Recent Posts

501

Living Room / Re: Low-cost laptop in February 2010. Comments anyone?

« Last post by steeladept on February 16, 2010, 02:38 PM »

Personally, I have always liked Acer for the price.  Not great machines, but certainly good enough for general work.  I agree with Mouser about checking Newegg for reviews, but instead of Amazon, I always liked checking Tiger Direct.  Newegg and Tiger Direct seem to have more of a tech following which, to me, means more good information than "I didn't like it" or "This sucks, don't buy it!".  Still, the more places to look, the more it will show it's warts.  I think you are on to something with that deal.

502

Living Room / Re: Which is better windows mobile or android os?

« Last post by steeladept on February 16, 2010, 11:15 AM »

I never used had my own Android to use, but I have seen it and played with it a little at kiosks.  I had Windows Mobile 6.0 and upgraded to 6.5, however.  From what I have seen, it is a no brainer to go with Android.  I don't know how those specific applications work out on Android or on Windows Mobile, but I do know that WM 6.5 tended to crash a LOT on me.  On my specific device, it was also so limited after the crap that Verizon loaded up that I couldn't hardly add any applications at any rate.  That is a Verizon and Samsung (phone manufacturer) issue though.  I tried half-heartedly to remove everything extraneous, but it was so embedded that I didn't want to make the time to make it work properly, especially when there were so many other issues to begin with and Verizon wouldn't help unless they reverted back to their crap.  Android, from what I have seen, is designed much closer to the iPhone and is much more accommodating to user customizations - even with any carrier enforced crapware that is installed.  So based on this, I would definitely look at the Android platform.  Maybe WM 7 would be competitive, but from my experiences 6.5 is not!

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General Software Discussion / Re: Must-have Windows Programs

« Last post by steeladept on February 16, 2010, 11:06 AM »

If you find you're "messing up" your computer with multiple installs/uninstalls,

I still say the best way to handle this is by using a Virtual Machine for testing software until you are sure you want it.
I would avoid System Restore for anything but catastrophic crashes -- it's just too risky that you will roll back some user data you didn't want to.

-mouser (February 13, 2010, 02:43 AM)

Agreed.  In fact, I have taken to using Virtual Machines for everything that I can so that it is easy to restore/upgrade/migrate as needed.  Honestly, I haven't found anything I do that I can't do in a virtual machine.  I know there are games and such out there that need the native horsepower of the machine without the VM overhead, but I haven't run into any software I use now that has that.  Once the desktop hypervisors become more common/reasonable, I forsee even that will stop being a roadblock on "normal" machines.

504

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Magix Samplitude 10 SE ( worth $49.00 ) - 4 Free

« Last post by steeladept on February 11, 2010, 04:39 PM »

Curt, if you right click on the link and choose properties, you can see it from there - at least in most browsers.  In case I am mistaken in your case, here it is:

http://for-free-on-internet.com/2010/02/magix-samplitude-10-se-worth-4900-free-license/

(Didn't make it an actual link since it is above).  Never followed it, so I don't know if it redirects or anything else silly like that, but that is the first direction it goes to.

EDIT:  Just reread and realized you were talking about at the site and not the link above.  Well, uh, sorry?  

505

Living Room / Re: BetaNews on Google: Simply brilliant business, but is it evil?

« Last post by steeladept on February 09, 2010, 07:38 PM »

There is email though, I grant that one.

-zridling (December 24, 2009, 01:25 AM)

Huh?    Email?  Have you ever heard of a tiny little email offering called Yahoo!?  What about Hotmail?  Neither are Google emails.  And that doesn't even begin to include the email that almost every ISP offers with their connection.  None of those are Google and, in fact, few are even outsourced to webmail servers.  Most, now days, even offer webmail interfaces so they are just as portable.  No, I think the closest they are to a Monopoly is in Search as they are bigger than Yahoo and Microsoft combined, even with Bing (though it doesn't seem to be staying there for long as Bing is indeed rather impressive as you stated).

