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3551

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista Aero vs. Linux Compiz

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 15, 2008, 03:58 AM »

Several applications I use rely on the AERO interface to run (Switcher, for example). I hate having to use an XP machine anymore because I lose not only the "feeling", but also the capabilities that I have to utilize.

-wreckedcarzz (April 14, 2008, 06:40 PM)

Here is Windows XP. I have 12 applications on the taskbar - if I want to choose quickly between them I use a single mouse click which shows me an image of every task currently open on my desktop. I simply click the one I want.



It is just as functional as Aero - thumbnails and scrolling 3-D nonsense. In fact I think it is rather clearer than the 3-D nonsense which I find simply distracting, plus you have to scroll through all of the windows to find the one you want.

What software an I using? A microsoft mouse with their driver MS IntelliPoint installed. I reprogrammed one on the side buttons on my mouse to do this (2 clicks in the driver settings). (There is also a freebie in the form of one of the Windows XP PowerTools that does almost the same thing - and not even Vista Ultimate gets the PowerTools any more - some of the most useful addons MS has ever produced for Windows!)

Actually if you want to scroll through your apps on Windows XP like the Aero interface it is built into windows ... Alt TAB does precisely that ... it also has the benefit that you see every application full screen and fully rendered.

3552

General Software Discussion / Re: Is Firefox 3.0 the "Fat Elvis?"

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 14, 2008, 04:09 PM »

Interesting article (and hopefully positive future for Firefox).

I use Firefox 2 about 99% of the time and I still like it. Tried Opera but didn't get on with it and missed RoboForm a lot.

My biggest gripe with FF2 is the speed of startup - any news on whether this is improving with FF3 ?

3553

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista Aero vs. Linux Compiz

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 14, 2008, 03:23 PM »

You do not want Linux....

-Edvard (April 14, 2008, 02:42 PM)

Actually that is the point - I DO WANT LINUX.

I have downloaded numerous distros (Fedora, UBUNTU to name just two that get good reviews) installed them and tried them , I have downloaded boot from CD versions and have even bought 3 different 'Pro' versions of distros (Corel/Debian, Mandrake and SUSE) over the years in the hope that one day I can ditch Windows - it is even more important given the pile of poo that is Vista. Trouble is I have yet to find any version that works without a large amount of compromise - not even taking into account the lack of software availabilty even if you are willing to pay.

Until I can do it without chucking out practically everything I want to do with a computer or making seriously bad compromises I can't see how it is a viable option.

Since the first time I tried Linux I have owned 5 different printers (including HP. Lexmark and Canon) and 3 different scanners - not one of them had a driver that worked properly in any version of Linux I have tried. What am I supposed to do if I can't use my printer properly? I am not saying I couldn't print but the quality that the kludge drivers provided was laughable.

OK I can buy a proprietary piece of software that will allow me to use my current Canon printer (costs $30 so no big deal really) so the drivers are out there but even that, whilst providing good paper printout and specifically supporting my printer model, does not support all the functions of the printer such as choosing paper source or printing to printable CDs.

I have also had numerous sound cards - audio is important to me as I have my machine partly set up as a recording studio - and yet the only drivers I can find that work (sometimes, sometimes not) are ancient 16 bit Soundblaster drivers. Even windows has numerous open source projects for audio drivers (eg. ASIO4ALL  and KMixer) so it can't be beyond the wit of man to produce something that works consistently for Linux and has something approaching quality.

I don't understand why I have been saying for years that I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE TO LINUX at least as a dual boot for most of my stuff but for the last 5 years it has simply not been possible.

3554

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista Aero vs. Linux Compiz

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 14, 2008, 01:28 PM »

Blame Adobe (they made a fully capable Adobe Reader for Linux, what's the hold-up with the rest of their offering?).
Blame hardware manufacturers with Microsoft's fingerprints on their bankroll that won't allow them to release a decent API for open source driver developers.

-Edvard (April 14, 2008, 12:40 PM)

Actually I have contacted a number of hardware manufacturers (including Linksys, Netgear and Canon) to ask why their hardware doesn't have Linux support. The two common threads in response seem to be first (and most important) money - why should they develop drivers for hardware that would sell in tiny quantieis for Linux - there is simply no return on such investment whereas supporting Windows (and even Mac) has a cash benefit. Secondly the number of competing distros makes developing anything much difficult especially as they all have their own quirks for installation and folder structures etc.

