Recent Posts

4151

Living Room / Re: Restating Godwin's Law

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 24, 2008, 07:58 PM »

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble figuring out how SQLNotes can be used to solve this problem...

Maybe someone can chime in with some ideas?

-mwb1100 (March 24, 2008, 06:25 PM)

Grid, I meant Grin

4152

Living Room / Re: XP boot-up problem

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 22, 2008, 01:53 PM »

I had this happen to me but it by no means makes it relevant to your case, so only FWIW YMMV:

I don't know how you're set up, but you could try logging in as another user.
If there's something messed up in the registry, or your configuration files are in some way damaged, this might give you a clue to what's happening if another user account runs okay.

I'd listen to the advice of others before mine any day 

Good luck, anyway!

4153

Living Room / Re: XP boot-up problem

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 22, 2008, 12:11 PM »

Plenty of free drive space?

4154

General Software Discussion / Re: USBDeview - Guaranteed eject of your USB drive

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 22, 2008, 07:37 AM »

I am not trying to eject a single drive, but a group of them

I know this is inelegant but couldn't you just write an old-fashioned batch file using USBDeview's command-line options
and call that from Farr?

USBD will show you the serial #s of G: to K: so you could just use 5 lines of the kind

usbdeview /stop_by_serial [serial number of G: here]
 .
 .
 .
usbdeview /stop_by_serial [serial number of K: here]

That way, if something shifts your drive letters around you'll still stop the external drive.

4155

General Software Discussion / Re: EverNote beta 2.2.0.372 has some nice new features

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 21, 2008, 05:59 PM »

I've been watching the thread and sub-thread here with interest.

Nothing's going to make me switch to a system that refuses to hold data locally.
I don't trust the interweb enough for that.  I'll be interested to see how Evernote 3
develops but if it really turns out not to allow local data I'm going to wish I'd not
bought it.  I'll feel cheated that something bought in good faith has no upgrade
path except for one so divergent from the original concept.

As for the other...

Spoiler

... to un-de-hijack for a moment I'm another in the 'don't get it' camp of
those who've looked at SQL Notes and come away feeling baffled. Perhaps that's
because I don't really need what (I think) it offers and so lack the motivation to
dig deeply enough to unearth its treasure.  I do rather feel that I must be missing
something good, and better documentation would surely help. 

I see Pierre being unfailingly helpful but, at the moment, I don't know enough about
what I don't know even to frame some meaningful questions.

4156

General Software Discussion / Re: Direct Folders 3.3 Released : Now FREE for HOME use

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 20, 2008, 09:43 PM »

Thanks for the notification, I wasn't aware of this until you pointed it out!

4157

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 20, 2008, 01:57 PM »

Name suggestion:

Notition

4158

Living Room / Re: the award for most clueless pc user ever - my candidate.

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 18, 2008, 07:38 PM »

ask how to operate the steering wheel

-nudone (March 18, 2008, 04:49 PM)

One learns something every day!  Steering wheel, you say!  I thought that thing was the valve wheel to open the fuel filler.
Fortunately, because I've never managed to get that open, I've never had fuel so the issue of steering hasn't yet arisen.

 

4159

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone else having random reboots with Firefox 2.0.0.11

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 15, 2008, 10:56 AM »

not one single event logged (good or bad) in the event logs all night. Well thats a first!

-Carol Haynes (March 15, 2008, 07:14 AM)

Sounds hopeful... fingers crossed.
This sort of thing always ceates contradictary reactions in me; one wants to know the exact cause of the problem but, then again, it's such a relief when it just goes away!
 

4160

Living Room / Re: Can't maximize windows to second monitor

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 14, 2008, 07:24 PM »

You don't have monitors 1 & 2 switched around in your display settings do you?

4161

General Software Discussion / Re: Code 19 in Device Manager

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 13, 2008, 06:22 PM »

I can't help, but have you tried talking to Dell? 
You might be lucky and find someone there who's come across this issue before.

If you're in the U.S., call 1-800-624-9896 (according to the Dell printer manual)

Good luck with the issue, I feel your pain!

