Recent Posts

4526

General Software Discussion / Re: In a change of fortunes, MS implores developers not to make Webkit the new IE6

« Last post by 40hz on November 17, 2012, 08:59 AM »

Why ask when you can just do what Apple does and not allow any challengers to the throne?

Why wait for Windows 9? Just do it today. It's my way or the highway, right?  Isn't this is the new world the consumer supposedly is demanding? You know:  freedom from choice?

4527

Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates

« Last post by 40hz on November 17, 2012, 08:46 AM »

Yeah. Unfortunately in this case the game has completely shifted. It's no longer about copyrights and IP laws. It's now about the "powers that be" saving face. And that's a very dangerous game to be caught up in.

It's also usually not a game you can win unless you can topple a throne or two in the process.

Long-term, I'm not too bullish on Kim's chances of survival unless he agrees to work something out. There's a saying that the deadliest enemy you can have is somebody who wronged you first - and knows it. And Kim certainly has one (or more) of those right now.

By the same token there's wisdom in the old saw that begins with "he who fights, then runs away..."

I think I'll end up respecting Kim no matter which way he plays this one.

4528

General Software Discussion / Re: Does the browser Opera suck?

« Last post by 40hz on November 17, 2012, 06:43 AM »

+1 with above post. Minor niggles aside, Opera seems fine for what I use it for. I haven't noticed much in the way of suction either.

4529

Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates

« Last post by 40hz on November 17, 2012, 06:31 AM »

Once again we have a demonstration of how a poorly written law; political pressure from commercial interests; and a technologically naive but overzealous police agency created an embarrassing situation for a government. A government which now is now continuing to spawn legal chicanery and nonsense as it tries to talk/spin/lie its way out of the embarrassment it has created for itself.

One unwritten rule of power politics is that it's not important whether or not you're right - so long as you're never proven to be conclusively wrong.

And here's the problem for Kim Dotcom: how will the US government find a way to walk away without looking like a total ass. Because at this point - it can't. And as long as it might look like the governments of NZ and the US were completely out of line with this incident, it's never going to stop.

Prediction: Kim Dotcom is going to be offered a "deal" where he'll be required to plead guilty or "no contest" to some very minor charge(s), pay a fine, be required to make some half-assed public apology to the music/movie industry, and promise to never ever do it again - despite the fact he didn't do anything provably illegal under the law as it's currently written.

In return he'll be required to waive his right to seek any future legal recourse for the incident. And probably consent not to discuss or reveal any of the details about the deal he was offered.

Be interesting to see if he ends up taking it.

4530

Living Room / Re: ~$300 Laptop/Netbook recommendations

« Last post by 40hz on November 16, 2012, 07:40 PM »

+1 on an i3 chip if you can fit it into your budget. 

4531

Living Room / Re: When Kickstarters Fail

« Last post by 40hz on November 16, 2012, 03:31 PM »

A lot probably depends on your future plans and what sort of investors youll be looking for down the line. I could see some cases where doing a kickstarter might interfere with subsequent financing rounds. Then there's the issue of maintaining the necessary secrecy during development  until a patent can be secured.

Either way, I really think you need competent legal and business advice rather than a layman's opinion on something like this. You might want to start with the Small Business Administration and their SCORE advisors. You may even be eligible for federal technology grant funding depending.

Start with the SBA and go from there.

4532

General Software Discussion / Re: Two classes of membership here?

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 06:44 PM »

Hmmm, waste of time, maybe?

-PhilB66 (November 15, 2012, 06:39 PM)

Never! `

(see my previous post)

4533

Living Room / Re: Remember Buckyballs? They Are Now Gone

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 06:40 PM »

Try though they might, the government cannot realistically eliminate people's ability to simply make what they need out of whatever they have. It's an ability that sets the human race apart from the beasts, and something a lot of people these days should use more often.

-SeraphimLabs (November 15, 2012, 06:36 PM)

Yeah! There can never be enough BuckyBalls! Lets get on it pronto!

