Recent Posts

1176

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

« Last post by Josh on March 13, 2010, 08:25 AM »

Compression depends on the type of data being compressed. If you are attempting to compress an MP3, you will not save very much space as compared to compressing a word document or a plain text file.

What types of files are you attempting to compress?

1177

Living Room / Re: Jetpacks are real!

« Last post by Josh on March 12, 2010, 02:28 AM »

Agreed, the water one is by far more impressive. I think I might have to buy one!

1178

General Software Discussion / Re: Which Linux For Non-Techie Windows Users?

« Last post by Josh on March 11, 2010, 05:57 AM »

Yes, that is my problem with F/OSS in general. Again, this is not always the case, but most software I use on linux has features which feel like an after thought. They are quirky to use, even quirkier to navigate and just a pain in the butt to figure out. It seems many of these developers shoot for the "Let's be different just because" theory. What most users are used to as a common behavior in an application often times turns out to be some obscure method of accessing that similar behavior.

Again, this is not ALWAYS the case, but the applications mentioned above by urlworlf are clean examples of this.

Note, please do not attack me for this post. I am posting what my experience has been. When I use most F/OSS software, I feel like I am settling for "good enough" and not something more intuitive and natural. Also, some of the apps I use are native to linux and not some "sloppy port" or Wine enabled app.

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

« Last post by Josh on March 11, 2010, 05:52 AM »

I will gladly put a no filtering entry in any ad removal program I use for sites that I truly enjoy and have TASTEFUL ads. Betanews is an example of a site with tasteless ads. After removing their ads, the pages become so much more readable, less lengthy, and overall easier to work with.

DC is a site where, if ads were present, I would gladly put in a no filtering entry and let them display because A. I support the site, B. I know the ads would be non-intrusive and not slow down my work/browsing and C. I want to give back.

Some sites, I feel like I just being bombarded with ads trying to get me to spend money or earn the site money and I feel that is the only purpose. To that, I take offense. I feel like I am just another 10cents to them for the view and not a user of their website.

1180

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

« Last post by Josh on March 09, 2010, 03:44 AM »

I live and swear by Daemon Tools Pro. I am the owner of a 2 user, 2 year license for the program and from my experience, nothing else supports what DT Pro Std does and does it so eloquently. It supports just about any format I can throw at it, is very light on resources, supports shell based mounting and just plain works. No gimmicks, no hacks to work around, just straight out of the box working!

Some people use Alcohol 120 but I did not find it as robust as DT Pro.

Please note, I am not affiliated with DT. I am just an avid user and fan of the software

1181

Living Room / Re: Help me build my new Home Theater PC

« Last post by Josh on March 09, 2010, 01:51 AM »

First, thanks to all so far for the replies.

Here is my question. After reading the comments here thus far, I am beginning to wonder if that HomeTheater audio card is worthwhile. Would doing what is suggested above, going with a digital output to a receiver, be more beneficial than using this sound card? I am trying to cut down on cost here but am willing to spend money where I need to so it is almost a double edged sword.

That said, do any sound cards offer optical out? Is the standard RCA style digital out jack preferred?

Thoughts?

1182

Living Room / Re: Help me build my new Home Theater PC

« Last post by Josh on March 08, 2010, 01:53 PM »

Alright folks,

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but rather than start a new one, I wanted to keep this one and restart it with some new thoughts and get the freshest ideas for components. I have been saving and am ready to do this now so I want to get the parts lined up once and for all and commit to the project.

My needs for this system are going to be the following:

Memory: At least 4GB for ample processing and power for future video decoding/media center software

Hard Drives: 7200RPM Drives setup in a raid 1 configuration (high speed is not a very high necessity as no more than 2 users in the household will be accessing this at any given time). The OS drive should be high speed to allow for rapid boot and quick operating system control.

CPU: This is up in the air right now. I want something that can handle the load of decoding or transcoding media on the fly (through use of a media server over the network to other receivers in the house). So, is Intel better or is AMD?

Case: This does not have to be a fancy case. I would prefer a low profile case but will go with a larger case, similar in size to a standard audio receiver, if the benefits of the larger form factor outweight the smaller form factors costs.

