Recent Posts

5226

Best E-mail Client / Re: Pegasus Mail?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 17, 2006, 03:31 AM »

Actually Archive kicks in automatically - it is just that most users switch it off the first time it pops up.

There is absolutely no reason not to have constant access to all your emails. All you have to do is File > Open PST File and unless you close the file manually it will be loaded with Outlook every time you start the program.

5227

General Software Discussion / Re: Outlook Nightmares...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 05:30 PM »

Or release the donation system as a donationware module to SMF forums ?

5228

Best E-mail Client / Re: Pegasus Mail?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 05:28 PM »

Why is it a kludge to manage your email efficiently rather than just letting files grow to unmanageable proportions? The whole point of archive is that you can automate it and it makes Outlook run much more efficiently. Plus you haven't got all you email in one big file that could go up in smoke one day!

5229

Living Room / Re: Vista licensing - will it kill enthusiasts interest ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 05:26 PM »

Actually Adobe seem to have solved this problem. If I restore a drive image with Adobe Creative Suite CS2 installed I have to activate it again. I don't know how they do it but it means that before I restore a backup image I deactivate CS2 to ensure I don't use up my activation allowance.

Every time MS runs WGA (which is to be 'enhanced', whatever that means, and mandatory in Vista) it checks to see you have licensed copy of the software - all it needs is to generate a hardware id with the installation code and compare it to their database to check the installion is the one activated.

It strikes me the whole activation saga at MS is a complete dos breakfast. Activation was cracked before they got out of Windows XP beta, and there have been cracks ever since. The system as it stands costs them a forutne in personnel costs manning call centres around the world for people to call to reactivate. I have had to do this a number of time for various legitimate reasons but I have never been challenged by an MS employee other than to ask why reactivation is necessary (most recently I changed a network card forcing activation). What is the point of activation if MS just reactivate willy-nilly anyway ?

A robust activate/deactivate system would make the whole nonsense consistent and sane for everyone.

What is the betting there is a cracked VISTA without activation before the official release? I'd give it odds of 1000:1 on !

5230

Living Room / Re: Vista licensing - will it kill enthusiasts interest ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 02:58 PM »

But if you read Paul Thurcott's article you will see that Microsoft's intention is that it should only move from one PC to a replacement PC (not just because you build a new PC) and that this will be the exception rather than the norm.

5231

Living Room / Re: Mike-O-Matic on GooTube and The Power of Branding

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 02:40 PM »

LOL - brilliant

5232

Living Room / Re: Vista licensing - will it kill enthusiasts interest ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 01:36 PM »

I have written a letter to Paul with a third viewpoint ...

I was interested to read the articles by you and Koroush Ghazi on the new VISTA licensing issue.

It strikes me that what MS are now doing is claiming that all copies of Windows a restricted in the same way the OEM copies of Windows have been restricted.

This strikes me as completely unfair. The point of OEM copies is that system builders buy huge numbers of licenses at vastly reduced prices on the basis that they restrict that copy to the particular computer they sell. That seems fair enough. To say to other users that buy a premium at a premium price that they are only allowed to install it on one system - and not even allow you to unistall it and move it to another system is simply ridiculous.

Adobe seem to me to have the right balance here. Sure you have to activate their software to use it (which caused initial consternation to users) but they had the foresight to allow deactivation too. If MS included deactivation in its software (as well as Windows Genuine DISadvantage) there would be absolutely no problem in any of this because people could legitimately decativate their system and move Windows to a different computer. In these circumstances only a genuine hardware failure would necessitate a reactictivation of already activated software and MS could seriously address issues of people simply lying to activate more than one copy.

This approach would have a further massive benefit for everyone - and especially MS. If Windows could be deactivated (and MS Office too) then there would be no need for the legions of bored people on the activation phones as the number of calls would dwindle to a trickle.

I realise you get a lot of email but I thought this was an issue that hadn't been covered in either of the articles you published.

It will be interesting to see if I get a response.

5233

Living Room / Vista licensing - will it kill enthusiasts interest ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 01:19 PM »

Microsoft have announced that Vista licenses will be restricted to a single PC - even if your remove the software from that device and want to install it on a different device.

They have given permission to move the license to one different PC in the event of catastrophic hardware failure but it will be strictly limitied to one move only.

Is it me or does this seem ridiculous ...

Scenario ...

A keen PC enthusiast builds a computer and installs VISTA

6 months later a new supa-dupa motherboard is released - technically they have to buy a new copy of VISTA even if the old motherboard is scrapped !!

Surely it should be the right to install only one copy on one machine - not on one specific machine? Presumably the Windows activation will start encoding things like motherboard identification etc. (it doesn't seem to at the moment) so that if you want to activate it on a different system they can tell it isn't the same motherboard. They can't easily enforce CPU ID as Athlon chips generally don't have individual serial numbers.

Here are a couple of articles that got me thinking ...

http://www.winsupers...nvista_licensing.asp

http://www.winsupers..._licensing_reply.asp

What do you think ?

The whole situation strikes me as fine for average box buyer that comes with OEM Vista - but why should people who purchase a bloody expensive product (even at educational prices) be restricted to a single box they built from parts if they want to modify and enhance their system?