4162

General Software Discussion / Re: Easiest replacement for windows system restore?

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 13, 2008, 04:14 PM »

generally it does not function when i need it most, very unreliable for me.
I don't have a burner to make backup cd's. What choises do i have?

-F.A. (March 13, 2008, 02:29 PM)

Same situation here.  I'm one of the many for whom system restore is just unreliable.

I recently bought RollBack Rx from here: http://www.horizonda...sys.com/169614.ihtml

RollBack Rx Does the job for me.  In one of those serendipitous moments, the day after installing RollBack
I did something really stupid so I had a hands-on test of it.  Repairing the damage from my mistake was
as simple as telling RollBack to, well..., roll back.  Saved me hours of frustration and paid for itself right there.

You need to know that RollBack only handles the root drive.  (It's supposed to be okay on multi-boot systems,
too but I have no first-hand experience of that.)  So, if you have more than one physical drive in your machine
it'll only handle the one from which you boot (though it will cover different partitions on that same drive). 
This works well for me as I have separate backups of other drives which are easy enough to restore and I
really want something to rollback items such as registry changes and unfortunate driver installations.  That being
so, covering changes that occur on C: (in my case) does the job nicely.

The company has other products that might suit you better, FirstDefense-ISR Workstation (discussed at length
here) and FirstDefense-ISR Rescue edition.

 

4163

Living Room / Re: The MacBook Air is So Thin…

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

Carol Haynes:
did people see the recent news about the iPod Nano that started emitting sparks when it was being charged?

That's just a flash in the pano

4164

General Software Discussion / Re: False Positive on Software (Generic.Dx) by McAfee Today: McAfee Response and

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 12, 2008, 01:31 PM »

WOW!

Today, the Generic.dx Trojan that I run on my machine informed me that McAfee Virus Scan has screwed up again.

Thank goodness for Generic.dx.  Thanks to its timely warning I was able to deploy the MVS-removal tool in time to
prevent every executable on my machine from being moved into quarantine.

 

4165

Living Room / Re: the award for most clueless pc user ever - my candidate.

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 10, 2008, 11:46 AM »

Cuz dat der inkertubez is komplikated.

Maybe, but it ain't nucular fizz-icks, George!

4166

Official Announcements / Re: The site is now back online (March 6th, 2008)

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 06, 2008, 10:08 PM »

Nice to be back!

Thank you very much to those involved in the recovery.
There's obviously been a lot of hard work involved and it's very much appreciated!

4167

General Review Discussion / Re: Wovel

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 01, 2008, 12:22 PM »

How do you mean low profile? The blade goes to the ground

-allen (February 29, 2008, 10:44 PM)

I think I'd have to go  to the ground as well if I'm to see where the gravel lies 

Perhaps it will need tines for grooming grass.  Not hard to do... probably be a Work in the park.

4168

Living Room / Re: the award for most clueless pc user ever - my candidate.

« Last post by cranioscopical on March 01, 2008, 12:17 PM »

i can't quite understand how they thought they'd be able to turn the computer on without pressing the power button on the tower - what else is there? maybe they thought you only had to press the power button on the monitor

-nudone (March 01, 2008, 07:39 AM)

Isn't that silly of them -- not a mistake  that I'd make!

By the way, I'm glad you mentioned the power button on the monitor.
I've been waiting absolutely ages for that blank screensaver to go away (since about 2002, I think)!

Computing is much more fun now that I have pictures on the screens!

4169

General Review Discussion / Re: Wovel

« Last post by cranioscopical on February 29, 2008, 08:03 PM »

I think I'll steal this whole Wovel idea.

Looking forward to the spring...
I have gravel driveways and my tractor throws a lot of the stones
across the lawns during snow clearing operations.
That means, when the snow has melted, someone has to stoop
down to collect and remove the gravel from the grass.

I'm working on a low-profile adaptation of the Wovel for
gravel removal.  I'll market it as the Grovel.

4170

Living Room / Re: Kodak (Complaint)

« Last post by cranioscopical on February 28, 2008, 09:42 PM »

... a lesson (that we should all take note of): always record the serial number of the equipment that you send off for repair. Prefereably a photograph.

