Recent Posts

2476

N.A.N.Y. 2013 / Re: NANY 2013: Release - PRNter Widget

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 27, 2012, 07:45 PM »

Not a flop just a smaller audience of potential users

-mouser (December 27, 2012, 06:56 PM)

I know - That's kinda what I meant - It's an excruciatingly specialized/narrow focus utility. 

2477

N.A.N.Y. 2013 / Re: NANY 2013: Release - PRNter Widget

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 27, 2012, 06:16 PM »

Guess this one's a flop.

2478

General Software Discussion / Re: Video rant against Windows 8

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 10:03 PM »

I just came across this in a newsletter today.  Thought it would bring a little light to the subject....or not.  lol

Consumer Reports makes case for Windows 7 PCs
Windows 7 may be the better choice as a PC operating system on new systems than the just-released Windows 8, Consumer Reports magazine said this week.

http://www.pcworld.c...r-windows-7-pcs.html

-Tinman57 (December 21, 2012, 08:29 PM)

Comments for the article were rather a rather sad lot of "experts" recommending that secure boot be turned off/removed/banned from existence. I'm sure malware authors world wide are giggling their asses off watching that bit of (mindblowingly stupid) advice spread across the land. As if it really that hard to switch the boot order for a diagnostic boot.

Anybody remember the (good old...) Win9x days when people called in constantly with "unbootable systems" because they left a blank CD in the drive? ...Bout the 3rd time you got that call from client X you switched the boot order on their machine to skip the optical drive...didn't ya? Now the diagnostic CD you put in won't boot... What's changed exactly?

Another favorite of mine is to reflexively encrypt everything. Recovery disk time ... Oh wait the drive is encrypted so it's pointless to boot externally as the data will still be unaccessible. Which means we need a boot menu why? 

A year or so ago there was panic in the industry about a new breed of virus that could actually infect the hardware. People screamed about wanting the hardware protected properly (...the new version of properly that is).

Well now they have exactly that.

And they're pissed off about it.

That's like wanting a glass of water, getting a drink, and then protesting the merciless killing of your thirst.

2479

General Software Discussion / Re: Password Managers

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 08:21 PM »

fSekrit

-Stoic Joker (December 21, 2012, 07:51 AM)

Me too - but it's not for everyone, since it's just a dumb notepad with encryption support - specifically, it doesn't (and never will) do form auto-filling nor any of all that, by design.

-f0dder (December 21, 2012, 08:06 PM)

Which makes it harder to exploit, and is part of what I like about it. Simple elegant solutions are hard to find.

2480

Living Room / Re: 21st December 2012...Why it won't happen...(Nibiru/Planet X)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 06:45 PM »

Personally I'm pissed at the Mayans for completely screwing up this Apocalypse. This epic failure of an Apocalypse has coincided with - and completely overshadowed - my wife and I's 21st wedding anniversary...and I have not gotten any cake as it wasn't ordered due to the preemptive scheduling of the (now obviously failed) end of the world.

This is a completely unacceptable manner in which to schedule the destruction of an entire planet, and to the Mayans I would just like to say thanks for nothing and fuck you.

2481

Living Room / Re: Ramifications of 3-D Printers for Customer Service

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 05:28 PM »

Eliminate the shipping costs by (instantly-ish) remotely "printing" replacement parts at the customer's location. Holy shit man ... That's got potential!

-Stoic Joker (December 21, 2012, 01:51 PM)

Not if the customer can't legally print a spare part because the 3D printer could conceivably be used to make contraband such as pirated cars and guns.

-SeraphimLabs (December 21, 2012, 03:44 PM)

The customer wouldn't. They would just 'expose' their printer/access to it publically, in an HP ePrint fashion. Leaving Tech Support a point of access to "send" the new part (printing instructions) after the 'appropriate charges' had been made.


Now as far as he big brother movement that wishes to cripple the device...well that's just stupid. and impossible. The technology is what the technology is, and any control circuitry can be circumvented. If they (yes the infamous classic SiFi them) wish to piss ther fortunes down the drain trying to prevent gasoline from being flamable ... Then I say let them squander their wealth all the way down into the Darwinian gutter.

My father once said that locks only keep honest people out. And that quite simply is the only real truth to any of this sillyness. If I have a skill, and a need ... Then I will damn well combine them into whatever manner of have I can muster. because the is the predatory nature of our species. Anyone that can't grasp that is a food animal.

2482

General Software Discussion / Re: Video rant against Windows 8

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 03:12 PM »

"I don't like Windows 8" is a perfectly acceptable position. "Windows 8 can't do something Windows 7 can" absolutely FALSE every time.

-allen (December 21, 2012, 02:10 PM)

Bing! 

