Recent Posts

1476

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 23, 2009, 09:09 PM »

I think most people's budgets for anything is tight this year. No shame in that. Give Agnitum's free version of their Outpost firewall a try.

http://free.agnitum.com/

1477

General Software Discussion / Re: Who should judge Win7's success?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 23, 2009, 01:13 PM »

Damn. One less reason.

-Tuxman (October 23, 2009, 10:15 AM)

Sorry I had to go and ruin your day like that.

1478

General Software Discussion / Re: Wanted: Freeware (commercial use allowed) Anti-Virus Tool For Small LAN

« Last post by Innuendo on October 23, 2009, 01:07 PM »

SonicWall? I don't know if you could suggest anything less like freeware if you tried. They are rather expensive & their content filter subscriptions aren't exactly cheap, either.

1479

General Software Discussion / Re: Who should judge Win7's success?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 23, 2009, 10:12 AM »

Get your classic start menu back in Windows 7 for free.

LifeHacker to the rescue again:

http://lifehacker.co...nu-back-to-windows-7

1480

General Software Discussion / Re: Cloudberry S3 Explorer and

« Last post by Innuendo on October 23, 2009, 10:01 AM »

I can't help you with any experiences, but if you are a Total Commander user you might want to also try a TC plugin called S3 Browser.

1481

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 7 Commercials

« Last post by Innuendo on October 23, 2009, 09:50 AM »

Giving the initial post's wording, it may be of merely little interest if I like these videos or if I already have tried these features on a former system.

-Curt (October 23, 2009, 06:43 AM)

Yes, I believe that the emphasis on these concept commercials (they aren't even really commercials. The guy who made them was given 3 days to come up with something to advertise Win7) is the new Windows 7 way of doing things. For example, the promo about the Gadgets shows that while Gadgets remain the Sidebar is gone.

Previous Windows ad campaigns have been rather trippy featuring people running through fields & flying through the air while the only audio is Rolling Stones or Madonna song. I think this is a brilliant move because once people are shown exactly what Windows 7 will do for them then Apple is going to have to drop (or at least supplement) their current ad campaign as people will then be wondering what can Apple's OS do for me *exactly* and there has yet to be an OS X commercial that shows that.

1482

Living Room / Re: What's required for Aero in Win7?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 22, 2009, 05:46 PM »

Something is wrong somewhere. My video card is only DX9-capable and it can run the Aero effects in Windows 7 no problem. I think I would chalk it up to a glitch in the Advisor and move on.

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Found Deals and Discounts / Free 1 Year Security Suite Subscription for your Windows 7 PC

« Last post by Innuendo on October 22, 2009, 09:08 AM »

Three security companies are offering a free one year subscription to their products to coincide with today's Windows 7 launch.

IObit Security 360 PRO
(Offer expires November 11, 2009)

Panda Internet Security 2010
(Offer valid for U.S. citizens only)

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010
(Only valid for Windows 7 Launch Party hosts and attendees)

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General Software Discussion / Windows 7 Commercials

« Last post by Innuendo on October 21, 2009, 01:27 PM »

Found an article showing off some of the conceptual commercial spots for Windows 7 & thought it was interesting enough I'd share here:

http://www.istarteds...advertising-to-come/

Who knows if they'll actually use any of these, but it's nice to see MS is focusing more on advertising features this time around.

1485

General Software Discussion / Re: Graphics corruption -- Why?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 21, 2009, 01:24 PM »

I've read that the problem with graphics drivers for laptops is that they're often adapted to a specific models from the generic ones...

-Armando (October 21, 2009, 12:30 PM)

Oh! A laptop! If you mentioned somewhere before this in the thread that you were using a laptop I unfortunately missed it. Yeah, when you are using a laptop you are usually at the manufacturer's mercy unless you happen to have a graphics chipset that has an active modding community supporting it. Seeing as how you are able to use the Omega ATI drivers you shouldn't have any more problems. The Omega guys do a very good job keeping up with the latest driver releases & modding them for laptop use.

1486

Living Room / Re: Best Laptop Input Device?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 21, 2009, 11:37 AM »

Jenny, regarding "try before you buy", most definitely. I only buy input devices (mice, keyboards, joypads, whatever) locally or from places on the internet that have liberal return policies because everyone has different size hands and fingertip spans. What might be right for most might not be right for you as your hands may be smaller/bigger than most and your fingers my not stretch the same distances as easily as others. It might also be that whatever felt fine in the store may not be nearly as comfortable once you're in your normal computing environment and have had a chance to work with the peripheral for a few hours.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Graphics corruption -- Why?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 21, 2009, 11:28 AM »

Armando, I love Dell computers, but never run the drivers from their web site. They only post the drivers from the manufacturer's web site & more often than not they are woefully out of date. You don't gain any advantages from running the drivers on the Dell site because if you ever have to call Dell for technical support they'll just have you go to the manufacturer's web site and get the latest drivers anyway.