Carol, you know as well as I do that Linux can do WAY more than that, and do it well. From other things you wrote, I gather much of your beef with Linux is that there is not a Photoshop version for it

-Edvard (April 14, 2008, 12:40 PM)

Not really - although this is a consideration. Photoshop is just an example - I'll stick with it because it makes the point but it equally applies to audio and video authoring software. If users have invested hundreds or even thousands of pounds/dollars in software it is unrealistic to expect them to move to an OS that supports none of that mainstream software and because of that the migration of the larger user base is slow to non-existant.

There are open source alternatives for most software titles but they are usually not as easy to use (the GIMP, for example, has always been impenetrable to me and I have tried to get to grips with it numerous times), usually playing catch up in terms of what they can do and don't produce file formats that are generally accepted in the professional market. At the end of the day the professional world drives the software market - which is why PhotoShop has become the de facto standard in image editing. It is unrealistic to expect Adobe to code products for Linux when there is no market to buy the product. This is also partly the fault of the open source community because most people who use Linux seem to expect that all software to be free and there is no way Adobe is going to spend millions developing a product which they give away for nothing.

As for documentation and bugfixing, I agree. At least you can email and bug the author about them. Even if it doesn't get fixed, you have had your voice. Try emailing the author of MSOffice's "Ribbon". Oh wait... you can't.

-Edvard (April 14, 2008, 12:40 PM)

Really - how do I email somebody called zog somewhere in the Ukraine ?

Seriously - how would I write to the developers of the GIMP and expect an answer - it just isn't realistic. If it were there would be no development at all as they would be permanently swamped with good ideas from users.

Realistically if this is a criteria you should hope that Linux distros and apps remain a niche geek market - if it ever becomes anything like mainstream there will be major issues about contacting developers as there is in every major software market.

Parting shot and then I'll shut up - if Linux is so perfect (as most Linux worshippers seem to think it is) why can't they even give it away?

3555

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista Aero vs. Linux Compiz

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 14, 2008, 11:55 AM »

even if you polish a turd, its still a turd

-Josh (April 14, 2008, 11:16 AM)

Have you tried this ?

I too, fail to see what all the fuss is, so let us fanboys happily compute away with an operating system that somehow magically works for us and nobody else.

-Edvard (April 14, 2008, 11:36 AM)

Fine - I am not saying that Linux doesn't work or that Open Source OSes are bad in principle. The problem is that there isn't the software available that a lot of people need to make Linux a workable option and hardware support is at best patchy.

For example, I use PhotoShop a lot - the GIMP (whilst worthy) is not a viable alternative for me. Similarly for Sony Vegas etc. for video.

If all I wanted to do was to write letters, a bit of spreadsheet stuff, surf the web and send/receive emails then Linux would absolutely be the way i would go - and I would buy a suitable printer and scanner to make it worth my while. Unfortunately I want my expensive computer to do more than that.

3556

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista Aero vs. Linux Compiz

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 14, 2008, 06:29 AM »

LOL - Eye Candy is about right.

Trouble is Linux can compete on GUI Eye Candy but until serious software companies start producing Linux versions of software Linux is not really practical for the real world.

OK you can use it is an Office computer with Open Office - fine

Want to do anything with Graphics, Audio or Video - especially using pro type tools - then forget it.

I do think the video is disingenuous though - Windows is meant to be plug and play aware for hardware installation and in production versions of Windows it has (in my experience) done a pretty good job of acheiving that. A BSOD at a launch conference is pretty embarassing, true, but not as embarassing as Linux hardware support.

In order to run Linux effectively you have to buy hardware that is specifically supported - it usually isn't cutting edge hardware and in many cases you get an emulation of some clunky old hardware and non of the support for extra features for things like printers, scanners etc. just some generic driver that emulates an old Epson printer or similar.

Linux and WiFi - forget it unless you want to hunt down the odd adapter that works on eBay.

Anyway I thought one of the big criticisms of Vista was eye candy - why is Linux even trying to compete in the shallow eye candy stakes?

