Recent Posts

1076

Living Room / Re: Should I swtich from w7 32 bit to w7 64 bit?

« Last post by Innuendo on April 04, 2010, 08:53 AM »

I've got a 64 bit enabled cpu. I only installed 32 bit because I was afraid some software might not work, so I  have a few questions I would like to asks you

-Musubi (April 03, 2010, 06:43 AM)

Lots of great information in the posts above mine so I'm just going to touch on a few things as I have just gone from 32-bit to 64-bit myself so I can give you a fresh view of the transition.

Is 32bit software compatible with a 64 bit operating system?

Still installing all my apps, but I have not run into anything that won't work yet.

Is it worth upgrading to 64 bit?

I think it is, yes. It's not the same kick in the pants enhancement we got when we moved from 16-bit to 32-bit OSes, but 64-bit is the way of the future & the future is now.

Is there a  way I can keep my old program configuration and programs installed after the update? I mean I don't want to reinstall everything I have... Is there a backup program, or auto reinstaller or something like that, that would be nice.

Don't even try it. First of all, when you run a 64-bit OS you are going to find that a lot of your favorite programs have 64-bit versions available and you are going to want to run those versions most of the time. Second, Windows x64 stores files a bit differently in the Windows directory than 32-bit Windows does, i.e. while the file structure is 90+% identical, Windows x64 has some special directories Windows x86 doesn't.

I know 64 bit can use more ram. What's the biggest amount of RAM a single stick has, can you recommend me a RAM stick?

The largest RAM modules available right now are 4 GB. However, you'll pay a healthy premium on the price for those. As for RAM recommendations, the safest way to ensure you'll buy RAM that will work with your motherboard is go to the motherboard manufacturer's web site & download the RAM compatibility list for that motherboard & only buy modules on that list. Most of the time, just buying any respected brand name will be fine, but the list on the web site is the only way to be 100% sure.

1077

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 8 Requests

« Last post by Innuendo on April 02, 2010, 08:18 PM »

I would really like to see a revamped notification system, with more flexibility to format the notifications (pictures, animation...), and more options for interaction. See Growl, the new notification system for Linux pioneered by Canonical, or systems used in 3rd party apps like PopUp+ in Miranda.

-Lashiec (April 02, 2010, 05:58 PM)

Growl for Windows already exists. It's just up to you/us to nag y/our favorite app developers till they support it.

1078

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 8 Requests

« Last post by Innuendo on April 02, 2010, 05:15 PM »

Why would you even say that? It helps keep things stable. By requiring driver signing you force developers to certify their drivers.

-Josh (April 02, 2010, 04:48 PM)

So very true! I wish MS had made this requirement long ago.

1079

Living Room / Re: Need a new sound card( non Creative)

« Last post by Innuendo on April 02, 2010, 10:56 AM »

I actually went ahead with external usb solution for now.

-kartal (April 01, 2010, 10:05 AM)

Glad you found a solution that worked for you. In case someone else finds this thread looking for an answer to the same question I thought I'd go ahead and post my experience thus far with on-board sound as I have just built myself a new computer. To give you a little background I bought my first IBM-compatible PC in 1992 and a Creative SoundBlaster of some flavor has always been present in every PC I have ever owned. My current Creative soundcard is an an Audigy 2 ZS.

Having actively shunning on-board sound all these years I thought it'd be an interesting experiment with this new PC to leave the Audigy 2 ZS card out and play around with the on-board sound powered by the Realtek ALC889A chipset. The connection from the PC is through analog connectors to a set of Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Ultra speakers (These speakers are friggin' awesome beyond words, BTW).

Preliminary testing today with some widely varied FLAC music files played through Foobar2000 v1.01 using WASAPI. Thus far I am of the opinion that a Creative soundcard will not be seeing the inside of my new computer at all. Sound with the Realtek chipset is every bit as clear & crisp as the Creative card even when playing acoustically complex tracks.

