Recent Posts

376

General Software Discussion / Re: MS Office 2013 Home/Business - non-transferable (1 PC p.person) - Caveat emptor.

« Last post by xtabber on March 06, 2013, 03:05 PM »

Microsoft has backtracked because of the furor aroused, "customer feedback" in MS-speak.

However, they are still trying to force everyone into a subscription model - $99 per year for home users and $150 for business users, with up to 5 "devices" allowed per user.

377

Found Deals and Discounts / eWallet at BDJ today

« Last post by xtabber on February 18, 2013, 07:06 AM »

eWallet for Windows is on sale today at BitsduJour for $7.98.

eWallet is a secure database system with a deceptively simple interface that can be used to store just about any kind of text information and lets the user customize most aspects of how that information is displayed. You can have any number of independent databases, any of which can be synced individually with the Android and iOS versions over a WiFi network.

I've been using eWallet since my Treo PDA -- before what we now call smartphones existed at all.  I use it to keep not just passwords, but nearly any kind of sensitive or important information that I may need to look up quickly.

If your only use for a password manager is logging into web sites, you are probably better off with something like Roboform or Lastpass, but as a secure information manager, I have yet to see anything that works as well, or provides as much flexibility.
 

378

Living Room / Re: Yet another reason why I often wish I lived in Massachusettes

« Last post by xtabber on February 05, 2013, 01:13 PM »

I'd guess that within a few years, that will be the case with all states that have sales taxes, as it should be.

-xtabber (February 05, 2013, 08:51 AM)

Am I missing something here?

-40hz (February 05, 2013, 09:13 AM)

As I noted, sales taxes are among the most regressive forms of taxation, and I personally think that they should be replaced with more progressive forms of revenue, like income, or preferably, wealth taxes.

But if a state does impose a sales tax, it should do so equally for all applicable sales. 

In every state that I am aware of that has a sales tax, if you make purchases and the merchant does not collect state sales tax. you are supposed to report this and pay "use tax" on the purchase.  That nobody actually does so (except for things like automobiles, where it can be enforced by requiring proof of tax payment in order to register a vehicle) just means that merchants that do not collect state and local sales taxes are helping people violate their state laws.

The solution to bad laws is not to allow some people to get away with violating them, but to replace them with better laws.  The same goes for taxes.

379

Living Room / Re: Yet another reason why I often wish I lived in Massachusettes

« Last post by xtabber on February 05, 2013, 08:51 AM »

Amazon will also start collecting Massachusetts sales tax on Nov. 1, 2013.

I'd guess that within a few years, that will be the case with all states that have sales taxes, as it should be.

That said, sales taxes are one of the most regressive forms of taxation. To his credit, Governor Patrick has proposed to reduce the sales tax in Massachusetts and increase the income tax to make up for it.

Of course, you could always move to New Hampshire, which has neither sales nor income tax, but as a friend who moved there from New Jersey some years ago found out, they have many other ways of collecting from you (fees, excise and personal property taxes, etc.). He complained later that he was paying more overall in NH than in NJ, and getting far worse services to boot.

But, as a MA resident, who has also lived in CT, NJ and NY, I can assure you that Massachusetts does have a lower overall tax burden than those states, and generally better state services too.  So much for "Taxachusetts."

380

General Software Discussion / Re: How much have I downloaded?

« Last post by xtabber on February 05, 2013, 08:37 AM »

If you have smartphones, tablets or home theater receivers, you may be downloading a lot more than you think, or than you can monitor from your working PC.  All of these devices can stream data from the Web, including in the background when they are not in active use.  The only way to measure total usage is where your network connects to the provider's network, which is at your data modem.  If your router doesn't keep track of data flow, you would need to insert something to do so between it and the data modem.

A VOIP phone from a cable provider may also count toward your data total (find out from your provider), but since it connects through a separate modem, will not be counted by your router, or any device inserted between it and the modem.

381

General Software Discussion / Re: How much have I downloaded?

« Last post by xtabber on February 03, 2013, 11:11 AM »

My router (ASUS RT-N66U) has a traffic manager page that can show statistics for both incoming and outgoing network traffic on a daily basis for at least 30 days.  The image shown is the interactive real-time analysis graph, but you can also view the current rate, average, maximum and totals for each day, plus a summary for the past 30 days for each of the internet, wired, and wireless networks (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz separately).

382

General Software Discussion / Re: Who is still runnig XP?

