Messages

76

General Software Discussion / Re: houseforge recommendation December 2007: Protection

« on: December 17, 2007, 10:34 PM »

for instance, meet in person and exchange keys in a safe/secure environment.

-gjehle (December 17, 2007, 07:18 AM)

"I like you, and you like me, so I think we should take the next step."

"Erm... really.  What's that exactly?"

"We exhange keys."

"Oh!  I know what that is.  We did it once in college.  Everyone sits around on the floor with a big bowl in the middle, and we all place our room keys in there, and people close their eyes and reach in there and randomly pick one out, and--"

"No!  No, I meant... encryption keys.  So we can, you know, encrypt our..."

"Oh.  So you don't want the key to my apartment?"

"Didn't say that."

77

General Software Discussion / Re: Are you testing XP SP3 RC ??

« on: December 17, 2007, 10:16 PM »

Note you can download XP SP3 RC1 directly from Microsoft's unsecured public servers.  Is that illegal?  No.  It may be ill-advised to run beta software, but criminal?  Hardly.

Here's the deal...

It's available to anyone who is interested in trying out the new build.  MSDN and TechNet subscribers have it now (about 15,000 subscriptions exist, some belonging to IT organizations of thousands of users, each of whom may have it now if they want) and the wraps are about to come off the public beta.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1038



They're not trying to stop the flow of XP SP3 RC1 downloads; in fact, they're counting on it.  They want everyone in the world to be their product test dummies and uncover the problems; and if there are problems they can paste a big concerned smile on their face and scold you with, "we told you it was a beta."

So relax, it's not illegal.  Not in the sense that any sane person cares -- not even Microsoft.

78

General Software Discussion / Re: Acronis release new version of TrueImage Workstation

« on: December 17, 2007, 04:38 PM »

If Darwin's computer gets smoked, boy is Carol gonna be in trouble.

:-)

79

Developer's Corner / Re: RFI: Win32 API or WMI means of manipulating multiple video displays/monitors.

« on: December 17, 2007, 04:36 PM »

I think ultramon let's you set up different profiles like this and switch between them.

-mouser (December 17, 2007, 03:52 PM)

Aye, that it does.

Is there anything UltraMon doesn't do?  Oh yeah... get along with nVidia Desktop Manager. 

80

Developer's Corner / Re: RFI: Win32 API or WMI means of manipulating multiple video displays/monitors

« on: December 17, 2007, 04:35 PM »

Tinjaw,

There are two classes inside the .zip: Monitors.cls is the main control structure & procedures, while Monitor.cls is the object definition for the collection.  Reading thru the code suggests it does not accept new values; it's just providing data about the video configuration.  So in that regard it's not helpful, but still it might yield a clue.  The API calls utilized are:

GetMonitorInfo
MonitorFromWindow
MonitorFromRect
GetSystemMetrics

Basically upon initialization you end up with a collection of individual Monitor objects, one for each enumerated display.  You can determine just about everything from individual height + width to the total desktop real estate available.

I did not include a referenced file, MonitorPickerForm, as it's a simple graphical display showing the orientation/position/size of each monitor object, similar to your screenshot but cheesier.  Since you're not planning to compile this I figured it's not important.

Wish it was more,
Ralf

81

Developer's Corner / Re: RFI: Win32 API or WMI means of manipulating multiple video displays/monitors.

« on: December 17, 2007, 01:29 PM »

I've got a VB6 class that allows reading of the system monitors object collection, and I *think* it allows writing to it too.  I use it all the time in my projects, but only for determining the user's multi-monitor environment.

Let me look at the code and see if I can discern the underlying stuff it's calling.  If so, I'll provide a translation into generic APIese. 

Or are you fluent enough in VB6 for me to just post the class?

82

Living Room / Re: Korean scientists clone cats glowing in dark

« on: December 17, 2007, 12:00 PM »

Good god.  Like my critters aren't annoying enough WITHOUT glowing in the dark.

