Recent Posts

401

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Phone Disk-Until September December 1st 2010

« Last post by Darwin on October 24, 2010, 04:10 PM »

-I would imagine Win Phone (6.5 and) 7 would offer just that?

 (see attachment in previous post)

http://www.microsoft...eatures/default.aspx

-Curt (October 24, 2010, 01:10 PM)

That's certainly what I'm betting on!

402

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Phone Disk-Until September December 1st 2010

« Last post by Darwin on October 24, 2010, 12:30 PM »

I think I might get a Windows 7 Phone, after I've had a chance to play with one, of course. Failing that, an Android phone (probably HTC unless I switch to Rogers, in which case it'll be a Samsung Galaxy S). My wife leaves for South Korea on Tuesday, I'm also tempted to ask her to get me a Samsung PMP. However, they're releasing some new stuff in the coming months, so if I go that route, it probably makes sense to wait until she goes in January. My main requirement/desire is that whatever I get sync with Outlook so that I can have calendaring and scheduling features "on the go".

BTW - I really LIKED the iPod Touch. My only complaint about IT was that I didn't find scrolling through the apps very intuitive... Overall, I returned it because of iTunes. The iPhone is out for the same reason.

403

Living Room / Re: Just when you thought all the good ideas were taken!

« Last post by Darwin on October 24, 2010, 11:14 AM »

Microwave clothing. Feed tuna fish mayonaise so that you can use them as sandwich filling right away...

OK, neither are my ideas!

Source: Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton's character) Nightshift (1982)

404

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: SideWinder for Windows...

« Last post by Darwin on October 24, 2010, 11:10 AM »

Thanks, Curt. I guess I'll pass. I'm like a jay (type of bird) - constantly attracted by shiny new things. I"m down to 160 apps installed and am fighting to keep it that way. I just re-installed and then un-installed a few apps that I have licenses for... e.g. Direct Folders. I have a lifetime license but at the end of the day, under Windows 7 and given my work habits, I simply don't need it. Ditto CopyWhiz...

405

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Phone Disk-Until September December 1st 2010

« Last post by Darwin on October 24, 2010, 10:31 AM »

The real advantage provided by programs of this nature is the ability to explore the device's storage from within Windows Explorer/the finder rather than ONLY through iTunes. Ironically, I returned my iPod Touch 4th gen yesterday because I can't stand iTunes. As it happens, this product would not really have helped me due to the requirement that iTunes 9 be installed on the computer... As far as I know, with the Touch and the iPhone, there is no way around having iTunes installed.

*Deal breaker for me...

*WRT iPod Touch/iPhone that is...

EDIT: added above qualifier about what I meant by "deal breaker"

406

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: SideWinder for Windows...

« Last post by Darwin on October 24, 2010, 10:12 AM »

So, Curt, four months on, how do you like Sidewinder? From the screenshots on the site you linked to, I'm not sure it's my cup of tea (at least WRT the GUI).

Inquiring minds want to know!

407

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Phone Disk-Until September December 1st 2010

« Last post by Darwin on October 24, 2010, 10:07 AM »

Just to note, that this product DOES require iTunes 9 to be installed. Not saying that to disparage the product, just to let people know. If it works as advertised it's still a useful upgrade to PC/iPod functionality.

408

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / dot Net complaints

« Last post by Darwin on October 23, 2010, 10:40 PM »

Hi Phil66 thank you for calling me an idiot. Very nice.

If you don't like mouth-breathing idiots such as myself jumping to conclusions, try being more explicit about what you mean when you post. I've been caught out this way myself in the past, but have yet to call those who jump to conclusions because of my mistakes idiots, or any other derogatory names.

409

Living Room / Re: Welcome to Hell... iHell that is...

« Last post by Darwin on October 23, 2010, 10:34 PM »

Hmm... interesting points, app. My understanding of the brouhaha over Apple and Flash was that Apple devices like the iPad and iPhone not only do not ship with Flash but their OS's don't support Flash, rendering the choice over whether to install it or not, moot?

