Recent Posts

3376

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Synology DS207+ NAS

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 23, 2008, 07:27 AM »

Perry, Perry, Perry ......

Arghhhh....

Now I have to get one - bugger! I must admit when they were mentioned before they looked really neat and impressive!

3377

General Software Discussion / Re: Track a Stolen PC with Freeware LocatePC - Cybernetnews Essay

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 22, 2008, 05:13 PM »

Won't help much if the first thing a thief does is low level format the hard discs ??

What is really needed is a BIOS based app that can be hidden behind a BIOS password. That way a thief would have to replace the BIOS chip which is not nearly so convenient.

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Living Room / Re: Thread removed

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 22, 2008, 05:05 PM »

If there is a SPAM bin and the threads are edited and clearly marked with "DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS SPAMMER" in the thread title and in the offending post right along side their SPAM link then indexing for search engines would have a really positive effect!

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Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 04:49 PM »

Blackberry are stupid then because it just means that they will lose their customer base that depends on confidentiality.

3380

Living Room / Re: How hot is too hot? Overclocking thoughts...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 04:33 PM »

well im RLLY woried now, my CPU,RAM and GPU all run at over 90C:S

-yotta (May 21, 2008, 03:36 PM)

Hmmm - despite what I wrote that does seem a bit high 

Take the side of your box and blow a large desk fan into it on full power and see if the temperatures drop. Also check to make sure all your fans are running properly.

One other thing you might want to check is that all the fans are installed the correct way round. Generally speaking you want air to be sucked inat the front of the case and all other fans suck air out. Check on the side of the fans for the flow direction arrow.

3381

General Software Discussion / Re: Xara Xtreme Pro and Magix Xtreme Graphic Designer.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 01:23 PM »

Haven't tried the Linux version but there is an open source Xara project that is free so give it a go and report back.

See http://www.xaraxtreme.org/download/ for full details.

The last build appears to be Nov 07

3382

Living Room / Re: How hot is too hot? Overclocking thoughts...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 01:20 PM »

I know my temps are accurate as I have software reading it directly from the output the card normally gives to the ATi Catalyst Control Center

-wreckedcarzz (May 21, 2008, 12:59 PM)

Part of the problem is that these onboard sensors (mobo or graphics cards) aren't always terribly accurate, and they are heavily influenced by components nearby and often poorly calibrated so you get silly temperatures even when cold!

When I bought my current motherboard it was touted as being super cool (and not in the 'cool dude' sense) and includes copper pipes and heat dispersal systems etc. It says you should be able to run it with the minimum of fans etc. Having said that the motherboard sensors report temperatures in the BIOS at switch on that are nearly as hot as my previous motherboard working at full tilt. Either there is something seriously wrong with my mobo (there isn't it runs stable all the time) or the sensors simply report silly values. For example I get a motherboard temperature that is HIGHER than the CPU temperature - which is obviously stupid - but it is just a function of poor callibration and the location of the sensors producing biased and eccentric results.

I think the the important thing is to keep an eye on what your sensors report on idle and under load over a period of time and then monitor what happens and if you suddenly start getting reported temperature climbs you know something is wrong. The raw values are (IMHO) pretty meaningless!

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Living Room / Re: How hot is too hot? Overclocking thoughts...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 11:02 AM »

You need to be convinced that the readings are true too ...

My system runs incredibly hot - but then the sensors all read very hot within seconds of switching on. My two GPUs (for example) currently read 62C and 80C

These are normal temperatures for these cards and have been ever since they were new. There is loads of air circulating in my system so it isn't a problem of ventilation. I figure the sensors are crap or the nVidia software does a bad job reading it. My system is currently on 24/7 and the temps record as stable at those temperatures and I get the same values as soon as I am able to open the nVidia panel in Windows.

To start with I was worried but now I just live with it - they have been doing it for over a year now so it can't be too bad!

3384

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 08:11 AM »

It's a fairly easy step to go from logging emails to analysing their content - what about building profiles of online spending, for example.

