Messages

251

Living Room / Re: Windows 10 will be free for "genuine and non-genuine" users

« on: March 21, 2015, 09:15 PM »

With my membership to Dreamspark Premium I have no shortage of license keys I'll be able to use to upgrade to Windows 10. I also took advantage of the "Windows 8 upgrade for $14.99" launch offer multiple times.

Unfortunately, a lot of people aren't so fortunate.

252

Living Room / Re: Windows 10 will be free for "genuine and non-genuine" users

« on: March 21, 2015, 01:46 PM »

It's one of those funny MS moves. "You can upgrade, because we want you to feel teh shinyness, but it won't be legit".

-TaoPhoenix (March 21, 2015, 12:38 PM)

What's 'funny' (and not as in funny ha-ha) is that Microsoft is refusing to comment on what the differences will be experienced by the user of a legitimate vs. non-legitimate license.

It's very weird all the way around. If you aren't legit, you can upgrade, but it won't be a real upgrade and we refuse to tell you why it won't be considered to be or what the ramifications of that will be.

253

Living Room / Re: Windows 10 will be free for "genuine and non-genuine" users

« on: March 20, 2015, 07:22 PM »

I wasn't able to update my Win 10 preview using Windows update. It tried, but said there was an error and that my previous version had been restored.

-Deozaan (March 20, 2015, 06:38 PM)

This is not unusual for beta/preview releases of Windows. Every once in a while your beta/preview Windows will get into a state where Windows Update won't be able to update it. Sometimes MS will update Windows Update's capabilities and you will be upgraded at a later date, but sometimes you'll be at a dead end & the only way forward is to do a complete install of a later build.

I've been tempted to try out Windows 10, but I've decided to hold off till May after graduation when I won't be dependent upon my PC for grades.

254

Living Room / Re: Windows 10 will be free for "genuine and non-genuine" users

« on: March 19, 2015, 07:27 PM »

The way I read it, from one of the UK magazines, was that the upgrade was automatic provided that you had automatic Windows updates turned on.  In other words, you wouldn't get a disk.

-rjbull (March 18, 2015, 04:30 PM)

I can see why Microsoft is doing it that way, but I really don't relish having to spend x amount of time installing Crusty-OS v1.0 in order to just sit and wait y amount of time while Teh-New-N-Shiny v2.0 downloads to install over the top leaving crusty, non-tasty bits all around your hard drive.

255

Living Room / Re: Anyone getting a Pebble Time?

« on: March 19, 2015, 07:23 PM »

The cheapest available on kickstarter now is $179, and the retail price for one is going to be $199? I know it's pretty fancy and all, but that's a lot of cash for a watch - you can get a OnePlus smartphone, which is by no means tardy, for $299.

-f0dder (March 19, 2015, 04:12 PM)

Smartwatches are a product looking for a market. There's no compelling reason to get one yet unless you want to feel like you are Dick Tracy or James Bond. $179 isn't too unreasonable for a smartwatch as going prices for other models from other companies can go a lot higher, but with Android smartwatches gaining functionality and becoming more aesthetically pleasing by leaps and bounds, Pebble is going to have to step up their game.

Apple will have their own competitor in the arena very soon so I might question if this the optimal time to choose a side. The wise play might be to hold back while levels of functionality increase and prices decrease.

256

Living Room / Re: 2014-2015: Best tablet specs for ebook reading

« on: March 15, 2015, 12:23 PM »

Nice find Nod5, that Sony Digital Paper looks very close to ideal for reading academic pdfs.. Too bad the price is so insane ($1000).

-mouser (March 15, 2015, 07:45 AM)

It's even more insane than that. If you read the comments, most Sony resellers will only sell to corporations after a lengthy interview process. There's only one vendor who is selling to individuals and they've marked the price up to $1499.

I see the potential, but the techie part of my mind is shaking its head at only 1600x1200 resolution and PDF-only support. No MOBI, EPUB, DOC or TXT file support at all.

257

Living Room / Re: 2014-2015: Best tablet specs for ebook reading

« on: March 14, 2015, 04:33 PM »

Tablets by comparison can read books but also do everything that any laptop can do (pretty much) so from a design and usability perspective e-ink devices focus 100% of their design and usability on reading books compared to a tablet where book reading is maybe 5% of their design and usability.

-elvisbrown (March 03, 2015, 02:16 AM)

You definitely have a point, but I think people are moving to general purpose tablets from e-ink readers much like people moved from flip-phones, PDAs, and MP3 players to smartphones. People want one device with one power cable that they can pack around with them that does everything 'pretty well' rather than a few devices that each do one task 'excellently'.

258

Non-Windows Software / Re: Pale Moon browser now available on Android

« on: March 14, 2015, 04:27 PM »

Thanks, Innuendo, for your response.  No problem about being a bit cryptic--someone with the screenname Innuendo is by definition likely to be a bit cryptic, no?

