Messages

276

Clipboard Help+Spell / Minimized Startup not working

« on: November 08, 2005, 05:23 AM »

I don't know if it's just my system or what.. but Clipboard Help & Spell will not start up minimized on my system, even when I set it to do just that from the program's options. What's up?

277

General Software Discussion / Re: Best Personal Translation/Dictionary/Thesaurus Software?

« on: November 08, 2005, 03:42 AM »

Did anyone here buy the desktop version of visual thesaurus? If so, could anyone post screenshots? Thanks

278

General Software Discussion / Re: Best Personal Translation/Dictionary/Thesaurus Software?

« on: November 08, 2005, 12:24 AM »

If only I had the time for that type of thing...

279

General Software Discussion / Re: Best Personal Translation/Dictionary/Thesaurus Software?

« on: November 08, 2005, 12:02 AM »

I never said I thought it was bad. I even said I'd never used it before . I'm quite willing to try it. Oh and I forgot to say... I'm totally willing to pay for this type of thing.

280

Unfinished Requests / Re: Work-Mode Lock

« on: November 07, 2005, 11:53 PM »

Awesome ideas, mouser! Really, great extensions to what I wrote earlier. That's awesome . Sure, if you like, move it over there. I can't believe this might turn into a real piece of software . How freaking cool would that be

281

General Software Discussion / Best Personal Translation/Dictionary/Thesaurus Software?

« on: November 07, 2005, 11:52 PM »

My license for Babylon Pro ran out last week. I'm on the lookout for the best software in this category now. This type of software is EXTREMELY useful for just about anyone. And being that I am a college student, it is not only useful but crucial to my every day work.

I like Babylon Pro but I can't quite believe that it is the best the world has to offer in that category. The only other program of that type I know about is WordWeb, which I've never tried before. Its interface does not look as elegant as Babylon's, and Babylon offers official dictionaries like Merriam-Webster and Oxford Concise English Dictionary in electronic form, something I don't think WordWeb is doing. Anyway.. would anyone know more about this? I'd highly appreciate any suggestions.

Of course, you can always look things up at dictionary.com. But what if you're offline? And also, if you're looking stuff up on a website you first have to query that website, even if it's as easy as typing "d" in the address bar, followed by a space and then the word you're looking for - (that's the way dictionary.com is set up as a custom search in my Opera browser). Babylon also comes with its own OCR engine which allows you to search a word in it by holding a button combo on the keyboard and right-clicking any word on the screen. That makes for very fast lookups, something that no website could offer.

I think I've said enough.

282

Unfinished Requests / Work-Mode Lock

« on: November 07, 2005, 11:44 PM »

The PC is like a virus. And the internet is its catalyst. I get carried away by stuff on the web so easily, I can't believe how fast time flies. And of course I don't get ANYTHING done in that time. So I had an idea... what if we had a little program that would allow the user to hit a button called WORK-MODE, which would lock all anti-productive applications on the system from being launched. It should be customizable too. The program would ask you to provide paths to the executables and would lock those programs from being launched. I would probably feed it my web-browser (Opera), my email app (Thunderbird), my IM app (Trillian) and my multimedia players (Media Player Classic & QMP). Now all you could run is your productivity software, like, if you're writing a paper, MS Word or if you're coding, your editor, like Eclipse, or whatever it is you're using. You get the point. I wonder if anyone has ever come up with this before? If not, it sounds like a very cool project. I wish I could code it myself.. but hell, I'm nowhere near that proficient a coder. I can't even call myself a coder. Anyway... what do you think?

Obviously, this concept relies on self-control. If you can put the system in work-mode, you can also revert it back to play-mode. You would need a basic amount of discipline and perseverance to make this work, but I'd think that anyone willing to install such a program should have that and should be willing and able to MAKE themselves do work and be productive. I can imagine all sorts of features already... like, say, a timer. Set up a certain amount of time and the program will keep the system locked in work-mode for that amount of time until the timer runs out. Even better, include a random password generator that would protect the timer from access even by the user himself, lol. That way you could TRULY force yourself. Well... at least until you resort to CTRL ALT DEL... and even if that fails, there is always APT. In essence, if you'd really like to regain full control of the system, you could at any time, but the point would be to willingly refuse to do so.

