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1251

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by 4wd on September 26, 2016, 07:07 PM »

The EU XIAOMI forum releases a new version every Friday, it removes a lot of the unnecessary Chinese stuff, incorporates better multi-language support, etc, etc.

https://xiaomi.eu/co...hreads/6-9-22.34371/

You can see there that while the Redmi Note 3 is based on Android 5, the Redmi Note 3 PRO is Android 6.  And it's reasonably simple to flash them once TWRP is installed and getting that on is pretty easy too.

It's safer to refer to the board name that way you know exactly what model you're talking about, eg. hennesy = Redmi Note 3, kenzo = Redmi Note 3 PRO, kate = Redmi Note 3 Special Edition, etc

For me, MIUI just plain sucks - it's why I flashed my RN2 with something else. Plus the amount of screwing around to remove all the tracking, so being able to remove MIUI comes pretty close to item number 1 on the list w.r.t. a XIAOMI phone, (ie. hardware is good, the OS sucks ).

Some links:
XIAOMI Official ROMs
EU XIAOMI Weekly ROMs - Usually based on the developer build from XIAOMI.
sMiUI ROM Kitchen - Roll your own MIUI based ROM, remove MIUI stuff, add some things, etc.
NeedROMs (XIAOMI) - See what's available.
XDA Forums
OzBargain - Geared towards finding the best deal


@kalos: You need to determine the specs you want, not someone else. eg. Processor, RAM, colour, 4G bands, etc, etc and then YOU go search the internet until you have what you consider enough information to make an informed decision.

eg. The Redmi Note 3 Special Edition has 4G Band 28 (700MHz) because it's made for Taiwan but B28 is also used in Australia. This extra coverage makes this version more expensive but it would be worth it for me, doesn't mean it's worth it to you.

1252

Living Room / Re: HP "timebomb" prevents HP inkjet printers from using non-HP ink cartridges.

« Last post by 4wd on September 26, 2016, 06:07 AM »

I guess my aging Deskjet 932C (circa 2000) missed out on that update because it's still happily grinding away using non-HP cartridges on a Win10 machine

1253

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by 4wd on September 26, 2016, 03:24 AM »

He I've made a list on ebay to cast your phone on tv. I've yet to make my mind.
http://www.ebay.co.u...0121014?roken=cUgayN

-kilele (September 23, 2016, 06:11 PM)

It's entirely up to you, set a price point then see what's available.  I'd go for at least 1GB of RAM (more RAM is better) and a quad-core processor, read on forums, see what's available in alternate firmware in case you want to play with it.  See what the one you're interested in is like for video playback, some stutter due to insufficient cores/RAM/etc, search the forums - it's pretty easy to find info using the model numbers.
Make sure it has the connectivity you want/need.

BTW, the Huawei Y550 would have doubled your RAM and the processor cores, IPS screen, and given you 4G LTE connectivity, (I also have one of those sitting here).  And it's a 1mm or less increase in dimensions all round.

Research, research, research 

I don't use mine for casting very much, (I have a WD TV Live if I want to watch stuff of the net/server), it was more for a portable mini media player since I can plug in a microSD card full of stuff to watch, or I can use it as a simple internet PC if I want to, say in hotels, etc.

Will these kind of mini android pcs mean the end of my days as Microsoft user?

That is also entirely up to you, I doubt I'll ever be able to run something like Sony Movie Studio on something like this.

1254

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by 4wd on September 26, 2016, 02:57 AM »

Only buy a phone with the Android-based MIUI OS, (eg. XIAOMI), if you're willing to install another firmware, perform extensive setting modification, or willing to put up with chronic privacy invasion - FWIW, I have a XIAOMI Redmi Note 2 running non-standard firmware.

I recommend you get a phone with a Qualcomm processor, (ie. SnapDragon SoC), not MTK, as it is better supported by third party firmware, eg. CyanogenMod, and you'll get Android version updates a lot faster.

Besides that, you haven't said anything about your other needs, ie. Dual (4G) SIM, microSD, HD/FHD, battery life, network coverage, etc, etc.

XIAOMI just released the Redmi Note 3 Special Edition which has world-wide 4G band coverage, (and there's a CyanogenMod version available to install with a little fiddling).

