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576

General Software Discussion / Re: Used Software Can Be Sold, Says EU Court of Justice

« Last post by barney on July 06, 2012, 09:57 AM »

Gonna ruin a [semi-]perfect alcoholic buzz with significant amounts of dark coffee  .

-barney (July 04, 2012, 11:45 PM)

Which would be improved by the addition of Kahlúa and keep the buzz going a little longer

Or just drink the Kahlúa and get your caffeine that way

-4wd (July 06, 2012, 07:30 AM)

or Irish Coffee

-tomos (July 06, 2012, 07:48 AM)

A little Jameson's, a little Bailey's, a little Kahlúa, a little BlackJack ... 'twas all good, and greatly augmented my research ... now, if I could just remember what I found ...  .

As expected, while the document in and of itself was not lengthy, it had pointers to other elements that had to be followed. 

I spend some time over at Mike Mesnick, et al.,'s Techdirt - surprised I didn't see this, or reference to it, over there.

577

General Software Discussion / Re: Used Software Can Be Sold, Says EU Court of Justice

« Last post by barney on July 04, 2012, 11:45 PM »

Thank you  - and damn you ! - for that link.  Now I'll be up for the rest of the night [hopefully] assimilating what is there.  Gonna ruin a [semi-]perfect alcoholic buzz with significant amounts of dark coffee  .  Hopefully, however, I'll benefit from your largesse  .

578

General Software Discussion / Re: Used Software Can Be Sold, Says EU Court of Justice

« Last post by barney on July 04, 2012, 11:15 PM »

When you buy a book, you own the physical book, you can legally sell it if you want. First Sale doctrine applies.

But when you buy software, you never actually own it under US law. You have only bought for yourself a right to use it. The copyright owner still owns the software, so you can't sell it. First Sale doctrine doesn't apply because a first sale was never made.

-app103 (July 04, 2012, 10:45 PM)

Which puts a rather fine line in re ebooks.  Are they books?  Or are they software?

And just how does that affect the free [e]books that you can download from such sites as guttenberg.org?  Do they hold copyright on the electronic version of a public domain tome?  'Tis a troublesome coil, these copyright issues.  And the way copyright law is written, as I understand it, you can be taken to task for violating copyright by other than the copyright holder.

Aside:  should it be guttenberg.org, or gutenberg.org ?  Or was that a copyright issue  ?

579

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... opinions on code snippet libraries

« Last post by barney on July 04, 2012, 08:47 PM »

Yeah.  I've been told that the manly way is to just remember the code, then type it in.  "Real programmers don't paste code," or words to that effect  .  My current environment for such is Komodo Edit - I'd get the IDE version, but it's way too focused on teams, and I'm a team of one (1) - which has a decent snippet manager, but it's unique to Komodo, which is not portable.  (Tried UltraEdit some time back - don't recall why I didn't care for it  .)  gbCodeLib works admirably, but I just cannot seem to get comfortable with the portable version.  I cannot help but believe that there's something better, but if so, it's well concealed  .

580

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... opinions on code snippet libraries

« Last post by barney on June 30, 2012, 05:27 PM »

I'll tell you what though... I'm most fascinated by the encyclopedic information on Pepsi he has on his website.

-mwb1100 (June 30, 2012, 03:26 PM)

-rgdot (June 30, 2012, 03:32 PM)

Hm-m-m ... last time I remember having a Pepsi was with a bag of Planter's Peanuts at the corner - and only - store during a summer when my parents had farmed my sister and me out to my paternal grandparents' farm.  Pour in some peanuts, then upend the bottle to catch the fizz and the peanuts at the same time  .

Mr. Beene's gbCodeLib has a few bells & whistles missing, but I've been using it for several years w/o trouble.  Mostly with PHP/CSS/JS/SQL, but there've been a few forays into more typed languages, e.g., VB or Delphi.  I just can't get comfortable with his portable version, gbFlashLib, for some reason.  I use it, but it seems cramped, somehow.  He also has gbXML - Language File Generator, But I've never had occasion to make use of that one, so I really am not able to comment on it except to say that it looks good  .