-Darwin (October 23, 2010, 04:23 PM)

This doesn't refer to iPhone/iPad...it's about OSX, their desktop OS.

-app103 (October 23, 2010, 04:45 PM)

Yes, I understood that. My point was that some posters here seemed to be under the impression that this would apply to the new version of OSX (Lion); I was trying (apparently unsuccessfully) to point out that this issue relates to the iPad/iPhone, not OSX.

410

Living Room / Re: Welcome to Hell... iHell that is...

« Last post by Darwin on October 23, 2010, 04:23 PM »

Hmm... interesting points, app. My understanding of the brouhaha over Apple and Flash was that Apple devices like the iPad and iPhone not only do not ship with Flash but their OS's don't support Flash, rendering the choice over whether to install it or not, moot?

411

Finished Programs / Re: InstaPlay - instant sound player

« Last post by Darwin on October 23, 2010, 12:54 PM »

Hmm... looks interesting, justice. Instead of "Instaplay Asset Organizer" how about "Instaplay Media Organizer" or "Instaplay Music Organizer"?

412

Living Room / Re: Welcome to Hell... iHell that is...

« Last post by Darwin on October 23, 2010, 11:41 AM »

Wow! As Apple threads go - on DC or elsewhere - this one seems very tame to me. I'm surprised that justice and wraith are having such an adverse reaction to the discourse. If we're taking into account other Apple-related threads on DC, then I suppose the attitude could be defined as antagonisitc. However, I don't see the problem m'self... Personally, I like Apple products but loathe the company and the zealotry. I'm not a big Steven Jobs fan, either (yes, I think he is a genius - particularly at picking the "next big thing", producing it, and marketing his products - but that doesn't mean I have to like him  ).

Anyway, I'm not sure what's being objected to here. If voicing any dissenting view about Apple is "attitudinal" then label me as attitudinal! Overall, I"m a bit concerned about the undertone of censorship that I detect. I mean, c'mon - I'll recycle an analogy already used in this thread and put it to a different purpose: if we were slagging off Microsoft, would anyone raise a voice of dissent about it?

FWIW I own both Windows and OSX PCs along with an iPod Classic and an iPod Touch 4th Gen. Doesn't mean I have to drink the Kool-Aid, though.

413

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: I want to recommend you about my new software, it is called LangOver version 5.

« Last post by Darwin on October 23, 2010, 11:28 AM »

What have you got against the .net framework? I mean, really, it's matured nicely and is farily ubiquitous. You'd have to try VERY hard to remove all traces of it from a windows box and not have doing so affect A LOT of your PC's funtionality/software installed on your PC...

Anyway, most users have .net framework installed so developers using it doesn't seem like a "shame" to me.

414

Living Room / Re: Windows Mobile 7 Review

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 10:43 PM »

Hmm... regarding the Windows 7 phones offered by Telus, perhaps I am being too hasty - the specs set by MS for the hardware is high-end, so maybe it isn't so important which phone I get?

Processor 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
GPU Qualcomm Adreno 200
RAM 256 MB
Flash storage 8 GB
Screen resolution 800 × 480 (exactly)
Touch Capacitive multitouch with at least four contact points
Cellular connectivity GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA (HSPA+ optional)
Wireless 802.11b/g (802.11n optional), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, FM radio
Hardware buttons Start, search, back, volume, power, and camera (with half-press focus)
Camera 5 MP, dedicated flash
Sensors A-GPS, accelerometer, compass, proximity, light
Ports Micro-USB, 3.5mm TRS headphone jack
Miscellaneous options Hardware keyboard, user-accessible microSD slots

415

General Software Discussion / Re: Opera to support extensions in V11

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 01:13 PM »

All it will take for me to seriously consider Opera is support for Roboform. Well, that and a light footprint. Firefox and IE both work well but the RAM/CPU usage drives me nuts! I know, I could just forego the pleasure of tabbed browsing but c'mon! It's ALMOST 2011!

