Messages

11676

General Software Discussion / Re: OH NO! Its the end of Windows 3.11!

« on: July 12, 2008, 08:31 AM »

I love 3.11 WfW. I have a virtual machine set to run it and still play with it sometimes. It's how I cut my teeth with windows. Before that, it was all DOS or some terrible Tandy (RadioShack) thing, the name of which I can no longer remember.

-Darwin (July 11, 2008, 09:05 AM)

The mind makes merciful deletions after severe trauma. At the risk of bringing back our pain, the "Tandy thing" was called TRS-DOS. Usually called "triss-dos" by Tandy, or "trash DOS" by just about everyone else. That was back in the days of the "proprietary" DOS debacle where there were actually compatibility issues between IBM's PC-DOS and all the other versions out there.

The big (in every sense) TRS-II ran XENIX as it's preferred environment.

I kind of have a soft spot for those old battleship gray doorstops. They were responsible for my first paid consulting job. Got a whole $5 for solving a Visicalc problem.

I also had a lot of fun with (and made quite a bit of money off) Win 3.11 and WFWG. Quite a "rad" beastie for it's time. Of course, back then a "power user" was anyone who used device=ANSI.SYS in their config, and knew how to make and change a directory.

It was fun, but the party's over. What can we say except "See ya around kid."

11677

Living Room / Re: What happened to rootly.com?

« on: July 10, 2008, 08:29 PM »

Well, that Mark Daher seems to be the Rootly founder, perhaps you could inquire him

-Lashiec (July 10, 2008, 07:28 PM)

Did. No reply as of yet.

11678

Living Room / Re: Gizmo's Tech Support Alert Newsletter Merges with Windows Secrets

« on: July 10, 2008, 03:13 PM »

Could you send the link you got that worked?

-40hz (July 10, 2008, 12:18 PM)

well the problem is it wont work for you - it has my member number in the link & all my details come up - you should be getting mail about it soon - they probably working through the alphabet...

-tomos (July 10, 2008, 01:57 PM)

Figures...

Oh well, I'm paid up through September at any rate so I'm sure there'll be something in the next newsletter. Thanks anyway!

11679

Living Room / Re: Show us your (physical) desktop

« on: July 10, 2008, 01:00 PM »

Sorry but I didn't realise your life was so grim ...

Therapy needed - we have to get you out of that closet! 

-Carol Haynes (July 09, 2008, 08:22 PM)

Here's a great idea. Sometimes the best therapy is to get busy! Check out the following for a "terrific" DIY home office project:

http://ca.youtube.co.../watch?v=xP3xiLKJ9_4

11680

Living Room / Re: Gizmo's Tech Support Alert Newsletter Merges with Windows Secrets

« on: July 10, 2008, 12:18 PM »

hmm,
there seems to be some confusion ...
I got two identical [well, I thought] mails headed "Gizmo's Support Alert Newsletter Special Announcement, 9th July 2008"

The link for managing my subscription from first "special announcement" mail, didnt recognise my Support Alert subscription and asks me to subscribe/donate - turns out this is sent to Windows Secrets subscribers where I'm not a paid subscriber.
The other mail recognised my subscription

-tomos (July 10, 2008, 03:13 AM)

Could you send the link you got that worked? I'm a paying reader and I haven't received anything so far. Thx

11681

Living Room / What happened to rootly.com?

« on: July 10, 2008, 09:22 AM »

Am I going mad? Since yesterday, one of my favorite news aggregators just vanished.



Using two different name servers (OpenDNS and ATT), I get redirected to http://markdaher.com/

SamSpade.org shows it as ROOTLY.COM = [ 64.202.189.170 ]

If you go directly via the IP you get a "server temporarily unavailable" message.

Nothing about it up on Google. Anybody know what's going on?

11682

General Software Discussion / Re: Direcscape: don't get lost in your project

« on: July 10, 2008, 08:56 AM »

Curt! You da man! I've been looking for something like this since forever. Great catch! 

