Recent Posts

2701

DC Gamer Club / Re: Ark: Survival Evolved is free for the weekend on Steam (through Aug 31, 2015)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 30, 2015, 01:09 AM »

I played it again and finally figured out some of the systems and methods to get things working. I had a lot more of an enjoyable time with it. I even did some multiplayer.

There are some major issues with the game. For example: there was a point where my friend was invisible (to me) and I couldn't see any chat messages from him. Or apparently he had to stay within a certain distance of me (because I was the host), and if I was running away from him, he'd be dragged by an invisible wall to stay within something like 200 units of me.

I'm going to hold off purchasing for now, because it still has a long way to go, and needs some major optimization to run smoothly, etc., but I'll definitely keep my eye on it for future updates and see if they ever deliver on a finished product. Too many Early Access games that show some promise end up either giving up before it's finished (and releasing a beta as a final 1.0 release) or completely changing the game from what was promised, disappointing those who bought in early.

2702

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Privacy Concerns

« Last post by Deozaan on August 29, 2015, 07:11 PM »

You'll have to forgive his confusion because it looks like this thread is about Windows 10 and everyone is talking about that OS except you.

-Innuendo (August 29, 2015, 06:25 PM)

Yes, except for the last 3 posts before his.

2703

Living Room / Re: Startups and the Big Lie

« Last post by Deozaan on August 29, 2015, 03:40 PM »

One of the lesser-publicized facts of the recent hacking of the Ashley Madison website, is that nearly all of the female accounts were fake -- created by the company to make it look like the site was active and popular: http://gizmodo.com/a...-database-1725558944

-mouser (August 29, 2015, 02:41 PM)

Isn't that why the site was hacked in the first place? The hackers were mad about the site lying about having so many women on the site, or something?

This seems to be the standard operating procedure of website these days, where seeming to be popular is a necessary first lie.

-mouser (August 29, 2015, 02:41 PM)

Yeah. This was mentioned elsewhere on this site. The way Google (and other ad companies/stores) recommend things is by their popularity. So sites or products that are popular among a few people become popular among many people. It's a big, "Hey, check out this site/product/video because other people are checking it out."

There's actually very little of "Hey, check out this site/product/video because it's a good site/product/video."

2704

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Privacy Concerns

« Last post by Deozaan on August 29, 2015, 03:32 PM »

One of the major complaints about Windows 10 is that most end users have no way at all to turn off any automatic updates, but Microsoft may be about to change that, according to Woody Leonhard.

-xtabber (August 29, 2015, 01:53 PM)

If that was a reply to me, I was talking about Windows 7 & 8 when I said simply choose not to install the telemetry updates.

2705

DC Gamer Club / Re: Play Guild Wars 2 for Free

« Last post by Deozaan on August 29, 2015, 03:30 PM »

Now the core Guild Wars 2 game (non-expansions) is free for everyone, permanently:

Today we’re happy to announce that the Guild Wars 2 core game is available for everyone to play for free. With Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™ launching soon, there’s no better time to introduce the game to your friends.

-https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/play-for-free-today/

2706

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Privacy Concerns

« Last post by Deozaan on August 29, 2015, 11:35 AM »

On a related note, is there a convenient tool to help with preventing the installation of a specific set of updates?

-ewemoa (August 28, 2015, 04:43 AM)

Can't you just not select that update in Windows Update? I mean, you'd need to know the KB number(s) to be sure you don't install them. But other than that, I think Windows Update itself makes it fairly easy to not install an update if you don't want it.

You can even hide it using the context menu so it doesn't prompt you to install it later.

2707

DC Gamer Club / Re: Ark: Survival Evolved is free for the weekend on Steam (through Aug 31, 2015)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 29, 2015, 01:43 AM »

I take it you're recommending it?  Why?  What do you like about it?  Just curious... I've been thinking, but it's priced too high right now for me to take a chance on it with the limited things I've seen.

-wraith808 (August 28, 2015, 01:23 PM)

This game gets mentioned a lot and is consistently on the top sellers' list on Steam. Among the praises are "attentive devs" and "survival world done right". Btw, I don't own this game yet but this free weekend seemed like a good time to give it a try. So after about an hour during this free weekend promo, it certainly has piqued my interest, whether I continue or not is another thing though.

-lanux128 (August 28, 2015, 06:37 PM)

I had a pretty lackluster first experience with the game earlier today. So far I'm not impressed. This is one of the main reasons why I avoid Early Access games. They basically make you pay them for the privilege of beta (or alpha) testing their game.

