Recent Posts

2201

Living Room / Do websites need to look exactly the same in every browser?

« Last post by Edvard on July 08, 2008, 06:10 PM »

Answer:
http://dowebsitesnee...eineverybrowser.com/
 

I stumbled across that page purely by accident, but it made me think...

A very large amount of blood sweat and tears have been shed in the pursuit of this very goal.
The reasons are many and varied, but is it attainable, feasible, practial or even desirable?
What would be good reasons why not?
Post your thoughts...


P.S. That page looks the same in every browser I've tried.

2202

General Software Discussion / Re: Extract files from a .pst file

« Last post by Edvard on July 08, 2008, 06:03 PM »

Dude, it's for a lawsuit. If you want to wield the cluehammer, get ye to the law offices. I used to work at a legal document copying house, and the sheer volumes of paper we generated in the name of upholding justice would easily qualify for Lovecraftian adjectives to describe it.

2203

General Software Discussion / Re: Extract files from a .pst file

« Last post by Edvard on July 08, 2008, 05:36 PM »

I used the Thunderbird PST Import plugin.

The Thunderbird PST Import plugin is a open source utility to import selected folders from a .pst file under both Windows and Linux. Its based on readpst. Some of the dialog boxes are in French. It's not clear how well it works since nobody has mentioned using it in the forums and most of the comments on the download site reports it doesn't work.

It did give me a warning I couldn't read, but after chewing for a bit, it dumped everything into a separate folder. So I guess it works despite comments to the contrary.

2204

General Software Discussion / Re: Extract files from a .pst file

« Last post by Edvard on July 08, 2008, 04:48 PM »

Eric: Thanks for the suggestion, it seems to be a powerful program, but didn't do anything to the .pst file.
MWB1100 and 40hz: Thanks for your suggestions, it probably would have worked but this computer was set up by the boss and it has a mixed bag of MS Office software on it. Returnil may have helped, but overall I had many misgivings about doing what you suggested. I bet it would've worked beautifully on a clean box.
Shades: As far as I can tell, Carol is right; Mailstore uses Outlook's MAPI to get the job done.

Carol: DING DING DING worked like a charm. Now I gotta print each of these 1770 emails and their attachments. I got connections to get that done...

As soon as I have a fistful of DonationCredits, they're headed your way...

2205

General Software Discussion / Extract files from a .pst file

« Last post by Edvard on July 08, 2008, 11:56 AM »

I have a big problem.
A client sent me a CD with a .pst file on it, claiming that there are hundreds of documents tucked away inside that she needs printed. A quick search on the web says a .pst file is an outlook archive.
"No problem," I thought. "I'll just make a new user, import the file into that Outlook account, and be done.
No such luck. Apparently, Outlook express won't touch it and now I'm stuck for a solution.
Any takers?
 

2206

Living Room / Re: Switching to Linux; how do you not flop back to the world of Windows??

« Last post by Edvard on July 03, 2008, 10:41 AM »

Apologies everyone for dragging this off-topic with my personal passion.
Dormouse, apologies. (personal message sent)
f0dder:

No trivial operation should require dropping to a console. I view installing drivers, setting up a secondary monitor, managing services/daemons etc. as trivial operations.

I actually agree. But that's another topic for discussion. I guess I use the commandline for so many things (not just essential trivials) that it's almost like a long-handed shortcut for me now.
Zridling: Thanks for keeping it on-topic, I'll stop now.

2207

Living Room / Re: Switching to Linux; how do you not flop back to the world of Windows??

« Last post by Edvard on July 02, 2008, 07:56 PM »

I know this is one of the last refuges of commandliners in Windows, but this is complete nonsense in a grown-up OS....
...OTOH, I wouldn't argue that some use of the command line is necessary with Linux as is - but that is NOT a good thing.

I could not disagree with you more on this.
The linux command shell (all of them...) is so powerful, so robust, it is part and parcel of the very heart of Linux. Then throw in the myriad tools and utilities that can do almost anything in a few lines of script, the mind boggles.
I can tell you that I almost never use the Windows command tool because it is such utter useless crap that it makes me beg for a gui.
True, it would be nice to have easy-to-use graphical tools to configure the video display or manage the startup environment in a more sane manner, but saying it's not grown-up or telling me that a few shiny buttons and menus can and should replace the Linux command line is like telling a seasoned NASCAR gearhead that he could improve his pit time if he installed an automatic transmission...

2208

Living Room / Re: Switching to Linux; how do you not flop back to the world of Windows??

« Last post by Edvard on July 02, 2008, 07:27 PM »

One thing I would recommend is to scrap Xubuntu. It's more bug prone than the other Connonical flavors.

Heretic! He speaketh lies!  Burn the Gnome!!

