Recent Posts

4976

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 42-09

« Last post by 4wd on October 19, 2009, 10:31 PM »

6. The more I watch these groups the more they resemble the copyright enforcers in K.W Jeter's Noir.

To make a long story short, eventually the penalty of copyright infringement is a fate worse than death. To have your consciousness inserted into an electronic device which would be turned over to the copyright holder as a gift. If you steal his intellectual property, he gets yours...your whole mind. You'll be trapped in a toaster forever & ever, fully aware, and this is done without a trial.

This fate is pretty scary and is quite effective at eliminating copyright infringement. But since it is now eliminated, there is no need for copyright enforcers any more. ...

-app103 (October 19, 2009, 10:43 AM)

Hang on, if there was no copyright cops what would stop the copyright holders from copying the copyright infringers?

If the copyright holder is now a copyright infringer and the original copyright infringer is now the copyright holder whose rights have been infringed:

If subsequently caught, would the original copyright holder's mind be then downloaded into the device that the original copyright infringer resides in?

Do you copy?

* Edited for clarity.

4977

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 42-09

« Last post by 4wd on October 18, 2009, 08:09 PM »

6. I sense conspiracy here, (like how the anti-virus software vendors are the creators of most virii), I now realise that the MPAA/RIAA are really the operators of most illegal P2P sites................thank god for SSL + newsgroups!

3. "...permit devices to community between one another..." - I know what you're trying to say but you're in serious violation of colloquial Australian English grammar¹.


1. Unless you're using some foreign form of techie micro-speak....in which case you may clobber me with a suitable smiley.

4978

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by 4wd on October 17, 2009, 04:01 AM »

Dean Koontz is an amazing writer - I've read his books (when I could hold them)...

He has a style second to none!

-CleverCat (October 17, 2009, 02:05 AM)

I have to agree, (naturally), his recent Frankenstein trilogy is more reminiscent of his earlier style, IMHO, which I preferred more than his later "romance adventures", eg. Dark Rivers of the Heart, Lightning, etc.  Although he does throw some really good ones in from time-to-time, eg. The Taking, Seize the Night, Fear Nothing.

Richard Laymon is good for "what if coincidence...." type of novels but for pure non-stop action from virtually page one, it's got to be Matthew Reilly  

Bond, (James Bond), is a nancy boy compared to Scarecrow, (Captain Shane Schofield), and Huntsman, (Jack West Jr)  

4979

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by 4wd on October 17, 2009, 01:40 AM »

In between atm, but just finished part 3 of Dean Koontz's take on Frankenstein:

Dead and Alive



And looking forward to the continuing saga of Jack West in 4 days:

4980

General Software Discussion / Re: Directory Opus 9

« Last post by 4wd on October 13, 2009, 01:09 AM »

Dopus comes with "multi-level undo". I assume that refers to the size of the undo stack. Does anybody happen to know how many levels there are?

-DonL (October 12, 2009, 05:14 PM)

10 according to the Output Window and the DOpus.chm help file.

I can't see anything in the prefs to change the number of levels.

Considering the fluid nature of files and directories maybe it's not worth implementing more than that since you can undo a multiple file/dir action with a single undo.

4981

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 41-09

« Last post by 4wd on October 11, 2009, 05:33 PM »

#5 would be wonderful if it holds up -- it seems grossly unfair to me that you can't sell software 2nd hand the way you can anything else you buy outright.

-mouser (October 11, 2009, 05:12 PM)

I'm sure I remember reading a few years ago that selling your old software secondhand did not contravene the (ridiculously) stringent EULA terms even though they all say you only "License" the software.

Of course, the company can at any time withdraw support for a registration if 'they' feel like it, I'm sure.

I'm pretty sure that using graphics cards to replace our current CPUs would not be conducive to a smooth transition, what with the hundreds of missing instruction and register equivalents and all that...

-Ehtyar (October 11, 2009, 05:20 PM)

I'm not talking near term here but I'm looking forward to 32 core Radeon 999990s running BLAZEMONGER! 2034: the only game to sear your eyeballs to the back of your skull before it implodes and that comes with an optional GPU controlled intravenous caffeine drip for those 45picosecond gaming sessions.

