Recent Posts

1601

General Software Discussion / Re: Dying technologies: do you still use a printer much?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 06:33 PM »

Hey, Frank! Welcome to DonationCoder. I hope we see more of you around here. We're a friendly bunch & we'll talk about just near anything. 

1602

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 06:32 PM »

There's another thing...what if I don't want to do research?  What will I pick then?  That's what a lot of people are doing.

-superboyac (October 01, 2009, 10:54 AM)

That's a very good question & I have a very good answer for you. This "lot of people" who are picking Macs because of what the commercials are telling them because they are easier to use and more secure than "PCs" are going to to encounter some harsh realities that no one told them about I didn't touch on in my original post:

1) OS X while shiny, easy to use, and easy to learn is not nearly as customizable as a Windows machine. Part of what makes a Mac so easy to use and learn is the user interface that is universally the same (with minor differences) no matter what Mac you use. Some would say this is because Steve Jobs is a control freak and that he wants Mac users to work the way he wants them to. My guess is that the OS X programmers just want everything to be standardized for the most part so that if you know how to use one Mac you know how to use them all.

2) These people are going to either run into their friends raving about the newest game available or their kids are going to be begging to be bought the latest game their friends are playing. In either case, there's only one sad, disappointing outcome. The vast majority of games are not playable on a Mac.

3) These people are buying Macs on the premise that they are more secure and unfortunately, they are not. Security web sites that document such things have revealed that OS X has had several times security issues than Vista has had in the last two years & while MS has patched every one on the Windows side most on the OS X side remain unpatched with no word from Apple when they will be.

4) Those who are switching from PCs who are used to be able to buy a new case, PSU, or video card on a whim whether it to be an old unwanted or outdated component or because a component died on them will be in for a rude awakening. There are no third-party cases. Your Mac is going to look the same as everyone elses. Forever. There's no running out and buying any video card you want, either. Very few video cards have OS X drivers & even if the card is supported one has to buy a special Mac version of the card that has a Mac-aware BIOS on the video card. Need another PSU? Off you go to an Apple Store or ship it off to Apple for who knows how many weeks?

Switching from a PC to an Apple is switching from a very open, diverse architecture where any choice is possible to a very closed, narrow architecture where most of your choices, if any, are dictated to you.

This is not a slam towards Macs and don't let this dissuade you from getting one if that's what you really want to do, but living in the land of Mac is a very different world than living in the land of PC and you will lose a lot of your freedom that I'm sure a lot of us take for granted if you make the move.

1603

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 06:14 PM »

Given that Windows 7 uses 2 primary partitions just to install (unless you are installing it as a multi-boot option on top of Vista or XP) it doesn't leave you many primary partitions to play with on a system!

-Carol Haynes (October 01, 2009, 04:46 PM)

There is a workaround when installing Windows 7 & you can fool it into installing onto just one partition instead of having that silly reserved 100 MB partition with no ill effects.

1604

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 06:12 PM »

I kinda had the impression that flash and java were the biggest sinners these days, especially since UAC was introduced?

-f0dder (October 01, 2009, 05:58 PM)

Oh, they are and it's only going to get worse. Even the Mac users are starting to experience Flash & Java trying to inject malware into their systems. So far it has only been primitive attacks, but I'm sure as time goes on the attacks will become more elaborate.

1605

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 06:11 PM »

Innuendo, I think you should reconsider improving Outpost malware module because Virusbuster leaves something to be desired.

-Bamse (October 01, 2009, 04:33 PM)

While it's true that Agnitum licenses the VirusBuster engine they have customized it to their own use & that's why you will see Agnitum's programs score higher in tests than VirusBuster although they use the same engine.

Agnitum also employs symbiotic relationships between all their various modules to give an experience that the the total experience is more effective than the sum of its parts. In another thread you spoke highly of MalwareBytes AntiMalware. Just the other day I purposely infected a PC with some stinky malware & Agnitum's security suite was able to detect everything MBAM did and they both cleaned the PC equally well. I was impressed.

And I am not an Agnitum fan by any stretch of the imagination. The only reason I am a customer is one day I had a fit of being nickeled and dimed to death for signature updates by the security companies & Agnitum had Outpost Security Suite Pro on sale with a lifetime license & free updates forever so I only bought it out of rage not confidence in their product.      However, I have been running it for the past few months & it has caught (and blocked) all sorts of attacks as I happily explore the seedy underbelly of the internet.

1606

General Software Discussion / Re: Public Service Announcement: AIMP2 is Evilware

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 10:21 AM »

Yesterday AIMP2 v2.60 Build 505 RC1 was released and it still tried to contact 007guard.com. Stay away.

1607

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 10:20 AM »

superboyac, lots of good replies before mine, but I hope you manage to make it through them all and read this one.

