Recent Posts

1276

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 

1277

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.

1278

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.

1279

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

« Last post by 4wd on August 16, 2016, 09:31 PM »

Looks complicated. Hmmm, where could I find this python script?

-Biffle (August 16, 2016, 05:40 AM)

Just use RoboCopy (included with Windows):

robocopy <source> <dest> /CREATE /E /np /nfl /ndl /njh /njs

It'll do it in a few seconds.

1280

Coding Snack Guidelines / Re: Check site www.nirsoft.net for new versions of tools and download if new

« Last post by 4wd on August 13, 2016, 08:29 PM »

Thank you for that! Unfortunately, it is not something that I could use for work purposes. It is free for personal use, but not in a business setting

-lugosi84 (August 13, 2016, 06:44 AM)

The WSCC about page says:

Free for personal and commercial use.

-michaelkenward (August 13, 2016, 12:54 PM)

Only Version 2 is free for personal and commercial use - that being said, maybe version 2 is all that is required.

The license included in the download for Version 3 says it is not free for commercial use:

The SOFTWARE is free for personal, educational and non-profit organization use. In this case registration is optional. For commercial use, it is required to register (see section 2.1).

2.1. EVALUATION AND REGISTRATION.
You are granted a license for evaluation purposes only. You are authorized to install, copy, and use the SOFTWARE for the sole purpose of testing its functionality. Your license is effective 30 days (the "Evaluation Period") commencing on the date the SOFTWARE is initially installed on the system. You must remove all copies of the SOFTWARE from your system when the Evaluation Period has expired. To continue using the SOFTWARE after the Evaluation Period has expired, you must purchase a license.

1281

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

« Last post by 4wd on August 13, 2016, 02:33 AM »

Technically, the mechanism in skwire's old Atari drive is probably no different from a normal 5.25" mechanism, (most likely Double Density), the only difference being external interface circuitry.  It should just be a matter of removing the drive from the case/interface and plugging it into a a 'normal' interface.  This was the case with the floppy drives for the Amiga and Vic20 computers, standard 5.25" drive with external interface.

Though you will probably have to find a motherboard that still has a floppy interface and a cable that most likely will be the old PCB edge connector.

I used to use floppy drives from MS-DOS/Windows based machines on the Amiga, a little interface board took care of the extra signal and drive ident that the Amiga required.  Only exception to this was Amiga HD floppy drive which ran at half speed because the controller inside the Amiga couldn't handle the faster data rate of normal rotational speed.

You also need to know whether the disk is DD or HD, obviously the HD can't be read in a DD drive.

(Wow, cheapest 5.25" on ebay atm is a HD @ AU$55 + P&P)

1282

Coding Snack Guidelines / Re: Check site www.nirsoft.net for new versions of tools and download if new

« Last post by 4wd on August 13, 2016, 02:15 AM »

WSCC - Windows System Control Center

1283

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Vopt 9 defragger free

« Last post by 4wd on August 12, 2016, 07:42 AM »

Still wish someone would come up with the equivalent of the ReOrg defragger from the Amiga days, ridiculously fast (when not using verification) and could change the filesystem on the fly.

It read as much of the disk as would fit in memory, reorganise it, then write it back out, and continue until the disk was done.  It was likened to throwing all your blocks up into the air all at once and they land completely organised.

None of this grab a file at a time, play with it, write it back out, make sure it was really written tip-toeing around ... yes, it's not for the paranoid. 

1284

General Software Discussion / Re: A way to add indexing for mapped network drives to Windows 10 Home

« Last post by 4wd on August 04, 2016, 10:19 PM »

I just add the UNC path of the network share I want to index, eg. Everything runs on my computer and indexes a share on my WHS2011 machine, so the index is available even when the server is offline, (it's only on 3 hours a day).

-4wd (August 04, 2016, 12:55 AM)

Isn't that cheating?

-MilesAhead (August 04, 2016, 07:46 AM)

OK, I'll bite ... why?

Try to get a personal/corporate search engine to index all the documents and offer those results in a webpage accessible to the user. If the user then clicks on the link to the file, the document should automatically open in the defined application on the system they currently work on.

-Shades (August 03, 2016, 08:44 PM)

I also do that in Everything by enabling its HTTP server.