506

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Web-Browser Review: Opera 10.00

« Last post by steeladept on February 03, 2010, 12:10 PM »

So if 3 of 4 people say it wrong, wrong becomes right?

-Tuxman (February 03, 2010, 11:31 AM)

When it comes to communication: Yes.

Remember, communication is just the art of passing ideas between people.  That can only occur when they agree on convention, whatever that convention is.  If you tell me it is wrong, but I don't understand you, then we are not communicating.  The fact that you understood FF as Firefox and not French Fries proves that you understood the convention and therefore communicated successfully. 

And for what it is worth, I have never heard of Fx as short for anything other than "Effects". 

507

Living Room / Re: Yea, I won't be getting an iPad anytime soon

« Last post by steeladept on February 03, 2010, 11:11 AM »

there are other deal breakers for me -- the lock-in the apple application store is totally unacceptable and alone would make the device something i wouldn't want to get involved in.

-mouser (January 28, 2010, 10:25 AM)

While I am not an Apple fan at all, I did get an iPod Touch for free from a drawing.  I have found the device quite nice, and as to your problem with iTunes AppStore lockin, that just isn't true.  There are at least two major competitors that, while not sanctioned, are good alternatives that do not require iTunes or force you to go through Apple at all.  Cydia is the biggest and best.  They do require you to "Jail-break" your device, but it is a software update that can be reversed - at least most of the time (haven't tried it myself, so I am not sure what the pitfalls are).  It does void the Apple warranty, but if you are trying to avoid iTunes and the AppStore, then you really won't be taking part in any warranty issues anyway (most likely).  I expect the same to occur and work for the iPad since it is supposedly backward compatible with most or all iPhone apps already.

Just thought I would throw that out there for you.

EDIT:  Just thought to let you know, I don't send a penny of support to Apple either.  The device was free, and everything I have is from the AppStore, but it is only free software.  If it isn't free - it isn't on my system, period.  One day, I may "jailbreak" it and start buying through Cydia, but for now, I haven't had a real compelling reason. Also, many developers are comming up with ingenious ways around iStore policy.  They post it for free (so Apple doesn't get paid for it unless there is a charge to have it posted) and then have an in-app store, so you can buy directly without supporting Apple at all.  Haven't done that yet, but may well look into it if I find some decent software I want that uses this feature.  So far, nada.

508

Site/Forum Features / Re: Gothic Idea for new page on the site/forum -- random thread page

« Last post by steeladept on January 27, 2010, 12:00 PM »

Of course I suspect (Correctly I believe) that Gothi[c] has way more experience than I and this may be less complicated to his eyes than mine

-sgtevmckay (January 27, 2010, 11:46 AM)

Or it may not.  I was looking at this from the end user POV only.  I am not a programmer and do not play one on the TV, er, computer.  I know just enough to know it is possible.  Not to know if it is realistically feasible.  That is why I throw out the ideas and someone else throws them away - or impliments them if it is worth it. 

509

General Software Discussion / Re: post-screenshot editor, torn edge in between, and highlight lines

« Last post by steeladept on January 27, 2010, 10:57 AM »

it wouldn't be hard to add, however Tuxman's comment reflects something i've been thinking myself.. which is that i can't help but wonder if it's a wise course to keep trying to add more and more image processing features to a screenshot tool as custom code, or whether it wouldn't be smarter to focus on improving the interfacing with other external (commandline) tools.. SC already is designed for this but i could improve it, by passing info about current selection and multiple files.

-mouser (January 27, 2010, 10:51 AM)

Understood, but I guess I was just thinking of your plugin model where all the post-processing could be moved to the plugin, and this added.  I know, I didn't say that, but I am amazed you can't read everyone's mind 

510

Site/Forum Features / Re: Gothic Idea for new page on the site/forum -- random thread page

« Last post by steeladept on January 27, 2010, 10:55 AM »

Perhaps it could be somewhat user defined.  For example, if I want to always exclude a certain topic (say the programming schools for example), then I could set it to exclude that.  For many threads, it doesn't get visited because it is not something most are interested in.  Ideally, the way I would want to see it is each person has a weighting scheme attached for each broad area of the forum.  They can then change the weights so some areas pop up more often, and some don't pop up at all.  So I could set, for example, the Living Room to show old threads 40% of the time, Reviews 30% of the time, Coding Snacks 10% of the time, and DC Website Help 20%.  Then I could set the rest to 0% and ensure I only see old threads that I would deem generally relevant to what I was interested in.  Just a thought....

