Recent Posts

526

Living Room / Re: A Hybrid hard drive gets a glowing recommendation

« Last post by Darwin on September 15, 2010, 08:14 PM »

mouser, the largest onboard RAM you'll see on a harddrive today is 32MB (perhaps 64MB?),

-f0dder (September 15, 2010, 12:50 PM)

My external eSata drive is a WD10EARS with 64MB Cache...

527

Living Room / Re: A Hybrid hard drive gets a glowing recommendation

« Last post by Darwin on September 15, 2010, 11:55 AM »

Heh, heh - I'm just wondering if I should splash out for one of these drives...?

528

Living Room / Re: A Hybrid hard drive gets a glowing recommendation

« Last post by Darwin on September 15, 2010, 11:29 AM »

Is this similar in concept to what the latest version of eBoostr does (and to a lesser degree ReadyBoost)?

529

Living Room / Re: tc1100 tablet pc dies before i've even set it up

« Last post by Darwin on September 15, 2010, 09:02 AM »

nudone - I've never used/calibrated a touchscreen device before, but are there not controls for this? I'm assuming there's a control panel applet that will allow you to adjust everything to your liking, just as you can do with your mouse and pointer?

530

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Review/Tips: "Scanning - VueScan and Associates" Pt.I: Intro & Bookscanning

« Last post by Darwin on September 14, 2010, 04:45 PM »

I've started using VueScan Pro "in earnest" and LOVE it. Thank you, Brahman  (I never would have discovered it otherwise).

531

What's the Best? / Re: Anti-Virus Package

« Last post by Darwin on September 14, 2010, 11:04 AM »

The first post is very outdated now, NOD32 for instance is at version 4+
as for resource usage that also changes per version. I left Kaspersky for nod because people said it was lower in memory usage but the version I tried (4.0) was not. so I guess it depends exactly what version you are comparing with what

-delwoode (September 14, 2010, 10:36 AM)

Good point, delwode. I started with Sunbelt's VIPRE at v.1 and it was good. It's now at v.4 and it has gotten considerably more resource intensive.

532

Living Room / Re: Should I buy a tablet pc, ipad, netbook, or other?

« Last post by Darwin on September 12, 2010, 09:28 AM »

I love the Windows 7 touchescreen desktops that I've tried as well (from HP, Acer, Asus, and MSi). However, I can't see the point of the technology in a desktop, unless it were setup as a media centre or something in one's living room where you might not want/need the keyboard and mouse?

For me, I tend to have the monitor separated from me physically by at least a couple of feet of (physical) desktop so that I can use my desktop for other things (pen and paper writing, laying flat a large book, reading snail mail correspondence, etc.). Thus, trying to reach over that space to reach a touch screen doesn't seem all that practical...

533

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: MajorGeeks discounts

« Last post by Darwin on September 09, 2010, 07:28 PM »

That's not a discount code, Curt, it's a promo code required during installation (apparently, I've not tried it myself). You have to have an account to login and download, however.

534

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone familiar with Oops!Backup?

« Last post by Darwin on September 09, 2010, 08:16 AM »

I went ahead and bought it... I used a coupon and paid about $27, but note that since then Altaro have lowered their price to $29. So far, so good!

535

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone familiar with Oops!Backup?

« Last post by Darwin on September 08, 2010, 08:34 AM »

Thanks for the link to the NNT review, cyberdiva. I'd not seen that.

536

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone familiar with Oops!Backup?

« Last post by Darwin on September 07, 2010, 09:45 PM »

Bump

I'm running the trial of Oops!Backup now. I have a Genie Timeline Pro license but just uninstalled it in disgust. For about the fourth time in as many months I've had to start the whole backup process again. The update feature seldom works and has twice failed mid-update rendering my installation kaput. I then have to download the 142 MB installer and run it in "update" mode. I went through the whole rigamorale again today and the service kept shutting before my data was backed up. Enough is enough. You can't re-install the software and point it to an existing archive; it has to re-do the entire backup. Backups for my 250GB of data take HOURS (I have no idea how long because its never been a nice, smooth experience. The backup process always coughs and sputters along). The icing on the cake for me is that the support forum disappeared a few weeks back.

