Recent Posts

1126

General Software Discussion / Re: Someone MUST make a new PowerMarks program.

« Last post by Innuendo on March 18, 2010, 09:03 AM »

disagree with you about the splash screen though, it was more like 3 seconds for me and well however made it might have thought it was cool to have it slowly fade in and out but its just too slow and annoying.

-delwoode (March 18, 2010, 08:38 AM)

Some video cards have a real problem with fade-out effects like that. Sometimes upgrading the drivers will help. Sometimes not.

1127

Living Room / Re: Return of the Commodore computer name?

« Last post by Innuendo on March 17, 2010, 08:06 PM »

Hmm, I thought the Commodore company was closed years ago?

-Tuxman (March 17, 2010, 06:53 PM)

It did. That's why this guy formed a completely new company and "spent the better part of a year crawling through the arcane red tape necessary to get the rights to the Commodore name."

1128

What's the Best? / Re: Best file archiver/compresser

« Last post by Innuendo on March 17, 2010, 08:01 PM »

Rar is indeed the archiver of choice for software pirates. It's just a fact of life. However, there are plenty of legitimate uses & users as well. For example, Rit Labs distributes all beta versions of their email program The Bat! in rar archives.

1129

General Software Discussion / Re: save ebay auctions webpages

« Last post by Innuendo on March 17, 2010, 07:48 PM »

for some reason, saving them in opera as "full html with images" does not work, images and text are missing and the other images that appear in new windows when you click them are also missing

-kalos (March 17, 2010, 10:52 AM)

For what it's worth, Firefox has an extension that allows on to save web pages as PDFs.

1130

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

« Last post by Innuendo on March 17, 2010, 07:43 PM »

I was going to jump into this thread & proclaim how timely this thread is as I have finally decided to upgrade my venerable 5 year old system, but Stephen seems to be going in a totally different direction than I want to go.

My eye is getting a system with some legs like an i7-based system with the goal of getting another 3-5 years out of it. Right now most of my free time is cruising the net looking for good deals, sales, and specials.

1131

Living Room / Re: First compelling reason to switch to Windows 7

« Last post by Innuendo on March 14, 2010, 09:27 PM »

I switched to 7 and it is a mixed blessing at best. After installing 7 my PC just drops network connection for no apparent reason beside randomness. For this MS should be ashamed, especially if they want to sell to companies.

-Shades (March 14, 2010, 09:09 PM)

I haven't seen this before. What type NIC are you using over there?

1132

What's the Best? / Re: Best file archiver/compresser

« Last post by Innuendo on March 14, 2010, 09:22 PM »

You are missing the point of better compression ratios. That FreeArc also is cross-platform, opensource and an easy to use GUI just makes it better.

-Bamse (March 14, 2010, 11:59 AM)

I'd argue that you are missing the point. I don't care if it can compress a 9GB ISO file down to 100 KB if it doesn't support file attributes and extended timestamps the program is worthless to me & I would wager I am not in the minority.

The point of having an archive utility is to create archives (perfect copies) of your data in a compressed form. Lacking file attributes and extended timestamps make the copies imperfect & useless for archive functionality for many people.

1133

Living Room / Re: First compelling reason to switch to Windows 7

« Last post by Innuendo on March 14, 2010, 09:31 AM »

@f0dder and @Innuendo:
My apologies. I made a mistake in my post above and have corrected it. Where I wrote "XP" it should have read "Vista".

-IainB (March 13, 2010, 09:11 PM)

That's okay, IainB. Everyone makes mistakes, but everything that f0dder & told you about WinXP applies to Windows Vista. So while you made a mistake in naming the OS the reasons the way things are the way they are remain the same.

@Innuendo: It is categorically not my theory, and it would appear to be fact in any event.
To substantiate this, I have added a relevant reference to my post above. The reference is to a separate post on a rather academic site called "Geoff Chappell - Software Analyst".

I don't want to sound snarky when I write this, but it's impossible not to do so. Who is Geoff Chappell & why should I believe anything he says? I've seen plenty a blog & post on the internet by software analysts, Microsoft MVPs, etc. who didn't know their arse from a hole in the ground. What makes Mr. Chappell different than the rest?

1134

What's the Best? / Re: Best file archiver/compresser

« Last post by Innuendo on March 14, 2010, 09:21 AM »

FreeArc seems like the most promising. Not only better compression than 7-Zip, WinRar, also faster! What they say.