511

General Software Discussion / Re: post-screenshot editor, torn edge in between, and highlight lines

« Last post by steeladept on January 27, 2010, 10:42 AM »

Mouser, would this be a difficult effect to add to ScreenshotCaptor?  I mean you would make the capture, highlight the area to "cut", and replace it with an image of the torn edges, right?  I don't know what all would be involved, but it seems fairly straightforward to me.  SC does everything else already, so this would just be an edit effect it would add to it's repertoire, right?

512

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: A single hotkey that runs a single command line. Smallest. Snack. Ever?

« Last post by steeladept on January 08, 2010, 12:18 PM »

Isn't that what the "Run..." option is for in XP?  If so, I know Vista and 7 have something similar, though I don't remember where or what it is called since I don't use those systems much.

Sorry, missed the hotkey request.  The windows hotkey for this is Win+R.  See?  Already built in - no extra resources.  Now FARR is great if you want to extend that, but for this single snack, Win+R works great.

513

General Software Discussion / Re: Questions re Windows 7 Starter on a Netbook

« Last post by steeladept on December 16, 2009, 09:42 PM »

Didn't they have second thoughts n the number of taskbar tasks that can be run during the final beta stage? I read something about it somewhere but can't remember where.

-Carol Haynes (December 16, 2009, 07:04 PM)

Yes, they dropped that restriction before it went to production.  It was ostensibly because the processor couldn't handle it, but after so many beta testers proved that wrong (and showed it to be a marketing gimmick to get people to buy the more powerful machines that have more profit margin for all involved), they decided to remove the artificial restriction.

514

Living Room / Re: Motherboard Advice Needed

« Last post by steeladept on December 11, 2009, 07:17 AM »

I don't know if it is an option or if you are adventurous enough to try, but have you looked for or considered a 3-party bios?  I frequently find where arbitrary restrictions are in place, that someone has figured out a way around them.  I never looked for a motherboard, but I know 3-party firmware is common among video cards and some sound cards.

515

General Software Discussion / Re: LogMeIn

« Last post by steeladept on December 11, 2009, 07:04 AM »

I haven't used any of those meantioned, I use CrossLoop instead.  It is very simple and very straightforward.  It utilizes VNC, but it makes everything completely transparent.  You install it on your machine, the remote machine installs it, and you set up a connection through their server.  It is completely free for home use, and it couldn't be easier.  I understand it is very similar to LogMeIn in this respect, but I have never compared the two to find out.

516

Developer's Corner / Re: Is there such a thing as Rentacoder in reverse?

« Last post by steeladept on December 10, 2009, 09:44 PM »

I know it probably sounds painful, but the best I could suggest is to follow the rentacoder type sites looking for that specific project (or one close to it).  If it isn't there it may not be as food an idea as you think.  If it is, then you could snap it up.

Unfortunately, most people would see a site like you are describing as nothing more than traditional advertising.  At least I think they would.

517

General Software Discussion / Re: Video player: What's the quickest (fastest/lightest)?

« Last post by steeladept on December 08, 2009, 07:59 AM »

I can't say for anyone else, but I know the reason I like VLC (and the only time I use it) is because there is a portable version of it.  There may be others, such as GOM which I have heard was portable, but VLC was good enough at the time and I never bothered looking further.  That is most likely why so many others like it too...It works good enough, and it was the first one they came across.  </threadjack>

518

Living Room / Re: 74% of the world, Google's Chrome OS is not for you

« Last post by steeladept on December 01, 2009, 01:37 PM »

To me the idea of a PC which is only properly functional while I have net access is terrible. Even though I have broadband at home and in rented accommodation plus I have a pretty decent mobile web modem courtesy of my phone I still consider a dependence on the internet too big a liability.

