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Living Room / Re: Netflix Mocks Amazon's Drone Delivery with Video!

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 06:37 PM »

Oh...sorry...I though Stoic meant the comic was posted on Ren's blog.

Ain't English a great language. "Start doing" is such a context dependent phrase...

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General Software Discussion / Re: Repairing Windows 7 from the recovery console

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 06:28 PM »

The cleanest most true to vanilla OEM disks I've ever found were Dell's. I've used them on all brands and never had a problem with anything as long as the COA was still readable.
-Stoic Joker (March 03, 2014, 05:28 PM)

+1. They (up to Win7 at least) do seem to work on most brands I've tried and (mostly) will install without issue if you have a valid product key to enter from a COA sticker.

The real hassle, however, is finding and getting all the drivers for the specific make and model of the PC or laptop. It's not always easy to find exactly what you need. It largely depends on how well the support section of the manufacturer's website is arranged. I'm also starting to run into situations where some drivers (older or model specific) either aren't available for download at all - or aren't without an e-mail request since the file isn't kept in the public download area. (This happens a lot with bug fix firmware for consumer-grade routers too!)

-------------------------------------------

People please...do us poor support techs a big favor and make a set of friggin' product and recovery disks for your machine? And if you haven't already, do it now? Pretty please? With sugar!

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Living Room / Re: Netflix Mocks Amazon's Drone Delivery with Video!

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 01:57 PM »

Seriously! It'd be dull without Ren around.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Repairing Windows 7 from the recovery console

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 01:51 PM »

@Stoic - thx for that set of links. Wasn't familiar with RogueKiller. (There are so many tools out there.)

Addenda: It was a TDSS variant she got hit with BTW. Not in the catalog as named so somebody must have done a riff on it. But the essentials were still all TDSS.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Repairing Windows 7 from the recovery console

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 01:16 PM »

I already typed this so I'll post it anyway.
-Stoic Joker (March 03, 2014, 11:31 AM)

In my case, I was able to identify the actual boot target and navigate to the correct boot repair tools. Even with that none of the repair attempts successfully concluded. It would go away for an hour or so, then come back with the helpful news that the repair could not be successfully completed and ask if I wanted to reboot...

In my case, I think killing the rootkit took some important stuff along with it. Repairing partition tables and MBR didn't help. System said successful and all ok. But same deal on reboot. Nada.

No joy I'm afraid.

Interestingly, the hidden factory recovery partition was completely trashed. I could see it. But the OEM recovery manager (Sony VAIO) reported it was invalid and couldn't be used. Don't know if the malware did something to it, or possibly Kapersky nuked something on it. But if so, it didn't indicate doing anything to it in the log therefor scratch Kapersky as a possible culprit.

So in this case it was less "scorched earth" and more like "last resort." Especially since the client hadn't made a recovery disk set and I had to order media from Sony. (Which is always great fun. Not.) Normally I won't bill a good client for a basic OS reinstall/recovery as long as they have a working disk set. In this case, I charged them one hour at my full hourly rate.

Show me some consideration - or show me a check.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Repairing Windows 7 from the recovery console

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 11:26 AM »

Ran into almost the exact same thing a few weeks ago with a client laptop. Turns out it was a rootkit (I forget which) that got installed. After a couple of days screwing around looking for a ninja fix I finally said "sod it" pulled and did a prelim cleanup of the drive (which left it completely unbootable), booted from a Nix-based rescue CD, copied off and then rescanned the user's files with Kapersky, then reformatted the laptop and reinstalled Windows.

Life is too short to waste much time on this sort of thing.

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General Software Discussion / Re: XP to Windows 7 advice

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 08:37 AM »

If you can't afford an upgrade why not go with free LibreOffice ?
-Carol Haynes (March 03, 2014, 03:53 AM)
+1 for that, and LibreOffice generally does a fine job with the Office 2002 file formats.
-x16wda (March 03, 2014, 05:27 AM)

I'll +1 that as well.

And if Libre doesn't fit the bill, there are several other (free or inexpensive) so-called "light" wordprocessors that will work equally well for 90% of all MS Word users. Most have the classic menu (i.e. no ribbon) interface many of us prefer.

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Living Room / Re: Sci-fi novel now available from DC member kyrathaba!

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 08:31 AM »

Panzer, PM me your email address and I'll send you another copy.
-kyrathaba (March 03, 2014, 07:44 AM)

It's seeing things like this that make me appreciate indy authors and publishers more and more.

Bravo K-man!

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Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Atom - A new editor is born

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 08:22 AM »

@Wraith- is "moleware" a word?

I think I'll just stick with Sublime.

Especially since I already paid for it.

Funny thing about Atom. From the way the website is talking about it, it almost seems like they're reinventing that other "everything editor" (EMACS) - except this time with a more "modern" interface.

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Non-Windows Software / Re: LINUX: Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 201403 ISOs just released

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 08:11 AM »

I'm running Mint 16 Cinnamon right now. Primarily because I was anxious to use the newest version of Cinnamon. So I jumped the gun.

But I will be switching over since I think the farther and quicker other distros distance themselves (for several reasons) from Canonical and Ubuntu, the better it is for everyone.