So, I figured that if I am going to have to go through it re-creating my backup, I might as well try out the competition (Oops!Backup). I am VERY impressed so far.

Let's see:

GTL Pro 142MB download
OB 17.5MB download

GTL Pro about 5 or 6 hours to backup 250GB
OB about 1 hour to backup 250GB

If OB stays stable over the coming weeks, I'll be buying a license for sure.

EDIT: changed can to can't (italicized). Seriously affected my message/meaning!

537

General Software Discussion / Re: Yet another application tapping into the "cloud" market.

« Last post by Darwin on September 07, 2010, 08:43 AM »

Actually, I do know why this is happening, I just can't talk about it yet....after December....

-superboyac (September 01, 2010, 08:42 AM)

Tease...

538

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini-Review and Discount (Sep 2010): USB Safely Remove and Zentimo

« Last post by Darwin on September 06, 2010, 11:26 AM »

Yes, sorry for the confusion. I meant lifetime upgrades, not a lifetime license. From what I can see, Zentimo works as advertised, so upgrades may not be all that urgent. Also, Crystal Rich have reduced the cost of extending a subcription from $20 a year to $15 a year, so upgrades will hardly be a big hit on the pocket book.

539

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini-Review and Discount (Sep 2010): USB Safely Remove and Zentimo

« Last post by Darwin on September 06, 2010, 11:05 AM »

Disappointing. The lifetime license option for Zentimo has been removed. I wish I had purchased one when they were still available. Still, I undertstand the necessity of this move. I'm just lazy and don't like having to renew licenses annually.

Update from August 28th: Licenses with lifetime upgrades are no longer available to sell. Only licenses with one or two year upgrade subscription are available. However everyone who already purchased the licenses with lifetime upgrades are eligible for lifetime upgrades.

Nonetheless, thank you Chris, mouser and Crystal Rich software for making this discount available.

540

Official Announcements / Re: August 2010 Giveaway - VueScan - Winners Posted Aug 31, 2010

« Last post by Darwin on September 02, 2010, 06:57 AM »

Awesome! Thank you brahman, mouser, and Ed Hamrick for making this possible 

541

Living Room / Re: Why do we always wait for apple's stuff before making a i[blank]-killer??

« Last post by Darwin on September 01, 2010, 04:40 PM »

It all boils down to brilliant marketing and beautiful presentation. I have a three year old Samsung mp3 player that is a joy to use, beautifully made and sounds great. What's it called? YP-T9QJBY! WTF? Apple picked a hip and sexy name and built a well thought out and well made mp3 player around it. Ten years or so later, their mp3 players carry the same name with nothing more than a descriptive secondary name and the models capacity appened to it - iPod Nano 4GB for example - and Samsung no longer even markets mp3 players in Canada, which kills me.

What kills me even more is the cost of an Apple product compared to its competition. An 8GB Sony Video mp3 player is $89 here vs $149 for a very similar iPod Nano 8GB - hell, you can go to a 16GB Sony for $129! The gap between Apple computers and non-Apple computers seems to have started to increase again, as well. Back to my point, though, why are people so willing to part with a significantly greater amount of money for far less well-spec'd equipment? Marketing.

EDIT: PS The Microsoft Zune, as far as I can tell, is no longer available here, either.

542

Living Room / Re: Why do we always wait for apple's stuff before making a i[blank]-killer??

« Last post by Darwin on September 01, 2010, 02:07 PM »

What's ridiculous is that so often Apple bides it's time and THEN releases a ______-killer piece of heardware that then A. becomes the market leader and the gold standard in that segment and B. (and FAR more annoyingly) almost immediately becomes generally "recognized" as the "first" such product in the segment! There WERE mp3 players before the iPod, there WERE tablets LONG before the iPad, there WERE smartphones (possibly even touchscreen smartphones?) before the iPhone, and there WERE computers before the Mac, etc.

543

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Screenshot Captor excellent program - but . . .

« Last post by Darwin on September 01, 2010, 10:26 AM »

Not everyone is  or was ever dedicated to using PayPal, not everyone wants to pay by credit card and not everyone wants to mail a check or money order and give out personal info.

