Messages

101

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 - The gloves come off!

« on: August 04, 2016, 04:43 PM »

It's called a backdoor.

Let's not mince words.

102

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« on: July 29, 2016, 08:28 PM »

For anybody who is a builder, I just got a copy of a terrific book by Helmuth Lemmee titled Electric Guitar: Sound Secrets and Technology.

Probably one of the single best no-BS discussions (with wiring schematics in the electronics section) on factors contributing to the sound you hear coming from electric guitars and basses.

Highly recommended.

This is an excerpt from his book so you can check it out and get an idea of the caliber of the information found within.

103

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« on: July 29, 2016, 08:22 PM »

@Vurbal - that sounds pretty awesome. And your wife reminds of my own lady a little. Sounds like a keeper.

104

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« on: July 29, 2016, 12:22 PM »

Only in Sweden…

Seems an off/duty policewoman was quietly sunbathing with friends in a park when somebody tried to steal one of her friend's cellphones from their beach blanket. So she gave chase and took him down while wearing a rather nice bikini.



Hmm…almost makes it worth getting arrested in Sweden. And nobody got shot and killed either. Amazing!

And Officer Kellner? I just wanted to let you know that if you're ever in my neck of the woods, you're welcome to drop by and kick my ass anytime you'd care to. 

Full story here courtesy of the BBC.

105

Living Room / Re: Hadean Lands Text Adventure Game

« on: June 30, 2016, 06:59 AM »

I'm hopelessly addicted to text and hypertext adventures. I think I bought every Infocom title as soon as it came out.

Price is reasonable too. And there's a native Linux version! Think I'm going to get this one. Thx for the heads-up! 

106

Living Room / Re: Thanks again for the Windows 10 upgrade reminder - NOT

« on: June 18, 2016, 09:56 AM »

Probably not really relevant but I tried their desktop app a few years ago and found it was rather flakey getting the information, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

I ended up just using the Firefox add-on to initially add the auctions and then use the Gixen web interface to edit.

And of course, switching to 2FA on ebay means I now have to disable 2FA for the auction time, set Gixen, then re-enable 2FA afterwards.

Also, while I've only used Gixen in the past, there is also Myibidder which is a similar service, they're free (web based usage) and have smart phone apps.

-4wd (June 18, 2016, 02:22 AM)

Actually, your comment on the app is very relevant. From what was said on their site, it was developed for XP. And from the date  on the executable, it hasn't been much updated since - although people have said it works fine under Win7. I loaded it, and after a bit of a weird initial start, it seems to work quite well…but…I think I'm going to go with my gut and just use their web interface instead like you've done.

107

Living Room / Re: Thanks again for the Windows 10 upgrade reminder - NOT

« on: June 17, 2016, 09:55 PM »

@Wraith - looked into Gixen and decided to subscribe.

Question: have you used their desktop app? Or do you just go straight in via the website?

108

Living Room / Re: Thanks again for the Windows 10 upgrade reminder - NOT

« on: June 15, 2016, 06:20 PM »

^ Thanks Wraith!

New one for me but I'll definitely look into it.

I don't frequent eBay that often. But when I do it's usually for an instrument or bit of obscure music gear, most of which is hard to come by, and not exactly cheap even when it goes on the block. So when I'm there, I'm there with the intent to win it. And I mostly get whatever I'm shooting for as long as the bidding doesn't go over the max amount I've set for it in my head. I'm usually pretty good at out timing the snipers and "tag team" bidders and their games. I don't always win. But I'm good for about a 4 out of 5 success rate most times. Hence why I'm so pissed about this. This was not something I wanted to miss out on this time. And what happened didn't just offend what little small amount of sportsman I have in me. It was also like a double slap in the face because I'm an IT person. We (if nobody else) shouldn't have to put up with this sort of nonsense. A little professional courtesy, at least within the Guild,  Mr. Gates!

Grrr. 
 

109

Living Room / Re: Thanks again for the Windows 10 upgrade reminder - NOT

« on: June 15, 2016, 01:45 PM »

^I've done the same. And even with that, the followups slipped by me a few times and I had to re-clean it.

