Messages

51

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« on: September 01, 2015, 03:49 AM »

^I like my DVDs; they're not electronic and have no moving parts and are not likely to suddenly go DOA and lose all my backup data.
But I also like the mini-pc; unitized & modular, little to go wrong, portable, relatively inexpensive (not counting peripherals) and easy to replace with a functional up-to-date unit (unless it no longer handles an older OS).

52

General Software Discussion / "...Windows 7 and 8 are also tracking you – here’s...what to do"

« on: August 31, 2015, 02:10 AM »

"It’s not just Windows 10, Windows 7 and 8 are also tracking you – here’s how to stop them"
quote:
So, what can you do to stop it?

First, you can avoid installing these four updates altogether. If they have already been installed, they can be uninstalled from within the Control Panel (here’s a guide), or advanced users can type the following four commands using an elevated command prompt:

    wusa /uninstall /kb:3068708 /quiet /norestart
    wusa /uninstall /kb:3022345 /quiet /norestart
    wusa /uninstall /kb:3075249 /quiet /norestart
    wusa /uninstall /kb:3080149 /quiet /norestart

[edit (my note): I can bring up a Command Prompt, but don't know what prefix to use with the above uninstall commands.]

Once the updates are uninstalled, use the Windows Update mechanism to “hide” them (here’s a guide) so that your operating system doesn’t try to reinstall them.
end quote (more at the page).

edit: my vintage 486 keyboard has no Windows key with which to call up the uninstall a program window that shows the four unwanted Windows updates on my Windows 7 Pro OS.
So far, I am still trying to bring up that uninstall window without success.

How about a nice DC coding snack macro to do it all automatically for Win 7, 8, and/or 10?

53

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« on: August 30, 2015, 11:41 PM »

Fanless Mini PC HTPC Intel Pentium J2850 Quad Core 2.41GHz Micro PC Barebone - ebay $150 USD w/$50 s&h
My comment: It's a Pentium, quad-core, 2.41GHz.
One (empty) ram slot (probably doubles the total cost including a separately purchased 4GB ram stick).
Spec sheet beneath picture gives more details:
-supports Win 7 & 8, up to 256GB SSD HD, & etc.
I wonder if this means it will not accept my external 200GB EIDE HD, or 500GB & 750GB SATA HDs?

edit: 'Compatible with Win 7 & 8' implies 'incompatible w/Win 10 & etc'.

-bit (August 26, 2015, 11:25 PM)

Even though it is a "small" PC, put in as much RAM as you can afford (8GByte or 16GByte) as that will extend its useful product life significantly. The problem is that your EIDE hard disk cannot be connected to this main board at all. Actually, EIDE isn't supported on any new mother boards for several years now.

Your SATA hard disks could be connected and would work if these didn't have too much storage capacity for the onboard SATA controller. Also, it is highly likely your SATA hard disks are 3,5" models. This model requires a lot more power to operate than the 2.5" model. In other words, your hard disks are too big in size (both physically and in capacity) and too power consuming. The power supply that comes with this device isn't able to cope with those power requirements.

Low power devices always sacrifice (a lot of) capability to get those low power numbers.

You should buy the biggest SSD hard disk this board supports, again to extend the product's life.

If you do all of this, you will be very pleasantly surprised about this device for a long time to come. However, it won't be cheap to buy. It will be quite cheap to run.

Or buy a cheap PC case with power supply, transfer your old main board into this case, including your EIDE hard disk. Sell it / donate it / use it as a NAS server (you should get decent power supply if you do this).

Add new main board with new processor and DDR3/DDR4 RAM to your old PC case. A decent Asus main board with decent Intel i5 processor and 8GByte of DDR3 RAM will set you back around 300 USD here in Paraguay. And in the U.S. hardware is cheaper anyway. You can still use your SATA hard disks on this new main board, the onboard SATA controller can slow down to SATA 1 speeds if your SATA hard disks are SATA 1 models (which is very likely in an old PC as yours is).
 
If you can do the labor and hunting for deals on computer parts yourself, building is usually the cheapest option to buy, but not necessarily cheapest to run. And if not, you'll pay for the labor someone else did in getting parts and assembling them for you.

While I do understand why someone buys an off-the-shelf PC for home use, you won't see me do that. I (still) like to build my own machines from scratch. Mainly because I don't want to be stuck with a sub-par PC that someone else deemed good enough. And that is even more true for laptops, if you talk about sub-par computing (but that is a rant for another day).

-Shades (August 28, 2015, 08:59 AM)

Do you know if the mini-pc would support an external DVD burner?