Seriously, I like Xfce on ANY distro and I haven't found Xubuntu to be any more bug-prone than any other *buntu, although this last edition is a bit slower than I'd like, but that's because the folks running the Xubuntu show let a bunch of Gnome cruft and bloat in. They now have a new head who is dedicated to trimming the fat, and I'm seriously anticipating the next release.

So, back to the original discussion:
Wrecked, what software do you use on Windows that you can't find an alternative for on Linux, and what have you tried?

I'll do my best to help you dig...

2209

Living Room / Re: Switching to Linux; how do you not flop back to the world of Windows??

« Last post by Edvard on July 02, 2008, 11:54 AM »

Wreckedcarzz: My best advice? Either dual-boot or go cold turkey and start digging...

I mean, sure there's lots of good high-action games on Linux, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of Windows games you can just pick off the shelf and have it work out of the box. There are even more free- and share-ware sites you can download a million utilities for almost any task on Windows.
Loki games seemed to be doing really well and suddenly they went bankrupt and just closed up shop.
Blame it on the MS Monopoly, blame it on Linux's "Geek centricism", whatever. The scene is changing and it's thanks to folks like you who dare to give a spare partition to the Penguin.

What do I use? Well, let's talk about alternatives.
What do you use on Windows that you can't find an alternative for Linux? We Linux users could probably make a few suggestions...

Of course, everyone knows about Open Office and Firefox/Thunderbird, so let's skip those.
I use xplorer2 on Windows when I'm at work and there just isn't an alternative for Linux. Sure, I've tried emelfm, Beesoft Commander, MC, Rox, PCmanFM, you name it. I would kill for a file manager that gave me a tree view and two horizontal folder views. For normal everyday file management, I settle for Thunar.

pdfs display better on adobe acrobat

Adobe has released a reader for Linux that looks and works exactly like the windows version.

onenote doesn't exist.

'Cause it's Microsoft... The day Microsoft makes Linux software... 
The Linux version of Xnview is atrocious. Same goes for Ghostview. Full-featured and easy to use on Windows, but a train wreck on Linux, for no good reason.
Audacity looks and works the same on either, and even has more options on Linux.
Media Players? Text editors? Take your pick, there's a half-million of each...

Please, if you do one thing to flatten your learning curve in Linux, learn to use the command-line tools. The gui tools that exist are easier for new users, but you're missing out on so much power...
from LinuxCommand.org

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are helpful for many tasks, but they are not good for all tasks. I have long felt that most computers today do not use electricity. They instead seem to be powered by the "pumping" motion of the mouse! Computers were supposed to free us from manual labor, but how many times have you performed some task you felt sure the computer should be able to do? You ended up doing the work by tediously working the mouse. Pointing and clicking, pointing and clicking.

I once heard an author remark that when you are a child you use a computer by looking at the pictures. When you grow up, you learn to read and write. Welcome to Computer Literacy 101. Now let's get to work.

2210

Living Room / Re: Bill Gates email rant

« Last post by Edvard on June 30, 2008, 10:51 AM »

J-Mac: I thought it was fake too... I mean, things like:

... so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.

Shouldn't he be saying "we" have a download place? or is he simply referring to the department that manages the website?

So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.

The mind boggles...

So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.

I guess I'm under the assumption that Bill actually knows what's going on in his own company. I mean, for all practical purposes, he is Windows. What's so surprising about "weird dialog boxes"? Ditto for the next line:

This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.

Wow Bill, you finally realize how scary Windows can be when it does things you don't understand? Reminds me of a movie I saw once, but replace Pee Wee with Windows Update, and Dottie with Bill:
"Pee Wee Herman: There's things about me you don't know, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand."

So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.

Translation: All my Outlook state are belong to reboot.

Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.

If I had been drinking a Pepsi at the moment I read that, I would have blown it out my nose all over my keyboard.

All in all, I have a little more respect for Mr. Gates now. Not much, but more. As for his company... Well it's 2008, the email was sent 2003 and we still have these messes.
Let's hope Windows 7 is everything we can hope it will be.

2211

Living Room / Re: How Interesting is Your IP Address?

« Last post by Edvard on June 25, 2008, 12:03 PM »

No wai d00d...

That's definitely a cylon wearing cornrows
 

2212

General Software Discussion / Re: Proprietary media formats — time to get rid of them!

« Last post by Edvard on June 24, 2008, 11:15 AM »

f0dder: About those copy-protected disks...
If you see someone doing this, report them to the DRM authorities immediately!

2213

General Software Discussion / Re: Inkscape

« Last post by Edvard on June 23, 2008, 10:44 AM »

So 0.46 final has been out for a while now, how does it run for you?
I've been using Inkscape for almost everything, but especially when I install a Linux app that doesn't have an icon associated (happens less and less nowadays, but sometimes...)
I've also begun creating a cursor set I can live with (IMHO, DMZ-White is just dang ugly...)
I'll post it when it's done.

