Recent Posts

326

Living Room / Re: Comparison of FREE Cloud Storage services.

« Last post by dr_andus on June 06, 2015, 01:18 PM »

This especially interesting review was what encouraged me to make the edit:
Comparison of 15 Best Free Cloud Storage Services

-IainB (June 06, 2015, 12:33 PM)

Thanks. These sort of comparisons imply though that one should choose ONE best service for one's needs. But, as discussed earlier, there are good reasons (such as one's investment into a particular ecosystem - sorry for the buzzword again) to use several of these for different reasons.

E.g. I have an automatic daily backup service for my PC (as insurance against hard drive failure, fire, flood, theft etc.), which I use for nothing else (Mozy). This is the only one I pay for.

Then I use Google Drive for spreadsheets, PDFs and other docs that I work on a daily basis on and need quick and universal access to (and it's convenient on a Chromebook).

I also use OneDrive occasionally, but only to edit MS Word docs on MS Word Online (when I don't have access to a PC, such as on a Chromebook).

And I still use Dropbox with some apps that can only save to that or when I need to preserve an MS doc's format 100% and have to share it with other people (or myself, using a Win netbook), staying within Win environments.

P.S. Come to think of it, it's the proliferation of OS's and standards (and incompatibilities between them) that drive me to use multiple services. But maybe it's not a bad idea to keep eggs in multiple baskets...

327

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on June 06, 2015, 09:56 AM »

I haven't had to deal with this problem yet, but according to the Ghacks article, there is more than one update that needs to be disabled:

If you are using Windows 7, locate the following updates: 3035583, 2952664, 3021917
If you are using Windows 8, locate the following updates: 3035583, 2976978

328

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

« Last post by dr_andus on June 06, 2015, 08:44 AM »

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.

Same here... and the hardware *is* really nice, though PC manufacturers are catching up.

-wraith808 (May 30, 2015, 09:26 AM)

Speaking of hardware only, the new Google Chromebook Pixel 2 (2015) is being compared favourably to the Apple Macbook 2015, there are loads of head-to-head reviews. Of course the conclusion always is that the Pixel is overkill for Chrome OS. However, if one had already bought into Chrome OS and is able to install Linux on it as well, then it might even things out a bit more.

329

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on June 05, 2015, 05:34 PM »

http://www.kitguru.n...u-will-get-for-free/

-Stephen66515 (June 05, 2015, 04:20 PM)

Thanks for that. It's good to see Windows 7 starter edition is also included. I never quite liked it on my Acer netbook, so this might be a way of getting rid of it and trying out Win 10 at the same time.

330

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

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

I feel a great lack of words and vocabulary to describe something.

-lifeh2o (June 05, 2015, 06:30 AM)

It sounds like you're talking about looking up synonyms as you write.

WriteMonkey can do this. CTRL+click on a selected word, and it will bring up a list of synonyms in the context menu, and by clicking on a synonym it will replace the original word. It's amazing!

I keep forgetting about this feature (which I only discovered by accident), I should use it more often... Can't remember if it's in the free version, but you can donate any amount to get the donor key, and the other plugins are well worth it.

I only tried it in English, but he also has dictionaries and language packs for other languages on there.

Language packs (WORK IN PROGRESS!)
----------------------------------

French fr-FR (updated for v2.7: April 17th 2015) ** NEW **

Galician gl-ES (added: January 9th 2011)

German de-DE (updated for v2.7: November 8th 2014)

Italian it-IT (updated: December 25th 2010)

Lithuanian lt-LT (updated for v2.7: September 11th 2014)

Polish pl-PL (updated for v2.2: September 4th 2011)

Portuguese pt-BR (updated for v2.7: September 11th 2014)

Romanian ro-RO (updated for v2.7: November 23rd 2014)

Russian ru-RU (updated for v2.5: September 20th 2013)

Slovenian sl-SI (updated for v2.5: September 15th 2013)

Spanish es-ES (updated for v2.7: September 28th 2014)

Turkish tr-TR (added: April 13th 2011)

Ukrainian uk-UA (updated for v2.7: September 11th 2014)

331

Living Room / Re: OneDrive v. Google Drive?

« Last post by dr_andus on June 03, 2015, 03:32 PM »

From experience, for documents, Google Drive/Docs will create "GDocs" copies of some of your files, and duplicate them, then later delete and update them to new formats. All without the user's say-so.

