Recent Posts

1901

General Software Discussion / Re: So-called upgrades that ruin good programs

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 23, 2013, 11:47 AM »

@Darwin - Looks like we're a pretty close race hardware wise. I've got a Dell laptop about the same age that I rescued from the trash (customer didn't want to pay for HDD replacement and tossed it).

Never saw it run Vista, but 7 was zippy, 8 ran just fine, and 8.1 does seem to take a bit longer to do anything. No BSODs (err...yet), and the sleep function works perfectly. But the WiFi connection does flake a bit (~10% - did with 8 also) when it wakes up. It'll either be slow to connect, forget it has an active gateway, or forget the connection entirely. But a quick reminder of some sort gets it off its ass every time.

I haven't had much time to fiddle with it (work) and was hoping the slowness would go away (yes I know that's rather dumb) after it got done with its initial startup shenanigans ... But I'm going to give it 2 weeks to not piss me off. If it can make it that far without making my want to punch the screen I'll keep it. Otherwise - anytime within the 2 probationary weeks - at the first hint of annoyance I'll be formatting C: ... Probably with a claw hammer.

1902

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: MacX DVD Ripper Pro free download before Nov. 4, 2013

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 22, 2013, 11:58 AM »

They are all from one single company that is running under close to 30 different names, offering variations of the same software under just as many names.

The most recent spamming incident right here on our forum was less than a week ago, from wonderfox.

They have a long history of spamming and other despicable behavior, and this article from Macworld will explain more:

http://www.macworld....eaking_spammers.html

-app103 (October 22, 2013, 11:54 AM)

Well shit, that's not any fun Thanks for the info.

1903

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: MacX DVD Ripper Pro free download before Nov. 4, 2013

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 22, 2013, 11:55 AM »

is this it?

http://www.macxdvd.c...iveaway/giveaway.htm

-cmpm (October 22, 2013, 09:41 AM)

Looks like it yes. Strange that you have to add the giveaway.htm to the Mac link, but the Windows page just drops right in *Shrug* Thanks.

1904

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 22, 2013, 11:48 AM »

Home theatre?  Nah ...

-4wd (October 22, 2013, 07:03 AM)

Hehe we need a staged pic of "Elm St Elementary School" with 40 children there!

 

-TaoPhoenix (October 22, 2013, 09:00 AM)

Oh yeah, great idea ... We put together a photomontage of 10 year olds in full camouflage armed to the teeth. And then we get to star in the top ten of the PTA's new watch list (Hay WTF everybody else has one why not them).

They'll probably start a new special interest group called Mothers Against People on the Internet Trying to be Funny.

1905

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Networking, help me understand.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 22, 2013, 11:38 AM »

Well...I just dissed homegroups a little in my OP.

I never said anything about shooting anybody.

Truth is, if homegroup works for  you, so be it. My real objection is over the (to my mind) odd and half-assed way it was implemented. But that's me.

-40hz (October 22, 2013, 08:22 AM)

I know. I was just having a bit of fun tossing out a setup line to see who'd run with it (you were supposed to yell at me btw (hehe)).

I can't stand the damn things either, I run a domain on my home network. But I do try to allow for the possibility of there being a right environment for things of that nature. I'd wager that you think they suck for the same reasons I do ... The granular control we're used to just isn't there to afford us a comfort zone. But if mom, dad, and the kids want to toss a few files back and forth it's a workable solution that only require following a few - hand holding wizard driven - steps. So it's not a bad solution...for them. 

1906

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: MacX DVD Ripper Pro free download before Nov. 4, 2013

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 22, 2013, 07:09 AM »

the link...

http://www.winxdvd.com/giveaway/

-cmpm (October 22, 2013, 05:35 AM)

There is a free for Windows version at your link, but I believe to OP was aiming at the Mac version. I poked around the site a bit but couldn't find the Mac version.

Can someone with a Mac check to see if the site has an OS check that sends you to the right version for your OS?

For the Windows folk, there is a pumpkin graphic that says "Click to get more gifts", that brings up a link to a free YouTube downloader. I don't know if it's any good...but it's there.

1907

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Networking, help me understand.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 22, 2013, 06:42 AM »

If you say it one more time I might shoot you!

-J-Mac (October 21, 2013, 11:40 PM)

I won't shoot you but I may chip in for ammo.

-Vurbal (October 22, 2013, 04:21 AM)

There's just so much love in the room..

 

1908

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 22, 2013, 06:30 AM »

This is pretty interesting:

So I just moved into a new apartment, and made a big discovery.

http://themetapictur...er-my-new-apartment/
 

-Edvard (October 21, 2013, 11:40 PM)

Wow, that is cool.

1909

General Software Discussion / Re: How to avoid creating/using a Microsoft Account when upgrading to Win 8.1

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 08:26 PM »

Okay, it looks like the 3rd time was indeed the charm...as the 2nd time it just fizzled with some lame currently updating error.

