Recent Posts

126

General Software Discussion / Re: Wanted: Free and simple cutting optimizer tool.

« Last post by mrainey on November 07, 2009, 07:40 AM »

What shapes beyond square or rectangular?

127

Living Room / Re: Lenovo Reliability

« Last post by mrainey on November 07, 2009, 06:58 AM »

The article doesn't address reliability of specific models.  I'm sure we all have stories to tell about lemons we've known and loved.

The two IdeaPads they rate for features and value get average scores.

BTW, CU rates Apple as way ahead of everybody else for quality of tech support.  I suspect for most of us here, tech support comes from digging around on the Internet.  I haven't actually called a manufacturer in many years.

128

Living Room / Re: Lenovo Reliability

« Last post by mrainey on November 05, 2009, 07:02 AM »

So what was listed as the most reliable?

Laptops, in order:

Toshiba
Sony
Compaq
Acer
Apple
HP
Gateway
Dell
Lenovo


It's worth noting that the laptop ratings weren't too different from one brand to the next.  With desktops, Apple was notably better than the rest.

Apple
Compaq
eMachines
Dell
HP
Sony
Gateway

129

Living Room / Lenovo Reliability

« Last post by mrainey on November 04, 2009, 09:30 PM »

The December issue of Consumer Reports came today.  CU rates Lenovo as the least-reliable laptop, based on surveying 75,000 people who bought a laptop between 2005 and the first half of 2009.  That's quite a fall.

130

Developer's Corner / Re: What's your Programming Language?

« Last post by mrainey on October 26, 2009, 06:37 PM »

I use Emergence BASIC for everything.  It creates real standalone executables that run fast in XP, Vista, and Windows 7, and generate some decent pocket change for me.  I guess that makes it a real language.

131

Living Room / Re: What are you waiting for?

« Last post by mrainey on October 24, 2009, 05:08 PM »

Honest politicians, free beer, the Rapture (any day now).

132

Living Room / Re: Best Laptop Input Device?

« Last post by mrainey on October 06, 2009, 04:46 AM »

I have a wide armrest on my chair and have the mouse on that.

Me too.

133

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by mrainey on October 04, 2009, 06:56 AM »

The plus of macs imho, is that you can reload it/reformat and get everything back without 3 days of updates.

Make an image of your C partition once a week (twenty minutes on my system) and your Windows PC can be completely restored in no time.  Surely, Macs need backing up too.

134

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by mrainey on October 02, 2009, 06:51 AM »

Also if I am reading this correctly, this is $14,999 per year to stay current!

Sounds like a bargain - they could have charged $15,000!

135

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by mrainey on October 01, 2009, 07:13 AM »

Being COOL is not high on my list of priorities.   

136

Post New Requests Here / Re: saving printer ink

« Last post by mrainey on September 29, 2009, 06:21 AM »

This InkSaver font was mentioned a while back.

http://www.fontcraft...com/fontcraft/?p=324

137

General Software Discussion / Re: Freeware Website Creator For Dummies?

« Last post by mrainey on September 19, 2009, 07:50 PM »

This old freeware version of WebBuilder might be worth a look.  The commercial version is inexpensive and outstanding.

http://www.321downlo...IWYG%20Web%20Builder

138

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you touch-type or hunt-and-peck?

« Last post by mrainey on September 15, 2009, 04:10 PM »

Four fingers, working hard.

139

General Software Discussion / Re: Status of Directory Opus development, does anyone know?

« Last post by mrainey on September 02, 2009, 05:01 PM »

I'm likewise addicted.  By my count, there have been seventeen updates to Version 9 since January 2008, and some of them have been substantial.

140

Living Room / Re: Myer-Briggs Personality Test For Programmers (or anybody)

« Last post by mrainey on August 06, 2009, 10:29 AM »

I think many of the questions aren't suitable for simple yes/no answers - much like political polls and moral/ethical questions we all face in life.  I prefer a format where you can assign weights to your answers.

141

LaunchBar Commander / Re: McAfee again. Don't ask.

« Last post by mrainey on August 05, 2009, 10:41 AM »

I have been using Avast for many years now and never had any problem at all.

Me too.

142

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Paragon System Backup 2010 Release Candidate (free)

« Last post by mrainey on July 26, 2009, 07:36 AM »

BootIt NG is an imager, partition manager, and boot manager.  One nice thing about BootIt is that if you have problems (which I haven't yet), you can get quick help from the developer.

BootIt NG costs $34.95.  I've been using it for at least four years and have never been charged for an update (there have been many). 


http://www.terabyteu...-next-generation.htm

143

Living Room / Re: Would appreciate advice on laptop overheating and registry issue

« Last post by mrainey on July 04, 2009, 04:48 PM »

Fred Langa's thoughts on overheating.

http://www.informati...l?articleID=60300177

144

Living Room / Re: Advice on Netbooks

« Last post by mrainey on July 02, 2009, 11:58 AM »

I'm not a gamer and I wouldn't want to use my Acer as my main computer, but like I said previously, it's fast enough for most things when using a combination of XP with a hard drive.

Just as important, everything worked properly the first time.  When you look at all the posts on the Aspire forum, the vast majority of complaints and problems relate to non-XP units or those with SSD's.

145

Living Room / Re: Advice on Netbooks

« Last post by mrainey on June 29, 2009, 07:56 PM »

What IDE do you use?

My language of choice is Emergence BASIC.  I do all my coding with UltraEdit, so don't really use an IDE.

146

Living Room / Re: Advice on Netbooks

« Last post by mrainey on June 29, 2009, 06:00 PM »

What kind of development work is that?

I do this kind of stuff.

http://closetoleranc...tware.com/index.html

147

Living Room / Re: Advice on Netbooks

« Last post by mrainey on June 29, 2009, 05:24 PM »

I've used an Acer (8.9" screen) for several months now.  It has XP Home, 160GB hard drive, a gig of RAM, and the extra-cost 6-cell battery.

XP boots up and runs beautifully.  No problems whatsoever.  I can do my development work on it with tolerable speed.

The screen is very sharp, maybe a little glossier than I'd like.

No heat problems or excessive fan cycling.

The battery is supposed to last for six hours.  Mine initially gave five +, now it's down to just over four at 100% charge (?).  It sticks out the back a little, no big deal.  My wife carries the Acer in her purse, so size and weight must be pretty small.

I just took it on a three-week vacation to the UK and it worked like a champ the whole way.  A seven-dollar plug adapter was all it took to use the electrical outlets.

Wireless works fine.

The computer feels very solid.  My wife and I absolutely love it.  I paid $350, including the six-cell, but I'll bet it's cheaper now.

148

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

« Last post by mrainey on May 30, 2009, 08:50 AM »

Grownups saying "Woo Hoo!!!!"

149

Living Room / Re: "Check mail every ??? minutes"

« Last post by mrainey on May 27, 2009, 05:34 AM »

I sell and support software.  Orders and support queries come in by email.  I like to know about them immediately, not just when I remember to check my email.  It's not unusual to receive an order and a "where's my stuff" email within five minutes of each other.

150

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

« Last post by mrainey on May 24, 2009, 07:46 PM »

The fact that about a quarter of the Internet population spells "lose" with two o's when referring to misplacing something.

I just might loose my mind!