On a second note - presumably if you build your own system you are an OEM - how do you go about getting OEM copies of VISTA ?

5234

General Software Discussion / Re: SCRIBUS - Open Source Desktop Publishing

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 09:15 AM »

The website now says Ragtime Solo is no longer available (under Product Info > Private Publishing). Does this mean that once the demo key expires you will have to buy a copy? The site is really very unclear.

I registered as you suggested but it asks for a version number (up to 5.6) but only version 6 is available as a demo download ??? It doesn't mention anything about keys at all ???

I even went into the shop pages but there seems no way to actually add anything to your basket to ckeckout and see prices etc.

5235

General Software Discussion / Re: SCRIBUS - Open Source Desktop Publishing

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 08:11 AM »

Ragtime 6 will be out in November and is well worth a look, too (though it is not open-source AND is only free for home/academic use, otherwise the price is pretty steep - $695...). I've played around with the beta for 6 and really like it as a free app (I qualify for educational licensing) but am not sure how I would feel if I was required to pay full price for it! I'll be giving SCRIBUS a look-see, too!

-Darwin (October 15, 2006, 11:21 PM)

I must be stupid but I can't figure out the RagTime website at all - how do you get to use it free for home/academic use?

I can't even see how to buy a copy (the webshop doesn't appear to work)

Scribus looks really interesting - nice find. It reminds me rather of PageMaker before Adobe bought out Aldus. It is still a bit rough around the edges too - I noticed text handling was a bit iffy (eg. if you change the font size it doesn't change the line spacing automatically so everything ends up overlapping or overspaced)

5236

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Now it's Paragon for FREE!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 07:53 AM »

I have downloaded copies of the two free Paragon apps, but haven't installed than as I am using other apps at the moment that do the same job - but they may come in handy on another machine in the future.

Generally maximum compression is ~50% but it really depends on what is on your hard disk. If it is loads of EXE and DLL files with loads of JPEG images and MPEG/WMA/MP3 etc. then they are already compressed to the maximum and recompressing them can actually make them bigger! If you mostly have Word and text documents then you will see significant compression.

There is also a trade off with speed - the more you compress generally the longer the imaging takes.

5237

Best E-mail Client / Re: Mulberry is dead

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 07:49 AM »

I tried it and after struggling to work out how to set up a single POP email account for 10 minutes finally managed to download some email. I found it all rather clunky and the interface looks like it dates back to Windows 3.1 or 95, not going to entice me from Outlook I'm afraid.

5238

Best E-mail Client / Re: Pegasus Mail?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 16, 2006, 07:24 AM »

So I say forget about Firefox 2.0, when is *Thunderbird* 2.0 coming? In the meantime I thnk I'll take another look at Pegasus as I am getting the itch to move away from Outlook again (worried about my 2GB .pst giving up the ghost!).

-JavaJones (October 15, 2006, 05:15 PM)

Why don't you simply archive some of your Outlook stuff ?

What I have started doing is Archiving by year so that I run an archive session on all messages before 31st December 2001 (or something), and then another to a new Archive file predating 31st December 2002 etc. until all my stuff from last year has been moved off into a set of PST archive files.

If you want permanent access to them you can open them in outlook and you can have all your archives loaded and open all the time so that data is accessible and searchable. If they are loaded when Outlook closes then they will be reopened when you start Outlook.

That way you end up with small manageable PST files and if you don't need to load your emails from 1995 you can speed up Outlook startup considerably by closing the 1995 archive etc.

5239

General Software Discussion / Re: iTunes 7 is a PITA ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 03:38 PM »

FWIW according to Apple's website you should not disable iPodService even if you don't have an iPod !!

I did find a reference on the iTunes forum on Apple Support website that suggested you can not only disable it but remove it. They suggested:

Control Panel > Services
Stop the iPodService
Open a DOS window
execute the command

SC DELETE iPodService

I haven't tried it but I'd guess Apple got wise to this which is why the new version has a self repairing installer that starts automatically if the original setup has been changed. Might be worth a try though!

5240

General Software Discussion / Re: iTunes 7 is a PITA ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 02:33 PM »

The problem is that I have hundreds of tracks that I got free from iTunes store and a few that I have bought because they weren't available elsewhere (so they are DRMed). To be honest I am almost at the point of simply burning all the DRM stuff to CD and then ripping them back as MP3 - OK so you lose a few bits in the move but who cares (especially when I am listening to them on a noisy PC anyway).

I tried WinAmp a while ago and didn't really get on with it that much (couldn't quite see the point) but I do have WMP 10 and Creative MediaSource installed either of which makes a pretty good noise - though of the two I prefer WMP as it is a bit simpler to use.

5241

General Software Discussion / iTunes 7 is a PITA ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 12:08 PM »

Where do Apple get off ...

I just updated to iTunes 7.0.1 and was astonished to discover an "iTunes Outlook Addin" had appeared in Outlook !! In Outlook I removed the addin only to find the next time I started iTunes it reinstalled it !! I guess it is to sync Oultook data with an iPod but given that I don't have (or want) an iPod what is the point of an extra addin loading every time I check my emails?