Since you're in the UK: WileyFox

-4wd (September 22, 2016, 07:22 PM)

I am about to buy Xiaomi RedMi Note 3, but it doesn't have removable battery! that is a major con because after few months/years the battery loses its performance and needs replacement!

-kalos (September 25, 2016, 05:01 PM)

Obviously you can:
Battery
Tear down

DO NOT fall for the batteries that advertise a higher capacity than the standard BM46 - to have a higher capacity means it has to be a physically bigger battery, ie. it won't fit.  If it is the same dimensions then it probably means that the marked capacity is BS.  Do the research and buy from a reputable seller, check the XIAOMI forums, ask.

BTW, you do know there is multiple models of the Redmi Note 3 don't you?

Some with MTK X10 processor and some with a SnapDragon 650 processor, (there's also the 3S with a SnapDragon 430) - you'll probably find there is differences in the 4G bands covered also.

1255

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: How do you avoid Shareware on Sale's sneaky nagware ?

« Last post by 4wd on September 24, 2016, 08:11 PM »

To clarify : are you saying that you managed to download software from them, while being offered their malware/nagware, and that you managed not to install the latter ? Would you care to share the method, if you remember it ?

-Clairvaux (September 23, 2016, 11:34 AM)

The picture version:









Just to be clear, in the above image I clicked Install Now as well as telling it to save the installer file.









And the French website that you pointed to is just telling you how to use a previous version of the installer stub, not the current version.
So they are not bypassing the question to install the notifier, the question was never there.

They also mention that a possible security issue was that the software was installed directly, that is also addressed in the current installer stub by allowing you to save the installer and choose not to install immediately.

First and foremost : is there any way to avoid it ?

-Clairvaux (September 21, 2016, 02:38 PM)

Obviously there is.

1256

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by 4wd on September 23, 2016, 06:24 AM »

Why bluetooth tethering? I've noticed that bluetooth is more reliable than wifi or usb.. Ipad's bluetooth works nice, also it doesn't have usb inputs. As I say wifi has been problematic in my experience, bluetooth seems to be the most compatible option.

-kilele (September 23, 2016, 05:36 AM)

Interesting, never had a problem with WiFi Hotspot plus it lets me use more than one device at a time.
If you want small and cheap, look for second hand Huawei Ascend phones, Y300 or there abouts - I have a Y300 sitting here I've installed Android 6 on plus apart from not having Dual SIM and only BT2.1, it looks to have better specs than the Young 2 you've mentioned for not much bigger despite being older.

Of course, it depends what region you're in as to what's available.

1257

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by 4wd on September 22, 2016, 11:59 PM »

I'm also looking for a phone! my specs are ease of use, good battery, tv output, bluetooth modem, strong case, android, enough ram to browse the internet,watch youtube and run emulators, 40 dollars at most

-kilele (September 22, 2016, 08:00 PM)

You're on the wrong planet.

-4wd (September 22, 2016, 08:10 PM)

I'd probably go for a Young 2 G130 on ebay, something a bit old.. though I don't know if his one can be connected to tv

-kilele (September 22, 2016, 08:29 PM)

You want a phone that either has MHL output via the MicroUSB or HDMI output but they probably won't be cheap.  It's much easier to cast the output to a TV using something like Chromecast or one of the many cheap Android TV sticks.  I've got one of these: MK808B+

If you choose to cast to the TV then any reasonably cheap late model Android phone should be suitable, eg. I've ordered one of these: HT16 for US$50 just to play with Android 6.

Young 2 G130

Having had Android phones with 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and now 2GB of RAM I wouldn't look at anything with less than 1GB, with 2GB being better (naturally).  MTK SoC based Android phones are cheap, you can get 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM versions for less than US$80 from China, (for example).  1GB RAM + 8GB ROM even cheaper, (especially if you grab them during prerelease sales).

BTW, why Bluetooth modem?
Do you just want to tether a computer/laptop/etc to access the internet over the phone?

You can turn on either USB tether or WiFi Hotspot in that case, (I think you can also tether via Bluetooth but I've never used it).

1258

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by 4wd on September 22, 2016, 08:10 PM »

I'm also looking for a phone! my specs are ease of use, good battery, tv output, bluetooth modem, strong case, android, enough ram to browse the internet,watch youtube and run emulators, 40 dollars at most

-kilele (September 22, 2016, 08:00 PM)

You're on the wrong planet.

