Recent Posts

1251

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on May 16, 2013, 08:07 PM »

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General Software Discussion / Re: Proofed! Microsoft is actively scanning Skype traffic and uses the data

« Last post by app103 on May 16, 2013, 05:32 PM »

When you consider that a lot of businesses are using Skype for communications between employees, handling their customer service, etc., and could be handling data that is supposed to be confidential, subject to NDA's, etc. this is not good.

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Living Room / Re: What does your avatar say about you?

« Last post by app103 on May 13, 2013, 06:49 PM »

I think mine explains itself.  

And since I tend to change mine from time to time, and this post could cause confusion if I do so, gotta put a copy here for posterity.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Bookmarks and Settings Sync?

« Last post by app103 on May 13, 2013, 06:40 PM »

Firefox now has the built-in ability to sync to Mozilla's servers, and it's encrypted, so don't forget your secret phrase (they can't recover that for you). And it doesn't just sync bookmarks and settings. It can also sync open tabs, history, passwords, and add-ons. I believe Mozilla added this feature to put an end to the security risk of 3rd parties wanting that data and releasing their own add-ons to collect it.

From their Privacy Policy:

To safeguard your privacy, the Firefox Sync Service is purposely designed so that the amount of data that Mozilla has access to is limited, either by encryption or not collecting it in the first place. This is why User Data and your password and secret phrase are either encrypted before being sent to Mozilla’s servers or not sent to Mozilla’s servers at all. And this is also why Mozilla doesn’t collect other information at all like your name or phone number.
For that set of information that Mozilla does have, Mozilla only makes Personal Information and Potentially Personal Information available to its employees, contractors, and selected contributors who signed confidentiality agreements that prohibit them from using or disclosing your Personal Information other than for Mozilla purposes to provide the Firefox Sync Service. Furthermore, Mozilla will not knowingly disclose Personal Information or Potentially Personal Information to other third parties unless required to do so, such as in order to comply with any law, regulation, or valid legal process, such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, court order, or if necessary or appropriate to address an unlawful or harmful activity. Do note, however, that even in this case the key issued by the Firefox Sync Services to decrypt certain portions of your data resides on your computer and not on Mozilla’s.

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Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on May 13, 2013, 12:28 AM »

App,

My best friend and I loved watching star trek TNG and we made an art of finding things to laugh hysterically about.. I can't believe we missed that Riker sitting method.

-mouser (May 12, 2013, 11:31 PM)

What you see there is an example of "where there's a will, there's a way".

Prior to acting, Jonathan Frakes worked as a mover and sustained a serious back injury moving furniture. This is reason behind his weird way of sitting and also his habit of leaning on things, and propping one leg up on stuff. If he only had to do it once per scene, it probably wouldn't have been as much of a problem for him and he likely would have done it normally.

But having to repeat it over and over for every take of every scene he was in, and having to stand for hours at a time, it caused him a great deal of pain. This was his work-around that enabled him to keep on working.

Revealed on Reddit, and Wil Wheaton confirmed it: http://www.reddit.co...leg_over_the/c9urrko

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Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: small plugin-toolbar (or similar) audio player in Windows Explorer

« Last post by app103 on May 10, 2013, 05:31 PM »

So this idea of player integrated (at least by it's control interface) into Windows XP explorer have slowly creeped into my head. It should be no hack, IMO, so no interface-hooking. What got me thinking it was possible was that I have installed some Windows Explorer add-on toolbars, lastly Explorer Breadcrumbs (http://www.howtogeek...umbs-for-windows-xp/) which made me think that there is a legit way to add toolbars to Explorer. This is also explained some here: http://msdn.microsof...82%28v=vs.85%29.aspx , http://msdn.microsof...9.aspx#unknown_73276 , http://msdn.microsof...36%28v=vs.85%29.aspx to mention few. I just can't program (I've tried repeatedly, I blame the genes so I'm not sure how difficult those things, explained there, are, but it seems there is a legit interface to do it in Explorer. Windows XP Explorer, that is, mainly. Because I think XP is still the best, most efficient, stable i.e. usable Windows there is.

-goldencut (March 15, 2013, 10:48 AM)

You are talking about Windows COM programming, which isn't as trivial as you may think.

I have done a few toolbars in the past and they weren't even very complicated ones, but except for the IE/Explorer clock, I found myself frequently banging my head against the wall, trying to get things to work, things I thought should have been simple.

