Recent Posts

1026

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Agree or Disagree? It is not just focus, it is also about perspective

« Last post by barney on February 04, 2011, 09:17 PM »

Timers ... interesting ... useless, save for baking and appointments  .

I have two things that outperform any software - or hardware - timing application, save for the previously noted exceptions.

Between a fused hip/arthritis and a nicotine addiction, I have internal timers that far outperform anything else available  .  The hip won't let me sit in any one position for more than 20-30 minutes, and the addiction must needs be satisfied ~hourly, so that's another move away from the chair - don't smoke in the house.

I've talked to others who have similar situations - vagaries? - so I don't feel too unusual.  Granted, we're a minority - ten (10) percent maybe? -  but the need for breaks, and the lack of need for related timers, is built into our soma.

On the other hand Adopted Daughter cannot function w/o physical timers in the real world save for cooking - she has an internal timer for that  .  Wish I had it  .

1027

Living Room / Re: IE6 Effects

« Last post by barney on February 02, 2011, 11:38 PM »

Reminds me of Windows 95. . .

-Deozaan (February 01, 2011, 10:33 PM)

I was thinking WinME. 

-app103 (February 02, 2011, 04:00 AM)

HEY THERE~!

Obscenity and serious profanity aren't allowed here~!

WinME was like the worst thing ever in computing...

-Renegade (February 02, 2011, 05:33 AM)

Apparently, you had no experience with v2.11  .

1028

Living Room / Re: MOBILE VS. PC -- Please Chime In!

« Last post by barney on February 01, 2011, 09:18 PM »

But I suppose I'm getting off topic since this isn't about gaming consoles.

-Deozaan (February 01, 2011, 09:00 PM)

Well-l-l ... it kinda is not off topic.  Games need the same kind of input that's been discussed if they're to have any real value/impact on the various portable devices available today.  (Or does anyone think that games won't be an issue?  Hey, check the various markets.)  iOS hasn't done it, Android hasn't done it ... actually, gaming performance could be a real measure in this arena.  Only, for once, the performance wouldn't be hardware based  .

OK, anybody up for creating a voice-controlled interface to World of Warcraft ... or is that a stretch too far  ?

1029

Living Room / Re: MOBILE VS. PC -- Please Chime In!

« Last post by barney on February 01, 2011, 11:55 AM »

If you are primarily a consumer of information, mobile solutions should be sufficient for you.

Well-l-l ... no.  Even as a consumer, manipulation and data entry are important.  That will not be viable until Speech-to-Text matures.  Anything small enough to carry conveniently simply will not be capable of reasonable physical input.

There are a couple if StT apps on my phone, but they do not work well.  StT needs to understand both text and command input before it can be called viable.  Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking is a great example:  up to version eleven (11), and it still has trouble doing both.

I'm reminded of a scene in a Harrison Ford Sci-Fi movie where he, from across the room, tells the computer how to manipulate images of a crime scene.  When portable devices reach that level of sophistication, they will become immeasurably more important than they are now.  Until that time, a smartphone or a small tablet are nice to have, but are useless for any significant input.

That said, I'd love for one - or more - of you to prove me wrong and create an app that would let me interact efficiently with my phone  .

1030

LaunchBar Commander / Re: Download link blocked by K9

« Last post by barney on January 31, 2011, 11:42 AM »

Yeah,

<soapbox>
Like MS and Ubuntu, they purport to protect us from ourselves.  They present themselves as a public service, but, in truth, they are nothing more than a particularly virulent form of vigilantism.  When I was first exposed to WOT, I went searching the site.  Nowhere could I find a means to redress an incorrect judgement.  Perhaps that has changed, but it forever branded WOT in my mind as authoritarian and dictatorial.  At least K9 does provide a readily accessible means to protest their judgments, but that does not make them any the less vigilantes.  All such sites arrogate to themselves an authority they have not earned and do not deserve.  They assume the right to stand in loco parentis for all the Web.
</soapbox>

Even some of the anti-malware sites carry their reviews a bridge too far, and display similar obstacles to protest/adjustment.  My personal feeling - and I know many who feel the same way - is that if I get hurt browsing the Web, on my own head be it ... I neither need nor want some Orwellian group dictating my activities.

