Recent Posts

1101

Living Room / Re: Gadget Fridays

« Last post by ewemoa on November 16, 2012, 07:48 AM »

I recently got a foldable tablet/phone/notebook stand:



Tried it with a couple of tablets oriented horizontally and vertically with no problems.  Currently being used as a stand for a notebook pc (though with some anti-slip material as insurance).

FWIW, the image doesn't show it, but the legs can be extended further out.

Think there's some OEM-ing going on with this as I see multiple similar offerings online.  Some examples include:

  http://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Stand-Kickstand-Extendable-Aluminimun/dp/B0043NH28S/
  http://www.amazon.com/Kickstand-Adjustable-Handheld-Electronics-computer/dp/B003KGZTKW/
  http://www.amazon.com/KB-Covers-Stand-iPad-Black/dp/B003VFALEQ/

More pics can be seen via the above three links

Might get another one or two for other devices here, but am thinking of waiting a bit to see how the existing one fares.


Thanks to mouser for posting a link to another stand -- that link helped to find the three above

1102

General Software Discussion / Re: Tips for Windows 8 (got any?)

« Last post by ewemoa on November 16, 2012, 04:38 AM »

Have you any tips for windows 8? (I'll try adding your tips to first post, or a link at least)

Change the default language of your OS - worked perfectly for me (seems to be available for all versions of Win8)
Winkey+Q; click on 'Settings' and search for 'Language'; then follow the MS instructions here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2607607 or here

-tomos (November 15, 2012, 02:41 PM)

Sorry, no tips from me as I'm still waiting for my license to arrive, but just wanted to thank you for verifying the language change functionality    Nice change from Windows 7 where the language changing didn't seem to be available for all versions.

1103

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by ewemoa on November 16, 2012, 04:16 AM »

In an effort to reduce the number of books around the abode, trying (again) to get through the following:

• The Fabric of the Cosmos
• de Bono's Thinking Course, Revised Edition
• The Second Brain

-ewemoa (August 30, 2012, 11:31 PM)

Finally made it through the first one -- it may be that the PBS 4-episode series of the same name might help to watch in tandem.  I recommend at least the book to anyone who has an interest in physics  

The second book is a typical de Bono book -- much food for reflection and testing but not the kind of thing that I find easy to read through.

The third book is very interesting but I'm finding it takes a lot more concentration and retention than I can easily generate and sustain.  What I read and understood felt worthwhile though.

1104

Find And Run Robot / Re: Moving between text edit field and results list using arrow keys

« Last post by ewemoa on November 14, 2012, 12:51 AM »

Thanks for the suggestion -- that does seem to work here.


Still think down arrow key would be less awkward

1105

Find And Run Robot / Moving between text edit field and results list using arrow keys

« Last post by ewemoa on November 13, 2012, 07:30 PM »

Starting with focus in the text edit field of the main window, pressing the up arrow key here selects the last result in the results.  This is convenient

However, once the last result is selected, pressing the down arrow key doesn't move the focus back to the text edit field.  This feels strange/awkward to me.

Any reflections on this?

1106

Find And Run Robot / Re: Custom Document Opener

« Last post by ewemoa on November 12, 2012, 11:16 PM »

I haven't tested this, but have you tried specifying via a relative path?

If that's not supported, seems like it would be nice too

1107

Living Room / Re: ArsTechnica hands-on review of Surface RT

« Last post by ewemoa on November 09, 2012, 08:40 PM »

Just came across this:

  PengPod

Our goal is to build a powerful, True Linux Tablet, one free of Android's restrictions, at a reasonable price. This requires some new software and lots of integration of the existing software. Our main goal is to complete the tablet related features and provide a simplified framework for new users to get started with Linux on Allwinner devices.

Forgot to mention the following from the indiegogo page:

All these devices come standard with Android, which is a good start, but not enough.  Now we come to the best part.  Allwinner's Linux kernel source has been made available and has an active community working to mainline it.  Their contributions have created a stable system running true Linux, not just Android with a working U-boot, kernel and Debian, Ubuntu or Linaro root file system.  This system is open source top to bottom and almost feature equivalent with Android on the same hardware.

1108

Easy Screencast Recorder / Re: LATEST VERSION INFO THREAD - Easy Screencast Recorder - v1.12.01 - Apr 22, 2015

« Last post by ewemoa on November 09, 2012, 03:23 AM »

I tried making a new recording after adjusting the Video Codec Engine to use WebM VP8 Encoder Filter.  Preliminary examination of content with a hex editor seems to suggest the previous result and most recent one are using the same container, same video codec, and same audio codec.