-wraith808 (December 21, 2012, 03:06 PM)

+1

2483

General Software Discussion / Re: Video rant against Windows 8

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 01:59 PM »

Update: I may have been wrong, he might not be an opportunistic troll. He might be a complete idiot. He's ranting because windows 8 didn't come with a windows key sticker sticker on the bottom of the laptop and there's no control panel icon on the desktop.

-allen (December 21, 2012, 01:48 PM)

Damn Straight! I can't count the number of machines I've seen that had missing or unreadable COA labels. But MS hardware keying the OS so it'll just install without bothering folks with a secret code ... Those bastards!  

...Did anyone think to ask why it took the guy to think of the word 'Recovery'? (Hay call me crazy, but...) Since it's been called a recovery disk for over a decade now?


I'm voting Complete Idiot on this one.  

2484

Living Room / Re: Ramifications of 3-D Printers for Customer Service

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 01:51 PM »

Eliminate the shipping costs by (instantly-ish) remotely "printing" replacement parts at the customer's location. Holy shit man ... That's got potential!

2485

General Software Discussion / Re: Video rant against Windows 8

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 01:45 PM »

Finished the video and am still completely unimpressed. The guy is whining about aspects of every touch based interface ever designed and blaming it on Windows 8. Which is a total load of crap.

Lack if UI consistency? Bull Shit. If it's on the screen it's click-able there is no fluffy decorations. Now Apple's iWorld? Absolute Zero consistency in control design let alone application design. They just let the artsy fartsy crowd go flat out ape shit creating anything that looked like anything that did anything.

The start button is and has always been tied to the Windows key ... That's why it not a standard 102 key keyboard. And the Windows key still does exactly what it always did even on a (Surface) tablet. So what's with all the simpering and whining?

Hey couldn't find Control Panel. Really?!? I usually just hit the Win key, type control and (hit enter) am there. Vista/7/8 ...Still works the same way. Unless you're either being intentionally obtuse, grew up in a cave.

OMFG How does anybody close an application?!?!? Derp! Alt + F4 ... Just like since the (9x) beginning of friggin time.


He should have skipped trying to be funny and just stuck to making a concise point ... at least the video would have been a much shorter waste of time.

2486

General Software Discussion / Re: Video rant against Windows 8

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 01:10 PM »

Okay 10 minutes in and this really just sounds like a bunch of verbal shenanigans. The guy's biggest complaint  so far is basically that he is to stupid to use a touch interface. Seriously?!? Who in their right mind would confuse swipe with cursor movement by trying to touch-pad a touch screen?? The cursor jumps to where ever you put your finger ... Which is exactly how all of them work. If he wants to attach that aspect of user interaction then Droid and iWord suck just as bad if you're intent on being a clumsy assed obtuse retard.

2487

Living Room / Re: 21st December 2012...Why it won't happen...(Nibiru/Planet X)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 08:23 AM »

(It's the end of the world as we know it~) I~Feel~Fine~...

-Stoic Joker (December 21, 2012, 07:53 AM)

I'm predicting particularly nasty anal probes for you~! Infidel!

-Renegade (December 21, 2012, 08:02 AM)

Why... Is that song stuck in you head now too.  ... I've been bouncing between that and U2's It's a beautiful day.

2488

Living Room / Re: 21st December 2012...Why it won't happen...(Nibiru/Planet X)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 07:53 AM »

(It's the end of the world as we know it~) I~Feel~Fine~...

2489

General Software Discussion / Re: Password Managers

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 21, 2012, 07:51 AM »

fSekrit

2490

N.A.N.Y. 2013 / Re: NANY 2013: Release - PRNter Widget

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 20, 2012, 09:22 AM »

This happily puts text onto the display of my HP 2420.

-cranioscopical (December 19, 2012, 08:46 PM)

Hay good choice, the 2420 is a great printer. I work for an HP ASP (Authorized Service Provider) so I get to see most of their stuff as it's used/survives IRL. There's a few I wouldn't touch with a 10' pole ... But most are quite good. That one is excellent.

pWidget was written primarily around HP devices, but should work equally well with any non host based PCL Laser printer (Lexmark, Xerox, Brother, Canon, etc). PCL (Printer Command/Control Language) based drivers are pretty much the standard in the industry for laser printers. The only variance it how fully it is supported on any given device (e.g. not all printers accept all commands).

2491

N.A.N.Y. 2013 / NANY 2013: Release - PRNter Widget

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 19, 2012, 07:57 PM »

NANY 2013 Entry Information

Application Full Name	PRNter Widget
Application Short Name	pWidget.exe
Version	v1.0.0.85
Short Description	Printer Update Utility
Supported OSes	Win2000 and up
Web Page	This be it
Download Link
System Requirements	A Computer A Printer
Version History	v1.0.0.85
Author	Stoic Joker

Description
PRNter Widget was written to assist our tech with updating printer details after a repair in the field. Frequently a laser printer will need to have a component replaced that causes it to lose it's serial number, page count, or firmware revision. This often results in the tech needing administrative right on a client's network so that an update file can be sent to the printer. PRNter Widget eliminates the need for Admin rights by passing the new serial, page count, or firmware directly to the printer via the installed driver. Plain text files and (save print job) .PRN files can also be sent to a printer using this utility.

