

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

« on: August 12, 2021, 09:34 AM »

I'm sure there is software that is able to strip DRM from books, so a tool like Calibre can convert it to a different format that make it easy to read in your favorite reading software on your computer. Whatever this may be.

-Shades (August 12, 2021, 01:13 AM)

My understanding is that Amazon uses its own encryption on top of the DRM.  It seems the only way to strip the file of all the crap involves using the Amazon physical kindle reader device.  If I want to read an Amazon kindle book on the Windows Amazon Kindle app I have to buy it from my Windows laptop.  The alternative is to send the book to the Web Reader thing at Amazon to read it with any web browser.

The Android sharing thing would be okay but I have not been able to find one of those Android tablets with attached keyboards for small money.  At least not one I can pick up at Walmart.  Those Samsung tablets get into the $800 plus range very quickly.  I may as well buy a Laptop if I am going to spend that kind of money.

I am reading a SciFi novel on my phone.  I guess I will acclimate in time.  I used to have a little RCA 7" tablet with keyboard that was fine for reading eBooks.  But they are very slow booting, as in 5 minutes plus, and tend to have old versions of Android along with small storage and less than a gig of ram.  So I was hoping to find something similar but a bit more capable.

Using the phone is likely the easiest way out though.   

Edit:  It turns out there is an updated version of the RCA Voyager Pro 7" tablet with keyboard.  The price is 65 bucks plus shipping.  No more in store pickup.  It has 2 GB ram but still only 16 GB storage(which is likely closer to 12 usable) so booting is likely to still be an exercise in patience.  I already have a Windows laptop with 11.6" screen, plus I hate to have computer stuff shipped to the shelter.  If I get a subsidized apartment then it will depend on the mailbox situation if stuff like that would be cool to ship etc..  No telling how long before a permanent address pans out.  I feel like life is hovering over the back burner.  I just got a state ID after nearly 10 years without one.  Movement seems to be glacial.  I guess they figure if they wait long enough you'll die making your problems moot.   

71

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

« on: August 11, 2021, 04:49 PM »

For transferring files to/from my phone, I just use the Android version of Total Commander.

-Shades (August 11, 2021, 03:29 PM)

I remember when I needed to copy my Calibre Library folder onto my phone you told me about TC for Android.  This copy paste technique I expect to use for one-offs.  Speaking of ebooks I pick up quite a few kindle books from Amazon since many are only $.99.  Amazon lets you share the book across all your Android devices connected to the same google account.  But they are not so generous when it comes to reading them on my Windows Laptop.  I do not think there is a solution to this other than reading the book in the browser instead of the Windows Amazon Kindle App.  It would be way nicer to use the app.  Perhaps there is a technical reason they cannot control the kindle file once it gets on the PC.  Just a minor annoyance.   

72

General Software Discussion / Clipt by OnePlus

« on: August 11, 2021, 10:36 AM »

Having purchased a OnePlus phone recently I started perusing their community site.  I noticed a free Android App called Clipt that looked like it might make moving files between PC and phone easier.

Turns out it does as well as network spanning text copy/paste.  I haven't messed with the text pasting yet.  But it only took a few minutes to get a file from my phone to PC for the first time.  Most android phone service providers include google cloud storage.  The app makes the assumption you have Google Drive on your phone and that is the heart of the transfer mechanism.  On the PC side you need a chromium derived browser to install the Clipt extension from the Chrome store.  I tried it in Edge browser.

If you send a file from your phone using Clipt and are signed into the Clipt extension on your browser, clicking the Clipt button on the toolbar gives an option to download the file to your PC.  The idea is to be a bit more convenient than mailing yourself a file as attachment.

Searching Clipt in the Play Store did not get a direct hit until I added OnePlus as a search term.  They say they are also working on an IOS client.  It could grow into a very useful utility.   

73

Living Room / Re: Who here makes ice cream?

« on: August 06, 2021, 08:45 AM »

I've done snow cream before (snow, vanilla, sweet cream) but never started from scratch.

-wraith808 (August 05, 2021, 11:31 AM)

Cue Frank Zappa: WATCH OUT WHERE THE HUSKIES GO AN' DON'T YOU EAT THAT YELLOW SNOW!

-rjbull (August 05, 2021, 03:40 PM)

Don't worry.  It can't happen here.   

74

General Software Discussion / Opera comes with kitchen sink?

« on: August 05, 2021, 09:35 AM »

Anyone notice that Opera chromium based browser has exploded in size all of a sudden?  Unbidden they added a bunch of features that bloated the carcass too much for me.  I went bacjk to version 76.0.4017.94 and installed it importing bookmarks and extensions from the default browser(which was the new Opera  update.)  Then I renamed opera_autoupdate.exe to opera_autoupdate_NOT.exe and deleted the subfolders full of old updates.

If I was on a 1/2 TB SSD I probably would not care but I am using 32GB of estorage and stuff gets cramped quickly!   

75

Living Room / Re: Who here makes ice cream?

« on: August 05, 2021, 09:21 AM »

I never tried it myself.  I naively assumed one put in some amount of ice, cream and flavoring, then mixed it and froze it.  I never imagined adding eggs and whatnot.  If I saw someone churn butter it would likely also be more complicated than people assume.  Probably because of TV we are not aware how much goes into "simple" tasks.

Another thing I was curious about but never had the space to try myself was film development with the darkroom and the whole bit.

As far as consistency goes I always hated the Breyers ice cream.  It always seemed to have ice crystals mixed into it.  Not creamy at all.  Also any vanilla that did not look a bit yellow always seemed a bit unnatural to me.  Like the flavoring was out of a test tube.