Addendum:  gbCodeLib comes with libraries for ASP, C++, Cobol, C#, Delphi, DOS, Excel, HTML, Java, Outlook, PERL, ..., and there may be more available on his Website.  Some of those libraries are simple placeholders, some have minimal tutorial listings, some are fairly complex.  Since I'm relatively weak with JS, that particular library has helped me immensely the times I've needed JS.

581

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... opinions on code snippet libraries

« Last post by barney on June 30, 2012, 09:47 AM »

Tried Qsnipps a while back.  At that time, I was underwhelmed  .  The help was an FAQ (a series of Fantasy Asked Questions) online, and even that was incorrect  . 

I know how difficult it can be to create documentation, much less keep it up to date, but there are numerous tools available at [semi-]reasonable costs to accomplish that task.  There are also folk for hire who put a program through its paces and document it accordingly, many of whom charge much less than their work is worth.

The cross-platform aspect was nice  , albeit a bit buggy, or so it seemed to me at the time.  However, to be fair, I didn't spend a great deal of time dealing with that aspect.  Their five (5) limit was a bit too restrictive - five (5) categories containing five (5) snippets each in the free/demo version - to really examine the inbuilt search capability  .

Information on adding/editing a syntax highlighter was sparse to the point of nudity - little or no coverage at all  - although that may be a failing on my part, since I've never created nor customized highlighting code.  I'm unfamiliar with whatever conventions might exist.

One (1) of the features touted was the ability to create a shell/DOS command:
~~~~~ start paste ~~~~~
Run Shell/DOS commands
Do you use the Console/DOS prompt often? Save your commands as ShellApps and run them directly from QSnipps.
~~~~~  end paste  ~~~~~
However, I could not find a way to perform that particular feat of legerdemain  .

The drag and drop aspect worked nicely  ,

I'll look at it again when it comes up on BDJ but, as mentioned, my first experience was underwhelming.

So far, Gary Beene's product has been the most useful, but there is considerable difference 'twixt the portable and stationary products.

582

General Software Discussion / Re: Checking Bad sector in HDD and ExtHDD

« Last post by barney on June 26, 2012, 10:12 PM »

Just ran across this thread, nobody mentioned Steve Gibson's Spinrite?

-x16wda (June 26, 2012, 08:24 PM)

Hm-m-m ... haven't tried SpinRite for many a year.  But I'm doubtful that it'd do anything more than the tools mentioned.  It was developed for an older HD technology, when software could actually have an effect on the hardware.

However.

Recently, the HD in a Dell laptop started giving problems (different thread, hardly worth quoting here).  I tried several HDD assurance/measurement/analysis utilities, some free, some paid.  All gave different results save for one (1) thing:  each predicted the imminent death of that drive.

I pulled the drive, plugged it into a USB to IDE & SATA connector.  I reran each of those tools.  Every one (1) gave the drive a clean bill of health, predicting a longer life-span than I'm likely to have.

Do you see a problem here?  The analysis software reported differently according to the environment.  That same drive is sitting on my desktop unenclosed, has been churning merrily along ever since.  Nary a hiccough.  Haven't had glitch one (1) with it. 

(There's another drive, a 3.5", that I housed for desktop usage ~seven (7) years ago.  It failed in a tower case.  I removed it, housed it (USB1), re-housed it (USB2) a couple of years later, and it has been running ever since, well beyond the projected lifespan.  However it is beginning to get noisy - I think bearings are about to die, and that will be terminal  .)

For my money, none of these analysis programs are worth more than a fortune cookie.  Change the environment, and they give totally different results.  I have no idea if the failing is in their reading of the S.M.A.R.T. data, or mayhap with the S.M.A.R.T. data itself, or even with the general concept/implementation.

Ditching hardware because of analytics is usually quite wasteful, often unwarranted, and very unsatisfying.  And it's very seldom educational in the process - frustrating, but not educational.