« Last post by xtabber on January 26, 2013, 05:49 PM »

I still use some programs that won't run under Win7 and keep several XP VMs on my main (win7x64) system. One of these is a actually a virtualization of a physical XP system I used until late last year.  Others are dedicated VMs set up to work with specific software configurations.

Under the current version of VMware Workstation, each open VM appears as another computer in a network workgroup.  That makes it very easy to share programs and data between all running VMs and host systems.  Virtual networks save a lot on cables and switches, to say nothing of space and electricity.

383

General Software Discussion / Re: PicPick vs FastStone Capture vs Screenshot Captor vs Jet Screenshot

« Last post by xtabber on January 22, 2013, 02:21 PM »

While PicPick is rated 1st, FastStone 2nd and Screenshot Captor 1st honorable mention, note is made that all three are similarly capable, so the ranking boils down mostly to personal preference about the interface.
 
It should be noted that PicPick is only free for personal (home) use, and that the "Freeware version may include third-party (sponsored) advertisements." according to the developer's website.  Also, FastStone Capture is no longer free, so even though the last freeware version can still be downloaded from the dottech web site, updates will not be available for free.

384

Living Room / Re: Java Update on Tuesday

« Last post by xtabber on January 18, 2013, 08:53 AM »

The exploits in question only affect JDK 7, not JDK 6, which is much more secure, to say nothing of more stable.  Although Oracle is threatening to stop upgrades for jre6 in the near future, there is no reason that I can see for the vast majority of users to "upgrade" to jre7.

Also, these exploits only affect in-browser user, so there is no reason to dump any software that is written in Java and runs on your local system, rather than in a browser.

385

General Software Discussion / Re: Text post processing with KEdit, etc.

« Last post by xtabber on January 10, 2013, 10:48 AM »

Kedit, like XEDIT, the IBM editor on which it is modeled, is best thought of as an editable database of lines of text.  This has both strengths and weaknesses as compared to the more common type of text editor, in which the contents of a text buffer are a continuous stream of characters.  You can make Kedit do most of what you want using scripts written in KEXX (a REXX look-alike).  However, there are certain things you cannot do in this type of editor, like searching for a targets that straddle line breaks, which are easy to do in a stream-oriented editor.  Of course, there are also many things you can do in Kedit that you cannot do in any stream-oriented editor, which is why some of us continue to use it.

As I noted, I would not considered using Kedit as a word processor. Nor is it my only editor - I have always used at least one other editor for certain purposes -- currently EditPad Pro and 010 Editor, mostly.

One reason McPhee has always used Kedit is that a friend at Princeton wrote a number of programs (probably in KEXX or REXX) that interact with it to structure his research. He is not concerned with formatting his own writing.

If you want to experiment with this kind of editor, there is an open-source freeware editor based on XEDIT and Kedit, called The Hessling Editor.  It seems to have most of the functionality of the DOS version of Kedit, with some additional capabilities. I don't believe it has a native Windows GUI.

386

General Software Discussion / Re: Smart Edit (for Novelists & Creative Writers)

« Last post by xtabber on January 09, 2013, 10:35 PM »

In an article in the current issue of The New Yorker magazine, John McPhee says that the only writing environment he has used since beginning to use a computer in 1984 has been the Kedit text editor.

Kedit has been my favorite editor for even longer than that, and Kevin Kearney is indeed, as McPhee describes in the article, a delight to talk with, but I will admit that Kedit is not what I would choose for writing. But then, I can't write like John McPhee.

387

Living Room / Re: An interesting article on tablets

« Last post by xtabber on January 09, 2013, 10:11 PM »

The author seems to miss the point about what a tablet is for.

-Renegade (January 09, 2013, 05:27 PM)

Huh? And what would that be?

IMHO, a tablet is for whatever you want to use it for, not for what someone has decreed it should be used for. 

And that is exactly what the article author discovered empirically, although his expressed desire to have Apple redesign the iPad Mini to be more useful to him indicates an inability to reject his own preconceived notions, even after he himself had seen that they were wrong.  That is not schizophrenia, but rather a well-known cognitive effect that has been the subject of much research lately in experimental psychology.

388

Living Room / An interesting article on tablets

« Last post by xtabber on January 09, 2013, 02:08 PM »

This article from the Economist magazine illustrates why Apple may not be the future of tablet computing, and it's not just a matter of price. 

389

Developer's Corner / Re: Learn C (and other things...) the Hard Way

« Last post by xtabber on January 06, 2013, 02:51 PM »

The essential online resource for Regex information is the Regular-Expressions.info site maintained by Jan Goyvaerts, the author of RegexBuddy, RegexMagic, EditPad and PowerGREP, and co-author of O'Reilly's Regular Expression Cookbook.