-fu2 (September 01, 2010, 09:46 AM)

Er... outside of the three options that you've outlined above, what remains? I mean, if you're receptive to the idea of donating to a developer, how else would doing so be possible? With the donationcoder schema, you only have to renew the free license a couple of times over the course of a year before you get a permanent license. So, AFAICT, you are nagged to register for the forum, you do so, you get a license. You use the software nag-free for six months, are nagged to renew your (free) license, do so, use if for another six months, are nagged again, recieve a non-expiring, permanent license. I put more effort into flossing and brushing my teeth before going nighty-night.

It seems to me that your objection is to a developer having the temerity to ask for money, protestations aside.

Heh, heh - mouser responded while I was typing this...

544

Living Room / Re: Should I buy a tablet pc, ipad, netbook, or other?

« Last post by Darwin on August 30, 2010, 09:58 PM »

Heh, heh, my two year old notebook is on the fritz (removed and cleaned the heat sink. The OEM thermal pads were so decayed I removed them and threw them out - on a garbage collection day. Unfortunately, the gap between the chip on my GPU and the heatsink is greater than I can fill with thermal compound and it now refuses to boot. Generic replacement thermal pads are on order, but there's no guarantee that this will work)... Do I *DARE* use this as an excuse to try one of these for myself? For the moment, no... but if you pick one up and start raving about it, I may be ordering one myself.

545

Living Room / Re: Double-sided tape with one side to be removed later?

« Last post by Darwin on August 30, 2010, 09:52 PM »

You're right, superboyac. I went into the Source today and couldn't find tape there. What I have is a roll of tape that has a protective backing on one side. The tape itself is very strong but surprisingly thin - thinner than Scotch tape. It may well be carpet tape... Sadly, there is nothing on the roll to indicate a brand!

546

Living Room / Re: Double-sided tape with one side to be removed later?

« Last post by Darwin on August 30, 2010, 03:29 PM »

Weird, the roll of double-sided tape that I have sitting next to me works exactly as you describe. No idea where I got it or the brand, but it could well be from the Source (a tech store affiliated with Rogers Wireless here in Canada). If it IS from the Source, that would make it their house brand, which is Nexxtech, I think. I *think* their house brand products are the same as those sold by Radio Shack in the States (Radio Shack exited Canada several years ago and their stores became The Souce by Circuit City. Circuit City sold out to Rogers a couple of years ago. Throughout these changes, the house brand has remained the same. So...).

547

Living Room / Re: Should I buy a tablet pc, ipad, netbook, or other?

« Last post by Darwin on August 30, 2010, 03:18 PM »

That Laptop review is A-W-F-U-L! Reading the comments, which universally state what I had intended to write myself (the tm2 is not an iPad competitor and targets a different demographic, etc.), I note that one person who owns the tablet states that Win7's built in support for touch screen technology renders the HP touchsmart software irrelevant, anyway.

Let us know how you get on, Superboyac. I'm already jonesing for one of these!

548

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox Tab Candy will change the way I use a browser for good

« Last post by Darwin on August 26, 2010, 08:47 PM »

On the other hand, maybe it's just me, but i'd rather stick knives into my ears than listen to Aza Raskin explain one of his ideas as if he has discovered the secrets of the universe.  I get that apple vibe from people like this.. i'll pass.

-mouser (July 24, 2010, 12:49 AM)

Yeah... I shut it off when he said that he spends more time in his browser than in his OS. Idiot.

549

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: USB Safely Remove, 50% discount on January 17th

« Last post by Darwin on August 16, 2010, 08:02 AM »

I'm using UWBDLM under Win 7 64-bit (and before that Vista 64-bit and before that Vista 32-bit) with no problems whatsoever.

550

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your preferred File Manager

« Last post by Darwin on August 12, 2010, 09:56 AM »

What I've done in the past, Perry, is contact both the author/webmaster and the AV company and let them sort it out. The author/webmaster is usually quite motivated to do just that and, if they are indeed on the up and up, the AV company usually removes the app/website from their definitions. Of course, this isn't a quick process, but it is usually resolved within a week or so.