-Bamse (March 13, 2010, 03:54 PM)

From the FreeArc homepage:

"Compared to RAR and 7-zip, FreeArc at this moment lacks the following: multi-volume archives, 64-bit version, storing of file attributes/extended timestamps/NTFS streams in the archive, bcj2, data segmentation."

I could live without the 64-bit version and *maybe* the multi-volume archives, but the lack of storing file attributes and extended timestamps just isn't going to work for me. The author's got time to implement 11 different compression algorithms, but can't be bothered to put in support to store file attributes? I think his development priorities are a little skewed, IMHO.

And FreeArc is compatible with......nothing. And the amount of people and/or web sites I have seen using this file format......none. My friends & I would never use anything like this till the author gets the basic features in & I suspect most people are the same way.

1135

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the Best Movie Collection Organizer Program

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 03:56 PM »

I value the feedback of actual users much more than any other considerations.

-sajman99 (March 13, 2010, 01:31 PM)

Exactly! One user review from a person who uses something every day is worth 20 professional reviews from people who only used something for an hour or two in order to write the review.

1136

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Verbatim DVD+R 16x a quarter apiece

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 03:55 PM »

Agreed. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" also works well for me. Some folks have been known to update and/or tweak themselves into inoperability. I have learned-- leave well enough alone.

-sajman99 (March 13, 2010, 01:28 PM)

I know....I have a sickness. I feel compelled to run the latest firmware and drivers on all my hardware even if I wasn't having problems before.

1137

What's the Best? / Re: Best file archiver/compresser

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 03:53 PM »

WinRAR is handy for day to day use, but 7zip (script) is my preferred method for storing data. GUI wise WinRAR beats 7zip as in 7zip a lot actions that you take for granted with other archivers simply do not work and/or not implemented.

-Shades (March 13, 2010, 02:02 PM)

Payware archivers aren't too popular around here, but my preference is PowerArchiver Professional. I can compress files into 7zip archives (or nearly any other format) using a modern GUI that's nicer looking than any archiver & it's pretty speedy, too, as it will use all the cores of your CPU while most archivers will not. It integrates with Windows 7 (jump lists, etc.) very well, too.

1138

Living Room / Re: Amazon.com == AMAZING!

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 11:50 AM »

My UPS guy has to HATE me.  He just rings the buzzer and leaves the package now, doesn't even wait for me.

-vegas (March 11, 2010, 09:24 AM)

No, your UPS guy doesn't hate you. These drivers have their routes timed. Get too far out of compliance and you're looking for a new job. To make matters worse, every year the required time to complete your route gets smaller and smaller. It's gotten to the point where the drivers can't wait for people to come to the door anymore. They have to shave off seconds wherever they can if they don't want to be on the unemployment line.

Sad, but true.

1139

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the Best Movie Collection Organizer Program

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 11:45 AM »

No problem. Understand that DVD Profiler is a pretty decent software otherwise. The issues I posted just happen to be points that nag at me - might be personal preference in my case, IDK.

-J-Mac (March 12, 2010, 10:07 PM)

Oh, I completely understand it is decent software. It's some of the best on the market. However, the points that nag at you seem be exactly the kind of points that would nag at me were I a registered user.

Needless to say I was not amused...

-J-Mac (March 12, 2010, 10:17 PM)

If that were me in your shoes my lividness would be strong.

1140

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Verbatim DVD+R 16x a quarter apiece

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 11:42 AM »

Yeah, it's all good.  It's not like I sit here cranking them out.  The main thing is the coaster count is negligible.

-MilesAhead (March 12, 2010, 11:15 PM)

After our last exchange about firmware, it occurred to me that another reason you may want to keep your firmware up to date is that manufacturers regularly tweak their firmware to work better with new & existing media.

As an aside, it looks like we are the only two on DC fanatical enough about this stuff to discuss it.

1141

What's the Best? / Re: best virual cd/dvd maker and image mounter?

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 11:40 AM »

What is SPTD short for?  Spyware?

-delwoode (March 13, 2010, 08:26 AM)

To semi-quote DuplexSecure's download page:

"SCSI Pass Through Direct (SPTD) layer (xx bit). Basically SPTD is similar to other access layers used by other programs who provide access to storage devices but it has a lot more features that make this interface unique."