54

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 30, 2015, 02:57 AM »

MY pc crashed with a BSOD tonight during an action scene while playing a movie on a DVD with VLC media player.
Sounds like some of you guys really think I should pull my CPU cooling fan & fins and give them a fresh cleaning & silvering, so I'm thinking about it.
I've been feeling kind of like the flu lately; it's not, it's just fatigue, but I'm not at my most focused, so I may not get to it right away.
I seem to remember a yt vid suggesting the use of coffee filters for a lint-free cleaning rag substitute.
Or I could use a bunch of q-tips.
I could also use naptha (lighter fluid) instead of 70% rubbing alcohol.

55

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 29, 2015, 11:58 PM »

Go here and make sure it can and is using the HTML5 player, instead of using the default flash based player: https://www.youtube.com/html5

-app103 (August 29, 2015, 05:48 PM)

I've revisited https://www.youtube.com/html5 several times in the same browsers, and it looks like it is reverting to 'default player' each time I visit, even though I reselect it each time.
I'm not sure it is staying with the preferred HTML5 setting.

edit: Maybe it's resetting to 'default' because I use a proxie and don't log in to youtube.
My PaleMoon also uses the Self-Destructing Cookies add-on, preventing permanent yt settings.
But my other browsers don't kill cookies (they're very benevolent). 

56

Living Room / Re: Startups and the Big Lie

« on: August 29, 2015, 10:10 PM »

Often it feels to me like economic success is one big pyramid scheme... Here's an article about the central role lying plays in the startup model where companies raise billions based on a mirage of get-rich-quick success they create.

They have little choice. Funding is contingent on growth, but that growth can only happen if no one really understands the funding situation. Founders have to tell the lie – that everything is fine, that a feature is going to launch even though the engineer for that feature hasn’t been hired yet, that payroll will run even though the VC dollars are still nowhere on the horizon.

Lying is a requisite and daily part of being a founder, the grease that keeps the startup flywheel running.

http://techcrunch.co...ups-and-the-big-lie/
(see attachment in previous post)

from slashdot.org

-mouser (August 02, 2015, 12:02 AM)

Would the flip side of the coin, be the 'entrepreneur' who specializes in buying big financially healthy businesses or factories, then laying everyone off and selling off all the assets at a profit?

For example: James Garner in Cash McCall.

57

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 29, 2015, 06:15 PM »

Go here and make sure it can and is using the HTML5 player, instead of using the default flash based player: https://www.youtube.com/html5

-app103 (August 29, 2015, 05:48 PM)

^Got it, & tnx. 
PaleMoon & Seamonkey seemed the most crashy before.
IE, PaleMoon, & Seamonkey had to be switched; FF & Chrome were already set to it.
The TOR Vidalia FF is really 'iffy' about playing any vids at all, but was already set to it.

Do you think DC's ProcessTamer would help, or is only going to add more overload to the OS?
I have tried both with and without using it, and can't decide which way is better.

58

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 29, 2015, 05:26 PM »

^ & ^^ Tnx. 
So Intel was using some kind of substandard heat transfer compound between the CPU & lid?
Did they stop doing that yet?

Okay, my CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core processor 4400+, and not Intel, which came to me 6 or 8 years ago as a custom build with an aftermarket CPU cooling fin & fan unit.
I did watch the 'delidding' video, and don't think I want to try that, and anyway mine is an AMD.

Sometime last year, the ASUS mobo told me the CPU fan died and was refusing to boot.
So I had to pull the CPU cooling fin unit anyway to replace the custom CPU fan with a factory-issue ASUS CPU fan that came with the mobo and which I had kept in storage.
In doing so, I had to replace the silver paste.
I had a tube of some 'arctic silver' (I think that is the name) unopened 'in case of need', and I carefully cleaned off the CPU and mating surface of the cooling fin unit, and reapplied fresh silver paste.
So the only thing I can think of is if I somehow did it wrong, but I had watched a video on how to do it first and tried to copy the vid's instructions carefully.
But the crashes only started happening a few months ago, and seem to be related to Adobe updates and online videos, altho I'm only guessing.

The original video card was an NVidia 6800, which quit last year, and was replaced with an NVidia GTS 450, in case that might be a factor.

59

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 29, 2015, 01:42 AM »

Okay, my computer is now getting plenty of air.
It crashed a couple of times today, one a BSOD and one just a PaleMoon crash watching YT (youtube).
The YT crash was an Adobe crash of PaleMoon, followed by a mssg 'do you want to continue plug-in?'
Adobe sure seems crashy to me.