-Eóin (December 01, 2009, 01:05 PM)

I echo this statement - it is the basis of my resistance to cloud computing, including such "niceties" as C2, Google Docs, etc.  If I can't access them when I need them (and that is quite frequently), then it is useless to me - even at the wonderful cost of free (which many are not).

519

General Software Discussion / Re: [rant] Seriously? Software pricing is officially nuts

« Last post by steeladept on November 18, 2009, 11:00 AM »

My problem with lifetime licenses are that they are not lifetime licenses not for me, not for the developer, and definitely not for the product.  What I mean by that is that the developer only provides them as long as they are willing or able to support them.  After that, a simple name change, called a "new product" with questionable change of feature set and it becomes a new "lifetime" license option.  Moreover, the old product may or may not still be supported, but there is rarely, if ever, changes that make it a continuing product offer.  Hence I NEVER will buy another lifetime license.  They are a marketing gimmick only as far as I am concerned.

I have purchased 3 such "lifetime licenses" for products that were further developed into "different" products so they could continue to profit.  All before any changed.  I think this is more than a few bad examples, but rather the norm - it just hasn't happened VERY widespread yet.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the developers making the money on it - I just have a problem with the developer offering a "lifetime" license, then changing it, and not following through with the existing base that bought into it.  At very least, they should refund the difference on the lifetime license and provide a one time upgrade to the latest license.  That way at least it is as if you paid for it once and got the upgrades to this point for free.  After all, the developer got to use the money to this point.  I would think of the previous free upgrades as "interest" for the refunded monies.  Personal opinion.

520

Living Room / Re: New Ebook Reader....

« Last post by steeladept on October 23, 2009, 10:54 PM »

good to have some competition around Kindle but still, no international support sucks big-time. i guess the rest of us just have to rely on China/Taiwan knock-offs then..

-lanux128 (October 23, 2009, 10:42 PM)

Maybe, but it isn't even in the U.S. yet.  It is vaporware at this point.  Scheduled release date is Nov. 30th.  I expect early next year they will try to break into the European and/or Asian markets.  Until then, though, you can use the B&N Reader on any iPhone/iPod Touch or on a Blackberry.  Then you could start your library until it became available.

521

Living Room / Re: New Ebook Reader....

« Last post by steeladept on October 23, 2009, 10:53 PM »

i'm still dreaming of an ebook reader that can show a full 8.5x11" pdf page in actual size.

-mouser (October 23, 2009, 10:44 PM)

Yeah, but the problem with that is it is so big!  Most people looking for that would not want something so large.  Still, I am sure you are not the only one...I can just imagine Engineering firms considering an electronic blueprint reader if they made the screen big enough.  Maybe Tabloid (11x17) or even larger.  They your 8.5x11 would just be a different size option.  Until then, though, I don't see the market moving that way anytime soon.  Maybe it is just me.

522

Living Room / New Ebook Reader....

« Last post by steeladept on October 23, 2009, 09:29 PM »

I just learned of a new E-book Reader set to hit the market right after Thanksgiving (that is the end of November for those of you who don't know the United States Holiday schedule).  It is from Barnes&Noble and is called the Nook.  Judging from features and capabilities, it looks like a Kindle clone, complete with the pricing ($9.99 or less for most books), the delivery methods (3G via AT&T wireless or WiFi), and color touchscreen and E-Ink (curious as to how that would work) (looks like it uses the color touchscreen as a navigation screen at the bottom and the E-Ink is a separate, larger screen).  It is also debuting at ~ $260 on preorder (haven't found yet if this will be the going price).

Just thought I would give those of you interested a heads-up.