Both Daemon Tools & Alcohol 120% use this layer to interact with drives. Other programs may use it as well, but I have used both of these programs for years & never had a problem with SPTD.

1142

What's the Best? / Re: Best file archiver/compresser

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 11:37 AM »

I think the only archive utility that beats WinRar (only on some things & definitely not everything) is 7zip.

1143

Living Room / Re: Pirate vs. Paying Customer illustrated

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 11:35 AM »

The use of bit.ly links aside, I don't see the need for an OpEd article detailing anything regarding UbiSoft.

UbiSoft regularly lies to their customers. UbiSoft has always regularly lied to their customers. And chances are UbiSoft will always regularly lie to their customers.

They have always wanted to be the next Electronic Arts and have blatantly copied all of Electronic Arts's business practices, both the good and the bad.

1144

Living Room / Re: First compelling reason to switch to Windows 7

« Last post by Innuendo on March 13, 2010, 11:32 AM »

(b) It was Microsoft who deliberately crippled XP so that it could not address more than 4GB of RAM. (Now, who on earth would have thought they would have done anything like that?)   

-IainB (March 13, 2010, 09:05 AM)

IainB, your theory might be believable except for the fact that there was indeed a 64-bit version of Windows XP that had no such limitation on RAM. f0dder's post stands well on its own outlining the why's of why 4 GB was the limit with the 32-bit version of Windows XP, but a person did not have to move to Vista in order to enjoy 64-bit goodness.

So.....no. No conspiracy theory here. Move along, people.

1145

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Verbatim DVD+R 16x a quarter apiece

« Last post by Innuendo on March 12, 2010, 09:28 PM »

Weird indeed, Miles. Oh well, don't look a gift burn in the mouth & keep on burning.

1146

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the Best Movie Collection Organizer Program

« Last post by Innuendo on March 12, 2010, 09:26 PM »

There's more but why go any further with it.

-J-Mac (March 10, 2010, 10:50 PM)

Indeed. No need to go further. When this program was first released there wasn't a decent source for box art & movie descriptions, & etc. so the author made his own walled garden to use as a database. Unfortunately, as their database has grown it looks like the walls have, too, so now it looks like they are walled off from everything else, most notably reality.

Looks like I'll pass on this one. Thanks, J-Mac!

1147

Living Room / Re: Ars Technica on the problem with adblocking

« Last post by Innuendo on March 12, 2010, 08:10 AM »

Spot on!  I actually liked ArsTechnica a lot more before it became 'successful'.

-40hz (March 10, 2010, 06:27 PM)

Oh! I'm glad you reminded me, 40hz! Before Ars was successful Fisher used to get on the forums and beat the donation drum about the high costs of running the site, how everybody needed to subscribe so he could pay the bills. This was way back years before Ars caught Conde Nast's eye.

I was actually thinking of giving the man some money to help him run his site since it was obviously such a huge financial burden on him. Then I found out he was a pretty successful lawyer.

Yeah, I'm sure Ars was decimating his six-figure annual salary.     Since then I haven't thought anything Mr. Fisher has said was worth the electrons it was printed on.

1148

General Software Discussion / Re: What is best program to create a DVD from any video file?

« Last post by Innuendo on March 10, 2010, 09:09 PM »

ATM I'm seeing the words "You fool, you gave cheese to a lactose intolerant volcano god!"  Gotta love it! 

-sajman99 (March 10, 2010, 07:43 PM)

Which, of course, is a quote from one of the most-loved video games of all time.

1149

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommend anti-spyware, please?

« Last post by Innuendo on March 10, 2010, 09:07 PM »

I think a simple slider control would be more complexity than people in group 1 want to think about (and they'd still rightly complain about when the software allowed malware through when the slider was set to 'lite-but-less-accurate' mode), and not enough control or detain about what's happening for the people in group 2.

-mwb1100 (March 10, 2010, 01:06 PM)

Good point. Then there could be a checkbox that said "Handle this automatically" and when it was checked the slider would be grayed out.

1150

Living Room / Re: Ars Technica on the problem with adblocking

« Last post by Innuendo on March 10, 2010, 06:20 PM »

Ya know....I used to buy Fisher's "I'm just a poor web site trying to struggle and make ends meet" story until someone came along and bought Ars Technica from him for a cool $25 million.

Yes.

Read it again.

$25 million.

No one's going to lay out that kind of cash for something unless the money is rolling in & there's an almost certainty they are going to make that money back over time.