416

General Software Discussion / Re: The mysterious case of disappearing scroll wheel functionality... RESOLVED

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 01:06 PM »

Hi Curt - sorry, our posts crossed each other in cyberspace!
 
I use AWM mostly for its ability to display discrete taskbars on my secondary monitor(s). This is SERIOUSLY underutilizing the software, but I have found it to be light on resources and non-intrusive. Before yesterday, I really had never had any trouble with it, bar a few beta releases that were resource hogs. I also have a license for UltraMon, which is a smaller and simpler app. I installed it, surreptitiously, on my wife's notebook so that I can run dual monitors when I have to troubleshoot it! Both work very well...

417

General Software Discussion / Re: The mysterious case of disappearing scroll wheel functionality... RESOLVED

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 01:03 PM »

Nevermind... the website is backup and I've installed the hotfix. Everything seems to work, with the exception of mouse wheel scrolling within the AWM options screens  

418

General Software Discussion / Re: The mysterious case of disappearing scroll wheel functionality... RESOLVED

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 12:52 PM »

BTW, just an update, Actual  Tools have already released a hotfix to address this issue. Unfortunately, their website just went down so I haven't been able to download and try it out 

419

General Software Discussion / Re: True Launch Bar v5.0

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 10:09 AM »

Am I the only who, since Windows 7, has found themselves not really needing this tool anymore? I used to have this installed with XP and Vista, but Win7 makes things so much easier I find myself rarely using this despite owning two licenses.

-Josh (October 22, 2010, 09:33 AM)

Nope, you're not alone, Josh. I actually installed TLB 5 under Win 7 to see if I had any need of it, and I still don't, so I uninstalled it again. Between Vista and Win 7, many of the third party applications that I used to run to "tweak" mu UI experience in windows have been made redundant. I no longer use a file/application launcher, Konfabulator/Yahoo widgets, TrueLaunchBar, or PSTray Factory, to name but a few, have all been relegated to either electronic archiving or to my wife's XP machine.

In some ways, this reminds me of the sea-change that occurred with I made the move from Windows 3.x to Win95/98 and beyond: I used a LOT of shareware to extend Windows (long file names, shell extensions, etc.) that I simply had no use for when Win95 came out. Funny, I tend to celebrate MS for incorporating good ideas from the shareware world into new versions of Windows, but excoriate Apple for doing it (e.g. I thought is was NOT cricket when Apple incorporated widgets into Tiger and left Konfabulator high and dry)   How embarrassing to be exposed as a hypocrite... but then, in the past MS has actually bought the company/technology where Apple tends to reverse engineer the idea and stiff the original developer (or is that my bias coming to the fore again?).

420

Living Room / Re: "White" Magic

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 09:59 AM »

Was his name Dr. Livingston?

-MilesAhead (October 22, 2010, 02:05 AM)

That's a bit presumptious.

421

Living Room / Re: How to avoid paying taxes and save billions

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 09:57 AM »

BTW, while I agree that a flat 10% tax may be overly simplistic, I have always assumed from arguments that have been advanced advocating a "flat" tax, that there would still exist a base income below which no tax would be payable, so Perry and Deozaan's concerns about the very poor being discriminated against wouldn't, I think, apply. I still dither about whether I agree with the idea, but from my position of ignorance it sounds reasonable  

I don't make very much (never have, never will), but I have no problem paying taxes. Taxation makes possible the society in which I live and the freedoms that I enjoy. I like sleeping at night knowing that there is a police force patrolling the city. Services like sewers and paved roads are nice, too. However, what does get my scrotum in a knot is that fact that I pay a great deal more than 2.4% income tax on the peanuts that I earn, and I'm helping to support a family of four. Ultimately, this is one of those discussions to be avoided because good arguments can be made from both sides of the issue (corporations employ lots of people and must be profitable in order to continue to do so, etc.). If I think too hard about it, my head spins - must be a sign of a circular argument!