Sorry I promised I wouldn't write this response but couldn't stop myself.

3557

Living Room / Re: Home Network Recommendations?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 14, 2008, 06:02 AM »

I have had a Netgear DG834N practically since day one and have never had a single issue with it except for inter connectivity with an Intel mini-PCIe wifi card - and from what I have read that is partly because Intel have gone their separate way on 802.11n 2.0 implementation. Netgear have yet to release a version 2.0 firmware for my router but it is in the pipeline and should appear shortly (I have been doing pre-release testing with a version that still has a couple of minor glitches though connections are still rock solid).

My DG834N connects to the internet almost instantly when switched on and the connection is rock solid. There is an option to disconnect after a period of inactivity but it is easy to uncheck that in the router settings (I presume the option is for people who are still paying by the minute).

My only gripe with Netgear stuff (and I suspect a potential source of problems for users who don't or won't follow the instructions) is that if you want to upgrade the drivers for network cards or USB adapters they have to be uninstalled (including removal from the machine) before installing the new software. This is a bit of a pain but it happens so infrequently as to not be a problem in practice. The only time I had problems was when I tried to be clever and avoid removing a PCI card as instructed - the new software didn't install properly and caused a few headaches. That was my fault though as Netgear explicity give instructions on installing drivers which include installing the sofwtare BEFORE the PCI or USB device is physically present in the machine.

The one thing I will say is that previously I had LinkSys 54g stuff (IIRC a WAP54G) and I had to use repeaters around my house to get any sort of signal out of direct line of site. I live in a stone built cottage with thick walls and the Netgear RangeMax signal never drops below 90% and the speed never drops below 270Mbps (which is the maximum for my router). The only exception is the Intel laptop WiFi which seems to connect at 130Mbps - but that is apparently a 'design feature' of the Intel device. I am thinking of ripping it out and buying a Gigabyte card instead which seem to have good reviews. (I haven't seen a Netgear mini-PCIe Rangemax Next card or I'd go for that).

3558

Living Room / Re: Home Network Recommendations?

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

If you just want centrally stored files why bother with a server? Have you considered Network attached storage.

If you want to get things working faster you should consider Wireless n technology (I have found Netgear's RangeMax Next series excellent). Just make sure all the components are 802.11n draft version 2.0 compatible (there are still some older version 1 devices out there and there are some issues getting mixed draft working together). Almost all of Netgear's stuff now is either version 2 or has verion 2 firmware upgrades.

The 802.11n working group have said that version 2 is pretty much solid and should be ratified with no significant changes into the final version.

Having said all that my mission at the moment is to get my house wired for Gigabit technology as it is blazingly fast compared to any wireless network, and rock solid stable. You can transfer files at near ATA100 drive speeds. Wireless is great for laptop and media access to the TV/hi-fi but Gigabit cabled network is just brilliant and you don't need to worry about any of the security issues.

If you want to go down this route just buy a Gigabit switch (cheap), a gigabit card for each machine (they are cheap too) if you need them (most recent hardware has gigabit built into the motherboard) and a roll of cable, some connectors and a crimping tool. You basically connect all the computers to the switch and the switch to your existing router. If you don't need wireless you can then turn it off in the router control panel. All the computers talk via the switch at gigabit speeds to each other and just use the router to access the internet. If you get NAS make sure it is gigabit speed (even if you don't plan to use it at the moment - it will work at 100/10 speeds but you can upgrade other components later). Unless you actually need your computers to roam about the house this provides a magically solid and fast solution!

3559

General Software Discussion / Re: Confirmed: UAC designed to annoy us!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 13, 2008, 07:06 PM »

Unfortunaly MS haven't produced TweakUI for Vista (why would they  .... it's not like it hasn't been popular in previous versions!).

TweakVI was a third party repsonse. I haven't tried it so I can't comment on its safety.

I haven't looked but Ashampoo usually have good tweaking software (not free but usually cheap). I used previous versions of Ashampoos software but haven't used it in a while so I don't know if their latest release supports Vista.

