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2526
Living Room / Re: Too Stupid to Own a Computer
« Last post by app103 on November 14, 2010, 07:56 AM »
Hmmm... this article seems to have a lot more detail about this story, complete with the scammer's account of what happened.

http://www.lohud.com...-victim-of-grifters-
2527
Living Room / Re: Too Stupid to Own a Computer
« Last post by app103 on November 14, 2010, 07:29 AM »
2. How on earth did the scammers justify the 7 figure fee to the victim? I mean, and I think this was partly Renegade's point above, how could anyone be convinced that rooting around on someone's hard drive is worth that much money?

That's why I said it seems part of this story is missing.
2528
Living Room / Re: Too Stupid to Own a Computer
« Last post by app103 on November 12, 2010, 11:31 PM »
It looks like I join the laughing crowd...just because of the shameful amount of money spent on the "problem".

The "problem" was that his lack of computer knowledge made him an easy target for a scammer. That lack of knowledge made it possible to convince him that it was possible for an average techie in a pc repair shop to trace a computer virus to a hard drive in Honduras, and that in the process, they uncovered a plot to take his life. What is missing to this story is exactly what the money he paid was supposed to be for. I am pretty sure he wasn't paying $6 million for a simple virus removal. Seems more like he was a terrified guy that was doing whatever he thought he had to do to protect his life.

Maybe I don't find this funny because I live with someone that could easily fall for a variety of scams and I have spent the last 26 years of my life trying to keep him out of trouble, keep the snake oil out of our house, and keep our money safe... sometimes unsuccessfully.

2529
Living Room / Re: Too Stupid to Own a Computer
« Last post by app103 on November 12, 2010, 07:09 PM »
But an oil tycoon loses 6 million - What's that like a nickel to the rest of us?!? - That's funny. He's got a flock of lawyers on retainer, security staff, business managers, etc., etc, etc. The man had some frigging options... He just chose to ignore them. Hence he deserves the scorn.

Jazz pianist and composer.

@app103 - I think there's a very big difference between you getting scammed, and this fellow. $5,000 is something that we can relate to. Seeing you get burned like that strikes a chord.

But $6,000,000 isn't something that any of us can really relate to losing. It's so far removed from our reality that there's nothing to do but laugh. It's $6 million! Like holy murphy!

I've been burned for hundreds of thousands (not strictly a scam, but it's a long story), but that's still nowhere near $6 million.

For that amount of money you can build a bionic man~! :D

Whether it's $6 or $6 million, I still don't find it funny when someone gets scammed because they don't know everything about everything and someone takes advantage of a gap in their knowledge.
2530
Living Room / Re: Too Stupid to Own a Computer
« Last post by app103 on November 12, 2010, 05:11 PM »
Of course anyone can, and most of us at some point in our lives probably have fallen for a scam, maybe not even that good of a one. But, I do think everyone is entitled to laugh when we see someone displaying such an extreme degree of stupidity and cluelessness.

But everyone has such a degree of stupidity and cluelessness about something. None of us knows everything about everything and never has a moment of weakness where we aren't thinking clearly.

Should I laugh at the holes in your knowledge? It's funny, right?

You know, when you don't know something, it can sometimes be hard to find people to trust. Often the people with the knowledge would rather laugh at you than help you...while others will take advantage of you and scam you.

That whole laughing thing keeps kids from asking questions in school...and keeps beginning coders that are struggling to understand stuff from asking questions of more experienced coders.

That whole laughing thing could also make your friends and family afraid to admit to you that they don't know something and need some help and advice, placing them right into the hands of the scammers that seem caring and sympathetic, while they take advantage of them and laugh about it later.

What happened to this guy is NOT funny!  >:(
2531
I have been using Flashget for years, but without the BHO installed. When I started using it, it was in an unsupported browser and I had to use the drop target feature, where you drag a link to be downloaded from your browser to a little box to activate it. This required me to make the conscious decision to launch the download manager by choice, first, then drag the links to it to be downloaded. It does not pop up when I do not want it to...it can't.
2532
Living Room / Re: Too Stupid to Own a Computer
« Last post by app103 on November 12, 2010, 03:11 PM »
You know, you guys laugh, thinking you have to be really stupid to fall for a scam, when it could happen to any of you, with the right scam. Nobody is immune. (I am a reasonably intelligent person and I have fallen for a scam before, that cost me over $5000)

The next person to fall for some sort of scam could be someone you know...someone you love...maybe one of your parents or a brother, sister, child, best friend, etc. And with the right scam, it could even be you.