What is this mysterious 'plug-in' that is always trying to run with the vids and crashing PaleMoon?
I always click on 'no' that I don't want to run the plug-in, and when there is no crash, the vid plays fine anyway.

The only 'sure way' to avoid YT crashes, seems to be to download the vid, then play it back from Desktop (then delete it).

60

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« on: August 28, 2015, 04:27 PM »

^Shades, tnx 1000x. 
Altho I don't have the money to do it now, I could not pass up the opportunity to do a little data gathering for future reference.
Specs say 8GB ram max; Win 7 & 8.1 (it does not actually say Win 10).
It looks like it is so simple & unified that there is very little that could ever go wrong.
Or if it ever went DOA, it is like a cheap modular replaceable unit, just buy another.
Overall cost would include price of 256GB SSD, 8 or 16 GB ram stick, a separate SSD HD cloning device, and so on.

I would hope to see the price on this model go down with demand for newer Win 10 compatible models.
Then again, a pricier newer model may in time come out with 6-core or 8-core CPU.
Also, I need a minimum of 200GB HD, plus a duplicate HD for backups (preferably 2 or 3 backup HDs).
A 'mini-pc' has the advantage that you get to use your own monitor & keyboard, unlike a laptop.
I understand better now why it cannot support a bigger or older HD & other details. Tnx again. 

61

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« on: August 26, 2015, 11:25 PM »

Fanless Mini PC HTPC Intel Pentium J2850 Quad Core 2.41GHz Micro PC Barebone - ebay $150 USD w/$50 s&h
My comment: It's a Pentium, quad-core, 2.41GHz.
One (empty) ram slot (probably doubles the total cost including a separately purchased 4GB ram stick).
Spec sheet beneath picture gives more details:
-supports Win 7 & 8, up to 256GB SSD HD, & etc.
I wonder if this means it will not accept my external 200GB EIDE HD, or 500GB & 750GB SATA HDs?

edit: 'Compatible with Win 7 & 8' implies 'incompatible w/Win 10 & etc'.

62

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« on: August 26, 2015, 10:33 PM »

(see attachment in previous post)    (see attachment in previous post)    (see attachment in previous post)
Amazon.com  Good Quality Windows 7 Ultimate Operating System Desktop Computer with 4g Ram, 128g Ssd Support Linux Mini Computer Dual Display Office Computer
 (see attachment in previous post)
Anyone here interested in a mini-PC?

-Arizona Hot (August 21, 2015, 03:01 AM)

Just what I daydream about sometimes, a compact all-in-one affordable mini-pc.  
But I have no way to compare what I'm looking at.
Amazon price tag = $221 USD (w/4GB ram; upgradable to 8GB)
I see it's a Celeron quad-core (quote: Intel Celeron Processor J1900(Quad-Core 2M Cache,2 GHz, up to 2.41 GHz)), instead of a Pentium (i.e. I've always heard Pentium-based CPUs were supposed to be better).

Two questions:
1) Could I do better with a tower for the same price?
2) How does this compare to my present machine?
My specs: mid-tower, ASUS A8N-SLI Premium mobo, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+, 4.0GB ram (3 usable w/Win7 Pro 32bit), NVidia GeForce GTS 450.

I am totally not sure if I could plug my WD (Western Digital) platter-type SATA HD into the mini-pc either as primary or secondary HD.
If one were to graph this product as a general class (i.e. a 'palmtop' [as opposed to a 'laptop']), one would presume a steady rise in performance & capacity of newer or competing models over time, with a gradual broadening of price range vs. ever hotter specs.
Already I can see that its 7 watts power consumption would represent a considerable energy savings over my mid-tower's 600 watt PSU.

edit: Amazon product page quote - "128g Ssd Support"
Does that mean it does or does not have onboard HD?
Does it mean it is limited to no more than 128GB external add-on HD capacity?
Does it mean it only accepts SSD HDs and not EIDE or SATA external add-on HDs?

also quote - "4G RAM,128G SSD.mall Computer"
What is a 'SSD.mall'?

Found more models here.

63

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« on: August 22, 2015, 11:22 PM »

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu [Tokyo Highway]


This next is not a pure 'music vid', but Japanese musician superstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who at 20 years old has already been on one musical world tour, rides a unicycle through an obstacle course here;
1) first, starting at zero to ten seconds into the video shows preview shot of her on a unicycle, then;
2) secondly, from 8m10s to 10m36s, she does the actual obstacle course, and she's good at it.