Would I suddenly be suspicious if I bought lots of electronic components for example?

How about regularly visiting websites that sell Asian food stuffs (and especially Chapatti flour which was a key ingredient in the unsuccessful London bombings).

It is already difficult to buy Citric Acid and Tartaric Acid in the UK (both cooking ingredients for making cordials) because they were used in attempted bomb recipes.

How long before you can't buy hair dye before becoming suspicious (hydrogen peroxide has also been linked to bomb making).

What is the next step - collecting supermarket consumer profiles for the entire population? Maybe supermarket 'loyalty' cards will become the new tool of government.

What really bothers me is that the UK is supposed to have a government that subscribes to human rights treaties!

Currently Zimbabwe and Burma are beginning to look liberal!

3385

General Software Discussion / Re: Mikogo: share screen or access remote PC

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 05:47 AM »

I can confirm what Steffen is saying - Mikogo is VERY simple to use (probably less than 2 minutes to download and configure). All the other users you are conecting to are the session ID number and a link to the no install client app - so they just click a single webpage link and type a numerical code that you give them - they are then up and you are connected. You can even request a fixed session ID so you can always use the same one!

3386

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 05:43 AM »

Except that encrypted email will throw up all sorts of warning flags and you face a jail sentence in the UK for refusing to hand over any required decryption information upon request.

3387

General Software Discussion / Re: Xara Xtreme Pro and Magix Xtreme Graphic Designer.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 03:01 AM »

I think the Xara prices are in dollars - the Magix off is in UK Pounds. Unless you are looking at upgrading Pro versions. The Magix version is equivalent to the non-Pro Xtreme (I think).

3388

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 02:46 AM »

Here's another lovely article on the subject:

For the full article see: http://www.vnunet.co...plans-database-phone

Don't you just love that the threat of terrorism means that no UK citizen will be allowed ANY privacy in electronic communications of any form.

What is the betting that the first use of this idea (if it ever happens) is benefit fraud? (Which of course will be spotted by 'accident' whilst investigating terrorists).

Actually these days you can probably class someone who farts in public as a terrorist if they need some excuse - and in the UK they will more than likely catch the act on at least three cameras (and no doubt the sound and smell on other surveillance equipment).

How long before they open and scan every piece of physical mail too or collect all paper scheduled for recycling? How about a government department for reassembling shredded paper (just in case)?

The day is coming when every citizen will be fitted with GPS trackers that include audio and video surveillance so that the government know where you are, what you are doing and who you are talking to every minute of your life. Presumably we would have to have one of these for every country we visit too.

Before long they will be demanding receipts for every time we go to the toilet and a central database for toilet paper!

3389

General Software Discussion / Re: Xara Xtreme Pro and Magix Xtreme Graphic Designer. 20% discount to 27th May)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 21, 2008, 02:40 AM »

There is currently a special 20% discount offer on Magix Xtreme Photo & Graphic Designer 2 which seems to be functionally equivalent to Xara Xtreme 4. See http://www.magix.com...amp;cHash=4ecf91a38e

The offer lasts until 27th May 2008. Not sure how the prices work out in other parts of the world.

As far as I can tell it is a download only version.

Checkout that it does include what you want before purchasing  but after a quick scan it does seem to have the new features of Xara Xtreme 4

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Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 20, 2008, 11:51 AM »

It's all very well to say these things are necessary in extreme circumstances but what about the people who are totally discriminated against in a totally irrational manner.

For example - a black muslim UK politician was INVITED by the US government to attend a conference not so long ago but was held in custody at the airport and then deported back to the UK.

The words arse and elbow spring to mind. If this is what can happen with high profile cases WTF is going on with low profile cases.

Just to prove I am not victimising the US policies - what about the poor Brazilian lad who was murdered in the UK following the London Tube bombings - because he looked suspicious (and how about his family)? He was a totally innocent bystander who ran for his life when armed police chased him around London and then shot him dead in front of dozens of shocked citizens. The police commissioner responsible for the policies on that day is still in place now!