Among other things, the site includes a good tutorial, detailed references and comparisons of the Regex implementations for most of the programming environments in use today.

390

Living Room / Re: Ubuntu Linux smarthphone coming this year?

« Last post by xtabber on January 05, 2013, 08:03 AM »

It makes a good deal of sense for Linux distros to develop smartphone versions.

When you buy a new smartphone, the only thing that happens to your old one is that the phone service is de-activated by your carrier.  The device remains perfectly usable in every other way. It just becomes WiFi only.

Most smartphones are purchased on a 2-year contract, and the big surge in Android phones began 2-3 years ago, which means that we are starting to see a large number of advanced mobile computing devices sitting around, no longer being used as phones, but available for anything else.

Android runs a Linux kernel and the Ubuntu smartphone Linux supposedly uses existing Android device drivers.  I'd guess that within a few years, there will be quite a few Linux distros available for Android devices, and Linux developers porting their software to the platform.

391

Found Deals and Discounts / Zentimo Pro 30% off until January 1, 2013

« Last post by xtabber on December 31, 2012, 02:59 PM »

Crystal Rich has a 30% off New Year's sale on new Zentimo Pro purchases until 1/1/2013.

They also have a lifetime license again (they did not when I last upgraded), which costs about twice as much as a one year license, although those who remember how the developer handled USB Safely Remove lifetime licenses may not be swayed by that.

If you need to upgrade an existing license, the upgrade price is still a little better than 30% off.

392

Living Room / Re: DRR ?? - Like DVR only for FM broadcast radio?

« Last post by xtabber on December 24, 2012, 08:40 PM »

I use Total Recorder Pro to do this. It has all the features you are looking for and a lot more -- it outputs many file types on the fly (including MP3, and flac), a scheduler for unattended recording, and an excellent audio editor.

My radio source is a stereo receiver connected to a PC through a sound card. To get high quality sound, I use an M-Audio Transit USB sound adapter, which is no longer made or supported, but you can get a Behringer UCA222 for about $30, which should do just as well.  If you are not concerned about audio quality, you can connect any radio to the line input of your computer sound card.

Tune-In Radio Pro ($0.99) will allow you to record Internet FM stations, as will a number of other Android and iOS apps, but you won't get the quality you get by recording from an FM radio using Total Recorder and a good sound adapter.

393

General Software Discussion / Fixes for Windows 8 TIKFAM

« Last post by xtabber on December 13, 2012, 06:18 AM »

Infoworld has a review of 9 programs to replace TIFKAM (The Interface Formerly Known As Metro) with something more usable on the desktop.

I haven't looked at W8 too deeply, nor do I expect to have the time to do so for another couple of months, but I have seen enough to know that TIKFAM is an absolute non-starter for me as a desktop environment, which is where I spend much of my time.

Microsoft seems to be interested in fostering software innovation among outside developers-- the degrading of Explorer in W7 led to a profusion of excellent file managers.  I look forward to the software that smart people come up with to get around the flaws in W8.

394

General Software Discussion / Re: What Android Apps Do You Use?

« Last post by xtabber on December 12, 2012, 08:48 PM »

Near the beginning of this thread, about 18 months ago, I listed a number of Android apps I used regularly. I still use most of those, but here are some that I use a lot now.

First, reading remains the most important activity on my Android tablets, and I have a number of e-readers. There are 3 that I use regularly, and Aldiko, which was my favorite at the time of my original post, is not one of them.  They are:

Mantano Reader Premium ($6.99). Hands down the best for reading most ePubs and pdf files. Great navigation makes it easy to find files and sections within books and documents.  The only negative is that it does not handle footnote hyperlinks very well.

Moon+ Reader Pro ($4.99) is nearly as capable, but very different and may take some getting used to. It is my reader of choice on a phone because it lets you scroll through text easily with one hand.

Nook Reader for Android. Not just for B&N purchases, this is a really good ePub reader. Very flexible with the most readable fonts of any Android reader.  Excellent hyperlink handling.

I use several file managers, including File Expert, which has an excellent built-in ftp server, among other things, but the one I use most is probably X-Plore, which works a lot like Windows Explorer, both locally and across a LAN, but with dual panes, making it exceptionally easy to copy files between Android and PCs.

