Recent Posts

176

Post New Requests Here / Re: Programming Language Question

« Last post by x16wda on April 18, 2018, 05:31 AM »

Does one really have to learn to do it oneself?

-nkormanik (April 17, 2018, 07:15 PM)

Depends on how much fun you want to have! 

177

Post New Requests Here / Re: Programming Language Question

« Last post by x16wda on April 16, 2018, 06:04 AM »

Those are excellent questions Mouser! Anyone want to take a stab at a chart with those as column headers, and A-F (or 1-5) rankings for languages with which they are familiar?

178

General Software Discussion / Re: Does anyone here actually use the Microsoft Store?

« Last post by x16wda on March 29, 2018, 06:08 PM »

Only thing I have used it for was to get the Sonicwall Mobile app (free). On Win 10, if the classic Netextender doesn't work, then the Store version might. (FWIW didn't work for me, however the classic version did, but we have other users in the company where they needed the Store app.)

179

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by x16wda on March 03, 2018, 08:51 AM »

Correct link would be: Is Google quietly laying the groundwork for Android's demise?

180

Living Room / Re: Malware Forum

« Last post by x16wda on February 25, 2018, 01:31 PM »

There are a lot of sites that are set up to share malware.

Oh wait - for testing purposes. 

Leave a VM connected to the Internet with no a/v on it for awhile and you can probably get a good sample of what is currently in the wild. I remember years ago, I had just finished connecting my Dad's PC through a 14.4 modem, and within minutes Zonealarm had already reported numerous blocks. That was like 25 years ago and I don't think the environment is any nicer these days.

181

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by x16wda on January 03, 2018, 05:39 AM »

Yep, scans the wallet, shows me the transactions and balance. It asks for the passphrase when I try to send coin though, and doesn't like what I type.

182

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by x16wda on January 02, 2018, 03:48 PM »

So I got my backed-up wallet file copied into place and rescanned successfully, and it has .17btc in it. What a shame it doesn't let me use the password I had written down for it.   I'm reinstalling the old wallet software hoping it will let me decrypt the wallet or something.

183

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by x16wda on December 13, 2017, 07:05 PM »

Wow, am I out of the loop. I have an old Bitcoin wallet with about a bitnickel in it (is that a term? .05 bitcoin?), but it's from early 2014. And I have the 0.8.6 software. It occurs to me that I should start figuring out how the heck to get anything out of it...  and the dogecoin, and the litecoin, and the HBC (was that hobbitcoin?)...

184

Found Deals and Discounts / Humble book bundle

« Last post by x16wda on December 11, 2017, 05:40 AM »

Humble book bundle has a pretty good list of insanely cheap DRM free digital books. Granted the Windows ones are 2012 R2 and not 2016, but you can't beat the price. Good for reference, review, and entertainment.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/network-security-certification-books

185

General Software Discussion / Re: Help Recovering Windows 7 password

« Last post by x16wda on December 07, 2017, 05:27 AM »

I normally use Paragon Rescue Kit since I purchased it at one point, but Hirens should also work. Unless it's a Microsoft account password (the non-local variety), no guarantee there - haven't had to test that scenario.

Edit - I should clarify, the software doesn't recover the password, it blanks it out.

186

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

« Last post by x16wda on November 30, 2017, 06:36 PM »

You know those web sites where they hit you with a Flash animation or two on every page? There's a word for that:

Spoiler

Flashulence.

187

General Software Discussion / Re: Cannot start Microsoft Outlook

« Last post by x16wda on November 19, 2017, 08:23 AM »

Perhaps you'll find a product that will fix all your problems, and you can post back here about it.

In the meantime, without having any of the details, this page from Ablebits has a nice step by step procedure that walks you through many of the things you can do to get Outlook working.

188

Living Room / Re: Alt codes for Maths Symbols

« Last post by x16wda on September 29, 2017, 05:31 AM »

Run charmap.exe, load up Arial Unicode MS, and scroll down to find what you need. It reports that to get the Asymptotically Equal To symbol you would press U+2243.