Video Card: The only real demand for this is going to be that it is capable of processing, without stuttering, 1080P raw video (or compressed). I will be using this system as a blu-ray setup and will also be decoding multiple files being ripped from BRD to HD MKV files. HDMI output on the card is a MUST.

Audio Card: I am fairly set on the Auzentech X-Fi HomeTheater HD but am open to ideas. I want something that can process the most common and somewhat newer audio technologies (7.1, DTS NEO, etc).

BRD: I would prefer a burner but that is not a necessity as I do not see it occurring all that often.

Media Center Software: OK, This is a big one. I am willing to pay for a good application that provides a nice user interface that is easy to configure, does not do something stupid like allowing the user to delete media from the interface like Windows Media Center, and can be skinned fairly quickly. Also, I would like a program which can also be setup to stream via DLNA to a media center extender that I would like to place elsewhere in the house.

That said, the PSU must be able to handle the load of at least 5-6 drives and the case must have room for an ample amount of hard drives. Ventilation is a big key factor here as I know these drives will generate quite a bit of heat. Aluminum casing, as such, is preferred.

Any thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Mouser-like inquiries?

1183

Living Room / Re: In rememberance of....The antiquated hardware/software reminiscence thread

« Last post by Josh on March 07, 2010, 04:15 AM »

Turbo! Go from 4.4mhz to 11mhz with the push of a button!

1184

Living Room / In rememberance of....The antiquated hardware/software reminiscence thread

« Last post by Josh on March 07, 2010, 03:26 AM »

This thread is dedicated to that old piece of hardware or software that despite being problematic, a pain in your rear, and just plain buggy, was probably your most cherished friend

For me, I will always remember...

The Voodoo2 Card

1185

Living Room / Re: Will you miss newspapers when they're gone?

« Last post by Josh on March 06, 2010, 01:06 PM »

Tuxman, I agree with 40hz. This is again yet another example of what I describe as "trollish" or "Fanboyish" style posting. This post is being removed.

1186

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by Josh on March 04, 2010, 05:24 PM »

Parents that abuse the fact that their children, or child, knows quite a bit about computers, technology, and most things electronic. I was supposed to be asleep 3 hours ago but I just finished helping my dad troubleshoot XP mode because his office loaded Win7 x64 on his laptop not thinking that their VPN client doesn't support 64 bit systems!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1187

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

« Last post by Josh on March 04, 2010, 04:24 PM »

While I do understand the frustration with out of stock items from their marketplace sellers, there is a way to identify only items sold by amazon and those are "Prime eligible". Essentially, prime eligible items are items that are stocked in their warehouses and adequate stock control is maintained. Again, I understand the frustration with this, but I also agree with you in that it is not wholely amazons fault for not maintaining the stock levels of marketplace sellers. You can usually identify problem sellers that cancel orders like that through the feedback left about them. That is how I judge many of the marketplace sellers I deal with.

Also, every item page clearly identifies the seller of the item you are purchasing it from right below the item title.

1188

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: VIPRE Antivirus Twitter Giveaway (March 2, 2010 only)

« Last post by Josh on March 04, 2010, 01:18 AM »

I am running it now here and I have to say this new version seems much nicer than the one I trialed a while ago. This is working great and seems to be very light on resources. The firewall is not that intrusive either.

1189

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

« Last post by Josh on March 03, 2010, 02:40 PM »

When comparing prices of the items I ordered, the weights, etc, with other sites, Amazon was by far the cheapest, on the weights by $75 USD. As such, even if they included shipping there, which I don't know that they would as that varies with every freight company, it is still a fantastic deal.

BTW Mousey, thanks for shooting me down ;-) Now I will make sure your back never stops hurting!

1190

Living Room / Amazon.com == AMAZING!

« Last post by Josh on March 03, 2010, 02:04 PM »

I just wanted to start a short topic to say how thoroughly impressed I am with Amazon.com for so many reasons.

The top two which stick out are the following:

AMAZON PRIME: This is a fantastic idea for someone who does a lot of shopping online. For 79 a year, USD, you get free 2nd day shipping on items that are prime eligible with an optional upgrade of 3.99 per item for next day air. This is awesome and has saved me a ton of money. I recently placed an order for 1300 dollars worth of gym equipment and found that I only paid shipping on the floor mats which were not sold by amazon in any way shape or form. This is an awesome deal. This included 320lbs of weights which were prime eligible.