83

Living Room / Re: 100,000 users!

« on: December 17, 2007, 11:59 AM »

umm..
don't you know the easy way to check your id# is to get out your wallet or purse and check on your membership card?

-mouser (December 17, 2007, 11:41 AM)

Mine got confiscated when I tried to use it to buy beer.

84

General Software Discussion / Re: Are you testing Vista SP1 RC?

« on: December 17, 2007, 10:57 AM »

Another brave little toaster.  Go, MrCrispy!

85

Living Room / Re: 100,000 users!

« on: December 17, 2007, 09:17 AM »

By the way, ralf, click on your username next to a post and it will be in the address bar.

-Josh (December 17, 2007, 09:11 AM)

Yikes!  I've got my own zip code: 83040

And it appears to be in Italy.

86

Living Room / Re: 100,000 users!

« on: December 17, 2007, 09:10 AM »

I, on the other hand, caught DC when it was relatively new. Member number 430

-Josh (December 17, 2007, 08:53 AM)

Erm, and where does one see their Member Number?  I looked all over my profile and it's nowhere.  Searched yours for "430" and came up dry.

Do I need a Secret Cody Decoder Ring?

87

Mouser's Zone / Re: Ideas i want to bounce off you guys

« on: December 17, 2007, 08:52 AM »

And didn't see the date, but it looks like this thread is just as relevant now as a year ago.

-mediaguycouk (December 17, 2007, 08:26 AM)

You're right, and it is still relevant.  No disrespect intended.  I was just tickled to see something "new" pop up with 30+ preloaded responses.

88

Living Room / Re: 100,000 users!

« on: December 17, 2007, 07:39 AM »

If you'd like a trip back in time, here is a (somewhat imperfect) view of what DonationCoder.com looked like in May 2005:

http://web.archive.o...//donationcoder.com/

Wayback Machine rocks!  Too bad the forums link doesn't work...

89

General Software Discussion / Re: Tongue in Cheek Review of Windows XP

« on: December 17, 2007, 07:35 AM »

To be honest there is only one conclusion to be made; Microsoft has really outdone themselves in delivering a brand new operating system that really excels in all the areas where Vista was sub-optimal.

Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.

90

Mouser's Zone / Re: Ideas i want to bounce off you guys

« on: December 17, 2007, 06:45 AM »

Companies love freeware but you've either got to say no to them, or allow them to .msi up the file and use it until the next major revision.

-mediaguycouk (December 17, 2007, 05:42 AM)

This makes a lot of sense.  "Corporate IT Departments click here to request your free non-expiring corporate license".

Somebody in IT fills out a form, submits it to DC, some kind of approval cycle happens, and they get an email with a link to a downloadable version of the requested app, ready to use without a key. 

As a special bonus the name of the company is displayed in a startup splash screen, with a special "Thank you from Donation Coder" message and in invitation from users to click Help inside the program to learn how to obtain their own, free copy.

It'd mean some work to manage these requests (and recompile each time, or engineer a new "corporate" mechanism, or something else) but until it's known how many corporations would take advantage of such a thing, it's hard to say if the juice is worth the squeeze.  If mouser gets bombed with 500 requests a month that'd be undesireable; but what if it's 1 or 2? 

Interesting idea, regardless. 

And it's fun to see a 2-year-old thread come back to life.  They're sometimes a handful at that age.  :-)

91

General Software Discussion / Re: How do you 'capture' a BSOD?

« on: December 16, 2007, 03:57 PM »

I just googled WinSplit Revolution.  I *think* I get what it does -- turn a bigger monitor into several smaller monitors.  But why is this useful?

Is this something you need a widescreen to appreciate?

92

General Software Discussion / Re: Choppy video playback in full screen

« on: December 16, 2007, 03:55 PM »

So much depends on the player and codecs.  Some codecs require tons more horsepower to decode than others, for instance.  Some players take advantage of hardware overlay while others default to software emulation.  Also, if your media is recorded at (say) 640x480 and you're stretching it to 1280x1024 that requires additional juice.