And when you consider that there would have to be 2 versions of this toolbar to accommodate all Windows users, both 32-bit and 64-bit, and that I do not possess the means to compile a 64-bit version, never mind test it to make sure it works, and I can't even test to make sure it works on 32-bit Vista/Win7/8,  I think you'll understand why I have decided to retire from the toolbar biz, with no plans to return in the foreseeable future.

And even though I do have the code for a blank toolbar that will integrate well with Explorer on 32-bit XP, and could in theory do one that would only work on XP and older systems (I am sure you'd be ok with that, being that you are still on XP, too), my one and only experience with coding a simple MP3 player was such a complete disaster that I named it GruMP3, due to its ability to make normally happy people, quite grumpy. 

About the only useful advice I could possibly give you that may lead to you finding the toolbar that you seek, would be to suggest you stop looking for one for Explorer and start looking for one for IE (the browser). Often, but not always, the same toolbars that work in IE will also work in Explorer (check under View menu->Toolbars).

But this comes with a warning, one you should not dismiss lightly: Any time you start messing around with IE toolbars written by others, you are engaging in an activity that is comparable to playing in a mine field. But instead of getting your arms, legs, or head blown off, it will be your computer that will likely end up infected with some nasty malware or spyware. Clean toolbars written by ethical coders are few and far between, which is one of the reasons why I took a crack at making toolbars, in the first place. There were things that I wanted, and I am too chicken to go trusting other people's toolbars to try to acquire.

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Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on May 10, 2013, 11:31 AM »

The Riker...

And the Picard Maneuver...

And another drinking game is born.

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Living Room / Re: The Coffee/Caffeine Thread!

« Last post by app103 on May 09, 2013, 11:41 PM »

I would still wash it before the first use to get the manufactoring chemicals and other contaminants out.

-Tinman57 (May 09, 2013, 03:55 PM)

Of course! But not in a washing machine with laundry products.

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Site/Forum Features / Re: Google ad test

« Last post by app103 on May 09, 2013, 09:39 PM »

FYI:

Thanks to App's prodding, I have added a Project Wonderful ad slot to the test for this month (May 2013).  I do appreciate the transparency of Project Wonderful and setting it up was pretty easy.

We'll probably get rid of all ads at the end of the month, but until then, if you want to have your own ad shown on DC, just go to this page and you can bid to have your ad shown on the DonationCoder.com site.

-mouser (May 09, 2013, 08:17 PM)

And my ad gets to be the first one!   

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Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on May 08, 2013, 05:34 PM »

Straight from the Originality department....



It's like Pinterest, but targeted specifically towards men. Instead of "pinning" things, you "nail" your "manly things" to a "workbench."

Yes, I know...it sound painful. 

http://manteresting.com/

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Living Room / Re: Internet Sales Tax Passed

« Last post by app103 on May 08, 2013, 01:30 PM »

Up until now, states could not force businesses in another state to collect their taxes for them. They could only force businesses within their own state to do so. In order for a state to be able to force a business in another state to collect their taxes, it would take an act of Congress.

Now let's go back to the days before the internet and online shopping to see what kind of effect those kinds of restrictions had...

Mail order: Anyone wanting to save some money and evade state sales taxes could buy from a catalog, from a business located outside their state, and not comply with their state's laws about reporting it and paying the taxes due. States could not force the out of state mail order business to collect their taxes for them. Every sale made through a mail order catalog for the purpose of tax evasion was a lost sale to a brick & mortar store.

More recently in the brick and mortar world: New Jersey does not tax clothing. At one time, residents of NYC had to pay over 8% sales tax on clothing purchases made within NYC. Christmas time and back to school shopping by residents of NYC meant a lot of shoppers crossing the river into NJ to save money by evading the sales tax in NYC. NYC businesses lost a lot of sales due to this rampant tax evasion and the fact that NY couldn't force NJ businesses to collect their taxes for them.

What made matters even worse was the fact that NJ set up enterprise zones within the state. For any town or city that qualified as an enterprise zone by having a higher than state average rate of unemployment, the sales tax collected on purchases made from business having over a certain number of employees, was reduced by 50%. This meant that shopping at those businesses was more attractive than shopping at a business that didn't have a bunch of employees.

Within the state it means that businesses within more well off towns lose business to inner city shopping centers. And locally within declared enterprise zones, small mom & pop businesses without any employees, lose business to the larger corporate chain stores.  

And when you consider that one of those enterprise zones is right across the river from NYC, in Jersey City, and there is a HUGE mall there convenient to public transportation, it was very easy for NYC residents to evade not only the tax on clothing by shopping there, but on purchases that were also taxable in NJ, they only paid 3.5%.