1259

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by 4wd on September 22, 2016, 07:22 PM »

Only buy a phone with the Android-based MIUI OS, (eg. XIAOMI), if you're willing to install another firmware, perform extensive setting modification, or willing to put up with chronic privacy invasion - FWIW, I have a XIAOMI Redmi Note 2 running non-standard firmware.

I recommend you get a phone with a Qualcomm processor, (ie. SnapDragon SoC), not MTK, as it is better supported by third party firmware, eg. CyanogenMod, and you'll get Android version updates a lot faster.

Besides that, you haven't said anything about your other needs, ie. Dual (4G) SIM, microSD, HD/FHD, battery life, network coverage, etc, etc.

XIAOMI just released the Redmi Note 3 Special Edition which has world-wide 4G band coverage, (and there's a CyanogenMod version available to install with a little fiddling).

Since you're in the UK: WileyFox

1260

Living Room / Re: Email whitelist

« Last post by 4wd on September 19, 2016, 07:50 PM »

Unless you have control of the members email server/client how do you expect to whitelist your emails from their end?
This would be a spammers wetdream to be able to do this, (which would probably mark you as a spammer).

The members need to whitelist the address the emails originate from - how you inform them of that ... well ... email, mail, SMS, blog, website, etc, etc

1261

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: Synchronize 2 usb disk

« Last post by 4wd on September 18, 2016, 07:30 AM »

There's always Robocopy: How to use robocopy in Windows for backup and sync like rsync in Linux

1262

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by 4wd on September 12, 2016, 12:39 AM »

Another weekend, another toy technology purchase.

XIAOMI Mi Band 2 Fitness tracker, less screen space than the Teclast H30 above but you can at least specify what apps you want to see alerts for (using Mi Band Tools but there are others).



It's being held up by a Roidmi Bluetooth car adapter w/ dual USB charger (3.1A capacity) and FM transmitter (so you can listen to your music through the car stereo).

1263

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Generic windows command line gui builder

« Last post by 4wd on September 12, 2016, 12:06 AM »

Slightly offtopic, back in the Amiga days there was a program that could execute a CLI command to get the parameters, analyse the parameters, and then present a GUI with the appropriate checkboxes, radio buttons, input fields, etc.

At least I think it was the Amiga, often wondered whether something similar was available for Windows but occassional searches failed to find anything.

1264

General Software Discussion / Re: Hacking Windows 10's My Computer context menu?

« Last post by 4wd on September 11, 2016, 11:53 PM »

You need to take Ownership of the shell key as described here: Add Control Panel, Task Manager, Windows Update and Other Useful Shortcuts with Icons in My Computer Context Menu

Then it will work.

1265

General Software Discussion / Re: Directory Opus 12 Released

« Last post by 4wd on September 10, 2016, 06:27 AM »

^ beginning with an update to version 8

-Curt (September 10, 2016, 03:17 AM)

FTFY 

1266

General Software Discussion / Re: Directory Opus 12 Released

« Last post by 4wd on September 10, 2016, 02:41 AM »

The span of time between v11 and v12 was just two years. I hope this isn't the start of a spiral towards shorter product cycles and more frequent request for upgrade fees.

-Innuendo (September 09, 2016, 08:26 PM)

If you want to go all conspiracy theory on it (my purchase dates which are close to the release dates - can't find the ones for DOpus 6 & 8):
DOpus9  200705
DOpus10 201105  (48 months)
DOpus11 201403  (34 months)
DOpus12 201609  (30 months)

Although Wikipedia^w tells us that between 6 & 8 were 40 months, and between 8 & 9 were 30 months (again).

So upgrade period has been anywhere between 30 and 48 months ever since there was a Windows version.

1267

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

« Last post by 4wd on September 09, 2016, 02:40 AM »

1268

General Software Discussion / Re: Trigger the Send function in a new email from command line

« Last post by 4wd on September 04, 2016, 08:30 PM »

Code: PowerShell [Select]