1031

LaunchBar Commander / Re: Download link blocked by K9

« Last post by barney on January 30, 2011, 09:31 PM »

The K9 response:

Submitted URL:        https://www.donation...arCommanderSetup.exe
Suggested category:        Software Downloads
Your comments:        DonationCoder is a software discussion forum as well as a software provider mostly for specialized software. I is not, and never has been a malware provider. Since some of the software does link into the Windows kernel and other elements of the Windows OS, false positives are common from security companies who, apparently like you, automate their review processes. (If you're not gonna be responsible, you shouldn't be at all.)
Reviewed:        January 31, 2011 3:01:10 AM GMT
        
Thanks for submitting https://www.donation...arCommanderSetup.exe to the Blue Coat WebFilter team for review. We appreciate the opportunity to provide the results of our analysis with you.

Based on your recommendation and after careful evaluation of the Web content submitted, a Web Content Analyst has recategorized this URL as Computers/Internet.

Blue Coat does not select which category or categories are blocked or allowed. This decision is controlled by policy defined by our customers. If you feel that a certain category or site should be either blocked or allowed, click here to find out more about how to change your Internet access policy.

This rating change could take a few days to be reflected in your K9 application. For further explanation or to see this change immediately, click here.

If you have any other questions that should be directed to the Blue Coat WebFilter team, feel free to reply to this message.

Thank you,

Blue Coat WebFilter
[email protected]

OK, folk,

I know I'm an old curmudgeon, but I really see a problem with this, one that I've observed growing worse over the years.  It only takes one (1) complaint to post banns on a site, but it takes concerted effort by several to achieve amelioration.

I recall a [brief] movement years ago to create an Ombudsman element on the Web.  At the time, I scoffed, but events over the last few years lead me to believe it might be a worthwhile effort.  The trick, of course, would be how to implement it  .  Anyone with a pregnant idea?

Edit:  apologies for misuse of banns.

1032

LaunchBar Commander / Re: Download link blocked by K9

« Last post by barney on January 30, 2011, 09:17 PM »

Sorry,

I created that post, but never hit the post button  .

1033

LaunchBar Commander / Re: Download link blocked by K9

« Last post by barney on January 30, 2011, 09:16 PM »

I, too, filled out their form, noting that their automated review process is faulty.  However, I don't expect much.  It's a pity that such sites can so mislead the innocents on the Web - WOT is another example, as is McAfee

1034

General Software Discussion / Re: Seeking advice on usenet and irc clients ...

« Last post by barney on January 28, 2011, 08:29 PM »

OK, sounds as though I've a couple of agents for tryouts.  I like the MDI aspect of skwire's AdiIRC client, and now that I've been a bit more schooled, both MilesAhead and skwire have endorsed Gravity.  I don't perceive any major downloads for this contract, so 'twould seem Gravity would do the trick.  I'll start playing with both, try to get up to speed.  (Why, oh why, do clients insist upon outre measures when most of their needs could be met via email?  Guess it's just what they're accustomed to doing?)

1035

General Software Discussion / Re: General and Casual Questions about SAP integration

« Last post by barney on January 28, 2011, 08:15 PM »

Been years since I've dealt with SAP - the commercial entity - but when our part of MCI converted, it was an ongoing disaster.  We had thrice-weekly meetings just to deal with what had gone wrong the previous week/day/report.  It's prolly a good product in its own right, but conversion from [IBM Big Iron]  DB2 was an ongoing disaster.  I think they finally got it working, but they lost a lot of productivity in the conversion, and a lot of procedures/attitudes/reports had to be adjusted along the way.  Luckily, I missed all but the initial onslaught - retirement had more advantages than I knew/appreciated at the time  .

-barney (January 28, 2011, 07:41 PM)

Oh you fill me with confidence  Just glad I'm not paying the bill. Apparently a medium sized company (i.e. around 1000 employees or so) should budget at least $10 million for a complete SAP ERP system.

Holy moly! 

-timns (January 28, 2011, 07:52 PM)

A 1K workforce?  And they'tr trying to use SAP?  Seems to me as though that's trying to kill a fly with a Sherman tank!  As much as I dislike Oracle, 'twould seem a better choice for that size work force.  Hell, even MySQL, or <shudder /> MS SQL would suffice in such an instance.  But, then, SAP has for years had a superlative sales force ... too bad their $upport contingent doesn't equal it  .