Anyway.. this is already longer than it should be. I got my point across.

283

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for finance app

« on: November 07, 2005, 12:51 PM »

Last night I went ahead and bought Quicken 2006 Deluxe. I just found the feature I've been looking for all along... and it's blowing me away!! Quicken has a very powerful find&replace feature.. it lets you search for a certain payee through your entire list of transactions and then lets you edit any field you want (amount, cleared status, memo, date, category/class, check number, payee) IN ONE SINGLE STEP. That's precisely the feature I was looking for and I'm extremely happy I found it . Now I can categorize my spendings with blazing speed. Without this feature you have to go through the entire list.. of possibly years of (in my case, just over one year), spending records.. assigning a category to each payee manually, ONE BY ONE. Just imagine that.. and that's what I've attempted to do a few times before, before I got frustrated and gave up.

This feature rocks! /me is loving Quicken. I also signed up with my bank for Quicken access online last night and today I can already access the account through Quicken's one-step update without any problems. It's rather amazing. I'm never seeing that online banking page again

284

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 07, 2005, 12:46 PM »

They are! The initial price may be higher.. but on the laser printer I have now... I had ZERO maintenance costs for its entire life. I didn't have to replace my print toner ONCE. It lasted three years. You can't say that anyone could pull that off with a Pixma

Still, I've pretty much decided to get a Pixma. Just don't know whether to get a 760 or a 780. The inks are seperate so I'll be buying black ones more often but that's ok. I don't print TONS of papers . How much would a black ink cartridge for it be?

285

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 07, 2005, 10:18 AM »

I'm not worried about quality. I'm worried about maintenance costs, especially considering the ink. I already know that they are great printers with great quality

286

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 07, 2005, 12:08 AM »

I don't know if I'll be able to resist the lure of all the benefits the Pixma's offer... as opposed to buying the best monochrome laser printer I can find

287

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 06, 2005, 11:22 PM »

Doing research on this is really hard. Yeah.. I know color lasers aren't exactly what you'd want for pictures. I think I'm dreaming here. I should really stick to a B&W laser printer. I don't seem to be able to find one with duplexing though
That's why the Pixmas are so damn attractive.. duplexing, great color & photos, scanner, copier and all that.. good text.. it's got it all! I just wonder how long the cartridges last, because that could become pricey pretty quickly.

288

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 06, 2005, 10:27 PM »

Hmmm.. that works. Or I could get a cheap color laser! I'm reading reviews on pcmag.com now

289

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 06, 2005, 07:36 PM »

Good point. Well.. there go the dreams of having a color printer then

290

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 06, 2005, 06:23 PM »

Why would you not use one to print out papers?

I like the Pixmas because they're color and they are great all-in-ones. Once you try to get a laser all in one, even just monochrome, it gets more expensive quickly. A color laser all-in-one is very, very pricey. Or maybe I haven't done my research well enough? It happens quite often that I have to copy something and I like being able to scan in documents for various reasons. I also like how most of these devices will let you copy a paper without even using the computer.. just put it in and hit copy .
Another feature I really like is duplex printing. It saves paper and is compact and nice. Sometimes it's pretty annoying when data is printed on only one side of the paper, especially when you're printing  longer documents.

All of the above are nicely combined in the two Pixma's I ended up with through research. The question of how fast you go through the black cartridge and how long it lasts for text printing remains, however.

I need to start the research over again looking for a B&W all-in-one laser printer. That's the other thing.. with inkjet technology, I can get the Pixma MP780 for like.. 200 bucks. That gives me duplex printing, a good scanner, a fast printer, an independent copier, excellent and computer independent photo prints, and all of the preceding in color. Try to find that with laser technology for 200 bucks...