1. param (
2.   [string]$toaddr = $(throw "EmailArc.ps1 <email address> <file|folder>"),
3.   [string]$file = $(throw "EmailArc.ps1 <email address> <file|folder>")
4. )
5.  
6. $arcfile = $env:temp + '\' + ([System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($file)) + '.zip'
7.  
8. if (Test-Path $arcfile) {
9. #  Write-Host 'Updating archive'
10.   Compress-Archive -Path $file -Update -DestinationPath $arcfile -CompressionLevel Optimal | Out-Null
11. } else {
12. #  Write-Host 'Creating archive'
13.   Compress-Archive -Path $file -DestinationPath $arcfile -CompressionLevel Optimal | Out-Null
14. }
15.  
16. $newarc = $arcfile -replace '(.*)(\.zip$)', '$1zip'
17. Move-Item -Path $arcfile -Destination $newarc
18.  
19. $ol = New-Object -comObject Outlook.Application
20. $mail = $ol.CreateItem(0)
21. $Mail.Recipients.Add($toaddr)
22. $Mail.Subject = (Split-Path $file -Leaf)
23. $Mail.Body = "Archive containing: " + (Split-Path $file -Leaf) + "`n`nRename *zip to *.zip"
24. $Mail.Attachments.Add($newarc)
25. $Mail.Send()
26.  
27. Start-Sleep -Seconds 1
28.  
29. Remove-Item $newarc

1269

General Software Discussion / Re: No video after resuming from sleep - Windows 10 Anniversary Edition

« Last post by 4wd on September 04, 2016, 08:25 PM »

There are beta drivers for the HD6000 series (I'm running a 6850):



Beta is available here - if you have trouble getting it, I have the installer available (x64 only).

1270

General Software Discussion / Re: Desktop tool for programmatically removing URL's from PDF files

« Last post by 4wd on August 25, 2016, 03:18 AM »

You could try the script I did for jity2 over here: DONE: batch print silently pdf-2-pdf using SumatraPdf and Bullzip

Possibly an option in Sumatra or Bullzip to not incorporate URLs.

1271

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: AData s102 16GB USB 3.0 cheap

« Last post by 4wd on August 24, 2016, 04:40 PM »

Free shipping on this 32GB version:

https://www.amazon.c...flash/dp/B004AVOGW8/

 

1272

General Software Discussion / Re: Recreate files but without content to target drive

« Last post by 4wd on August 24, 2016, 04:30 PM »

As always, you need to enclose paths with spaces in quotes, eg. "C:\this is a path"

robocopy "C:\den Lw C\Vorübergehend\FileBot" "C:\den Lw C\Vorübergehend\test" /CREATE /E /np /nfl /ndl /njh /njs

1273

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by 4wd on August 20, 2016, 09:15 PM »

New fitness tracker: Teclast H30 (you can get it cheaper)






Time, Date, Steps, Calories, Distance, Sleep, Anti-lost, Heart Rate.
Other displays are Sedentary reminder, (man sitting in chair icon), firmware version, Caller Line Ident (incoming calls), SMS, plus pushed notifications from a limited number of apps, (eg. QQ, Wechat, Twitter, Facebook, etc).
Gesture wake (turn wrist and display lights up, turn back and it turns off - or times out), anti-lost (select it then turn wrist over 180deg, if phone is within range it'll ring), camera remote.

The app needs some work, (eg. there's no syncing to Google Fit), but the basics are there (and unlike some devices an account with the manufacturer is not required to use it) and it can do continuous heart rate monitoring.

Battery life is ~30 days, I've had it on for 5 days and it is still showing ~80%+ on the display.

EDIT: The gesture wake is very sensitive, don't need a torch when I get up in the middle of the night 

1274

Living Room / Re: External 5.25 floppy usb drive or another way?

« Last post by 4wd on August 18, 2016, 06:41 AM »

RetroFloppy folks responded to an email right away, and will try to read both of my disks and make contents available for me to download for $20.  Very fair.  I'm sending my disks to them. 
______________________

-mouser (August 17, 2016, 03:25 PM)

Make a photocopy of them first, b4 u send them - just in case.

-IainB (August 18, 2016, 03:42 AM)

That's silly, everyone knows the best method is to read them with an electromagnet and then reverse the polarity to write them out on to new blank media.

1275

Screenshot Captor / Re: The large amount of memory

« Last post by 4wd on August 16, 2016, 11:32 PM »

Wouldn't it be easier to capture in strips, (either columns or rows), using SC and then use either:
1) something like Microsoft's Image Composite Editor, or
2) a paint program, (eg. PhotoFiltre), to stitch them together.

I've used both methods and since the degree of overlap is going to be constant, stitching them together in a paint program is actually very easy.