-IainB (June 03, 2015, 11:11 AM)

I haven't had that experience, maybe that was before my time.

But I think there is a difference between saying that "Google changes your files arbitrarily" and saying that when opening and editing MS Office files in Google Drive, they may get converted to Google doc formats, whether the user realises or not - but it's due to the user's actions and choices.

As far as I can tell, a .docx file stays a .docx file, as long as you don't try to edit it directly in the Drive environment. If you do, depending on what browser you use, different things might happen. In Chrome (at least in Chrome OS), you get the option to view and edit it in Office Compatibility Mode or save it as Google Docs. In Firefox in Windows, the .docx file opens in a viewer, and then it gives you the option to edit it as a Google Doc or use other 3rd party app.

Now, an MS user may expect Google to provide full compatibility for an MS product, but Google is not really obliged to do so for a competitor's product and they have every right to try to convince the user to start using Google products. So I'm not so bothered about lack of perfect compatibility.

On the other hand, I'm a lot more annoyed when I'm editing an MS Word docx file in MS Word Online, and then I find that the resulting file is all messed up (e.g. formatting of tables) when I open it in Windows again. It's MS's own service, so I'd be justified to expect compatibility with its own product...

332

Living Room / Re: OneDrive v. Google Drive?

« Last post by dr_andus on June 03, 2015, 02:48 PM »

That was for beta reasons in one case and legal reasons in the other, not because of any sort of repositioning- therefore I don't think that's entirely fair.

-wraith808 (June 03, 2015, 02:00 PM)

OK, I'll take your point about that. However, my main argument was that for MS the cloud is an afterthought, a bandwagon they are trying to jump on, trying to force users to start saving their stuff on the cloud, while Google is ahead on that game, as the search, Gmail, Google Calendar etc. started off as cloud services, so it's a smaller step to start using Drive.

I was quite willing to go with the MS cloud service, but I just found it clunky compared to Google Drive (which is not perfect either but I find it a smoother user experience). 

333

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on June 03, 2015, 12:15 PM »

Today the update advert ^ was installed on my laptop (and it won't exit), so I gave them my email address, because I expect this to be one way they will leave me in relative peace, until the end of July.

-Curt (June 03, 2015, 11:57 AM)

Have you tried this? How to block Windows 10 Upgrade notifications in earlier versions of Windows

334

Living Room / Re: OneDrive v. Google Drive?

« Last post by dr_andus on June 03, 2015, 12:08 PM »

IainB, I'd second wraith808 in that Google Drive and OneDrive are not like other cloud backup or file services (Dropbox etc.), because their focus is on drawing in the user into their ecosystem, and because of that there will be some limitations that you've pointed out. So, for backup services or plain vanilla file storage, transfer and syncing, more generic services (Dropbox etc.) will always be better.

However, once you're aware of those limitations, you can still get a lot of value out of Google Drive and OneDrive for the right kind of use, just don't try to use them for everything and don't put all your faith into them. E.g. I'm a Google Drive user but only for certain types of files, and whenever possible, I'd use the Google doc versions.

Couple this with the Cavalier approach of Google in it unilateral killing-off of Google products, leaving the users with nothing else, then any Google user would probably be wise to reconsider whether their data was actually safe in Google's hands.

-IainB (June 03, 2015, 11:11 AM)

That's not entirely fair. They always give you plenty of advance warning (6 months) and ways to export your data. Also, Google Drive is a lot more central to their ecosystem than the services they killed off so far.

Shutting down Google Drive would mean abandoning Chrome OS and crippling the Chrome browser project, Gmail etc., just when everything is moving towards the cloud. I'm not saying it's impossible but it sounds very unlikely and would be a catastrophic event, such as going bankrupt or being acquired by a hostile competitor.

I'd say MS is on more shaky grounds regarding their strategy than Google at the moment. How many times has MS re-launched their cloud service in recent years? In comparison, Google's cloud approach was a steady, incremental expansion.

Moreover, Google doesn't need to convince its users to become cloud users, as they already are. MS, on the other hand, has been having great difficulty convincing its users. The free OS upgrade is the last ditch effort to convert them en masse to the cloud, and in many ways is mimicking Google's Chrome OS strategy.

