Recent Posts

551

General Software Discussion / Re: curious win7 file issue...

« Last post by Target on November 21, 2013, 06:16 PM »

interesting...FWIW I've been using this tool under win7 for almost 2 years and this is the first time I've encountered this

what are the rules around this?  There is a corresponding file at that location, though I'll need to do a little bit of testing to confirm this is the offending black hole.

I'd also be interested to know why that location wasn't found by my file searches (I'm configured to show all files)

552

General Software Discussion / curious win7 file issue...

« Last post by Target on November 21, 2013, 12:27 AM »

I wondering if any here has seen anything like this - this is a clean win7 32 system that's only just been rebuilt a week ago (don't ask )

I have a small scripting tool that I use at work to get data out of our systems, but yesterday I noticed some weird behaviour by windows.

I wrote a script for a colleague, but when I went to send it to him I couldn't find it...anywhere.

I could open and run it in the corresponding app, but it was invisible outside of it.

This morning I went back into the tool and saved it out to a different folder to see if I could see it (I could), however when I sent it to a colleague the file did not include any of the changes that I'd made (and yes, I did save it).  I could open the file and see my latest updates, but the version as received was several iterations behind.

any idea's?

553

Living Room / Re: LG SmartTV monitors your every move - including files on attached USB drives

« Last post by Target on November 20, 2013, 04:11 PM »

who's watching the watchers?

554

General Software Discussion / Re: The Open Source debate

« Last post by Target on November 13, 2013, 04:44 PM »

is it possible to run a 'trial' in parallel?  (unofficially even?)

getting others on board before you tackle the roadblock can be a useful tactic, and it gives you an opportunity to speak from a position of authority rather than being defensive

555

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Target on November 07, 2013, 05:56 PM »

what if superheroes had part time jobs?

556

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Target on November 06, 2013, 05:49 PM »

I would proudly hang that on my living room wall, although it would probably go better with the black & white optical illusion style decor of my daughter's room. 

I was thinking that the funny part wasn't the animation, but the fact that there was a bench in front of it so people could sit and admire...

557

General Software Discussion / Re: delete rows with duplicate cells

« Last post by Target on November 06, 2013, 05:46 PM »

I'm not familiar with the functionality in Libre office but it appears the following formula will work (in both Libre office AND excel)

    =countif($a$2:a3,a3)

enter this formula wherever you like, though I would suggest next to the range in question would be most appropriate.

You will need to modify the range '$a$2:A3' to cover the columns you want to test (note that the absolute reference must to point to the first cell in the range), and of course the reference value as well.

the formula will count the number of occurrences of the reference cell, then you can use the filter function to filter out all the single occurrences and delete the rest

558

Living Room / Re: Making a new page of "DonationCoder's Favorite Web Sites" - suggestions?

« Last post by Target on November 05, 2013, 10:50 PM »

I see Instructables just got a guernsey, so I have to throw http://hackaday.com/ into the ring.

Not quite the same as instructables, but lots of info and ideas on some truly amazing projects being done by ordinary (and not so ordinary) folk.

559

General Software Discussion / Re: delete rows with duplicate cells

« Last post by Target on November 05, 2013, 03:41 PM »

lots of answers to this one (use the inbuil functionality, or formulas and filtering, or a macro, or...) but it depends on what you want to do

the version of excel you're using is relevant as well

Highlight that data you want to work with, and click the Remove Duplicates option on the Data tab of the ribbon (07 and up). Then select the column(s) you want to search for duplicates.

-Stoic Joker (November 05, 2013, 06:59 AM)

worth noting that this only works in excel 2007 and above

560

Living Room / Re: on the 'benefits' of technology...

« Last post by Target on October 30, 2013, 07:26 PM »

actually I think it says more about our level of involvement (perceived or otherwise) in so many processes and our acceptance of these things as being reliable (which they are) than it does about our level of training.  Or perhaps it's about our inability to accept or understand when they do fail 

this is how skynet got a hold...

561

Living Room / on the 'benefits' of technology...

« Last post by Target on October 29, 2013, 01:40 AM »

interesting article on the effect of technology on our capability - http://www.theatlant...t-forgetting/309516/

562

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Target on September 25, 2013, 05:54 PM »

come on guys, you're being serious and that's inappropriate

this is supposed to be a nonsense thread!!!

563

Living Room / Re: Vocab tune-up

« Last post by Target on September 23, 2013, 10:02 PM »

564

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Target on September 19, 2013, 05:03 PM »

couldn't decide whethter this should go here or in the music video's thread....

565

Developer's Corner / Re: Odd/Fun Ways You've Learned Programming

« Last post by Target on September 18, 2013, 12:06 AM »

no witty anecdotes, but for me coding snacks have been great fun and great learning tools

566

General Software Discussion / Re: software recommendations - photo/graphics editors

« Last post by Target on September 16, 2013, 11:55 PM »

No one mentioned Photoscape yet? It's a freeware mainly for fixing & enhancing photos instead of painting/editing, so it is richer in tools for color adjustment, back light correction, red eye removal etc rather than 'micro' tools like paint brushes etc. This is probably what you need.

-rsatrioadi (September 16, 2013, 11:19 PM)

another contender, but just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, how is it better than (for arguments sake) a 'viewer' that has many of the same features?