I'm going to have to see how well the Realtek chipset handles games, but if the performance levels keep up my Creative card will be heading for a box in the closet.

1080

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Sharkoon USB 3.0 QuickPort Dock

« Last post by Innuendo on April 02, 2010, 10:41 AM »

Egg has a good price on the same drive but they stick drives in bubble pack, toss 'em in a box, and ship UPS ground.  I've heard the terms UPS and DOA in the same sentence too often to risk it.

-MilesAhead (April 02, 2010, 12:53 AM)

This is why I will only buy retail drives. Sure, you spend a bit more than buying a bare drive, but for the extra money you're getting better packaging, often a better warranty, and sometimes you'll even get a SATA cable thrown in with the drive. Can never have too many spares, I've found...

1081

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 8 Requests

« Last post by Innuendo on April 02, 2010, 10:37 AM »

Windows 7 never forces me to reboot. Windows Updates that require a reboot will tell me I need to reboot, but just have a nag popup I can "dismiss" for up to 4 hours at a time.

-Deozaan (April 02, 2010, 02:58 AM)

There's even a registry hack that goes all the way back to Windows XP which will turn off automatically rebooting altogether. A little icon will sit in your system tray reminding you that you need to reboot, but it will be up to you to do the rebooting yourself when you're ready.

My biggest complaint recently is the dismal file transfer speeds. It takes forever to copy/move files from one place to another! It shouldn't take 2 minutes to copy 50MB!

That's nothing a good file manager or TeraCopy won't fix.

1082

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Sharkoon USB 3.0 QuickPort Dock

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 07:02 PM »

I took the USB 3.0 plunge.  This can be a good solution for those with off the shelf PCs where adding an internal HD is not so easy. Or you may just want to have USB 3.0 for the future. If you have a PCIx1 Express slot free and can deal with opening the side panel and inserting a card, this is probably the way to go.

-MilesAhead (April 01, 2010, 10:43 AM)

I took the USB 3.0 plunge myself, though I don't see myself using it anytime soon. Just built myself a new computer & figured I may as well get a motherboard that featured USB 3.0 (and Sata 3) as the price difference was negligible between getting it and not getting it.

1083

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher On Sale at Bits duJor Wednesday, March 31, 2010

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 06:59 PM »

I'm not Innuendo, but I got a lifetime license for Agnitum's Outpost Security Suite when they ran a offer for it around the beginning of 2009 (this might also be what Innuendo was referring to).  As far as I know that offer isn't currently available, but they are currently offering lifetime licenses on the firewall-only Outpost product: http://www.agnitum.c...ts/outpost/index.php

-mwb1100 (April 01, 2010, 02:07 PM)

That's exactly what I was referring to, mwb1100! They have run their firewall-only product on special off & on, but the security suite offer has never returned. I'm glad I jumped on it when I did.

1084

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher On Sale at Bits duJor Wednesday, March 31, 2010

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 06:57 PM »

Yeah, i wish I had bought it back then also.  Just out of curiosity, which security suite were you able to get a lifetime license for?  That's a great deal.

-superboyac (April 01, 2010, 09:35 AM)

Agnitum's Outpost Security Suite Pro. $49.95. 3-User license. Lifetime updates. I bought it on a lark at the time & the then-current version didn't even work well with my OS (Windows 7), but I've been really impressed with it. I'm beta-testing v7 now and it looks like it's really going to be something special.

1085

Living Room / Re: Need a new sound card( non Creative)

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 06:54 PM »

Yes, but is OpenAL accelerated?

-f0dder (April 01, 2010, 10:18 AM)

Yes. It is.

And what exactly, 3D audio aside, would an audio card accelerate (but isn't doing for onboard audio, and thus requiring it to be done in the driver, using CPU cycles)?

Nothing, as far as I know. Hardware-accelerated audio is exclusively used for 3D audio in games. In other words, if you aren't a gamer then the lack of DirectSound & OpenAL are not going to be anything you will be worried about.