The link (for the upgrade) is as mentioned in tomos' article at the bottom just left of center and says "Continue using my other account".

Both my compiler and the Harley engine tuning software are still there...so I suppose the upgrade was a "success". But it sure was damn aggravating having to unnecessarily loop through it 3 freaking times for no intelligent reason.

1910

General Software Discussion / Re: How to avoid creating/using a Microsoft Account when upgrading to Win 8.1

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 05:51 PM »

There is no option to say to ACPI to leave the system off after a power failure.

-Shades (October 21, 2013, 05:28 PM)

That is pretty weird. But I haven't dealt with the latest generation of hardware much, so I'm not real familiar with the idiosyncrasies' of UEFI.

The laptop is currently 'Gathering Info' after having re-downloaded the 8.1 update (thank you fiber connection!). I think it would be best if I go watch TV for a bit ... Because if I stare at this blinking thing much longer...it'll probably have a spontaneous high speed hardware "failure".

1911

General Software Discussion / Re: How to avoid creating/using a Microsoft Account when upgrading to Win 8.1

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 05:21 PM »

Laptop has been sitting plugged into AC power overnight at logon prompt. Now by AC power I mean hell no to sleeping, hibernating, or anything other than sitting their with its little digital "eyes" wide open like a coked up hyena waiting for its masters command.

I tap the touch pad to get back to the login prompt to be done with this inane horse shit.

I type my password, hit enter, and the screen goes blank ... It's supposed to be going to that stupid MS account prompt I'm now armed to dispose of.

It stays blank...

It's taking to long...

...Way to long...

So I kill the friggin' thing (hard boot).

It responds by auto-magically booting into restoring your previous operating system "mode". Note this isn't an 'option' ... One isn't given a choice ... it's a straight into the wall, fuck you, I'm leaving kind of response ... To a hard boot.

...Now I realize that a statistical sampling of one isn't supposed to prove shit to anyone...but God Damnit, this shit don't look good!


Hay, I'm back to the desktop of Windows 8.0 already! So I guess - on the plus side - if MS is going to rape someone in the ass with their jacked up delivery system...at least they'll do it quickly.

1912

General Software Discussion / Re: How to avoid creating/using a Microsoft Account when upgrading to Win 8.1

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 04:56 PM »

How did you get hold of 8.1 to begin with? I thought one had to have a Microsoft account to obtain the upgrade.

-cranioscopical (October 21, 2013, 04:50 PM)

It's on page 1 of Metro Shopping in Windows 8

(I'm on such a slow internet connection that probably it is academic.)

-cranioscopical (October 21, 2013, 04:50 PM)

It's a 2.83Gb download.

1913

General Software Discussion / Re: Free ebook available for download from Microsoft

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 04:54 PM »

Took a while to find a solution (but I'm happy to find that there is a way of avoiding it) - thought it was worth some publicity so made a new thread:
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=36379.0

-tomos (October 21, 2013, 04:11 PM)

 

1914

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Networking, help me understand.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 03:34 PM »

I had these two computers I had five XP machines in my house, and I could access ALL files from any one of the others. And I did not have the same user ID and password on more than one. Did it like that for a few years. So I don’t know why there's a discrepancy between what you say has always been the case and what I was doing!

-J-Mac (October 21, 2013, 12:43 PM)

Probably got lucky with the OOB default of having Simple File Sharing enabled, which shares everything with everyone IIRC. Closest thing to that in 7 is a HomeGroup.

...But if I say HomeGroup one more time I think 40hz is going to shoot me.

1915

General Software Discussion / Re: Free ebook available for download from Microsoft

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 03:20 PM »

^It is annoying. So do what I did. Open a new Microsoft account - and lie!

-40hz (October 21, 2013, 12:05 PM)

There is no profit in encouraging bad behavior. If you lie, the Corporate Masters only see that their draconian mandate is being accepted as the list of signed up sheeple names grows. Conversely, if you flatten the box to return to personal computing, and then line their driveway with bags of flaming poo...the message gets much clearer. I really do enjoy making people regret pressing me for personal information IRL.


Oh yeah... ... Thanks for the book link.  The subject matter just caught me (in a ranting mood) at a bad time.

1916

General Software Discussion / Re: Free ebook available for download from Microsoft

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 11:37 AM »

Any chance it mentions how to log into 8.1 OOB without having/using/needing a Microsoft account. I ran out of time last night upgrading my laptop and stopped just short of tossing it out a window because of that little nuance.


Dear Microsoft,
  It really is My Computer, so please shove the NSA infested cloud requirement up you ass.

Thank you,

Stoic Joker

1917

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Networking, help me understand.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 21, 2013, 11:29 AM »

No, I don’t have users setup on each machine for each of us. That was never a requirement on past OS's. Something new on Windows 7?