Not only that having deleted the unwanted icon on my desktop it placed a new icon on my desktop.

Surely they could have a few options during installtion so that you can choose the features you need to load!

5242

Living Room / Re: Xerces Panic Error .... help ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 11:55 AM »

I uninstalled the version of AdMuncher completely I had and installed a fresh new version from the website. Seems to have done the trick. I wonder if something had corrupted the previous installation.

Very odd though, but a relief as I used AdobePDF a lot. I know there are alternatives (I even have some of them) but the nice thing about AdobePDF is that the PDF files are searchable, whereas a lot of the alternatives produce graphical versions of printout.

5243

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows XP Myths

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 11:29 AM »

Here, here - I too have come close to locking off the thread but retreated from that action as I don't feel comfortable doing it (or even suggesting it). Time to knock it on the head guys or Cody will be out with his razor sharp itellect to sort you out (not to mention a nasty nip from his beak!)

5244

Living Room / Re: Xerces Panic Error .... help ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 11:22 AM »

Hmmm --- seems to be AdMuncher generating that key each time it starts. If I use MSCONFIG to disable all startup items and all non-MS services then reboot and restart AdMucher and nothing else the key appears (it has an apparently random set of letters and numbers in the subkey name). Don't know why this happens and have emailed AdMuncher.

5245

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista RC2

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 09:52 AM »

I have had a play but unistalled it again pretty quickly. Doesn't seem to have any WiFi card drivers so I can't access the internet without rewiring the house - and it won't install XP drivers.

5246

Living Room / Re: Xerces Panic Error .... help ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 08:04 AM »

Problem not solved - a key with a similar format seems to be created after I reboot - so I have to delete the key again on each reboot.

Anyone any idea how to track down which application is creating this key?

5247

Living Room / Re: Is there a Safari for Windows?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 15, 2006, 04:01 AM »

Good question - the only references I can find are to someone porting Safari back in 2004 but no sight of a finished project.

There is however http://weblogtoolsco...-safari-for-windows/

5248

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows XP Myths

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 14, 2006, 06:27 AM »

Win95 is good
Win98 is better
WinMe is even better
Win2000 is close to the best
and
WinXp is the best
Because they are all from MS, they are perfect!
When MS come up with service patches for any of the above, they are all mean to correct bugs or problems in hardware drivers from the hardware manufacturers, it is their fault not MS's
If you  get BSOD, blame the hardware manufacturer like Acer, NVidia, Intel and so on or at least blame yourself for not understanding what the message on a BSOD is trying to tell you...
Technically, let's say you get N BSOD on WinXX using machine A and M BSOD from WinYY using machine B, you may take A and B as factors which contribute to N and M but please DO NOT take XX or YY into account, they are suppose to be exempted.

In brief, the whole world can be wrong except MS, especially when O/S is concerned!
If you don't agree with me for the above, the fault could only be yours not mine.

I am sorry for wasting anyone's time to read till this point...
IMHO, this is the perfect point to close the thread!

-tslim (October 13, 2006, 11:07 PM)

The trouble is there is an element of truth in the comment that 3rd party drivers/non-certified drivers cause problems in all versions of Windows. This is mainly due to the open architecture of Windows boxes allowing all and sundry to produce products.

Having said that MS Is often to blame - many companies simply cannot afford the certification system MS has put into place for their drivers. If a company can afford the certification process (also know as ACC4MS) it stifles all innovation and development in drivers because every version will need to be certified and cost a bundle - so who produces new drivers? In the end you end up with large companies dominating the market producing drivers of ever increasing hideousness (such as ATI and Creative) because they can get away with patching versions over and over again.

The fact is that many drivers are not certified and there are many products that simply do not have certified drivers - what are we supposed to do then.

Personally I think it will get worse in VISTA as it is likely to make it harder to use uncertified drivers - which basically means a lot of products going in the bin.

For example, out of the box VISTA RC1 doesn't recognise my old Linksys 54g cards - you can't get much more standard than Linksys/Cisco WiFi cards - how do you use your computer if you can't get drivers for you network devices? (One of the main reasons I don't use Linux too!)

5249

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows XP Myths

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 13, 2006, 01:44 PM »

I read it somewhere a number of years ago - unfortunately I haven't got a photographic memory and I can't bothered looking for it. It was certainly the advice on MS forums from MVPs providing consumer support.

The main point is that the life cycle of ME was significantly shorter than 98 - and given that MS work on a fixed number of years support cycles I think that is a significant statement about their feelings on the viability of ME. It was also slated in just about every computer mag in the world when it was released for its apalling stability issues.

5250

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Audio Book Set, 5 books/20 tapes

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 13, 2006, 01:06 PM »

I already have a set (plus complete books, TV and radio series, and abridged versions read by Stephen 'Marvin' Moore).

How can you bear to part with them? Every now and again I simply have to immerse myself in the humour of DNA or go mad.

FWIW Douglas Adams read them brilliantly well (as he did the Dirk Gently books too).