Debian embodies every reason there is for using Linux in the first place. Ubuntu, on the other hand, hopes to become the next Android - and Canonical the next Apple.

So best git while the gittin's good!

Or so it seems to me.

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Non-Windows Software / LINUX: Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 201403 ISOs just released

« Last post by 40hz on March 03, 2014, 05:46 AM »

Quick heads up from Distrowatch:

Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of Linux Mint 201403 "Debian", the distribution's rolling-release variant based on Debian's "Testing" branch: "The team is proud to announce the release of LMDE 201403. Highlights: update pack 8; Cinnamon 2.0; MATE 1.6; latest Mint tools and improvements; support for EFI and GPT. If you're new to LMDE, welcome to Linux Mint Debian! LMDE in brief: Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is a semi-rolling distribution based on Debian 'Testing'; it is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit variants as a live DVD with Cinnamon or MATE; the purpose of LMDE is to look identical to the main edition and to provide the same functionality while using Debian GNU/Linux as a base." Here is the brief release announcement with screenshots, system requirements and links to known issues and the changelog...

The LMDE info page and download links can be found here.

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General Software Discussion / Re: XP to Windows 7 advice

« Last post by 40hz on March 02, 2014, 02:05 PM »

Will I be able to re-install and run Word and Excel 2002 easily?
-AndyM (March 02, 2014, 10:50 AM)

Word and Excel should run fine as long as the Microsoft Live add-in isn't installed. If it is, just remove it and all should be well.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Quick and Easy way to change all IP's for several Maped drives

« Last post by 40hz on March 02, 2014, 02:01 PM »

When you say "server" I'm guessing it's a workstation running as a central share point using a Windows workgroup rather than a 'server server' such as Windows Server?

+1 with Ath. Look at the documentation for the NET USE command and write a batch file the users can just run when needed or the shares get changed. Ditto on using the server name rather than the IP address. Enter NET VIEW to see the names of the computers on your network. If the server name is there, you should be able to use it instead of the IP address.

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Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on March 02, 2014, 01:42 PM »

Worth a watch for fun. It gets better as it goes along, making it very worthwhile.
-Renegade (March 02, 2014, 07:45 AM)

Agree. It has a good premise and storyline.

And Lucy Liu is just plain hot!

Yes indeed!

C'mon... worth watching just for her~!

+1!

Check her out in a cute romantic comedy called Watching the Detectives. where you get to see a different and rather charming side to the comely Ms. Liu. (She emits some of the best sounding laughter since Goldie Hawn.)

Bunch of clips from it on YouTube. You can check out one of them here if you want to see if it's for you. (Lucy is awesome in this scene.)

FWIW that's one thing we lost with the advent of Netflix home delivery and streaming video on-demand...that collection of entertaining film buffs and similar weirdos you used to run into at the video rental store. Sometimes I'd walk in just to listen to some of the conversations that were going down and not rent anything.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Software longevity

« Last post by 40hz on March 01, 2014, 09:47 PM »

Peachtree Accounting (in one form or another) from about 1981 up until 2008.

Never really liked the product personally - assuming it's possible to actually "like" an accounting application.

And it seemed to get junked up quickly once the Windows versions came out. But it was a very capable general purpose double-entry accounting solution. One which enforced accounting standards fairly well. And for a while it was one of the least expensive SMB accounting packages that still allowed you to "drill-down" to transaction detail level and allowed BOM 'assemblies' in inventory - so that put it well ahead of the pack for many years. All in all a decent bit of software that got the job done.

I sure don't miss it.

As far as something which got used in it's original version forever, I'd have to say it was the Mac-based Acta outliner which I bought sometime around 1986 or 1987. It's still my favorite single-pane outliner. It originally ran on a trusty Macintosh SE until I moved it to a snazzy Macintosh IIsi in 1990. I used Acta up until about 1999 when the IIsi it was running on finally died.

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DC Gamer Club / Re: GoG and Regional Pricing

« Last post by 40hz on March 01, 2014, 02:48 PM »

I see the points of all involved, but I don't see anything inherently evil in what they're doing. They basically have a rock and a hard place, and are trying to make the situation as best as they can for all.
-wraith808 (March 01, 2014, 12:08 PM)

I think the dilemma GoG is in is a combination of (1) the game copyright holders waking up to the fact GoG is becoming a bigger player than originally expected - and (2) GoG's own avowed business ethic - which now appears to be coming into conflict with that of the larger game industry.

I'm actually surprised it took this long before some bright young mind in a game company's finance department decided his/her company was "leaving money on the table" when it came to GoG. Especially now that GoG has demonstrated there's a ready market for products the game companies previously thought were nothing more than obsolete catalog items.

That is the problem with finding success in a niche by selling somebody else's products. It's only a matter of time before some supplier decides to squeeze - or squeeze out - the middleman.

Just wondering if there are any opinions here. (Their marketing guy has been fielding some pretty vitriolic things with grace under pressure, I might add- and the thread is surprisingly civil for that).

