Recent Posts

276

General Software Discussion / Best free clipboard manager — Ditto vs ClipX vs CLCL vs Clipboard Help+Spell

« Last post by barney on January 10, 2013, 02:05 AM »

Review by way of dotTech.

277

Living Room / Re: An interesting article on tablets

« Last post by barney on January 10, 2013, 12:37 AM »

Read me right

-TaoPhoenix (January 09, 2013, 11:34 PM)

Apologies.

278

Living Room / Re: An interesting article on tablets

« Last post by barney on January 09, 2013, 11:29 PM »

Oh wait, on phones and tablets you're just supposed to consume $hit. Right. Got it.

-TaoPhoenix (January 09, 2013, 11:04 PM)

Yep.  All ya need is a good case o' consumption  .

Recently had cause to use a tablet from a hospital bed, with my phone tethered for connectivity.  It worked OK, but OSK (on-screen keyboard) is not an efficient form of input.  (On the other hand, I couldn't have done what I did with a laptop - angle problem.)  That said, my tablets have more computing power than the high-end laptops I bought a decade+ ago.  Methinks the usage of tablets is going to rely more upon user perception than actual capabilities.  Well-l-l, that and the current promotion slant(s)  .  But a few of us will make them fit into our usage needs, so no real loss, just a matter of adjustment.

279

General Software Discussion / Re: A new harddisk for my old notebook?

« Last post by barney on January 08, 2013, 02:08 PM »

helmut85, I have a couple of old WinBooks, one (1) Win2K, one (1) early WinXP.  Can't replace the batteries - not feasible from a logistical standpoint - so cannot use as portable devices.  Can't upgrade, because they don't have the power to handle current OSes - one (1) of 'em even strains at Linux distros.  Can't (not financially feasible) get new hard drives, 'cause they're old technology.  So there they sit:  too good to throw away, too underpowered/old to use - closet fodder only.  

The point to all this?
These boxes are:

• unrepairable from a financial standpoint
• unable to handle current software
• unable to handle current OSes
• unable to handle current hardware, e.g., USB 1.1 is highest level
• security risks due to old OSes
• security risks due to old software
• parallel & serial ported - no longer in use
• VGA ported - difficult to find a current display for it

There's more, but that list should suffice.

This thread/topic got me to thinking about them.  I won't live long enough for them to become valuable as real-world antiquities. although they already are in our (DC) world.  Sometime this year I will strip them down for parts - wonder if the HDDs will be worth keeping? - then discard the unusable bits.  Thus will I rid myself of two paper weights, kept only because of an emotional attachment that has become invalid.  You might consider my  decision while making yours.

[edit]
I see I'm late again.  Oh, well, lI'll let it stand anyway.
[/edit]

280

Living Room / Re: The temperature at which Hell freezes over - Absolute Zero?

« Last post by barney on January 06, 2013, 08:37 PM »

... nothing can be colder than absolute zero on the Kelvin scale.

Seems like there really are no absolutes in this universe!

-Renegade (January 06, 2013, 06:45 PM)

Simple problem:  just develop a new scale  .  Or a new scientific field, theoretical thermodynamics  .

Isn't that how/why the Kelvin scale was developed  ?

281

Living Room / Re: Java debugging in Eclipse

« Last post by barney on January 05, 2013, 09:12 PM »

Why do people still use eclipse instead of the superior IntelliJ platform?

-Tuxman (January 05, 2013, 09:00 PM)

Maybe it's the $200 US price tag.  That's a bit steep when there are freebies available to do much the same thing, doncha thimk?  Yeah, it's free for open source development, according to JetBrains, but just how do they define open source?  I've seen some pretty iffy offers from JetBrains, and their support, at least in my experience, has been less than stellar.

282

General Software Discussion / Re: Software that sounded useful, so you bought it, but then...

« Last post by barney on January 05, 2013, 07:29 PM »

I think I am the prototype on the thread's subject. I have purchased hundreds of useful programs that weren't useful at all - at least not to me. And then I upgrade to the new version, because now I have it, so I must upgrade it, or the initial purchase would seem wasted...

Just like our DC member Darwin I have now changed my ways. I am down to 145 programs installed, and haven't made a single purchase.. ehh... more than a couple of purchases since November. Hello, my name is Curt, I am a softoholic...

-Curt (January 04, 2013, 10:26 PM)

I could have written that.  I'm so glad that BDJ has taken to sucking hard in their bargains.  It really saves me a lot of money spent on software I don't need.  And it's not just software- during this steam sale, I bought a couple of hundreds of dollars of game.  But I've only played one of them.  I have a problem...

-wraith808 (January 05, 2013, 06:50 PM)

[
   You have software OCD!!!   