The point to this article wasn't to present what happened to this guy so you could all laugh at him. It was to warn you that people that are not knowledgeable about this kind of stuff can be easy victims for scammers, and you need to keep an eye on what is going on with the people you care about. Have a talk with them and make sure they will come to you for advice before shelling out any large sum of money for any computer related services (and define exactly what "large" means!).
2533
Site/Forum Features / Re: All known drawings of Cody, the DC mascot
« Last post by app103 on November 12, 2010, 11:37 AM »
There is a funny story behind that egg image.

I acquired a bunch of python scripts and was messing around with them in Paintshop Pro, just to see what the effects were. Cody was the test image. One of the scripts turned out to be a time machine that sent him back to an egg.  :D
2534
Post New Requests Here / Re: Website toolbar blocker
« Last post by app103 on November 11, 2010, 09:28 PM »
That looks like the Wibiya toolbar.

I wonder if you could block it simply by editing your hosts file to make wibiya.com point to 127.0.0.1, or use Adblock to make a filter for wibiya.com.

Have to block cdn.wibiya.com. I did it and it worked.
2535
Site/Forum Features / Re: All known drawings of Cody, the DC mascot
« Last post by app103 on November 11, 2010, 02:15 PM »
Does this count?

python-time-machine.png
2536
General Software Discussion / Re: pin a document to start menu
« Last post by app103 on November 10, 2010, 09:37 PM »
First of all, I do have the classic menu as shown in Joker's post.

What he has showing in his post is NOT the classic start menu.

What I have showing is.

  • Right click the start button and select Properties.
  • Select the bottom option.
  • Click Apply and OK.
  • Check to see if what you stick in the start menu folder shows on the start menu.
2537
General Software Discussion / Re: pin a document to start menu
« Last post by app103 on November 10, 2010, 07:51 PM »
And THAT is one of the reasons why I LOVE the classic start menu, which you could always change to, so you can have a lot more control over what is displayed there.  ;)

But before you do, please try the Explorer trick I explained and see what happens. If the shortcuts won't show or they won't show where you want, they surely will as soon as you switch to classic, without you having to paste the shortcuts again.
2538
General Software Discussion / Re: pin a document to start menu
« Last post by app103 on November 10, 2010, 06:49 PM »
I am not sure what kind of document type you want a shortcut to, but I am running XP here and this is before and after and I used the way I already explained 2 times before:

I stuck shortcuts to mp3, pdf, txt, url, avi, jpg, eps files in that start menu folder in Explorer:

Before:
Screenshot - 11_10_2010 , 7_32_07 PM.png

After:
Screenshot - 11_10_2010 , 7_43_13 PM.png

Then I even made a folder and dragged all those new shortcuts into it, in Explorer, and got a nice little submenu:
Screenshot - 11_10_2010 , 7_45_41 PM.png

Just try it in Explorer. It could solve all your problems very easily without having to change any software you are running.
2539
General Software Discussion / Re: pin a document to start menu
« Last post by app103 on November 10, 2010, 04:07 PM »
Pin document to start menu in XP? ...I thought that was a Vista/7 only option...Guess it's been awhile since I used XP much.  :-[

Anyhow, the pin to start menu rules require that the item being pinned is (machine local and) an .exe/.msc/etc.. So if you want to pin something else you need to trick Windows into it. Start with an .exe target (that's on LM) to get the shortcut pinned, then edit the shortcut to point to (where/) what you really want. I've done this on Win7 to pin some apps that are in a network share to the start menu here at the office.

Nonsense! You can put a shortcut to any file type there. You can even make folders and drop the shortcuts in to sort them how you like.

Don't work with the start menu directly...open the folder for it in Explorer:

Screenshot - 11_10_2010 , 5_00_03 PM.png
2540
General Software Discussion / Re: pin a document to start menu
« Last post by app103 on November 10, 2010, 03:20 PM »
The start menu is 2 folders, one for you and one for all users. They are combined by Windows.

