Recent Posts

4051

Living Room / Re: What to do when you receive bootleg videos?

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 15, 2008, 10:24 AM »

One might have hoped for a more responsible reaction to suspect product.
It'll be interesting to see what you get back from PayPal/eBay customer services.
If PayPal/eBay won't run with the ball I'd be inclined to let the matter lie,
however uncomfortable that feels.

Watch out or you're going to be embroiled in a time- and money-wasting crusade.

4052

Living Room / Re: To Compress or not to compress

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 15, 2008, 10:00 AM »

FWIW I don't compress much of anything except for net transfers.
I use desktop machines and storage for them is so cheap these days I can't see the point of compression.

4053

General Software Discussion / Re: Track a Stolen PC with Freeware LocatePC - Cybernetnews Essay

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 15, 2008, 09:56 AM »

Good for you, Mouser, well done!

4054

Living Room / Re: Do you collect anything?

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 14, 2008, 08:07 PM »

I am sure they would, people here are so nice! 

But I am an incorrigible and pathologically inflexible internet anonymity extremist

-cathodera (May 14, 2008, 04:34 PM)

Well, Godfrey Ramsden of 112B Acacia Avenue, Brentham, Sussex, U.K., your secret is safe with us! 

4055

Living Room / Re: What to do when you receive bootleg videos?

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 14, 2008, 08:03 PM »

What do people think?

-Carol Haynes (May 14, 2008, 06:27 PM)

I think you should fink. Once will do, don't fink twice about it!

Seriously, you'll be doing your fellow eBayers a favour. Don't you wish someone had prevented this from happening to you?

4056

Living Room / Re: LibriVox: Free Audiobooks

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 14, 2008, 03:09 PM »

bound to take you back to childhood when your mother (or father) would read to you.

-mouser (May 14, 2008, 02:43 PM)

My parents always read me tales of children who ran away from home, usually to very far off places -- can't think why they did that. 

4057

Living Room / Re: An idea for the forum regarding disclosure

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 14, 2008, 11:24 AM »

What if we added some warning to the post/reply form saying "if you are in any way affiliated with (or have a financial stake in) a product mentioned in this post, you must disclose it.

-mouser

I doubt that those who try to promote (dubious) products by planting a question to be answered later
will be troubled by a warning.  It would be a little like asking the guy with a swag bag and jimmy,
"if you're going to burgle my house will you kindly phone the local police station before you begin?"

4058

General Software Discussion / Re: File Sync questions

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 13, 2008, 02:07 PM »

I don't (yet) trust my data to the cloud.
(It does seem to be an inevitable step for cross-border travel, though, now
that documents and devices are scanned/impounded more or less at will.)

So far:

1) I use version backup to keep every change to critical files.

2) I run a root drive backup daily.

3) I run a full system backup weekly (more if I'm working on something that matters a lot to me).

4) I synch key folders daily to several destinations (SFFS):

• other machines on my home network
• external USB storage
• internal alternate drive(s)

    I don't have a computer in the place where we prepare food, so item 4) is an
    everything-but-the kitchen synch.

4059

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Bits - ActMask - Drive Encryption - problems in encyption claims

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 10, 2008, 11:45 AM »

Heck, a lot of published authors are dreadful writers -witness the book I'm presently reading.

-Darwin (May 10, 2008, 08:14 AM)

i donnot agree we writ what we done reel good an we dont never messup. our new book not here yet comming presently you try read electric handbook it be current.

 

4060

Living Room / Re: Kodak (Complaint)

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 09, 2008, 05:31 PM »

What you have experienced with Kodak needs a campaign to combat their complacency and stupidity. Seems to me a campaign needs a focus point.

What do others think?

-Carol Haynes (May 09, 2008, 05:53 AM)

I think Deozaan needs to find others who've had problems with Kodak, in order to add weight to his complaint. A blog is probably a good starting point for that.

4061

Living Room / Re: Fujitsu Scansnap S300 - Looks Nice; Anyone Using One?

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 09, 2008, 05:06 PM »

Just thought I would post back and give an update.
I did end up getting the S300 Scansnap.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's always good to know when someone finds something good, and what about it is appealing.

4062

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

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 05, 2008, 05:03 PM »

Well done!