Where is the responsibility and accountability - and don't even get me started on the continuing human rights atrocity of Guantanamo!

3391

General Software Discussion / Re: XPPro SP3

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 20, 2008, 06:34 AM »

OEM validation is different to standard validation. You will need to use the code printed on the base of your computer (on an MS sticker) to install Windows and then you will need to call MS to get it to validate.

The code usually used to validate OEM is built into the BIOS and only works with the OEM disc supplied by the manufacturer.

3392

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice a good HW forum to ask for a LCD laptop problem

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 19, 2008, 06:34 PM »

Glad to see you got it fixed 

3393

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 18, 2008, 07:20 PM »

I suppose it is a balancing act on how to deal with genuine threats. Having said that the worrying part of this in the US and the UK (and probably other countries too) is that democracy is being defended by taking action against individuals without any due cause and with no recourse to the law for those individuals.

The idea that any 'civilised' country can put people in prison for a single day without being charged with a crime and no access to the courts or to a lawyer is what bothers me most.

If this is the situation with the Patriot Act in the US (which incidentally has a disproportionately higher impact on law abiding US citizens than terrorists) or the UK anti terror legislation (which sees a 70 year old delegate at the government party conference thrown in a cell for shouting rubbish) thean what is democracy and why are we defending it.

At least with totalitarian dictatorships everyone knows where they stand and they aren't hypocrites!

3394

Living Room / Re: Disabling Quick Launch once and for all - possible?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 18, 2008, 07:13 PM »

Interestingly that article registry tweak disables ALL toolbars - not just quick launch. Depends really if that is what you want.

3395

Living Room / Re: Disabling Quick Launch once and for all - possible?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 18, 2008, 05:54 PM »

Not sure what will happen if you try this so only do it at your own risk!

Qick Launch is just a folder (in Windows XP is is at C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch)

What happens if you simply close the Quick Launch toolbar in the normal way and then delete the folder?

In case it doesn't work you could try renaming the folder once it is closed, or move it to a different location.

The only issue you may have is that installers sometimes automatically add Quick Start shortcuts - they may then fail or recreate the folder.

3396

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 18, 2008, 04:48 PM »

There is a solution to this ...

If everyone in your address book sends you a small password protected file (and likewise to them) and all your conttacts agree to refuse to divulge the password (in fact people would only have the password to the file they created) the government would have to imprison the entire country on the basis of files commonly held on many computers.

Could be a kind of extended LAN party ...

3397

Living Room / Re: Unpredictable Windows ... Can someone HELP !! (Slowly going mad)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 18, 2008, 03:44 PM »

You could download the Windows XP SP3 ISO, burn it and then install fresh from that.

http://www.tipandtri...via-http-or-torrent/

3398

General Software Discussion / Re: Website Watcher - Administrator Privilege?...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 18, 2008, 08:16 AM »

The question no one is asking is WHY does the installer need admin rights?

3399

General Software Discussion / Re: Dilemma - Free AVG8 - Buggy; Updates for Free AVG 7.5 ending May 08

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 17, 2008, 04:10 PM »

Quite a few ISPs offer free AV packages for their customers (probably mostly Symantec, McAfee or AVG). My ISP offers a free subscription to Symantec's products but I gave up on those long ago (use NOD32 now).

If you want to free AV product though it may be worth checking your ISP benefits package.

3400

Living Room / Re: What to do when you receive bootleg videos?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 17, 2008, 03:55 PM »

Actually the chap I spoke to was pretty helpful and understanding and was surprised at the automated response I had received to the seller's refund offer - given the circumstances. Maybe the reasonable side of me will accept it was a genuine mistake if it is resolved without further trauma!

Interesting I just got a 'satisfaction survey' from eBay regarding their responses. I enjoyed filling it in a lot (not that it will make any difference).