In your documents and settings folder, in the folder with your name, there is a Start Menu folder.

Open that and paste a shortcut to whatever you want in there and it will appear in your start menu.
2541
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Internet disconnection logger
« Last post by app103 on November 09, 2010, 05:29 PM »
Not sure if anyone noticed, but... The source code for Karen's Net Meter is available at the original link. It seems a fairly minor adjustment, and I gotta think someone here codes VB (I don't).

Any chance of scaring up a volunteer to fix that for App103?

I didn't notice that until you mentioned it...and I now have a friend taking a look at it to see if he can expand the interval settings to include seconds.

Thanks for pointing that out.  :)
2542
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Internet disconnection logger
« Last post by app103 on November 09, 2010, 09:25 AM »
I take it, it's one of those routers supplied by the ISP that you don't have access to the configuration?

Most routers offer some form of logging.

Otherwise, SLCheck might do what you want.

Yes, it is one of theirs, and amazingly enough I do have access to the configuration...but it doesn't seem to save more than 2 days worth of logs.

Thanks for the other software suggestion, but I think I'll keep using Karen's Net Meter. Even though I can't set it more frequently than every 60 seconds, it seems to be doing a fair job of logging the all the disconnections any way.
2543
Batch renaming with numbered orders is already a Windows Explorer feature.  :huh:

It is? Where?

Select a bunch of files and then select rename from the Explorer context menu. After typing in just one name, once you hit enter, all selected files will be prefixed with whatever name you chose, and numbered.
2544
Living Room / Re: Talk Radio... good or bad?
« Last post by app103 on November 08, 2010, 03:08 AM »
I don't know how they do talk radio where you come from but I have watched how talk radio can organize people and get them to do more than just say their piece on air and then go about the rest of their lives.

This was the result of talk radio in my state about 2 years ago:



Of course I am talking about New Jersey, where we have been known to TP the state capital in protest of taxing toilet paper, yank our kids out of school for a day and take them to Trenton to march in support of their teachers, make our governor wish he never said "when pigs fly" to cutting spending, and just last year sent a hearse full of empty wallets to the state house to represent the death of the middle class.

All of this fueled by (and sometimes organized by) the talk radio that people listen to on the way to work.
2545
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Internet disconnection logger
« Last post by app103 on November 05, 2010, 08:08 AM »
I take that back, it looks like Karen Kenworthy's Net Monitor can do just what you want.

Net Monitor

Thank you very much! The shortest setting is once per minute, but I guess that will have to do.
2546
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Internet disconnection logger
« Last post by app103 on November 05, 2010, 07:51 AM »
I'd rather try shaving with a band-saw than call the flowchart reading idiots at (CenturyLink) my ISP, so I understand your pain. But, are you sure the issue is on their side of the wire?

I have seen routers on the edge start dropping packets like mad which can look like an internet issue. I have no idea how you're configured but have you made sure you can ping to and through the local hardware? And did you run the test(s) with a large unfragmented packet?

This has been an ongoing problem for the last 2 years, ever since I upgraded to get more speed. There doesn't seem to be any sort of pattern to this problem. It's not weather related, temperature related, nothing to do with the time of day. It's erratic and quite unpredictable. The only predictability to it is that it only happens on days ending with "Y".  :P

My router/modem has been replaced twice and it has not helped. Wires, cables, splitters, and filters have all also been replaced, reversed, relocated, etc. I even set the router on top of a book like they suggested.

They finally sent a guy out here on Tuesday who tested and checked out everything inside the building from my router all the way to the line box in the basement, and he looked around outside. He says it all checks out ok and as far as he can tell, if there is a problem, it is somewhere between my building and Verizon (nothing misbehaved while he was here). He also said whoever did the original wiring in this building did a mighty fine high quality job, from layout design to workmanship. He seemed impressed. He says there doesn't seem to be any sort of leaking going on anywhere and everything was bone dry, so he doesn't think it's an issue with rain getting in and affecting the wiring.