To complicate matters further, Vista introduced a new model for the desktop window, so if you're using an older player it's being forced through additional hoops to get anything on the screen.

So what kind of media are you playing back, at what resolution, and with what player?  I personally can't hep much since I'm an idiot about video nuts and bolts, but anyone who knows their stuff will require at least this information to start with.

93

General Software Discussion / Re: How do you 'capture' a BSOD?

« on: December 16, 2007, 11:23 AM »

The UltraMon developer - at least the guy who replies for UltraMon on their forum - told me about the nVidia Desktop Manager conflicts but he insisted that there should be no other conflicts with nVidia cards. Yet I have "run into" several folks online who have expereinced similar issues when using UltraMon with nVidia cards. Which is a shame because UM does add plenty to dual monitor setups.

-J-Mac (December 16, 2007, 11:08 AM)

I'm an UltraMon user with an expensive (though older) nVidia card.  In fact, mine's a weird one: Quadro NVS-440.  With nVidia's Desktop Management turned off my system's rock solid. 

It wasn't always that way -- when I first installed UM things got pretty unstable.  It took awhile to discover the conflict between DM and UM, and that disabling nVidia's "enhancements" fixed the problem.

FWIW, there's a new beta of UltraMon 3.0 available on their website.  It now relies on GDI+ and has multiple fixes for 64-bit platforms and Vista.  Might be worth checking it out, as UM is indeed a superior management system for multiple monitors.

94

Living Room / Re: Overheard on the Internets

« on: December 16, 2007, 09:55 AM »

Found elsewhere:

One night I was cutting up habeneros to make chili. I washed my hands, and while it was cooking I called a girl to ask her out. While on the phone, I scratched my eyelid or something, and sure enough, immediately started tearing up and grimacing because I didn't wash my hands well enough.

That went on for about five minutes. When I told her about it later, she said she had no idea. I guess that means I was either great at covering it up, or that I *always* sound like i'm writhing in agony from chili peppers in the eye.

95

Official Announcements / Re: ZillaRank: An improved search for smf forum

« on: December 16, 2007, 09:42 AM »

Just a reminder, folks: voting is still open for the Most Senseless Posting of 2007.

96

General Software Discussion / Re: S.O.S.....Having troubles "upgrading" from Vista to XP SP2

« on: December 16, 2007, 09:29 AM »

CodeTRUCKER, before you do anything else: make an image backup of your drive.

:-)

97

General Software Discussion / Re: S.O.S.....Having troubles "upgrading" from Vista to XP SP2

« on: December 15, 2007, 08:59 PM »

Check out this link:

http://www.nodans.co...-Toshiba-A215--S7428

Guy has the same Toshiba as you, retrograded from Vista to XP, became disgusted with Toshiba's website and tracked down all the XP drivers.  Maybe this will work for you?

98

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: inappropriate word buster

« on: December 15, 2007, 08:54 PM »

Tell them to use Google with SAFE SEARCH on!

-Deozaan (December 15, 2007, 04:54 PM)

Second that.  For the described situation, that should be enough.  The 9yo in question wasn't trolling for trannies so that would have prevented it.

99

General Software Discussion / Re: Blog steals Zaine's Great Software List

« on: December 15, 2007, 08:43 PM »

ALPHA TANGO ROMEO, TARGET HAS BEEN SPLASHED.  REPEAT, TARGET HAS BEEN SPLASHED.  REQUEST EXTRACTION PROCEDURE AND COORDINATES.

100

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone else having random reboots with Firefox 2.0.0.11

« on: December 15, 2007, 08:39 PM »

Glad to hear you're stable again, Carol.

I'm still pretty impressed you found a way to BSOD with a high-level application.  If it was a video-capture suite or DVD burner or something I could maybe see that happening... but FireFox?