1036

General Software Discussion / Re: General and Casual Questions about SAP integration

« Last post by barney on January 28, 2011, 07:41 PM »

Been years since I've dealt with SAP - the commercial entity - but when our part of MCI converted, it was an ongoing disaster.  We had thrice-weekly meetings just to deal with what had gone wrong the previous week/day/report.  It's prolly a good product in its own right, but conversion from [IBM Big Iron]  DB2 was an ongoing disaster.  I think they finally got it working, but they lost a lot of productivity in the conversion, and a lot of procedures/attitudes/reports had to be adjusted along the way.  Luckily, I missed all but the initial onslaught - retirement had more advantages than I knew/appreciated at the time  .

1037

General Software Discussion / Re: Seeking advice on usenet and irc clients ...

« Last post by barney on January 27, 2011, 11:38 PM »

Hm-m-m ... everything I've seen so far on such clients indicates a dichotomy - read or download.  Granted, I'm reading summaries of the clients, but they seem to be either read/write or binary downloaders  .  Is there no longer a single client that does both?  Or am I making assumptions again  ?

1038

General Software Discussion / Seeking advice on usenet and irc clients ...

« Last post by barney on January 27, 2011, 10:13 PM »

Folk,

It appears that I'll shortly have need of an irc client, as well as a usenet client.  Google has not helped.  Oh there's information - too damned much of it! - but there's no way I could even begin to evaluate all that I've found before the contract expires  .

Last time I used either was over a decade ago ... mIRC was about all there was, save for a few homegrown clients, and I cannot begin to recall what I was using then for a news reader.

I'd like to find something reasonably versatile - cross-platform (Win/Linux) would be nice, but not required.  Free would be nice, but I'm not averse to a reasonable cost.

ChatZilla looks nice, but I've too many things now that run in a browser - sometimes I need the browser for other things  .  I'd really like to find something standalone, desktop client(s).  Same for the usenet client(s).  These will be running on Win7 x64 boxes or on an x86 Linux box, prolly Amahi or an Ubuntu variant (although the Linux flavours are subject to adjustment).

I know several of you are involved with irc, and assume, by corollary, that some of you are also involved with usenet ... when I was there, one kinda led to the other  .

Any recommendations would be appreciated - I need shortcuts/pointers at this stage ... I'm over-tested    .

1039

Living Room / Re: AVG Infecting in the Wild!

« Last post by barney on January 18, 2011, 09:27 PM »

I'd have expected that from cranioscopical ... or maybe 'twas too subtle? <g, d, &r />

1040

Developer's Corner / Re: Just How Many Programs Have You Written and Never Released?

« Last post by barney on January 12, 2011, 08:52 PM »

Hm-m-m,

Once again, I've been shown to be somewhat less than unique  .  I remember writing DOS 3.x (I think) bits to make life easier, but they'd never have been suitable for publication.  Still have over a hundred (100) VB bits, mostly 3.0 and 5.0 snippets that were produced for specific local needs, most of which were never compiled, none of which would ever be suitable for publication  .

I'd bet that there's been three (3) to five (5) times as much effort and time involved in such pursuits as was ever devoted to the stuff that was published  .

1041

Living Room / Re: Internet celebrity, unusual inspiration, unconventional art... win!

« Last post by barney on January 08, 2011, 01:19 PM »

Not YouTube ... they got a takedown order, according to TechDirt.  He was lamenting the fact that the paper was gonna get bad vibes out of it.  Seems they considered it theirs, since one of their reporters shot the video, so considered it subject to copyright and fair use did not apply  .

1042

General Software Discussion / Re: In need of security advice ...

« Last post by barney on January 01, 2011, 04:36 PM »

That's when copyright comes into play, weak as it is.

The point here is to make this more difficult than most folk would consider worthwhile overcoming.

And, although copyright is not all it could be and is frequently misused, most folk will shy away from perceived violation.  The implied threat of legal action will deter many.  The security stuff is to make it more difficult for others.

While absolute security is a non-sequitur, reasonable security can be approached, and that is the windmill at which I tilt, for the nonce. 

1043

General Software Discussion / Re: In need of security advice ...

« Last post by barney on January 01, 2011, 03:06 PM »

Perhaps a bit of clarification is in order  ?

It is an article of faith with me that anything tech can make, tech can break.

So the question of security becomes one of effort vs. return.

As was mentioned, screen capture is always a viable way to get an image.  However, screen capture produces an image somewhere between seventy (70) to 100 dpi - not certain about Linux, but don't think it's greater - which is a far cry from, say 1440 dpi, which would make the capture pretty much useless for offline purposes.

