Recent Posts

551

Living Room / Re: New SSd in an aging PC

« Last post by Shades on November 24, 2018, 02:07 PM »

With any drive over 2GTByte, make sure your motherboard supports that. Older MoBo's often are limited to 2TByte. Which means that if you would buy an 8TByte drive, it would work, but the max partition size is 2TByte. You will need to install extra software that uses tricks to make the remainder of storage capacity available to your system. In the end you will end up with 8TByte disk that is split up in 4 partitions of 2TByte each.

And then you will notice a Windows issue about supporting 4 primary partitions max. That little boot partition Windows creates already occupies 1 of those four primary partitions. Still no real issue, but it requires to revert to logical volumes instead. Windows should do this automagically, but you should read up on those things to see what the implications are.

Crappy thing is that this 2TByte stupidity still occurs on (mostly) cheaper boards from all manufacturers, both old and brand new. So, investigate first before committing to purchasing really big drives.

I have here an Asus A88 deluxe Pro board that is now close to 3 years old. Wasn't cheap to purchase and the Pro in it's name doesn't indicate a cheap board either. The available hardware features on the board do not indicate it is a cheap board.  Yet that 2TByte stupidity is there. The 3TByte spinning disk I bought at the time had to be divided into 2 partitions. Tools like HD Sentinel can see the disk, but not report any data back on it. And at the time there was only software available for Windows to make the excess of 2TByte storage capacity available. So, if I ran Linux, I would have been wasting money on extra capacity that the hardware on the board cannot even address.

Really, do your research, before buying >2TByte drives.

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Living Room / Re: New SSd in an aging PC

« Last post by Shades on November 24, 2018, 07:18 AM »

Well, Depending on the amount of software you think you need to install, even a 120GByte SSD will do. It did in my case. I upgraded a 7-year old system at that time with a 120GByte SSD (Samsung Evo 840) as a boot drive. It was like working on a new computer again.

While the comment from ConstanceJill is a good and valid one, given the specs of your machine, I assume you are not that avid of a gamer. Well, not the latest games that require huge texture files to load at an instant. In that case you can easily keep them on your standard spinning disk. Especially if that is a more modern one that comes with a lot of Cache memory. Thing is, by separating Windows from your games or data, the content on the spinning hard disk will not fragment that much and after a while the Windows file-system has optimized the content of that disk anyway.

Fragmenting is/was a big performance killer with spinning disks. But as you keep that now separate, You will find that by spending less on your SSD, you have more money left for other parts, like bigger/better videocard, a faster or bigger monitor. Or simply a second monitor (if you did not have such a setup already). Or the money saved can be used to start saving up for a new computer, tablet etc.

553

Living Room / Re: Movies you've seen lately

« Last post by Shades on November 22, 2018, 05:33 PM »

My Name Is Earl - A great series that was axed too soon.

However, if you are a fan of the obvious and hidden humor in that series, the creator (Greg Garcia) has a new series, called: The Guestbook. That is also very funny....and you see a few actors from 'My Name Is Earl' re-appear (but in very different roles). Recommended!

Another series that you should start to watch is: The Rookie. Nathan Fillion (FireFly, Castle) is one of the rookies in the L.A.P.D. That show mixes comedy and drama from situations that occur on the streets over there. It is better than you think. Mellisa O'Neil is also one of the rookies. You could know her from the underrated sci-Fi series 'Dark Matter'...also axed too soon.

554

Living Room / Re: How to find the file of a saved Snapchat video?

« Last post by Shades on November 22, 2018, 06:36 AM »

Are you sure the camera app in the RedMi phone hasn't been removed (unintentionally)?

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Living Room / Re: How to find the file of a saved Snapchat video?

« Last post by Shades on November 22, 2018, 06:33 AM »

If you know around which time you saved the video, you could do a generic file search for files being created/modified around that time. The search results should show the file size and where they are located. If an unclear name or extension is used for the actual video file,  the file size and location could help you identify which file is the video and copy/move it to a more memorable location on your drive, the cloud or whatever.

