Recent Posts

1001

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by Darwin on October 01, 2009, 08:07 AM »

Oddly, moving to Vista is what provided me with the kind of experience you are describing for people who moved to OSX - I more or less just use my computer now and don't worry about all of the tweaking that I used to do to 3.11, 95, 98SE, 2000 and XP. I'm looking forward to giving Windows 7 a whirl because if it is half as much an improvement over Vista as it is touted as being, it will be a killer. Vista proved to be that big an improvement over XP for me.

PS my parents plague me with their issues with OSX...

1002

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone else hosting a Windows 7 launch party?!

« Last post by Darwin on September 25, 2009, 05:28 PM »

Just occurred to me - what do you mean by Beamer, Tom? A BMW or a multi-media projector?

1003

Living Room / Re: How to host you Windows 7 house party... wtf?

« Last post by Darwin on September 25, 2009, 05:26 PM »

Damn! I searched the forum for Win7, Win 7, Windows, and party and received no "hits" so I went ahead and started my own thread about this  . If a mod wants to merge the two threads, I'd support the idea.

Tried the latest party food?
New... Cheesy dip-sticks.

-cranioscopical (September 25, 2009, 03:31 PM)

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General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone else hosting a Windows 7 launch party?!

« Last post by Darwin on September 25, 2009, 04:09 PM »

Tom - these are all good questions. I do not have a Beamer, sadly (more of a M-B man myself, though). I'm not sure what's to stop me from taking the disc and saying "ta" and then forgetting about it. I'm going to have a small party and spend a bit of time showing off Win7 and move on from there. The only "expert" in the room (where Win7 will be concerned) will be yours truly - Microsoft have a bunch of videos on-line for me to watch ahead of time.

Applications to host these parties are closed, AFAICT.

1005

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone else hosting a Windows 7 launch party?!

« Last post by Darwin on September 25, 2009, 03:19 PM »

I gotta say I dont really know what they're about - do you need to try and sell Win7 or does someone come and do a presentation...
or what's the idea of them?

-tomos (September 25, 2009, 02:07 PM)

Nah... I get a free Win7 Ultimate disc beforehand and show it off to my guests. I'm inviting family and friends and will show them Win7 running on my notebook. I figure I'll be doing this on and off over the next year anyway, so I might as well get it all out of the way on the 22nd and get a free Ultimate disc to boot! This way, I can do an in-place update from Vista Ultimate without having to wipe my system and do a clean install (don't worry, I know that this is risky; I'll take an image of my Vista install beforehand, just to be safe...).

I didn't really expect to be selected for this but now have to actually figure out what to do!

Mouser - saw that video this morning and spent 6 and a half minutes squirming.

1006

General Software Discussion / Anyone else hosting a Windows 7 launch party?!

« Last post by Darwin on September 25, 2009, 09:52 AM »

Title says it all (or most of it, anyway) - I applied to host a Win7 launch party and was "selected". WTF?! Now what do I do?! Anyone else in the same boat? I figure that there must be at least a couple of other hosts out there in Cody-land and I'd like to hear from you.

1007

Living Room / Re: Show us a photo of your mutt or other creatures..

« Last post by Darwin on September 23, 2009, 08:35 AM »

Crush - my condolences. I've only had to do this twice and it was very hard. However, whenever I reflect on it, I am happy that I was able to relieve their suffering quickly.

1008

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: DivX Pro 7 ( worth € 15,95 ) - 4 Free

« Last post by Darwin on September 20, 2009, 10:06 AM »

Thanks for the post. I was able to download it. It's pre-registered. But tell me, does DivX really treat free-getters as customers? Once before, too, there was such a giveaway from DivX with personalized serial for DivX version 6. When I tried to upgrade using that serial, I got the message no such serial exists. I wrote to Divx. They replied that I had to have a purchased product to be eligible for upgrade discount. What a miss for DivX!. I believe a million people would have upgraded to DivX latest version at a mere $9.99.

-BCHOWDHURY (September 19, 2009, 11:25 AM)

This was my experience as well. C'est la vie - I waited for a few months et voila! they've now given me version 7 for free as well. I agree, though, that they could perhaps have increased their revenue had they offered ALL version 6 Pro license holders reduced cost upgrades to version 7 Pro - I would gladly have paid $9 to upgrade to version 7 from my copy of version 6. However, a full license is quite reasonably priced, anyway ($24.95). If I REALLY needed the features in the pro version I would have paid for it and then accessed the reduced cost upgrades thereafter. Divx may not treat "free-getters" as customers, but I got the free version of Divx 6 Pro in 2005 or 2006 and was able to update it throughout its life-cycle. It appears, too, that they give out free licenses several months after a new release. Not a bad deal at all!