4534

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Steganography Software SecretLayer on bitsdujour.com - 65% Off

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 06:31 PM »

Images done with SecretLayer are not detected yet.

-denn (November 14, 2012, 07:23 AM)

I'll have to take your word for that. I'm not qualified to agree or disagree on that. Earlier I was merely parroting back something I had read by someone who was qualified to have an opinion on the topic.

BTW are you with the product? If so welcome! It's always good to get the developers in on the discussion.

4535

General Software Discussion / Re: Two classes of membership here?

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 06:19 PM »

^I sent a PM explaining that just in case.

But I somehow suspect clean wasn't completely unaware of this prior to posting.

4536

Living Room / Re: First Time With Win 8

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 05:04 PM »

makeuseof won't let me use a mailinator address... drats!

-allen (November 15, 2012, 04:58 PM)

@alien - Sent you a PM.

4537

General Software Discussion / Re: Best Anti-spyware.

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 04:59 PM »

IMHO either Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or SUPER AntiSpyware will do quite nicely. I've used both and think they're equally capable.

I also haven't found it necessary to have multiple realtime scanners running. Just get yourself a decent antivirus utility with realtime protection features (Avast, Avira, Microsoft Security Essentials. etc.) and use that as your primary defense along with the firewall built into Windows.

Also grab a free copy of Secunia's PSI utility to keep up on application updates and security risks.

Keep Windows, your malware definitions, and your apps regularly updated - and run Malwarebytes or SUPER every so often (weekly or thereabouts) and you should never have a problem unless you do something very silly.

This is all I run on most of my systems, and I have experienced only one actual malware issue to date. And that was about four years ago.

Luck!

4538

Living Room / Re: Remember Buckyballs? They Are Now Gone

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 04:35 PM »

But wait! There's more! Order $10,000 worth of magnets today and get your own free MOOSE~!

-Renegade (November 15, 2012, 04:32 PM)

Ooooo....I wouldn't mind owning a moose. Gimmee....gimmee!

4539

Living Room / Re: Remember Buckyballs? They Are Now Gone

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 04:34 PM »

From what I've read, rare earth metals aren't so much 'rare' (as in virtually exclusive to China) as they are much more easily and economically mine-able (is that a word?) over there.

Supposedly there's enough to go around - if the price is right. And once the prices do go up many previously neglected sites for rare earth metals will start to become worth exploiting.

4540

General Software Discussion / Re: Tips for Windows 8 (got any?)

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 04:28 PM »

Can I ask people though to try and keep this thread fairly on-topic? I ask that more cause it's a popular topic to thrash out at the moment - there's lots of other win8 threads out there if you want to debate aspects of the OS.
thanks :Thmbsup

-tomos (November 15, 2012, 02:57 PM)

Yes please.

---------------------------------
On topic:

Another good Win 8 cheatsheet can be found here.

And Microsoft's official 156-page overview for IT professionals book is available for download here.

Add Dell is offering a free (registration required but they don't seem to be too fussy about what info you enter on the form  ) special edition of Windows 8 for Dummies Pocket Edition which actually looks quite useful. Get it here.

 

4541

General Software Discussion / Re: Two classes of membership here?

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 12:16 PM »

@Mouser - That was probably to be expected.

But at least you and everybody else here did what we could to say we disagreed with his/her impression and give our reasons why. We also repeatedly asked that clean remain a member with no hard feelings on anybody's part.

"So it goes."

It's now out of our hands. Next (if any) move belongs to clean.

Onward!

4542

General Software Discussion / Re: Best USB Encryption Software.

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 12:06 PM »

On the other hand, if you're worried about the FBI or some other 3 letter agency taking a serious interest in your files, I'm in no position to give advice (but I'd guess that TrueCrypt would still be one of the better things to have in your arsenal).