The only thing he found that was out of sorts was an extra wire coming from my single line box in the basement that lead to "who knows where". It wasn't the one that lead straight up to my apartment and the box wasn't designed for 2 lines, so he removed it and then came back up to make sure removing it didn't negatively affect anything up here.

When he told me about it, I told him there are technically 2 separate lines coming to my apartment that each had their own number, but the 2nd one was not in service and had not been in use since the late 70's when the former owner's sister used to live in this apartment. (that was the one he removed, and it originally lead to the jack in my daughter's room). He said that wire did look kind of old and he thought that it was possible (but not probable) that the 2nd line could be causing my problems and that removing it might fix it.

Now, he was supposed to call me back on Wednesday (which he didn't), and if I was still having a connection issue, he would come back out and replace the wiring between the building and the pole. Since he didn't call me back, I am going to have to call Verizon and chances are fight with them on the phone again to either send this guy back or send another guy out.
2547
Post New Requests Here / IDEA: Internet disconnection logger
« Last post by app103 on November 05, 2010, 04:40 AM »
I need a small application that can log my plethora of disconnections and their duration. I need it to check if I am connected about every 15 seconds (ping google?) and if I am not, log it with a time stamp (date/time) the first time it is unsuccessful, and the elapsed total time I wasn't connected once it can successfully ping google again...and then repeat.

I am getting tired of manually recording this data. It's ridiculous. I spent most of last night disconnected more than I was connected, and while I was connected it didn't last long enough to do anything at all. (almost 60 disconnections in a span of 10 hrs, some lasting as long as 20-30 mins).

I want to hit my ISP with this log the next time I call, so they can understand why I am screaming at them like a crazy lady.

I only hope my connection improves long enough to come back here to read and respond to any replies. You have no idea how hard it was for me to be able to post this. It makes me want to scream, cry, break stuff, and hurt people...all at the same time.
2548
Living Room / Re: Awesome photos
« Last post by app103 on November 04, 2010, 01:38 PM »
Interesting.

This is kind of off topic, but I couldn't help but notice...

Count how many fat people are in there. Here's the total.

Now, the next time you are in a public place with 20 or more people, count. Compare.


Naa.. it couldn't have anything to do with our higher standard of living, greater leisure time, and overall easier way of life.

Just corn sugar.

What is that I see on the table in photo #17?  Is that what I think it is? Why, yes it is! It's a big red bucket of Karo corn syrup!

It was a lot cheaper than cane sugar, molasses, honey, and maple syrup and was often used by people as a substitute for all of them, long before the food industry began using it in soft drinks and junk food. Yeah, people used it a lot back then and even put it in their coffee! Women that bottle fed their babies instead of breast feeding used to mix up their own infant formula, consisting of cow's milk, water, and corn syrup. Early commercial infant formulas were the exact same thing. Corn syrup use became even more popular during WW2 when cane sugar was hard to get and its purchase was rationed. During the war, cane sugar was reserved for use only in things in which corn syrup or sweetened condensed milk couldn't be substituted, such as baking cookies (granulated cane sugar mixed with some sort of fat is required for proper cookie texture).
2549
Living Room / Re: Google sues the U.S. government
« Last post by app103 on November 04, 2010, 02:54 AM »
If Google was in the aluminum cookware business, their complaints would probably look something like this:

Government: We have 88,000 microwave ovens and we need some cookware. The cookware must be microwave safe.

Google: Oh, that's unfair. You need to drop that "microwave safe" requirement so we can have a chance at selling you some cookware too. That "microwave safe" requirement is anti-competitive to us aluminum cookware makers.
2550
Living Room / Re: Violence in Video Games & the Law
« Last post by app103 on November 03, 2010, 04:47 AM »
The gaming industry could suffer hard if California wins this one, and the public of any age would as well. If California wins, it would place a whole bunch of games in the same category as pornography, which could effectively remove them from most store shelves, making them unavailable to anyone of any age, not just children. And if that were to occur, it is most definitely government sanctioned censorship.

How comfortable would the average consumer be with having to go to an adult book & video store, walking past racks and racks of porn, to buy a copy of Mortal Combat? Most people I know don't want to be seen walking into such a place for any reason, not even to get change for a dollar, so they certainly won't do it to buy a game.
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