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2751

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox not safe at all

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 07, 2009, 01:21 PM »

I'm sure this 'bogus report' was mentioned somewhere else on these forums when it was published.

Have you noticed anything missing on that list?

There is only one MS application listed and then in last place.

It doesn't even mention Internet Explorer which has consistently PROVED itself to be one of the most security compromised apps that MS have ever put out.

The report wasn't sponsored by any chance was it?

2752

General Software Discussion / Re: The Monkeys Have Hit The Button

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 07, 2009, 02:45 AM »

Seems to render fine in IE 7 here ???

2753

Living Room / Re: Apple Wheel macbook - revolutionary

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 06, 2009, 06:57 AM »

Brilliant ... and SOOOOOOO true

2754

General Software Discussion / Re: The Ribbon strikes again!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 05, 2009, 12:50 PM »

I quite liked the "personalized menus" of older office apps, since it meant that the features I need were available with very few clicks.

-f0dder (January 05, 2009, 12:20 PM)

It is still there in Office 2007 - just look at the little toolbar on the title bar. You can cutomise that to add as many buttons as you want.

I really do think the big problem with Word 2007 (and the other ribbon based Office apps) is that many people who have used Office in previous incarnation lose patience within 5 minutes because they can't find things were they used to be. Spend a few hours with the programs before you condemn the ribbon interface completely. Things are arranged with a certain logic and actually many things that you don't apparently see are there - you just need to open up the 'more option' box for the relevant section. The toolbar search addin is a great help in the early stages of transition as it tracks things down by searching for the command text almost instantly - and not only gives access to the command but also tells you where to find it next time and what the keyboard shortcut is. See http://www.officelab...s/Pages/default.aspx

2755

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2007 / Re: Mark Forster seeking beta testers for Autofocus

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 05, 2009, 12:14 PM »

Thanks both of you. Interesting listen. I seem to remember listening a while ago but I had forgotten

2756

General Software Discussion / Re: The Ribbon strikes again!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 05, 2009, 10:59 AM »

We'll have to agree to differ then. I am sure a lot of people who opt for the classic menus add-in do so because it is easier than trying to use the new interface. It is all a matter of familiarity as far as I can see. Certainly in Word I find the ribbon has command grouped in a fairly logical manner - and at least every thing is static so from a support point of view you can tell someone where to look and at least you know it is going to be there!

Have you ever considered using the quick access toolbar in Word 2007? You can add any (and as many) buttons to that as you like so for features you need to use regularly you can put them in a place of prominence and have them a single click away.

2757

What's the Best? / Re: Anti-Virus Package

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 05, 2009, 08:57 AM »

I have started using AVAST - happy with it. Light on resources and seems to do the job.

2758

General Software Discussion / Re: The Ribbon strikes again!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 05, 2009, 06:47 AM »

No one is forcing the removal of keyboard shortcuts - most Office shortcuts still work in Office 2007.

Having said that you should be aware that vast majority of users do use their mouse to make selections so are you saying that MS should always tailor software from the small minority who prefer the old interface?

I agree that they should give the option of the old interface or the ribbon - the trouble is that adoption of the ribbon would then be minimal because people stick with what they know rather than learn something new. From the mouse driven usage point of view I was sceptical of the ribbon in Office but now I have used it for a while I actually like it more than wading through all the unlabelled buttons and cryptic menus in O2003 and earlier.

Regarding loss of screen real-estate it is a non-issue. The ribbon can easily be minimised so you can effectively work with an almost full-screen document view until you need the ribbon visible. This means that the ribbon is actually potentially more screen efficient than earlier incarnations of office.

Having said that the pointless addition of ribbons to other software (such as the one that started this thread) is very annoying but I don't think ribbon interfaces should be blamed per se - it is a stupid design decision for that product.

I do find when talking to clients that it is easier to help them with the Office ribbon interface - it is far easier than trying to describe a button image on an old style toolbar. It is also easier for clients to remember where things were because the interface is fixed and not constantly changing (as the default install of Office 2003 and earlier did - menus that organised themselves according to usage, a plethora of toolbars that may or may not be visible with buttons that may or may not be visible by default).

2759

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: SuperAntispywarePro- 25% off

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 05, 2009, 05:54 AM »

Thread here: http://www.wildersse...wthread.php?t=174030

Mixed reviews - some love it, others hat it. That's the problem with AS software these days and reviews are unhelpful as there seem to be a fair number of bogus reviews knocking about the internet.

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The Getting Organized Experiment of 2007 / Re: Mark Forster seeking beta testers for Autofocus

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 04, 2009, 03:00 PM »

longrun the first link you gave doesn't seem to work?

