Messages

226

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Recentx at Giveawayoftheday

« on: May 06, 2008, 01:38 PM »

I remember giving it a test drive but I found that Filebox Extender is more useful for me. (not to mention being free).

227

Post New Requests Here / Re: Petrol prices around the world

« on: April 30, 2008, 12:28 PM »

Bingo! We have a winner!

I guess it would suck to be a Norweigan driver.

228

Post New Requests Here / Re: Petrol prices around the world

« on: April 30, 2008, 12:23 PM »

Those pages don't give you the reference amount. Are these all in gallons or liters? I know that picture is grossly outdated if they are showing $2.56/gallon in Houston.

229

Post New Requests Here / Re: Petrol prices around the world

« on: April 30, 2008, 11:58 AM »

try http://www.xe.com

$1 = 0.64239 Euros, .5 British pounds, 7.55249 SA Rand

230

Post New Requests Here / Re: Petrol prices around the world

« on: April 30, 2008, 11:36 AM »

Here in the U.S. we are now paying $3.50/gallon    That works out to around 92 cents per liter.

231

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: April 30, 2008, 11:16 AM »

My thinking is that with a decent desktop search, tags become less important. The directory structure is not even necessary, it just appeals to my anal retentive side.

232

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: April 30, 2008, 09:51 AM »

Has anybody tried just using Word Docs/Pdfs/Excel/text notes to store their information and using a desktop search engine to tie them all together? I am considering just using a well thought out directory structure and individual documents. The structured folders would do just as well as tagging would in say Evernote and it seems that Copernic would be able to get me just as quick access as any of the dedicated programs do.

The portability of this is very appealing to me. Not to mention that I don't have to have another program running in the background. It is just as easy to print a web page to pdf as it is to clip to OneNote or Evernote.

233

General Software Discussion / Re: XPPro SP3

« on: April 29, 2008, 02:24 PM »

• the TaskBar address Toolbar is still removed (as in the release candidates) - shame but I can live with it. You can always use Windows+R instead

-Carol Haynes (April 24, 2008, 08:13 PM)

You can get it back here:
http://www.systemsab...ress-bar-go-missing/

234

General Software Discussion / Re: XPPro SP3

« on: April 28, 2008, 09:01 PM »

using a slipstreamed XP Pro with SP3.

-edbro (April 28, 2008, 12:49 PM)

what version of XP did you start with edbro - with SP2?

-tomos (April 28, 2008, 02:48 PM)

I used a base version of XP before any service packs. I do have another copy that is SP2 but I've heard it is cleaner to slipstream into a "Gold" disk.

235

General Software Discussion / Re: XPPro SP3

« on: April 28, 2008, 12:49 PM »

I did a full reinstall this weekend using a slipstreamed XP Pro with SP3. There were zero problems and it is running smoothly. I used Nlite to do the slipstream and I added all my device drivers to the cd so that the install found them.  I used the SP3 that MajorGeeks had last week for download.

After the install, I tweaked it just the way I like it, then I made a disk image using Acronis Trueimage 9. I always keep an image of a base install without any added software. That way I am only 5 minutes from a fresh install at any time. For that reason, I do not run a software firewall or antivirus. But, I've never had a virus anyway.

236

Image Manager Shootout / Xnview vs. IrfanView - integrity issue examined

« on: April 23, 2008, 09:45 AM »

Well, I don't know about the legitimacy of the allegations but I think Irfanview could steal a few ideas from Xnview.  I've loaded Irfanview many times trying to like it but I can't get used to its browser. The browser in Xnview is very easy. The browser in Irfanview seems like a separate program.

237

General Software Discussion / Re: EverNote beta 2.2.0.372 has some nice new features

« on: April 21, 2008, 02:53 PM »

I understand why some wouldn't want their data on the web. But, I don't understand all the big fuss about the new version. The way I see it is you can stick with ver 2.2 if you want the advanced stuff or move to 3 if you want your data accessible from the web.

I have looked favorably on this developement because:
1. Ver 2.2 is now free and still has all the features that people are moaning about being lost in 3
2. Choice to move to have data online.

I don't understand all the talk along the lines of "I guess I'll have to look elsewhere". Ver 2.2 still works as well as it did last month. The only thing missing is further development. But, if you are happy about the way it is now then go for it.

238

Living Room / Re: Home Network Recommendations?

« on: April 16, 2008, 01:41 PM »

I just got the HP MediaVault MV2120 NAS yesterday and I gotta say, this baby is nice! Small footprint, low power, linux based. I added a spare disk I had lying around and now I have 1TB shared on the network. It also serves music to my Roku Soundbridge without needing the computer running. I highly recommend this. Only $300 and no data corruption bug in WHS.

239

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 released for free

« on: April 08, 2008, 02:02 PM »

Don't know much about ver 6 but ver 7 is great. I switched to Ashampoo after moving to Vista. Nero was not compatible at the time. Now I prefer Ashampoo BS7 to my Nero 6.