But I'll try to get some more play time in this weekend and see if I'm at all interested in the game once the promo ends.

so its a typical free during weekend promo or you get to keep it forever? well just asking since it does not mention on steam page

-coolng (August 29, 2015, 12:57 AM)

"Free weekend" generally means it's like a free rental. Other terms such as "Free for 48 hours" usually mean free forever if you get it within the special offer time period.

And just in case that didn't clear things up for you, in the case of ARK this weekend it means free during the weekend promo.

2708

DC Gamer Club / Re: Ark: Survival Evolved is free for the weekend on Steam (through Aug 31, 2015)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 28, 2015, 03:28 PM »

I haven't played it, but I know that Stephen and y0himba like it and play it a lot. Stephen has recommended it to me a few times. Like you, the price has kept me from getting it.

But I'll definitely give it a try during the free weekend and see what I think.

@lanux thanks for posting this! I probably would have missed it.

2709

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on August 27, 2015, 09:11 PM »

While I suppose none of them are totally inaccurate, many of them seem reaching or misleading.

Especially: 8. Missing Media Center and DVD player

As I mentioned above, if you have Media Center, you should get the DVD Player app for free after your upgrade. The article doesn't mention that. It just says if you upgrade from 7 to 10, MC is gone, and if you downgrade back to 7, MC doesn't come back.

The others were just... like he was having a hard time time coming up with 10 reasons, but had to because that was the topic of the article.

"Don't do it ... because... um... you might not like tablet mode!"

"Don't do it... because... erm... you might have to do it manually if you don't want to wait until the bugs are worked out for systems like yours!"

"Don't do it... because... uh... something about Achilles."

Then again, he did say those are the best reasons he could think of, and that those reasons didn't stop him from upgrading to Windows 10. So he seems to agree with me that the reasons he listed are pretty lame excuses.

2710

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on August 27, 2015, 08:42 PM »

Anandtech Reviews Windows 10

http://www.anandtech...he-windows-10-review

-wraith808 (August 27, 2015, 10:32 AM)

Useful info from this review: If you own a version of Windows with Media Center, you should get the Windows Store DVD Player app for free instead of the crazy $15 price!

Details on how to get it are here: http://answers.micro...117403084&auth=1

2711

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on August 27, 2015, 07:19 PM »

Anandtech Reviews Windows 10

http://www.anandtech...he-windows-10-review

-wraith808 (August 27, 2015, 10:32 AM)

That was a very thorough review! Thanks for sharing.

Infoworld - 10 Reasons you shouldn't update to Windows 10 (Annoying slideshow alert!)

http://www.infoworld...e-to-windows-10.html

-wraith808 (August 27, 2015, 10:35 AM)

Very clickbait-y, with not always accurate info...

2712

DC Gamer Club / Re: Viva Piñata - can it be run on Windows 10?

« Last post by Deozaan on August 26, 2015, 09:19 PM »

I recently got Fable 3 to work on Windows 10 by uninstalling everything having to do with GFWL and then reinstalling GFWL client with the download from Microsoft's site.

And when I say everything having to do with GFWL, I don't mean other games. I just mean anything that shows up in your Add/Remove Programs about Games for Windows (Marketplace/Live Redistributable).

That might fix your problem with GFWL not accepting your valid login. But then again, that may just be an issue with 2-Factor Authentication.

2713

General Software Discussion / Re: LastPass alternatives with two-factor authentication? (including premium LP)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 26, 2015, 08:41 PM »

I'm actually starting to use Enigmaze.

-wraith808 (August 26, 2015, 09:52 AM)

So basically, it's time to go back to using PasswordCard?

2714

DC Gamer Club / Re: GOG Scores Bethesda!

« Last post by Deozaan on August 26, 2015, 03:32 PM »

Elder Scrolls 1 & 2 have been available for free from Bethesda for years now:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/arena/
http://www.elderscrolls.com/daggerfall/

-Deozaan (August 26, 2015, 01:46 PM)

And yes, of course you are correct- but having them consolidated into a platform is a good thing... at least for me.

-wraith808 (August 26, 2015, 02:56 PM)

Another potential benefit to the free Elder Scrolls games: Supposedly the GOG version is the CD version which has some differences from the Floppy disk version, which is what is free on the Elder Scrolls site.

2715

DC Gamer Club / Re: GOG Scores Bethesda!

« Last post by Deozaan on August 26, 2015, 01:46 PM »

Thanks for the clarification.

Basically, the one from before was by Interplay.  These are by Bethesda.  They're the same, but the new one is apparently enhanced.