Glad you got your problem solved, though. :: knock wood ::

1488

General Software Discussion / Re: Who should judge Win7's success?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 20, 2009, 01:33 PM »

Yeah, actually I do already use FreeCommander (but it's a recent switch so I still use the old multi-window approach a lot)

-JavaJones (October 19, 2009, 09:14 PM)

The key with Orthodox file managers like Free Commander and Total Commander is mastering the command key shortcuts. If you do that, you'll be able to whiz through file operations much faster than you could ever by using a mouse in any setting. I haven't used Free Commander in years, but if it is worth its salt you'll find your concerns about Windows 7's Explorer's inadequacies melt away soon enough.

1489

General Software Discussion / Re: File Managers! Windows Explorer replacement! Come one, come all...

« Last post by Innuendo on October 20, 2009, 01:30 PM »

Lifetime License
     NOW:  single € 29.95 -- US$ 44.95 -- £ 28.95 each
    2010:  single € 49.95 -- US$ 74.95 -- £ 44.95 each

-TheQwerty (October 20, 2009, 06:29 AM)

Holy crap on a stick! Going from US$44.95 to US$74.95 is a huge jump.

If someone's been on the fence about buying this one the time to act is now.

1490

Living Room / Re: Best Laptop Input Device?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 20, 2009, 01:17 PM »

So the spec is for something that stores in one piece, no wider than a standard keyboard and no more than about 9" front to back, and preferably wireless.

-JennyB (October 20, 2009, 12:22 PM)

Note #1: I am in no way advocating Amazon.
Note #2: I am in no way advocating Adesso.
Note #3: I don't know if you hate trackballs.

Try these three candidates:

http://www.amazon.co...p/product/B000JJM7S0

http://www.amazon.co...p/product/B0009JR47O

http://www.amazon.co...p/product/B001G8LNLU

Do any of these three come anywhere close to hitting the mark?

1491

General Software Discussion / Re: Who should judge Win7's success?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 19, 2009, 09:02 PM »

...because I use the task bar as a "holding area" and almost like a reminder system in some sense (oh, this explorer folder was open because I had to work on that document). So the idea of collapsing, of trying to minimize icons on my taskbar or desktop, etc. is entirely counter intuitive and counter productive for me.

-JavaJones (October 19, 2009, 01:07 PM)

Then it may be time to explore (no pun intended) looking into finding an alternate file manager. I often have many tabs open in Total Commander each one displaying a folder because it was I need to work on something later & if closed Total Commander will remember all those open tabs/folders upon re-opening.

Most of your irritants with Explorer I don't see because I left Explorer behind a long time ago as it's rather primitive compared to most third-party file managers available today. Maybe Win7 is your excuse to find one yourself?

1492

General Software Discussion / Re: 10 things to do after installing Linux

« Last post by Innuendo on October 19, 2009, 12:20 PM »

Linux Mint? That greenish Ubuntu derivative?
Thus: That greenish ((Debian derivative) derivative)?

Why not using the original Debian instead?

-Tuxman (October 19, 2009, 11:58 AM)

I think the reason why Linux Mint was chosen is that this article was targeted towards people who have no Linux experience at all.

Ubuntu is an easier to use version of Debian. Linux Mint is an easier to use version of Ubuntu.

But, of course, for the truly hard-core....Debian for life! 

1493

General Software Discussion / Re: 10 things to do after installing Linux

« Last post by Innuendo on October 19, 2009, 12:18 PM »

I liked this article. It's a very practical guide for people new to Linux who are going to hit that desktop for the first time and have a lot of "But, how do I...?" questions. The author outlines each task, gives the basics, and then leaves things alone. He didn't fall into the common trap of giving the newbies information overload.

Excellent article for those who have just made the switch to Linux and even those who have no intention of switching who are just curious to see what Linux is like.

1494

General Software Discussion / Re: Who should judge Win7's success?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 19, 2009, 11:51 AM »

But maybe I just haven't figured out exactly how to use it. Here's a question for you, maybe someone has a solution: Assuming there are benefits to spatial memory and association (e.g. the Start menu is always lower-left and you can quickly move your mouse there to activate it at any time), how do you maintain that with the pinned apps on the task bar when the pinned apps move as e.g. several windows of an app to the left of it in the task bar are opened (if merging of app windows is disabled as I prefer).

-JavaJones (October 17, 2009, 06:22 PM)

An idea for you to try...and I have no idea if this will work but have you tried making use of the Windows Key+1-5 shortcuts which will select the first 5 apps on the Windows 7 taskbar?