CPUs?  BAH! They're for wusses!

4982

General Software Discussion / Re: Directory Opus 9

« Last post by 4wd on October 11, 2009, 04:53 PM »

btw 4wd I love the ideas of your drive bar. I set the root menu up to add program files / program files x86 / program data as well. Love it, thanks for sharing. 

-Lefax32 (October 09, 2009, 11:14 AM)

No problem, I don't tend to set up a lot of dedicated buttons for paths otherwise I'd probably spend more time trying to remember which button is what path

4983

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 41-09

« Last post by 4wd on October 11, 2009, 04:48 PM »

#9 - Well...NVidia is supposedly quitting the graphic chipset business. All that architectural know-how isn't going to just go away.

There's already been some  projects that successfully demonstrated clustering  multiple NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics cards to produce an inexpensive (<$4k USD) bespoke supercomputer.

-40hz (October 11, 2009, 01:03 PM)

If they used ATI Radeon 5800s they could halve the number of cards and cost

*DISCLAIMER: 4wd does not own stock in AMD/ATI Corporation, (but wishes he did).  He does own ATI hardware and much prefers it over nVidia...............so there! 

4984

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 41-09

« Last post by 4wd on October 11, 2009, 06:54 AM »

9.  Oh great, not only will there be the 'Program Files x86' directory but also a 'Program Files x64' for 64bit apps on 128bit Windows.

I can't wait until the 2048bit version 

4985

General Software Discussion / Re: Directory Opus 9

« Last post by 4wd on October 09, 2009, 12:21 AM »

btw I have interpreted the explanation to mean:
On the "Drives" toolbar:
- left click on a drive button opens in the left lister
- right click on a drive button opens in the right lister

Is that right? Has anyone here got that working?

-Lefax32 (October 08, 2009, 01:58 PM)

Here's my drive toolbar, which I have down the left side of any lister I open: Left click opens to left side, right click opens to, (or opens), right side.

Extras: MMB on the Net button will list available domains (WORKGROUP, MSHOME, etc)
           RMB on Root = My Docs in active lister
           MMB on Root = My Pics in active lister

Other locations, LAN etc, are absolute referenced.

Top sect is stuff that doesn't change, Root, network, etc.  Next is fixed/removable HDDs, and bottom is removables. CD/DVD, flash.

4986

General Software Discussion / Re: Does initializing a USB hard drive format the data (in XP)?

« Last post by 4wd on October 08, 2009, 02:16 AM »

You could always get your friend to reformat the drive as FAT32 to be more compatible with pretty much any OS.

4987

Living Room / Re: How do I rotate a movie 90 degrees?

« Last post by 4wd on October 07, 2009, 02:08 PM »

Barring rotating the monitor - which is lossless

Avidemux - Transform->Rotate filter

4988

General Software Discussion / Re: At last: MP3 Lossless!!!

« Last post by 4wd on October 07, 2009, 07:26 AM »

Also I should say that half of the files listed at the previous link, are surround files!

-Curt (October 06, 2009, 11:26 AM)

MP3 Surround isn't really new, it's been around since 2004 as a standard, see here.

And I used to use the Aud-X MP3 Surround VirtualDubMod 1.6.0.0 and codec 2 or 3 years ago.

4989

Living Room / Re: DIY - Home made in-car camera mount

« Last post by 4wd on October 04, 2009, 08:48 PM »

Excellent idea!  I'll give it a go next time I go 4wding, usually I just drive along with one hand, holding the video camera in the other

That's one thing I love about the Canon cameras, (I have a A720is), the ability to expand their functions using the CHDK firmware.

I have a complete journey from the top of Hong Kong's Victoria Peak to the Star ferry terminal by double-decker bus, (32min), that I really should get around to doing something with one day.

4990

Living Room / Re: Thinking about setting up a dedicated "secure PC" in my house.. Thoughts?