DroidEdit Pro ($1.99) is a very capable programmer's text editor.  RealCalc (free) is a great calculator app, but the Pro version ($3.49) adds an amazing number of features, including RPN, base changes, custom conversions, fractions, etc.

Agenda Widget Plus ($1.88) keeps my schedule in a scrollable window on my home screen.  DTG GTD may still be in alpha, but it is already the best task manager I have found on any platform - I now use ToodleDo only to sync DTG GTD between my Android devices and am planning to try Bluestacks to put it on my PC as well. DTG GTD also has a great widget with many customization options.  Live customizable widgets are a major reason why Android has it all over iOS as a personal productivity platform, in my opinion.

Finally, while I don't really use any of my Android devices for entertainment (other than reading), Tunein Radio Pro ($0.99) is a great way to listen to any radio station that streams over the Internet.

395

General Software Discussion / Re: removing all the touch-oriented features of Windows 8

« Last post by xtabber on November 21, 2012, 12:30 PM »

Is win8 lighter and faster as for consuming resources?

-kilele (November 21, 2012, 06:27 AM)

Surely you jest!

396

General Software Discussion / Re: Q: Nexus 7 and Ad Blocking

« Last post by xtabber on November 20, 2012, 07:03 PM »

The most recent WugFresh Nexus Root Toolkit (1.5.5) is dated November 5, 2012. 

My Nexus 7 received an OTA update to Jelly Bean 4.2 just a few days ago.  If you were also updated to 4.2, you might want to wait for the next version of the WugFresh toolikit before applying it, just to be sure it handles the latest mods from Google.

397

Living Room / Re: ~$300 Laptop/Netbook recommendations

« Last post by xtabber on November 13, 2012, 09:54 PM »

All the laptops I've bought for myself or relatives over the past 10 years or so have been ThinkPads from the IBM Certified Pre-owned Laptop site.

I like ThinkPads because they are built like tanks (meaning strong, not heavy), have the best keyboards of any laptops, and being targeted at IT departments rather than the folk who shop at Best Buy or Staples, their on-line support is top-notch if one is technically savvy.  There is also an extensive on-line ThinkPad user community.

Right now, the site is having a 20% off sale and including a 1-year extended warranty for free.  Looking there, I see they list a T400s with a 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, Windows 7 Pro, 4GB RAM, 120GB HD, DVD-RW, a/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and a built-in camera for $369. With 20% off, that comes to $295.20. The model number is listed as T28153YU, which translates to 2815-3YU, so you can go to the Lenovo Support page, enter 2815-3YU in the Quick Path box and find more information (such as that the screen resolution is 1440x900), download user guides and maintenance manuals, etc.

That particular item may be gone by the time you look, but their stock changes daily, so if you keep looking and do your due diligence, you can come up with some great deals.  They also have free shipping and a 7-day money-back guarantee.

398

General Software Discussion / Re: Strategies to stay with Windows 7 as long as possible

« Last post by xtabber on November 12, 2012, 04:05 PM »

Adobe Acrobat 6 and Paint Shop Pro Versions X and earlier will not run properly, or at all, under Windows 7.

A lot of older software will not run under Windows 7, no matter how much you play around with UAC and compatibility settings, which is why Microsoft made XP Mode available for free.  Among other things, Windows 7 dropped support for 16-bit programs and programs which include legacy 16-bit code.

While XP Mode will work if you have Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate, and does not require activating an XP license, VMware Workstation and VirtualBox do more and do it better.  They also free you from depending on Microsoft's future kindness.

399

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: 010 Editor (hex editor) discounted today at bitsdujour.com

« Last post by xtabber on November 09, 2012, 09:21 AM »

010 editor is at BDJ again today for $49.95 (Commercial)/$19.95(Home/Academic).

010 Editor is designed primarily to be a hex/binary editor, but it handles text well too. For serious editing, it does not have the features I depend on in Kedit and EditPad Pro, but it is far more capable than Notepad and loads much faster than EditPad. Because it integrates nicely in the right-click menu for Explorer and can read any type of file, it has become my goto editor when I just want to look at a file or make some simple text edits.

400

Living Room / Quo vadis Microsoft?

« Last post by xtabber on November 06, 2012, 11:41 AM »

At the risk of beating a dead horse (at least among DC folk), I submit the following opinion piece from PC magazine calling Windows 8 a "Desktop Disaster" along with Robert X Cringely's guess as to what Microsoft may actually be up to.

I suspect that Cringely may be putting the cart before the [dead] horse, but his idea makes as much sense as anything else in this regard.