Messages

2551

Living Room / Re: The Greatest Graphic Novel of All Time: Watchmen

« on: March 08, 2009, 05:27 PM »

Felt totally dissatisfied after the movie (Eragon) and only now I hear it's about a story in a book. Should have guessed that after the ending of the movie  

Maybe if I could get it as (damn near) free ebook or something, it would be worth reading. That movie really left a bad taste and I consider myself a fantasy fan because of all the books I read, movies I've seen and games I played (computer and table-top alike).

Sorry, but I disagree with you (at least with this movie :-)). Personal preference would be first the book and see the movie after when you are feeling up to it...for some (seriously) twisted up story adapted by the hollyweird studios.

Ah well, in this part of the world we have to wait at least 3 to 4 months before it is shown in the theaters. Time enough for me to get ready     

2552

Post New Requests Here / Re: Random frame thumbnail of movie files in explorer

« on: March 08, 2009, 05:15 PM »

Looks to me that your question results either in huge automatically generated (by Windows) thumbnail file for each movie (at least the size of the original movie) or enormous bite out of the available CPU resources every time you open a folder with these kind of files. And you should hope that those files are not cached else you have one movie (700Mb), one thumbnail file (700Mb) and a cached version (700Mb) on your system, which adds up quickly.

Although I like your idea, it seems a bit impractical (maintenance wise) to me.

 

2553

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Paragon Partition Manager 9 Special Edition - FREE!

« on: March 08, 2009, 03:22 PM »

For registration:
http://www.paragon-software.com/registration/pm90se.html

For the software:
http://www.vnudownloads.co.uk/partitionManager9special-20080328-1337-en.exe

A few days ago I was still able to get it, now a continuous time-out message appears. If you want I can send the installation file (FTP) or chopped into pieces with winrar and mail them. It's near 100 Mbyte I believe.

2554

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your preferred File Manager

« on: March 07, 2009, 04:28 PM »

Time to add a new one on the list of available explorer alternatives:
FlexTk   -  It comes in several flavors, one of them being free.

Seems to be really alternative when I look at the GUI pictures from the 110 page manual (PDF), which mentions also some interesting concepts of file management.

Outtake from the manual about the functionality in the software:

FlexTk is an advanced file management toolkit allowing one to search and classify files, scan file systems and apply rule-based, file organizing or data migration policies, synchronize files and directories, analyze storage utilization, copy large amounts of files in a fault-tolerant way, identify duplicate files and free-up wasted storage space. All file management operations are
available through a centralized and easy-to-use GUI application with a built-in file navigator
allowing one to execute any required command in a single mouse click.

or way more extensively:

Spoiler

1.1 File Classification and Organizing
The FlexTk file management toolkit is capable of scanning disks, network shares and enterprise storage systems, classifying all the existing files and organizing them into a categorized file hierarchy. FlexTk automatically recognizes more than 2000 file types and allows one to browse or export the categorized file hierarchy, perform various actions on specific files or file groups and physically reorganize existing files according to a user-defined list of rules and policies. The FlexTk’s built-in Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) engine allows one to define multiple HSM policies and apply them simultaneously during a single pass through one or more file systems.

1.2 Advanced, Rule-Based File Search
FlexTk provides powerful and flexible file search capabilities allowing one to search files using multiple search criteria including the file name, file type, file size, access/modification/creation times, text or binary patterns, etc. The user is provided with the ability to define composite search queries using multiple search rules and apply the AND/OR logical operators. Frequently used search queries may be saved  in  the predefined search  list  and executed  in a single
mouse click.

1.3 Multi-Stream File Synchronization
The FlexTk file management toolkit provides advanced file synchronization capabilities allowing one to synchronize files between directories, local disks and network shares. The FlexTk’s built-in file synchronization engine offers numerous one-way and two-way file synchronization modes, rule-based file matching capabilities and advanced performance tuning options. Frequently used file synchronization operations may be pre-configured as user-defined commands and executed in a single mouse click. Moreover, FlexTk allows one to create desktop shortcuts for user-defined file synchronization commands and execute them directly from the Windows desktop without the need to start the main FlexTk GUI application.