335

Living Room / Re: 2014-2015: Best tablet specs for ebook reading

« Last post by dr_andus on June 02, 2015, 07:09 PM »

I shouldn't just say that I'm looking for a tablet for e-book reading.  What I should say is that I'm looking for a tablet to read full-page-at-a-time textbooks and 8.x5x11 pdf journal articles.

-mouser (November 25, 2014, 04:34 PM)

This might become a possibility soon: for PDFs, combining the forthcoming ASUS Chromebook Flip with Notable PDF Viewer and Annotation App to read in tablet mode. For ebooks there is Play Books or Kindle Cloud Reader (and possibly others).

The advantages of this option would be that one could quickly switch between reading and annotating mode by simply unfolding the device and using the keyboard. And with Notable PDF the notes would be instantly synced across devices and platforms.

And it would be a multi-purpose device (tablet alternative), as it is of course a fully functional Chromebook.

The downside is that in Notable PDF you can't (yet?) change the colour scheme for the background and the fonts (although the brightness can be controlled via the Chromebook).

But with Play Books (as it is run in the Chrome browser) it is possible to use some dark or night styles with the Stylish for Chrome extension, as a workaround to make it easier on the eyes.

P.S. I also just realised today that in Play Books it's possible to select viewing the scanned version of the ebook, thus having a PDF-like experience, and seeing the actual page numbers, which are important in some cases (such as academic work).

336

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on June 02, 2015, 07:37 AM »

Heh so everyone can mark May 1 2016 (or so) on their calendars to be within the upgrade window

-TaoPhoenix (June 02, 2015, 02:25 AM)

Thanks, have just done that 

337

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Tray Management Utilities Mini-Review

« Last post by dr_andus on May 31, 2015, 03:11 PM »

I only seem to have problems with the systray when booting up. I've gotten into the habit of running the "Restart Explorer" utility below, and that sorts things out (though I suspect that a lot of icons are still not displayed, but at least the ones I care about are there, in the order I want them to).

Add Restart Explorer to Context Menu

-4wd (August 06, 2012, 10:44 PM)

338

General Software Discussion / Re: why MS Word breaks format

« Last post by dr_andus on May 30, 2015, 07:50 AM »

is there any other kind of break that I could add?

-kalos (May 29, 2015, 12:29 PM)

Add section breaks

339

General Software Discussion / Re: why MS Word breaks format

« Last post by dr_andus on May 29, 2015, 11:39 AM »

You could try to insert some kind of a section break first (to break the continuities in the formatting), and then do the pasting, and see if that helps.

340

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on May 24, 2015, 06:58 AM »

...horrible overall for readability on large desktop monitors.

-urlwolf (May 24, 2015, 05:50 AM)

So what must give? Does it mean MS expects one to get better monitors or some other hardware upgrade?

Currently I'm on Win7, 64-bit on a 3.5 yr old PC, but because of the above font smoothing problem I'm forced to use MS Office 2010 instead of 2013, even though I have both on my system.

341

General Software Discussion / Re: MS Project questions

« Last post by dr_andus on May 24, 2015, 06:51 AM »

Maybe we could consider whether it might be useful and worthwhile pooling our collective knowledge of computerised project management tools and training in same, and documenting it somehow in this site?

-IainB (May 23, 2015, 09:08 PM)

You might have seen these already, but there some suggestions for simpler alternatives in these two threads on the OutlinerSoftware forum:

- Best PIM for project management?
- Project Management Software?

And then there are some 131 alternatives on Microsoft Project Alternatives and Similar Software - AlternativeTo.net, but that seems everything but the kitchen sink...

342

General Software Discussion / Re: MS Project questions

« Last post by dr_andus on May 23, 2015, 05:12 PM »

I find this kind of advice interesting, based on the small similarities I once encountered similar to his situation, but it depends if you get an incoming file already in project format and if his bosses need some kind of "killer feature" only available in MS - P.

-TaoPhoenix (May 23, 2015, 01:11 PM)

Sure, but aside the killer feature scenario, software like RationalPlan can import/export MS Project file format.

343

General Software Discussion / Re: MS Project questions

« Last post by dr_andus on May 23, 2015, 11:13 AM »

If the objective is to end up with a Gantt chart to stick into someone's PowerPoint presentation, there might be other (lot more user-friendly) options out there and the end user may never know (or need to know) that it wasn't produced in MS Project.

