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426
Background information:

As most of the forum regulars know, I program heavily in Visual Basic .NET for Windows - mostly for personal use, but I do publish a few applications here at DC ("SnapSuite", "MiniBrowse", etc). I have been looking for a way to program in Ubuntu for a while now, trying to avoid C/C#/C++, as well as Java at all costs. WINE won't run Visual Studio, and there is no .NET for Linux.

After several months of searching, I stumbled upon Gambas 2 while finalizing my Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex install. The website seemed to imply that it is geared to C# and GTK#, but I gave it a shot anyways - it seemed like a good program from what I was reading. I had issues with the initial setup on my desktop (my own fault), and ended up giving up for the night.

Today, I started a project on my laptop in Gambas, just messing around in class. This time I didn't check the option as I did previously (the one giving me the error), and was able to build a GUI without much trouble. I ended up coding the thing up in the principal's office (unrelated), and figured out how to make a .deb package for Ubuntu. I had some real fun making the About box as well :P

Information:
This program doesn't really DO anything, it is more like a show of "this can be done". Just sort of interesting to tinker with for a couple minutes - everything works as it should.

How to install:

Download, extract and locate the .deb file - it should be called "test_0.0.3-1_all.deb"
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/7691/51511583pw9.png


Launch the .deb file and you should get a prompt similar to this:
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2816/26240214sr4.png


Click "Install Package" and wait for installation to complete:
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6132/25602220bq7.png


When the installation finishes you should see something like this:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9831/41002853xp2.png


Now close that dialog and the "Install Package" button should now say "Reinstall Package":
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8963/22090581mh5.png


Installation is complete! You can close the Package Installer now!

Program in action:

Navigate to your Applications -> Other menu, and find "MFUP by Wreckedcarzz" - click to launch it:
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/3686/33055136hi8.png


This is the main GUI, just a few controls - the scrollbar at the bottom is locked in place:
http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/1071/38580678ps7.png


The About box, IMO, priceless :D:
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8379/16208128at4.png


How to uninstall:

Navigate to your Applications -> Accessories menu, and find the Terminal:
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/327/10xt2.png


In the terminal, type "sudo apt-get remove test":
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4183/11lj2.png


Hit Enter and wait for a Y/N prompt to appear in the Terminal:
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/5946/12zb4.png


Press Y, followed by Enter to complete uninstallation:
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5167/13vb7.png


Uninstall complete!

If you like it (or if you don't), let me know - I do plan on making actual Ubuntu applications (ones with a purpose), but I figured that this little project was interesting enough to post here :)

-Brandon
427
General Review Discussion / Re: Opinions on remote PC control software
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 21, 2008, 12:41 AM »
I gave TeamViewer a shot about a month ago attempting to replace LogMeIn free for my backup PC admin tasks, and it is similar to CrossLoop (in a negative way) - as far as I could tell it could be assumed that TV could be used as a remote control application:

TeamViewer establishes connections to any PC all around the world within just a few seconds. You can remote control your partner's PC as if you were sitting right in front of it.

But you have to have a person at BOTH computers to use it, and the process to establish the connection is strange and annoying; to add to that, if you go the way I did and assign a TV access password to the box, and someone gets the password (so they also have physical access to your machine), you have two compromised computers already. There was no simple way to change a password that I could find (but I lost interest quickly after finding it wouldn't accomplish what I needed anyways).

Needless to say I'm still riding with LMI Free - if only CrossLoop would make a "remote admin" mode to go along with the tried-and-true helper setup they have now... (hint hint to any passing CrossLoop devs... ;))
428
I'm downloading the 8.10 Ubuntu beta right now (Intrepid Ibex) and I plan to install it as a Windows application and run it from within Windows (never done it before, but I want to be able to use my X-Fi while running Ubuntu, along with some other things that Ubuntu still has iffy support for (*cough* 3D GAMES *cough*). I've heard this is the best way for Windows -> Ubuntu users to give it a shot, but I am not sure if it needs to have a separate partition or not. Even if it does, the "real" install does too, so its not any more work.

I can have my Ubuntu and eat it too! Er.. how does that go again? :P
429
Living Room / Re: My computer is older than YOUR computer!
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 19, 2008, 01:42 AM »
BASIC on the Atari 2600 was a great way to prepare for modern computing. Spend hours tweaking an underpowered program using a fiddly interface, then lose all your work when you turn off the power.  Just like when Windows crashes today! :D

Best analogy ever

</comic book guy voice>
430
FYI:

All Ubuntu based distros (Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu, EdUbuntu, etc) are going to have the 8.10 update on the 30th, followed by several last minute updates - it may be worth giving another shot.

