Messages

226

General Software Discussion / Re: MagicRAR Drive Press - worth anything?

« on: April 01, 2013, 05:43 AM »

^+1.
It's occupying space, providing naught but frustration at best.

227

Living Room / Re: In search of ... opinions on AMD vs Intel graphics cards

« on: March 22, 2013, 12:39 AM »

fixing a laptop usually involves more trouble and expense than fixing a desktop

-40hz (March 21, 2013, 09:02 PM)

Amen to that!  I went ahead and ordered the Dell earlier.  I've no great love for Dell - the heat issue(s) were near pandemic in my last corporate gig, and I had a similar model (bought for a price I could not turn down in a weaker moment  ) go south on me about a year ago.  Replaced the hdd in it, but could not keep it running long enough to restore a backup image or install from scratch - kept shutting off due to heat issues.  Naturally, it was shortly after the warranty ran out.  (Also had some problems with tech support, but that's for a different post  .)

On the other hand, I know several folk who've used Dell laptops for years with no serious hardware issues.  Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky  ?

My biggest concern was the GPU.  While somewhat familiar with AMD's Radeon, the Intel unit is foreign territory to me.  (My current primary is a Toshiba with the Intel GPU, and I've had a few issues, but nothing I could specifically pin to the GPU.)  However, I was somewhat put off by the lack of specs/stats for the Intel.

Recently priced a similar machine via a Dell newsletter.  On the Dell site, with a drive 3/4 the size, the tab came to ~$1,600.  This'n came to $882.89 ... may have been seduced by price again, but se la vie.

Thanks all for the - unanimous! - opinions.  Much appreciated  .

228

Living Room / In search of ... opinions on AMD vs Intel graphics cards

« on: March 21, 2013, 04:45 PM »

• Dell Inspiron - AMD Radeon HD 8730M with 2G DDR3 VRAM - $860
• Toshiba Satellite - Mobile Intel - no VRAM specified - $880

Those are the basic differences 'tween two (2) laptops, one (1) of which I'm about to order.  The price difference is insignificant, as the Toshiba ships free, but the Dell has shipping costs, so they'll come within a couple-two-t'ree bucks of each other.  Both are large screen (17.3"), but I'm more interested in visual space than weight - I'm accustomed to lugging around a similar beast at the moment.

Both with i7 processors, 8G RAM, terabyte 5400 RPM drives.  Not wild about the speed, but I can live with it  ?  The Dell i7 is 2GHz, the Toshiba is 2.4GHz.

Problem is, I have virtually no knowledge of graphics cards  .  Not a [frequent] gamer, but I do engage in graphics work from time to time ... mostly CAD, SVG, or similar.

So, given the listed specs, which box would be the better value?  Which is likely to be more versatile?

229

Living Room / Re: PayPal users are frauds :-(

« on: March 18, 2013, 04:32 AM »

Late to the fray - again! - but I do have experience/knowledge in this arena.

I was, for a time, involved in the IM arena, where IM represents Internet marketers selling instruction/tools to wannabe Internet marketers.  My clients - ahem! - frequently created chargebacks when they didn't get rich overnight.  Seems their lack of implementing rather simple instructions was my fault.  PayPal suspended my business account twice.  After much groveling & pleading, they did restore it, but after the second time, I decided IM was not a viable vocation/avocation for me.  (After all, it took several years, and professors, for me to learn marketing:  why should I assume that I could pass that on with a few Web tutorials?)

So, I exited that particular business venue and cancelled the business account.  I still use PayPal on a personal level, but that's it.

Point is, nothing I was doing caused the problem.  So I quite understand the lady's fraud allusion.  PayPal makes it too easy for payers, too difficult for payees.  DC's involvement with PayPal is not on that level, so there's naturally been no cause for complaint.  After all, it would be pretty stupid to bitch about a donation, wouldn't it  ?  (Not that there aren't a few who would  .)

230

Living Room / Re: Left-handed help needed !

« on: March 11, 2013, 06:02 PM »

Quite a few years past I had bone spurs removed from my right shoulder.  Then, just recently I dislocated and separated (didn't know they were different injuries 'til then) my right shoulder.  In both instances I resorted to Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking for computer stuff.