There was nothing NYC could do about it. They couldn't force the shops at the malls in NJ to collect their taxes for them. So they responded by reducing and/or eliminating the tax on clothing during certain times of the year to give residents an incentive to shop locally instead of in NJ. Eventually they eliminated the sales tax on clothing items under $100. Of course didn't eliminate the problem with people crossing the river to buy expensive electronics, paying 3.5% NJ sales tax instead of over 8% in NYC.

Now, all of this would never have been an issue if people didn't evade taxes. If everyone actually submitted the tax due to their state on out of state purchases, there would have been much less incentive for them to shop out of state, through mail order catalogs, or even online. Or if states could force businesses in other states to collect their taxes for them, it would have eliminated the rampant tax evasion altogether.

Would all those shoppers have crossed the river into NJ to shop for their kid's school clothing if they were reporting the purchases to their state and paying the taxes due? Would they have crossed the river into NJ if NY could have forced NJ businesses to collect their taxes for them? Would people have made expensive out of state mail order purchases if they paid the taxes due on them? Would they have still ordered from the same mail order company if that company had been required to collect the tax due on their purchases?

Would there have been such rampant tax evasion if the states had a way of knowing if a resident had made a large out of state purchases that the taxes had not been collected on, and made a point of yanking them out of bed in the middle of the night and arresting them, charging them with tax evasion if they didn't report it within the required length of time?

So is the problem brick & mortar stores? Mail order catalogs? Internet businesses? Other states? Or the fact that up until now, states could not force businesses in other states to collect their taxes? Or is it the shoppers, themselves, not complying with the laws in their state and paying the taxes they are supposed to be paying?

Honestly, if you are pissed off that your state now has a way to stop you from evading taxes, the problem isn't the fact they can force you to comply with the law, the problem isn't Congress allowing them to do it, the problem is within your state...the tax laws themselves. And if you don't like how much your state charges in taxes and for what, take it up with your state's law makers and don't blame Congress for it, because it's your state that is the problem this time, not the federal government.

Go TP your state capitol, like we did in NJ in 1990, to protest almost $3 billion in tax increases that included taxing tons of previously exempt items, like toilet paper! We managed to get most of it repealed.

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Living Room / Re: Internet Sales Tax Passed

« Last post by app103 on May 08, 2013, 04:35 AM »

It has nothing to do with brick & mortar being able to compete with online stores. It has to do with people evading taxes by buying online.

If you live in a state where residents are subject to sales tax, you are supposed to be paying the tax on any and all taxable goods, regardless of where you bought it from...whether it's locally, online, or in another state. Just because a merchant didn't collect the tax doesn't mean you are off the hook for it. Technically, you are supposed to report it and pay it when you file your state income taxes. But nobody does that and the states lose a lot of money because of it.

Online stores will not be charging you this extra money, they don't get to keep it. They are collecting the tax you owe on the purchase and turning it over to the state you live in.

The alternative would be forcing online merchants to give customer data to the states, who bought what and how much it cost, and if you don't pay the taxes on it when you file your income taxes, they come and arrest you and charge you with tax evasion. Because that's what it is when you deliberately don't pay your taxes.

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Living Room / Re: The Coffee/Caffeine Thread!

« Last post by app103 on May 08, 2013, 03:27 AM »

The bag thing would probably work, but socks?  After a few days on the trail, there just ain't no clean socks  .  Ya wear the oldest used, rotationally, but they ain't clean  - they're just somewhat dried out  .  Serious camping don' 'low for nothin' clean  .

-barney (May 08, 2013, 12:41 AM)

no no no no no no no! Not socks you packed to wear on your feet! And by clean I don't mean washed...I mean never worn...ever. You need a coffee only sock. This is an unused, 100% mercerized white cotton sock of a very tight knit that will act as a good filter for the grounds. There is an art to selecting the right sock. It's not the same as selecting socks for your feet. A brand new white cotton dress sock with a tight knit will work well, but a gym sock is useless, as it will let the grounds right through.

Once you have the one you will be using, it's just for coffee...you never ever put it on your feet! Just keep using it for coffee only, and over time it will make the coffee taste even better, as it ages. Yes, it will look like hell as the coffee stains it and the fibers become embedded with the residues of the coffee oils, but that is what actually makes your coffee better, I have been told. When you are done using it, you dump the grounds, turn it inside out and rinse it well, by hand. Then wring it out good and hang it to dry. Don't ever throw it in the laundry with any sort of detergent or bleach or you will end up with residues from that in your coffee.