My opinion on why Ubuntu is still not ready for "normal users":

I personally have a problem with Ubuntu's ability for "learning users" (wannabe power users, ex: me) being able to seriously fsck up the whole OS by one bad setting line; my laptop can no longer launch the X window system because of a "tweak" I found on Google (text based computing is a serious bummer). You [advanced linux users] can go on about how you have to use sudo and that you shouldn't mess with things you don't know about, but if you never mess with anything, you'll never learn anything. But the lack of an error recovery ability is simply appalling. I'm glad I have nothing life shattering on that ex3 partition, 'cause 8.10 is going on it as soon as ATI xorg drivers are out.

I love Ubuntu, but it still needs that little bit of extra "noob friendliness" IMO. Stuff should be wizard based, and less leaning on the terminal. And... *goes off to Ubuntu forums to complain* :P

Anyways, give it a go when it comes out. Might just work for you this time around ;) :Thmbsup:
431
DC Gamer Club / Re: Speltorrents.se - for gaming resources
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 16, 2008, 01:11 AM »
Cool find :)
432
Cat Flushing A Toilet

And if you wanna download it :D

*Saves*

w00t! :D
433
 :(

As long as it comes back ;) :)
434
Living Room / Re: My computer is older than YOUR computer!
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 14, 2008, 05:31 PM »
I got an abacus  :)
My sister has an expensive Chinese Abacus - I suppose it could be a math utility, not sure about a computer ;)

Can it run Crysis?
Does flash Crysis count? Does IE 5 even support flash anymore??? :P

I have an old MSXw, a Philips VG8020, from around 1987 at least, inherited from my middle brother.

Good god, that looks like a typewriter-meets-calculator gone nuts. :tellme: Definitely cool though. :Thmbsup:
435
Circle Dock / Re: Start with Vista startup
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 14, 2008, 12:48 AM »
Here is the setup EXE for the newest Circle Dock build (don't expect me to provide updates though, but I might until VideoInPicture is able to get a setup system going) :)

http://mazecraze.dcm....com/Circle Dock.exe :Thmbsup:
436
Living Room / Re: My computer is older than YOUR computer!
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 09:55 PM »
"Put a sheep on top *sheep placed on top* *sheep's eyes glow*" ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Computer: $500

Sheep: $20

Video: Priceless :P
437
General Software Discussion / Re: I gave in: Should I have?
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 09:26 PM »
f0dder: The router did a reboot because I changed the time zone, and I am still at 192.168.1.141 :P

I tried Static IPs before, and I borked the network so many times... ugh...
438
Living Room / My computer is older than YOUR computer!
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 09:22 PM »
*Restrains emotion*

I have just acquired a Packard Bell Legend 406CD. It has an Intel Pentium CPU @ 75MHz (ITS THE FUTURE, MAN! ;D), 8MB RAM, a 850MB hard drive and runs Windows 95. It boots into Windows - kb works (although it has 2 keys broken, I don't care - its Windows 95!), mouse functions fully as well. Looks to be fully functional, no problems yet. I'm so happy!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I might have the oldest functional computer here, now that I have this; and the neighbors were going to toss it in tomorrows trash pickup!

Here are some pictures:
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5518/img1886bi4.jpg

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/491/img1887qr0.jpg

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4722/img1888cf3.jpg

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6876/img1889ip5.jpg


Can you beat that? It has to be a functional computer that is older than that (so something running Windows 95 or earlier, as the machine DOESN'T STATE its manufacturing date anywhere :o). I had an image that proved it was running Windows 95 (winver.exe), but freaking ImageShack kept timing out :huh: :(

BTW, if anyone has $20 to spare, I wouldn't mind some RAM for it for my birthday in 3 weeks... ;)

-Brandon
439
General Software Discussion / Re: I gave in: Should I have?
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 07:07 PM »
Grr, I don't have that - I chose Static IP from my list to see the options and almost screwed my connection. What router/firmware is that Deozaan?
440
General Software Discussion / Re: I gave in: Should I have?
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 06:59 PM »
It would appear that the Dynex wireless card I have in this PC has taken the liberty of giving itself a static IP - I don't see why else it would take .141 over .3 :huh:

It did this on 2 routers (both Linksys, one WRT300N v1, one WRT54G v4) with the same result, so...

I don't whitelist anything (just did my router, but I don't think that will be a "security issue". Temporarily allowing all on this page FTW! :P

I do run with admin privileges, because of games and the constant install/uninstall game I play with my hard drive. DropMyRights looks a bit... over the edge - I have Sandboxie, and anything I download without knowing much about I run in that first (and investigate the files it creates and whatnot). I was hoping it would be a FF add-on, but apparently not :(

Kaspersky is a good anti-virus tool (I used one of the old versions many years ago on a Compaq machine I had - solid tool, but uninstalling was a nightmare that lead to a reformat).

UAC is just the Windows equivalent of the Ubuntu (and I am sure other Linux distros) security dialog - but I do MUCH more admin stuff in Windows than Ubuntu, so it is like locking a door every time you go through - eventually your going to get mad and just leave it unlocked for the sake of not going mad and attacking it because you don't want to keep unlocking it (or in most people's case, reverting to XP).