The purpose of security in this case is to make it reasonably difficult to obtain the original photo images.

The WP blog is hosted on one of my domains at HostGator, but will eventually be transferred to BD's domain once she decides upon a name and obtains it.  (Sidebar:  if another host would be more appropriate, that'd be fine.)  WP is marked so as to prevent search engine scanning - not reliable, but it's simple to configure and could possibly help ... at least it should do no harm.

If this were mine, I'd make access much more difficult, but this has to be done with BD's current knowledge in mind, as well as some degree of ease of use, i.e., as transparent to her as possible.  It also should be reasonably simple for her chosen friends to access, preferably view-only.

I've tried several plugins that reasonably protect within WP, but become ineffective as soon as the actual image - not the thumbnail - is displayed.

The rationale behind all this is that BD is considering the pros and cons of becoming a professional photog, so she needs some input from others on the pics she's taken.  Copyright(s), watermarks, and the like provide some degree of protection, of course, but not enough.

1044

General Software Discussion / In need of security advice ...

« Last post by barney on January 01, 2011, 12:36 AM »

Folk,

I'm setting up a Web site for baby daughter to upload her pics - she's been exercising the EOS Rebel she got for Christmas a year ago  .

Being lazy, I decided to go with WordPress rather than build a site from scratch.

Baby daughter wants to insure that her photos cannot be captured by nefarious denizens of the Web.

I've been reading about no-copy  plugins 'til my eyes are starting to bleed, and I've tried several of the seemingly better ones, but I'm not particularly happy with the results.  I've just about decided that this would be better done via .htaccess, in spite of the fact that I'm not as conversant with it as should be.

However, I thought I'd ask here, see if one amongst you mavens of mystery/mastery might know of a plugin/process that might work.

The ones I've tried to date all seem to work well enough, although one of 'em provides many database warnings.  But the rub lies in clicking the thumbnail to produce a full-sized image.  The plugins have prevented highlighting, right click, most of the standard copy practices - until the thumbnail is clicked.  That provides the full-sized image just fine - but it's neither copy- nor right-click-protected.

At this point, I'm thinkin' that a modification to the .htaccess file might better serve the purpose, although I'm a lot weaker in that arena than I ought to be.

Oh, the reason for choosing WP is the ability to provide descriptive material for each photo, each being a separate post, in effect.  I've looked at some gallery apps, but they just don't work for her.  I've suggested photo sites - Flikr, et. al., but she doesn't trust 'em - nor do I, to any great extent.

Any suggestions as to how this aim might be accomplished?  As long as it doesn't require an ocular transfusion, I'm ready to try just about anything.

Addendum:  descriptive material might be just date and time, or it might be several paragraphs describing conditions, lighting, location, camera settings, and the like, hence the separate post concept.

1045

Living Room / Re: So, when you're working, do you...

« Last post by barney on December 29, 2010, 07:37 PM »

Mostly the [ambient?] light for me.  

As a myopic old cripple, comfortable seating is a physical non-sequitur, but adequate light in a reading area is an absolute necessity.  I'm ambivalent on auditory stimuli ... someone watching TV or playing music in another room seldom matters.  The maid vacuuming the floor is no bother, although I find I'm instantly attentive should some sound - like picking up a hairpin in the sweeper's brush - break the normal drone.  The sound of kids playing - some of 'em are adult kids - seldom bothers, unless there's that indescribable but instantly recognizable sound of trouble or pain.  Mind, I don't have 'em but some of my cohorts or students do.  

Due to physical limitations - bodies can be so-o-o uncooperative - I have to get up and walk away every half-hour or so, and that can be intrusive, but I've kinda learned to adjust my work flow, barring emergencies, around that.  So ... yeah, my big thing would be light ambiance/adequacy - I'm mostly oblivious to all else.

1046

Living Room / Re: Naming and Shaming Bad Forums with Bad Ethics

« Last post by barney on December 28, 2010, 12:52 PM »

I, personally, have never contributed any post that is other than fatuous

-cranioscopical (December 28, 2010, 12:48 PM)

Except this one <g,d,&r /> ?

1047

Living Room / Re: Naming and Shaming Bad Forums with Bad Ethics

« Last post by barney on December 28, 2010, 11:04 AM »

a real RTFM reply to a request for help can be quite informative if it really does tell the user that the answer to their question can be found in the manual.

I have yet to see an RTFM that did not assume that the manual had not been read.