2761

Living Room / Re: Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 04, 2009, 05:24 AM »

Why were you on the phone for 6 hours? And what problems did you have with reactivation?

You say Windows AnyTime no longer worked - what happened? Were you trying to use it from download installers or did you have the backup DVD?

Anyway glad you are back up and running.

2762

General Software Discussion / Re: WINDOWS 7 THREAD (ongoing)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 02, 2009, 07:19 AM »

It's even funnier when you read the follow-up discussions ...

Why are people such stick in the muds.

Personally I don't like Vista and still prefer/use WinXP but that is for a number of reasons that irritate many people - not least UAC, the burying and scattering of options and truly appalling networking options (especially with multiple adapters which breaks networking completely).

Having said that Vista isn't all bad and it is more usable than many people give credit for.

Windows 7 looks like it is the first potentially exciting release of Windows since Windows 2000 - at least the developers are tying to implement changes based on usability, and at least there seem to be some changes this time.

I know underlying technologies change but one of the things I have found somewhat frustrating is that until Vista the user interface has not appreciably changed since Windows 95. While to many there is comforting familiarity it has seemed to me that each time there was a lost opportunity to change the way things work for the better.

I haven't played with the W7 beta yet but the new task bar looks like very useful development, the tray icons (and user control over what appears there) looks like a huge step forward and actually the 'start' menu with its built in "Find and Run Robot" looks like a big improvement.

I'm sure many people will bellyache (probably me too) over incompatibilities with XP software, stupid hardware demands and poor support for legacy hardware products but I do think it makes a change for people to be looking at an OS that looks like it is at least an attempt to move things on from the 1980s approach to Windows.

I just hope MS have learned a few lessons from the Vista debacle (they seemed to after the WinME fiasco producing Win2k and XP which have proved very popular). The priorities should be for lightness of touch and speed of use (not a resource hog that requires hi spec graphics and large amounts of memory just to get it to run properly), a reduction of flavours to a sensible Server, Pro and Home versions and proper support for hardware - giving manufacturers some incentive to produce new drivers for legacy hardware for Windows 7 - something they have failed to do with the current prohibitively expensive certification scenario.

2763

Living Room / Re: Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 02, 2009, 04:29 AM »

Did you actually try ShellEX which I mentioned before?

If context menus are causing problems it is almost always to do with some software that you have installed. Especially if it goes away in safe mode.

ShellEx allows you to disable all of the shell extensions and then re-enable them a few at a time to track down what is causing the problem. If you find out what is causing the problem you can uninstall it and reinstall it to see if that cures it or just leave a shell extension disabled.

There have been many occasions i the past where this has saved me a reinstall and there have been other times when I have discovered to pieces of software that simply don't coexist nicely together.

See http://www.nirsoft.n.../utils/shexview.html

2764

Living Room / Re: Vista has gone nuts: [Major] Help please?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 01, 2009, 06:29 AM »

What AV are you using? Some AVs seem to take a long time to release the FF download manager when they scan incoming files.

Re. slow context menus - have you tried disabling some shell extensions to see if they are causing the problem (I haven't tried ShellEx from NirSoft in Vista but I assume there is a version that works by now).

2765

Living Room / Re: Beware the Google Threat - Big Fat Ass Brother (BFAB)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 01, 2009, 06:24 AM »

... I'm much more afraid of things like Carnivore...

-f0dder (August 22, 2008, 08:09 AM)

Just for the info:
http://en.wikipedia..../wiki/Carnivore_(FBI)

-Edvard (August 22, 2008, 04:31 PM)

If you think that is bad have you seen the proposals fromm the UK government - they want a database of ALL email, webpage vists and mobile phone calls for EVERY UK citizen. If they get their way they will force all ISPs and telecom providers to supply the information.

This is of course to 'combat terrorism' - which of course has become the global catchall for anything governemtns wants to do that they know will be unpopular.

Presumably there will be a massive growth in anonymizer services on the internet (unless they all get blocked by ISPs).

Here is just one article outlining the idea:

http://business.time...s/article3965033.ece

2766

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Parallels Workstation 2.2 (newest) for Windows and Linux for free (ends ????)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 01, 2009, 06:14 AM »

Thanks - not sure I will use it too much (I have VMWare which is better) but it is worth squirreling away a key

2767

Living Room / Re: End of year humor (I apologize in advance)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 31, 2008, 06:15 AM »

I know this isn't strictly humour but this arrived on the last day of 2008 - a year when the politics of fear reached epidemic proportions!

I actually found the following in a DVD package and thought it so absurd that it was truly hilarious ...