-wraith808 (August 26, 2015, 12:41 PM)

I understand it to mean the opposite of what you said. I think it means the older ones have more content/features. Here's some added emphasis in the original quote to highlight my interpretation:

The only difference between the Classic editions [from Interplay] and the Fallouts from Bethesda is that the Classic versions [from Interplay] (as we've decided to call them) have more bonus goodies and support one additional platform - OS X. Other than that, those two editions should be identical. The main reason for this difference is that the approval process for the remaining bonus goodies takes a lot of time and we didn't want to hold up the release just because of that.

And apparently the free games are a permanent deal.

-wraith808 (August 26, 2015, 12:41 PM)

Elder Scrolls 1 & 2 have been available for free from Bethesda for years now:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/arena/
http://www.elderscrolls.com/daggerfall/

2716

Living Room / Re: plink - a super intuitive multiplayer music experience

« Last post by Deozaan on August 26, 2015, 01:03 PM »

It's kind of fun seeing the spontaneous cooperation that occurs between two (or more) random people on the internet.

I was just minding my own business, getting a feel for all the notes of each instrument. I found an instrument that I liked and was just slowly moving back and forth from the top to the bottom, when suddenly I realized that another player was mirroring me. He (or she) would try to stay synced with me, but on the opposite end of the screen as me.

We did that for several measures until I ruined everything by deciding to try out more instruments.

It was pretty cool.

2717

General Software Discussion / Unity (Game Engine) Comes to Linux: Experimental Build Now Available

« Last post by Deozaan on August 26, 2015, 12:43 PM »

I've been using Unity for a few years now to make all my games for Ludum Dare and NANY. One of the strange things about Unity has been that while you can make a build of a game for Linux OSes, you couldn't actually make your game in Linux because there was no Linux edition of the Unity Editor available. But they've been taking steps to rectify that and now have an experimental build of the Unity Editor for Linux:

Last month, I wrote a blog post detailing our plans for Unity on Linux.  Well, I’m back again to tell you the big day has come; today we’re releasing an experimental build of Unity for Linux!

An Experimental Build

Today’s build is what we call an experimental build; future support is not yet guaranteed.  Your adoption and feedback will help us determine if this is something we can sustain alongside our Mac and Windows builds.

Today’s build is based off Unity 5.1.0f3 and comes with the ability to export to the following runtimes:

• Linux, Mac, Windows Standalone
• WebGL
• WebPlayer
• Android
• Tizen
• SamsungTV

System Requirements

• 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04 or newer (just like our player, the editor will run on most ‘modern’ 64-bit Linux distributions, but official support is only provided for 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04 or newer)
• Modern Nvidia, AMD, or Intel graphics card with vendor-supported graphics drivers

-http://blogs.unity3d.com/2015/08/26/unity-comes-to-linux-experimental-build-now-available/

Get download links and more info here:

http://blogs.unity3d...build-now-available/

2718

DC Gamer Club / Re: GOG Scores Bethesda!

« Last post by Deozaan on August 26, 2015, 12:33 PM »

No Oblivion or Skyrim?

Still pretty cool. But I thought I had purchased the Fallout Trilogy on GOG before, but it says I don't own them.

Huh. I just checked and they are in my GOG library. But GOG still says I don't own them on the store page.

2719

General Software Discussion / Re: LastPass alternatives with two-factor authentication? (including premium LP)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 25, 2015, 10:08 PM »

Thanks Deo, for that information.  Without a browser extension, I won't be trying it.  I use mine a lot to have my passwords available to my wife, and she's not really technical.

-wraith808 (August 25, 2015, 09:58 PM)

It can import from LastPass. So you can continue to use LastPass in your browser on your desktop, and just use Enpass on your mobile device, if you'd like.

LastPass is $12/year on mobile. Enpass is a one-time $10 purchase.

2720

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 - Mini-Review

« Last post by Deozaan on August 25, 2015, 09:02 PM »

I got some of these headphones earlier this year and have mostly been enjoying them. But lately I've been having issues with them turning off without any low battery warnings or anything.

I recently got frustrated enough with it to see if I could find what the issue was, and I found this thread:

I just upgraded to Windows 10 preview build 10166 and noticed my headset was shutting off EXACTLY every 15 minutes (I timed it). I knew this was the function that detects if anything is actually being played over the headphones, it shuts off to save the batttery.