It's one of the secrets to the great coffee that some of my Puerto Rican friends made, in my old neighborhood.
The first time I ever saw one of them making coffee I thought "ewwwwww! I am not drinking that! I don't want your athletes foot coffee! Don't be so ghetto...buy some filters!" But then it was explained to me that the sock was carefully chosen just for brewing coffee and had never been worn on anyone's foot, and if anyone ever tried to wear it or wash it in the laundry, her mom would kill them because a good coffee sock is hard to find. (luckily, they come in pairs)

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Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 10:26 PM »

Adobe will love the idea that nobody will ever be able to pirate Photoshop ever again. Everyone that wants to use it will have to pay for it, monthly.

-https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=29203.msg270859#msg270859

Another inch closer!

 

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Living Room / Re: The Coffee/Caffeine Thread!

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 10:20 PM »

The paper filters are so cheap it isn't a factor, like 500 filters for $2.59.

-Tinman57 (May 07, 2013, 08:02 PM)

Well, I have been known to be frugal to a fault. 

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Living Room / Re: The Coffee/Caffeine Thread!

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 07:11 PM »

(I do have to wonder, however, how the cowboys managed to transport [unbroken] eggs  .)

-barney (May 07, 2013, 06:46 PM)

Maybe they didn't. Maybe they only brought some empty shells along, perhaps already washed, dried, crushed and mixed in with their pre-ground coffee. It would make more sense. Lighter, takes up less space, not as fragile, no worries of spoiling on a long trip, and a lot less fuss & bother to make while out on the trail.

And even more convenient, would have been to use the old "sock method" of brewing coffee, where one uses a cloth bag (usually silk) or a clean sock to hold the grounds, ties a knot in it and drops it into the pot of boiling water. (early permafilter technology  )

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Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 12:42 PM »

really not much use for average users in my opinion.

-rgdot (May 07, 2013, 11:30 AM)

I agree! I have gotten along my entire life without it, done plenty of photo editing, created tons of art, and saved more money than I can shake a stick at. 

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Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 09:24 AM »

Heh App I'm dying to know what is in fact in there!!

It's an amusingly-scary exercise in labeling - if there is anything to pour at all, what is it?


P.S. Hat Tip to anyone who has heard the Stephen Wright version!

-TaoPhoenix (May 07, 2013, 09:15 AM)

It's an empty can, and the only gag gift the company sells. And this article about it has some other goodies related to the "product"

(Stephen Wright's "spot remover" was a more effective product.  )

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Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 08:38 AM »

(see attachment in previous post)
Maybe it has negative calories like celery.

-Arizona Hot (May 07, 2013, 08:04 AM)

I wonder if it's compatible with this:



As it turns out, this is a real product, and the company that makes it has some suggested uses for it:

• Dry Martinis-Manhattans
• Watering Cactus
• VW Bug Anti-Freeze
• Dry Cleaning
• Humidifying Saunas
• Filling Dry Docks
• Dry Mopping Floors
• In Dry Sinks
• Dry Shampoos
• In Dry-Cell Batteries
• Dampening Dry Humor
• Making Dry Ice

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Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 07:26 AM »

^ah okay, I thought ye were comparing with Photoshop (just in case not clear: I was talking about Photoshop's capabilities when exporting *paths* - not pixels).

I havent heard much positive about Corel unfortunately over the years. I do know of people who were using it professionally but not for publication.

FWIW when creating PDF's, I've also had trouble *with certain fills* with the supposedly dream combination Illustrator and Acrobat/distiller (CS4 & CS3 respectively). My solution was to (successfully) use the free PDFCreator (which is also unfortunately included in the "Contest" - The most difficult Opt Out screens on installs!? thread).

I dont often get stuff published/offset-printed but have had no problems with the PDFCreator PDF's.

-tomos (May 07, 2013, 06:26 AM)

Not trying to solve a problem here, trying to point one out...and the problem is Corel, as a company, makes a habit of dropping the ball and destroying previously great applications by not developing them in a way that allows them to become even better. If they had, then Paintshop Pro would be next in line to become the industry standard, behind Photoshop and Illustrator, a real alternative for those looking to migrate away from Adobe, their cloud crap, and still be able to have a boxed product.

My complaints about file formats was just an example of one of the many ways they failed to improve the product and bring it up to the level a professional would require. Instead they wasted developer resources on rather useless stuff. Corel really missed the boat, this time, and I hope they are kicking themselves...hard.