1109

Easy Screencast Recorder / Re: LATEST VERSION INFO THREAD - Easy Screencast Recorder - v1.12.01 - Apr 22, 2015

« Last post by ewemoa on November 09, 2012, 02:56 AM »

Encoding to webm seemed to work here (Windows 7 Pro 64-bit) once the following instructions (DirectShow Filters) were followed:

  http://www.webmproject.org/tools/

Basically:

1. Run install_webmdshow.exe from webmdshow-*.zip obtained via:

  https://code.google.com/p/webm/downloads/list

2. Run opencodecs_*.exe obtained via:

  https://www.xiph.org/dshow/

3. Configure ESR as:

1110

Easy Screencast Recorder / Re: LATEST VERSION INFO THREAD - Easy Screencast Recorder - v1.12.01 - Apr 22, 2015

« Last post by ewemoa on November 07, 2012, 06:19 PM »

screenview captor
screenflow captor
screensequence captor
video captor


For the case of already used names...half-jokingly...prefix already used name with DC, mouser, Cody, etc.

A well-established precedent...

1111

Living Room / Re: Only 16GB Free on 32GB Surface

« Last post by ewemoa on November 06, 2012, 08:08 AM »

Do you remember the specifics of what she loved about it?

I have one around and don't find it works well for me:

1. Too big to want to carry as a phone
2. Too small to want to carry as a tablet
3. The stylus integration is cumbersome (e.g. can't press some of the buttons with the stylus)
4. Runs slower with ICS than with what came before -- and battery life is miserable (may be this is fixed now...)

Perhaps if I were the purse-carrying type, things would appear a bit different


...also don't appreciate no external memory option on the SGT 10.1 here  


IIRC, the Tab 2 I looked at had that proprietary connector instead of micro USB -- between that and the Nexus 7 lacking external memory, it got me interested in Windows 8 Intel Tablets

1112

General Software Discussion / Re: DVCS ? (All about Git, Mercurial-Hg and the like...)

« Last post by ewemoa on November 05, 2012, 06:30 AM »

Just found the Index Editor feature.  IIUC, this allows one to not commit all changes in a file, but rather to choose portions (like git add -p?).  Commits can be more focused, so reviewing history can be easier...I think

Seems quite nice  


Found the following documentation to be helpful:

  Staging, unstaging and the Index Editor


Possibly a (minor?) gotcha...

The documentation states:

Only the contents of the middle and the right editor can be modified. You can alter the contents of the Index either by editing the contents of the middle editor, or by moving chunks between the three editors. To do so, either click on the arrow and 'x' buttons between the editors, or click on the Take Left and Take Right buttons on the toolbar. After you're done, save your changes and close the Index Editor.

IIUC, the middle here represents the index and the right is the corresponding file in the working tree.  So I think that although it's called "Index Editor", one can also edit working tree content -- may be this can be convenient...

1113

Easy Screencast Recorder / Re: LATEST VERSION INFO THREAD - Easy Screencast Recorder - v1.12.01 - Apr 22, 2015

« Last post by ewemoa on November 04, 2012, 10:43 PM »

Sounds very nice 

1114

General Software Discussion / Re: Heads Up for Video Players on Android Tablets

« Last post by ewemoa on November 04, 2012, 06:11 AM »

I've had good success with the following for the most part:

  https://sites.google.com/site/mxvpen/

1115

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox: Unwanted Interaction Between History and Location Field?

« Last post by ewemoa on October 27, 2012, 08:51 PM »

I'm not confident yet, but brief testing here seems to be indicating that 16.0.2 may have fixed this issue.


FWIW, 16.0.2 seems to be a security-related update...

1116

Living Room / Re: ArsTechnica hands-on review of Surface RT

« Last post by ewemoa on October 27, 2012, 12:16 AM »

There's been some motion towards creating "unaligned" tablet hardware. Auraslate is shipping and seems to be the most promising of several announced products,

-40hz (October 26, 2012, 09:37 PM)

Very interesting indeed!  Thanks for sharing 

most of which (unfortunately) have since faded into limbo.

-40hz

Too bad...but I hope there are upcoming successes along this angle

1117

Living Room / Re: ArsTechnica hands-on review of Surface RT

« Last post by ewemoa on October 26, 2012, 07:09 PM »

...towards the build-your-own-tablet way.

-superboyac (October 26, 2012, 04:39 PM)

I'm interested in this approach -- one thing that has me wondering of the potential success though is whether / how much of the hardware will be accessible/usable...I'm assuming here that the approach taken would be to reuse existing tablet hardware -- not physically assembling a tablet from scratch (though that sounds cool, not sure how feasible that is).

1118

Living Room / Re: The Best New Features in Windows 8

« Last post by ewemoa on October 26, 2012, 06:58 PM »

One feature I'd not heard about and it seems as easy to use as System Restore (which is one of the best features of recent years) is "Refresh your PC"

-wraith808 (October 26, 2012, 10:03 AM)

Was also interested in this and looking into it a bit, found a description of Refresh and Reset at dedoimedo:

Refresh:

Refresh is similar to booting into safe mode and trying to repair your Windows, using the sfc command on Windows XP, inserting your CD and then letting Windows fix corrupted system files by copying from the disc, or by using the recovery console in Windows 7, which then accesses the 100MB hidden partition where core system files are saved for emergency.

Reset:

Reset is a more stringent operation. It is designed to truly reset your system to factory defaults, which, in this case, might be either a preinstalled setup or your own manual installation.

