Recent Posts

1026

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 06, 2016, 10:30 AM »

I should have mentioned I installed the private fix version of TAC from Curt's post.  Not the one off the web.

1027

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 05, 2016, 02:06 PM »

I may have to,er, bring Lazarus back from the dead. 

-MilesAhead (March 04, 2016, 04:08 PM)

just when he thought he could finally rest in peace . . .

-tomos (March 05, 2016, 01:12 PM)

Heh heh.  The worst part is the bill collectors know right away when you are back on the block. 

1028

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 04, 2016, 04:08 PM »

...Hmm, I put the button in the Statusbar.  Seemed ok.  Now I bring it up, no button in StatusBar, there is a warning in the AddOns Manager about "could not be verified with FF proceed with caution."  I put the button back in the StatusBar.  Voila.  Now I have 2 buttons.
_______________________

-MilesAhead (March 02, 2016, 11:18 AM)

We can all call you "Two-button Miles" from now on then.   

-IainB (March 03, 2016, 11:30 PM)

Hmm, while replying I tried to do control-z and stuff got totally deleted.  I opened the window using the button and none of the options did anything.  I may have to,er, bring Lazarus back from the dead. 

1029

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 03, 2016, 04:04 PM »

Wintergatan - Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles)

-Deozaan (March 02, 2016, 11:56 PM)

Did I get it wrong or did it look in one of the sections of the vid where it showed the internal belt feeding through, that there were squares on the belt that actually made the melody?  Sort of like the cylinder on a player piano.  It didn't seem to me as if the marbles were required accept as eye candy.  Maybe I imagined it.

1030

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 02, 2016, 11:18 AM »

always went back to Textarea Cache because it's so simple to use, and consistent on all page

-Curt (March 01, 2016, 01:45 PM)

Hmm, I put the button in the Statusbar.  Seemed ok.  Now I bring it up, no button in StatusBar, there is a warning in the AddOns Manager about "could not be verified with FF proceed with caution."  I put the button back in the StatusBar.  Voila.  Now I have 2 buttons.

1031

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 01, 2016, 07:53 PM »

[ Invalid Attachment ]

Another day, another update.  What would have made this one surreal is to have gotten it yesterday on Feb. 29.

-Arizona Hot (March 01, 2016, 04:50 PM)

It must be like Wimpy from the Popeye cartoon.  Payoffs are only on Tuesdays. 

1032

General Software Discussion / Re: Configure Host file!

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 01, 2016, 07:43 PM »

Miles, can you comment on CCleaner's registry cleaning ability vs. Wise Registry Cleaner? Thanks.

-Scott_Y (March 01, 2016, 04:37 PM)

They both seem to do a good job.  I only had one glitch using CCleaner reg clean in years of using it.  It was fixed in the next release.  It worked so well for so long I did not make a backup that time.  But now I use RegBackup freeware periodically.  Regbackup uses Shadow Services so it can back up all the registry hives even though the system is in use(by taking a snapshot using VSS service.)

I don't have any metrics for how thorough each backup is.  Just a "seat of the pants" feel.  It is difficult to test registry cleaning I imagine because as soon as you run one cleaner more stuff is stuck into the registry by the time you run the second cleaner.  Did the first one "miss" something or is it new stuff just added type of thing.  You might search for comparisons.  But I suspect most reviews will come down to a personal preference.

1033

General Software Discussion / Re: Configure Host file!

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 01, 2016, 11:46 AM »

ipconfig /flushdns

-ayryq (March 01, 2016, 11:24 AM)

CCleaner has an option to flush the DNS cache when you do a clean.  I have it checked and clean before I save an image or snapshot so that old cache info is not stored.

Edit:  Also you may want to look at Revo Uninstaller free.  I cannot recall needing anything more than Revo free version and a good registry cleaner, such as Wise Registry Cleaner, to get rid of traces of old programs.

Wise has a free portable version of both its Disk Cleaner and Registry Cleaner.  Or you can get them as part of the WiseCare365 free.

