Recent Posts

2701

Living Room / Re: The End of my Macbook Pro Experiment

« Last post by tomos on June 08, 2015, 07:48 AM »

My Dell XPS 13 owning friend pointed out to me that one can still order an XPS 13 (or just check out pricing) from this web page.

-Innuendo (June 07, 2015, 06:55 PM)

thanks Innuendo, apparently that model is only available in the US; they also have a not quite so cheap model for the UK market, but they seem to have decided to go full price for the German market. (I got chatting with someone on their German site - they also say the offers change every week and they have no idea what's coming next.)



@Oshyan, interesting description of how things work (or dont) in the Mac world. I think a lot of people originally went for Macs because they had style compared to stodgy old beige Windows :-) Not so relevant any more.

2702

Living Room / Re: End of a good thing

« Last post by tomos on June 08, 2015, 07:17 AM »

I live in a crappy little village that seems to have more sheep and cows than actual people...and yet I am still only a 15 minute drive from ASDA (Or Walmart as you call it) and the same distance from a Tesco (Like ASDA...Only better) o.O

-Stephen66515 (June 07, 2015, 03:12 PM)

could you get there (easily) without a car though?

2703

General Software Discussion / Re: Newer password keepers/form-fillers - anyone using Dashlane or 1Password?

« Last post by tomos on June 06, 2015, 03:42 PM »

i like and use Enpass. excellent multiplatform support. it does *all* of them. osx/windows/linux/andriod/ios. even blackberry!  it lets you sync through your dropbox account too.

-Gwen7 (June 04, 2015, 09:04 PM)

This one looked interesting, but I really hate web sites that talk about paying for their product & they never mention a price.

-Innuendo (June 06, 2015, 03:23 PM)

they have it well hidden - but if you click on e.g. the Android or iPhone links bottom of page - both of those are $9.99 for a lifetime license

2704

Living Room / Re: The End of my Macbook Pro Experiment

« Last post by tomos on June 06, 2015, 03:10 PM »

As for quality of hardware, you can find some wonderfully built laptops that can rival a Macbook, but you won't find Dell selling one and you will pay just as much for it as you did that Macbook Pro.

-Innuendo (June 06, 2015, 06:36 AM)

Dell XPS 13 (2015) is getting good reviews and being called a MacBook Air and Zenbook killer, at much lower price. The other one that's also looking good is the HP Spectre x360.

-dr_andus (June 06, 2015, 08:44 AM)

Dell's site had very good prices on a basic version of the xps 13 a couple of months ago (no touch screen, I forget what else was different). Unfortunately that version seem to be no longer on offer....

2705

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by tomos on June 06, 2015, 02:41 PM »

I just started using chrome x64.  I found it is honoring the command line switch I used in chromium years ago.
 --renderer-process-limit=n   I have been playing around with the setting.  On my Laptop n=6 seems like the sweet spot.  But I found setting Fast Dial to never refresh the dial thumbnails seems to eliminate the lag I noticed.  With a setting of 6 as max renderers and 6 or 7 tabs open it seems to hover around 8 or 9 exe instances running.  With no switch it was around 11 or 12.

-MilesAhead (June 06, 2015, 01:56 PM)

hmm. I have 18 tabs open in Iron portable, and there are 24 instances shown in the taskmanager. Maybe I should give your suggestion a go and see what happens if I limit it *and* open lots of tabs :-)

2706

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by tomos on June 06, 2015, 01:40 PM »

^ Chrome:
advanced settings:
Privacy >Content Settings >Plugins >Let me choose when to run plugin content
-
Detect and run important plugin content seems to work quite well too (but have just started using it).

unfortunately some content refuses to run when the plugin is allowed.
And Youtube is now HTML5 video (can that even be blocked?)

2707

General Software Discussion / Re: Android like Typing Assistant for Windows PC?

« Last post by tomos on June 05, 2015, 12:55 PM »

They make sentence which look like a real readable sentences but in fact are stupidly connected long sentences. But they do the job of fooling search engines very well.

-lifeh2o (June 05, 2015, 12:51 PM)

but you want to write a scientific thesis -
surely the standard of English will have to be a lot better than for spam ?

2708

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by tomos on June 05, 2015, 11:36 AM »

Where/why did it show up? Are you connected to gaming sites/ forums / mailing lists?

-TaoPhoenix (June 05, 2015, 11:21 AM)

I dunno where this one came from - I get the usual spam: meds, casinos, software -
so this one really stood out from the crowd with it's *Star* in the subject line and it's promise of magic money.

2709

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by tomos on June 05, 2015, 07:01 AM »

I enjoyed this spam:

2710

General Software Discussion / Re: A double visualization

« Last post by tomos on June 05, 2015, 06:33 AM »

might be worth reading through the newegg reviews?