556

Living Room / Re: Is it possible to have Microsoft Exchange account to Ymail Android app?

« Last post by Shades on November 21, 2018, 06:00 AM »

Ymail looks to be Yahoo Mail. Taking a look at the text in the Google Store I would say no.

Why would anyone want the filth of Yahoo on their device AND connect it to the very different, yet equally filthy Exchange system? That sure reveals some serious character flaws

Took me 5 seconds to find out....

You could also use the Outlook App from Microsoft. That can connect with Exchange, but also with GMail and Yahoo mail.

And this search on the Google Store would have shown you all the apps that have Exchange support.

557

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: CCCCtrlC - simple multiple clipboard utility

« Last post by Shades on November 20, 2018, 04:29 AM »

Please check the attachment for a virus. Although I don't think there is malware included, I found it on a website, which might resort to that kind of thing. My Windows defender was not triggered. And the VirusTotal check stated that Cylance was the only product that regarded it as unsafe. 62 others marked it as clean.

Why it didn't show up in the WayBack archive, no clue. They do a marvelous job, but don't expect them to cover every website in existence, at least not all the time. The software I found is an executable, not the AHK source code.

* Edit * - Added comment

558

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

« Last post by Shades on November 19, 2018, 06:00 PM »

@Deozaan:
You could buy a cheap IP camera and let it mail you when motion has been detected. There are usually a few (interval) screenshots included with the message. You could then make a specific alert in your mail client whenever that camera sends you a message. If you already have an somewhat automated home, you might even be able to create audio/visual alerts this way.

Problem solved. 

559

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

« Last post by Shades on November 19, 2018, 07:48 AM »

ring and run is the norm.

-Stoic Joker (November 19, 2018, 06:53 AM)

Quite often it's fling and run around here!

-cranioscopical (November 19, 2018, 07:42 AM)

So, you fling a comment towards the wife and then you need to run....do I understand that correctly? 

560

General Software Discussion / Re: placing pre-fab HTML pages online (e.g the Rightnote Webbook)

« Last post by Shades on November 17, 2018, 07:27 PM »

@Deozaan:

That laptop was given to me. I suppose I know now where that special K key went.....

561

Screenshot Captor / Re: Licensing advise

« Last post by Shades on November 17, 2018, 05:54 AM »

Never heard of that type of license before. And without the name of the software and or company that gives out these licenses, there is not much to tell.

So generally speaking:  If the license tells you that you are allowed to do so, then yes. Licenses that allow for software to be installed on more than one computer make this very clear. Those are also the exception to the rule. Most licenses only allow the software to be installed on one computer at any given time. So, to err on the side of caution: No, you are not allowed to to install the software with that license on more than one computer.

However, if you want to throw caution into the wind, install the software on your laptop as well. If you are lucky, the software will not complain about the license being used twice. And if you are unlucky, it will. Please note that I say your laptop. That implies you are the owner of both the computer and laptop, so not a laptop that is provided to you because of your job.

Lots of text to say that that you should read the provided license more thoroughly, or give us more information about the software and/or company that gives out this weirdly named license.

562

Coding Snacks / Re: Fullscreen DiscoLight with a custom palette

« Last post by Shades on November 17, 2018, 05:34 AM »

I remember having such a feature on my PlayStation one. Where I first needed to load a disc with the software for generating the patterns and then a music CD to make the patterns (and path of the camera) move/change to the rhythm of the music.

While that might not be the exact thing requested by Rockets, that stuff was only fun for a rather short while. Something similar could be achieved by turning the volume completely down, then you would still have the "randomness" in the patterns, but not the sound of the music.

If memory serves me, was there not a plugin for music players, like WinAmp, called: Milkdrop (or something like that)? That should cover most, if not all, of the requested features.
 

563

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: PDF-XChange Pro

« Last post by Shades on November 16, 2018, 12:49 AM »

If you are into scripting and want to create PDFs from existing documents, you could also take a look at PanDoc. For my purposes (converting lightly formatted, mostly text-based Word documents and wiki pages to PDF) this works pretty fast and satisfactory. And it saved me from having to install PDF printer software on my system. Caveat, I try to keep my PCs as mean and lean as possible.