@ Deo: Static DCHP? I thought DCHP was auto-assign on every request?
441
Great, more problems for Wi-Fi owners.

That goes both ways with me; I have Wi-Fi I manage at home, but at the same time, I want into my school's Wi-Fi. Good vs evil. Too bad I can't afford 2 GX2's in SLI.
442
 ;D ;D ;D
443
General Software Discussion / Re: Iobit smart defrag vs o&o defrag pro
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 06:23 PM »
I used to use IOBit SmartDefrag way back when it was brand new in alpha, and it was alright, but I don't use it anymore (and even recommend against it now).

I am now using Defraggler on all my home PCs, trying to move away from JkDefrag. JkDefrag is a great program, but Defraggler lets me defrag exactly what I want in a GUI, instead of a command line switch. Plus, I can pause and resume and all that fancy stuff. Lets you defrag only free space, and allow or disallow fragmenting files in the process (aka: defrag free sapce as much as possible without messing with file fragments, or brute force it and do whatever needed to get all free space together - I pick the former).

Defraggler:


JkDefrag:
444
General Software Discussion / Re: I gave in: Should I have?
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 06:16 PM »
I don't really worry/care about security - but that's neither here nor there at this point, I'm trying to be preventative in case the crap hits the fan.

I use DMZ because all my PC's run on Dynamic IPs (DHCP) - although I just converted this PC over to an old wireless USB stick, so that has been holding the .141 suffix for the last 3 locations and 6 days, rendering that argument useless. But DMZ allows me to open all my ports to host my games, µTorrent my data [to be], and sustain 100% problem free internet, without re-forwarding ports every time something changes.

UPNP is enabled on the router (DD-WRT hax'd firmware), but it doesn't just let stuff in - it is sufficiently secure. Along with that, I run Firefox with NoScript + AdBlock Plus (IE7 is so.. ugh.. not gonna go there). UAC is disabled simply because I don't want to be asked to confirm something every time I do an admin task (several times a day).

If it turns out that this PC has a static IP, I might end up forwarding ports manually. Probably enable WF too, but it can get annoying at times... :-\

To-do (done):
  • Disable DMZ
  • Forward ports manually
  • Enable Windows Firewall

Done! :D
445
Why not incorporate the license key process into the installer? NSIS is pretty flexible about that. A small wizard-like system, where if you have a DC account, just login and it auto-registers you, and if you don't, you can get an anonymous key (and have the default browser open the DC page or something), or sign up and get a key (w/o internet popup).

Seems fair?
446
Developer's Corner / Re: Where to start with computer programing
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 02:55 PM »
I started programming in AHK a couple years back because of the cool apps I found here at DC, and I now do a little AHK and a lot of Visual Basic .NET.

AHK is great for personal programs, fun tricks and whatnot - and it can get really useful if you get into it and take the time, but it won't turn into anything big. It can come in handy though, random times when you need to do something repetitively, it can be so useful to have a script lying around...

Java, C#, C++ and Python are all MUCH more advanced than VB, but personally I am not interested in more powerful languages at the time - Visual Basic is a simple language (once you understand how it works) and it is easily readable even by people that don't know the language (I have had friends that take NO interest in computer programming look at code and I explain to them what it should do, and they sometimes pop a question at me that ends up fixing something).

Do note though that I don't intend on being a programmer as a job (computer repair is what I am shooting for), and I am only 15, so I'm not exactly one to take much advice from.

Figured I would toss my thoughts in :two:
-Brandon
447
Living Room / Re: Recommend a keyboard
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 02:39 PM »
The Logitech G11, which I own, has 18 "G" keys (programmable hotkeys) that have 3 modes - 54 keys in all - plus media keys (w/ volume control), a Windows Key switch (en/disable Windows key) and blue LED backlighting.

It's the biggest keyboard I've ever seen, but I absolutely love it. $60 @ NewEgg.com (USA shipping only, sorry guys).

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3303/1dsc03365fv3.jpg
(Click for full size - not my image (optional snap-on wrist rest not shown))
448
Living Room / Re: Malware Tricks: Skype Edition
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 02:25 PM »
Skype lets non-contacts IM you? Wonderful :o :o :o

That would be a bit of a PITA getting a new contact ... you would have to meet (game, chat room, forum, etc), exchange your info, then add them to your list. If one person gets it [info] wrong, neither can re-communicate (unless they find each other again).

There should be an option to disable non-contacts IMing you before you've approved them though. Kind of like how MSN works.
449
Living Room / Re: Malware Tricks: Skype Edition
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 02:22 PM »
Wouldn't that be amusing if you were running it under WINE or something?

"Good to know. I'm not running Windows."

That would be just absolutely hilarious for me. ;D
450
Circle Dock / Re: Start with Vista startup
« Last post by wreckedcarzz on October 13, 2008, 02:18 PM »
I made a Circle Dock installer for personal use yesterday, I can upload it if you would like...
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