-https://forums.logitech.com/t5/Logitech-G-Headsets/G930-How-to-turn-off-auto-shutoff-Solution/td-p/1420932

Come to think of it, my problem with it shutting itself off began about the time I upgraded to Windows 10. I'm trying out the following solution and we'll see if it helps me:

Step 1: Exit the logitech gaming software from your task bar.
Step 2: Open up Device_Manifest.xml, which normally is located at: C:\Program Files\Logitech Gaming Software\Resources\G930\Manifest. This file can be opened with notepad.
Step 3: Look for "<battery turnOffInterval="900", I imagine this is how many seconds it will wait before activating the auto shut off feature, which 60(secs) / 900 is 15 mins, which is what the amount of time it seemed it was cutting off. Change this to "0".
Step 4: Save as to desktop
Step 5: Move the original file to a different folder(perhaps a backup folder) and it will let you know that you need administrator priviledges to do so, click continue.
Step 6: Move the new file to the location the old file was located, and again click continue after acknowledging administrative permissions.
Step 7: You can now bring the logitech gaming software back up.

-https://forums.logitech.com/t5/Logitech-G-Headsets/G930-How-to-turn-off-auto-shutoff-Solution/td-p/1420932

I followed the steps a little differently, making a copy of the Device_Manifest.xml file in the same directory before modifying it according to step 2.

2721

General Software Discussion / Re: LastPass alternatives with two-factor authentication? (including premium LP)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 25, 2015, 07:36 PM »

I'm currently using Enpass (www.enpass.io)

-40hz (August 25, 2015, 12:53 PM)

I haven't tried it (was a bit surprised by having to enter an email and a captcha for a free download), but a quick google suggests it is a password database that does not offer auto-fill like LastPass and others, is this still the case?

-Jibz (August 25, 2015, 05:02 PM)

I took the liberty of using a mailinator address to get the download: http://mailinator.co.../inbox.jsp?to=enpass

It does offer auto-fill on mobile devices (at least Android) if you use the built-in Enpass browser, but I don't see any sort of browser extension that would do something similar on PCs/Laptops.

I'm liking Enpass thus far. Thanks 40hz!

2722

DC Gamer Club / Re: Windows 10 won't run games with commonly hated DRM platforms

« Last post by Deozaan on August 25, 2015, 05:20 PM »

It took some work(arounds) but Fable 3 seems to be working. And Sacred 2 (GOG edition) seems to work for me, too.

I think everything else I have on that list, I actually own the GOTY edition or whatever version had the SecuROM removed.

2723

General Software Discussion / Re: LastPass alternatives? (including premium LP)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 25, 2015, 11:28 AM »

So, recently I've been a bit unhappy with where LastPass is going. My subscription is due for renewal soon, so I figured I'd consider alternatives.

Things I'm not liking about LastPass:

• The mobile (Android) app is now asking for location permissions. I feel there's no need for a password manager to need my location. I wrote to LastPass support about this and they said it was for their stupid LastPass browser that is also built into the app. I told them the browser was superfluous and that they should separate it into another app if they wanted to include that functionality, because all I wanted from them was to be able to store and retrieve my passwords. They didn't really respond to that.
• The browser add-on is now nagging me to "try LastPass Enterprise!" I'm already paying for LastPass Premium, and I'm just one person. Stop nagging me to try something meant for large companies!
• Every so often, the browser extension's auto-form-fill functionality stops working on sites where it has worked for months (or years). The only way I've found to get it to start working again is to delete the "site" and create it again.

I pretty much only pay for LastPass Premium to access my passwords on Android. And I don't use any of the features of the LastPass app (on Android) other than simply retrieving my passwords. I don't use their stupid browser. I don't have it auto-fill passwords or prompt me with login info, nor generate passwords on Android. Is there anything out there that provides the convenience of LastPass (secure cloud storage/retrieval) for Android without any of the extra crap?

2724

General Software Discussion / Re: So, what pdf reader app is your fav?

« Last post by Deozaan on August 25, 2015, 10:09 AM »

I was using Foxit reader for the longest time- then they grew to big for common sense and started including stuff in the installer and in the program for advertising.  Has that changed?

-wraith808 (August 25, 2015, 10:00 AM)

Good question.

I use ninite to install it, so I didn't get any extras. And I don't read PDFs very often on my computer, but I haven't seen any in-software advertising. Then again, I also have AdGuard installed, so maybe it's blocking the ads.

2725

Non-Windows Software / Re: *NIX: Mounting .vdi Files (Even Dynamic Ones)

« Last post by Deozaan on August 25, 2015, 09:59 AM »

This is confusing:

It turns out that the ability to boot from a VHD is actually available in all versions of Windows 7 and that only Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise can boot off of a VHD.

-http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/native-vhd-boot-is-available-in-all-versions-of-windows-7/

But it gets clarified later on:

So it appears that the Native VHD Boot feature is available in all versions of Windows 7, but that only Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate can boot from VHD.

-http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/native-vhd-boot-is-available-in-all-versions-of-windows-7/

I wonder what would happen if I attempt to boot some form of Linux from a VHD...