Recent Posts

1476

Living Room / Re: What may you be missing?

« Last post by Darwin on January 13, 2009, 10:20 AM »

Maybe we are used to the media making such a big fuss over anything that we have lost the art of finding our own way.
Its 'The Emperor's New Clothes' (Grimm fairy tale) all over: when people are told that someone is worth $100 a ticket, they believe it. But they won't see that is just the same as the free version.

-Fred Nerd (January 13, 2009, 04:03 AM)

Also, as Fred and Darwin suggested, in something as subtle as classical violin, where appreciation is certainly an acquired taste*, it's hardly surprising for folks to have a herd mentality, where they don't perceive the (alleged) value until other folks are seen to value it.

-CWuestefeld (January 13, 2009, 08:38 AM)

My point exactly. Thank you both for being able to write it so much more clearly than I dfid 

1477

Living Room / Re: What may you be missing?

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 09:23 PM »

Curt - thank you for posting the story. I found it strangely moving, I suppose because it really makes you "think" about how manufactured everything is today. This includes our "tastes" and our perceptions. I like to think that I would have stood enraptured by the performance, I know my six year old would have. If I let him stand there... Horrid to think that I might have dragged him away, like the parents described in the piece 

1478

Living Room / Re: What may you be missing?

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 09:20 PM »

Of all the things I've lost over the years, I miss my mind the most.


(Wish I knew who originally wrote that since it's easily the truest statement.)

-4wd (January 10, 2009, 09:13 PM)

I imagine you've simply forgotten!

1479

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 09:08 PM »

Yes - I"m running Windows 7 in Virtual PC. Seeing these last few posts prompted me to return to Virtual PC and take a look. I'd probably stop short of calling it sluggish, per se, but it's noticably slower than my "real" XP and Vista installs, both of which have a LOT more RAM to work with.

1480

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 07:51 PM »

If it is any consolation I am 50 and still scratching my head ... I figure 60 is the new 30

-Carol Haynes (January 12, 2009, 07:47 PM)

  It's certainly looking that way. They've done away with mandatory retirement in my province (BC) and dammit if people in my area aren't staying with their jobs past 65  I'm looking at re-training...

1481

General Software Discussion / Re: Direct Access - text expander - Complaints about company

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 07:47 PM »

Thanks, Chris. This exchange has been making me a tad uncomfortable as well    I appreciate the frustrations on both sides, but perhaps this conversation can be moved to a private forum (e-mail, PM, etc.).

Having said that, I always appreciate having developers participating in our discussions.

1482

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 07:44 PM »

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions re: installing Windows 7 64-bit as a guest OS on a virtual machine. In the end, I elected to simply download the 32-bit version and get on with my life 

It installed quite quickly. I assigned a gig of RAM to it and it's rather sluggish compared to Vista on 4 gig and XP on 2, but what does on expect?! I'm pretty pleased with the overall fit and finish, but rather nonplussed overall - it really does feel more like a new Vista theme than anything else. Having said that, I've not done more than open up the new Paint for a look, so early days yet. Will look more carefully at it over the coming week and post some impressions.

1483

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 07:36 PM »

Whomever beats mouser's post count first gets an e-cookie and lots of "congrats"

-wreckedcarzz (January 12, 2009, 05:22 PM)

C'est impossible!

1484

General Software Discussion / 64-bit version of Ps Tray factory - link to alpha

« Last post by Darwin on January 12, 2009, 09:26 AM »

OK - just heard back from Sergey, the developer of PS Tray Factory, and he's given me the green light to post the link to the alpha for PS Tray Factory 3.0a: http://www.pssoftlab...nload/pstrayf30a.exe

This works under 64-bit systems well, with the following caveat: some icons keep being displayed in the system notification area whether you select them to be hidden or not. It appears that those that are affected are for programs that run under the explorer.exe process (Volume Control, Windows Sidebar, etc.) Sergey is working on a fix now.

1485

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 04:42 PM »

Crumb!

VMware Workstation 6.5 for Windows = $189.00  and VirtualBox doesn't support my chipset, it seems (Intel Dual Core T5750)... Will have to investigate alternative VMs/install to a spare HD/download 32-bit version.

1486

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 04:21 PM »

So VirtualPC 2007 doesn't support 64-bit OSes at all? I thought it just wouldn't let me install a 64-bit VM on a 32-bit host OS.

-Deozaan (January 11, 2009, 01:57 PM)

No... I looked at both it and Parallels Workstation (I was excitedly thinking that the key I got for free and archived would benefit me!) and neither supports a 64-bit guest OS   I looked at alternatives and *thought* that this was pretty much de rigeur for free/cheap VM solutions. It appears that I was wrong! I'm not interested in spending any money on this, but will take a look at the suggestions offered here. Thanks Eóin and Ehtyar  

EDIT: added some missing words...

1487

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: StarBurn 11 on GiveawayoftheDay today (Jan 11 2009)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 11:55 AM »

Thanks, deozaan. That does it - on with my life and the day. No more fretting about whether to install this or not 

1488

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 11:48 AM »

Crap! So much for my cunning plan to run the 64-bit version in a Virtual PC (note to self: RTFM before downloading the iso!).