1495

Post New Requests Here / Re: How to capture status bar text in Firefox v3.5.3

« Last post by Innuendo on October 19, 2009, 11:47 AM »

Even better, use the extension Ghostery. In addition to Google Analytics it will block 190+ trackers from watching your every move. (And it beats having to set up rules for each and every one in NoScript).

1496

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Innuendo on October 19, 2009, 11:42 AM »

Thanks for the feedback on my post.
@f0dder: I went to M/soft virus Encyclopedia and looked at those "viruses" detected by MSE. None of them seemed to be false positives, though they were not too nasty-looking.

-IainB (October 18, 2009, 05:22 PM)

I think F0dder's point wasn't how nasty-looking they were but MSE might have though the virus code was in those files when in reality there might have been nothing there. Every AV program has a false detection like that once in a while. Nobody & nothing is perfect, after all...

1497

General Software Discussion / Re: AccellMan and More now Free

« Last post by Innuendo on October 19, 2009, 11:37 AM »

A lifetime license wouldn't solve the problems either, would it?

-Tuxman (October 18, 2009, 12:21 PM)

Hmm...that's a good question. Just checking the DOpus site on pricing...man, they nickel and dime you to death....license for 1 PC is AUD$85...want to be able to use DOpus on a second PC that's AUD$35 more...Advanced FTP capabilities is another AUD$10 per license...USB/U3 support is yet another AUD$10 per license....

Holy crap! At those prices the angels better descend from the very heavens and write blessed code on purified PCs...and wait till you see the generous 'discount' they give on upgrades. Better bend over, Bucky.

I guess if that AUD$85 was a lifetime license with no restrictions on how many of your PCs you could install it on while including the Advanced FTP & USB/U3 options I might be able to stomach that. It's still very expensive, but you'd get a lot of functionality for your money.

1498

General Software Discussion / Re: Who should judge Win7's success?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 18, 2009, 12:29 PM »

I would rather say, the "new way of doing things" does not fit anyone's actual work habits, eh?

-Tuxman (October 17, 2009, 11:11 PM)

Maybe it is me who is in the minority, but I have fully embraced the new taskbar and start menu in Windows 7. I love the way they work. My taskbar is uncluttered, my start menu works how I want it to....life is good in my corner of the computing universe.

At least some people know how to make money with Microsoft's mistakes.

Twenty bucks for a start menu replacement? Nice to know that P.T. Barnum was right. I think if it were me and I didn't care for the new Windows 7 start menu & task bar I'd seriously look into a dock solution that replaced the start menu, taskbar, and system tray in one fell swoop for that same amount of money....but that's just me.

1499

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Extensions: Your favorite or most useful

« Last post by Innuendo on October 18, 2009, 12:20 PM »

Ironically clicking the link brought a bad certificate error and I had to add a security exception in Firefox before I was allowed to view the page.

-Carol Haynes (October 18, 2009, 04:58 AM)

I don't know what the significance is, but when I clicked that link yesterday I did not receive a bad certificate error. Everything loaded up normally. :: shrug ::

Call me a conspiracy theorist but does this sound a little planned to make sure any security issues in IE also affect Firefox so that MS isn't disadvantaged in the browser wars!

I honestly don't know what they were/are trying to accomplish with that extension. Comparing my browser experience before the extension was installed, after it was installed, and after it was removed I noticed no discernible difference at all in where I surfed or what actions I performed in my browser.

It could have been an extension that had the one and only function of waiting for the name Bill Gates to appear on web pages and change the text to Bill "Who's Yo' Daddy?" Gates and it would have exhibited more change in my browsing behavior than what it really was there for. The description in the extensions list mentioned something about providing "Click Once" functionality...whatever that is.

1500

General Software Discussion / Re: AccellMan and More now Free

« Last post by Innuendo on October 18, 2009, 12:13 PM »

Seems to have the potential to steal the first place as the most bloated, unintuitive file manager, right before Directory Opus (which will never be my favorite one, it is powerful but....).

-Tuxman (October 17, 2009, 06:14 PM)

Directory Opus has always struck me as being the equivalent of sticking the user in the cockpit of a 767 airplane that's heading straight on a collision course with a mountaintop and giving the user a 4,000 page user manual & saying, "Welp, you got this...I'll leave you alone now."

That's an exaggeration, of course, but sometimes one does get that feeling when trying to figure out the intricacies of DOpus configuration. Master those intricacies and you have access to some real power. My only real beef with the program is its pricing structure, though.

It's true that it has some quirks and a few bugs but it also has many half-hidden wonders.
Just wish it were still being developed...

-joiwind (October 18, 2009, 06:29 AM)

It was an innovator in its day. AccelMan had numerous features before they were in any other file manager. I think the author either got bored with the project or he finally hit a wall where he was running into problems that were beyond his programming abilities.