1.4 Real-Time Disk Monitor
FlexTk Ultimate includes a built-in disk monitor capable of detecting file creations, modifications, attribute changes and deletions in real-time. The real-time disk monitor provides the user with the ability to monitor one or more disks, directories or network shares and detect all changes made in the monitored file systems. In addition, the user is provided with the ability to specify conditional real-time actions capable of executing FlexTk’s user-defined commands, custom commands,  scripts or batch files.

1.5 File Copy and Data Migration
The FlexTk file management toolkit provides a large number of advanced multi-stream file copy and rule-based data migration capabilities allowing one to copy vast amounts of files fast, efficiently and reliably. FlexTk allows one to copy files  including access control lists (ACLs), security attributes, ownership information, timestamps and file attributes.
The user is provided with a large number of flexible copy performance tuning and fault tolerance options allowing one to copy data at various speeds, recover failed copy operations and minimize the potential impact on running production systems. The data migration engine is especially optimized for modern hardware platforms and capable of effectively  utilizing powerful RAID controllers, multi-CPU/multi-core servers and Gigabit Ethernet networks.

1.6 Storage Utilization Analysis
Overtime, disks on home computers and enterprise storage systems collect outdated files wasting storage space and making it difficult to find the required information. The FlexTk file management toolkit provides advanced storage utilization analysis capabilities allowing one to analyze one or more local disks or network shares, identify abnormal storage utilization
patterns and automatically execute (FlexTk Ultimate Only) user-defined actions. In addition, the user is provided with the ability to browse files and directories sorted by the used storage space, identify disk utilization hotspots and export storage utilization reports into a number of standard formats such as HTML, Excel CSV and ASCII text.

1.7 Duplicate Files Finder
FlexTk’s built-in duplicate files finder provides a large number of advanced features and capabilities allowing one to identify and cleanup duplicate files on personal computers and enterprise storage systems. In addition, ower users and IT professionals are provided with policy-based duplicate files detection and removal capabilities (FlexTk Ultimate only) allowing one to define custom duplicate files detection and removal commands and execute them in a fully unattended, automatic mode.

1.8 User-Defined Commands
The FlexTk file management toolkit is a powerful and flexible product providing a large number of features, capabilities and configuration options allowing one to perform many different file and storage management operations. In order to simplify  management and execution of frequently used operations, FlexTk provides the user with the ability to add user-defined
commands. All major product features such as file search, classification, organizing, synchronization, copy, move, delete,  storage utilization analysis, duplicate files search and disk monitoring may be added as user-defined commands and pre-configured for user-specific needs and custom hardware configurations.

1.9 Built-In Disk Cleaner
All Internet browsers and many popular online applications are using the local hard disk to cache web pages, images and video files. Information from visited web sites is stored in your Internet  browser's ache, wasting your storage space and  compromising your  privacy. In general, it is a good practice to cleanup your hard disk once a month. The FlexTk file
management toolkit includes a built-in disk cleaner allowing one to cleanup the disk and reclaim wasted storage space.

1.10 File Management and Navigation
The FlexTk file management toolkit is integrated around a unique file navigator providing advanced file system navigation capabilities, location bookmarks and file filters. The FlexTk' built-in file navigator allows one to execute any required operation in a single mouse click.

2555

Living Room / Re: World of Goo - Indie Game with Great Reviews?

« on: March 07, 2009, 03:10 PM »

xplorer2 comes with a toolbar nowadays? 

2556

Living Room / Re: which is better for hard drive transfers: ide or usb cable

« on: March 07, 2009, 11:52 AM »

It takes about ten minutes to transfer 10GByte over a 100Mbit network using Total copy, a shell extension that really speeds up copying over a network. Only the system that initiates the transfer requires the software, nothing has to be installed on the receiving system.