Some of that sort of flack is to be expected when dealing with bargain hunters and certain elements in the gaming community. It's little more than the outraged and petulant whine of the slacker when his parents insist he start contributing to the family home at a more... adult level(?)... than he currently is. ("Awww man! Can you believe my old man wants me to start paying board to live in my own house! That's just bullshit man!")

I'm glad to see GoG's marketing spokesperson is handling the situation with grace and maintaining an adult tone throughout.

I think GoG is definitely trying to effect the best possible outcome for their customers in the wake of what has now become a changing playing field. I may not like some of what they may be forced to do to stay in business going forward. But I don't for one minute doubt their integrity or intentions towards their customers.

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Living Room / Re: Survivorship Bias...an Insidious Enemy

« Last post by 40hz on March 01, 2014, 02:20 PM »

You often see this notion enshrined in the misapplication of the "modelling success" strategy. And also in a trend that is now becoming popular with politicians where an argument gets made that "We need (as a people) to get beyond fixing blame and revisiting what we did wrong, and instead focus our attention and build on what we did right."

After a catastrophic state-wide power outage following tropical storm Irene in 2011, the governor of my state - with much reluctance - finally consented to convene a commission to look into why it took anywhere from 4 to 7 days to restore electricity following the storm. This happened only when there was sufficient public outcry over the fact that the two local power companies had drastically reduced their road crew staffing by a factor of something like 50% in the years leading up to the storm. These companies had been allowed (with the blessing of the PUC) to go over to a "cooperative"or "shared" multi-state model that would theoretically allow them to provide the same level of response with less manpower on a "share the road crews" arrangement. It was an idea that might have worked had the storm not hit (as hurricanes and tropical storms generally do) a multi-state area.

The public outcry eventually became loud enough (and the political downside obvious enough) that the governor was unable to return any favors to the utility lobby. So he, with much fanfare, ordered a "full investigation."

When the governor finally (after several delays) stepped forward to discuss what the investigation had found and recommended, he prefixed his speech with a comment that the purpose of this meeting was "not to fix blame" but rather to focus on "what was done right."

A few years later, when we got hit with Hurricane Sandy, it was almost as bad.

Is anybody really surprised? $:-\$

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General Software Discussion / Re: When an arguably free service turns ad supported

« Last post by 40hz on March 01, 2014, 01:53 AM »

Addenda: Igor Ljubuncic at the Dedoimedo

blog has post regarding some of Mozilla's latest 'monetization' antics that I think apply equally well to some of the transparency and honesty issues raised by Wraith here. Blunt and spot on - with some of the funniest rephrasing of corporate newspeak (Users' content experience = Enema treatment with GPL licenses) I've read in a long time:

Firefox, Directory Tiles, Advertisements, and Honesty
Updated: February 19, 2014

No, I am not going to do what everyone else has been doing. And that is quoting the original announcement by some Mozilla hobnob, telling us how they intend to use the tiles page, which shows nine thumbnails for most frequently used sites, to display ads to first-time users. Anyhow, that is the background story.

And this is my story, or rather, my interpretation of what is happening here, and how the world should react to this latest move by Mozilla. Not that long ago, I entertained you by my Firefox suckfest article, which tells about how Mozilla is becoming Chrome and their latest wannabe user interface called Australis, or rather Ausfailis. Now, we will talk about integrity and honesty
.
.
.
Why so angry?

Not angry. I have NO problem with Mozilla making money. Honestly. Really. I want them to have a sustainable finance model. But I demand honesty. That's my only beef with this whole bullshit. If they change the name of this program to We want money, I can relate to that and I can appreciate that. But I cannot accept it when they treat me like some moron with a double-digit IQ, and pretend to give me valuable content in the form of the shittiest and useless personalization would-be fascism.

Mozilla, try honesty for a change

Let's see what gives. Try this approach instead. Call the Directory Tiles program a revenue program. Tell users this is in order to get more money and sustain the browser so they aren't left with monopoly like there was one in the days of Internet Explorer, and tomorrow Chrome. Tell them this is optional, and that you can actually disable the tiles, so you need not have to suffer stupidity. Indeed, you can always disable the tiles. Here's how you do it:

Read the whole article here.

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General Software Discussion / Re: When an arguably free service turns ad supported

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2014, 06:14 PM »

^I hear you. I gave up on Chrome some time ago because things seemed to be going on inside it that nobody was making much effort to be up front about.

And yeah, it is smarmy no matter how you look at it.

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General Software Discussion / Re: When an arguably free service turns ad supported

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2014, 05:47 PM »

IMO it shows bad form to do so without some genuine advance notice. But that's me. $:-\$

I guess it's just further emphasis for the observation that "if you're not the (paying) customer, you're the product."

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Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by 40hz on February 28, 2014, 03:51 PM »

Looks like Meg Russof's book How I Live Now, which I previously recommended here, is coming to the screen:

Be interesting to see how closely it follows the book - no that there's any reason why it can't. The movie Elizabeth looks a little healthier than I imagined the book character to be. (In the book, she doesn't care to eat beyond absolute necessity for two reasons: (1) it drives her parents crazy; (2) she "kinda likes" the sensation of feeling very hungry.)

Could be worth seeing...

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