And I don't see PDFCreator as a good substitute, since it's not likely you can use it to draw stuff like this, from scratch.

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Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 04:57 AM »

... and being able to open/save vectors in a format that is acceptable for professional use ...

-app103 (May 06, 2013, 09:37 PM)

I assume you mean .pdf or .ps ? Or am I wrong?

-vlastimil (May 07, 2013, 02:54 AM)

I could well be wrong as I havent used more recent versions, but I thought that Photoshop only exported paths to illustrator, i.e. in .ai/illustrator format.
I guess like the doc format for word-processors, any serious graphic software has to be able to open that though

-tomos (May 07, 2013, 03:09 AM)

ai, eps, pdf (the ones the printers will accept)

Illustrator does export in those formats, and there are a few other apps that do, as well, but Paintshop's .eps support is awful, and the .ai & .pdf support is nonexistent. For the most part, all you get that works well, and doesn't mess up your artwork is .psp, and the printers won't accept that.

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Living Room / Re: The Coffee/Caffeine Thread!

« Last post by app103 on May 07, 2013, 12:57 AM »

App, those are awesome! 

-Edvard (May 06, 2013, 11:40 PM)

I love old videos like those. 

Great for when you run out of filters, and I hear you can add the shells as well to cut the cloudiness. :shrug:

-Edvard (May 06, 2013, 11:40 PM)

Interesting!

But one never runs out of filters when they use a permanent one. 

I have been using one for almost 20 years and wouldn't consider ever going back to wasting money on paper filters. Imagine getting 20 years worth of filters for about $5. Not to say that anybody else end up with one that would last as long as mine. (I wash mine very gently by hand) The better ones do have a 5 year warranty, though, so even if it only lasts that long, you'd still save money and not have to worry about running out of filters.

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Living Room / Re: The Coffee/Caffeine Thread!

« Last post by app103 on May 06, 2013, 09:57 PM »

A few vintage treats...

This Is Coffee (1961)
by the Coffee Brewing Institute

Learn the old school way for making the perfect cup of coffee.

Time for Coffee (1950)
Made possible by the cooperation of A&P

Coffee growing, harvesting, bean processing, and roasting.

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Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by app103 on May 06, 2013, 09:37 PM »

No Photoshop in boxed, physical format? If I were the alternatives I would be partying till the unshopped sun rises

-rgdot (May 06, 2013, 05:43 PM)

Who exactly are the alternatives besides Corel, who are too busy dismembering their products to appreciate this?

-app103 (May 06, 2013, 07:13 PM)

Last I knew the poster "non-alternative" is GIMP. I hear it's just too different and missing important things.

-TaoPhoenix (May 06, 2013, 08:16 PM)

Since when is GIMP in a boxed physical format?

I mentioned Corel, because I know they still sell boxed versions of Paintshop Pro, which while not exactly Photoshop and/or Illustrator, it could accomplish pretty much what both of those could do, at a fraction of the price. Just too bad Corel has been destroying it, ever since they bought it from Jasc, like they have a pattern of doing to everything they acquire, instead of improving it in ways that could put it at the level of being a real alternative to Photoshop and Illustrator.

Giving it better PSD support for one, and being able to open/save vectors in a format that is acceptable for professional use, being another, instead of concentrating on useless eye candy, features that just waste screen space and system resources, and only offering proprietary formats that do not conform to industry standards. Try going to a printer and ask him to print you a sign using your vector contained in a .psp file. Not going to happen and you can't convert the file to another usable format!

Jasc had the sense to add Photoshop compatible plugin and brush support, but Corel didn't have the sense to keep up with it after acquiring it, so it is stuck with the same old Photoshop v7 level of support that Jasc added before they sold it. Nobody uses those plugins any more, mainly because Corel bought up and killed off most of the good ones, leaving not many options for plugins that still work.

Corel has had years to fix the issues that set it back and instead they have concentrated on pissing off the long time users of Paintshop Pro, driving them to seek affordable alternatives, that just don't really exist. If they had done what they should have, right now they would be the ones throwing a huge party at Adobe's expense.

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Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by app103 on May 06, 2013, 07:13 PM »

No Photoshop in boxed, physical format? If I were the alternatives I would be partying till the unshopped sun rises

-rgdot (May 06, 2013, 05:43 PM)

Who exactly are the alternatives besides Corel, who are too busy dismembering their products to appreciate this?