1285

Post New Requests Here / Re: Replace text months to digital months

« Last post by 4wd on August 04, 2016, 09:01 PM »

It still works on Win 8 so might be worth a shot. A 12-24 line batch file (one for each month) still gets the job done :-)

-Lintalist (August 03, 2016, 04:46 PM)

Or he could do the same thing in DOpus which is what he 'hoped' for: Script to perform multiple Regular Expressions (It will need to be updated but the basics are there.)

I have to wonder why he didn't ask on the DOpus Resource Centre forum first.

1286

General Software Discussion / Re: A way to add indexing for mapped network drives to Windows 10 Home

« Last post by 4wd on August 04, 2016, 12:55 AM »

I use Everything on all my Windows computers and make use of the ETP server option when I need to find something on another computer.  For all intents and purposes, it's as fast as using Everything right on the box.  You can find the feature under the Tools > Connect to ETP Server menu.  Of course, you will need to enable the ETP server in Everything's options first (on the computer you want to connect to).  If you can't figure it out, let me know.

-skwire (August 04, 2016, 12:34 AM)

I just add the UNC path of the network share I want to index, eg. Everything runs on my computer and indexes a share on my WHS2011 machine, so the index is available even when the server is offline, (it's only on 3 hours a day).

1287

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: MFCRecorder - Continued

« Last post by 4wd on August 03, 2016, 02:23 AM »

I'd like to help out with the development of this, any chance of putting the source in a repository?

-afoto (August 02, 2016, 04:58 PM)

Asudem got permission from the original developer to continue with public builds, that said the original source is still available for you to modify, (for your own private use only since the copyright remains with the original author - you need to get his permission to distribute).

Original post detailing some prerequisites.

1288

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 - The gloves come off!

« Last post by 4wd on August 01, 2016, 01:06 AM »

I think this comment pretty much summed it up perfectly:

ok, I will will hopefully clear this up, windows 10 home version is all about raping you and making money, windows 10 pro is all about omg we need to still sell sh*t to people that are'nt looking at p*rn and deciding icecream dates. windows 10 enterprise is all about we need to not f**k up our government contract that makes us a** loads of money. lol

 

1289

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by 4wd on July 31, 2016, 10:17 PM »

I hate to do anything that might make someone's job more sucky, or them to lose it.

-wraith808 (July 29, 2016, 06:38 PM)

It appears he doesn't like his job, he has already made it "sucky" by his attitude.  If he talks that way to someone who knows what they are on about, I'd hate to see what his attitude is to people who don't.

But I'm concerned for the unknowing that gets him, and then spend $119 on an upgrade they don't need because they think they're stuck.

-wraith808 (July 29, 2016, 07:55 PM)

And that would be the number one reason to go ahead, it is pretty close to obtaining money by deception.

1290

Living Room / Re: Kickstarter: Onion Omega2 just went live

« Last post by 4wd on July 28, 2016, 08:13 PM »

everytime it detects me about to buy another one

-4wd (July 20, 2016, 05:27 PM)

It's 'ard for u, i no

-cranioscopical (July 27, 2016, 09:17 AM)

1291

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by 4wd on July 26, 2016, 06:40 PM »

@4wd: Trouble is, I kept no record of what I might have turned OFF!

-IainB (July 26, 2016, 08:28 AM)

I ran Shutup10, saved the current configuration, reset to default, updated Windows, ran Shutup10, then reloaded the configuration I saved.

Only other thing I'd done was to tweak the Update settings in Group Policy editor.

Unless you've done a lot of manual registry editing, policy editing, etc, that should cover almost all of it since most of the Win10 anti-telemetry tools do similar things, except the ones that actually remove files.

1292

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by 4wd on July 25, 2016, 11:03 PM »

Current "up-to-date" status:



Re-enable all the Spyware Telemetry and update:



Then disable all the Telemetry again.

It rather looks like my luck has run out with Windows 10-64 PRO.
So far the Windows Update log shows 5 occurrences of Failed to install Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KB3172985) on these dates:

-IainB (July 19, 2016, 11:42 AM)

If you have any of the "we want to know everything you do" crap turned off, it might pay to turn it all on again and try to update - after all, my system was "apparently" up-to-date until I turned it all on again, (and that was one of the updates it installed).

1293

General Software Discussion / Re: Trouble upgrading Acer Aspire One netbook from Win7 Starter to Win10 Home

« Last post by 4wd on July 25, 2016, 03:50 AM »

I also have an Aspire One but I installed XP Pro on it, clean installed 8/8.1 Pro, then clean installed 10 Pro on it.