-Tinman57 (January 05, 2013, 06:29 PM)

Hell, I thought that was a requirement for DC membership  !  I'm not much into gaming - more the Mah Jong, Sudoku type  - but I've got a terrabyte+ of software I've bought/downloaded over the years.  Still have stuff from PCMag for Win31/Win98.  Some of that has never even been installed. At times, I'll be surprised at the results of a file search, then install something bought a couple-two-t'ree years ago just to see what it does ('cause I can't remember  ) .

283

Developer's Corner / Re: What pisses you off? [NSFW - language]

« Last post by barney on January 04, 2013, 12:03 AM »

This should be an interesting thread ... two (2) peevish people  and a jeep  .

284

General Software Discussion / Re: Antivirus Software Performs Poorly Against New Threats

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2013, 08:27 PM »

Accidents will happen, but until the average users are willing to take/accept responsibility for their actions/activities online, malware will always be a threat.  Instead folk on the Web want to rely upon third party software to protect them from their own folllies.  Kinda like a drunk driver not understanding why he got a DWI - he was just havin' fun.

When I was on CompuServe many moons ago, there was a guy - Ross Greentree or Greenberg, I think - who challenged virus writers to attack him.  (This was when Peter Norton (nice guy) and Ron McAfee (ego and bad attitude) and Phil Katz (ZIP format author - interesting story tied to that) were just getting started.)  He considered his protections to be superior.  It wasn't.  A lot of folk browsing today have Ross' attitude:  they can go anywhere because they are protected, so they don't have to exercise caution, just have fun - just like that guy with the DWI.

The willingly unaware will always be in danger, for, as Renegade said, "New threats will always emerge."

285

Living Room / Re: The Rant Thread!

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2013, 06:35 PM »

I've had nothing but good fortune with Amazon proper.  Can't say that, however, for some of their third party vendors.  And some times ya hafta look pretty close to determine if you are purchasing Amazon direct, even though the payment is to Amazon.  As an aside, I wonder how big a cut Amazon gets from those third party purchases  ?

286

General Software Discussion / Re: Ghacks mention of N.A.N.Y. 2013

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2013, 06:28 PM »

^^ Are you thinking of CamStudio? That's a different program.

-Renegade (January 03, 2013, 01:01 PM)

Wasn't, way back when.  Camtasia was birthed in CamStudio, originally was a pay-for version of it.  They changed the name, presumably to make a clear divide 'tween the freebie and the non-freebie.  The first version of Camtasia had significantly more capability than CamStudio, but I just couldn't see paying the price for it.

287

General Software Discussion / Re: Ghacks mention of N.A.N.Y. 2013

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2013, 12:54 PM »

Easy Screencast Recorder is a great alternative to free screen recorders such as Camtasia.

I think he meant:

Easy Screencast Recorder is a great free alternative to commercial screen recorders such as Camtasia.

I can tell you that Camtasia ain't free! (I've stopped upgrading.)

-Renegade (January 03, 2013, 12:24 PM)

Hee, hee.  Hey I just reported it:  corrections are the responsibility of the originator  .

There was a free version, some while agone, but under a different name - which, of course, I do not recall  .  Never could quite justify Camtasia's price tag for my usages:  there's steep, then there's OMG!  .

288

General Software Discussion / Ghacks mention of N.A.N.Y. 2013

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2013, 08:24 AM »

Martin Brinkman over at ghacks.net gave mention of the N.A.N.Y. results yesterday, but I was too lazy to type it in then  .

I subscribe to a number of similar news feeds, and can't help but wonder how many of those folk - Martin, Samer Kurdi, Yaara Lancet, et. al. hang out here; lurking, active, or drive-by?  Seems as though I see fairly regular mention of DC on their blogs, as well as a number of others.  I've also noticed coincidentally timely discussion in - on , at  - those blogs of currently active topics here  . 

Be interesting to get a head count, no?

289

General Software Discussion / Re: name.lnk.lnk.lnk.lnk.lnk forever ?

« Last post by barney on January 02, 2013, 10:40 PM »

I have several thumbs.db . Three or four and then is problematic because the program don't know which one must remain.....

-Contro (January 02, 2013, 09:58 PM)

Why rename them?  Just delete them.  Next time you access one of those folders in Explorer, it'll take just a bit longer as Explorer rebuilds a local thumbs.db.  And, to the best of my knowledge, only Windows - specifically Explorer - uses a thumbs.db file.

<addendum>
I see a couple of folk got ahead of me on this.  Oh, well, I'll post anyway - reinforcement  .
</addendum>

290

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... JavaScript & BBcode editor/ide software

« Last post by barney on January 02, 2013, 01:04 AM »

Funny you should mention debugging, but that's exactly why I recommended Aptana.

-Renegade (January 02, 2013, 12:11 AM)

Yeah, I know you did, and I recognize the functionality.  But Aptana is a coder's IDE, not a beginner's.  My young lady has no experience save for self-taught HTML and just a bit of PHP.  She needs something a bit easier to start with.  Ya don't start driving Grand Prix the day after you acquire your driver's license  .

