Recent Posts

2876

Living Room / Re: Upgrading Video and Power Supply on an Dell XPS 400

« Last post by Darwin on March 30, 2008, 09:40 AM »

Thanks for clarifying that, oldfart, I had no idea.

2877

Post New Requests Here / Re: A folder when opened in "icon view" will run the application in it

« Last post by Darwin on March 30, 2008, 09:11 AM »

Sounds a bit like a feature in the Pro version of Vista Start Menu (though admittedly what you're after is more sweeping in that you want it to work from your File Manager and dialogues, I presume).

2878

Living Room / Re: Upgrading Video and Power Supply on an Dell XPS 400

« Last post by Darwin on March 30, 2008, 09:08 AM »

Sounds like bunk to me, then... It's not like Dell uses proprietary MB's and components (is it?!).

2879

Living Room / Re: Upgrading Video and Power Supply on an Dell XPS 400

« Last post by Darwin on March 30, 2008, 08:59 AM »

Reading between the lines, it sounds like what he is really saying is that you'll void any warranty that remains on your computer.

2880

General Software Discussion / Re: Direct Folders 3.3 Released : Now FREE for HOME use

« Last post by Darwin on March 30, 2008, 08:56 AM »

Thanks for the notification, tinjaw. I missed this one at the time. I haven't used Direct Folders in a long time, but will take a look at it again.

2881

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the currently best Desktop Search software?

« Last post by Darwin on March 30, 2008, 08:34 AM »

That's strange, iphigenie - the version I bought last summer came with a full set of Stellent viewers that worked fine when I had PowerDesk installed.

2882

Living Room / Re: We need to do something about Skrommel.. but what?

« Last post by Darwin on March 29, 2008, 04:45 PM »

How do you solve a problem like Skrommel?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Skrommel?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know you'd like to tell him
Many a thing He ought to understand
But how do you make him stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a wave upon the sand

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Skrommel?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

2883

Living Room / Re: The MacBook Air is So Thin…

« Last post by Darwin on March 29, 2008, 04:35 PM »

Nope. Can't find it. Did find MANY comparisons, though, and the overall sense seems to be
pretty much what you'd expect... Mac diehards love the MacBook Air and Windows enthusiasts the Lenovo. Now who could have foreseen that?

To be fair, though, even given that comment, most reviewers seem to feel that these two ultraportables are pretty much tied with the Lenovo having more connections and an optical drive standard while the Mac is more powerful, smaller and lighter, and has a longer battery life.

One point of clarification from my previous post: the MacBook Air has a USB port, with the emphasis on the "a" - ie there is one vs. Lenovo's three.

2884

Living Room / Re: The MacBook Air is So Thin…

« Last post by Darwin on March 29, 2008, 04:23 PM »

Just to comment on Curt's post about the Lenovo from March 22... it's quite a bit thicker in cross section than the Mac, but it DOES have an optical drive, USB ports. Somewhere I saw a video comparing the two and the reveiwer kept stressing that the Lenovo is streets ahead of the Mac... except in the looks and thin departments! He summed it up by saying that he couldn't see why anyone would go with the Mac, given a choice. I'll have to find that video review... it was probably PCMag or something, but I've no idea at the moment.

2885

General Software Discussion / Re: Magix (Xara) rant...

« Last post by Darwin on March 29, 2008, 04:17 PM »

Extrude - sounds vaguely unpleasant, doesn't it 

2886

General Software Discussion / Re: Magix (Xara) rant...

« Last post by Darwin on March 29, 2008, 10:00 AM »

Update: Version 4 is indeed out now as a late beta with release set for next week. Visit the TalkGraphics announcement from Xara's founder, Charles Moir, for details and pricing...

http://www.talkgraph...owthread.php?t=31909

2887

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Let's Bundle Our Orders For Software995 Toolset

« Last post by Darwin on March 28, 2008, 12:10 PM »

Welcome to the "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", wraith 

2888

General Software Discussion / Re: Stellent viewers.. what exactly are they?