Think very hard about what you are wanting to do. Every computing platform has its troubles and the Mac is no different. You will be trading one set of problems for another. Usually, the enthusiasm levels of Mac users is so great that the problems OS X has get lost in the hub-bub of all the cheerleading going on.

Yes, video and photo editing are a great experience on the Mac. It should be as the Mac has always been the tool used by video & photo editors since way back when the Mac first came out. There's been a lot of innovation in this area & the best programs in this area usually come out on the Mac first and then later on the PC if at all. And this brings me to Adobe. Historically, PhotoShop has been coded and released on the Mac first and then ported for release on the PC. I think this last version of PhotoShop was the first to ever release on the PC first, but there's still a lot of ported coded in there slowing things down.

Once you leave this area of software development for the Mac the landscape changes a lot. Where there was a wealth of software choices in the video and photo editing areas there's a decided dearth of choices in a lot of different areas (but not all). There's a lot of software I use (Total Commander, mp3tag, Newsbin Pro, AnyDVD, foobar2000, and others) that have forums full of messages from Mac users pleading for a port of that program as nothing on the Mac platform is as powerful & easy to use or in the case of AnyDVD, doesn't exist at all on the Mac platform.

Now let's talk about the OS for a bit. OS X is slow. It's not lumbering slow, but it is slower than any version of Windows on the same hardware, including Vista. Yes, even the Microsoft OS that everyone mocks for its slow speed is faster than OS X. Mac users will tell you that it's not a race and that they don't need blazing speed for the tasks they do because it's all about the user experience and not about the speed in which tasks are accomplished, but I have a hunch that if you spent most of your OP discussing how you like things being slow that the Mac users' reason for the slowness of OS X is going to carry much weight with you.

OS X is not perfect and I don't know if they have fixed this 'feature' or not, but I just found this out and I was shocked. As recently as Leopard (don't know if it was fixed in Snow Leopard or not, but I haven't heard that it was, so....) if you moved a directory named, say....Bob that was on Hard Drive A to Hard Drive B and that drive also had a directory of the same name OS X replaces Hard Drive B's Bob and all its contents with Hard Drive A's Bob and all that's contents. Yep...that's right. You just lost data. Where Windows will happily merge the two directories and ask you when there's a filename conflict OS X assumes you want to replace the directory and its contents. There are other fun 'features' of OS X besides this one that you have to discover on your own because Mac users are too busy extolling the virtues of their OS over Windows.

Finally, let's talk about computer trouble. Every OS crashes & I have seen some spectacular crashes on Windows, Linux, and even OS X. With Windows you can check the registry, uninstall programs, repair the OS, reinstall the OS, and if there's a hardware problem run to the store and buy what you need. With OS X, you can uninstall programs, repair the OS, reinstall the OS, or take it to a service center. There aren't many user-serviceable parts on a Mac. They are almost like an appliance.

Just do your research, but don't buy a Mac because of what Mac users tell you. It's been my experience they never talk about a bug or problem with Macs or OSX until after it's been fixed. It happened with the move to the Intel platform. It happened when the Macs finally got pre-emptive multi-tasking. And it's happened countless other times.

If after you do all your research you still decide a Mac is for you. Buy one and make the most of it. Enjoy it to the fullest.

1608

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:48 AM »

I sill think the icons could be a little less cartoony. And all those pastel shades remind me of the decor you'd find in a baby's room. But that's just me. 

-40hz (September 30, 2009, 12:40 PM)

I found out early on in the beta process that going into the settings and changing the pre-dominant window color from Sky to Slate 'mans' up Windows 7 quite a bit. It'll tide things over till the after-market programs come out that support Windows 7 that will allow us to change the color schemes more to our liking & use alternate icon sets.

1609

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:45 AM »

BTW, one question. I noticed that unlike older versions, file managers have their access to "Program Files" and similar folders restricted, and the only way to see them is either running the file manager with higher privileges, or to grant permanent access using Windows Explorer. What is this restriction all about? Is it just a new way to do the old "Don't show hidden folders"? Is there some security risk by granting permanent access to them? Note that back then both xplorer² and XYplorer (the two apps I used) didn't officially support Win7.

-Lashiec (September 30, 2009, 09:43 AM)

I use Total Commander & I used it with Windows 7 before Total Commander officially supported it & I haven't had to run TC with higher privileges to see any directory on any of my hard drives. Now if you are wanting to delete or edit any files in a protected directory or copy or move any files into a protected directory you will have to elevate the file manager's privileges, but read-only access doesn't require such. At least that's been my experience with TC.

Maybe you need to give your file managers of choice another go once they fully support Windows 7, but things really should work the same way they did with Vista in regards to how protected system directories work.