Apologies for continuing the discussion about taxation rates, etc. Couldn't resist.

PS I note that Jon (jpprater) posted while I pecked this missive out... he's made some interesting points 

422

Living Room / Re: How to avoid paying taxes and save billions

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 09:30 AM »

Google is “flying a banner of doing no evil, and then they’re perpetrating evil under our noses,” said Abraham J. Briloff, a professor emeritus of accounting at Baruch College in New York who has examined Google’s tax disclosures.

Well, if you set up the rules of the game that way, and people take advantage of it, can you really blame them?

On a related topic, if you are a US citizen, there is no hope in Hell for you to get around tax. You must have a company set up. The US expects all income from all sources worldwide to be declared in excess of $75,000 (or something like that). So, if you live overseas, you still need to pay Uncle Sam. Corporations do not need to pay Uncle Sam, but private citizens do.

Now, is that messed up or what? I don't need to rant about it. I'll leave the ranting to some of the Americans here.

-Renegade (October 21, 2010, 07:15 PM)

Well... unless you declare non-residency (which is a bit of a hassle and an even greater hassle to "un-do" later), Canadians who live overseas are expected to pay income tax on all foreign earned income at the same rate as they'd pay at home (though usually tax agreements between Ottawa and other governements mean that you pay the difference between tax paid in your country of residence and the applicable Canadian tax). Or has this changed in recent years? Anyway, I was rather jealous of the $75k for free thing that Americans enjoyed! But then, I never made anywhere near that when I lived and worked abroad, so...

423

General Software Discussion / Re: True Launch Bar v5.0

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 09:24 AM »

[OT] hey Curt, I'm down to 159 programs installed  [/OT]

Regarding the issue you report with TLB 5 above, does the context menu that appears change depending on WHERE you right click on the TrueLaunchBar? Just curious.

424

Living Room / Re: Windows Mobile 7 Review

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 09:20 AM »

Very promising unless you live in Canada and you are a Telus subscriber. Telus is seriously fouling the bathwater these days - they're offering feature crippled versions of some smartphones (a lesser version of the Samsung Galaxy S, for example) or not offering others at all. With the Windows 7 phones that they've announced, they're not bringing in any of the high spec phones that I've read about and drooled over, offering instead a couple of base models from LG and HTC. If I'm going to live with a phone for three years, I want to start off with something cutting edge.

I guess I'll have to go carrier shopping...

Canada - great place but cursed by a huge land mass and a small population. Apple has the Canadian population so mesmerized that other manufacturers have been steadily pulling out/scaling back on the productst that they offer here. The potential sales aren't enough to offsest the marketing and shipping costs.

425

General Software Discussion / Re: The mysterious case of disappearing scroll wheel functionality...

« Last post by Darwin on October 22, 2010, 08:54 AM »

Hi all - I didn't do a good job explaining my situation  

Until yesterday morning, scrolling worked natiively (that is, WITHOUT Wizmouse) everywhere on my system. Then at some point scrolling became corrupted when viewing html content. I tried all sorts of fixes and came up short. Finally, I installed Wizmouse and functionality returned, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I now needed to run Wizmouse to enjoy functionality that comes built-in... EDIT: sorry Curt, I mis-read your post before writing the above.

However, Cranialscopical pointed me in the right direction. For the second time in the past year I find that I've hoisted myself on my own petard: it was a bloody beta (Actual Windows Manager 6.3 beta 2). The gory details are here   What's particularly embarrassing is that I didn't try running IE 8 64-bit (thought of it but never got around to doing so) and I managed to overlook entirely the fact that AWM 6.3 beta 2 introduces the ability "to scroll the contents of inactive windows without the need to activate them". Doh! This new feature is enabled by default.

BTW, I find it very odd that Wizmouse was able to override AWM, rather than leading to even more corruption!

Thank you, Chris  

EDIT: Identified the culprit so that others might avoid my pain/embarrassment!