-cyberdiva (March 07, 2015, 12:51 PM)

As time goes on I find that I'm slowly turning into one of those absent-minded professors one used to see in older movies. I will spout off (usually) insightful comments, but they are cryptic to everyone but me while I obliviously work on whatever project I am preoccupied with...blind to the surroundings and people around me.

259

Living Room / Re: Is anyone doing this Bing Rewards thing?

« on: March 14, 2015, 04:20 PM »

Sounds about right.  Thanks

-MilesAhead (March 04, 2015, 01:37 PM)

This is one of those bonus things things that if you were going to perform the act anyway regardless of whether or not there was a reward, you may as well reap the reward as well. I wouldn't go out of my way & change my habits just to take advantage of the program.

260

Living Room / Re: Apple gold watch to take up 30% of world gold production

« on: March 14, 2015, 04:04 PM »

But you did get me thinking about the price... if they engaged in market manipulation like Goldman Sachs & their buddies, they could short paper gold to suppress the price, but that carries risk as well.

-Renegade (March 08, 2015, 07:42 PM)

I suppose they could have had a 5, or 10, year plan...and used all that early iPod money to invest in gold heavily over the years. But...I just don't see them being adept at that kind of visionary thinking.

261

General Software Discussion / Re: uTorrent has gone rogue

« on: March 12, 2015, 07:33 PM »

Doesn't matter. BitTorrent was the premier torrent app...until the developer ruined it. Then uTorrent became the premier torrenet app....now the BitTorrent dev has bought it and ruined it, too.

Torrent apps are a dime a dozen. A new king will rise to claim the throne soon. While you wait for that to happen, check out qBittorrent. You might like what you see.

262

General Software Discussion / Re: Vivaldi, the new Web browser for power users

« on: March 12, 2015, 07:30 PM »

Power users want add-ons. Power users need add-ons. Do *not* build a browser that has all the gee-whiz functionality built in. Power users will not use that.

Give me a bare framework built for speed and let me add the features I want through add-ons. I will have the functionality I want without a whole bunch of features I don't want or need slowing me down. I will decide what add-ons are making my browser too slow and I will decide which ones give me enough functionality that it's worth a small price in speed in return.

If the Vivaldi devs don't understand this then they are just building Opera: The Next Generation.

263

Living Room / Re: Microsoft 'Signature' PCs

« on: March 08, 2015, 11:41 AM »

The Signature program has been going on for a while. Microsoft is pretty serious about this program and has partnered with Best Buy so you can buy Signature Edition products from Best Buy as well.

That HP Stream 7 is definitely priced right, but I've become such a resolution snob. I nearly bought one, but I realize I probably wouldn't use a device that had a larger screen size than my phone, but an inferior resolution. That's just me being spoiled, though.

The free Office 365 subscription is nice for those who don't have it, but I get five licenses from work and five licenses from my college so I'm set there.

Keep a close eye on that $25 app store credit. The small print says it must be redeemed by December 31st, 2015 and once redeemed must be used within 90 days. Not a big deal...but easy to slip through one's fingers if one isn't paying attention.

264

General Software Discussion / Re: Avoid AdBlock Plus for Android!

« on: March 08, 2015, 11:16 AM »

I've used AdAway and AdFree in the past, but for some reason I can't get them to block ads anymore, so that's why I installed ABDfA. In fact, I still have AdAway and Adfree installed. Yet nothing seems to block ads on my Nexus 7 2013 so I guess I might as well uninstall it all.

-Deozaan (March 04, 2015, 07:12 PM)

I once had an Android device that was in that state. Finally had to do a reinstall/'factory reset' and then AdAway worked once more.

265

General Software Discussion / Re: No more Filehippo for me

« on: March 08, 2015, 11:12 AM »

I will miss the old FileHippo. It used to be the perfect site to go grab an old installer for an old version. All good things must come to an end, I guess.

266

General Software Discussion / Re: uTorrent has gone rogue

« on: March 08, 2015, 11:08 AM »

uTorrent had two things going for it: a no-nonsense, lightweight app and street cred among people like me who have used and loved the app for years. Looks like they traded both in for some $$$.

-nosh (March 08, 2015, 06:22 AM)

Ever since uTorrent was purchased by the not-totally-upstanding BitTorrent we've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. It finally has.

267

Living Room / Re: 10th Anniversary - long time member check-in thread

« on: March 07, 2015, 12:32 PM »

So this is DonationCoder's 10th anniversary? I didn't know I joined so close to the beginning!

If I hadn't wandered back and started participating a couple months ago I probably would have been on the lost sheep list as well.

268

Living Room / Re: I'd like to get a Windows Tablet: help me decide.

« on: March 07, 2015, 12:25 PM »

You might be right about that. But when I look at the battery usage on the Hudl 2, it says Android OS is responsible for 52% of the power consumption (screen is 34%, and Wi-Fi 9%), which made me think that the OS might have something to do with it.