1610

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm tired of being told.

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:38 AM »

Ouch Innuendo! Harsh...

-Paul Keith (September 30, 2009, 11:03 AM)

Harsh? I hope not...I was just teasing. I didn't mean any malice with my words.

Avira Free auto-updates so even when the premium version gets it earlier, it shouldn't really affect performance that much.

I haven't used Avira for years so I can't speak too specifically about why things might be the way they are. The reason I quit using it was way too many false positives. But the way the test results are could be due to what I referred to about updating. If the paid version updates hourly & the free version weekly then that could cause the results. Also, if the free version is using a detection engine that's 3 or 4 versions older than the paid one does that could cause a huge gap in the detection rates as well.

These companies that offer both paid and free versions of their software have to walk a fine line. They want to put enough features into the free version to entice a person to buy the paid product, but not so many that they tick off their paid customers. If I'm paying $50 or whatever per year for a product I don't want someone to get the same level of protection I do who is paying nothing. I'll just move to the free product and then the company loses revenue.

1611

General Software Discussion / Re: photo duplicate scanner

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:32 AM »

@Innuendo: Your characterization of me as a "dupe finding junkie" is regrettably true. Thanks for the comments. Positive remarks help to encourage new people to post here-- just my two cents.

-sajman99 (September 30, 2009, 11:25 AM)

There are a lot of software junkies here at DC so you aren't alone. I'll leave it to you to discover who they are and where their areas of expertise due to being a junkie lies.

1612

Developer's Corner / Re: essay on artists asking for support: why i am not afraid to take your money

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:25 AM »

I welcome with open arms musicians selling their music direct to the consumer bypassing the middlemen saving everyone money.

However, don't try to sell your music direct and charge more for it than the middlemen do. Yes, I've seen at least one artist implement those tactics. I will _NOT_ pay you directly US$18 for your CD.

1613

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:22 AM »

Despite the fact I don't think I have pre-conceived notions regarding Essentials, I cannot seem to get that idiom about "the fox guarding the chicken house" out of my head.

-sajman99 (September 30, 2009, 01:19 PM)

My thoughts ran in another direction. Although it is an unproven program I was tempted to install it for MS's reputation for using undocumented system calls & hooks  would probably be able to integrate a security solution into Windows better than any outsider could.

However, I resisted temptation and am sticking with Outpost Security Suite Pro for now.

1614

General Software Discussion / Re: video player software.

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:18 AM »

On the subject of the KMPlayer, does anybody know of a good optimization guide? I googled a bit and didn't find much useful info. In my case, I am using the "Preset: Quality (3GHz)" setting, but as noted there are a ton of options regarding post-processing, sharpening, etc.

-sajman99 (September 30, 2009, 02:05 PM)

I've never seen such a guide, but I'd love to see one. When I set it up I just chose the same preset you did & then I sifted through all the options adjusting to taste. It may not be optimal, but it looks darn good to me.

1615

Living Room / Re: Be warned - Acronis Backup and Recovery

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:16 AM »

Its all a bit shoddy and isn't going to do their corporate image much good.

-Carol Haynes (September 30, 2009, 04:31 PM)

Acronis makes some of the most clever software in its market segment, but when they come out with a new version it's always one step forward & two steps back for a while. I'm really looking forward to a version of their software that has all their newest nifty tricks working in Windows 7, but I'm not holding my breath while I wait.

1616

Living Room / Re: Best Laptop Input Device?

« Last post by Innuendo on October 01, 2009, 09:04 AM »

The question is, which of these is best for comfortable input, rather than for optimising space?

-JennyB (October 01, 2009, 06:12 AM)

Only you can answer the question of comfort. Everyone's body is different & everyone works differently. I'd buy from a place with a good return policy so you can return it if it doesn't work for you.

1617

Post New Requests Here / Re: saving printer ink

« Last post by Innuendo on September 30, 2009, 09:21 AM »

That's a shame. I guess there's a lesson to be learned that one shouldn't buy on eBay without some sort of money-back guarantee. I suppose another lesson is don't buy software products written by companies with shoddy customer service.

If I were you I'd be looking for an alternate way to get the product I paid for.

1618

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Innuendo on September 30, 2009, 09:14 AM »

All of these of 32 bit editions of the OS, granted they have 2Gb of memory to play with but I have been pleased with the way Win 7 has pumped a bit more life into this system. With Vista I was thinking of looking for a new mobo to use a multicore processor but now I am not going to bother.

-Carol Haynes (September 30, 2009, 03:13 AM)

I'm glad your experience mirrors my own, Carol. I think a lot of people are going to be happy with this release. Little Kylie didn't lie to us. More happy *really* is coming.

1619

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm tired of being told.