Oddly enough, the most difficult thing for me was showering.  Resolved that with a back scrubber that had a plastic mesh head and liquid soap  ... but never did come up with a decent toweling process  .

I baked a lot, so I used a bread guide and serrated knife for slicing.  Don't have such at the moment, but you can find at most anyplace that sells cooking supplies.  Often the bread guide comes as part of a single-loaf bread box.  (Actually, if you happen to have a miter box, that'll work, too, as long as it is cleaned up.)

My condition(s) allowed me to use my right hand for marginal pressure, so cutting food on a plate at mealtime just required me to learn to use a knife left handed - never did get very good with spoons, though  .  However, before I could stand even marginal pressure on my right, I used standard kitchen shears for meats, baked potatoes, anything that might need cutting - looked a bit funny, but it worked  .

Used a boot hook to pull on pants.  At the time of the first surgery, was wearing so-called cowboy boots, so the boot hook did double duty.  For the most recent injury, wearing Merrells - slip ons - so a ShoeDini (As Seen On TV!) worked for the Merrells ... but a regular shoe horn nailed to a stick would work 'bout as well, methinks.

Shirts were a bit of a problem, but gravity would drag a standard/business shirt down my left arm, then I'd maneuver the other side/sleeve around my right shoulder and secure with safety pins - the pins took a bit of practice, I'm not that dexterous with my left hand.

Socks were a pain, but if you can find a medical supply house - the kind that sell crutches, canes, walkers, wheel chairs, and the like - they'll have several variants of sock pullers.

Using the restroom was a bit of a trial, but I just made certain that it never happened when I was away from home.

Driving was not a difficulty, but getting the vehicle started was ... really difficult  .  Seems car builders assume - at least in the US - that everyone has a functional right arm/hand.

A lot of this could be obviated if you have an SO (Significant Other) or very close - in all meanings of the word - friend.  In both cases, I had neither.

Only other item of significance I can recall at the moment was sleeping - I'd roll over on the injury and waken in pain  .

Hope some of this helps, as you're in it for the long haul.  You'll be aghast at how week your arm will become in a relatively short period, and dismayed at how long it'll take to get strength and dexterity back.  In aid of that last, I'd suggest you start squeezing a ball - tennis ball, if nothing else - as soon as you can do so w/o stress - it'll make a great difference in recovery once the cast comes off.

Best of luck and best of healing  .

231

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite movies?

« on: March 10, 2013, 05:07 PM »

Very nice selection(s).  Haven't seen the Russell Crowe version, but loved the Audie Murphy version of 3:10 to Yuma.  Secondhand LIONS always feels like a guy's equivalent to a chick flick  .  Somehow I missed Inkheart, but considering the cast, I need to find it  .  Very interesting assembly you've provided.

232

DC Gamer Club / Re: Prince of Persia - HTML5

« on: March 07, 2013, 02:13 AM »

Done.  And I don't even play games  .

233

Living Room / Re: Crowdfunding a life goal.

« on: March 07, 2013, 01:58 AM »

Know a couple-two-t'ree folk who've done similar in the brick-and-mortar world.  Worked for two (2) of 'em, dunno about the third - lost contact.  They were hesitant, of course, but their desire was stronger than their embarrassment  , so they asked - and received much more than they expected. "Ya never know 'til ya try," said the wise[r than me] man  .  (Frankly, that displayed more courage than I think I could muster - it's hard to ask for help.)

234

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« on: March 06, 2013, 11:21 PM »

I figure it's me just talking to myself on this thread so why bother sticking to the rules..

-mouser (March 06, 2013, 02:42 AM)

I would beg to differ, sir.
Two (2) things bear remarking.  If you don't follow your own rules, how can you expect others to follow them  ?  No censure implied/intended, but since you're not a member of the US government, you should abide by your own rulings  .    As a vegan chef on a cooking show I enjoy says, "It is what it is."