I used RationalPlan some time ago, which I found a lot simpler and easier to use than MS Project (though not for presentational purposes but for actual project planning).

It seems to have got a bit more expensive since I bought it, but the Linux version is free. And there might be other free sofware (possibly even PPT add-ons) that can create a nice-looking Gantt chart.

344

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on May 21, 2015, 05:00 AM »

In Edge [aka Project Spartan], the new tab page -- which appears whenever the user requests a new tab -- is much busier, filled not only with images of the most-frequently-visited websites, but also news and other content from MSN, as well as apps Microsoft happens to highlight.

-http://www.computerworld.com/article/2924998/microsoft-windows/microsoft-issues-crash-warning-with-latest-windows-10-update.html

Ew...

-Deozaan (May 21, 2015, 01:07 AM)

Doesn't sound very Spartan... I wonder why? Then I read on:

The latter is yet another hint at how aggressive Microsoft will be in promoting Windows Store apps -- one of the biggest revenue generators in the company's strategy to monetize the increasingly-free OS.

345

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Tray Management Utilities Mini-Review

« Last post by dr_andus on May 20, 2015, 05:17 PM »

Watching this with interest but a bit scared to try, given the above (false?) positives

346

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on May 13, 2015, 04:11 AM »

So, for the foreseeable future, if you want to save money as a consumer, make sure your next PC is built to last, both in quality of hardware and specs. You want it to last as long as possible without it dying or becoming obsolete.

-app103 (May 12, 2015, 07:20 PM)

This is my fear though: MS will be able to make your hardware remotely obsolete by releasing an update that makes some key features inoperable or key software non-functional, to force you to buy a new device, whenever they need some extra revenue.

Currently you have the option to stick with XP or Win7, as long as your machine is working, sticking with old but functional software.

Case in point: I have a perfectly functioning iPad 1 with an amazing battery that is useless to me because the main apps I used decided to abandon that device once Apple made its OS unupdatable for those specs.

347

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on May 08, 2015, 06:12 PM »

it's not uncommon for significant updates to have issues that don't get fixed for a while.

-superboyac (May 08, 2015, 03:22 PM)

Tell me about it. Google OS (and/or app) updates keep breaking Chrome Remote Desktop's multi-monitor support for my scenario, and every time they take weeks and sometimes several months to fix it (and currently it's been broken for months). Hugely annoying. I can only presume that not enough people complain about it, so it's not a priority for them to fix.

As for my PC, I'll be reluctant to upgrade from Win7 if MS goes down the same road.

348

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by dr_andus on May 08, 2015, 02:35 PM »

I just heard that Windows 10 would be the last version of the OS.  But not like it's not going to be updated anymore, it will still get regular updates.  It's just not going to have regular OS updated versions anymore.  What does this mean??

-superboyac (May 08, 2015, 12:39 PM)

Sounds to me like the way Chrome OS works now. You get your updates, but unless you're really curious, you'll never need to know what version your OS is or what the update number is. The device is just an appliance that is kept updated remotely. Most users may not even realise their system has been updated when they restart their machine.

349

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by dr_andus on April 18, 2015, 06:27 PM »

Google Handwriting Input Writes Text in Android the Old Fashioned Way

-IainB (April 18, 2015, 01:01 PM)

Thanks for this, it looks good at first try. I tried MyScript Stylus (Beta) for a while, and even Swype, but some issues always forced me back to the default keyboard, even though I'm an old (Palm) Graffiti fan and would like to use handwriting, if it's faster than typing.

350

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for a very flexible timer

« Last post by dr_andus on April 10, 2015, 10:41 AM »

Say it's running and I go out for coffee and forget to pause it -
when I come back:
I can pause it, take the 15 mins or whatever off the total, and leave it run on again.

-tomos (April 10, 2015, 09:50 AM)

The way I deal with this problem is that I use external devices for tracking time ("Repeat Timer" app in iPod Touch or a cheap manual stop watch), record the time periods (Pomodoros plus breaks) in a Google Sheet, and if I forget to turn something off or on, Google Sheet tells me when the last change was saved, so I can add to/subtract from that and account for the break (and easily calculate or track a variety of productivity metrics).