3560

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 13, 2008, 06:55 PM »

Haven't you answered your own question? If it happens on external monitors it is unlikely to be the built in LCD or its associated components. It sounds more like a graphics adapter chip fault. The fact that it gets worse the longer the system is on is a classic chip problem - it is failing because it is getting hot and doesn't like the heat - that's why it occurs when you reboot or switch off and on without giving time for it to cool, and also it would account for Windows freezing.

I see the laptop has a separate graphics card - is it possible to find a replacement (or a loan from someone who has the same laptop?) to check out if it is the graphics adapter.

The online service manual for this graphic adapter is at http://support.dell....sm/vidbd.htm#1102650

Have you taken the system apart before this problem? If so note the last comment in the above document about intermittent graphic card failures. Check it is properly seated (remove it and reinstall it checking there is no dust around the connectors and that the flex cable is reseated properly).

If you do need a graphics card see

http://accessories.u...2&chassisid=8480

there is a contact number, but you may need to look for a working second hand card as all Dell seem to stock are the screws to secure the card!


Extra note ... just checked there are some of these graphics cards on eBay but they aren't cheap - is it time for a new laptop?

3561

General Software Discussion / Re: Confirmed: UAC designed to annoy us!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 13, 2008, 11:06 AM »

When you install Vista you create a 'user' account during setup for yourself. Even though MS don't want you to run as a member of the Adminstrator group they still make your user part of the Administrator group - hence you only have to click OK when UAC arises.

It would make some sense if they actually made 'users' part of the 'users' group and forced you to enter an admin password every time UAC pops up but they don't.

UAC is a half baked, half arsed, half solution.

Its all very well saying that software writers should write for Vista but given the number of people writing software who are probably not even totally aware yet of the differences with Vista (because the geek end of the market are the ones who haven't upgraded) it seems unreasonable to expect all software writers to sort that out instantly.

OK the bigger software houses have to be aware of the issue - but in reality they will still expect admin priviledges when required and the UAC will pop up randomly as a result just making users immune to the prompt.

3562

Living Room / Re: Seagate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 12, 2008, 05:54 PM »

I disabled power saving and now the warnings seem to have disappeared altogether.

3563

Living Room / Re: Seagate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 12, 2008, 07:26 AM »

If you look at the values in the data block they tell you if there really is a problem.

Basically if you look at the first two numbers in the data block:

0000: 04 00 68 00 01 00 b6 00   ..h...¶.
0008: 00 00 00 00 33 00 04 80   ....3..€
0010: 2d 01 00 00 00 00 00 00   -.......
0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........
0020: 00 de 3b 39 3a 00 00 00   .Þ;9:...
0028: ca aa 01 00 00 00 00 00   Êª......
0030: ff ff ff ff 03 00 00 00   ÿÿÿÿ....
0038: 40 00 00 84 02 00 00 00   @..„....
0040: 00 20 0a 12 80 01 20 40   . ..€. @
0048: 00 00 00 00 0a 00 00 00   ........
0050: 00 f0 fd 86 f0 0a 40 8a   .ðý†ð.@Š
0058: 00 00 00 00 e0 07 07 8a   ....à..Š
0060: 00 00 00 00 ef 9d 1c 1d   ....ï..
0068: 2a 00 1d 1c 9d ef 00 00   *...ï..
0070: 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........
0078: 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 0a   p.......
0080: 00 00 00 00 04 02 00 00   ........
0088: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........


In this example 04 and 00

04 tells you the event occurred when trying to write data tot he disk (03 for reading from the disc)
00 tells you the operation succeeded as there are no retries outstanding

In the line starting 0010 the last four numbers indicate the write will be retried

Finally the whole line 0020 gives the offset to a bad sector. Presumably if it is zero there isn't a bad sector but in the list above it looks like I might have a failing bad sector.

The odd thing is that when this even occurred the drive was sitting idle - in fact it was in power save mode so why it should give a write error or detect a bad sector is beyond me.

The best way to fix any bad sectors is to run CHKDSK D: /R /X /V in a command window (START > RUN > CMD.EXE) where D: is the drive, /X give CHKDSK exclusive access to the drive by dismounting it, /V gives a verbose output and /R specifies fixing the disc problems by doing a complete scan of the file data and empty data on the drive (it actually specifies locate bad sectors and recover any info if possible). Be prepared for it to take a long time on a large disc - though you can use your computer while it is running - just not that drive.