Point of all this is that, barring known physical damage, e.g. gravitational stress, .357 magnum, or the like  , it borders on foolishness to discard a drive based upon any diagnostic:  reallocate, yes; discard, no.

583

Living Room / Re: Odd cookie problem

« Last post by barney on June 26, 2012, 01:31 PM »

Dunno that this'll be relevant, but I recently encountered a similar problem after I eradicated all LSOs (flash cookies) from my system.  After digging for a few days, I removed the app (GrekSoft Flash Cookie Remover) that was clearing the LSOs and suddenly my access(es) returned to normal.  Just thought it worth a mention  .

584

General Software Discussion / Re: corrupt index (I think): how to fix?

« Last post by barney on June 22, 2012, 12:09 AM »

not sure how much time you want to spend on this, but if it was me I'd copy the files off, then run eraser over the drive, then (probably) reformat, and then check/test again...

-Target (June 21, 2012, 09:25 PM)

Sound advice ... just don't rely upon chkdsk  . 

585

General Software Discussion / Re: corrupt index (I think): how to fix?

« Last post by barney on June 21, 2012, 08:49 PM »

I'm a bit dubious in regard to that chkdsk message.  Had a similar response on a 2TB drive with only ~650 GB filled.  Don't think chkdsk is up to really large drives.  Ran the Seagate tool against the same drive, in benign mode (no corrective action) since it was not a Seagate drive, and saw only three (3) or four (4) problems.  Used a GParted LiveCD to correct those.  Still using that same drive, a Fantom, ~ a year-and-a-half later.  I really don't trust chkdsk on anything over 500 MB or so.

Just my experience, not necessarily definitive  .

586

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... the whys and wherefores of NoSQL

« Last post by barney on June 19, 2012, 06:19 PM »

I don't even see it for that.  Non-Transactional with limited relational capabilities is the key.  If you need relational data (and from at least my experience with school databases, you do) or transactions (same caveat) then this isn't really the way to go IMO.

-wraith808 (June 19, 2012, 04:00 PM)

Total agreement.  I thought that from the start.  (That's why I said maybe.  It would require a total rethink of the system, and if applied, replace it with something terribly less effective.)  But when a client - or a boss/manager/supervisor - gets an idea crossways in their head  ... the worker bees have to set the drones straight  .

587

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... the whys and wherefores of NoSQL

« Last post by barney on June 19, 2012, 02:51 PM »

I've done some research into non-RDBMS databases for a client. (I prefer non-RDBMS to NoSQL since there are at least 3 very different technologies calling themselves NoSQL right now.) I can save your school administrator some work. What I found: not ready for enterprise primetime except in very specific and specialized circumstances. For day to day general database requirements (i.e. any data that can easily be structured as a table - which is to say most data), RDBMS is still the best current choice..

-40hz (June 19, 2012, 12:37 PM)

I think that hits the meat of the situation.  I could maybe see a NoSQL or even non-RDBMS, system for something like the entire school system of Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, et. al., but no way can I see it worth the effort and grief for a single school.

I think my lady has an idea of combining all school databases into one (1) [relatively] massive system.  I also think she doesn't have enough mass extant to be worth the effort.  I've pulled down a few docs on the subject - nothing clear, unfortunately - that I think I'll giver her along with a [redacted] printout of this topic.  That may be enough to dissuade her, or at least persuade her that she needs to grow a bit, first  .

As a side note I still have not seen anything close to a guideline as to when it might be advisable to switch.  That would be nice to have.  You know how it is, I suspect.  When you work for someone, especially gratis, a 3rd-party opinion is almost always better than your own  .

588

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... the whys and wherefores of NoSQL

« Last post by barney on June 19, 2012, 08:18 AM »

Ouch  !  That raises more questions than it answers.

OK, I recognize that NoSQL is not No SQL, although I do wish it had been given a better cognomen.  That much, I knew.  What I don't know, as a jump-off point [ferinstance], is when to consider such a database.  Another question would be, "Just how many such entities are there?"  (Ath's link quoted four (4) by way of example.)  Do I roll my own?  Where can I find guidelines, summaries, comparisons:  I need to know, should I adopt such an approach, which database(s) would best fit my purposes.