In this particular instance, it wasn't my laptop I was using (long story) so it was just my bad luck.

God am I ever starting to loathe Windows...

110

Living Room / Thanks again for the Windows 10 upgrade reminder - NOT

« on: June 15, 2016, 01:29 PM »

Wonderful...

I've been watching an eBay item for the last 21 days or so. What it was isn't important so much as it was something I've been trying to get my hands on for about the last ten or so years if somebody finally offered one for a realistic price.

This item had over 60 followers who were (for the most part except for two) pretty professional and shrewd bidders. About 75% of the bidding activity occurred within the last few hours the auction was still live. And the number was slowly crawling up except for the two idiots who bumped it a ridiculous amount. (One tossed in  $20 and the other $50 - when the average increase was either $2.50 or $5 a pop.) Which was silly considering there was well over two hours to go when they made their bids.

I did my usual frequency and bid pattern "analysis" of the bids as they were occurring and figured I had a pretty good chance of nailing this one.

Down to the last minute, my previous bid was topped, so I threw in and additional bump and had my final bid queued for a last second save if necessary, waited until the 10 second mark planning to enter it blind (since I thought I had figured what the guy who was most active was about to do) in hopes of catching it without paying a ridiculous final bid to win it. And...

A nice big blue box popped up reminding me to schedule my Windows 10 upgrade and stole the focus...

Even worse, repeatedly attempting to get the browser page back on top or closing the box did nothing. Couldn't click under it, close the box. minimize it, or tab back to the browser. The reminder just sat there for about half a minute before it gave me the focus back. Lovely...

I didn't win the auction. I figured the other guy's last bid would be between $260 and $265 so I had queued $267.80 as my final bid.

He won it for $260.

Thanks Microsoft! 

(Sorry for the whiny post. But I just had to vent. )

111

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Cinta Notes @ BitsDuJour -- 60% off

« on: June 14, 2016, 01:58 PM »

Nice!

CintaNotes is one top notch note taker/jotter/grabber IMO.

One of the very few apps I missed once I decided to almost entirely stop using Windows as my desktop OS.

Highly recommended program. 

112

General Software Discussion / Re: How to Stop Windows 10 from Spying on You

« on: June 11, 2016, 05:51 PM »

Life is too short to play hide & seek games with Windows anymore. Much easier to just run another OS for me. 

If it turns out I need Windows to run a specific app, there's always virtual instances.

I've been exclusively running Linux on the desktop and BSD on my servers for well over a year now. I don't miss Redmond's OS one iota. These days, whenever I have to work on a Windows machine I feel like I'm wearing handcuffs.

Not for me, thank-you. YMMV

113

Living Room / Re: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Beagle Bone: Choosing between tiny DIY computer kits

« on: June 05, 2016, 09:12 AM »

Ello is quite a bit more expensive that most of the other options but interesting nonetheless

https://www.crowdsup...ly.com/knivd/ello-2m

-Target (June 05, 2016, 02:17 AM)

Nice!

Sort of reminds me of the old Timex/Sinclair - except updated to today's technology.

114

Living Room / Re: Zip Drives revisited

« on: May 31, 2016, 11:18 AM »

Zip and Jaz drives were totally rad when they first came out. And they were a welcome (and much more reliable) replacement for all those old Quantum tape drives that always seemed to backup your data just fine but often stumbled severely whenever you tried to restore something.

Funny thing this thread started. I just tossed a box containing over 100 old zip disks plus four drives (2 externals and 2 internals) into the recycling dumpster last week while cleaning out my basement. End of an era - Long Live the Zip! 

115

Living Room / Re: Goodbye to my father

« on: May 25, 2016, 08:15 PM »

Having lost my own father following a protracted illness several years ago I can appreciate what you're going throughm even though we each feel sadness and go through mourning in our own personal and very individual way.

Please accept Alexis and my condolences, There's little we can say other than we're sorry for your loss.

-ed

116

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for VPN recommendation

« on: May 23, 2016, 06:18 PM »

Hey guys. Thx for your input. He tried PIA but eventually went with TunnelBear. So we're all set. 

