Recent Posts

351

General Software Discussion / Re: VLC - Is it worth it still?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 21, 2012, 12:38 PM »

As for audio output being sub par, I wouldn’t know as I use it only for video. I use MediaMonkey Gold for my music, and it sounds just fine for me! It's output is to my computer speakers which is a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 and it does fine for that.   

-J-Mac (August 21, 2012, 11:31 AM)

If you already use MMG for your music, with the codecs installed, it becomes quite good for managing everything...

-wraith808 (August 21, 2012, 11:50 AM)

Wraith, do you mean it handles video well also? I know I tried it in the past, when they first added video to MMG, and it wasn’t that great - didn't have all the features that VLC does. Maybe I should give it another try.

I really like VLC for video for a few reasons, like:

  - Ability to speed up and/or slow down on the fly
  - Snapshots while playing
  - Stupid convenience setting, but I love being able to pause/play by tapping the space bar!
  - It plays DVDs and utilizes their menus  (Neither WMP nor WMC can do this; tough to even play DVDs on WMP & WMC - you can't resume play where you left off, which is pretty common among most player, but at least with VLC and others you can drop back to the last chapter or scene. With WMP/WMC you have to start over at the beginning of a movie.  Grrr.)

Thanks!

Jim

352

Living Room / Re: What Happened to Genie Backup Manager?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 21, 2012, 11:48 AM »

Tom, can you explain the "synthetic backup" to me? I hadn't created any new profiles since they added that "feature", so I never even looked at it. To be honest I never knew it was there! Tobias doesn’t announce anything when updates are released - you have to discover updates by manually checking. And the Help file doesn’t even contain the word "synthetic" in it.

That's one of two big negatives with SFFS/synco....whatever-the-hell-he-calls-it-now:

• Documentation - or the lack of it, and
• The convoluted, mashed together, UI-less settings dialog, if you can call it a dialog!

In those two areas the program does suck. But it performs so well, at least for the parts of it I have managed to figure out.

Jim

353

General Software Discussion / Re: VLC - Is it worth it still?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 21, 2012, 11:31 AM »

As for audio output being sub par, I wouldn’t know as I use it only for video. I use MediaMonkey Gold for my music, and it sounds just fine for me! It's output is to my computer speakers which is a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 and it does fine for that.   

Jim

354

General Software Discussion / Re: VLC - Is it worth it still?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 21, 2012, 04:53 AM »

VLC here. It does just about all that I need it to. And I don’t have to juggle Codecs and get burned, as has usually happened in the past! I tried to get K-Player about a year or so ago when it was mentioned here but I couldn't find a site that I could understand. I think it was an Asian site; I wasn’t even sure where the download link/button was.

Jim

355

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Super Flexible File Synchronizer Mini-Review

« Last post by J-Mac on August 20, 2012, 11:02 PM »

Darn - I never did get any notification about this; I just noticed it over in the Genie BU Manager thread!

Weird - I just clicked on Check for Updates in SFFS 5.68a and it downloaded and installed SFFS 5.72... didn't even mention Syncovery, so I still wouldn’t know about it if not for your posts Tom.

Better go take a look. The UI you posted a screenshot of looks almost identical to the current! Tobias never has been into human factors!

Thanks!

Jim

356

Living Room / Re: What Happened to Genie Backup Manager?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 20, 2012, 10:35 PM »

I have used SFFS for about four or five years now. At first I just used it for syncing some folders, but now I am using it for more. I did away with Jungle Disk - once they were purchased by Rackspace they really pushed hard to get me to abandon my Amazon S3 account and use Rackspace instead. But the Rackspace storage doesn’t allow browsing your files/folders, as Amazon S3 does. So I stuck with it for about two years but each update broke a little more of the interface with S3 and they would pressure me to switch my data to Rackspace again. I finally set up SFFS to sync directly to Amazon S3 and that now happens daily, silently, and hasn’t screwed up anything at all yet. So bye-bye to Jungle Disk.

I didn't even know they changed the name, Tom! Tobias seems to have stopped sending out any newsletters or any emails at all. Maybe since he changed his web site I need to re-subscribe or something.

Thanks!

Jim

357

Living Room / Re: Help me pick a midrange Android phone?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 17, 2012, 10:33 PM »

BTW, I also still have a working Axim x5, x50v and Asus MyPal 716.