1009

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Remove duplicate files, folders and archives - DupeTrasher 2009

« Last post by Darwin on September 18, 2009, 05:00 PM »

Thanks, Milos! I received my key earlier today and now have a fully licensed version installed. Sweet 

1010

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Remove duplicate files, folders and archives - DupeTrasher 2009

« Last post by Darwin on September 17, 2009, 05:30 PM »

Thank you, AsmDev  PM sent 

1011

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Remove duplicate files, folders and archives - DupeTrasher 2009

« Last post by Darwin on September 16, 2009, 03:20 PM »

Wow - my first observation is that DupeTrasher is very quick and visually stunning. It just went through 82GB of files in about 2.5 minutes and found 2GB of redundant files. The layout, viewing options (detailed, compact, groups, and folder), and colour scheme mean that it's quite easy to setup and use and to review the files/folders that are found. Overall, it's much easier to setup and use and it is quicker than DoubleKiller Pro (for which I have a license). I'll keep playing with it - for the amount that I use a duplicate finder, this would be very handy - its ease of use versus DoubleKiller Pro would be a time saver 

These, of course, are my initial impressions.

1012

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Remove duplicate files, folders and archives - DupeTrasher 2009

« Last post by Darwin on September 16, 2009, 02:50 PM »

Heh, heh - just found a typo in the start up screen - when you mouse over the optical drive icon "already" is spelled "alrady"! There are also a couple of grammatical errors - mousing over the "One click search" button (first icon to the left), the title reads: "Once click search". The "Find duplicates inside archives" has this in the last line: "once in an archive and other time" where "other" should read "another".

Also, the Welcome page reads:

Easy by asking just the minimum possible effort on the user's behalf

I'm not entirely sure what was intended here, perhaps

Easy by requiring the minimum possible effort on the user's part

Right. Now to find some duplicate files!

EDIT: Formatting

1013

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Remove duplicate files, folders and archives - DupeTrasher 2009

« Last post by Darwin on September 16, 2009, 02:45 PM »

Hi AsmDev,

  I downloaded the installer and never got around to installing it. Doing so now - will play with it (I have a few "runs" that need to be done, anyway) and post back here.

1014

General Software Discussion / Re: Will Win7 last as long as XP?

« Last post by Darwin on September 13, 2009, 02:18 PM »

I've made no secret of the fact that Vista, both 32 and 64 bit versions, has been a very stable OS for me. As f0dder notes, it really doesn't deserve the negativity that has surrounded it since its release.

I guess I'm going to have to wait for Win 7 to arrive on store shelves as the preinstalled OS on new hardware so that I can "experience" it for myself. Innuendo and João have me curious about the improvements that have been made.

1015

General Software Discussion / Re: Will Win7 last as long as XP?

« Last post by Darwin on September 13, 2009, 08:29 AM »

I'm not using it as my main OS, so I guess I still need to play with it a bit more. (that's also why I upgraded so fast - I had no important data on the previous windows installation).

-jgpaiva (September 13, 2009, 05:44 AM)

This is a major factor in why I cancelled my pre-order: there's no upgrade path unless you go from Vista Ultimate to Win 7 Ultimate and I'm not too interested in having to reinstall my software and migrate my settings. Again. I know that there are programs out there that are supposed to will let me do this, but...

1016

General Software Discussion / Re: Will Win7 last as long as XP?

« Last post by Darwin on September 12, 2009, 09:59 PM »

a) No - I cancelled my pre-order upgrade. Vista is rock solid and I like it.
b) I hope so, unless Microshaft decide to shift toward Apple's OS more enlightened upgrade/new release pricing scheme - ALL versions of a new OS X release are the same price, including upgrades, on a single DVD. I haven't checked on Snow Leopard, but at one point Leopard was $99 here (Canada) and that was for a DVD that contained the full version, not just an upgrade.
c) Don't see myself buying a new computer anytime soon... but who knows!

Caveat: If I start reading accounts from shocked and awed Win 7 adopters (ie those who have upgraded to it on existing hardware) that rave about the tremendous performance boosts that they're seeing on relatively recent Vista machines, I might be regretting cancelling my pre-order. However, I suspect that there will be some decent sales on upgrades around Christmas time, so I'm not too worried!

1017

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Remove duplicate files, folders and archives - DupeTrasher 2009

« Last post by Darwin on September 12, 2009, 08:41 AM »

Hi AsmDev,

Congratulations on getting DupeTrasher "out the door" and thank you for the discount. I'm off to check it out now  

1018

Living Room / Re: Question for Mac lovers ...