I am still trying to figure out how to find the U key (as opposed to Alt), several sources say use the Alt but it hasn't worked for me yet. 

That said, from charmap you can always copy and paste:  ≃

189

N.A.N.Y. 2018 / Re: NANY 2018 - 6 Command line Database utilities

« Last post by x16wda on September 21, 2017, 05:45 AM »

I took the liberty to download the file and submit it to Jotti's malware scanner. 1 AV returned a result, which is likely a false-positive.

-Deozaan (September 20, 2017, 08:54 PM)

Scanners like to mark any exe that has been compressed (like with UPX) as potential malware. The scanners are probably ticked off that they would have to go through an unpacking process to scan the payload properly, so being the lazy curs that they are, they opt to just mark it as bad stuff without really checking.

That said, I am curious why people still pack their exe's these days. Disk space isn't nearly the problem it was years ago, when storage topped out in the low gbs, and bandwidth savings can't possibly be a real concern unless you're going to get millions of downloads.

190

Living Room / Re: Jerry Pournelle - R.I.P.

« Last post by x16wda on September 09, 2017, 08:28 PM »

How sad. What an imaginative and intelligent person!

191

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by x16wda on August 06, 2017, 10:35 AM »

A Tale of Three Clocks



I have had this Braun travel alarm (#1 in the photo - Type 4 768 AB30sl) for 30 years, and it has always worked great. The back falls off and battery rolls out if it falls - which it has done many times - but it hasn't broken yet, and I started putting a rubber band around it to keep the back on better. It has a quiet tick-per-second movement like most of the electric analog clocks of its era. There's snooze bar/light at the top front and the alarm on/off bar across the top back. Alarm starts out on the quiet side and gets louder ("crescendo alarm") which is what I need because I always wake up at the first cheep and don't want it to screech at me. Not too big, not too small. Classic design, works great, and the only time it failed me was when it went missing for a few months (thanks, daughter who shall not be named). During the Dark Time when it was missing, I went on a search for its replacement.

The first thing I found is that this clock is no longer being manufactured. Braun has a number of clocks listed on Amazon, but none of them have the same feature set. And after reading far too many reviews, it sure seems like the current crop of Brauns don't have the same build quality as the old ones. Bummer.

So I kept looking and determined that I likely couldn't get a perfect match for the Braun, but I could get a clock that would satisfy my needs. First candidate that I bought was the Marathon CL030053BK (center clock in the pic). This is an awesome clock and I really like it a lot! Smooth movement that is completely quiet, not too bright light that comes on when the sensor says it is dark enough. It also has enough mass that it feels extremely sturdy and won't move around due to non slip bars on the bottom. It doesn't have a crescendo alarm, but the volume is fine - not too loud. (Might not work well for heavy sleepers, but then nothing does.) It has the perfect time/alarm set mechanism - a recessed area in back with one stem, normally it changes the alarm time but you can pull it out to reset the time. The only problem with this clock is its size - it's just a bit too big to be really portable. (I am keeping it because it's a great clock - in fact I bought one for my daughter to replace the clock I took back.  )

I tested a few other clocks on my journey as well, none memorable or satisfactory, but I eventually ended up settling on the silver clock - the LaCrosse 60.1013.54. It is much closer to the Braun's size and weight, it's easy to turn on the light when desired and easy to turn the alarm on or off or visibly see or feel its current state. The movement is smooth and silent. Again, not a crescendo alarm, but it's still ok. Its one down side would the alarm and time set mechanism - this clock uses small dials on the back of the clock, not an unusual arrangement, but the dials actually stick out past the flat back of the clock, so if I pop it in my pocket or suitcase, I can't guarantee that action won't reset the time! I tested taping the dials, but that prevents the time from keeping up.  If they had just recessed the dials a little...

Anyway, still looking for the perfect replacement. I would really like to see Marathon put out a 2/3 size replica of their clock, that would be awesome!