-Darwin (February 28, 2008, 04:19 PM)

It's a very good point to make. Photos are good.
Where possible, engraving a concealed ownership mark onto an object is a good idea, too.
Didn't help Deozaan in this instance but...

Unfortunately the proliferation of email, voicemail, and internet-based communication bedevils a great many issues today. Warranty satisfaction is just one. It's far too easy for companies to hide behind such screens. Even some well-intentioned outfits seem to be disconnected from customers by what they must once have felt would be good tools to provide customer satisfaction.

OFW (old fart warning)

Spoiler

Veering off-topic here, the combination of increasing erosion of civil liberties combined with staggering levels of error in government data juxtaposed with the ever-increasing difficulty of contacting any party with initiative and authority (similar to what's been discussed in this topic) implies a problem of nightmare proportions for the 'guilty until proven innocent' world into which we're rushing headlong.

4171

Living Room / Re: Kodak (Complaint)

« Last post by cranioscopical on February 28, 2008, 03:13 PM »

And what does it say about the town you live in if there's not even a Wal-Mart there?

-Deozaan (February 28, 2008, 12:48 AM)

That the residents have critical discrimination?

Anyway, I might be able to find a "news on your side" but I'm not really sure if there is something like that in this area since I don't watch the news. Any tips on how I could find some consumer advocacy group in my area?

I think I'd look online, or through your local phone book, tosee if any such agencies operate out of your state capital (Boise I believe).
You could try contacting the Public Relations branch of Kodak and see if you make any headway there.
Again, though, how much of your life do you want to devote to this?  I'd let it go and move on.

ultimately I see myself walking away from this without much nice to say about Kodak.

Given the time that's elapsed and the distances involved, that seems the pragmatic choice.

4172

General Review Discussion / Re: Wovel

« Last post by cranioscopical on February 28, 2008, 11:08 AM »

Thanks for this, Allen.

Having just come indoors from a two-hour ploughing session on my own place I'm interested to read your review.
I have a 45' x 15' deck on the back of my house that we clear with shovels. A Wovel might lighten that task.

As for you, Mouser...  I'll clip my iPod to the thing's handle.

4173

Living Room / Re: Kodak (Complaint)

« Last post by cranioscopical on February 27, 2008, 11:09 PM »

So what do you think? Should I cut my losses or complain some more to them and demand a camera in exquisite condition like the one I paid for and sent in?

-Deozaan (February 27, 2008, 09:20 PM)

Do you have any consumer advocacy bodies available in your area?
Any computer or photography magazines with a columnist who will take up the cudgel on behalf of their readers?

I understand your frustration, I really do -- I've had some similar experiences.
I detest companies that farm out warranty issues to second- and third-rate companies.

What you do depends on how much of your life you're willing to devote to more of this frustrating journey.
Once I would have chased down the issue to the bitter end.
Now, certainly older, and (maybe) a tad wiser, I'd walk away from it as I have better things to do with my time.
I'd never buy another Kodak product, and I'd make damned sure none of my friends did either.

Meantime, since talk is cheap, I'm sending a few donation dollars your way to help establish the 'new camera' fund.
(Time to put my money where my mouth is for a change, instead of my usual tactic of inserting my foot.)

Hope you can resolve things to your satisfaction, somehow!

4174

Developer's Corner / Re: It's time for NANY and GOE mug pictures!

« Last post by cranioscopical on February 27, 2008, 09:29 PM »

so all of you who have won mugs you can also request any custom object you want for your next reward

-mouser (February 27, 2008, 12:23 PM)

Can I have your bookshelves then?

4175

Living Room / Re: look at the size of my mouse mat !!!

« Last post by cranioscopical on February 27, 2008, 09:26 PM »

a bigger mouse that requires both hands to move it would be cool too - or maybe just a mouse that is so big it fills the space of the new mat and makes everything seem normal again.

-nudone (February 27, 2008, 03:50 PM)

I think you guys have things backwards. I leave my mouse always in one position and use both hands to move the monitor around it.

Why are CRTs so heavy?!