2768

Living Room / Re: Microsoft's Pay-Per-Use PC: ...Worst? Idea? Ever?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 31, 2008, 03:33 AM »

I am not so sure people will pay. Many non-geek users now using computers see the price of even cheap computers as expensive. Once you add an expensive monthly cost to get broadband they start to get irritated. If MS try any add a silly monthly subscription for 'using' the computer people will rebel and suddenly see the point of open source.

What's more large OEMs will also see the point and increase the push towards Linux - it is already beginning to happen because they can make computers cheaper and with the advent of the netbook which only seems to support XP which will die in 2010 even for them I think tOEMs will take the plunge and install Linux. Once the cat is out of the bag MS will find it hard to stuff it back in the sack again.

Add to that once hardware manufacturers see Linux appearing on new computers more widely they will start producing decent specific drivers for Linux for their hardware and once that important door is kicked in Linux becaomes a whole new proposition.

MS suggested the software subscription model years ago and ran away screaming at the prospect of shooting themselves in the foot. Cloud computing is a variation on that idea. Of course there is nothing that they would like more than the option to print money but subscription models would open the world to competition in a way that MS would not be happy to see.

Personally I think Windows Vista has done a wonderful job at illustarting what MS thinks of its customers - they are a money source only. The fact that many business actually opt to upgrade to Windows XP and MS have been forced to allow them do this only shows the independent mind of consumers and businesses is growing. It isn't a huge step to ask the question 'why do I have to pay to upgrade at all?'

2769

Living Room / Re: Microsoft's Pay-Per-Use PC: ...Worst? Idea? Ever?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 30, 2008, 06:39 PM »

I think it is fair enough for MS to do what they want. Given that there are MANY better cloud computer solutions out there which are totally free only idiots will pay MS and as people realise what MS is trying to achieve it can only do wonders for other compaines (not least Linux).

PC manufacturers aren't going to be happy if they don't get their cut of OEM licenses!

2770

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Outpost 2009 – A lifetime license for 3 PCs for the price of a 1-year!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 30, 2008, 06:37 PM »

If you don't let bad things in you won't have bad things going out. Trouble is almost no firewall completely protects you from malware that is already on your system. If you allow your browser to access the internet it is pretty easy to craft a URL to post personal data to someone outside without a firewall even noticing.

Call me cynical but security apps in general areplaying a game of smoke and mirrors with users ...

By the way Vista's firewall has outgoing protection (FWIW).

2771

Living Room / Re: Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 30, 2008, 01:01 PM »

No it was an expensive unit so I ain't throwing it out.

It seems to have settled down now and I contacted APC customer support who said I should let it charge for 8 hours and if there is a problem get back to them.

It's just a bit disconcerting plugging in a device that is supposed to secure against power problems and for it instantly start howling and flashing red warning lights!

By the way - re. non-UK cables - it actually provided two suitable leads so you can connect a monitor and PC without having to buy anything else. I had a patch cable I made for an old Belkin UPS and so I reused that as a way to plugin a power strip for scanner etc.

2772

Living Room / Re: 2008 Darwin Awards

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 30, 2008, 10:41 AM »

I can't see the rocket man story on the site anymore (even under urban legends) - has it been removed?

2773

Living Room / Re: Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 30, 2008, 09:41 AM »

Just got my APC BackupUPS and installed it.

Great fun as usual ...

Plugged it in and switched it on and the red "replace battery" warning lit up on the machine and it emitted a series of ear splitting beepings that seemed to go on for ever!

I struggeled on, started my computer and installed the software.

I have left it running for an hour and it now passes the self tests.

Is this normal behaviour?

The unit had a test certificate (in the form of a strip of toilet paper) which says the device was tested January 2008. Presumably it has been in a stock room for nearly a year and not been charged during that time. The APC website warns that even in storage the battery should be charged at least once every 6 months to stop large crystals forming.

Should I send this back for replacement or just assume that some time during the 2 year warranty (or 3 years if you believe their FAQs on the website) I will need to get a free battery replacement ?

2774

Living Room / Re: WinXP incredibly slow (and sometimes failing) login

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 30, 2008, 05:59 AM »

Hey there are some nice little tools on that site  ... thanks

Actually this morning when I switched on it started up fine - I had a bit of a clearout yesterday and dumped a load of startup items that I rarely use. I'll play it be ear for the time being and see if it has been fixed by the clean up!

2775

General Software Discussion / Re: Editor for PDFs: recommendations, please?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 30, 2008, 05:34 AM »

PS - even if you are in Euro zone or the US if you buy from Jaws pay in UK pounds. At the current exchange rates it will be cheaper in pounds as they don't seem to have recently updated the prices. (Currently £1 is worth 1 Euro, give or take a cent, and $1.47)

Note Jaws does not support Vista64 platforms but does support XP64