192

Developer's Corner / Re: Your First Programming Language vs Now

« Last post by x16wda on June 13, 2017, 05:42 AM »

Basic was pretty universal as a learning language back in the day. My first PC was a Timex Sinclair ZX81 which was cool but limiting - and I think the whole language was snippets. Upgraded to an Atari 400 and started playing with 6502 coding, then an Atari ST and 68000. By then I was a systems programmer on a mainframe so I started doing some assembly on that beast (IEFBR14, anyone?) but mostly building user interface stuff for ISPF in Clist and Rexx  . These days 95% of what I write is utilities in Rexx, since it runs everywhere. And trying to pick up a little Powershell because it does some really cool stuff too.

193

Living Room / Re: Password Managers ... vs. Not

« Last post by x16wda on June 04, 2017, 07:22 PM »

I put what I can into Lastpass. But any sensitive passwords aren't saved there - I just use Secure Notes named as hints to the site to save hints that allow me to remember the correct password. In the end, one ring password to rule them all, on multiple devices, is just too darned convenient. Seductive. Especially for the permanently exhausted who might otherwise look at alternatives more closely.

194

Living Room / Re: How can I identify a flashing DOS window?

« Last post by x16wda on May 29, 2017, 11:58 AM »

This may have some ideas to help:

  - Is there any tool to log create process activity in Windows

-mwb1100 (May 28, 2017, 05:43 PM)

Sysmon would work but has a huge log for you to dig through. I have used the History feature in System Explorer to find that type of info before, it's less to dig through and may be enough. Sample of the display (which can also be saved in a history text file):

195

Living Room / Re: Looking for programming language

« Last post by x16wda on May 04, 2017, 05:32 AM »

Programming is like working the best jigsaw puzzle in the world. You get to use as many pieces as you want, as many times as you want. And if you don't like those pieces, a different language gives you a different set of pieces. You need to make sure the pieces all fit together, but in the end you have created a thing of beauty -- or, if you're like me, maybe you need to keep moving those pieces around awhile more...

Ath's question is good, what are you trying to achieve? Do you have a specific project in mind? I have always learned a language better if I have a specific project to do. Are you writing something to process data in a batch job? Manage some equipment in real time? Write a video game? Do you want to have a pleasing GUI or is a command line more appropriate? Everything on one machine or do you need to pull data from others? Client server type app, peer to peer? Does it need to be super efficient? Will you need to change it very often? Most languages will let you do most of these things, but everything won't necessarily be easy. If you can match a language's strengths to your goal, you will have an easier time of it.

196

General Software Discussion / Re: What is now the best dialog box enhancer/extender?

« Last post by x16wda on April 24, 2017, 08:06 PM »

Filebox eXtender x64 is working flawlessly on my Windows 10 Pro.
http://www.hyperioni.../files/downloads.asp

-Curt (April 23, 2017, 06:33 PM)

Curt, thanks very much for posting this! Works great for what I want to do (most used is setting up favorite folders) and the extras are very useful. 

197

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

« Last post by x16wda on April 20, 2017, 05:35 PM »

Happy Easter!

198

Living Room / Re: 1986 dial-up bulletin board system has brought the old Web back to life

« Last post by x16wda on April 19, 2017, 05:22 AM »

Was that something like OzCIS/OzWin?

-mwb1100 (April 18, 2017, 11:56 PM)

Pretty much, except this was for Ataris. I didn't get a Win box until several years after that.

199

Living Room / Re: 1986 dial-up bulletin board system has brought the old Web back to life

« Last post by x16wda on April 13, 2017, 07:45 PM »

I remember in the late 80s and early 90s if you were a consultant and therefore had a business incentive or just had lots of money, you had a CompuServe account.

-MilesAhead (April 11, 2017, 10:00 AM)

I was a sysop on the Atari forums there for several years - my signon was 76703,4061 (and I'm amazed my fingers remembered that ). I wrote an automated system to collect all the new Forum messages, log off, let you reply to everything offline, then connect up and post it as fast as possible. Reduced the revenue for the Forum owners, since they were paid by the minute, but it increased participation... until that Internet thing started taking off. Good times, good times.

200

Developer's Corner / Re: TempleOS - A Constructive Look.

« Last post by x16wda on March 26, 2017, 07:30 PM »

Very interesting article. Thanks.