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3851

Living Room / Re: What is appropriate content for DonationCoder?

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

slightly off topic, and to avoid hijacking this thread...

-tinjaw (January 04, 2008, 09:18 PM)

Not really so off-topic.

Porn drives technology online. Gaming drives hardware technology (video cards especially). There are other factors of course that drive IT developments (server requirements filter down into desktops too), but the point for this thread is that porn is a very real factor in our daily lives with how it drives the market forwards.

Porn was the deciding factor in the Beta vs. VHS war...

-Renegade (January 04, 2008, 09:29 PM)

Actually the "Porn drives technology online" argument doesn't hold water for me - in fact I think I find it pretty offensive as an argument. "Online" wasn't set up fro porn (AIUI it was originally aimed at academic exchanges) so that was a pretty big technological leap without the need for the support of porn. Porn is an abusive by-product of the internet not a driving force. That by-product is almost always (IMHO) bad - not because of the content (as far as I am concerned people can do or watch whatever they like in the privacy of their own home provided it doesn't cause problems for others) but because of the way it is produced and distributed via so many unpleasant means - actual abuse of participants in many cases (not to mention the vile growth in child abuse), blanket spamming of the entire world by email including vulnerable children with graphic images and links to even more horrid material, and the ever abusive use of annoying and offensive popups and malware to trap people into seeing materials they have no desire or interest to see. The same can be pretty much said for the abuse of online gambling.

I personally don't want to see or experience pornography on the internet as I find it thoroughly unpleasant (even Hollywood feature films with a high sex content have me reaching for the off button). It isn't that I am prudish or don't enjoy a sex life I just don't particularly want to watch other people at it like rabbits (or even worse endorsing unpleasant and potentially dangerous acts). I don't really want to discuss it that much either (even in this sort of abstract way).

Maybe it is my circle of friends but I don't know of anyone who actively seeks out porn on the web (or at least admit to it) - and most people are sick to death of the onslaught of viagra ads and penis enlargement spam (which in my email now seems to be arriving in a 10:1 ratio - ie. 1 wanted email to 10 adverts for sex aids). Even checking through my spam folder for the odd stray real email has me ready to axe the screen at times.

Luckily I have my system set up so that I can pretty much avoid all this crap - which is where this argument came in really.

I find it quite strange that talking about pornography on DC.com or YouPorn.com or whatever seems to cause few raised eyebrows and generally a "its not much of an issue" attitude from many but as a forum we don't discuss politics or religion because they are too inflammatory ...

Haven't we got our priorities a bit skewed?

3852

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Acronis True Image for FREE

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 05, 2008, 04:24 AM »

Note the original offer in this thread seems to have ended (as of 5th Jan 2008). I have added a not to the original post.

3853

Living Room / Re: What is appropriate content for DonationCoder?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 04, 2008, 06:31 AM »

Follow up to my previous comment ...

Actually I have gone off tagging as I think it is impractical (if you mean a sort of BBC tag extension).

How about a very simple system that when you post you simply check a "may offend/NSFW' box. User profiles could have an option to exclude such posts from sight. That way no one would be excluded from seeing anything but if you are sensitive to such things you can opt to avoid seeing it at all.

If that could be implemented through a cookie setting even better because then you could have NSFW messages invisible at work but visible at home.

3854

Living Room / Re: What is appropriate content for DonationCoder?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 04, 2008, 06:21 AM »

I haven't read the whole thread yet (gosh that was a quick set of responses) just the first couple of pages! Thanks everyone for discussing this in such an open and light hearted way (at least so far as I have read).

The NSFW tag discussion could be extended to a POC (potentially offensive content) tag too. It would then mean that if age is specified during sign up that POC marked content could be excluded from content viewable until the user reaches a suitable age (16, 18, 21 ... 85) - there could also be POC option in the user profile to exclude POC marked content if users don't want to be faced with such material.

Personally I don't want to see heavy censorship (and as a moderator I would resign rather than try to enforce contentious censorship rules) but as a rule I think it is good for everyone to be sensitive to the sensibilities of users that have different opinions, outlooks and cultural leanings as well as a variety of first languages. This applies across the board and is just the basis of good manners.

I have to hold my hands up and admit that I too have occasionally posted messages that others may be offended or irritated by (especially when I can't resist arguing) ! I'll try to be good in future

3855

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Acronis True Image

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 29, 2007, 04:39 AM »

So according to that link (and the feature grid at the bottom) Nero Essentials doesn't include any version of Burning ROM. Which is what I understood.

There is a version of Burning ROM Essentials but it doesn't seem to be included in that package - and I don't know where you can find that.

BurningROM is the traditional version of Nero which gives lots of control over formats used and file layout. AFAICS it is the pretty much the original Nero when it was just a good quality burning application which has been updated for new hardware and a few bugs ironed out.

Nero Express is wizard based and isn't nearly as flexible. It uses default settings for most things - if you want to change anything you have to use Burning ROM.