Being that I'm currently on vacation, much of the testing was handled by one of the other techs in our IT department. The tech in question (an aspiring game programmer) actually conjured up the original POC bits for this project. This is why he is also listed in the About box as Nippitz.

Features
Send .PRN, Plain Text, or Firmware files to a printer.
Update a PCL Compliant Laser Printer's serial number, page count (total or color), or Display Text (more fun that useful)

Planned Features
Currently Undecided.

Screenshots


Usage
Installation
Unzip, run, it's totally portable.

Using the Application
This utility was written to work with any PCL Compliant Laser Printer. The update commands will not work with an ink printer. The result of sending a file (of any kind) to an ink printer has not been tested.

Uninstallation
Delete it.

Tips
Start by experimenting with updating the Display text first (assuming you printer has a display). It's the easiest and safest way of finding out if your printer is PCL compliant. Most printers have a 16 character max buffer size for the display text (mine currently says: Bull Shit!).

Known Issues
While much of the code was reused from other reliable sources ... This particular utility has not been extensively tested.

I have successfully updated the firmware on an HP LaserJet 2300dn that I swiped from the office for testing purposes with pWidget (it lived).

2492

Living Room / Re: Browse for porn at your own risk if you use Google starting 12-12-12

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 04:44 PM »

I FREAKING LOVE THAT SONG!!!!!!

2493

Developer's Corner / Re: What is the COOLEST language?

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 04:42 PM »

Slang, because anything can mean anything in slang if you use the right inflection. I'd like to be able to program in slang, because then I could just paste shit out of the phone book and compile it.


If you were half as drunk as I am ... You'd be laughing right now.

2494

Living Room / Re: Browse for porn at your own risk if you use Google starting 12-12-12

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 04:34 PM »

Sheesh, what the heck is happening??  Look at the events lately:

-superboyac (December 13, 2012, 04:26 PM)

Well, the world as we know - as was often said in the 70's - is going down the tubes.

2495

Living Room / Re: Apple Maps Flaws 'Life-Threatening,' Australian Police Warn

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 02:52 PM »

I remember the punchline
(at least I think it's the punchline) -
 
jumping up and down and shouting where-the...

-tomos (December 13, 2012, 01:32 PM)

 

@barney - Me too especially in the morning (snap, crackle, damnit..)

2496

General Software Discussion / Re: split table

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 02:49 PM »

I don't have 2010, but in 2007 you simply highlight the row you want to split at, then select '
Split Table' from the layout tab (under table tools in the menu bar)

-Target (December 13, 2012, 02:31 PM)

Derp! Cool ... Never saw that one before.

2497

General Software Discussion / Re: split table

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 12:17 PM »

I don't think you can outside of copy/pasting it beneath itself and then deleting the parts you don't want in each.

2498

Living Room / Re: Apple Maps Flaws 'Life-Threatening,' Australian Police Warn

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 12:06 PM »

Everyone here keeps saying things about using brain cells, but for those of us with zero navigation on good days, you are supposed to be able to rely on the GPS to have a clue. So yes, if the Apple maps go from almost usable to this level of silliness, sure, that qualifies that someone goofed.

-TaoPhoenix (December 13, 2012, 07:30 AM)

When sitting at an intersection, my GPS said "turn left here" ... But it was up to me to grasp the fact that the light was red.. Responsibility for ones own actions and all that, Ya know?

That being said, I too am an honorary member of the Fakawi Indian Tribe (assuming anyone remembers that old joke).

2499

Living Room / Re: 3D Printing Under Attack

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 11:46 AM »

Oh well, there goes my idea of starting a company to print giant realistic guns made of chocolate.

-app103 (December 13, 2012, 10:57 AM)

Shit! ..I'd of loved to get one of those ... Just to see the look on the security guards face when I started licking it as they frisk me.

2500

Living Room / Re: Google Maps Back on iPhone

« Last post by Stoic Joker on December 13, 2012, 09:53 AM »

Talk about humiliation for Apple... That has to hurt.

-Renegade (December 13, 2012, 07:49 AM)

Hay, at least they showed the sense necessary to admit defeat before there was an actual body count.

-Stoic Joker (December 13, 2012, 09:17 AM)

Thing was... there is a body count.

-Renegade (December 13, 2012, 09:36 AM)

Some people were harmed yes... But for a typical corporation to blink it takes a minimum of 100 nuns and orphans to raise an eyebrow of caring. Kind of like Firestone and Ford playing Duck season vs. Rabbit season back in the 90s. Apple (i feel) caved in a timely fashion.

...Now stop arguing before I accidentally say something nice about Apple and have to be horsewhipped.