291

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 06, 2005, 05:32 PM »

My dad's saying I should just get a monochrome laser printer because I'll mostly be printing text. That's true, but I really like the idea of having a Pixma MP760 or MP780. Having that said, how is the ink usage on those Pixma's? That's my single biggest concern about going inkjet over laser. It's true, I WILL be printing text more than anything else, but I plan to get some images in there as well, being that I bought a brand new camera recently. The scanning feature is important to me. That's why I landed with these Pixmas. They seem to be great for scanning, copying and with good quality on all fronts. How long do the ink cartridges last.. and are they expensive? I know they are seperate, which is great.. but how long will the black cartridge last me if I print a lot of text? And I don't print THAT much, really. Papers of course.. guides, an article here and there, some spreadsheets. I'm just wondering how long the black cartridge would last me for average text printing. I guess it's average after all, not "a lot".

If the cartridges are expensive or if they don't last long at all.. I might consider getting a laser printer after all.

292

General Software Discussion / Re: Lavasoft is getting into the firewall game.

« on: November 05, 2005, 04:55 PM »

I don't quite get the point either. I guess so that Lavasoft can make more money. Why anyone would go with their solution over Outpost itself is beyond me. Well, unless you don't do any research, which, come to think of it, is the huge majority of people

293

General Software Discussion / How to automate this?

« on: November 04, 2005, 11:19 PM »

How could I automate the following: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup ?

Just wondering.. I've never dealt with automation before and wonder how it could be done. Then there is also this: http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/ which seems like a nice alternative, I just don't know if both methods yield the same result.

294

General Software Discussion / Re: Lavasoft is getting into the firewall game.

« on: November 04, 2005, 11:17 PM »

It doesn't just look like an Outpost clone, it IS Outpost!
To quote Paranoid2000 from the link you provided: "Please see Lavasoft Launches Leading Personal Firewall Solution - Lavasoft have licensed a version of Outpost from Agnitum with just the Attack Detection plugin (the full version includes Active Content, Ads, Anti-Spyware, Attachment Quarantine, Content and DNS Cache plugins)."

I love Outpost. I just wonder if the way I use it actually does anything to protect me.. I always have it in the "learning" mode and I have granted full in&out access to Skype and Trillian because they make so many requests it's insane.

295

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 04, 2005, 06:54 AM »

Perfect. Thanks everyone for the input. I'm trying to decide between the MP760 and MP780 now . The price is about the same, except for some reason 760 availability is quite a bit worse than the presence of the MP780 in the marketplace.

296

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 04, 2005, 04:40 AM »

I totally forgot that I called T-Mobile on Monday and that they're sending me a $600 cheque for a deposit I made a year ago . That means I should be able to get the PIXMA 760 or 780.. I don't need fax, so I'm undecided about which one to choose. I just checked my online banking as well and realized that I have to pay rent.. after rent, I'm broke for now!! Need to hit up the parents for the next wire transfer . I've been spending money like crazy.. but the digicam and equipment were something I was long planning to get and my parents never sent me money for that. I just spent it and have to transfer money to my dad's account from my own account back home.. he never gave me the transfer information though.. Argh.. not good!

Oh well.. it'll work out.

297

Living Room / Re: Buying a new printer

« on: November 04, 2005, 03:42 AM »

Good to know. Yeah, me likes Canon too. My Canon A620 is one hell of a camera. I'm just waiting for the SD card.. I've got everything else. Can't wait . Now to buy a printer too.. just when I thought the universe is contained within the internet, in other words, if it's not online, it certainly isn't offline , I can't seem to find nearly as much info as I'd like in this printer research ordeal :/

Things I forgot to mention:

• I don't need fax
• One of the main reasons I'm really liking the MP760 is that it has built-in duplex support.. that's something I've always missed in a home printer
• I'm not sure how much I'll use the printer's ability to directly print from memory cards like my new Canon's SD card... I suppose I'll want to see the pics in their full glory on the PC screen before printing anything. Hmmmm
• I sure as hell don't need the ability to scan negatives or anything like that.. I've been all digital for almost three years now

The three prime things I need to know/find out:

• The difference between the Canon PIXMA PM130 and PM170 (performance and quality, since price is about the same)
• WTF is the deal with the Canon PIXMA PM450 (can be had pretty cheaply! Only like.. 20 bucks more than the PM170) and PM500 (similar story)!? How much better are they really compared to the PM130 and PM170?
• The PM760, the object of my desire. Is it worth it? What's the best deal you can find on this one? I haven't found it anywhere for less than 200

298

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Quirk

« on: November 04, 2005, 03:35 AM »

Don't get me wrong. There is no delay when I first select something. It's instantaneous. I think the delay happens once you hit a letter that is NOT represented by any item in the place you're at. If I had a folder with files called

ABC.txt
BAC.txt
CAB.txt

I could cycle through those files instantaneously by hitting "a", "b" and "c". However, once I had any other letter than a, b or c AND THEN REATTEMPT the "letter selection" thing THEN I have a delay. It's hard to explain :/

299

General Software Discussion / Re: Lock a folder down?

« on: November 04, 2005, 03:32 AM »

That looks just like the type of thing I was looking for.. I'll check it out when I get around to it. Thank you

300

Living Room / Buying a new printer

« on: November 04, 2005, 03:20 AM »

My long lived Brother HL-1440 B&W laser printer crapped out on me just days ago. I've had it for about three years now, still with the same drum & toner cartridge (I think)! It served me greatly while it lasted.. but last week I got this loud rattling noise whenever I printed something. Prints would still come out fine, but the rattling was very loud and it was pretty damn obvious that something was wrong with the interior of the device. It doesn't appear to be the toner.. rather, it seems that it is the "drum". I'm not sure, however. My problem is that this printer is 4 to 5 years old and I'm not exactly having an easy time finding a drum replacement. I took the toner and drum components out and disassembled the drum as far as I could and identified where the rattling is coming from but was unable to fix it. No matter what angle I looked at it from and no matter what I tried, I couldn't figure out why the hell this long "roll" part was so terribly stuck as to call the rattling. This printer is worth next to nothing these days (check eBay) and I'm thinking I want to buy a multi function printer. I'd love to be able to copy documents without having to rely on my computer, and the ability to scan would be a great plus as well.

Add to this that I just got done with a shopping spree for digital photo equipment, (complete list here), and you can imagine I could use something that's not to bad at printing photos either. I don't need a world class photo printer, otherwise I'd get a dedicated photo printer and not an all in one device.. but I'm looking for the printer with emphasis on good text output, low maintenance cost and good scanning quality.

There are so many printers of this kind out there that the research I've done so far is making my head spin. I've decided to go with Canon for a brand as I trust the company and have been using their cameras my whole life. Not only that but their printers also get consistently good reviews almost across the whole board.

I'm rather lost on the price range.. this one looks to be a good one: the Canon Pixma PM130 (check out the user comments!), but according to Canon's site the Pixma PM170 is newer than the 130, and then there is the MP450, the MP500 and the MP760. There are reviews up for the MP130 from CNET.com and PCmag.com and neither have anything terrible to say about it. They say scanning is kind of shitty, but one user commented on CNET that once you increase the scanning resolution, the color issues almost vanish. That's great, but as I said then there's the MP170, which is newer than the MP130, but I have not found any reviews of it yet. I have mixed feelings about the MP450 and MP500, partly due to the fact that again, I was unable to find any reliable reviews of them. The MP760 seems to be a surefire winner as all reviews I've read pretty much rave about it and place it among the very best all in one printers of that price range. But then I'm looking at a price difference of a hundred dollars between the MP130 or MP170 and the MP760.. I'm not sure if I want to spend over $200 dollars on a printer, even if the 760 seems to kick ass. I've been spending money left and right like a madman lately, (just look at the photo equipment link I provided earlier), and I can't say that I'm done either. I'm still new in my apartment and having your own place is the devil... you realize only then how many freaking things you need/should have. It really drains your pocket rather quickly..

What are your opinions? Does anyone have experience with these printers.. any advice? Generally I much prefer laser over inkjet, but the all-in-one color laser devices far exceed what I'm willing to pay right now, so that's out of the question.

I'm grateful for any tips/recommendations/links.. anything, really. Share your wisdom with me