The other thing - and it is legion - has to do with the gadgets presented to date.  You've presented several Swiffer products having to do with floor maintenance.  I have/had every product you mentioned.  I suspect many of us do, but what's the point of duplication?  If it has been presented once, there's no need - other than pride of ownership, maybe  - to present them again.  Think I bewailed that fact once  . 

On another occasion, I was about to present a butane soldering package I had just replaced - and found I had been preempted by another DC member.  Only difference 'twixt his, as displayed, and mine is that mine has a hot knife head.  That head is particularly useful on a sailboat for severing lines/sheets/ropes, as most of 'em are nylon - in fact, it went overboard  , hence the replacement  .

Then there's applicability.  I mess around in the kitchen off and on.  But I doubt that pictures of four (4) different salt and pepper grinders would be of much interest to a group that seems primarily oriented toward all things computer.  Mebbe a picture of a Slingbox?  But it ain't workin' just yet, so there's nothing there, to speak of.

And don't forget popularity.  As mentioned by tomos and Tinman57, the viewing level is not too shabby  .

OK, I need another lager  ... time to close this  .

235

Living Room / Re: The 20 Most Expensive Keywords in Google AdWords

« on: March 06, 2013, 12:06 AM »

Pee Wee Herman is art?! 

-TaoPhoenix (March 05, 2013, 10:48 PM)

Nah ... he was movin'  .

236

Living Room / Re: Microsoft may be after-taxed $1 Billion by Denmark

« on: March 05, 2013, 10:46 PM »

Perhaps we're mistaking "legal" and "ethical" when we approach these topics. My belief is that they are not the same, but then again, I could be mistaken. Perhaps whatever is passed into law is necessarily ethical?

-Renegade (March 04, 2013, 07:43 AM)

Legality and ethics have never shared common ground, to the best of my [history] knowledge.  A number of politicos - and corporations! - have tried to make that association, but ...

237

Living Room / Re: The 20 Most Expensive Keywords in Google AdWords

« on: March 05, 2013, 09:12 PM »

mobile porn? who the hell searches for "mobile porn"

-Stephen66515 (February 13, 2013, 06:13 PM)

If it ain't mobile it ain't porn, it's art (see Rubens)  .

238

General Software Discussion / Re: MS Office 2013 Home/Business - non-transferable (1 PC p.person) - Caveat emptor.

« on: March 05, 2013, 08:49 PM »

I'm wondering if anybody here still thinks I'm indulging in FUD propagation when it comes to Microsoft?

-40hz (February 14, 2013, 01:05 PM)

FUD?  Methinks not  .  In this case, FUD=Frequent Usage Discouraged (there are other words, but I'm trying to be genteel about it  ).  MS Office became an albatross around my neck roughly a decade++ ago, so I cut the cord and let it sink.  Better options have been available for longer than that.  MS did a great thing in standardizing software development (?), and they've been trying to overcome that lapse ever since.  I wonder how long it'll be before they start billing by minutes of usage  ?  Office seems to be traveling in that direction.

239

Living Room / Re: Michel In Guides!

« on: February 24, 2013, 01:28 AM »

Nominet, the governing body, reassigns the domain to the person/business that has the greater claim.

-Carol Haynes (February 09, 2013, 03:23 PM)

I'm curious about greater claim determination?  Who does it, how do they do it, what influences them?  How much government is involved, what businesses/trades/industries are involved?

I remember an effort in the US a decade or so ago to manage domain squatters ... it failed  , mostly due to self-interest on the part of those making the judgement  .

240

Living Room / Re: Free Nationwide WiFi

« on: February 23, 2013, 11:21 PM »

Oh god... sigh... Yeah, I suppose that I'm just not all that up-to-date on self-destructive behaviour...

-Renegade (February 06, 2013, 07:32 PM)

Naw, you just stick you fist(s) through car windows  .  (Ever see the beginning of Karate Kid II?)

Free national wi-fi would scare me silly - sillier? - because of the snooping/tracking/tracing capabilities.  I won't connect to wi-fi at local shops.  And I'm hesitant even to use my phone as a tether.  (Yeah, I know I'm paranoid ... I just wonder if I'm paranoid enough.  And I'm aware that can happen via my ISP  .)  Federal/state/local free wi-fi is so open to governmental abuse - at any level! - that 'twould seem to be anathema.