It strikes me that the database arena is becoming as forked as the *nix arena, with every element having its own fan base, and no consensus, much less clear choice.

[Sidebar.  This topic has come about because of a school for which I do some pro bono publico work.  The administrator for my area asked me about NoSQL, whether it would hold any practical advantage for the school.  Since the work is local to the school, I'd think not, but I told her I would do some research.  So far, that research has revealed a morass, no real organization/definition at all.]

589

General Software Discussion / In search of ... the whys and wherefores of NoSQL

« Last post by barney on June 19, 2012, 12:47 AM »

Apparently I'm dimmer than usual tonight.  Just started reading about NoSQL databases (been intending to for a while, but life keeps getting in the way ), and I just don't get it  .

For instance, this statement

NoSQL operations may be implemented over these APIs:
     • SQLQuery - allows querying a space using a SQL-like
        syntax and regular expressions ...

near drives me to distraction.  SQL-like syntax?  Why would I want to learn another SQL syntax  ?  And if it's NoSQL, what is this SQL-like syntax API doing there  ?

I'm confused.  I'm really confused  .

590

Living Room / Re: It Pays To Read License Agreements (7 Years Later)

« Last post by barney on June 17, 2012, 03:28 PM »

Hm-m-m ... I've seen that discussion a few different places.  The automatic assumption is that if no one applied for the largess, no one read the EULA.  That is a false assumption.  I've run across a few of those in the past.  Not all monetary, but promising some supposedly tempting reward if ya responded.  It was never worth my time to respond.

Hey, you'll give me a thousand bucks if I tell you I read your EULA?  Yeah.  Right!  I believe that, I really do  .  And I'm gonna jump right on it.  As soon as I have time.  Maybe next decade.

Gambling on human greed is supposed to be a safe bet, but experience dictates that we're not all as greedy as the gamblers would, or would have us, believe.  Between a [personally observed] diminution of that greed level, an ignored degree of disbelief, and a convenience/inconvenience/time element, I cannot buy this particular methodology as a valid test.  Too many unknown - unknowable, in fact - variables.  The assumptions made are statistically unwarranted based upon the test performed.  All it's good for is an argument in a bar somewhere  .

591

Finished Programs / Re: SOLVED: Suspend and resume network activity

« Last post by barney on June 15, 2012, 01:20 AM »

Internet Off might do what you want.

The advantage of this tool is that it lets you quickly turn off (and on) your internet connection from system tray. When you go offline all those distractions disappear. There's no Twitter, no chat, no web, only you and your tasks.

InternetOff can be downloaded from developer’s site here. It supports Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 (both 32 and 64bit)

I've had no opportunity to test it, but if it performs as advertised, it should do what you want.

Addendum:  here is another review.

592

General Software Discussion / Re: Go Back

« Last post by barney on June 14, 2012, 09:51 PM »

Don't know of anything extant for the desktop, but I've used breadcrumb navigation on several websites, so it should be something that AHK or AutoIt could handle  .

593

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... opinions on code snippet libraries

« Last post by barney on June 14, 2012, 09:00 PM »

Cherrytree comes with several different color schemes ...

-robinsiebler (June 14, 2012, 08:16 PM)

Yeah, I saw that.  But it wouldn't let me change the color scheme while using code highlighting.  Maybe more there than I've seen, I've only spent ~half an hour with it so far.  Still testing.

594

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... opinions on code snippet libraries

« Last post by barney on June 14, 2012, 07:14 PM »

What I seek is more a hint file than library - prolly shouldn't have used that term  .

I've long maintained a list of code snippets - not libraries or plug-ins - that I can cut and paste into what I might be doing at the moment.  Or, perhaps, I need a reminder of the syntax for a particular command, complete with all the possible qualifiers.  Basic laziness, for the most part, but once in a while exact syntax matters.