The following point was a disappointment to me for Refresh:

You will lose programs installed manually. All your settings and tweaks will also be restored to default.

Looking for potential alternatives, came across:

  https://www.networkworld.com/community/toolshed/better-windows-8-system-refresh-slimwares-recimg-manager

Anyone tried the product mentioned (RecImg Manager)?

1119

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 8 prices seem to have been announced during period to 31st January

« Last post by ewemoa on October 26, 2012, 02:45 AM »

Is there a cheaper non-upgrade option?

1120

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 8 prices seem to have been announced during period to 31st January

« Last post by ewemoa on October 25, 2012, 11:20 PM »

I went non-pro System Builder 64-bit with additional 30 USD off (valid through 2012-10-25?) of 99.99 USD:

  http://www.amazon.com/Windows-System-Builder-DVD-64-Bit/dp/B0094NY3R0/

1121

Living Room / Re: ArsTechnica hand-on review of Surface RT

« Last post by ewemoa on October 25, 2012, 11:03 PM »

Also (I think) means that you have to use the windows store.

-wraith808 (October 25, 2012, 09:49 PM)

Most unfortunate if true, but that's been what I've gathered so far too.

1122

Living Room / Re: ArsTechnica hand-on review of Surface RT

« Last post by ewemoa on October 25, 2012, 07:54 PM »

IIUC, Surface with Windows RT => ARM chip => no legacy apps & no other operating systems...

1123

Living Room / Re: What will be your next computer?

« Last post by ewemoa on October 20, 2012, 03:18 AM »

At least they're available off the desktop/laptop, even if they are sub-optimal.

-Renegade (October 19, 2012, 10:46 PM)

Indeed.

I tried on my phone... pain pain pain...

-Renegade

Yes -- recently I have gone in the direction of mostly using a phone for communicating via voice (plus logging of events via camera) and tablet for other things that are much more pleasant with larger visual spaces (which is to say a lot of things...).


FWIW, I've tried the Samsung Note.  Although I find its display is an improvement over smaller phones, I don't find it's worth the trade-off of it being more cumbersome to carry around.  I'm puzzled by its supposed popularity.

it turns out that...

The stand that comes with the Note can be used as a stand for the SGT 10.1 -- what a nice surprise!

The 7 or so inch form factor of the Nexus 7 and some Samsung tablets looks interesting, but when I gave reading pdfs on the former a try, I wasn't very happy with the results.  I appreciated the display size and slimness of the SGT 10.1 even more.  The weight angle of the 7 or so inch devices is tempting though.


I'm quite curious about how the Intel chip Windows 8 tablets will be received.  Will it turn out that many of the apps we already use will be mostly usable?  Could that mean less looking around for apps on Android (that sad to say often feel quite crippled in comparison to what's already available for Windows)?


BTW, on the off-chance you hadn't seen the following yet, thought you might appreciate:

  https://aldiko.zendesk.com/entries/21256227-in-pdf-files-why-the-zoom-level-is-not-remembered-when-turning-page

1124

Living Room / Re: What will be your next computer?

« Last post by ewemoa on October 19, 2012, 10:41 PM »

What are you using for PDFs?

I've been using Aldiko, and while it's ok, I still find that PDFs suck. Quite often I need to read in landscape and zoom on the PDF to read it, which is painful when you want to read/skim quickly - you're always panning and zooming, and the PDF speed there is just poor -- too much rendering and BS.

-Renegade (October 19, 2012, 10:25 PM)

This is a case where having a number of apps around seems to have helped here.

Currently have Aldiko, Adobe's app, and on some devices QuickOffice (was bundled in a few cases) -- no single app seems to work well with all pdfs I read.

Combined with re-rendering the pdf -- sometimes by exporting to images and rebundling as pdf -- I get a mostly tolerable experience.

So to put it briefly, my experience has probably been similar to yours -- unsatisfactory reading experience in an absolute sense.  However, not having to be in front of a pc to read pcs has made it still worthwhile.


On a related note, with a Windows 8 (Intel) tablet, I presume we'd have access to our existing Windows pdf apps

1125

Living Room / Re: What will be your next computer?

« Last post by ewemoa on October 19, 2012, 05:29 PM »

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab which is also at Android 4 and also fine (I got the tablet because reading pdf's on an ebook reader or smartphone is totally unfeasible in grey-scale and small screen)

-JimboNWUK (October 19, 2012, 04:21 PM)

Have also had reading PDFs (and other docs) on a tablet working out well here

Specifically the SGT 10.1 with its slimness (thanks lrs ) is much appreciated for easily picking the device up as well as sliding it into a bag.  Some of the currently available tablets have crossed below a hindrance / encumberance threshold -- the brain isn't complaining very much about the thought of moving / carrying an appropriate tablet...certainly nowhere near the same levels as most notebook pcs I've tried.

Really miss all of the applications and programs I'm used to using on Windows and *NIX though.  AFAIU, Windows 8 tablets that use an Intel (not ARM) chip should be able to run (most?) existing Windows apps.  It seems like an interesting possibility.