64

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« on: August 22, 2015, 10:31 PM »

I slipped up on my last 100th mark, so I suggest a forum feature that reminds people when they are within say 2 posts of a new 100th milestone.
So when you go to make a post, you're already set to post something, so it allows for that by telling you basically that the post after your next will be a 100th.
Or...something like that.  

edit: with opt/in-out feature.

65

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« on: August 22, 2015, 09:56 PM »

H₂O croutons...my new favorite term.  
 (see attachment in previous post)

-app103 (August 19, 2015, 03:51 PM)

^Dr. Jeckyll took a few sips and became Mr. Hydrated.

66

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 22, 2015, 09:44 PM »

^That's amazing the computer can shut itself down to protect from heat damage.

67

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« on: August 21, 2015, 03:22 PM »

Latest forecast suggests 'Godzilla El Niño' may be coming to California ...and everywhere downwind...IMHO basically the entire US.

One winter the owner of a beach front South Mission Bay house had a plus tide and storm surf sending waves into his living room through his big ocean front picture window.
Sooo, the next summer he had a nice big solid concrete block wall put up across the front yard.
The following winter, the storm waves hurled concrete blocks through his living room picture window.  
'It's not nice to fool Mother Nature'.

68

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« on: August 21, 2015, 02:06 PM »

https://www.youtube..../watch?v=QZ6lB7FKxi8

-MilesAhead (July 26, 2015, 11:55 AM)

that one blocked here (most of those you posted are blocked :-/)
but I found this one:
Pharoah Sanders - Heart Is a Melody (full album)

I'm stuck on the first track (Olé), I just love the groove he gets into - that lovely repetitive rolling melody (riff?), with the sax going wild on top ...
sounds very risqué, doesn't it
it's brilliant

Just listening to the original from Coltrane - it's very different.

-tomos (August 18, 2015, 02:07 PM)

I usually get through with FF & add-on Youtube Unblocker.

69

General Software Discussion / Re: win update issues

« on: August 20, 2015, 01:00 AM »

Mine used to want to run the same 11 updates over and over every 2 days.
Now, it wants to do 12.
I shut it off (updates), partly also b/c I'm nervous about it someday deciding to upgrade me to Windows 10 without asking; I'm still watching how others make out before I jump into that.
Someone also said when you update to Windows 10 it saves all your old Windows 7 (or whatever), and requires about XX-GB of free HD space, and I only run 30GB free space anyways.
But getting back to your original question, every so often I try to run updates, and that's been my experience; endless re-updater loop.

70

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 19, 2015, 10:14 PM »

Shades, I think we're on the right track: heat!

71

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« on: August 18, 2015, 06:11 PM »

^heat is possible.

72

Living Room / Re: Robert A. Heinlein - atmospheric processor question

« on: August 18, 2015, 04:17 PM »

Found these game playthroughs based on Arthur C. Clarke's 'Rama' book series;
1-1996 (w/o commentary): RAMA gameplay video #1
2-1996 (with commentary): Rama Walkthrough Part 1
3-Description of 1984 Trillium Corp. 'Rendezvous With Rama' game.
The 1984 version was played with an Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, or MSX.
The 1984 gameplay screenshots seem pixillated, but check out the awesome cover art.
4-Wiki page of 1996 Sierra Adventure version.

73

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« on: August 18, 2015, 09:36 AM »

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -Sweet Powder Room
show + behind the scenes

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's 'cute expression', plz go here and start playback at 3 minutes 18 seconds.  (^‿^)

74

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« on: August 18, 2015, 08:25 AM »

kyary pamyu pamyu - Mondai Girl

75

Living Room / Re: Robert A. Heinlein - atmospheric processor question

« on: August 17, 2015, 05:23 PM »

Spacers, don't forget to pick up a pair of Magna-Boots™ for that next big star hop!
-Offer void where prohibited by law,
-Not certified for the near side of Mercury, Venus, or non-ferrous hulls & decks,
-Rebates must be postmarked from Pluto,
-Velcro and sucker cup attachments extra (10% discount offer on accessories valid only at time of original purchase),
-Impress your buds; go retro and add a pair of authentic real vintage old-time shoelaces!
-Product may not match promotional image,
-Include foot tracing wearing socks for precise fit (hint: do this at end of work shift after feet swell unless working in zero-G conditions),
-Special Warranty Extension valid only if accompanied by lightspeed time stamped RMA form & original receipt (no FTL cheaters!),
-Money-back guarantee! (submissions must be accompanied by Death Certificate or DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) form signed by attending ER physician or certified mortician).