241

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... networking experience

« on: February 20, 2013, 11:13 PM »

It's somewhat difficult to know what to say  .

Yes, I did direct connection ... but everything that needs to be connected to the 2nd router is not physically available.  With the direct connection, I could see the 2nd router, but still could not access it.  Changed the IP address of the primary router in order to avoid the conflict of IP duplication.  (Then had to reset both the other boxes to recognize the new configuration  .)  And I've never been able to see anything connected to the 2nd router.  There's no perceivable (to me, anyway) difference with or without the powerline element.

(I remember going through something like this a number of years ago, but memory fails when I try to recall what I did to make it work.)

I'll try the MAC address thing, see if it'll let me get in.  Thanks for the idea  .

242

General Software Discussion / In search of ... networking experience

« on: February 20, 2013, 09:17 PM »

Folk,

I've been fighting this for nigh onto a month.  It's actually two (2) problems, but both pretty much under the same topic/subject, probably interconnected.

First problem is page reset when trying to access a Web site.
Second problem is chaining two (2) [Linksys/Cisco] routers.

I think the first problem came about through efforts - ineffective - to correct the second.

OK, first problem.  Whenever I try to access a couple of cPanel pages, there's a message that the connection was reset.  I've removed the [Comodo] firewall.  When I look at the event log, it tells me that the problem description is in Words - I don't comprehend Words  .

On to the second problem  .
I've been trying to add a second router, via a NetGear powerline ethernet adapter, in order to attach a SlingBox to a TV that cannot be added to the cable system (unless I get cable company out to run a new connection).  Win7 recognizes that the router is there, but if I use the Win7 network stuff to try to access it, I'm told that I need an eight (8 ) character/digit pin which is on the router.  It ain't.  Perusal of the Cisco/Linksys pages has, to date, revealed no override for this situation.


I've done a couple of Win recoveries, to no avail.  I don't think a reinstall/restore will ameliorate the situation.  Frankly, I'm afraid to try that avenue.  I've tried to revert whatever I did in the first place, but that's a bit difficult when I have no clue what I did to cause it  .

Miscellaneous stuff.
This is a Win7 Ultimate system. 
Two (2) other boxes on the same - primary - router can access the pages in question w/o any obvious problem - one (1) is Win8 Pro, the other is Win7 Ultimate.
The routers are E4200 dual band (primary) and WRT350N.  (I've tried using the major input and an output jack on the 350N.)
Firefox, Dragon, Chrome, and Internet Explorer 9 all return the same error on problem one (1).


I used to have software that would help me analyze such a situation, but it's been so long since I've had to use it, I cannot recall it, although It's prolly still on one of my drives.

So, anyone have any advice other than start over?

243

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for a minimalist Desktop Calendar Application..

« on: February 18, 2013, 10:39 PM »

It's Rainlendar ... both free and $$ versions ... been using the pro version for 'bout a year ... not too shabby for my usages, but I don't do a lot of calendaring, though, just mostly appointments.  Might be worth a look, though.  Very light on resources, small, customizable desktop display.

244

Living Room / Re: CyberNetNews - Still alive?

« on: February 16, 2013, 08:02 PM »

Not to mention the fact that I make out like a bandit when it comes to eating great food! :Thmbsup

-cybernetnews (February 16, 2013, 03:40 PM)

Great geek!!!  (As in fat developer  .)

245

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... folk who've embedded Google Calendar

« on: February 16, 2013, 07:35 PM »

Or is it like red instead of green

-tomos (February 16, 2013, 05:48 PM)

Nope.  Regardless the colors he selected for different events, everything shows as a blue highlight when imported into a web page.  Same on his Website and also on the calendars of my Galaxy S3 and on my Nexus 7 and Asus [Android] tablets.  (I'd publish the page, but it's not active yet  .)  He's choosing pretty basic colours, nothing esoteric - stripes, polka dots, or the like - just red, green, yellow, blue ... basic stuff.  Since he sees it on his dev Web page(s) and I see the same on Android calendars, I just about have to think it's a Google thing.