P.S.-Runs fine on my XP box here at work

2214

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox 3 Released

« Last post by Edvard on June 19, 2008, 11:33 AM »

OK, I found how to get the keyhole nav buttons in Linux...

http://ubuntuforums....=5219481#post5219481

I'll be testing it tonight and report back how it works.

2215

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox 3 Released

« Last post by Edvard on June 18, 2008, 12:10 PM »

The Linux skin, while I think it's the better by a long shot (when it comes to integration and default looks), it's clearly Gnome-based, and of no much use for KDE-based distros.

Yes, VERY gnome-based. I agree, they should have done a KDE skin, or at least made a default theme that's as neutral as possible across all platforms.
I'd actually like to have the "keyhole" buttons in my Linux FF3, but I can't find a skin for it.
Any suggestions?

2216

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox 3 Released

« Last post by Edvard on June 18, 2008, 11:40 AM »

I like it. 
Flashblock and DownThemAll are all I need for extensions.

Don't forget, if you downloaded it during Download Day, to pick up your certificate!

2217

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox 3 Released

« Last post by Edvard on June 17, 2008, 02:05 PM »

Whoa...

13kb/s on a 1G cable connection...

2218

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox 3 Released

« Last post by Edvard on June 17, 2008, 01:59 PM »

w00t!1
Downloading now... (finally)

I've been using the firefox beta on Xubuntu 8.04 since it came out and have been very pleased with it. Now to shoehorn it into this box at work... 

2219

Living Room / Re: Suck An Egg RIAA

« Last post by Edvard on June 16, 2008, 06:05 PM »

For those interested, Open Source LugRadio and Ubuntu Community guy Jono Bacon is starting a heavy metal project that is

...a music project designed to explore how far a musician can take his music with the new economics of the music industry.

Check it out...

2220

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by Edvard on June 16, 2008, 05:39 PM »

People who send emails that are just spam virus warnings:

****ZOOMG!! KIILLER VIRUS WARNIGN****
THIS ONE IS REAL!!1!1!!11 IT WAS REPORTED ON SNOPES

Then you look it up on the snopes link conveniently placed in the email, and the article says it's a hoax 

I love my mother very much... but dang Mom, stop with the emails already!!

2221

Living Room / Re: Father's Day Memory of Fathers and Computers.. Your stories?

« Last post by Edvard on June 16, 2008, 01:37 PM »

slip-stick?

Slide Rule
http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/


My father was much like Nudone's... "I don't need no computer no-how" he'd say to me and my brother as we labored over a Timex-Sinclair 1000.
One day, at my high school they had a "Parent's Day" where one of the parents would go to school in place of the kid for the day. In Art class, they had the parent's do a little circular vignette of what they thought of (visually) when they thought of their kid.
My father drew (in his old-fashioned chicken-scratch method) a picture of me, a picture of both of us fishing together, a guitar and a computer. Even though he had no use for a computer and the kind of music I played on my guitar drove him out of the house sometimes, he acknowledged that these were things as important to my character as trout fishing was to him.

/edvard discreetly wipes a tear away

2222

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite gadgets and gizmos?

« Last post by Edvard on June 16, 2008, 11:44 AM »

Heard an interesting (possibly apocryphal) story about that pen.

Apocryphal indeed; Snoped:
http://www.snopes.co.../genius/spacepen.asp

2223

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite gadgets and gizmos?

« Last post by Edvard on June 16, 2008, 10:39 AM »

My favorites happen to be stuff I can build myself, especially if it involves LED's or Rare earth magnets (you can get those from hard drives?! SWEET!  ):
the Joule Thief, LED throwies, etc.

In the works is a midi-to-joystick adapter (a handful of parts and some wire, really), and a telephone intercom device (turns two hardwire telephones into a simple intercom device) so my wife can call me and my son to dinner from the workshop without shouting!

2224

General Software Discussion / Re: Do we need a Linux and/or Mac child board?

« Last post by Edvard on June 13, 2008, 06:29 PM »

sorry, I tried Plan9 once, WAAAY to geeky.

I thought we were all about being geeky.

-Gothi[c] (June 13, 2008, 06:46 AM)

Well, sure... geeky is good; Barely usable is not... 
Trying out the Plan9 LiveCD was about as joy-inspiring as partitioning an OS/2 install 

2225

General Software Discussion / Re: Do we need a Linux and/or Mac child board?

« Last post by Edvard on June 12, 2008, 07:17 PM »

...a plan9 board

Oh please for the love of Cody, NO!!
(sorry, I tried Plan9 once, WAAAY to geeky. I felt like I was trying to talk to an alien through a prison window...)

I'm with steeladept and f0dder. Though we Linux folks may be a bit vocal and/or fanatical sometimes, the fact is we live in a (mostly) windows world and are going to be affected by what happens there (besides, I use XP at work...).
The DC forum is the first website I fire up when I come to work in the morning to get the juices flowing, and having my "own" part of the forum to come to would feel almost racist.