1086

Living Room / Re: Yay, Upgrade time! - Inspire me with hardware I can buy =-D

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 06:48 PM »

Have fun!  I already built my daughter's (I don't know what I was thinking when I bought that pink case for her... they mounted the DVD vertically which has caused all sorts of problems), and will be upgrading mine and building my wife's tomorrow or saturday...

-wraith808 (April 01, 2010, 09:34 AM)

Built my PC this morning and have been taking my time putting back on all my software all day. Lots of downloading, though, as my old system was 5 years old and now that I have a 64-bit OS I'm having to download the x64 version of software.

1087

Living Room / Re: Yay, Upgrade time! - Inspire me with hardware I can buy =-D

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 09:14 AM »

If you want a quiet system, without fans, you can go crazy and get water cooling or something.

-JavaJones (March 31, 2010, 11:57 AM)

And if you want to go beyond crazy and get into insane cooling you could always build one of those PC systems submerged in liquid. 

In other news, my odyssey of discovery is coming to an end. Finally all the components I have meticulously researched have arrived & I will be building my new system today.

1088

Living Room / Re: Need a new sound card( non Creative)

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 09:11 AM »

I was kind of bummed when I got my new PC with a Realtek card but I've actually been quite happy.It sounds like a pain but if you get one download the driver from http://majorgeeks.co...php?id=35&sort=4 sort by Date  It takes forever to dl from the Realtek site.

-bleh75 (March 28, 2010, 05:05 PM)

Just to add to this advice, make sure you install the drivers that either came with your motherboard or from the motherboard manufacturer's web site first. Often you get a nicer front-end that exposes more functionality in the Realtek drivers than if you were to just install the drivers alone from the Realtek site.

1089

Living Room / Re: Need a new sound card( non Creative)

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 09:09 AM »

Dunno about support for 3D audio, since Microsoft axed hardware acceleration of it with Vista

-f0dder (March 28, 2010, 04:06 PM)

There's still 3D audio, but since DirectSound was deemed obsolete by Microsoft everyone has moved to OpenAL to fill the void.

1090

Living Room / Re: Need a new sound card( non Creative)

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 09:08 AM »

Are these onboard cards use the cpu or they generally have their own processors?

-kartal (March 28, 2010, 01:11 PM)

They are better than they used to be, but they still use the CPU (no off-loading). However, CPUs are so fast today and having more than one core there's no noticeable burden on the CPU. Things won't be lagging out like back in the good ole days of a few years ago.

1091

Living Room / Re: MSI Are Idiots - April Fool Gone Wrong

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 09:02 AM »

Rule #1: You don't joke with people about Tech Support.

Rule #2: You don't joke with people about Tech Support.

-40hz (March 31, 2010, 08:40 PM)

Rule #3: Friends don't let friends buy MSI products.

 

1092

Living Room / Re: Do toolbars really snoop?

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 09:00 AM »

Can toolbars be used to hack sensitive information? There are some really good toolbars available, of course, not those from Microsoft, Google or Yahoo. But, I am really suspicious of Ask toolbar. Any idea?

-BCHOWDHURY (March 31, 2010, 11:37 AM)

Hack sensitive information? Oh, I'm sure there are some available from shady sources that do that, but most (like Google's) just report back which web sites you visit and sometimes what links you click on to provide marketing research back to the company.

1093

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher On Sale at Bits duJor Wednesday, March 31, 2010

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 08:58 AM »

I don't think it's right because when people go buy software like this that has updating involved (think anti-virus software) it's usually one total price that they are presented with.  For example, if I want to buy Kaspersky I have the following options:
--$50 for one year of updates
--$90 for two years
--$120 for three years

-superboyac (March 31, 2010, 07:32 PM)

I love Ad Muncher...but my perspective is coming from someone who bought it 'back in the day' when less than $20 got me a lifetime license. It's still the best & most configurable ad-blocking program available today & I've seen signatures updated up to 8 times in one day, but I don't know if I'd pay $80 to get the functionality I have now.