-tomos (June 05, 2015, 06:03 AM)

No, in that page there are data only.

-Giampy (June 05, 2015, 06:29 AM)

click on the eggs ;-)

2711

General Software Discussion / Re: A double visualization

« Last post by tomos on June 05, 2015, 06:03 AM »

If someone owns/owned the graphic card Intel G41 or better still the motherboard Asus P5QPL-AM, I would appreciate much to know his/her experience.

-Giampy (June 05, 2015, 04:39 AM)

might be worth reading through the newegg reviews?
http://www.newegg.co...Item=N82E16813131394

2712

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by tomos on June 04, 2015, 02:22 PM »

100!

-ayryq (June 03, 2015, 09:10 PM)

yes indeedy :-)
I belatedly post the record (unmodified, just didnt get to post it in time)

2713

Living Room / Re: DSLR Camera Simulator

« Last post by tomos on June 03, 2015, 05:16 PM »

^
it's well hidden actually -
I only found it on a second look after reading ayryq's post.
http://camerasim.com/apps/

2714

Living Room / Re: DSLR Camera Simulator

« Last post by tomos on June 03, 2015, 10:41 AM »

I think the "exposure compensation" sim is pretty cool

-ayryq (June 03, 2015, 08:50 AM)

where's that one? (do you mean the -2 to +2 scale?)

There's no possible way to expose correctly if the ambient light is reduced to, say, bright indoors, and it's got out-of-date profiles for high-ISO noise. A modern DSLR would do much better at high ISO. It'd be nice to have multiple example images, and if I paid for it I'd want different lenses and flashes.

-ayryq (June 03, 2015, 08:50 AM)

It doesnt seem to show noise at all as a factor in the result (?)
I think it's just meant as a basic learn about how ISO, shutter, & aperature interact with each other - and as such is quite good I find.

For a PC though, as you say, you'd definitely want more for your 10 dollars.

2715

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Softmaker Office: **90%+** Discount!!!! Offer Expires Feb5 6pm(?) EST

« Last post by tomos on June 03, 2015, 10:29 AM »

At the end '2012' was sold for less than $20. Surely you don't mean such price should qualify for a FREE upgrade to '2016' - which was the question here.

-Curt (June 03, 2015, 09:12 AM)

ah, I didnt realise that - then it *was* a logical conclusion :-)

2716

Screenshot Captor / Re: LATEST VERSION INFO THREAD - ScreenshotCaptor - v4.11.0 BETA - May 4, 2015

« Last post by tomos on June 03, 2015, 05:43 AM »

i am a LITTLE bit confused about the versions that are currently available.
On the homepage the latest version is "v4.10.0", the forum thread title says "v4.11.0 BETA", the last changelog "v4.12.0 BETA" (4.11 was skipped there btw), the beta download "4.12.1 BETA" and the DC updater wants to update to "4.12.0" (without beta).
Can someone tell me, what's going on right now?  

-ZeDMIN (June 03, 2015, 04:12 AM)

I *think* mouser (the author) is on the road right now so the 'paperwork' seems to be not quite up-to-date.

I can say though:
if you are being offered 4.12 as an update, that does mean it is no longer in beta (you can see the changes made in the post prior to yours).
So, 4.12.1 is the new beta.

2717

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Softmaker Office: **90%+** Discount!!!! Offer Expires Feb5 6pm(?) EST

« Last post by tomos on June 03, 2015, 02:38 AM »

^ SoftMaker Office 2016 is so expensively priced that I feel certain there is no free update from 2012, no matter how late you bought it.

-Curt (June 02, 2015, 06:20 PM)

that would be very unusual, so doesnt seem like a logical conclusion.
@brahman, the best thing would be to ask Softmaker themselves.

Yeah, the reason it seems expensively priced is that there is now only the pro version.
This is a pity imo (even though I use the pro version myself).

Softmaker Office 2016 has been released.
http://www.softmaker...english/index_en.htm
...
pricing appears to be different for German locations, so not sure what pricing you will see - probably 89.95 $/€ full price; 59.95 upgrade price

Note:

• 1) there appears to be only the Pro version now
• 2) there's one upgrade price for all (even from free versions)
• 3) they have moved from eMclient to Thunderbird for email

Overview:
http://www.softmaker...m/english/ofw_en.htm

Features
http://www.softmaker...glish/ofwfeat_en.htm

-tomos (May 29, 2015, 05:35 AM)

... for people who want to upgrade from a free version to the pro version, the pricing is very good.
I would also note that the support in their forums is very good, I've gotten value for money there ;-)

2718

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by tomos on June 01, 2015, 03:56 PM »

I have seen the offer on Windows 7 - but not on Windows 8.1, where I would actually consider updating...