I know summat o' Aptana's capabilities, although I abandoned it quite a while back for Komodo Edit, but I'd really like to find something a bit easier for her start.  The debug part was a wish, but even without it, someone here must be using or have used a JS editor that would be first time decent.  It's counter-productive to spend more time learning the IDE than the language for which you want to use it  .

Bear in mind that my lady is fifteen (15), maybe sixteen (16) years old.  She's bright, but I don't want to overload her.  She needs to learn to walk before she starts running marathons.

I've gone the [supposedly] fast-track route before and was sorely disappointed.  Since then, it's a step at a time - never overload the students to the extent that they quit.

<aside>
How are the wounds doing, Renegade?  Much better, I hope.
</aside>

291

General Software Discussion / In search of ... JavaScript & BBcode editor/ide software

« Last post by barney on January 01, 2013, 10:53 PM »

Folk,

I seek a couple of editor/ide elements, one (1) for JavaScript (JS) and one (1) for BBcode.  Not searched recommendations, but something that you've actually used and can recommend.

The BBcode thingy is for me - I'm about to need a familiarity with it whether I like it or no.

The JS thing is another matter.  There is a young lady here that has asked me for a recommendation for a JS IDE.  She's gotten help from me the last several years with hardware and software problems, and seems to think I'm a real whiz  .  Told her I don't use JS if it can be avoided, but she wants a recommendation anyway, so I told her I'd ask some real experts in the field.  She's young, but in a couple of years or three (3) I'll be asking for her help - she's that sharp.

Because of a comment by Renegade in another thread, I pulled down Aptana Studio ... and remembered why I'd discarded it years agone.  It'd take a month just to understand and modify the configuration  .  It has a learning curve that's just a bit steep for her at the moment.  So, is there some IDE, that you have used, that's a bit simpler for JS?  Preferably with some sort of debug capability?  If so, what advantages/disadvantages does it present?  How steep is the learning curve?  Is it currently in development, or is it a golden oldie?

292

Living Room / Re: Chinese Laborer pleads for help in Halloween Decorations

« Last post by barney on December 31, 2012, 08:41 PM »

  But we all know this will continue as long as people keep buying their products.....

-Tinman57 (December 31, 2012, 05:46 PM)

As a distaff observer noted, it's difficult to find anything to buy that isn't made in China - and even more difficult to buy anything made in the {USA|your non-China country of choice}.

The why of it at this point is pretty much moot - it exists.  We pretty much let it happen.  I recall my paternal grandfather ranting - or so I thought at the time - about buying made in China products back in the fifties and sixties.  Turns out he apparently had a valid rant.

The book No Logo dealt with some of this mess.

-TaoPhoenix (December 31, 2012, 07:46 PM)

Yes it did.  Unfortunately, it didn't really offer viable, practical solutions  .

293

Living Room / Re: In search of ... hardware mavens for a [problematic] wi-fi TV installation

« Last post by barney on December 31, 2012, 12:38 PM »

How far away from the house/WiFi router is the garage, and how strong is the siginal if you take a laptop into the garage now?

Have you considered using a powerline network between the house and garage? The TV could then be ethernet, and a WAP could be added for the laptops.

-Stoic Joker (December 31, 2012, 08:53 AM)

Distance should be no problem:  ~fifty (50) - sixty (60) feet - it's attached, part of the back of the house.  Signal varies with atmospherics, but ranges anywhere from sixty (60) to ninety (90) percent.

Isn't this what the Slingbox device does?

-mouser (December 31, 2012, 09:01 AM)

Surprisingly enough (to me, anyway), I'd not heard of the Slingbox before  , but then, I'm not very much into TV most of the time ... just wanna keep the guests happy  .  'Bout the only time I watch, other than Football or Olympic stuff, is if an old musical is on or one of the old sci-fi bits, preferably black-and-white - love Richard Carlson  .


My primary concern was getting the cable signal to the TV, but seems as though the Slingbox  apparatus will take care of that.  I'd already considered a powerline system, but that will wait 'til I see if wireless will work.  No need for the powerline stuff if wireless works OK.  Appears this could be much simpler than I had thought.

<aside>
Lately, I'm finding it near impossible to keep up with all the hardware/tech coming out ... and I don't thimk age is the issue  .
</aside>

294

Living Room / In search of ... hardware mavens for a [problematic] wi-fi TV installation

« Last post by barney on December 31, 2012, 12:10 AM »

Folk,
I would like to install a TV in the garage.  Broadcast TV would work OK, but broadcast in this area is somewhat less than stellar.  And running cable to the garage is not feasible.  So, what I would like to do is to do this via wireless, i.e. via my current wi-fi network.  However I have no idea whether this is doable.