-4wd (July 25, 2016, 12:16 AM)

and how does it stand up?  I've got one as well but wasn't going to bother 'cos I thought it might struggle

-Target (July 25, 2016, 01:06 AM)

Tbh, the only time I've used it is when I need a basic computer to handle interfacing to hardware, eg. firmware install on mobile, upgrade something, etc

Bit slow as you would expect but as long as you're doing something basic it's ok.

Mine was originally the Linux version so maximum RAM is 1.5GB.

ie. It's the original A110L version of the Aspire One, circa 2008.

1294

General Software Discussion / Re: Trouble upgrading Acer Aspire One netbook from Win7 Starter to Win10 Home

« Last post by 4wd on July 25, 2016, 12:16 AM »

You could try the method here to install Windows 10 with the generic key and then validate with the Windows 7 key, (you do have that key, yes?).

Original post referring to above method: Can you clean install Windows 10 Pro on a laptop which has an embedded Home licence?.

I also have an Aspire One but I installed XP Pro on it, clean installed 8/8.1 Pro, then clean installed 10 Pro on it.

1295

General Software Discussion / Re: What Android Apps Do You Use?

« Last post by 4wd on July 20, 2016, 09:21 PM »

Signal Private Messenger

Privacy is possible, Signal makes it easy.

Using Signal, you can communicate instantly while avoiding SMS fees, create groups so that you can chat in real time with all your friends at once, and share media or attachments all with complete privacy. The server never has access to any of your communication and never stores any of your data.

This replaces Red Phone and Text Secure that were also by Open Whisper System, (IIRC, might have been just been Whisper at the time).  You can replace your existing SMS app with it, it will send normal unsecured SMS & MMS to anyone who doesn't have it installed and registered.

Uses your data connection to send to people who have the app installed and registered, good for those that have to pay for SMS/MMS but have a data allowance, (like me).

Also available for iPhone: Signal

1296

Living Room / Re: Kickstarter: Onion Omega2 just went live

« Last post by 4wd on July 20, 2016, 05:27 PM »

Yes, I've backed the Plus version 

One day I might find a use for all these small controllers/computers ... possibly as some kind of electroshock thing that administers a jolt everytime it detects me about to buy another one.

1297

Living Room / Kickstarter: Onion Omega2 just went live

« Last post by 4wd on July 19, 2016, 09:21 PM »

Introducing the Omega2, the world's most accessible hardware development platform. This means that:

    The Omega2 is simple, even for people who are just getting started with building hardware.
    The Omega2 is affordable, starting at just $5.

With the Omega2, we want to lower the barrier of entry, and allow everyone to take the leap into hardware development.



It can use existing docks/expansions for the Onion Omega.



No mention of shipping cost yet, (survey in August).

1298

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome, your friendly spyware browser

« Last post by 4wd on July 19, 2016, 06:52 AM »

I never log into google, and use disconnected search also.

-wraith808 (July 18, 2016, 07:51 PM)

Isn't the problem now though, that it doesn't really matter whether you use Disconnected Search or not, the possibility exists that whatever you've typed/looked at/etc is now tracked by your browser.  Whether or not that info ends up at Google by some way or another isn't the real issue as I see it, just as Windows 10 has become all invasive so it seems has Chrome.

I'd really like to use products with comparable features, but without the tracking/spyware.

-Deozaan (July 19, 2016, 04:39 AM)

Just as a matter of interest, isn't Chrome based on Chromium?

Would it not be better, (as in less tracking, etc), to use Chromium?

I don't use either, hence the question.

1299

DC Gamer Club / Re: [Kickstarter] System Shock Remastered

« Last post by 4wd on July 18, 2016, 06:56 PM »

I went ahead and backed it because I liked the original game plus it has reached its goal without going too overboard, (unlike the one you have pointed out), so less likely to suffer Duke Nukem Syndrome.

And while I haven't backed many things on Kickstarter, the only one that has failed to deliver was hardware, (Matchstick).

1300

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome, your friendly spyware browser

« Last post by 4wd on July 18, 2016, 06:40 PM »

I think what he means is, if you're signed into Google (or even not signed in probably) and using Google's Chrome browser, how are you going to stop the browser from reporting to Google everything you've been doing?

This isn't a case of a website tracking you, now it's the program you are using.

It may even be the case that the browser logs everything you do until the next time you log into your account, then sends it.

Not sure uBlock or DisconnectMe are going to help you much since so many sites now rely on something from Google that in a large number of cases they fail to work properly unless a connection to Google is allowed.