 

4063

Living Room / Re: Programmer's keyboard (funny)

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 05, 2008, 05:02 PM »

This reminds me of the new Microsoft keyboard recommended some time ago for Windows 98 users. Hopefully, this is over now!
 (see attachment in previous post)

-yksyks (May 05, 2008, 10:51 AM)

On the latest model the left key's been modified from CTRL to Lost CTRL
And the middle key has been changed from ALT to Yahoo

4064

General Software Discussion / Re: FastExplorer: Create your own Context Menu Items (Freeware)

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 05, 2008, 08:32 AM »

I also have a vintage version of 12 ghosts

-cathodera (May 05, 2008, 03:40 AM)

Have you 12G Menu Settings (ShellX)?  It'll 'turn off' unwanted items.

4065

Living Room / Re: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 04, 2008, 02:55 PM »

I have been having thougts about automated surveillance and and DNA banks. And the argument that they who have nothing to hide are safe, has been wheieing very heavily. If we had a global DNA bank, the idiot(s?) that nearly killed half of my family might very easily have been found.

-f0dder (May 04, 2008, 01:26 PM)

An event that threatens someone close to us does change the focus a bit!

Apart from the rights and wrongs of the issue, it's the degree of error in the systems that really scares me.

Get on the wrong list and then try to get yourself off again... from in jail?   without reasonable access?   with no funds?

How does one reach a forum in which to appeal? 

Recently, I found it a considerable challenge to reach a human being at the federal agency responsible for income tax -- and I wanted to pay some tax.  Heaven help me had I wanted to avoid it, or challenge an erroneous assessment!


 

4066

Living Room / Re: Shutdown Day!

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 02, 2008, 08:25 PM »

No problem.  I'm leaving at 6:00AM tomorrow to go to a Sheep & Wool festival.

-ljbirns (May 02, 2008, 06:16 PM)

I think it's cheating if you take the RAM with you!   

4067

Living Room / Re: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 02, 2008, 10:55 AM »

I actually found this quite shocking when i first heard about it.

-mouser (May 02, 2008, 08:55 AM)

I don't like it, but I can't see a lot of difference between this and their long-standing ability to peruse physical documents at will.

4068

Living Room / Re: Fred Langa bows our (and bikes off in to the wide blue yonder ...)

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 02, 2008, 10:50 AM »

I wanted to make some feminist comment but what the hell .... ROFLMAO!

-Carol Haynes (May 02, 2008, 09:30 AM)

Didn't want to be the White Knight?   

4069

General Software Discussion / Re: XPPro SP3

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 02, 2008, 10:45 AM »

12 weeks... luxury !

I have... 

-Armando (May 02, 2008, 09:50 AM)

I've been waiting eight years for the return of my abacus 

4070

Living Room / Re: Shutdown Day!

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 02, 2008, 08:37 AM »

http://www.shutdownday.org/

Can you survive 1 day?

It's tomorrow!

-Renegade (May 01, 2008, 12:50 PM)

Oh dear!  I missed  it.

-cranioscopical (May 01, 2008, 04:30 PM)

Huh?

Have you been time travelling again?

-Renegade (May 01, 2008, 11:36 PM)

Whoops, I might miss it tomorrow, too 

4071

General Software Discussion / Re: FastExplorer: Create your own Context Menu Items (Freeware)

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 01, 2008, 09:24 PM »

It's a very strange sad feeling as a programmer when you find that someone else has coded a program you wanted to write, and done a good job...

-mouser (May 01, 2008, 06:52 PM)

Procrastination vindicated again!   

4072

Living Room / Re: Shutdown Day!

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 01, 2008, 04:30 PM »

http://www.shutdownday.org/

Can you survive 1 day?

It's tomorrow!

-Renegade (May 01, 2008, 12:50 PM)

Oh dear!  I missed  it.

4073

Post New Requests Here / Re: Petrol prices around the world

« Last post by cranioscopical on May 01, 2008, 12:59 PM »

One limb per cup here.
Can get a rebate on submission of first-born child.

4074

General Software Discussion / Re: XPPro SP3

« Last post by cranioscopical on April 28, 2008, 10:31 PM »

I've been following the 'last time I fell face down in a plate of soup
my dodgy mouse came back to life' approach to computer trouble-shooting.

The last time I applied a service pack to XP (SP2) my non-functioning
system restore came back to life.  So, when I applied SP3 I checked to
see if a similar piece of magic occurred.

It didn't.
Now, I need to wipe off this minestrone.

 

             

4075

General Software Discussion / Re: XPPro SP3

« Last post by cranioscopical on April 28, 2008, 09:15 PM »

Installed it on one machine here, so far.

It's been on long enough for me to feel confident that nothing went amiss.

Drivers for fax and scanners and a bunch of USB odds and ends all work fine.
Some things that were problematic with SP2 are behaving themselves.

Backup software is working and verifying okay.

It 'feels' a touch slower on bootup but I didn't bother timing it.