« Last post by Innuendo on September 30, 2009, 09:09 AM »

I just glanced through the quote and your post.

To me it doesn't look like a headache issue. Just install nod32/kaspersky + Malwarebytes' anti-malware and you are safe.

-sri (September 29, 2009, 09:51 PM)

It's obvious you just glanced because the entire meaning of the quoted text was the person was being told what to install to have a secure system & then you reply exhibiting the same behavior that was being complained about.

Can't really say I understand the site though. For example, how can Antivir Free be any less secure than Antivir Premium?

-Paul Keith (September 30, 2009, 07:02 AM)

One factor is probably the fact that the premium version gets signature updates quicker than the free version. It may also be that the free version is using an older version of Avira's detection engine.

1620

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Innuendo on September 30, 2009, 09:00 AM »

I'm sure it's released and around for awhile there'll be no trouble downloading it no matter where you are in the world. That's just how the internet works. Companies try to trap their programs within country borders, but the internet knows no such boundaries.

How good MSE is, however, is something that we're going to have to wait to find out. Once the independent testing organizations put MSE through its paces & release the results we'll then know how it stacks up to its competitors.

1621

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Innuendo on September 29, 2009, 09:11 PM »

On adequate hardware, you don't feel the speed hit; on a dualcore machine the extra CPU cycles spent isn't something you notice, but the extra features are. With 2GB of memory, the extra ram gobbled up is pretty irrelevant (but the advantages of SuperFetch definitely aren't!). With a nice GPU, Aero is nice. But if you try to run Win7 on 5 year old hardware that ran XP fine, you'll likely be disappointed.

-f0dder (September 29, 2009, 03:39 PM)

f0dder, I have to respectfully disagree about older hardware at least in some cases. I'm running Windows 7 on a 6 year old PC from before the days of dual core processors that has a video card that is 4 generations old and Windows 7 is a LOT faster on this PC than XP was. I understand it won't be like this for everyone, but if you've got a pretty fast video card there's a pretty good chance the experience will be the same as I'm experiencing.

With Vista's release I had just about resigned myself to having to buy a new PC for Microsoft's next OS. However, Windows 7 has breathed new life into this old hardware & the improvements are so many over Vista that I'll probably be able to wait till Windows 8 (or whatever it's called) to upgrade my PC.

Disclaimer: Results not typical. Objects may be closer than they appear.  Product sold by weight not volume. Contents may settle during shipping. Void where prohibited by law.

1622

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Innuendo on September 29, 2009, 09:01 PM »

I don't know what kind of job you have, Innuendo, but you should be working in the sales department :-)  You have made me really want to have Win 7, despite the fact that I apparently will have to say good-bye to my beloved True Launch Bar.

-Curt (September 29, 2009, 01:10 PM)

Heh...I just get enthused about technology. The great thing about new MS OSes is they can be run as trial versions so you'll be able to try it before you buy it.

One or two questions: Does Win 7 carry on with the "downloads" folder concept? ....Or does Win 7 have some kind of "Move Folder And Open It"?

Now someone else will have to answer these questions. For downloads I use FlashGot on Firefox in tandem with Internet Download Accelerator that I use to segregate my downloads into various folders & for 90% of my file management I use a tweaked-out copy of Total Commander.

1623

General Software Discussion / Re: photo duplicate scanner

« Last post by Innuendo on September 29, 2009, 08:54 PM »

After testing bunches of these similar image tools, there's just too many good points to make about AntiDupl.NET.

-sajman99 (September 29, 2009, 01:58 PM)

I've read enough threads on DC about dupe-finding software that if the dupe-finding junkie sajman99 is impressed by such a program it's best to just save some time and grab it right away. I have read your adventures of trying (and buying!) almost every dupe-checking program under the sun so if you say something is good then chances are it's going to awesome for us average users with average needs in this area.

1624

General Software Discussion / Re: .flv thumbnails

« Last post by Innuendo on September 29, 2009, 08:48 PM »

(2) The registry ShellEX entry for .flv (referenced by Innuendo) plus installing and registering FLVSplitter allowed me to generate .flv thumbnails in WinXP. FLVSplitter is a component of the K-Lite Codec Pack, but I didn't choose to install the whole K-Lite package because all my video files play just fine.

-sajman99 (September 29, 2009, 12:50 PM)

I'm glad we were able to get your problem solved! 

1625

Post New Requests Here / Re: saving printer ink

« Last post by Innuendo on September 29, 2009, 08:45 PM »

What exactly is the problem with the serial number and why can't you contact the company about it? Maybe we can help without you having to re-buy it....which would be a shame as it hasn't been updated to work with MS's latest OSes last I heard so it'd be a temporary solution for you anyway if you are planning on upgrading to Windows 7.