Actually I half wonder whether these warnings are generated because of the power save mode not waking the drive up quickly enough to respond to disc requests from Windows?

3564

Living Room / Re: Seagate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 12, 2008, 05:06 AM »

The error message is misleading ... it is nothing to do with the PageFil.SYS on your system it is all to do with reading/writing 'pages' of information to and from the drive during normal usage. If you look it up on MSKB it has a table on how to unpick the numerical block at the bottom.

The drive number can be seen by going to START > RUN and then right click on My Computer and select manager. In the left hand pane select Disk Management and the drives are labelled down the left Disk 0, Disk 1 etc. which is the drive number referred to in the error message.

3565

Living Room / Re: Most useless

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 11, 2008, 08:32 PM »

2) 90% of the gifts I have ever recieved from my stepmother...but the most useless was a small, gold sequined, high heeled shoe about 2-3 inches long...only 1 shoe. (Maybe she thought it went well with the one small sock she gave me a few years earlier, that was supposed to be a coin purse.)

-app103 (April 11, 2008, 08:16 PM)

Maybe she thought you are Cinderella ... all you need now is Prince Charming (don't we all)

3566

Living Room / Re: Most useless

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 11, 2008, 06:33 PM »

2) A T-shirt my mother got me (I think there is a theme developing here). It had photos of my two cats on the front (not a problem you think) ... and a hideously bad spelling mistake !

3) Wireless b equipment !

3567

General Software Discussion / Re: Confirmed: UAC designed to annoy us!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 11, 2008, 06:15 PM »

Yep - they certainly succeeded - I find it hard to believe that 88% leave that option enabled. If they do it is for one of two reasons:

1) They don't know how to turn it off and are heartily frustrated
2) They work in an envirnoment where the right is denied them

The first seems the most likely, the second is unlikely as so few businesses have bothered to upgrade to Vista!

Trouble is everyone criticised Windows XP for being a security problem and MS came up with the solution - make it harder for malware by making it impossible for anyone to use it without valium or a stiff drink (preferably both).

3568

Living Room / Re: Seagate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 11, 2008, 11:49 AM »

Trouble is none of the tools give the SMART status of USB drives (not even SeaTools will tell you the SMART status of Seagates own drives if they are USB).

I have run all the tests I can find on the external drives and I can't generate any errors except for the odd warning described above which appears in the System Event Viewer.

I have done large backups using TrueImage and then Validated the images (meaning that the drive is forced to read and write constantly for 2 - 3 hours) and all the backups validate correctly so I don't think there is a problem.

I am just curious to see if CleverCat also picks up these warnings since we are using similar UBS drives.

3569

Living Room / Re: Seagate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 11, 2008, 09:26 AM »

I have a Free Agent 500 - do you get warnings/errors in your Event Log.

I seem to be getting lots of warnings like:

Event Type:   Warning
Event Source:   Disk
Event Category:   None
Event ID:   51
Date:      11/04/2008
Time:      14:41:32
User:      N/A
Computer:   LAIRDSWOOD
Description:
An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk3\D during a paging operation.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....om/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 04 00 68 00 01 00 b6 00   ..h...¶.
0008: 00 00 00 00 33 00 04 80   ....3..€
0010: 2d 01 00 00 00 00 00 00   -.......
0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........
0020: 00 9e 5b 39 3a 00 00 00   .ž[9:...
0028: 61 a0 4b 00 00 00 00 00   a K.....
0030: ff ff ff ff 03 00 00 00   ÿÿÿÿ....
0038: 40 00 00 84 02 00 00 00   @..„....
0040: 00 20 0a 12 80 01 20 40   . ..€. @
0048: 00 00 00 00 0a 00 00 00   ........
0050: 00 30 64 87 e0 1a 85 89   .0d‡à.…‰
0058: 00 00 00 00 08 80 0e 8a   .....€.Š
0060: 00 00 00 00 cf ad 1c 1d   ....Ï­..
0068: 2a 00 1d 1c ad cf 00 00   *...­Ï..
0070: 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........
0078: 70 00 02 00 00 00 00 0a   p.......
0080: 00 00 00 00 04 02 00 00   ........
0088: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........