For instance, there is a script that is useful for debugging JavaScript errors.  With gbCodeLib, I just find that particular error handler, copy the script, paste it as needed.  It's generic, so no need to edit.

Other JS might need to have certain values edited, but it's easier to edit appropriate values than to try to remember the exact syntax.  For instance, there is a JS script for handling a calendar by month.  It's 109 lines.  I won't remember 109 lines  .

Right now, for portability, this is all in a text file, but traversing that file is inefficient and time-consuming at best.  Putting it into CintaNotes is only marginally better.  So I'm looking for a tool, preferably portable, that is designed for the purpose of storing, cataloging, tagging, and searching these code snippets.

(I did look at CherryTree, but my eyes don't deal well with text on a black background.  It's a viable alternative, but difficult [for me] to use, so I'm hoping for something better.)

595

Living Room / Re: FOI Documents Show TOR Undernet Beyond the Reach of the Federal Investigators

« Last post by barney on June 13, 2012, 11:59 PM »

It's all about "Protect & Serve".

-IainB (June 13, 2012, 07:26 PM)

Shouldn't that be, "Protect & Service?"  (After all, they do wanna protect what they're screwin' ... so they can do it again  .)

596

Developer's Corner / Re: Help me think of a small ipad app idea to code

« Last post by barney on June 13, 2012, 11:48 PM »

Baby Daughter has an iPhone ... complains that the movie apps available don't much suit her (don't know why, but suspect it's locational ... she wants to know what's playing here not what's being currently released).  Might be worth a look ... movies for a certain ZIP/locale, city, maybe even particular theatre conglomerate.  Just a thought.

(Yeah, I know it's not an iPad, but the basics are, to the best of my knowledge, the same.  Only difference is screen size  .)

597

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... opinions on code snippet libraries

« Last post by barney on June 13, 2012, 11:52 AM »

I prefer version controlled libraries to code snippets, I haven't used any for years, should I?

-justice (June 13, 2012, 05:16 AM)

I suspect that's as much a matter of taste as of circumstance.  If you're in a fixed [spatial] position, or can rely upon always having network access, a VCS could work, especially if you're part of a team.  However, if you're solo, hopping around, frequently lack Internet access, then something on a stick would be a bit more tenable.

598

General Software Discussion / In search of ... opinions on code snippet libraries

« Last post by barney on June 12, 2012, 11:32 PM »

Folk,

I've been using gbCodeLib for a while now, but I cannot help but wonder if there might not be something else.  It works well enough, but it's not portable.  So I'm wondering what, if anything, the rest of you prefer - and why, of course  .  Portability would be important, but not necessarily a killer.  Yeah, I could find any number via search, but I really don't want to go through eleventy-seven programs when I can find more appropriate - and effective -   opinions here  .  

Edit:  nice to have pre-populated stuff, but mostly for mine own devises  .

599

Living Room / Re: In search of ... name of an old TV series

« Last post by barney on June 12, 2012, 12:33 AM »

4wd wins the gold cigar!  Dunno how yer gonna light it, though   .

Yep, Whrlybirds was the old black-and-white show I disremembered.  However, I have fond memories of Renegade's series Airwolf, as well.  If memory serves - though demonstrably it does not - Blue Thunder referred to both a chopper flick and a boating series.  The TV series with the boat had Hulk Hogan as the leading man.  He was a halfway decent actor, but he'd been a professional wrestler for a long, long time, so he had lotsa training  .

Edit

The Hulk Hogan series was Thunder in Paradise, Blue Thunder was a TV series modeled after the movie.

600

Living Room / In search of ... name of an old TV series

« Last post by barney on June 11, 2012, 11:47 PM »

Folk,

Back [way back] in my younger days there was a TV series about a couple of helicopter pilots who had a training school.  I've been trying to recall the name, but now my long-term memory is playing me false  .  The series ran concurrently with Sea Hunt starring Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson, if that helps to spur a thought.  The 'copter show normally featured the stars in a Bell bubble chopper.  I'm trying to recall the names of the protagonists, as well as possibly find reruns.

'Preciate any remembrances.