11683

Living Room / Re: Gizmo's Tech Support Alert Newsletter Merges with Windows Secrets

« on: July 10, 2008, 08:49 AM »

I've got mixed feelings. Big time.

I think it's been pretty obvious that something was going on over at Tech Support Alert since the beginning of this year. Long time readers couldn't miss how the newsletter seemed to be getting...shall we say... less substantial, recently?

But the thing that really hit me over the head was when Gizmo asked for people to become section editors for the freeware list. Now I can understand how he might have been feeling the need for help. Anybody that runs a website knows all about that. But it just seemed strange that somebody, who was as militantly individualistic about his newsletter as Gizmo, would hand over full editorial duties to somebody else.

Then along came the wiki.

I don't have anything against wikis per sce. But to my mind they smack of "self service." Right up there with pumping your own gas and checking your own groceries. If you want to encourage discussion, a forum is the better way to do that.

Now I can't speak for everyone, but the thing that made it for me with TSA was the "tone', the style...the voice of the man himself. Lots of other sites carry much the same information. I didn't go to TSA to find out about freeware. I went there because I wanted to hear what Ian Richards had to say about freeware. And I can't see how that voice can become anything but more diluted by this change. Especially when it's merging with something many of us always felt was a TSA wannabe.

I'm glad to see things are going well for Mr. Richards. He's put a lot of time and work into creating one of the arguably best websites around. And I sincerely hope this is going to get him some of the recognition and financial rewards he deserves. But there's a saying by Spider Robinson: "Nothing really good ever survives being discovered." And I'm afraid Tech Support Alert has been discovered.

And I sincerely hope that I'm wrong.

11684

Living Room / Re: Show us your (physical) desktop

« on: July 09, 2008, 01:13 PM »

I now have Quad Monitor Cody Wallpaper (thanks Nick!):
 (see attachment in previous post)

-mouser (July 09, 2008, 11:32 AM)

Wow! Schwing!

11685

Living Room / Re: Show us your (physical) desktop

« on: July 09, 2008, 12:14 PM »

Here it is. But I have to confess, I tidied things up a little first. It's not usually this neat looking.

11686

Living Room / Re: Is More Memory Better? - a bit-tech.net article

« on: July 09, 2008, 11:28 AM »

I just hit the on switch and then go and grab a cuppa'. By the time I get back, my desktop is up and waiting - and I've got my coffee! And how often do most of us actually need to reboot in the course of a session? Dunno, I must be missing something.

-40hz (July 09, 2008, 09:34 AM)

(emphasis mine)
That's the problem, desktop users don't care much, but it's relevant for laptop users. I sure wouldn't mind if my laptop booted a tidy bit faster in those moments where i need it to show something important to someone
(one could argue that the testings made only test desktop RAM, though.. Which would render my argument useless )

-jgpaiva (July 09, 2008, 11:02 AM)

Ummm...by "desktop" I meant desktop manager (which is Xfce) - not the "box" itself (which happens to be both a laptop and a workstation that I use in tandem).



Hey f0dder! You hear that? Looks like your "thing" about using the correct terminology just got proven once again! Boy do I ever have to start being more careful with my choice of terms around here!!! 

P.S. (to jgpaiva) My sister, who is a graphic designer, is reading this over my shoulder. She wanted to tell you that she couldn't agree more with you about when you need to show something to someone. (And also that her brother is a clueless techno-dweeb.)

11687

Living Room / Re: Where's my TCP/IP?

« on: July 09, 2008, 09:45 AM »

potato potato

-Josh (July 09, 2008, 07:12 AM)

Not really, no - to make the distinction clearer, what do you think a linux user would say if you asked him to open a DOS prompt? (and yes, the scenarios are comparable).

-f0dder (July 09, 2008, 07:52 AM)

I'd smile and say "OK." Then I'd open up a bash terminal session. 

11688

Living Room / Re: Is More Memory Better? - a bit-tech.net article

« on: July 09, 2008, 09:34 AM »

From page 6:

While these few tests don't cover the incredible breadth of possible PC usage scenarios, there is significant evidence to suggest that 4GB should be the target that people should aim for when buying a new PC or upgrading...at least if you're using Vista.