1034

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by MilesAhead on March 01, 2016, 11:40 AM »

I must try textarea cache,

-tomos (March 01, 2016, 05:46 AM)

Giving it a shot myself.  Lazarus can be a bit flaky at times.

1035

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 29, 2016, 08:20 PM »

I found a more recent Joe Haldeman novel.



It uses the "novel within a novel" approach.  The protagonist is an author writing a novel etc..  I won't give anymore details to avoid spoilers.  This one was published in 2014.  I am about 4/5 of the way through it.  Entertaining reading if you don't mind graphic descriptions when characters are killed.  But if you ever read any of his novels you are already aware of that "pitfall" if that term is appropriate. 

1036

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the currently best Desktop Search software?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 29, 2016, 11:57 AM »

It is incredible what one can store quite cheaply into Google nowadays

-jity2 (February 28, 2016, 10:53 AM)

Yes, but how do you back those up, if the unthinkable happens, and due to some malfunction on Google's side they lose all your files?

-dr_andus (February 28, 2016, 01:37 PM)

They are also synced to your machine, right?

-wraith808 (February 29, 2016, 08:14 AM)

Google Drive and OneDrive you can use chrome browser to drag and drop folders from Explorer.  On OneDrive there is a setting to choose which folders to sync.  OneDrive seems to want to have the sync folder on the system partition(perhaps there is a setting for this too now.)  I think it was on HowTo Geek I found a tutorial to manipulate the OneDrive settings. It can be a lot to lug around on the system folder if you upload BluRay images as example.  Esp. if it is an SSD. 

But I agree you should have the stuff backed up to at least a USB stick before deleting the local copy of the upload.

USB sticks maybe are not the most reliable but they are the only storage convenient for me to lug around.  I wish I backed up all my source code to the cloud.  But Visual Studio is a pita to back up anyway.  If you have a component say from one of the programming forums, it may not work as a drag and drop from the ToolBox if you upgrade.  The drag from the toolbox seems cool but it does not seem to be as easy to back up as Delphi 5 was.  So then you have to back up the entire 10 tons of stuff that is the sitting image of the whole enchilada.  Anyway, that's what I tell myself rather than getting pissed I don't have a copy of MD5hash so I can fix the "single instance" quirk it has.  C'est la vie. 

1037

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone using Blackbird?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 27, 2016, 06:58 PM »

The 64-bits file can also be downloaded from MajorGeeks, like the 32-bits version can, so it already has earned the right to be classified as harmless. Otherwise MajorGeeks wouldn't host it.

-Curt (February 27, 2016, 06:04 PM)

Something changed somewhere.  I tried that download link using MDC WiFi and the Miami Public Library WiFi, and got the malware warning splash that others did or one similar.  Now it downloads without a squawk.  Maybe it was taken off the hit list.

1038

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: 2GB additional Google Drive storage for free

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 27, 2016, 09:51 AM »

Hmm, I am not sure what the actual Google Drive situation is at MDC.  The only reference to a storage max I can find is a 2014 reference to 25 GB of free storage.  I guess I should assume it may be deleted at the end of the term but I only have one student's word for that so far.  He may just be yanking my chain though. 

Edit: I did find out that if you take one or more for credit classes you can sign up for Word365 and get a TB of free storage on OneDrive.  This is in addition to the 25 GB Google drive.  Again I am not sure how permanent the storage is.

1039

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone using Blackbird?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 27, 2016, 09:43 AM »

Now that people have the file, perhaps they can now review the program and let us know whether or not it does what it says it will do.

-Innuendo (February 27, 2016, 09:37 AM)

I don't know if it will do anything useful in a VM.  I only have the Laptop so I am reluctant to do much in the way of experimentation.  Especially when the software is vague about what it does at a low level.

If someone else posts their results I would be curious to read it though.  I have RollbackRX and Macrium Reflect to undo bad things that happen.  But as I noted often I am reluctant to use software of the "real time shield" variety.  It usually bogs the system in my experience.  Or if not a performance penalty flaky stuff happens.

1040

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone using Blackbird?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 26, 2016, 07:58 PM »

I came at the x64 download through here and it downloaded OK.