PanDoc is free to use in any type of environment, if I read the license document correctly. It was originally intended to convert documents to/from Latex, but as the years went by, more and more support for very different types of documents was added. Google results show that GUI tools for PanDoc have been made by 3rd parties/hobbyists, so that might help you over the script only nature of the PanDoc software.

Myself, I prefer the script version, so I have tried any of the available GUIs for it myself. Just thought to mention it.

564

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: RemotePC - the unfree version for $6.95 the first year

« Last post by Shades on November 16, 2018, 12:33 AM »

Haven't looked for anything else after discovering AnyDesk.....it appears to be the place where fed up programmers from Teamviewer end up. I use that software to connect a system, where I can connect with other systems I need to have access to. Similar to a step-stone server setup if you will.

Because of that one connection AnyDesk is very lenient. That software will bother you to get their commercial variant when you have lots of different computers you frequently connect to, because that usually means you are using this software in a business environment and in those cases AnyDesk does want to see money for the services they provide.

It's a tiny download, fast and free for lots of use cases. You can even use it without installing the software permanently, if that is a thing you desire. By "ticking all these boxes" I had and have no desire to look for anything else.

Perhaps AnyDesk can mean the same to you. Or not, of course.

Disclaimer: There is no affiliation between AnyDesk and my person, just being a happy user.

565

General Software Discussion / Re: The Bat - importing FossaMail

« Last post by Shades on November 13, 2018, 06:44 PM »

I would go the MailStore Home-route. With that software you can get the messages you have been collecting in your FossaMail client . While it may not say that it supports FossaMail directlyy, Fossamail is a fork of Thunderbird and that one is supported in MailStore Home.

When that import is done, MailStore Home can export your messages in different formats. You can choose one that is supported by The Bat (.eml) if there isn't an option to import your content into Tjhe Bat directly. Mail filter rules and your contact book are not backed up in MailStore Home, but exporting those in a .csv file from FossaMail is often the easiest way to get contacts imported into another mail client.

MailStore Home is freeware. Not sure if you could use 'Mozilla Backup' (freeware last time I checked) in combination with FossaMail, but you could give that a try too.

566

Living Room / Re: Energy cost of mining crypto more than the cost of mining precious metals

« Last post by Shades on November 06, 2018, 07:46 AM »

Mining for new BitCoin (not trading in existing BitCoin) is expensive in every way. Yes, you can put up a simple 500 USD system and start mining with it, but don't expect to find new BitCoin any time soon. BitCoin is notoriously inefficient to "mine" and this is by design. More or less all the "low hanging fruit" has already been picked.

A system that gives you a reasonable shot at gaining new BitCoin is going to cost you. You still need many GPUs, preferably a motherboard with enough PCI lanes to properly support these GPUs, a processor that can support those lanes as well, a power supply that can support this setup, a case that allows for all this equipment to be mounted in and you will be needing an airconditioned room to put this contraption in. Several thousands of USD such a system will cost you. Still nothing compared with actual mining equipment.

Depending on your geographical location and your power source, you will keep spending a varying amount for the monthly electricity bill. Here in Paraguay, which has hydro source of electricity (and a shitty grid in most of the country), such a system would easily cost you around 300 USD a month (with the current exchange rate). Electricity is quite cheap here.

Even with a rig like that, getting new BitCoin will take quite some time. And with the wildly varying value of BitCoin, it could either be very profitable or a big loss leader for you. Might as well buy a lottery ticket. A lot less effort on your end, admittedly a lot less chance of getting lucky, but the payout can be massive. The environment will appreciate the lottery route more.

567

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

« Last post by Shades on October 30, 2018, 07:28 PM »

Perhaps too much, but here goes:

Notch it, Sherlock

568

General Software Discussion / Re: easy peasy website building

« Last post by Shades on October 18, 2018, 06:15 PM »

@IainB:
You'll get to those when you want to add 'Extensions' (click on the '3 bars' symbol in the upper left corner for that option). All of these have a price tag, but the free ones are tagged as '$0'.