Looks like I'll have to install to an extra harddrive afterall...

-Darwin (January 11, 2009, 10:50 AM)

You can install it in a VM - it is just Aero doesn't work so the TaskBar look clunky (though it still works)

-Carol Haynes (January 11, 2009, 11:19 AM)

Yes, but I'll need to download the 32-bit version to run it in most of the VM solutions available and, AFAICT, in any of the free/cheap options.

So, I could run it in VM but I'll need to download the 32-bit iso. No big deal, I'm just not sure I can be bothered at the moment.

1489

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 10:56 AM »

Just as a public service announcement to others considering their options: few (if any?) of the free or cheap virtualization options support a 64-bit guest OS...

1490

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: StarBurn 11 on GiveawayoftheDay today (Jan 11 2009)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 10:52 AM »

Thanks, Dormouse  Just the kind of info that I was looking for... Of cousre, I am in the same boat that I was in a year ago - I already have CD/DVD burning solutions (Ashampoo Burning Studio : do I REALLY need this? No... but I'll probably spend all day dithering about it anyway 

1491

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 10:50 AM »

Crap! So much for my cunning plan to run the 64-bit version in a Virtual PC (note to self: RTFM before downloading the iso!).

Looks like I'll have to install to an extra harddrive afterall...

1492

Found Deals and Discounts / StarBurn 11 on GiveawayoftheDay today (Jan 11 2009)

« Last post by Darwin on January 11, 2009, 10:13 AM »

Starburn is back on GiveawayoftheDay. It receives strong ratings on the Giveaway forum and has been discussed on DC in the past, particularly after StarBurnShark 9.5 was given away this time last year.

So, just a quick note to let everyone know that it's available and to solicit updated experiences from anyone who has used it in the past (or, obviously, who is using it in the present)!

1493

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 06:52 PM »

I epitomize those words (being weeks away from 40 myself) and, like you, derive a lot of comfort from them as well 

1494

Living Room / Re: Laptop hard drive... 5400 or 7200 ?

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 06:47 PM »

Lanux - I bought an open box Seagate Momentus G-Force 320GB 7200 rpm notebook drive (ST9320421ASG) and took delivery of it yesterday. It's AWESOME! I expected there to be some difference running it, but not that it would be so obvious in every aspect of my use of the computer. It replaces a 250 GB Western Digital 5400rpm drive. This was a decent drive, but the 7200 rpm drive boots much more quickly and everything feels "crsiper" in use. I haven't timed anything (like boot time) but will try to do so and report back here.

Bottom-line: the upgrade from 5400 rpm to 7200 rpm is well worth it!

1495

General Software Discussion / Re: Similar program to Ps Tray factory that works on Vista 64-bit.

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 06:29 PM »

Hi The_Doomer - the beta of version 3 does work well, with a few idiosyncracies... For instance, there are a few icons that keep showing up in my system notification area - PS Tray Factory will hide them for a while and then they'll just show up again. I've sent a report to the developer - hopefully a new build will be out soon. I never did hear back from him about posting a link to the beta here... Worth writing to him directly, though.

1496

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 01:29 PM »

I'm downloading from MS now (64bit version). I'm planning on installing onto a spare harddrive that I have lying around and swapping it in and out of my notebook for kicks. Quite keen to see how it stacks up. Happy days!

1497

General Software Discussion / Re: windows 7 beta available for free Jan 9 (!)

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 10:41 AM »

Thanks Deozaan! That just worked for me as well  

1498

Living Room / Re: Do you guys have any experience with routers? because i have some questions

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 10:22 AM »

@Paul - my position is this: educate yourself about the effectiveness of each of these security options and implement the top security "cocktail" that you are able to within the limitations of your hardware. The key is to be aware of the risks. I think the "pundits" I keep referring to are attempting to debunk myths about wireless security because to the uneducated the perception is that there is either no need for any of these measures (or people are completely unaware of the need for them) or that some of the older measures are sufficient and they then never give the security of their home network another thought. I have a friend who simply enabled MAC filtering and left it at that. He's not had any trouble, but then he lives on a rural road with about 25 metres separating him from his neighbours on either side and about 50 separating him from the road and easily 150 from his neighbour to the rear. The likelihood of anyone making the effort to sit outside his road to try to hack into his network, and to do so unnoticed, is pretty slim! If he did that on the second floor of an apartment building in Vancouver, New York, Seoul, or Beijing he'd be asking for very serioius trouble indeed!

1499

Living Room / Re: Do you guys have any experience with routers? because i have some questions

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 10:11 AM »

Chris - is it connected to the internet...? I take it that the answer is "no".

1500

Living Room / Re: Do you guys have any experience with routers? because i have some questions

« Last post by Darwin on January 10, 2009, 01:54 AM »

The issue with SSID (where the pundits are concerned) is that it is perceived to be a waste of time - anyone who wants onto your network is going to get onto your network, hidden SSID or not. I think the caveat they are trying to make is that one shouldn't get a false sense of security as a result of enacting these measures.

I take the general attitude that these measures may well be a waste of time, but it doesn't cost me anything to put them in place! I haven't enabled a hidden SSID because I haven't had time to explore the ramifications of doing so for hardware connected to my network.