-J-Mac (August 15, 2012, 11:15 AM)

How are the digitizers on those devices? I seem to be a bit rough on them, all of my devices have had the digitizer go bad, and I have proven myself incompetent at replacing them.

-daddydave (August 17, 2012, 04:49 PM)

Mine look great! I have always used clear screen protectors on them.

Jim

358

General Software Discussion / Re: Why Everything 1.2.1.451a still Alpha?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 17, 2012, 12:52 PM »

Hmm, I notice the copyright on the site only says:
Copyright © 2005-2010 David Carpenter

Just as a weird aside, try googling David Carpenter. You get a serial killer, relief pitcher, actor, director of the Institute for Health & Environment at UAlbany, and, as the maketing types always say, and more!!!. No wonder there's no time to program!!

-MilesAhead (August 14, 2012, 05:43 PM)

And they're the same person!!

Jim

359

Living Room / Re: Help me pick a midrange Android phone?

« Last post by J-Mac on August 15, 2012, 11:15 AM »

Good luck finding that - and really, the screen on any phone is too small for that.

-f0dder (August 14, 2012, 01:18 PM)

Should be an improvement over my previous devices (Palm Tungsten T3, Dell Axim x51v, iPod Touch 2) at any rate. I'm not expecting it to be a Kindle.

However, it depends on the reading material, too. I think if I am reading to learn, there is a real benefit to a bigger page, especially if I am dealing with charts, tables, source code listings, etc., and also because I seem to absorb some of it through peripheral vision. But a lot of my "ebooks" are things like RSS feeds and reference documents where that is less of an issue.

-daddydave (August 15, 2012, 05:18 AM)

Dave, I have had a LOT of handheld computers - I'm calling them that because I am referring to devices before they were mobile phones. From the Apple Newton way back, through all generations of Palm/Handspring devices, and on through Windows CE and PPC and finally Windows Mobile 5. I even wrote some software for Palm and Windows PPC. (OK, pretty rudimentary stuff, but still...)

The Axim x51v had the most readable/watchable screen of all the devices I owned. Even now it still beats the hell out of my Droid Razr screen. Granted the Razr has a pretty lousy screen compared to most Samsung devices. But the x51v was VGA, which stepping from QVGA to VGA and quadrupling the pixels was pretty shocking visually. Unfortunately about half the developers had no idea how to use it and so their programs just showed up at 25% of their previous size with 4 times the content onscreen. Nice if you could actually decipher text, etc. that tiny! But the devs who properly changed their apps to take full advantage of VGA by not decreasing the size as much but greatly increasing the detail made using the Axim x51v a fantastic experience. That was when I actually did start reading ebooks and watching TV and movies on it without straining my eyes! And the 3D games.. heck I still have a good working x51v and I still play 3D games on it! 3.7" diagonal screen. Beats anything I can view on the Razr!

BTW, I also still have a working Axim x5, x50v and Asus MyPal 716.  

Jim

360

Living Room / Re: It's Official: Many DC'ers Are Psychopaths~! :P

« Last post by J-Mac on August 13, 2012, 10:59 AM »

Oh, I agree completely. They didn't really kill off those two terms - psychopath and sociopath; they basically just inserted another layer of categorization above them. While diagnoses codes for psychopathy and sociopathy were removed and replaced by Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) back in 1980 (!!), most psychiatrists still use the older terms and believe that there are definite differences between them.

Jim

361

Living Room / Re: It's Official: Many DC'ers Are Psychopaths~! :P

« Last post by J-Mac on August 13, 2012, 12:56 AM »

...snipped...
PS: not being on facebook would be being a sociopath, not a psychopath. just sayin...
...snipped...

-iphigenie (August 12, 2012, 09:48 AM)

Officially there is no difference anymore. Both psychopathy and sociopathy have been combined under Anti-Social Personality Disorder (APSD) in the DSM-IV. Many shrinks now consider the terms to be synonymous, though a number of them still separate the two diagnoses.

Jim

362

General Software Discussion / Re: Ripping My DVD Collection

« Last post by J-Mac on July 29, 2012, 11:29 AM »

I have a Samsung HDTV that can only play certain formats. E.g., it cannot play DVD files nor ISO files, however it can play MPEG files. I use AnyDVD-HD along with CloneDVD2 to rip my commercial DVDs to HDD as DVD files (VOB and IFO files within Video_TS folders) and then I use another of their products, CloneDVDMobile, to convert the DVD files to MPEGs.