-mwb1100 (November 15, 2012, 02:08 AM)

If any TLA goes after you, you're screwed no matter what encryption they use. They will ruin your life - either they use their super-secret backdoors, or they find some other way to ruin your life. Stop worrying about them, or stop doing things that would attract their attention - simple as that

-f0dder (November 15, 2012, 11:27 AM)

+1. If you attract the wrathful attention of such as those, having your files decrypted will be the least of your worries.

As the man in the movie said: There are things much worse than dying. And we can do all of them to you.

4543

Living Room / Re: Well, I got it: Nokia Lumia 920, Windows 8

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 10:59 AM »

Sorry, pal -- you're thinking of Android. Microsoft is going the way of a tightly controlled ecosystem. I believe that WP8 gives developers access to a lot of things that were restricted in WP7 but it's still a matter of you having access to MS provided API's, not total system access. If you want an open platform, Motorola+Android.

I believe MS does give the vendors (HTC, Nokia) a great deal more access.

-allen (November 15, 2012, 09:43 AM)

But maybe not for long if the recent speculation about Microsoft planning to manufacture its own smartphone turns out to be accurate.

4544

Living Room / Re: First Time With Win 8

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 10:49 AM »

MakeUseof.com just put up a Win8 keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet. Download PDF from here.

4545

General Software Discussion / Re: Best USB Encryption Software.

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 10:14 AM »

I've used AxCrypt in the past. But I've since stopped using it because:

• it's only single platform
• the portable version never got out of beta last I checked
• the developer started using OpenCandy with their installer

FWIW I currently use TrueCrypt for all my encryption requirements. Highly recommended.

4546

Living Room / Re: First Time With Win 8

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 09:52 AM »

 Either way, I just can't get past his goofiness and his shrill voice....

-Tinman57 (November 06, 2012, 06:39 PM)

+1. It's always hard listening to somebody who mostly comes across as being a bright but full of himself twelve year old who is desperately trying to impress every adult in the room. He's like the poorly socialized geek nephew of that obscure "distant cousin" on your mother's side. Every family has at least one. You know...THAT KID you run into briefly at only every third (or fourth) family gathering...and still wish you hadn't?

And yeah, much of what he "says" does seem to be stuff that's been said earlier - and better - elsewhere. Quite a few people have noticed that although (so far) it hasn't seemed to hurt his "rep" any.

4547

Living Room / Re: First Time With Win 8

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 09:43 AM »

I spent a solid week with it a while back and came away from the experience very unimpressed.

But I'll probably clear off a spare machine and load Windows 8 up again this weekend to see if my current opinion will change any.

Because either way, Like Carol, I'm going to have to become proficient in it since I also have clients to support...*sigh*

4548

Living Room / Re: Rumors about a Microsoft branded smartphone surface

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 09:33 AM »

@eleman - True. The article mentions that. But third time has always been the charm for Microsoft...
I just hope they don't get Siri envy and try to bring 'Bob' or 'Clippy' back.  

-40hz (November 15, 2012, 07:05 AM)

"I see you are trying to make a Smartphone. Would you like to pattern it after the Zune? We could make the ad slogan CallsForSure."  

-TaoPhoenix (November 15, 2012, 09:23 AM)

Cruel. Also funny. But still cruel.

4549

Living Room / Re: Well, I got it: Nokia Lumia 920, Windows 8

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 09:29 AM »

Microsoft has mentioned on more than one occasion that they ran out of time with the release

-allen (November 15, 2012, 09:19 AM)

What does that mean? Seriously.

This is a commercial retail product. Not some F/OSS or volunteer project being run on a shoestring.  

With pockets as deep, and resources as vast, as Microsoft has -  how can they even "go there" with a comment like that?

You know how Apple always used to say "Think Different"?

Maybe the new consumer slogan needs to be: Demand Better.

4550

Living Room / Re: Well, I got it: Nokia Lumia 920, Windows 8

« Last post by 40hz on November 15, 2012, 09:02 AM »

Out of curiosity, does the Win8 phone have a desktop app similar to iTunes that allows you to do minor admin type things to it, or does everything need to be done on the device itself?