« Last post by Darwin on September 11, 2009, 05:12 PM »

Unfortunately no second Mac

-Carol Haynes (September 11, 2009, 01:27 PM)

I'm looking at that as a positive think; if one had two Macs, that would tend to obligate them to buy the T-shirt, start commenting on paintings & waring sandals, and to like the idea of paying $9 a cup for coffee ... It all spirals down hill from there really.

One Mac is best, it allows one to engage in an experiment that can then be safely grown out of.

I have one that someone gave me, it's a PowerCenter 150 running OS9. I'll admit it was fun trying to figure out how to hack together a copy of OS9 to run on a box that old...it took most of a day. But now it sits in the corner collecting dust...which it started doing a week after a friend & I got it running...it doesn't bother me any at all.

-Stoic Joker (September 11, 2009, 03:49 PM)

 

1019

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: WinPatrol PLUS $10 off through end of September

« Last post by Darwin on September 11, 2009, 01:58 PM »

Yeah I couldnt find it on his homepage either but it was in his blog, which I used to read and I guote

Sunday, June 07, 2009
WinPatrol PLUS Boycott of Brazil

I’m not usually one to mix business and politics but growing up in America you learn that sometimes you just have to stand up and make a statement. One issue in the news that hits home is the story David Goldman of New Jersey who has been trying to be reunited with his son Sean currently being held in Brazil.

  http://billpstudios....9_06_01_archive.html

Like I said the merits of his complaint are not the point, I tend to agree with him that it isn't right from the story he has published, but then there are usually two sides to these things as well.

-Grorgy (September 11, 2009, 02:38 AM)

I've been trying to figure out how I feel about this since I read your post, Grorgy. I've decided that I agree with you - punishing individuals for the policies of their governments isn't really appropriate at this level. Kind of like bashing all Americans because one doesn't agree with their government's policy on, say, climate change or Iraq. And yes, I have been regrettably guilty of this myself... 

1020

Living Room / Re: Question for Mac lovers ...

« Last post by Darwin on September 11, 2009, 01:18 PM »

You should be good to go, then! I used a USB DVD drive to install Tiger on my iBook, through the USB 1 port. N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E! You should have much easier time with USB 2  BTW, with OS X you can install the OS TO AN EXTERNAL HARDDRIVE (or even an iPod/iPhone) and then transfer that to a second machine. Thus, if you have access to a second Mac with a reliable DVD drive and USB 2, you could take this route, if you don't want to buy a USB drive.

1021

Living Room / Re: Question for Mac lovers ...

« Last post by Darwin on September 11, 2009, 12:07 PM »

I'd recommend going Firewire... USB works but Apple support for Firewire, particularly WRT OS installs is far more comprehensive. Also, depending on the age of the machine, you might not even have access to a USB 2.0 port. In that case, FW will be much quicker. FWIW, I've been down this path with a circa 2001 iBook - USB 1.0 ports and a first generation FW port. The USB is so slow it's insulting! I have successfully used all manner of USB devices, including DVD burners and external harddrives, though.

1022

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: WinPatrol PLUS $10 off through end of September

« Last post by Darwin on September 11, 2009, 12:03 PM »

Is this the same one that is going to be on bitdujour for $14.95?
http://www.bitsdujou...ware/winpatrol-plus/

Keith

-keiffer (September 11, 2009, 09:03 AM)

The same!

1023

General Software Discussion / Re: alternative to filehamster?

« Last post by Darwin on September 10, 2009, 05:57 PM »

The upgrade pricing is available now (for FileHamster) - you enter  your e-mail address and are presented with upgrade pricing. I *think* I sprang for the developer version last time around and I am very impressed with the pricing that I am being offered for an upgrade. Even the Enterprise package is VERY reasonable. However, I'm curious to hear from anyone that has installed the new version? I uninstalled FileHamster some time ago in the course of troubleshooting an (as it turned out) unrelated issue and have never reinstalled it...

1024

General Software Discussion / Re: Has anyone tried Perfect Utilities ?

« Last post by Darwin on September 08, 2009, 12:21 PM »

Thanks for the pointer, joiwind  This looks interesting - I wonder if it will run under Vista 64? From the screenshots it has the *look* of Ashampoo WinOptimizer.

1025

Post New Requests Here / Re: Merge .txt files but with the copy/paste method

« Last post by Darwin on September 06, 2009, 03:52 PM »

I might be out in left field here, but metapad has some very useful search and replace features. It's also FOSS