Perhaps it is just coincidence?  But I have the file anyway. 

1041

Site/Forum Features / Re: Sent Messages?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 25, 2016, 04:04 PM »

It's a little weird but after you click on My Messages, the FAR LEFT item that says "MESSAGES" is a menu with "Sent Items" as a submenu -- that's what you want.

-mouser (February 25, 2016, 02:13 PM)

I have it.  Thank you. 

1042

Site/Forum Features / Sent Messages?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 25, 2016, 02:10 PM »

Since the access to Messages interface has been changed I cannot figure out how to access my Sent Messages.  If I click on Messages it gives me Inbox with no way I can see to read the message I just sent(I do have it set to automatically save a copy of sent msgs.)

Is there something there that I am just not seeing perhaps? 

1043

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (download)

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 24, 2016, 01:57 PM »

what he said

-WhiteTigX (February 24, 2016, 01:37 PM)

I am still using it.   

1044

Living Room / Re: Zany Zinio

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 23, 2016, 08:16 PM »

... it only wants to let me download yet another app that has an .apk extension.

-MilesAhead (February 23, 2016, 06:25 PM)

That's an Android application, I have the Zinio reader installed on one of our tablets for the local library emagazines.

I also had it installed on the PC at some time in the past, (before you required a MS account just to download it), from memory it was better just to go to the library and borrow the magazine.

-4wd (February 23, 2016, 06:32 PM)

Thanks for the info.  I'm not sure they have any hard copy periodicals anymore.  A lot of cutbacks in the Library system here.  I did see Scuba magazine.  I used to read diving mags when I was in high school.  But I only did snorkeling.  A real Scuba dive is tops on my bucket list now.  Especially since South Florida is one of the hot spots for diving.

1045

Living Room / Zany Zinio

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 23, 2016, 06:25 PM »

I am totally helpless with Apps on my Windows 8.0 Laptop.  All I am trying to do is read a magazine free from the library.  I downloaded the Zinio App and it is there, but every time I search the magazine I want and try to download it, it only wants to let me download yet another app that has an .apk extension.  Of course when I open it I get an Open With mess.

Anyone have a clue how to use this stuff?  Trying to read these magazines directly in a browser is totally useless.

Man I hate everything that happened after W7.  It is all designed to drive you nuts!

1046

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 23, 2016, 04:02 PM »

I know this isn't a post count, but I saw this today and thought it should go here:

[ Invalid Attachment ]

Now we know why that software was discontinued...

-Edvard (February 22, 2016, 11:47 PM)

Yeah.  It was a beast to maintain.

1047

General Software Discussion / Re: Computer blogs that you read?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 20, 2016, 04:50 PM »

Thanks MilesAhead, that looks like a good site.

-msteph (February 20, 2016, 12:37 PM)

You are most welcome. 


If you like Windows tutorials similar to that site, the Windows Vista,W7, W8, W10 forums I am on have tons.  I don't have a system suitable to run W10 so my technical input there is sparse, and Vista has very little traffic these days.  But I do post followups to technical questions on the W7 and W8 forums.  They are a good resource for Windows.

www.vistax64.com
www.sevenforums.com
www.eightforums.com
www.tenforums.com

1048

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone using Blackbird?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 20, 2016, 04:42 PM »

Looking at the strings dump of the executable, it seems that "b2e"  ...

-f0dder (February 20, 2016, 12:15 PM)

Thanks for the info. 

1049

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone using Blackbird?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 20, 2016, 04:41 PM »

64bit download fine here, but Windows Defender doesn't like the executable inside the zip...

-f0dder (February 20, 2016, 11:54 AM)

The two networks I used must have a similar malware filter.  One a public library.  The other a college.  If I try at Starbucks it may download without a hiccup.  In any case it doesn't seem to be something I need.

1050

General Software Discussion / Re: Computer blogs that you read?

« Last post by MilesAhead on February 20, 2016, 11:42 AM »

Howto Geek has good tips and news.  I have noticed some of the Windows tips do not always have the full solution in the article.  They may miss a detail. But the missing piece is often supplied in the user comments.  It is not Windows-only though.