567

General Software Discussion / Re: software recommendations - photo/graphics editors

« Last post by Target on September 16, 2013, 09:48 PM »

The GIMP is likely too much for your wife considering what you wrote above (though once you learn, it's worth it). Perhaps Paint.NET? It's easier, but still quite powerful.

-Renegade (September 16, 2013, 09:14 PM)

that was (is?) certainly a consideration, mostly because I'm expected to provide training and support!!

You might want to look at the viewer market though. A lot of viewers have very simple and easy to use tools for quick retouching. e.g. Faststone, ALSee, etc.

yep, been a long time user of FastStone, and she does use it a lot for exactly that reason

Also, depending on your camera, some come with software packages for retouching photos, especially those that shoot RAW/NEF.

sadly our camera's don't do anything in the raw - that said, I probably should at least look at the supplied software .  I've never felt that the software supplied with camera's, scanners, etc was very good.  YMMV, but my experience hasn't been particularly inspiring

568

General Software Discussion / software recommendations - photo/graphics editors

« Last post by Target on September 16, 2013, 07:38 PM »

looking for recommendations for something to replace a corel paint shop pro (x2) install that has worn out it's welcome

On our W7x32 laptop it's hijacked most (all?) of the admin tools (ie control panel, devices and printers, etc) which has raised my ire so it's gotta go

This is my wifes machine and she's a very light (basic!!) user, mostly minor retouching of photos or scans, so photoshop is probably overkill (not to mention that I probably couldn't afford a copy even if I could justify it).

This really isn't a software genre that particularly interests me so while I'm aware of the major candidates, I have no idea about their relative merits...

what say you?

569

Living Room / Re: Vocab tune-up

« Last post by Target on September 15, 2013, 08:44 PM »

then this from doghouse diaries today...



perhaps I should be posting in the 'what annoys me no end' thread

570

JGPaiva's GridMove and Ahk Tools / Re: need help setting up grid with a large display

« Last post by Target on September 12, 2013, 11:07 PM »

if you want to split it up substitutethe monitor number for the relevant panels

for example using 3 panels (1 per monitor) it would look like

[Select]

[Groups]
  NumberOfGroups = 3

[1]
  TriggerTop    = [Monitor1Top]
  TriggerRight  = [Monitor1Left] + [Monitor1Width]
  TriggerBottom = [Monitor1Top]  + [Monitor1Height]
  TriggerLeft   = [Monitor1Left] + [Monitor1Width]

[2]
  TriggerTop    = [Monitor2Top]
  TriggerRight  = [Monitor2Left] + [Monitor2Width]
  TriggerBottom = [Monitor2Top]  + [Monitor2Height]
  TriggerLeft   = [Monitor2Left] + [Monitor2Width]

[3]
  TriggerTop    = [Monitor3Top]
  TriggerRight  = [Monitor3Left] + [Monitor3Width]
  TriggerBottom = [Monitor3Top]  + [Monitor3Height]
  TriggerLeft   = [Monitor3Left] + [Monitor3Width]

571

JGPaiva's GridMove and Ahk Tools / Re: need help setting up grid with a large display

« Last post by Target on September 12, 2013, 09:51 PM »

you just need to move everything by the requisite amount, eg for panel [1]

  TriggerTop      = [Monitor1Top]+110 ;this moves the top bound down 110 pixels
  TriggerBottom  = [Monitor1Top]+[Monitor1Height]-220/2 ;this takes 110 pixels off the top AND the bottom to allow for the reduced screen height

you can do the same for the left and right bounds

572

General Software Discussion / Re: MailPile: Secure FOSS Crowdfunded E-mail with Simple-to-use Encryption

« Last post by Target on September 09, 2013, 11:11 PM »

Yes. We do need it. But I'm not aware of anything that is "prime time" ready to use.

-Renegade (September 09, 2013, 10:58 PM)

I must be slipping - it would seem you missed the sarcasm in my reply

573

General Software Discussion / Re: MailPile: Secure FOSS Crowdfunded E-mail with Simple-to-use Encryption

« Last post by Target on September 09, 2013, 05:37 PM »

As for the actual service/product - looks interesting. It seems that there are more like this popping up. But "email"? Man... I'm so sick of email. It's just so broken. I really think we need to scrap it and just start over with something new. A simple communications platform for letters, short messages, attachments, audio, video, audio/video/rich media messages, etc. People keep dumping resources into a broken platform.

-Renegade (September 05, 2013, 11:45 PM)

but do we really need it?  there must thousands of newer, more exciting and innovative social mediums to develop and exploit before we even need to consider such a thing

574

Living Room / Re: printer to repair or not repair

« Last post by Target on September 09, 2013, 12:51 AM »

if you have a good relationship with the repair tech's ask them what they think.

In my (limited!) experience most of those guys don't have a vested interest in selling new machines, but they will be aware of your circumstance/usage patterns, the performance of the machines in question, and their relative value in that context.

worst case scenario they'll tell you buy a new one, and if they do, they can probably give you good advice on which models are best for your circumstance. 

575

General Software Discussion / Re: The very very best for contextual menus

« Last post by Target on September 04, 2013, 05:20 PM »

Fast Explorer is another one that I've used, though as with the other choices the learning curve is perhaps a little steep.

Downside is that it appears to be out of development (developers website is gone!) though it's been working OK for me (W7-32)