On the subject of AV programs, these 'nickel and dime me to death' pricing structures is also why I jumped on a deal a year or so ago to buy a security suite for one flat price with lifetime updates as well.

1094

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher On Sale at Bits duJor Wednesday, March 31, 2010

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 08:54 AM »

I;m concerned that the dev have been promising 64bit and gzip for quite some time.  He says it will be in a version, then that version comes and goes, and the feature is no where to be found.  I like what the program does, and I am considering the lifetime license, but this makes me wary.

-cthorpe (March 31, 2010, 02:35 PM)

The first time the author promised gzip would be in the next version of the software he had to rush a version out that worked with Vista's UAC. Everyone was upset that he rushed out a version so it would work with Vista & it didn't have gzip functionality.

After that fiasco, the author would only promise that gzip functionality would be in before v5. Count me in as one of the people wanting gzip & 64-bit functionality, though. A third programmer has been hired to work on the program a few months ago so hopefully things will progress more quickly once the new guy is up to speed.

1095

Official Announcements / Re: March 2010 Discounts and Giveaway Drawing - Winners Posted Mar 22, 2010

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 08:40 AM »

Congrats to all the winners!

TucknDar, you're going to love that mug. I use mine all the time.

1096

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is it so hard to find a decent image organizer?

« Last post by Innuendo on April 01, 2010, 08:36 AM »

I haven't read all the comments in this thread, but has anyone suggested Google's Picasa?

-IainB (April 01, 2010, 05:46 AM)

Anyone who hasn't taken a look at Google's Picasa should take a look. It doesn't suit my workflow, but may be just what the doctor ordered for some people.

...and seeing how it integrated with Gmail and online Picasa albums and other Google services (the list is growing)...

Some people, myself included do not need or do not want such integration, but I can see how it would be attractive to a lot of people.

1097

Living Room / Re: Need a new sound card( non Creative)

« Last post by Innuendo on March 27, 2010, 09:13 AM »

Ever since the release of Windows Vista & Microsoft boned gamers around the world by removing hardware-accelerated sound the need for a separate, discrete soundcard has been dwindling to near nothing.

If you have a recent motherboard & you haven't listened to on-board audio in a while you may be surprised. Realtek (Blech! I know, right?) actually has competent audio chipsets out there that provide surround sound, Dolby, DTS, and NEO. Realtek's drivers are actually stable, full-featured & they are very aggressive about fixing bugs as they release new driver versions with great frequency....the exact opposite of Creative. I'd only recommend Realtek if you are using one of their 888, 889, or 890 audio chipsets, though.

However, if you are still dead-set on getting a separate soundcard then there aren't too many options in that price range that are not Creative. Auzentech's X-Raider is one I'd seriously research.

Avoid everything made by Turtle Beach at all costs. Turtle Beach's drivers will make you think Creative's drivers were written by the gods & delivered to your PC on the backs of angels.

1098

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Aware Plus (1Yr) free for 24h

« Last post by Innuendo on March 27, 2010, 08:59 AM »

I haven't used this in years, but free is free. Definitely going to download while it's free.

Who knows? I may even install it.

Thanks Merle!

1099

Living Room / Re: Any long-time DC members near a MicroCenter?

« Last post by Innuendo on March 26, 2010, 01:05 AM »

Found a way to get it taken care of....thanks all!

1100

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by Innuendo on March 25, 2010, 01:24 PM »

if I click on one of the four Linkman icons on Firefox when Linkman isn't open, clicking on any of these icons will also automatically open Linkman.

-cyberdiva (March 23, 2010, 11:31 AM)

Thanks for this! I didn't know this behavior had changed. I don't use LinkMan every day, but I had resigned myself having it start at startup just so it would work when I needed it. Now, thanks to your news, I can go turn off it's auto-starting setting.