« Last post by Darwin on March 28, 2008, 09:18 AM »

Ouch! You're right, Curt. They've upped the pricing for this version. Foul play in my opinion! I thought $39 was steep... I guess it depends on how much you think you'd use the Outlook and browser plugins. There are some competing products, but to my knowledge they're all at a similar price point (or higher), feature fewer viewers and aren't as "slick". I'm also unclear on whether or not the alternatives work with Dopus and other File Management options.

2889

Living Room / Re: Notebook display issue - ATI Radeon 200M

« Last post by Darwin on March 28, 2008, 12:03 AM »

Update: I took the notebook in and it was sent off without issue. I "fessed up" to the stickers and was assured that all would be well - the local techie said that he often peels them off before sending equipment in because they might try to work on the unit first to recover data from a harddrive for example, or to update components. It's a loose connection (I think) in the display, as the tech showed me that squeezing the display in the middle of the black band removes the black band and reveals the full display. All should be well (I hope) with the sole exception that in attempting to reseat all the connections last night I thought I'd remove the display... the final of four screws holding it onto the body of the notebook was seized and the head got chewed up... I'm hoping the repair shop just does the job and overlooks that one... of course, I know nothing, NOTHING, about this. If they won't fix it, I'll be shopping for an external monitor!

2890

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the currently best Desktop Search software?

« Last post by Darwin on March 27, 2008, 09:02 PM »

Alright then, Bruce Wayne  I can't actually check this out, anymore, because in a spring cleaning frenzy I uninstalled PowerDesk. I do recall, though, specifically setting File Finder to search for all file types, etc. Don't get this or any other post (from me!) wrong: SearchGT is amazing and I'm glad I bought a licence. I don't know why my comparisons aren't as dramatic as other peoples' experiences here... I've been quite scrupulous in making sure that all of the applications that I've tried have been set to do the same thing (ie file types, directorys/drives, etc). I'll revisit this later today or tomorrow and see what happens.

2891

General Software Discussion / Re: Stellent viewers.. what exactly are they?

« Last post by Darwin on March 27, 2008, 08:59 PM »

Thanks for the post, Curt. I have QV Plus 10 installed, not 9... As for the pricing - crazy! DId you try selecting US dollars as the currency for the transaction?

2892

General Software Discussion / Re: Stellent viewers.. what exactly are they?

« Last post by Darwin on March 27, 2008, 03:27 PM »

Here are a couple of screenshots, both using Dopus 9 and the latest Stellent viewers courtesy of QuickView Plus 9:

Word document



Excel file



NOTE: I was going to use a screenshot of XYplorer previewing the Excel file, but as I was about to post I realised that it seems to hook into QuickView Plus... so am not sure if it will actually use the Stellent viewers on their own, though I don't see why it wouldn't...

2893

Living Room / Re: Notebook display issue - ATI Radeon 200M

« Last post by Darwin on March 27, 2008, 02:55 PM »

OK here's my cunning plan. I'm cleaning off the stickers - they offend me. I'll take it in and have the work done and not say anything about the stickers - I'll deal with any objections to their absence when the issue arises. Sound like a good idea?

2894

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the currently best Desktop Search software?

« Last post by Darwin on March 27, 2008, 12:51 PM »

Yeah... I can confirm that I've got 6.0.1.3 installed as well, and that the trial installer is for the same version (I start running it but cancelled the installation).

2895

General Software Discussion / Re: Stellent viewers.. what exactly are they?

« Last post by Darwin on March 27, 2008, 11:16 AM »

  - sorry PaladinMJ  - I did indeed miss this thread, but your PM got my attention!  Incoherent raving follows:

If you have an application that can use the Stellent viewers and would like to see what the fuss is about, follow the X1/Yahoo Desktop Search tip as it does work. This involves installing either X1 or YDS and then moving the "Stellent" folder out of the X1/Yahoo program folder, uninstalling X1/YDS - if you wish- and then directing whatever application that you wish to use them with to that location. I know that XYplorer, Dopus, and X2 can be configured to use the viewers, but am sure that there are others.