« Last post by 4wd on September 29, 2009, 07:46 PM »

Another idea that could appeal to the geek in you

Install a VIA Artigo a1000 into a spare 5.25 bay and use a KVM to switch.

4991

General Software Discussion / Re: -Recklessly- remove hardware (from USB)

« Last post by 4wd on September 29, 2009, 12:02 AM »

Even with "optimize for quick removal", I'd still use "safely remove" to be 100% on the safe side. That will ensure all data is flushed and the filesystem is clean, and will notify you if there's programs still trying to access the device.

-f0dder (September 27, 2009, 11:57 AM)

Amen. However, it is extremely frustrating when Windows refuses to eject a device despite there being no open handles to it. I find that in this case, there are no adverse effects to simply yanking the device.

-Ehtyar (September 27, 2009, 06:24 PM)

I haven't experienced that?

However, I find that tortoisesvn's cache service often has a lock on an usb drive - killing the process fixes the problem

-f0dder (September 27, 2009, 06:38 PM)

I used to get it a fair bit which I attributed to the "Shell Media Handler" in XP.  According to nlite info it can be responsible for keeping a lock on media files, (it's used for popup media file info and thumbnails of video files, IIRC).

However, ever since I started removing it and all the WMP components about the only thing that now holds a lock is Everything, (I should probably go through it's prefs and specify exactly which drives to only index....but it's so much easier to just exit it ).

4992

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 38-09

« Last post by 4wd on September 21, 2009, 05:44 AM »

*applause applause applause* - That was a great read 4wd

-Ehtyar (September 20, 2009, 03:18 PM)

Thank you, I do have my moments...........usually when I've forgotten to take my medication

4993

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 38-09

« Last post by 4wd on September 20, 2009, 12:10 PM »

Honestly, I don't consider number 7 to be wrong.
The first warning will let people know they have their computers infected with something and are a problem for the rest of the society. If they choose to ignore the warning and not fix the computer or take it to the shop, they are unplugged from the internet.

-jgpaiva (September 20, 2009, 08:30 AM)

Maybe so, but what they are doing is targeting the victim not the perpetrator.  Also, notoriously, a warning will most likely be by a means where reception wasn't guaranteed, (eg. normal mail or email) - both can go missing.  I know, I've had it happen and it's normally always for something important.

There are situations where computers are on 24/7 and the owners are not contactable, (eg. they're on holiday) - should they be disconnected because a warning went unanswered, thereby taking down a possibly income producing machine?

How will the ISP distinguish between a bot and a machine doing valid "bot like" things?

Who gets to pay the, (current for Telstra), minimum $90 reconnection fee?

The theory is good but the application is wrong - it would be better if they spent the money on educating people so it didn't happen in the first place.

But this is all academic, as soon as the $43b RuddNet is installed to every house and the mandatory ISP based filtering is installed for everyone.....virii, bots, porn, dissent, etc will be a thing of the past and we will indeed live in the "Lucky Country".

Something similar happens with cars (in portugal): if your car doesn't pass on the inspection, you must fix it. If you're caught driving it without the inspection in order, the car is apprehended.

Your analogy would be more correct if your car failed to pass the inspection due to malicious intent by another person - leaving you with the expense of fixing or reclaiming your car while leaving the original perpetrator free to do it again.

4994

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 38-09

« Last post by 4wd on September 20, 2009, 07:51 AM »

7.

"Dear Mr Rudd, I have decided that the 900 Ruddbucks you generously gave me is in no way compensation for the irreparable harm that you and your cabal of technologically illiterate, backward gorillas wish to inflict upon this nation.

I hereby request that I be no longer forced to pay taxes from this moment on as I no longer wish to finance such an inept bunch of cretins.

I might conceivably reassess this situation in the future if and when you have come to your senses and started investing in education.....you know, what we used to go to school for back in the last century."

Yours sincerely,
F.U. Rudd   (no relation)

4995

Living Room / Re: How should I diagnose this hardware issue?

« Last post by 4wd on September 16, 2009, 11:25 PM »

It really is strange that you have such a adverse reaction to a common industry standard practice which is even recommended on some memory manufacturers support forums (one would thing they'd know better).