Second:

Pre-order price guarantee: This just hit me today. I ordered where the wild things are on blu-ray and paid 23.49 for it at a pre-order price. Well, the disc delivered yesterday and today I got notice of a refund coming my way for 3.50 USD as the price had lowered to 19.99.

These are just two of the latest examples of why I love amazon.com and will continue to shop there. I have had no hiccups with them and every experience has been positive, even with their marketplace merchants.

Just had to share.

1191

General Software Discussion / Mint.com vs Wesabe.com vs buxfer.com

« Last post by Josh on March 03, 2010, 09:07 AM »

OK Folks, here is a topic that some people shy away from. Online money management.

As a long time internet user, I have grown very fond of using the web to manage my finances. As such, online banking has almost become a way of life for me. I use quicken on a daily basis but grow tired of yearly upgrades which add very little and a UI that reminds me of an old VB6 program I wrote back in 1998. As such, I am looking to move my data into the cloud, per se.

I have been experimenting with various sites like those mentioned above and for one reason or another, each one is missing that "key feature". Mint.com would be otherwise perfect if it had manual transaction entry with automatic reconciliation when it downloads new transactions from my banking sites. This is rumored to be coming at the end of the month or early next, but I am doubtful.

Mint.com has recently merged with Quicken Online by Intuit so this seems like a no brainer move for me once this feature is implemented. Now, my question. Has anyone messed with the other two sites mentioned above or have experience with another site? I did a short trial with buxfer, however, it just feels "amateurish" to me. I am not about glitz and eye candy on a site but I do expect a site to be functional. This is where buxfer turns me off.

Anyways, I open this discussion up to the community. What do you think?

1192

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: "www.genuinekey.com" - Is it legit?

« Last post by Josh on March 03, 2010, 05:46 AM »

If it sounds too good to be true...Often times it is.

1193

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by Josh on March 03, 2010, 05:45 AM »

People who promise they will send something that belongs to a larger group of people only to keep giving excuses

*cough* BABY CODY *cough*

;-) We all love you app103!

1194

Living Room / Re: Yelp Website Accused of Extortion -- More Examples of Corrupt Review Sites

« Last post by Josh on March 03, 2010, 01:35 AM »

Am I the only one who feels this is reminiscent of betanews/fileforum? They seem to remove reviews or comments once a certain number of users email in complaining. I have tested this theory myself and watched as certain reviews that would be otherwise legitimate, are removed for nothing more than a complaint.

1195

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by Josh on March 02, 2010, 08:23 AM »

People who call me "Buddy" or some other "Friendly" term when I am none of the above to them!

Quote South Park
"I am not your buddy, Guy"
"I am not your Guy, Friend"
"I am not your friend, Pal"
"I am not your Pal, Buddy"

1196

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: VIPRE Antivirus Twitter Giveaway (March 2, 2010 only)

« Last post by Josh on March 01, 2010, 11:56 PM »

I feel so dirty for signing up for twitter just to get this. I have managed to stave off twitter, facebook, myspace, linkedin, etc until now. I should hunt you down and murder you for making feel this dirty lanux!

Thanks again!

1197

Living Room / Re: Fixed my network - The Hard Way

« Last post by Josh on February 28, 2010, 01:57 PM »

Not really alive, but it does its job in Vista/7 still. There is another whose name I cannot remember. It is a suite of tools and root kit detection is one of its main functions.

1198

Living Room / Re: Fixed my network - The Hard Way

« Last post by Josh on February 28, 2010, 12:00 PM »

F8

1199

Living Room / Re: Fixed my network - The Hard Way

« Last post by Josh on February 28, 2010, 11:52 AM »

Ice Sword

If these programs are crashing be advised that the root kit might be attempting to prevent their launch. Try launching them in safe mode.

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Living Room / Re: Fixed my network - The Hard Way

« Last post by Josh on February 28, 2010, 10:24 AM »

Sounds to me like your system, or one of the systems on your router, is infected with a bot net/root kit of sorts. I would highly recommend running root kit revealer on all of your systems.