When you have an external HD, use that for transferring data. Nothing beats the ease of use from that solution, but the Total copy thing is a close second...which also doesn't require you to open up machines and toy around with HD's.

2557

DC Gamer Club / Re: Explore Island - A *MASSIVE* Trackmania Track

« on: March 06, 2009, 11:20 PM »

Sorry dude, wanted to vote your video as cool, but I didn't feel like subscribing to a service I am never going to use anyway. Like I need any more messages added to my 150 spam messages a day (and I only have subscribed only to reputable websites who promised me that my privacy is their concern), luckily DC is nothing like that. Another reason why everybody and their grandmother should whip out their credit card and donate.

2558

Living Room / Re: XP Password work around?

« on: March 06, 2009, 08:29 PM »

You have boot CD's that help you erase the admin password and change it to something you like. I believe that software came also on floppy as well.

Besides that, when that system starts and it shows all available user accounts (fast login screen) hit CTRL+ALT+DEL a few times for showing the administrator account. Works like a charm. If she knows that password she can log in and change the password for her normal account. Saves a reformat. And if she doesn't, use the trick with the floppy or CD.

 EDIT: Darn, PhilB beat me to it

2559

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Paragon Drive Backup 9 Special Edition For Free!

« on: March 05, 2009, 05:10 PM »

Right now the deal is still available, just received some generated credentials for registering from Paragon, and I'm currently (still  ) downloading.

2560

Living Room / Re: The Greatest Graphic Novel of All Time: Watchmen

« on: March 03, 2009, 11:37 PM »

Personally I was always fond of: Black Moon Chronicles, Franka (move over Lara Croft!!), ElfQuest, Slaine and some others that are way of the grid.

What can I say, Paris and London were close by from where I spent my youth, so the French and English comics were easier to get than the US ones.  

2561

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

« on: March 03, 2009, 11:09 PM »

@Nosh:
Salma Hayek was recently married, as far as I know...and grief, because she is one hot Latina!  Grieving is because she's off the market...yeah, yeah, you don't have to tell me that my chances on her would be as favorable as a snowball surviving hell, but still, I clinged to some hope until recently.

Ah well, there is Penelope Cruz, a Spanish actress that could fill up her place, as you can see in 'Bandidas' (together with Salma, hmmmmm ) and 'Woman on top'.

[/fantasizing]

EDIT: added links

2562

Living Room / Re: How do you know if an lcd is dieing?

« on: March 03, 2009, 11:00 PM »

Although the price of a new monitor is low, it can be (sometimes) easy enough to repair...I should say exchange parts. Recently I did that with two broken LG's of the same type/model. One had a lot of dead pixels (more like a black hole) and another that would not turn on anymore.

On a lost Sunday I took both apart, exchanged parts and now there is one functioning monitor again. That was actually (relatively) easy, since the LCD panel itself and the electronics were two separate parts that were connected with a flat cable that slides into a click-on connector and an earth/mass cable. It was harder to open the LCD panel (without damaging it) than exchanging the parts.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

2563

Living Room / Re: How do you know if an lcd is dieing?

« on: March 03, 2009, 07:19 PM »

Seems that the power management from your monitor is on the fritz. After it is showing the expected signal, does it remain functioning ok?

2564

General Software Discussion / Re: wanted: alternative to FastStone Image Viewer

« on: March 01, 2009, 02:19 PM »

You tried XNview or IrfanView already?

Don't know about XNView as IrfanView is my personal default viewer, because of the raw speed and in v4.x you can edit (like MSpaint) with it as well.

The move function like you described is not available in IrfanView, however there are 14 folders you can set as default at any time and pressing F7 will move to currently selected folder.

As I said, I don't know about XNview, but people tell me that is has a nicer interface than IrfanView.

EDIT: proofreading is always done after posting, right? 

2565

Find And Run Robot / Re: How do you handle large amounts of files? Are tags possible?