-Stoic Joker (September 16, 2009, 08:53 AM)

I don't have an adverse reaction - I just pointed out that some pencil erasers can leave a residue and it's something I wouldn't do - so I gave a couple of  alternatives.

TBH, these days I use the most simple form of cleaner you can get...a clean sheet of A4 printer paper.  I use it for contacts because it's abrasive enough to remove most contaminants without being so abrasive that it causes undue contact wear, (eg. I also use it for cleaning the heads on my video recorders).

Regarding the gold contacts, yes I realise they are not pure gold but I can also say that any problems I've had regarding gold contacts have been purely the fault of the connectors they were incorporated into, eg. manufacturing flaws creating insufficient contact tension or damage to the connector/contact.  Of course, YMMV.

But, all that aside, I'm sorry if it looked like I was trying to demean or nullify your suggestions in any way - I too have found your posts informative.

Addendum: I just thought I'd add this so you can see where I'm coming from: Removing Tarnish from PCB Pads, Holes, Contacts, and Connectors
Please bear in mind that it's referring specifically to the end point of soldering the cleaned area - running your stick of RAM, etc under a tap to remove the microscopic detritus left by using the eraser probably isn't a good idea, (IMHO, neither is blowing it unless you're using a clean, dry air supply).

So, yes the eraser is quick, easy, millions of techs all over the planet use it - I just said I wouldn't use it because of the crap some leave behind.

4996

General Software Discussion / Re: Cyclic Redundancy Error on CD/DVD

« Last post by 4wd on September 16, 2009, 10:46 PM »

But in this case "Cyclic Reduncancy Error", is a whole new thing i m coming across, once i got this error on my Hard Drive and i just Defraged the problem.

-hulkbuster (September 16, 2009, 09:24 AM)

As f0dder mentioned, you've probably run into Sony's ARccOS protection.  Corrupt data sectors are deliberately put onto the DVD to prevent copying - and it worked.....for all of a week probably

Use the free DVDFab Decrypter to copy the contents onto your HDD.

4997

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you touch-type or hunt-and-peck?

« Last post by 4wd on September 15, 2009, 07:12 PM »

Four fingers, working hard.

-mrainey (September 15, 2009, 04:10 PM)

I can go to six in a pinch  

Regarding the need to type to submit reports in school, etc: maybe if they went back to making them submit reports in writing they'd learn to spell.

4998

Living Room / Re: How should I diagnose this hardware issue?

« Last post by 4wd on September 15, 2009, 06:45 PM »

Haven't built an Intel box in a long time (I use AMD stuff all the time). Is that VCORE normal for Intel? It is a lot lower than AMD (usually about 1.7V)

-Carol Haynes (September 15, 2009, 06:18 PM)

Actually it's not that much lower, my Phenom II runs at ~1.4V and mostly at ~1.0V, (because it's bored and I don't give it enough to do apparently).

The later CPU dies, (45/65nm), run at a lower voltage generally.

4999

Living Room / Re: How should I diagnose this hardware issue?

« Last post by 4wd on September 15, 2009, 03:49 PM »

What kind of pencils have you been using?

-Stoic Joker (September 15, 2009, 07:20 AM)

I don't use erasers at all, there isn't any point because...

Alcohol isn't going to do anything to the oxidation layer that coats the contacts after time.

...gold doesn't oxidise in air.  If the gold contacts on your RAM sticks are oxidising you have other environmental problems.

Sure reseating the memory a-few-times will scratch/gouge a conductive path in the oxidation usually ... But it's not guaranteed especially if you have a less than perfect (slightly loose, etc.) memory slot.

Then you have a problem with your memory slots which should be fixed since any cleaning of the RAM contacts will be a temporary fix.

5000

General Software Discussion / Re: video editing software

« Last post by 4wd on September 15, 2009, 03:33 PM »

lol, that was my thought too.. moreover his only other post so far is about a windows registry cleaner, sounds very spammy.

-lanux128 (September 15, 2009, 06:01 AM)

Strange spam - referring to a free program that's not able to do what the thread's about.