-J-Mac (October 21, 2013, 10:24 AM)

That has always* been the (incredibly annoying) case for workgroup file sharing for the reasons given by mwb1100 above. Only alternative would be to go the Home Group route which allows machines to pre-authenticate via group membership.

*By always I mean NT4 and up, since Win9x was a DOS not a NOS and therefore doesn't count.

1918

DC Website Help and Extras / Re: I want a badge.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 19, 2013, 07:31 AM »

FURRY! Be furry! 

-Renegade (October 18, 2013, 10:05 PM)

I tried that once, but the link didn't seem to work...so I gave up.

1919

General Software Discussion / Re: Have you played with this type of database?

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 19, 2013, 07:17 AM »

If such a converter doesn't exist, try to get the database software itself and run it in a virtual machine with the correct OS for the database server. Most database servers that run on Windows can be accessed through ODBC. Using that you should be able to retrieve data from the old beast and put it again in a database that is supported for a while, such as  Oracle and Microsoft (maybe IBM?).

-Shades (October 18, 2013, 07:39 PM)

We think alike here.

I did a quick google search and found these:
http://stason.org/TU...ct.html#.UmJ0cxvD_cs (mentions 1995 and gives name of companies site)

http://www.neo4j.org/download (Not sure if this is the current version of the product, but it does have a free demo)

http://web.archive.o...://www.neologic.com/ (web.archive.org takes us back to the companies site from 1996)

Note: While the (ftp) download links don't appear to be working anymore ... They do at least give the downloads filename. So if you do a bit of spelunking it could be possible to find the down in someone else's archive.

1920

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Networking, help me understand.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 18, 2013, 03:12 PM »

^4. Do all of the user accounts used have passwords? (blank passwords cause a silent fail for share connections after XP SP2)

1921

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 18, 2013, 06:57 AM »

I do wonder what it tastes like though.

-Renegade (October 18, 2013, 06:41 AM)

On the way up, or down ... Because it can't possibly sit well.

1922

Living Room / Re: Internet freedoms restrained - SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/CETA/PrECISE-related updates

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 18, 2013, 06:53 AM »

US politics are a complete mystery to me.

-IainB (October 18, 2013, 06:19 AM)

Don't feel bad, we can't figure them out either. Best I can tell it's a lot like bobbing for apples that are floating in a tank of flaming gasoline ... You can't win without getting burned.

1923

General Software Discussion / Re: What's up with Flash crashing all the time lately?

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 17, 2013, 11:32 AM »

So how do we sum up everyone's feelings about Flash??

How about this:

1924

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Networking, help me understand.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 15, 2013, 11:14 PM »

Hmmm...one minor complication...I need a Windows Server flavored OS to create a domain.  So I need to make a new machine?  Or run one on a VM?

-superboyac (October 15, 2013, 08:59 PM)

Yes and no. The Hyper-V host machine should never be a member of the domain it's hosting. This is because it should be a dedicated (to Hyper-V hosting) box (e.g. no AD), and therefore it can't login and authenticate to a domain controller that isn't running yet. So you either run the Hyper-V server(s) in a workgroup, or (if you need to use high-end stuff like Live Migration) in a separate domain.

I currently have 3 physical servers in the rack at the office. The two Hyper-V servers are in a completely separate domain from the production systems, and authenticate to a DC that runs as a VM on the third server which is basically an orphan. The production systems consist of 20 virtual servers for load balancing and redundancy and are spread across the two physical servers.

Having the DC start first is easy enough if the usual trifecta (AD, DNS, DHCP) is the only thing running on the VM, and the other systems are set to wait a minute or two before booting.

Your desire for ultra flexible drive usage may complicate this a bit as added/removed drives would need to sort out which system (physical/virtual/both) they were going to be accessible to.

Or run two DCs, one physical on cheapo hardware to allow the main host system (and guests) to boot cleanly, and one virtual to keep the domain intact in case the budget physical box decides to grenade some day down the road.

Warning: Virtualization is highly addictive!!

1925

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Networking, help me understand.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on October 15, 2013, 03:53 PM »

While not related to permissions per se, that makes it a real PITA to add a network location to a library. That may even be the point although that would be stupid. Especially since you can get around it by creating a regular folder, adding it to a library, then deleting the folder and creating a symlink with the same name. Now the target of the symlink, network location or not, is in the library and can be accessed accordingly.

-Vurbal (October 15, 2013, 01:00 PM)

It's the indexing that queers the deal there. If you make the folder available offline, it adds to a library just fine because the system will then be able to index locally via the CSC.

-Stoic Joker (October 15, 2013, 01:12 PM)

Just distracted mostly. I can only focus on one thing at a time and that's rounding up. 

-Vurbal (October 15, 2013, 03:42 PM)

hehe me too ... I multitask about as well as statues dance.