117

Developer's Corner / Re: Designing Personal Sites - Programming POV

« on: May 23, 2016, 06:14 PM »

I'm not seeing ASP.NET nor PostgreSQL in there, both of which I am currently using. On my server.

-Asudem (May 23, 2016, 03:06 AM)

Oh! That's because it's not a Microsoft webstack. It's composed of  Apache Web Server, MySQL, PHP, Perl, Python and SOFTACULOUS. When you mentioned doing a website I forgot there are some people building them on a Microsoft host. My bad.

Still, even with that, you could still use it to get a bunch of different web apps quickly installed and running to see what you think. You could also do some preliminary development work under it, and then migrate many of your files over to your own server if you're running something like Wordpress which isn't to fussy about platform.

118

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« on: May 22, 2016, 04:52 PM »

Designing Tube Preamps for Guitar and Bass, 2nd Edition by Merlin Blencoe.

Rereading this one. I've been getting back into music electronics as part of my career retooling effort. This is probably the best single book I've ever found on those little high-voltage wonders that make guitars and basses sing. Highly recommended.



For recreation (if you're a Mythos fan) Apotheosis: Stories of Human Survival After The Rise of The Elder Gods edited by Jason Andrew.

Cthulhu fans know that when the stars are right and the Big Squid arises from his nap, it's curtains for humanity and the planet Earth. Or is it? An anthology of 17 stories by new authors that explore what things might be like for the survivors of the wrath of Cthulhu and his minions. All are enjoyable reads, and a few are both surprisingly original and satisfyingly creepy.

I've been grabbing a lot of these throw away entertainment type books (i.e. mystery, horror, lightweight scifi, etc.) on Kindle following notifications from BookBub. At $0.99-$1.99 each you can't go wrong. And if you do go wrong (Lovecraft inspired fiction being what it is because not every author "gets" why Lovecraft works) you're not kicking yourself for dropping $16 on paper and only having one or two good stories to show for it. If anybody is an avid reader who can live with ebooks, BookBub is definitely something you want to visit and sign up for their daily notifications.

119

Developer's Corner / Re: Designing Personal Sites - Programming POV

« on: May 22, 2016, 04:24 PM »

One tool you might find very useful for evaluating various blog and CMS systems is something made by a company called Softalicious called AMMPS. It's basically a web software stack with their Softalicious installer that lets you quickly install 394 different web apps such as portals, CMS systems, blogging platforms, web discussion forums, wikis, etc. All the majors are there.

I've used it a lot in the past to get something quickly set up for evaluation or prototyping. Highly recommended. And it's free.

as far as doing your own site, the best advice I can offer is put the polish and the pizzaz on the package towards the end. As clean and professional site that is elegant in it's simplicity and clarity trumps an ooo-ah! site 7 days out of 7 IMO. Business buyers want the information quickly. So be a little careful how clever you get in the name of personalization. When in doubt KISS still rules.

Luck!

120

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for VPN recommendation

« on: May 12, 2016, 10:32 AM »

What will it be used for? G2G, C2G, C2C... Their may be other option depending on how they need to access what.

I've been playing with a Microsoft RemoteApp server which uses an accessible from anywhere SSL tunnel -(TLS version whatever you like )- that can make virtually any application available to pretty much anything. I even got our internal LOB application to run on my cellphone acceptably for quick stuff in a pinch. It leverages (desktopless) RDP for the delivery mechanism so iOS and Android devices can be used to access internal resources as well.

-Stoic Joker (May 12, 2016, 07:37 AM)

He's a consultant. Helps companies come up with their sales commission schedules and policies. Interesting business to be in because it's as much art and politics as it is science. He doesn't need much in the way of file transfer/P2P although he has an Office 365 Pro Biz account so he has all the cloud storage and access he needs.

I'm mostly concerned with him accessing the web, reading email, etc. when he's on the road. Some of his text files and communications are sensitive. And the only point of vulnerability he still has when using his Surface is that on ramp to the big bad web. Hence a purely mobile VPN solution. I've already got his home office network secured nine ways to Sunday. If he's behind the router I've done up for him, he's as secure as he's ever gonna be. And that's pretty damn secure.