In the full version of Nero lots of projects that you start in Nero Express force you into the full Burning ROM application because Express doesn't do it.

I can't be specific because I no longer have Express installed as the only parts of Nero I find useful are Bruning ROM and Drive Image - neither of which are available in Essentials.

Wait I found the Nero Express helpfile:

Nero Express provides all the performance and efficiency of Nero Burning ROM with a simplified user interface. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, Nero Express guides you quickly and easily through your desired burning tasks. The default settings are selected to automatically achieve best results. Using the program is remarkably easy: simply select the object to be burned, add the files, and start burning.

also:

Versions of Nero Express
Nero Express is available in three different versions: Nero Express, Nero Express Essentials, and Nero Express Essentials SE.

Nero Express and Nero Express Essentials offer the full range of functions, only Nero Express Essentials SE does not offer the following functions:

Unrestricted encoding in Nero Digital Audio format
Creating and burning Super Video CDs (see Compiling Video CDs/Super Video CDs)
Linking to Nero CoverDesigner (see Extended area (start screen))
Saving audio files (see Copying Audio CD tracks)
Erasing rewritable CDs/DVDs (see Erasing a disc)
Retrieving disc information (see Extended area (start screen))
Creating labels with LightScribe® (not included in standard functionality, see LightScribe®)
Creating labels with LabelFlash™ (not included in standard functionality, see LabelFlash™)
Burn SecurDisc™ data CD's/DVD's with SecurDisc™ (not included in the standard features by default, see SecurDisc™ Settings)

So Nero Express Essentials isn't the same as Burning ROM with a few bits missing it is a reduced version of Express.

3856

Living Room / Re: Laptop hard drive... 5400 or 7200 ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 28, 2007, 01:58 PM »

Thank you very much Darwin, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

WATCH Canada Border Services Agency!!!!! They'll slap a $5 inspection fee onto your package and then PST and GST and possibly duty as well. I got my Donationcoder mug in the post and had to pay $18.16 in taxes and inspection fees to be able to take possession (NB it shipped with an invoice indicating the price as $99.99).

(Yes : I vaguely remembered a book costing me 40$ instead of 20$, and taking 3 weeks to make it to my mailbox...  Somehow, everything I ordered through eBay never went through this lengthy and costly process...)

-Armando (December 28, 2007, 12:57 PM)

It's also been my experience sending things to Canada to my parents in Ontario when I buy through an online dealer and get it sent direct. I have stopped doing it now and try to buy at Canadian online stores instead because I got so fed up with my mother being stung for inspection charges, import duty and any other random taxes that occur to them! Canadian import inspectors seem to be particularly vigilant IME and, unlike the UK, they don't seem to observe a minimum value before the clobber you.

Be aware that a lot of countries also have a range of tarrifs depending on what you are importing and in some countries they can be very high on electronics. Best to check before you order or you may find it was cheaper to buy it at a Canadian store (and probably quicker delivery).

Having said all that the UK inspection fee/import duty applies to items over £18 - and they charge £8 for the inspection alone (that is nearly $17 CAN) before they even begin on tax!

3857

General Software Discussion / Re: GoodSync free from RoboForm today (not)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 28, 2007, 02:49 AM »

Result - just updated Roboform - the new webpage that loads on update completion now looks like:

3858

Living Room / Re: Laptop hard drive... 5400 or 7200 ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 28, 2007, 02:37 AM »

Depends where you live - Provantage have good prices but if you live anywhere other than continental US their shipping prices are ridiculous (and will probably cost more than the drive).

3859

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Acronis True Image

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 28, 2007, 02:35 AM »

Full Nero includes the full version of Burning ROM - AIUI Essentials only has Nero Express which isn't nearly as useful.

3860

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Acronis True Image

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2007, 02:27 PM »

Nero Express isn't Nero Burning ROM - it is a reduced functionality version.

If you want a minimal install of Nero just go for the Burning ROM and ignore everything else. For a minimal Install Smart Start is a waste of time as it only acts as a front end to load Nero apps (OK it can check for updates - but I prefer to do that manually).

For me Nero ImageDrive is useful tool (and accessible via the Control Panel).

Having said all that I very rarely use Nero these days - I mostly use ImgBurn and Ashampoo Burning Studio.

Ever since Nero started including video and photo apps, media players etc. it really has become a buggy jack of all trades and master of none. I wish they would divorce all the media stuff and sell the burning rom app as a standalone package. As it is I guess they are losing a lot of their older customers. I certainly won't upgrade to version 8 (and regret coughing up for version 7 at the time). The only thing that new versions can possibly justify is better hardware support etc. but since I am still using basic ATAPI DVD drives there isn't much to gain in Blu-RAY and HD-DVD support and anyway extending support is done much cheaper elsewhere as you don't have to buy all the media rubbish again.

3861

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: free to get EverNote Portable: 48 hours, 27-28 Dec

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2007, 05:28 AM »

If you are interested in being able to use this in the future run the installer and watch very carefully for the folder name where the files are unpacked after it connects to the giveaway website to confirm the installation date. You will find the full installer is unpacked on your system prior to the proper installation - if you copy that folder before completing the installation you can install again later if needed.