« on: March 01, 2009, 01:06 PM »

There is also a free (commercial and non-commercial alike) search engine available from IBM together with Yahoo! in case you are not allowed to 'cripple' each workstation with a desktop search client, especially when the information required is not stored on them but on a server. To me server storage sounds like the most logical thing to do because of ease of backup and those desktop search clients don't "(re-)index" the (LAN) network to a standstill. After all 911 is a service where every second counts, is it not?

The free search engine can be found here.

An open source variation of a search engine is also available in the form of Lucene from the Apache foundation and is based on Java. Configuring this one will be harder than the IBM option (which promises to be up and running in minutes), but it does not have the limit of 500.000 documents.

EDIT: added link to Lucene project

2566

Living Room / Re: Another Silly Meme: Put your music player on shuffle!

« on: February 27, 2009, 10:23 PM »

Let's see what my Songbird is thinking:

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Video Killed The Radio Star - Presidents Of The United State
So very true...

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Only Time - Enya
Tranquillo dude!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
Yeah baby! (especially with the carnival festivities around here  )

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Y Tu Mama Tambien - Molotov
Let's take the fifth on this one...but this band is very nice, even if you don't understand Spanish that well, they even have songs in English!

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
WWF oddities - Insane Clown Posse
?

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Day Walkers - RZA
Well, just like my friends I don't belong to the club of the morning people.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Dreamer - Supertramp
This one strikes home more than I care to admit.

WHAT IS 2+2?
Just Be - DJ Tiësto ft. Kirsty Hawkshaw
Mathematics are not my strongest suit.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Kamikaze - Capital Inicial
He has to fly soon for his work, so let's hope not!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Parallel Universe - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Maybe there the opportunity would have been clear to me 

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Back In Black - The Hives
What to make of this?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Shiny Happy People - R.E.M
And who doesn't?

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Visions Of Europe - Stratovarius
Belgium (the northern part) actually.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Ohio Is For Lovers - Hawthorne Heights
But I'm not from there...

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Back To Good - Matchbox Twenty
That will be happening when I'm leaving the floor. Not much of a dancer.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
You Won't Be Mine - Matchbox Twenty
Only then it is time to call it quits...I suppose 

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Black - Pearl Jam
Let's keep this one nice and simple, my PC is black.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Bawitdaba - Kid Rock
Spilling enough guts here already, so not going to tell ya...thanks Kid 

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Pure Massacre - Silverchair
This bird is starting to whisper some sick things!!!

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Novocaine For The Soul - Eels
What about the piece and love from earlier (stupid bird)?

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
High Hopes - Pink Floyd
From me or the rest of the world? Have to change the name from Songbird to Scarybird...

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Talkin' About A Revolution - Tracy Chapman
Should have whispered? Definetely Scarybird from now on!

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Teenage Wasteland - The Who
Had some very good times here...

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Lady Madonna - The Beatles
If those statues start (for real), who am I not to join...I'll guess.

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Slippery slope here, 'nough said.

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Four - Lit
Heights...times four, that is truly horrifying. Stop it Scarybird!

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith
Seems I bring that out in women (nothing passionate, just sweet  )

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Bitch - Meredith Brooks
If I only had known beforehand...

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Johnny B. Goode/Road Runner - Sex Pistols
Listen to the song, you'll know what I mean.

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Insane In The Brain - Cypress Hill
That is a certainty!

EDIT: adjusted smilies

2567

Finished Programs / Re: AudioBookSleep

« on: February 26, 2009, 06:07 PM »

yep, there are definitely a lot of places in the computing world where a "dead man's switch" can be of use.

Speaking for myself, I like to see some series/movies when I go to sleep. It would be great to have such a switch handy. However it should be possible for some piece of software to override this switch, for example when you're downloading something.

2568

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your mouse of choice?

« on: February 25, 2009, 11:15 PM »

Mine are also from the Logitech camp, a 'MX500' and a 'Cordless MouseMan Wheel'. The latter still has a ball inside (that old!!) but really fits like a "glove" so I keep feeding it batteries and don't mind the regular cleaning at all.