I don't get hundreds (a few a day perhaps) and I have looked up the warning on MSKB and decoded the info block which suggests the problem is a single read or write from the disk which is corrected by a single retry.

Having said that I sometimes get this error referring to other removable drives (such as the built in card read I have) even when it doesn't have a card installed!!!

The errors only happen when I have the Free Agent drive attached to my system.

I have another Seagate USB drive (the one with the button on the front) and don't have any such problem with that one.

Strange.

3570

Screenshot Captor / Re: Snapshot : DVD Movie in Windows Media Player 11

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

WinDVD (all versions - often included with stuff as a free OEM disc) takes good snapshots. You can also buy it (now from www.corel.com) but it isn't cheap.

3571

Developer's Corner / Re: Software protection and registration.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 10, 2008, 08:33 AM »

Most of the big companies that use activation don't really care what they put their customers through. They only think about money and customer care can go hang. It isn't surprising that the same big companies are often in bed with the recording and video industries too!

3572

General Software Discussion / Re: GAOTD & Virus

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 10, 2008, 08:31 AM »

AOL still seem to be around in the UK too but their profile is much lower these days. Only ever got one Tiscali CD - that was when I actually signed up (a long time ago - I no longer use them).

3573

UrlSnooper / Re: very confused

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 10, 2008, 05:00 AM »

If you don't want to use Firefox you can use VeohTV to download YouTube (plus video from many other sites too including Veoh itself). Download their player and install it and it adds a toolbar to Internet Explorer. Downloading YouTube videos is then a single click. VeohTV is a separate player that allows you to organise your downloaded clips into playlists and manage the content (so you can delete the clips from your computer just by deleting it in VeohTV player).

It isn't perfect but it isn't a bad solution to your needs.

The download link is at the bottom of the page on the right. See http://www.veoh.com/

If you want more info in Veoh (not from the Veoh website) have a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veoh

3574

Developer's Corner / Re: Software protection and registration.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 09, 2008, 07:44 PM »

I would add if you decide to go down the activation line you need to consider four things:

1) Allow users to activate the product on more than one machine (2 or 3 activations is sufficient for most purposes as that allows people to use the app on the desktop and laptop) - even MS allow this with their Office products (at least in the EULA for Office 2007 - I haven't checked the others).

2) Make it easy for users to deactivate a computer. The one thing I really hate is when I reinstall Windows having to contact a growing list of companies to beg for a new activation because their software is locked to the old activation which has been overwritten. It means reinstalling can take days or weeks, depending at how efficient people are at responding to emails. Adobe manage this painlessly (as do a number of smaller companies) but too many take the attitude 'you have to contact us if you exceed your activations' and that is EXTREMELY frustration - especially as activation becomes more and more prevelant. This is where I get seriously fed up with Microsoft because I might want to legitimately move non-OEM software to a new computer but I don't like having to call them and explain and then share great long strings of numbers!

3) Consider what will happen to your customers if you drop dead or cease trading. From your perspective you won't necessarily care at that point but if your apps become an integral part of someone's life/workflow it will upset them a lot if your activation service suddenly stops functioning.

4) How easy is it to guarantee your activation server will be up 99.99% of the time?

At this point you may consider that activation is going to cost more in time and money than you save by avoiding pirates - most of whom wouldn't have bought the software in the first place, and will find a crack for any activation system you can dream up. The harder the better (more challenge)!

3575

General Software Discussion / Re: GAOTD & Virus

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 09, 2008, 06:31 PM »

There used to be large scale campaigns against AOL because of the petrochemical mountain of rubbish they were producing - not least large scal mailings of the crap CDs back to them (without postage paid), and skip loads dumped on their entrance.

I wonder if AOL went out of business (or at least sold out) because the CD mailing count cost so much it broke the bank. They were heavily in debt when they stopped.

As for google-crap and yahoo-crap included in everything I suspect the best way to sort the problem is to persuade users to boycott any application the bundles the crap without telling you. There is no reason why sites can't have two downloads - one with crap and one without ... CrapCleaner, for example, does that!

I wonder which donload would be the most popular?