Well, I added all the free ones, and now those tags are replaced with a trashcan icon. But you'll see which ones are free.

569

General Software Discussion / Re: easy peasy website building

« Last post by Shades on October 18, 2018, 07:45 AM »

It really cannot be easier than this tool for Windows and Mac: MobiRise

You are allowed to use this software for free to create personal or commercial websites, but there are some extensions and themes that you have to pay for. The basics are enough to create modern looking websites and the link shows you how simple it is to create your own. It comes with a preview function, allows you to upload it to your desired website hoster and you don't have to do all of this online.

570

Living Room / Re: "If you don't steal [from the commons] you are stealing from your family".

« Last post by Shades on October 11, 2018, 12:31 PM »

It's a long article divided into 6 sections. And yes, that was a prime example of pettiness.

571

N.A.N.Y. 2019 / Re: NANY 2019 - Idea for an app synchronizing web service

« Last post by Shades on October 09, 2018, 12:57 PM »

Sounds like a base installation of NextCloud on your server could do the trick.

Has everything you want practically out of the box. And can be expanded upon with free/opensource/commercial add-ons. Am using it myself on my own server and till now, it works absolutely great. Slightly slower than Google drive or other cloud providers as my own connection is more limited in bandwidth. For my uses, the basics runs fine on a 10-year old Dual Core CPU with only 2GByte of RAM.

Donation coder would require more as many more users can be expected to make use of this functionality. Much more RAM and PHP caching systems would already be enough to make it a smooth experience for anyone.

* Edit * - added the link.

572

Living Room / Re: An article on the slow death of Google by Lauren Weisman

« Last post by Shades on October 09, 2018, 11:48 AM »

As a concept Wave was more interesting than Google+. At least in my mind it was.

Still, solutions like Slack "borrowed" more from Google Wave than most will like to admit.

With Wave Google experienced the Microsoft "curse"...having the right idea at the wrong time, accompanied by a sub-par implementation/API/etc.

573

Finished Programs / Re: DONE: clean the marked text

« Last post by Shades on October 09, 2018, 11:39 AM »

File managers like Directory Opus have features to rename files autmagically, if you instruct them to do so. For example, I created a button that converts selected files/folders (spaces to dots, capitalize every first character of each word in the name and clean up possible double dots in the name) all in one go.

And I don't think I even have scratched the surface of this specific functionality in Directory Opus. Other decent file managers like Total Commander, XYplorer etc. have similar functionality available to them, I'm sure.

574

Living Room / Re: Google finds Vulnerability in G+ API. Sunsets G+ in response.

« Last post by Shades on October 08, 2018, 05:45 PM »

Same here, tried to like it when it was new. But lost interest in social media completely, not just Google+. Visiting my Facebook and linkedIn profiles I do once or twice a year. I do not even have bothered to create accounts for the other socials.

Following Will Wheaton on Google+ (for his youtube channel 'Table Top') was fun for a while. But as I said, lost interest completely. Ah well, at least one icon will be removed from Android... :p

575

Living Room / Re: The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies

« Last post by Shades on October 06, 2018, 01:45 PM »

A chip the size of a grain of rice, cannot have too many different connectors on it. Which makes me think that it may be able to do one or two of the suggested breaches, but not all of them.

The servers in question were of the blade server model. That means highly densed motherboards, which in turn leads to motherboards that consist of multiple layers of etched electronic pathways to get all the electronics connected properly.

From what I understood the chip was planted on the top of the mainboard, meaning that getting it connected to all necessary pathways will be difficult, even with equipment.

In short, I have my doubts about the capabilities of such a small chip and proper connectivity to be able to the proposed breaches seems highly unlikely. Size limitations being the main problem here. I would assume that it would be easier to replace one of the standard electronic chips with an altered one and solder that back. Requires less equipment to do, can be done by lesser technical hands and will not draw (immediate) attention.