Lack of precision in games made me buy the MX500 some 5 years ago and that one still suffices for my gaming.

2569

Finished Programs / Re: RESTART PROGRAM AFTER CRASH

« on: February 24, 2009, 08:55 PM »

With crash you will likely mean that the app in question crashes by itself. For that case I don't have a solution (didn't bother to Google for it, so no kiss for me  ).

However, Process Explorer from Sysinternals does offer you the a restart option when using its context menu (and likely the default task manager from Windows offers the same functionality). A restart based on a interval might be a solution for you if the application runs for a long time before it crashes.

Besides, if the app needs to run 24h/day, it might be a better idea to use it as a Windows service instead. In the service maintenance screen (again, the context menu is your best friend...after Google of course ) Windows gives you the option to automagically restart the service after a crash occurs.

Now I believe there is software that will enable app's to get the same treatment as services (XYNTservice or XYservice it was called, I think).

2570

General Software Discussion / Re: Lazyweb: Your recommendation for a FOSS trouble ticket system, please.

« on: February 23, 2009, 05:21 PM »

Never got Bugzilla to run, but I hear it is a good system. Trac is from the same caliber.

In a way I am thankful that these packages didn't work on my linux system, else I would have never found out about Jira (which is expensive, but works right out of the box and how!  Totally integrated with Eclipse IDE )

2571

Living Room / Re: Should I switch from Dreamhost?

« on: February 22, 2009, 03:20 PM »

How much do you think you can gain by switching from one provider to another?

If your current provider always delivers on up-time, security, ease of use, etc. (in other words, worthy of your trust)...at which point becomes their fee a major factor? After all, after making the switch, it can become quite troublesome and any of those troubles does no good to the trustworthiness of the new provider.

I use a Dutch company Hosting2go which asks 32 euro's for registering a domain and a year of hosting. Very likely not the cheapest out there, but their trustworthiness is very good. The value of my time looking for an alternative and fixing possible problems, makes it not worth the trouble to change...to me at least.

2572

General Software Discussion / Re: Web based photo manipulation and management suite

« on: February 19, 2009, 06:50 PM »

You can download the complete open source package (PHP based) Gallery2 and see if that is to your liking.

Looks to me an ideal piece of software if you you run your LAN webserver or on your own website.

2573

Living Room / Re: My 5000 posts commemorative DC mug

« on: February 17, 2009, 09:58 PM »

...but still dressed up as a girl 


So you can at least say something about the mustache without feeling any kind of remorse....


Sorry Darwin, sleep deprivation makes me silly 

2574

General Software Discussion / Re: Spicebird - an open source e-mail collaboration application for Linux or Windows

« on: February 17, 2009, 09:48 PM »

The tool has a lot of promise, but the last time I checked the Windows binary out (some months ago) it was quite "painful" to use.

With "painful" I mean that the mail client looked like Thunderbird, but did not feel like Thunderbird. It was lacking in shortcut keys and because of that I could not get into the "flow" I was accustomed to.

On my system TB, together with Lightning are running happily together. Maybe I will check it out when version 1.0 arrives.


Anyway, that were my two Guaranies (local coin...or do you really want the equivalent in dollar cents? Have it your way...my 100 Guaranies then).

2575

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« on: February 15, 2009, 03:55 PM »

Although I agree with you (on the long term vision), technology will be able to help (on the shorter term vision)...especially when there would be a rule that says no piece of (electrical) equipment is allowed to use more than 25 Watts of energy at maximum performance. Also, depending on the size of a parcel a maximum amount of energy per time unit should be allowed.

This would drop the need for of electricity considerably. The grid is then also capable to handle electric vehicles without expanding the infrastructure too much. People would quickly be aware how much energy they use and prioritize accordingly.
Makes me wonder how much time would lie between the realization of your long term vision and my short term proposals

It sounds like I'm an activist but nothing could be farther from the truth. My PC's run always all the time (when there is power) and I drive a motorcycle.