No need (at this point) for RDP or RA. He's not going to be hosting anything himself. He's got a budget and he knows about running a business. So we're not going to be getting into any science faire or homebrew guerrilla networking for this guy. (Which is nice for a change if ya know what I mean.  ) If he needs something, he willing to pay what's needed to do it right and without the need for him to keep calling me for explanations or assistance on day to day things.

More precise requirements for the VPN:

• Very secure
• Known provider with good rep
• High availability and decent throughput
• Cost not a significant factor - he expects to pay for it (which always simplifies service selection  )
• Fairly easy to use. (As I said, he's very smart and a quick study - but he ain't one of us. He's more interested in the solution than the technology driving it.)

@ Everybody who's made suggestions so far: Thanks! I will look into your suggestions and recommendations.

 

121

General Software Discussion / FINISHED - Looking for VPN recommendation

« on: May 11, 2016, 08:14 PM »

Does anybody here have any particularly able VPN service they can recommend.

Cost is not that much an issue for this. It's for business use for a friend. He's just set up his own operation and he's an army of one who's now responsible for his own IT (with a little help from yours truly) now that he's quit the big corporate world.

I'm veering towards NordVPN for its ease of use and good throughput. The person that'll be using it isn't a techno-geek although he's a pretty quick study. But there's a lot of options out there and I trust the collective wisdom of DoCo users over the published reviews. So any feedback or war stories based on your own hands-in experience would be greatly appreciated. I've only used a few myself, so I have some ideas. But I'd like to hear from the rest of you what you think is a good service or services.

***We're finished. What he selected can be found in the last post. Thanks everybody for your suggestions. -ed

122

Non-Windows Software / Re: RANT: IOS Apps scrolling and email support

« on: April 30, 2016, 10:12 AM »

IIRC Apple requires all email services in software on their i-devices to use Apple's supplied email subsytem. You're not allowed to have your own APIs.

Like so many things with Apple, it isn't a technical issue, it's a decision by Apple about what THEY will or will not allow. Read their iOS Developer Program License Agreement  if you want a real eye-opener. Devs who have never done anything with Apple before are often amazed just how arbitrary and capricious some of the "rules" found in that 49-page with no table of contents (last I looked) document are.

tl;dr - It's Apple's garden. You do what they say - or you don't get to play.

123

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« on: April 25, 2016, 09:26 PM »

...I think he affected music and lot beside on the same level that Bowie did.

-wraith808 (April 25, 2016, 04:52 PM)

I'd have to disagree on granting him that much. But to your earlier point, different people will have different perceptions of him. I see him more as a cause célèbre in the music world rather than a genuine bellwhether. But that's me. And I'm just a bassplayer - so what do I know? 

124

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« on: April 25, 2016, 02:58 PM »

Regardless of how talented you may be, music is still a group effort more often than not. And while it's good to stand on your aesthetic sensibilities, "vision," and your principles, it's still no excuse for being utterly insensitive to other creatives, or difficult to work with.

While I hesitate to pass judgement on any musician I haven't personally worked with (except for Jeff Beck! I have no qualms about dissing Jeff Beck!!!  ) based on most of what I've seen and read about the man over the course of his career (including his own words from several interviews), I can't help but conclude he was a royal horse's ass - and a royal pain in the ass to work with at even the best of times. And while talented and obviously an accomplished musician, I don't see anything in his career that justifies elevating him to the status of a minor deity that the popular press seems so intent on making him. He was a very good pop musician. And an accomplished stage performer. And that's about all he was. Shouldn't that be enough?

125

Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?

« on: April 23, 2016, 12:38 PM »

Flu kills older people, so it makes sense.

-wraith808 (April 21, 2016, 04:37 PM)

Is 57 considered "older" these days? I thought 50 was the new 35. Or all the marketing departments just lying in an attempt to appeal to the baby boomer generation?

-Deozaan (April 21, 2016, 06:04 PM)

"Age" is far more a state of mind than it is a state of grace. And life threatening medical issues can crop up at any age. Being young doesn't make you immune to it. Nor does being older guarantee you're going to become just another statistic. Genes, luck of the draw, quality of care received, degree of health education, speed of diagnosis, and the amount of responsibility you take for your own health all factor into the equation.