What makes them so great? Well... what I like about them is being able to view the 300 supported file types without having to invoke the associated application, like Word or Excel. This has two benefits - speed, as you're not opening multiple RAM and CPU intensive programs just to view a document, and security, as any nasties that shipped with the documents aren't opened. So, if someone e-mails you something, or you want to view a file that you've found online, you can save it to a location on your harddrive and view it's contents - with the formatting retained - efficiently and safely. If you spring for the Avanquest front end for the viewers - QuickView Plus ($39.95) - you can set it up to do this automatically from Outlook or your browser, so that you don't have to save the files first.

Hope this is helpful.

2896

Living Room / Re: Notebook display issue - ATI Radeon 200M

« Last post by Darwin on March 27, 2008, 10:34 AM »

Thanks, guys. Jim - that's more or less what I'm thinking, too... However, I think I'll follow Chris and mouser's advice and be honest about the stickers. The notebook is no doubt going to go directly back to the shop that just fixed it, so trying to claim there were no stickers probably won't do me any good.

2897

Living Room / Re: Notebook display issue - ATI Radeon 200M

« Last post by Darwin on March 26, 2008, 11:51 PM »

Heh, heh - I'm reading Gum, by Douglas Coupland at the moment. Very apros pros...

Anyway, thank you for your comment, Chris. I dread going back to Staples, but suppose I have nothing to lose - except time. The notebook will be sent back to your neck of the woods (Vancouver Island all the way to Toronto) for repair, so I won't see it for a good long time...

2898

Living Room / Notebook display issue - ATI Radeon 200M

« Last post by Darwin on March 26, 2008, 07:15 PM »

I learned a lesson today - always check out the equipment that is returned after a repair before messing around with it...

Background: I sent a notebook in for extended warranty work (DC connection wasn't working). Before sending it in I removed the aftermarket RAM and harddrive upgrades that I had installed and replaced them with the original equipment (two reasons: 1. if the machine wasn't going to be repaired I wanted the RAM and the harddrive and 2. the original harddrive has nothing on it other than a vanilla install of XP Home so no worries about banking information, etc. falling into the wrong hands). I received the notebook today and verified that it was receiving power from the AC adapter... I wish that I had turned it on first...

The warranty repair shop had FESTOONED my notebook with "Warranty Void if Seal is Broken" stickers over the screw covers for the RAM access panel, one of the screws for the Harddrive cover, and a couple of other screws (presumably allowing access to the motherboard or something). Anyway, to cut to the chase, I broke the seals, re-upgraded the components, and fired up the notebook. 25 to 30% of the lcd is a solid black band. As far as I can tell, this is likely an issue with the video adapter (ATI Radeon 200M).

Any advice? Should I take it back to Staples and argue that claiming that the warranty is voided when the end user upgrades components that the manufacturer deems "user upgradeable" is ludicrous (incidentally, this was the third trip to the warranty repair shop for this notebook and the first time it came back with any stickers on it at all - and it certainly didn't have any on it when I purchased it brand new)? Any other suggestions? It's a Compaq Presario R4225CA, if that helps. I have a pdf version of the repair manual but it is silent on the issue of the video card.

Not happy in Courtenay... 

2899

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Let's Bundle Our Orders For Software995 Toolset

« Last post by Darwin on March 26, 2008, 07:40 AM »

Ooh! Nice find - thanks for that, Perry. I'm adding that link to my favourites 

2900

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by Darwin on March 25, 2008, 07:28 PM »

still seemed to feel it would only be right if she wrote them out by hand

-Dormouse (March 25, 2008, 07:16 PM)

[Off-topic]This is how I learn, or at least memorize, best... The act of writing out my notes - or someone elses notes - when I was in university seemed to "fix" the information in my mind... [/Off-topic]