Before I start a [possibly futile] search on ways, means, & equipment, I need some idea whether this is even possible.

My thought is to attach a dongle to the [USB capable] TV that will allow it to access my existing cable signal via the wi-fi network.  I do not yet have the TV, so its requirements are flexible.  Current router is a Cisco/LinkSys E4200, but that can be changed.  I've dedicated a bit of savings to this project, but I don't yet know whether it can be accomplished, nor what I'd need if it can.

Rationale for this is that I have several friends, sports nuts, who like to smoke  .  At this time of the year, the patio is a bit uncomfortable, so we retire to the garage for beer & smokes, but there's a dichotomy 'tween smoking and watching the game(s)  .  We also do a bit of laptop work during the smoking sessions when sports events are not extant  .

I know I've left a lot out, but the bare bones are here.  Mostly I just want opinions/suggestions about feasibility before I launch a search equivalent to tilting at windmills.

So, any thoughts on the matter?  Advice?  Suggestions?

295

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Improve precision of Drag & Drop

« Last post by barney on December 30, 2012, 01:29 PM »

Random comment to say I don't like trackballs. : )

-TaoPhoenix (December 30, 2012, 01:14 PM)

Me either, but for some people they are the ideal solution.

-Stoic Joker (December 30, 2012, 01:17 PM)

Truth.  It is difficult for some of us to click a mouse w/o moving it  .  And forget about a laptop's touchpad  .  Trackball, like it or no, is 'bout all that's left  .  And it does have the advantage of needing very little space, significantly less than most meeces  .

296

Living Room / Re: The Rant Thread!

« Last post by barney on December 29, 2012, 11:58 PM »

Grrr, argh! I'm angry! Everything is great an I have nothing to rant about! Grrr, argh!

-Renegade (December 29, 2012, 11:24 PM)

Oh?  I thought you just did  ?!?

-barney (December 29, 2012, 11:56 PM)

Or are you grousing about not having a creative rant  ?

297

Living Room / Re: The Rant Thread!

« Last post by barney on December 29, 2012, 11:56 PM »

Grrr, argh! I'm angry! Everything is great an I have nothing to rant about! Grrr, argh!

-Renegade (December 29, 2012, 11:24 PM)

Oh?  I thought you just did  ?!?

298

Living Room / Re: The Rant Thread!

« Last post by barney on December 29, 2012, 04:09 PM »

they would have to do it in steps

-TaoPhoenix (December 29, 2012, 01:36 PM)

Which is happening, methinks.  How many software download registrations do you see that require a physical address, as well as your full name, when neither is required for the operation of the software  ?  And if they have your physical address, they are ninety-five percent on the way to having your true name right now.  All it needs is a bit of research, and a small bit at that. (And I have the spam to prove it  .)

299

Living Room / Re: Merry Xmas to all DonationCoder folks

« Last post by barney on December 25, 2012, 09:02 PM »

It hit almost 10c here in North West Lancashire (England) today...Warmest Christmas day I remember EVER.  Not normal, and not nice...I like to freeze my ass off on Christmas Morning.  

-Stephen66515 (December 25, 2012, 08:42 PM)

According to my very sensitive body thermometer ('tween ninety (90) and forty (40), that is), that equates to ~twenty degrees F, but then I can't really feel a difference between zero and thirty  .

Since not all cultures celebrate the birth of the Christ, but every culture I wot of does celebrate the new year (although not at the same time), may I wish to each and every person a happy, comfortable, and profitable new year.

300

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... charting, course plotting software

« Last post by barney on December 25, 2012, 01:49 PM »

Here's the Google Play store Marine Navigation search.

From a quick look over some of the apps it looks like they are all raster based.

[addendum]
Looked at OpenCPN.  Looks good for Win, but no Android as yet <sigh />.
[/addendum]

-barney (December 24, 2012, 08:21 PM)

Wait, you would have looked at it when I mentioned it back here.....right ?   

Apparently there is an Android app in development.

-4wd (December 25, 2012, 01:03 AM)

I had totally forgotten that I'd already initiated the topic.  Comes of getting older, I guess  ; maybe I need to start keeping a list  .  I did find a Win app that worked, at least to some extent, with SVG charts.  There's another I found through Active Captain that is currently in development, but not even an early beta released as yet.

Part of the reason I'm looking so hard for Android is the fact that Chris is a former telecom engineer - most of the stuff he worked with was Unix-based, so he's no stranger to command-line stuff.  That should make his transition into the Android world a bit simpler (he'll choke on or balk at Win8  ).  Might also be true of iOS - don't know it well enough to judge.  At any rate, I've been looking for this for a while.  The difficulty is twofold:  finding something that will handle SVG (as well as, perhaps, raster); finding something that is essentially portable, not tied to a single boat.  GPS capability would be nice, but not an absolute requisite.

Oops, guests ... playtime is over.