2719

Living Room / Re: Audio clipping in MP4 and MP3

« Last post by tomos on June 01, 2015, 03:13 PM »

The cutted/flattened edges you mention are the visual waveforms that have been hardwall/brickwall limited. The "normalize" function Curt mentions is a preset limiter. When music is produced at that fine line just below clipping, any number of variables with your system might boost the signal just enough to exceed that line and cause audible clipping. As for your fix re the clipping, I produce for radio and have to leave about -5db headroom on the radio shows or else some stations run into problems with their download/playback/upload or broadcast systems boosting the signal and causing clipping. The -5db leaves plenty of room to compensate for that. You did the same by lowering the audio on the YTD audio - got it far enough away from clipping that Audacity could then manipulate the sound to your satisfaction. I think you'll only have clipping where the audio is been mastered at those extreme levels.

-Joe Hone (May 31, 2015, 09:55 PM)

that was interesting

2720

General Software Discussion / Re: dream phone

« Last post by tomos on May 31, 2015, 09:38 PM »

What happens with a dual SIM that supports stand-by is that when you're not actively using the cell radio (is., you're not in a phone call), the phone is 'multiplexing' between the two SIMs.  It'll activate one SIM to allow a connection on that phone number, and if nothing's going on, it'll switch the connection to the other SIM.  It does this automatically, without you having to manually choose which SIM is active.

I don't know how often the switch is done, but it's fast/often enough that any incoming calls on either SIM just ring the phone.  Dual active SIM phones actually have two sets of cell radios, so using one SIM doesn't affect the connectivity of the other at all.

However, when you are actively in a phone call with a stand-by dual SIM, the other SIM is never activated.  I think that for most people this isn't really an issue - incoming calls on the other SIM will go to voicemail. Just like if you had a single SIM.  

It might be a problem if you want to conference calls across the SIMs.

The other area that I think where stand-by could be a problem is if you're like me and use one SIM for voice/text and the other for data.  In that situation you won't be able to use data while you are actively in a phone call.  Personally, this hasn't been a problem at all.  The only time I noticed that I didn't have data access during a phone call was when I tried doing it just to see if it worked or not.

-mwb1100 (May 31, 2015, 05:24 PM)

thanks for that description - I had misunderstood your initial post to mean only one SIM worked at a time - and that you would have to manually activate/change between the two. I would presume then that's also what I have.

2721

General Software Discussion / Re: dream phone

« Last post by tomos on May 31, 2015, 02:19 PM »

Full active is pretty uncommon among dual-SIM phones, at least in my limited experience.  Are you sure you need full active?  My dual-SIM phone is standby, and I have had zero problems.  But then again, I'm not much of a yakker.

-mwb1100 (May 31, 2015, 01:16 PM)

I not much of a yakker either
but fully active dual-SIM is great e.g. if you live near a border - or abroad. So, I have a SIM-card from each country - I'll choose the SIM according to where I'm telephoning. One SIM (the one from the 'other' country) gets used mainly for texts - but also for the occasional call.

@kalos, sorry, dont know the answer to last query

2722

General Software Discussion / Re: dream phone

« Last post by tomos on May 31, 2015, 12:56 PM »

is having access to the battery unusual in (non-iPhone) phones?
If not, a simple search will get you a couple of results.

I know some of the newer brand Chinese phones cater much more to dual-sim.
I bought a very cheap one earlier this year, and it's a treat to be able to use two cards without having to swap them (I have it set to: choose which card on sending text message; one sim as default for telephoning & internet). But mine is a far cry from 3GB ram ;-)

2723

Living Room / Re: Soliciting feedback on website

« Last post by tomos on May 31, 2015, 12:42 PM »

Having just completed my very first (very basic) website (not online yet) - I'd say it looks very impressive
It works fine, also looking good on basic laptop screen - 1366x768

2724

Find And Run Robot / Re: Some shortcut keys don't work anymore.

« Last post by tomos on May 29, 2015, 12:25 PM »

I'd also like to add my vote for Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right making a selection. I find the fact that FARR doesn't do that very confusing.

-phitsc (November 15, 2011, 01:49 AM)

a big +1 here

2725

General Software Discussion / Re: why MS Word breaks format

« Last post by tomos on May 29, 2015, 12:18 PM »

why my clipboard is the problem?
I am copying from another word document and I am pasting in my initial word document
I paste several stuff, tables photos, formatted text etc
I just don't want that to affect my previous text!

-kalos (May 29, 2015, 10:44 AM)

edit// yeah - I guess it logically should not affect previous text, but in my experience mixing formatting (by pasting) in any Office software leads to problems of one kind or another