Barnes & Noble's new Nook E-book Reader

ADDITIONS: One thing that is interesting is the ability to "loan" any books you own for 14 days to another Nook owner or with an iPod Touch/iPhone, PC/MAC, or even a Blackberry - interesting.....  Also, it provides automatic free WiFi at all B&N stores which is nice if you don't already use AT&T.  It also uses Memory Cards to expand your library beyond the 2GB internal limit.  YES!  THE BEST PART:  Native PDF reader built in!  It also has user replaceable batteries, and is uses an Android based OS (for better or worse).

Another NOTE:  Just found it - Only available in the U. S. at this time.  Doh!

523

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by steeladept on October 22, 2009, 11:30 AM »

... the hardware is another thing   As long as I can run Windows on it, it's fine... it's the features (and right now, I want to run OSX and Windows on the same box)

-wraith808 (October 22, 2009, 11:19 AM)

Hear, hear!  Linux too for me....

524

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by steeladept on October 22, 2009, 11:28 AM »

For the cost of the windows OS you can have both mac osx and windows on the same machine with a mac which has bootcamp already in the osx. Macs are made to run windows too, without any extra cost except the windows os.

Somehow I think that's an advantage...doh...

Switch os' almost like switching users, although you do have to reboot to load the other.

Might be able to run both side by side soon, if they haven't already done it.

-cmpm (October 22, 2009, 11:08 AM)

With virtualization, we are already there.  You can download ESXi (or equivalent hypervisor), install it, then install as many OS's as your hard drive and memory can handle (right now, it is in the vicinity of 10 OS's on common server specs.  For the 27" iMac mentioned above, I would think 4 should work okay - maybe more).  You can even have them all open at the same time running multiple programs each.

With other solutions, you may even be able to work with them seemlessly.  By this, I mean cut a line out of something open on the Mac, and paste it into a completely different program on the Windows side (or Linux for that matter).  Talk about cross-platform programming!

I am just waiting for a good Client-side Hypervisor so I can shut down the machine(s) gracefully.  Right now, the hypervisor front is still mostly in love with servers only.  They work, but you could do so much more with the hypervisor to make it client-friendly I would think.

EDIT:  I might be slightly off on this assessment, at least with the common hypervisors.  I do not know if there is a good way to install OSX on ANY hypervisor.  The hardware can be virtualized fine, but I don't know enough about OSX as to how to get a copy to install, nor if it will properly install at all.

525

General Software Discussion / Re: Dying technologies: do you still use a printer much?

« Last post by steeladept on August 27, 2009, 05:34 PM »

I have never seen a Kindle (DX or otherwise), but they have E-Readers on display at Borders Books in my area.  They are nice looking, and they are just as f0dder described - flicker free and easy to read, but very slow to change pages.

I find it funny that so many people complain that there is no backlight.  DUH, that is the point.  If E-ink were backlit, you would start to run into the same problems as LCD screens.  Why get E-ink then backlight it anyway?  If you want to do that, just get an iPod Touch or similar and use that.  They are about the same price and much more versatile.

My big problem with them is economic more than anything else.  Why should I pay over $300 more for an electronic reader, then pay the same price for the data, then when I loose it/break it/decide I want a newer device I loose the book.  Also, with systems that push and/or keep your files (like Amazon), they can also remove them permanently.  When I buy an e-book, I want the entire file, and I want it where I can access and move it on my own computer and my backup scheme, not where Amazon can say "Oh, we weren't allowed to sell that." and boom, all I have left is a credit for another book to download.  What if that was the only book on the entire system I wanted!  That is just wrong.  They should do their due diligence before the sale, and if they made the mistake, they should pay the author for their mistake - Not me paying by loosing access!  At the very least, they should refund the money instead of just providing credit.

As to the original question, I only use it a lot when I am in class.  I think I have maybe ran 500 pages through my laser since I graduated with my MBA.  I am sure I will use it alot again with my Doctoral studies...

Of course at work, I run the Printroom, so yes, we use it extensively there.  In fact I run 3 of them with an average output of somewhere around 40,000 pages a day when run at full capacity.  Of course we rarely run that much.  Usually closer to about 5,000 pages a day on average.