246

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... folk who've embedded Google Calendar

« on: February 16, 2013, 05:44 PM »

Hm-mm ... don't thimk that's much of an issue anymore.  Websafe colors, depending upon the information source, were developed mostly because of monitor differences or because of rendering/pixel differences 'tween MS/Apple.  Kinda like the meaning of RSS ... depending upon which camp you were in, it stood for Rich Site Summary or for Really Simple Syndication.  In both cases, you'd pick a camp and proclaim that particular outlook  .  (Didn't matter to me at the time, as I had - for years! - a 13-inch, 16-color monitor  .  I'd upgrade PCs, but monitors were just too damned expensive  !)

Besides, I'm pretty certain Google would have a handle on such things - after all, if the color didn't work, it wouldn't work anywhere, regardless the source.


My friend thinks the answer lies within whether you're a Google+ membership or not.  Not so certain 'bout that, but if he's willing to live with it, I'll have to  .

247

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Agnitum Outpost Security Suite lifetime sale extended

« on: February 14, 2013, 10:09 PM »

I'm really curious about this.  Is it very important to use an antivirus (AV) product?  Most of the discussion I've seen in recent months admits to the fact that AV products simply cannot cut the mustard, so to speak.  Recent discovery of some piece of malware - don't recall the name - that's been around for five (5) years before it was detected and discussions on various sites lead me to believe that all AV functionality is equivalent to closing the barn door after the livestock have already left.  AV, as far as I can tell, provides a false sense of security, but no real security. 

Firewalls make sense - if properly configured! - and some of the other security measures seem appropriate at times (sandboxes, encryption, and the like), but I just cannot see the utility of AV products. 

When I was in military service, there was a maxim, "You never know how good your security is until it fails and you know it failed!"

I haven't run AV as such for years.  I do scan with MalwareBytes on a regular basis and use a firewall - currently Comodo - but no AV.

Is there really any point to AV?

248

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« on: February 08, 2013, 11:53 PM »

Just don't let it drip on your hands or you'll find yourself doing one of those dancing-screaming routines 

-cranioscopical (February 08, 2013, 02:53 PM)

I've done the dancing-cursing routine!

-Renegade (February 08, 2013, 08:33 PM)

Try doing it while wearing summer shorts and dripping it onto your thigh ... may have invented a new dance-n-chant  .
The newer versions are trigger-fed, but the originals used thumb pressure - a strong grip at the wrong time could be ... painful, shall we say?

249

Living Room / Re: Would a 41 megapixel camera get you to buy a Windows 8 phone?

« on: February 05, 2013, 02:55 PM »

Also, is there anybody clever around who knows if there's some big differences between zooming digitally, and the physical-world stuff that happens when you do it through optics?

-f0dder (February 05, 2013, 02:39 PM)

Don't know that I qualify as clever  . but I do know a bit about optics.  In the simplest terms, digital zoom basically increases the pixel count [of a specified, smaller area] so that you can kinda, sorta zoom in -focus - on an area of the image - but you are still seeing the same image, just an enhanced area at the same pixel depth.  Optical zoom actually alters the view, so that you now see a magnified version of a much smaller image area.  The digital zoom tries to accomplish what binoculars, telescopes, and macro lenses have been doing for ages.  But it cannot increase what is called depth of field.  Regardless the amount of digital zoom, you still have only the pixel capability of the CCD in your particular device.  Optical zoom provides a true magnification of the given area - it is not pixel-dependent.
(This could probably have been put more clearly, but I've been lagering  .)

250

Living Room / Re: Suggestions for low vision problems while working on a computer

« on: February 03, 2013, 02:05 AM »

My ex-boss had the condition.  She had a particular prescription just for computer work.  Might investigate that avenue.  (I also had a particular pair of glasses (extreme myopia in my case) for computer work.)  Cost is not particularly great, but it needs an eye professional's judgement as to whether it would be efficacious.  Lenses are a good overall solution, especially if you're likely to view different screens, but if your friend's condition is sufficiently advanced, it might not work.  I wish her well, whatever the resolution.