Alternatively you can also simply make a backup of the portable application folder after installation (AFAICS it doesn't register anything and being portable the application runs directly from the folder when copied onto any portable device).

The installer sets up a shortcut on the portable device which is 'drive specific'. When you move it to a different system I notice the shortcut gets updated to reflect the drive name on the new machine - is this normal or something to do with evernote? What happens if the drive letter already exists on another machine - does the shortcut fail or does it still update to the portable drive name?

3862

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 26, 2007, 07:13 PM »

Should we take some drastic action about tinjaw's blatant post boosting ... like cutting off his assets? 

3863

Living Room / Re: Blu ray vs HD DVD

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2007, 06:33 AM »

Why not but a dual player that does both?

3864

Living Room / Re: The Beatles Cover Stairway to Heaven

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 08:14 PM »

I love the Dolly Parton version - I'm beginning to think Robert Plant sang his version based on her voice.

I wish he'd included a version of it on the recent album with Alison Krauss !

3865

Living Room / Re: The Beatles Cover Stairway to Heaven

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 07:42 PM »

Now here is the ULTIMATE and I mean ...

U .. L .. T .. I .. M .. A .. T .. E
link

3866

General Software Discussion / Re: Monitor Rotation

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 03:57 PM »

I remember back in the late 80s being amazed by an Apple Mac system that had a beautiful A4 monitor. It was designed for DTP with exact 100% A4 output.

The brilliant thing was that the monitor would rotate from landscape to portrait just by turning the screen on a pivoting base - as you rotated the screen the computer automatically rotated the video output to fit. It was truly gorgeous to look at and way ahead of its time. It even had dual momnitor capability. I don't know if that functionality is available in OSX or not - I have never heard anyone mention it.

There I said something nice about Apple! 

3867

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Signs Recursion May Be a Problem In Your Life

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 12:16 PM »

Grief - that is a blast from the past ...

3868

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: DivX Author rebate coupon needed

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 11:16 AM »

No the offers aren't linked to individula accounts. For DivX author just go to the main page:

http://www.divx.com/divx/windows/author/

As far as I can see this is the same a TMPGEnc DVD Author except it is restricted to DivX authoring.

3869

General Software Discussion / Re: "XPLinux" Running Windows XP and Kubuntu on one joint desktop

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 11:12 AM »

If you use a multi desktop manager can you put one OS on one desktop and the other on another (or alternative just a single mouse click to swap full screen OSes)?

Also suppose you want to run more than one OS in seamless mode - what flexibility is there on where Taskbars go (it could get quite confusing!)?

Shame they can't integrate to share task bars ...

3870

Living Room / Re: The Beatles Cover Stairway to Heaven

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 06:17 AM »

DownloadHelper (Firefox Extension) works really well and is a simple click to get a menu and you click the right one to download it. Works on sites other than YouTube too.

The main one I use is Veoh TV - which is also a media player and organiser (download link at the botoom of the page). It adds a toolbar to IE and Firefox so that most Flash Video sites just require a single mouse click to initiate the download. The Veoh website also has loads of videos and channels (a bit like YouTube). Veoh just sits in your system tray (though you can disable that behaviour). Not the best designed software but it does server a useful function efficiently.

3871

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 05:38 AM »

It still isn't the problem of the end user.

Example - a company buys laptop batteries from a third party and sells their new all singing laptop worldwide. The batteries turn out to have faults and the laptops burst into flames 6 months after purchase. (Sound familiar) The end user might be sympathetic to the laptop manufacturer but they still want a new laptop with a non-exploding battery. Will an end user be happy if the laptop manufacturer tells them 'not my problem - I don't make the battery and I can't fix it?'

The battery sourcing problems are not the end user's concern - they want and need a laptop that works it is up to the laptop manufacturer to source dependable batteries and if he has problems take the battery manufacturer to court for compensation or find another source of dependable batteries.

3872

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 05:19 AM »

You could argue that even if the components are the source of the problem it is the package developers fault for choosing such crappy components!

If they were all they could afford at the time of initial development then the profits from sales should ideally be invested in better components for the next version and redevelop a better product based on them.

Users don't (IMHO) need to be told why bugs occur or who is to blame - they simply want them fixed.

3873

Living Room / Re: The Beatles Cover Stairway to Heaven

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2007, 04:11 AM »

Thanks Darwin

3874

Living Room / Re: The Beatles Cover Stairway to Heaven

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 19, 2007, 04:52 PM »

Carol

Free Dowwnload Manager handles YouTube vids (and a few others), and does conversion on download (if you want/need that)

Target

-Target (December 19, 2007, 04:33 PM)

Hve you got a link for that? Unfortunately Google brings up 33,000,000 results on Free Download Manager!

3875

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Signs Recursion May Be a Problem In Your Life

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 19, 2007, 12:03 PM »

Brilliant ...