Interesting as far as it goes, but a little too Microsoft-centric. There are other OSs.

I'm also always amazed at the amount of discussion given over to boot times. Why something like a 10, 20, or even 120 second boot delay should be all that important puzzles me to no end. Might be important if you're launching a strategic retaliatory strike, but otherwise?

I just hit the on switch and then go and grab a cuppa'. By the time I get back, my desktop is up and waiting - and I've got my coffee! And how often do most of us actually need to reboot in the course of a session? Dunno, I must be missing something.

11689

General Software Discussion / Re: Extract files from a .pst file

« on: July 09, 2008, 09:10 AM »

- yes, it is expensive!
PowerControls standard edition license is $950 , and $1495 for a business edition.

-Curt (July 09, 2008, 05:08 AM)

I am soooooo in the wrong business! 

11690

General Software Discussion / Re: Extract files from a .pst file

« on: July 08, 2008, 01:46 PM »

If you don't have it, installing a 60 day trial should enable you to get the documents you want.  Note that MS does not seem to have a trial for Outlook itself - they want you to trial Office 2007 Pro to trial Outlook, so I'm not sure what it'll do for any Office applications you might already have installed.

I was going to to suggest the same but I was beaten to the punch 

I'd suggest Office Standard instead of Pro however since it's a smaller download and it also contains Outlook.

Download at: http://office.micros.../FX101732751033.aspx

But before you install Office, grab a copy of Returnil and install and run that first. Returnil will allow you to do your thing without screwing up anything you already have on your drive. It creates a virtual mirrored PC on your machine. Once you're done, all you need to do is reboot your box and everything will be right back to where it was before you turned Returnil's system protection feature on.

Info and download at:

http://www.returnilv...iles/rvspersonal.htm


BTW: Returnil is also great if you frequently need to evaluate new software. Think of it as a Start New Game button for your PC.

11691

DC Gamer Club / Re: Will someone in this section please start creating a massive MMORPG

« on: July 07, 2008, 11:49 AM »

Yeah, I know I know, everybody wants graphics today

-f0dder (July 07, 2008, 11:41 AM)

Not me! I'm an old time MUDder and closet Zork fan. Think GUE not GUI! 

11692

DC Gamer Club / Re: Will someone in this section please start creating a massive MMORPG

« on: July 07, 2008, 10:33 AM »

Graphic? Text based? Single-user? Team-based?
What form did you have in mind?

11693

General Software Discussion / Re: Does it make sense to disable the windows swap file?

« on: July 07, 2008, 10:28 AM »

ah ok maybe someone needs to write an Xp Myths Myths page then.

-justice (July 07, 2008, 09:40 AM)

Basically did that in that thread , and it ended up very heated... probably the only thread I've seen on DC that became uncomfortable.

-f0dder (July 07, 2008, 09:56 AM)

An XP Myth thread ended up getting very heated? Boy does that ever prove we are a bunch of techno-wankers here at DC.

Sure does feel good to finally have a home!

11694

General Software Discussion / Re: TrueCrypt 6.0 released

« on: July 07, 2008, 08:26 AM »

the reason for something like this is those insane border patrol laptop searches.

-f0dder (July 07, 2008, 08:13 AM)

I wonder if all those "insane" laptop searches were really just a dry run for addressing the very real problems that may be caused by all those laptops coming back home from the Olympics.

China has been pretty aggressive with their "research" into the military uses of cyber technology. They have also made it abundantly clear that they will be inclined view any preemptive security measures that single them out as an act of war.

Crazy border searches? Yeah - crazy like a fox.

11695

General Software Discussion / TrueCrypt 6.0 released

« on: July 06, 2008, 11:26 PM »

TrueCrypt 6.0 Released July 4, 2008


One of the best security applications just got better. And it's still free!

Notable changes include support for multicore processors, full system drive encryption and the ability to run a hidden operating system. The mind boggles...


From the website:

We are pleased to announce that TrueCrypt 6.0 has been released.