-dr_andus (March 06, 2015, 04:47 PM)

When you look at battery usage stats on an Android device, the Android OS entry is vague and nebulous. It comprises of everything having to do with the Android core OS. However, it also comprises of any tweaks/addons your device OEM has incorporated, and even some third-party apps that may have been installed from the Play store that hook into Android system calls.

Quality of the build, components, and how big of a battery they put in that thing will also play a part in how much time a full charge will last.

Now, I've got a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro, an 8.4 inch tablet with a screen that sports a 2560x1600 resolution with a 2.3 GHz SnapDragon processor. This is kind of beefy as far as tablets go with power-hungry components, but I can let my tablet sit idle for a few days and easily have battery to play around when I finally get around to picking it up.

Full disclosure, though...I have rooted my tablet and anything that came from the factory I didn't want I've either uninstalled or disabled. I also run Greenify to hibernate apps and Amplify, an XPosed framework module, to limit wake-locks.

This tablet never leaves the house so having to charge it every few days isn't a big deal to me.

269

Living Room / Re: Sorry, Ebooks. These 9 Studies Show Why Print Is Better

« on: March 07, 2015, 11:35 AM »

I originally came in here to make the point that I'd rather have 1,000 ebooks in my pocket than try to move 1,000 physical books across town or across the country. However, it now occurs to me the digital format also has to be quite the boon for students, especially college students. Each class text book is usually quite massive and sometimes being able to do a Ctrl-F to find something is a lot quicker than what you'd have to do with a physical volume.

270

Living Room / Re: Sorry, Ebooks. These 9 Studies Show Why Print Is Better

« on: March 07, 2015, 11:32 AM »

For reading novels, I prefer even my wife's inferior (compared to a dedicated ereader) 7-inch Android tablet to dealing with a book.

-Vurbal (March 03, 2015, 01:27 PM)

Vurbal, what makes it inferior? The hardware or the software experience? Not much you can do about the hardware except lay out money for a new tablet, but if it's software then there are many, many different ereading apps available. It's just a matter of finding the right app that does the things you want.

271

Living Room / Re: Apple gold watch to take up 30% of world gold production

« on: March 07, 2015, 11:03 AM »

The original article fails to take into the laws of supply and demand. If Apple were to impact the world's gold supply so sharply then gold prices would skyrocket, Apple's price for their watch would go through the roof, and demand for this luxury timepiece would quickly turn into a trickle.

There's no way in this reality, or any other, that Apple could consume that much gold...for a decade...and prices would remain stagnant.

Silly web authors must have failed their Econ classes.

272

Non-Windows Software / Re: Pale Moon browser now available on Android

« on: March 07, 2015, 10:52 AM »

Can you say a bit more about what you're not liking?  And, for that matter, what you do like?

-cyberdiva (March 01, 2015, 12:24 PM)

Sorry. I can be a bit cryptic sometimes. Okay, all the time.

As for the browser itself, it's a solid performer. It's only when I started trying to add addons/extensions to duplicate the functionality I get with Dolphin that things got a little wonky with configuration UIs misbehaving or not being visible at all.

So....my grumpiness involves addons/extensions and not Pale Moon itself.

273

General Software Discussion / Re: Conditional diary

« on: March 07, 2015, 10:44 AM »

For whatever reason there are hardly any GTD programs for Windows that also happen to be freeware. Most have disappeared or moved to payware models. I've only been able to find one promising candidate.

ThinkingRock....their homepage is here:

http://www.thinkingrock.com.au/

However, they have moved to a payware model with v3.x of their software, which is the only version they offer on their homepage. The last freeware version, v2.2.1, can be found here:

http://sourceforge.n...ojects/thinkingrock/

The good news is its crosss-platform. Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux are supported. The bad news is it achieves this by being written in Java. Some people don't like Java touching their systems. I respect that.

I do like their licensing terms, though, for the paid version. $39 buys a license that lets you use the program on multiple computers with any mix of platforms, free upgrades, and free iOS and Android mobile apps.

Standard disclaimer: I've never used this software. I've never heard of this program or the company behind it until today. I've never used a GTD task-prioritizing system in my life.

274

General Software Discussion / Re: A first look at the Windows 10 universal app platform

« on: March 06, 2015, 05:00 PM »

I want all my information and preferences to stay on my local device, f.e. I have disabled all syncing in Android and use Xprivacy so that apps do not have access to my private contacts etc. information.

-brahman (March 02, 2015, 11:52 PM)

XPrivacy isn't as good as it used to be:

http://www.reddit.co...rivacy_restrictions/

XPrivacy's author has verified this is true & while XPrivacy could be rewritten to prevent the vulnerability he's says it is too monumental a task for him to do alone.

The disturbing part is that if an app bypasses XPrivacy there is no way for the user to be able to tell.

275

Living Room / Re: Leonard Nimoy, Dead at 83

« on: March 06, 2015, 04:55 PM »

He was a man of many talents. He also opened an exotic pet shop in 1969 after his run on Star Trek. Its name? Leonard Nimoy's Pet Pad, of course! 

http://www.rowsdowr....p-he-opened-in-1969/