The first rip, to DVD files using AnyDVD and CloneDVD2 takes anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes depending on the size/length of the features, but the conversion to MPEG files can take longer; one took me over 1½ hours just for the MPEG conversion.

I did get a suggestion from someone on the Slysoft forum that I may try to implement: He says he is running 4 DVD writers & 1 Blu-Ray writer in external USB enclosures. Each one connects to a separate motherboard USB port (no hubs) and he has not removed any riplock speed settings or updated stock firmware. Claims he can rip 20-24 movies per hour using AnyDVD/CloneDVDMobile to a 10k rpm Raptor drive. I purchased a new computer from Puget Systems in January but my old Falcon-NW box is just sitting there waiting for me to do something with it. Hmm....   

I already have AnyDVD/AnyDVD-HD and CloneDVD2 - I purchased lifetime licenses for both in late 2003 and have used them ever since with much pleasure!! I purchased their products that I didn't yet own - CloneCD, CloneDVDMobile, and the HD upgrade to AnyDVD (for Blu-Ray) - back in January 2009 when they finally did away with selling lifetime licenses; they offered lifetime licenses for a few more months then. So the software didn't cost me anything more for the conversions.

BTW, I previously transcoded a number of my DVDs to HDD using AnyDVD/CloneDVD2 into DVD files. I rip them at 100% quality and DVD-D/L size (DVD9). Most regular length DVD movies - fully cloned with all special features, menus, etc. - are taking up about 6.5 to 7.5 GB each. Surprisingly converting them to other formats reduced the size significantly. E.g., "Watchmen-Director's Cut" ripped to DVD files is 6.75 GB, while the AVI conversion is only 3.49 GB; "The Hunted" (The one with Tommy Lee Jones & Benicio DelToro) ripped to DVD files is 7.12 GB, while the MP4 conversion is only 1.6 GB. Of course neither MP4 nor AVI supports menus or chapters so the special features, etc. aren't on those files. I converted those two just recently and I've watched a good bit of each on my computer and 27" ASUS ws monitor - they played very well full screen on that! However I have not tried watching them on my Samsung HDTV yet. I'll post back after I watch them on there to let you know how it looks on there. If it works on there!

Thanks!

Jim

363

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« Last post by J-Mac on July 27, 2012, 10:12 AM »

Speaking about taking notes in Excel, you can try XLnotes add-in that allows to take notes with Word documants, web pages and attachments. Great if you wanted to have pictures/documents in your comments.

-excev (July 27, 2012, 02:57 AM)

A few people I know have mentioned this to me; they seem to like this add-on a lot.

But not me... Nooooo, I need to have every darned notes app out there. Alive or dead.   

Thanks!

Jim

364

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher - half off

« Last post by J-Mac on July 25, 2012, 10:19 PM »

Well heck! I didn't even know about the ones you mentioned... And I was too damn lazy to go check before posting.      

Jim

365

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher - half off

« Last post by J-Mac on July 25, 2012, 09:32 PM »

Yeah - they claim that they're working on this, but nothing so far.

Jim

-J-Mac (July 25, 2012, 08:32 AM)

You mean like HTTP 1.1, GZIP, REGEX, Per Site Filtering, USB Portability, Per-site statistics, and many other features?

-Josh (July 25, 2012, 12:00 PM)

Nope - I mean like just what I said.

Jim

366

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher - half off

« Last post by J-Mac on July 25, 2012, 08:32 AM »

Yeah - they claim that they're working on this, but nothing so far.

Jim

367

Living Room / Re: Strange Windows Explorer problem - anyone know how to fix this?

« Last post by J-Mac on July 22, 2012, 12:49 AM »

A possible cause: I have noticed that Windows Explorer trips up over anything I try to do with any of the Microsoft Office files IF the Office Software Protection thing is running. Look in Event Viewer and you'll see (if you have Office installed - at least with Office 2010) that the Office Software Protection Platform Service runs every few hours. I have found a correlation with that running at the same time I do anything with an Office file. Hangs explorer.exe.

Worth a look.

Jim

368

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher - half off

« Last post by J-Mac on July 19, 2012, 04:50 PM »

I only use 1 browser. The rare cases where I need to use another are not the cases where I need an ad blocker. (Although the filter list in my secondary browser is the same as in Firefox.)