240

General Software Discussion / Re: Audio Interview Explaining *Why* EverNote is Going to a Service

« on: April 08, 2008, 11:27 AM »

I'm curious what the pricing will be. I don't want to migrate all my data to this only to find out months later that I can't afford it.

241

General Software Discussion / Re: Direct Folders 3.3 Released : Now FREE for HOME use

« on: March 30, 2008, 08:22 AM »

Does anybody know how to get it to use the default file manager? I have Directory Opus and I use that for everything. But, if I select a folder from the tray icon, Direct Folders will always open in Explorer.

242

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Portable vs Regular Firefox

« on: March 28, 2008, 08:39 AM »

There are portable versions of Flash available.
From the PortableApps site:
http://portableapps....fox_portable#plugins

Installing Plugins (Flash, Shockwave, etc.)
With Firefox Portable, plugins work a bit differently than they do in regular Firefox. Here's how to do some of the most common plugins:

Flash Plugin - To install Flash, follow these steps:
Flash is available as an extension. Just click the link.
You'll probably see a yellow bar across the top of the browser (if not, skip to Step 5), on that bar, click Edit Options
In the popup window, click Allow to add PortableApps.com to your whitelist and then click close
Now try the link again
You'll see a popup asking if you would like to install, click OK after the countdown and follow along the prompts
Shockwave Plugin - To install Shockwave, follow these steps:
Download the free Shockwave Player from the Macromedia website
Run the installation routine and, instead of letting it install to a local browser, select to choose your browser
Browse to X:\FirefoxPortable\App\firefox (where X is your device's driver letter) and continue with the installation
You may need to restart Firefox Portable for the changes to take effect

243

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Portable vs Regular Firefox

« on: March 24, 2008, 08:08 AM »

Yes, I just checked and I was correct. See here:
http://portableapps....rtable#modifications

244

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Portable vs Regular Firefox

« on: March 24, 2008, 07:40 AM »

Doesn't the portable version disable the cache to cut down on the number of disk writes to a flash drive? I would think that would reduce performance.

245

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Evernote Beta & Evernote free at Giveawayoftheday today

« on: March 21, 2008, 09:44 AM »

Guys, I honestly don't understand all the fuss here. From what I see, you have the option of keeping your database local to your PC or to have it local and online? You choose. If you choose not to synch online then you have the same functionality of ver 2 (except portable sync, I haven't tried that but I notice in a post above that it is gone)

You can also break your notebook up into separate notebooks and upload some but not others. The way I see it, this gives me lots more options. I understand privacy issues, but as I said, you don't have to synch online. Personally, I like having my data available anywhere there is an internet connection.

246

FARR Plugins and Aliases / Re: Google Calendar Quick Add

« on: February 24, 2008, 01:19 PM »

I've been trying to use this plugin but every try ends up with "Please wait" as the result. Of course I wait but after 5 minutes I realize it isn't going to work. I have input my email/password. Is there something I'm missing?

247

General Software Discussion / Re: What's the best program for cooking and recipe management?

« on: January 17, 2008, 11:58 AM »

I use BigOven and really like it. http://www.bigoven.com

I have also heard good things about the Living Cookbook.

248

Living Room / Re: What should I do with my audio CDs?

« on: January 16, 2008, 07:10 PM »

I've been looking at the Squeezebox now that somebody mentioned it in this thread. It looks like you can stream from a standalone Network Attached Storage (NAS). You don't need a PC running. See here for somebody that did it:
http://forums.slimde...owthread.php?t=14977

Others complain about the high price of NAS units and advocated building a cheap, silent PC as a dedicated server. If you had someplace to put it besides the living room, this might be another good option. I am seriously considering a NAS solution using ethernet. I would rather use flac files and I wouldn't want to stream those large files over wireless.

249

Living Room / Re: What should I do with my audio CDs?

« on: January 11, 2008, 06:41 PM »

I have all mine ripped to a lossless format (.ape) but I would never get rid of the physical cds. I still use the CDs in my home stereo system.

I wish there was a hard drive based high fi component that would allow me to play all my music from the digital rips. I know I could use something like an iPod for that but I'm looking for something more substantial with a led readout of the files. I know I could do it if I had a pc based home theater but I really don't want a pc in the living room. I want something that is as easy as my current cd player and had the same look and width as my current hifi components. I can't believe there isn't a market for something like that.

250

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Agnitum is offering 3 for 1

« on: December 22, 2007, 06:55 PM »

is there any argument to be made for continuing to run a software firewall (other than the one that comes with XP) when behind a hardware firewall, MAC address filter, and WEP encryption (router doesn't support WPA  )?

-Darwin (December 22, 2007, 11:55 AM)

I doubt it. I am also behind a hardware firewall (my router) and I have never used a firewall, not even XP's. I have never had a problem. For that matter, I have always had antivirus for the past 10 years but I've never had a virus for it to block.