OK, that's one (1) thing.  There's another, more important thing, to my mind, although I may be a bit more sensitive to it than most.

Let's say I post a help request.  Maybe the answer is in the manual, maybe not.  Let's say it is in the manual, but I did not comprehend it.  Pointing it out to me does not really help, if I did not understand it the first time.  See, when you make that response, whether you're really trying to help or not, you have no idea who is on the receiving end, how well they understand what's available to them.

Over several years, I've helped dyslexics deal with PCs.  (I was amazed at the number of different types of dyslexia!)  OK, these kids aren't dumb.  They do have a different learning mechanism than is utilized in mainstream education.  It's equally effective, it's just different.

And, several decades ago, I spent something like eighteen (18) years training folk to run mailing and bindery machinery.  That was a bit different, in that physical presence was required.  But I might have to say the same thing a half-dozen different ways before the ah-ha! moment occurred.  The difference, of course, was that being physically present, I could see that moment.

So, not having that physical presence, you cannot see whether I've had that ah-ha! moment.  But, you could assume it did not occur when I read the manual.  That assumption doesn't often happen.  And even if you do point out chapter and verse in the manual - once again assuming I've not read it - that may not help.  After all, I didn't understand it the first time.  

So, RTFM is never a valid response to a cry for help.  If I haven't read the manual already, I probably won't, in spite of your admonition.  If I did read, but not understand it, even pointing out the location in the manual won't necessarily help.  If you're going to respond, try an answer in your own words, otherwise you'll just waste your time and frustrate me.

[edit:  typos]

1048

Living Room / Re: Naming and Shaming Bad Forums with Bad Ethics

« Last post by barney on December 28, 2010, 09:46 AM »

Why anybody would want to waste the effort of 100+ words just to say "no" to a complete stranger is beyond my ability to comprehend.

Demonstration of self worth?

A friend and I shut down a sailing forum shortly after we started it because of that.  Something like ~80% of the posts were basically saying, "I am important,"  but had no content, helpful or not, to support that claim.  Guess those folk just liked seeing their name(s) on the Web?

1049

Living Room / Re: Naming and Shaming Bad Forums with Bad Ethics

« Last post by barney on December 26, 2010, 11:35 PM »

RTFM is not an acceptable answer.

+1

Never has been:

• it attempts to show [smug] superiority, usually by an inferior in one way or another
• it assumes that you haven't read the manual
• it assumes you have the same degree of comprehension as the poster
• it ignores that there often is not a manual, at least one worth reading
• it basically ignores any degree of human worth ...

I could go on - RTFM is one of my biggest gripes - but that list is adequate for the moment, methinks.

That sort of thing is what drove me out of Tek-Tips a decade+ ago, as well as several other forae.  The elitist stance infects many forae, or at least some of their branches - try looking at the Warriors Forum, for instance - and tends to be a creeping blight.  It's been an amazement and a delight to discover DC's lack of it .

1050

Living Room / Re: Internet celebrity, unusual inspiration, unconventional art... win!

« Last post by barney on December 22, 2010, 07:59 PM »

This is bordering on a private conversation, so I'll make one last post tonight, then go away for a while  .

The political and musical examples, while not the best, were supposed to be examples of historical events that might have been compressed had the Internet existed at those times.  The timeline on the musical stuff was intended to display that compressed events do not allow for the experience level acquired during the non-compressed events - not wisdom, but the number of experiences encountered over the longer timeline, whether they provide any learning or not.  There is a big difference between innate talent, acquired talent, and experience  .

It's been pretty well documented that folk in early America were not quick to make decides - they knew that any information received was weeks old, so they had the time to consider before making a decision, knowing full well that their decision-point might already have been decided in a manner contrary to their own preferences.

One of the biggest problems my adopted daughter and her boyfriend had [as an example] was texting.  No thought, just instant, unthought response.  The Web provides that capability as well, and can at times be detrimental.  As communication has improved over time since earliest man/civilization, it has been easier and easier to make snap judgments, with little regard to thought, more emotional decisions, fewer considered decisions.

Methinks it'll take History to judge whether the Internet in its current incarnation, is bad or good, but overall, I think it'll prolly turn out to be mostly good - most every communication enhancement I can recall, while each had its detractors, has turned out to be beneficial.  I also think there'll be major changes in the way we think about and do things - a fairly safe prediction, as it's happening now  .

[Edited for typos.]