This version introduces parallelized encryption and decryption on multi-core processors (or multi-processor systems). Increase in encryption/decryption speed is directly proportional to the number of cores and/or processors. For example, on a quad-core processor, encryption and decryption is four times faster than on a single-core processor with equivalent specifications [view benchmark results].

This version also introduces the ability to create and run an encrypted hidden operating system whose existence is impossible to prove (provided that certain guidelines are followed), the ability to encrypt an entire system drive even if it contains extended partitions, a new volume format that increases reliability, performance and expandability, and more.
For more information, please see: http://www.truecrypt...s/?s=version-history

11696

General Software Discussion / Re: Does it make sense to disable the windows swap file?

« on: July 06, 2008, 10:54 PM »

I'm have 1.5 Gb physical RAM and I'm running without a pagefile except for very special circumstances. I haven't run into any problems to date (knock wood!). I also can't say I've seen any significant performance boost not having a pagefile, but I have a pretty fast box to begin with so maybe I just don't notice it.

FF3 is well-behaved, FF2 was a real bloody mess after more than just a few hours... after 8 hours of having facebook more or less constantly running in the background, as well as opening and closing various forum tabs, and checking news from RSS feeds (at least a couple of times an hour on a regular day), FF2 by itself would usually end up consuming 1.3+ gigs of ram :p

Interesting! I keep FF2 open from when I boot to when I shut down and I never ran into that. I've got a ton of add-ons active and Sage RSS Reader is permanently open. My FF2 memory usage fluctuates between 135 and 200 Mb no matter what. Does Facebook (which I don't use) have something to do with that?

11697

General Software Discussion / Re: Lotus symphony (not covered in the giant word processor roundup) released fr

« on: July 06, 2008, 10:38 PM »

I gave it a serious tryout and I wasn't all that impressed. I used it exclusively for a little over a week and wound up uninstalling it. To my mind, it has an odd feel about it.

One of my clients did an extended formal evaluation of productivity applications in February of this year. They put Word 2007, IBM Symphony, and Open Office through their paces. Bottom line: they overwhelmingly preferred Open Office Writer as their word processor.

For a stand alone word processing application, the relatively unknown Tomahawk PDF+ v3.0 Free Edition is an excellent choice. (http://www.nativewin...ftware/tpdfplus.html) This app deserves to be a lot better known. They also have a "Gold" edition that has a lot more features, but it will set you back about $36. IMHO still a bargain.

11698

General Software Discussion / Re: Trinity Rescue Kit

« on: July 05, 2008, 07:54 AM »

This disk has saved my tail on several occasions. I can't recommend it highly enough. This CD has earned itself a permanent place in my tech kit. Grab a copy now and get familiar with it before you actually need to use it.

Truly useful. Right up there with lifejackets and fire helmets.

11699

Living Room / Re: "Network cable unplugged" - except it isn't!

« on: July 03, 2008, 10:52 PM »

I'm a bit reluctant to flash the router - there is a WRT54 WiFi range expander in the system and I know from experience that getting them to work again after flashing the router BIOS can be a real PITA. I'm even more reluctant to use a third party BIOS given that interoperability is a bit tenuous at the best of times.

I wasn't aware of that problem. I guess Lenny Ayres was right: TANSTAAFL!

Thanks for sharing. 

11700

Living Room / Re: "Network cable unplugged" - except it isn't!

« on: July 03, 2008, 11:58 AM »

No it is a LinkSys WAP 54g type (sorry can't remember the exact number). Can't help wondering if it isn't the router-of-all-evil (I had one and had lots of issues). The connection is from a motherboard ethernet connector.

-Carol Haynes (July 03, 2008, 10:13 AM)

If you suspect your router you might try to update/reflash your firmware.

The WAP-54g isn't intrinsically evil. It just lacks breeding and a proper education. But there's finally hope for the lowly WAP-54g.

It may be possible to replace the manufacturer's firmware with DD-WRT (or other 3rd party firmware) provided you have one of the supported (i.e. older) models. DD-WRT cures a multitude of evils and is definitely worth exploring. There was a thread up here not to long ago that addressed that topic.