-Tuxman (July 19, 2012, 06:21 AM)

In that case, perhaps your previous post should read, "I can't see a reason for me to prefer this to decent Adblock browser extensions."

Just sayin' - sounded like you were speaking for many or most there.

Jim

369

General Software Discussion / Re: How can a b/w photo's thumbnail be in colours?

« Last post by J-Mac on July 18, 2012, 10:12 PM »

Me three!!  ^

Thanks for that strip 40hz - makes perfect sense to me!

Jim

370

Found Deals and Discounts / Copernic Desktop Search Pro Version on Bits Today, 18 July 2012

« Last post by J-Mac on July 18, 2012, 09:18 PM »

Any particular reason(s) why I should get this?  Likewise, any reason(s) that I shouldn’t get this?

Appreciated!

Jim

371

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Ad Muncher - half off

« Last post by J-Mac on July 18, 2012, 09:16 PM »

I've used it for more than a year now and am very satisfied with it. As the Rambler said, it is not without the occasional fault but for the most part it works very well. Not only in Firefox but all browsers I have installed (IE9, Chrome, and Opera), as well as FeedDemon and other apps that use the IE browser internally.

The latest version has a new feature that kinda sucks - no more context menu item for Ad Muncher but instead a drop-down toolbar that does not have all the same functionality that the menu had. I don’t like it much but they say it will improve. The reason for it is that the constant browser updates (read: Chrome and Firefox) tended to break many extensions, requiring a lot of upkeep. This toolbar overcomes that problem according to the developer. Makes sense as long as they can make the damn thing at least as functional as the context menu was.

BTW, I purchased AM as a Pro license - I believe on Bits - and soon thereafter upgraded it to a lifetime license. That should speak somewhat to my confidence in it.   

Thanks!

Jim

372

General Software Discussion / Re: NoteTab 7 editors released

« Last post by J-Mac on July 12, 2012, 09:49 PM »

I don’t know if you can get another setup file if you lose it and didn't purchase the "extended download" crap! I've been fortunate, which is probably helped by being overly cautious with my setup files. But you know if anything were ever to happen, it'll happen with the one program that won't let you download again!

Jim

373

General Software Discussion / Re: NoteTab 7 editors released

« Last post by J-Mac on July 11, 2012, 11:42 PM »

Thanks barney.

Most of the changes are there for review - I just need to take the time and see if it's worth it to me. I can always keep using NoteTab Pro 6 since it works fine in Windows 7. Sounds like he mainly just tweaked a lot of little things, unless I'm missing something. Doesn’t sound much different than Version 6.

Biggest change Fookes did that pissed me off was no longer allowing you to download the program after your initial download, or after a few days - something like that. Trying to make you purchase the "extended download" bullshit. Cheap move on his part IMO. They have never had downloads generally available - you always got a link to the full version that was active all the time. How much could that have cost him to maintain?

Thanks!

Jim

374

General Software Discussion / Re: NoteTab 7 editors released

« Last post by J-Mac on July 11, 2012, 10:42 PM »

Anyone using version 7 yet?

I've used NoteTab Pro since, I think, Version 4. I love the clipbars; they're what I use most. I'm a little reluctant to upgrade till I know just what Eric added or changed. I also used MailBag Assistant for a long time, along with Aid4Mail, but the last upgrade for MailBag Assistant had no new features added. IIRC, the main change was that he switched Regex engines for searches. I want to make sure that NoteTab 7 has something worth the upgrade price. (To ensure continued development is always a good reason, but I've done that with Fookes Software in the past and I think it's time for him to actually do some more development!)

Thanks!

Jim

375

Living Room / Dropbox Doubles Size of Their Pro Plan!

« Last post by J-Mac on July 11, 2012, 10:30 PM »

Wow! I considered dropping Dropbox in January, when my Pro subscription was up for renewal, but I didn't - mainly because I was just too damn lazy. Now it looks like a good non-move I didn't make!

Just received an email message from Dropbox saying they have doubled my plan, from 50GB storage to 100GB, for the same price. Which is just fine by me! I imagine that this is their "answer" to the recent challenges raised by Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive. (BTW, I have 25GB free storage with SkyDrive because I had an existing account when they changed their plans!)

I may just have to rethink how much I use Amazon S3 now.   

Jim