Recent Posts

6051

Developer's Corner / Re: The Hunt for the Best CMS

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 07:29 PM »

(dont hate me Carol Wink)

No probs - it isn't me having to sort it out

6052

Backup Guide / Re: Good new Acronis TrueImage vs. Norton Ghost review

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 07:24 PM »

The reason I use both is because I can backup small individual sets of data with Genie on a scheduled basis. The plugins are also a godsend because you can automatically grab stuff that application writers decide to scatter to the four winds when saving settings, caches etc.

If I want to backup everything on a partition  I do either an incremental or differential image of the partition using TrueImage (which is quicker and easier to restore, esp. if if it is an active partition that needs special handling to restore properly).

For backing up a few folders TrueImage is pretty useless.

I hadn't noticed particular bugs in Genie. What have you found? Have you notified them on their forum? I would have thought they would respond quickly as buggy backup software quickly loses credibility.

6053

Living Room / Sun Java - going open source, but when and how?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 02:06 PM »

See http://news.zdnet.co...498.html?tag=nl.e589

Interesting idea after all the legal wranglings with MS!

6054

Living Room / Apple in the dock for iPod UI patent infringement !!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 02:04 PM »

Looks like there are going to be fun and game ;-)

I seem to remember a lot of "look'n'feel" cases brought by Apple in the 80s .... chickens coming home to roost now.


From the latest Windows IT Pro newsletter (subscribe at  http://list.windowsi...om/t?ctl=2A736:2DB06)



Creative Sues to Halt iPod Sales (by Paul Thurrott)

On Monday, MP3 maker Creative Technology sued Apple Computer for patent
infringement and asked the United States International Trade Commission
(ITC) to require Apple to stop selling its hugely successful iPod.
Creative is currently a distant second in the MP3 player market, which
Apple's iPod dominates. Creative is also seeking unspecified damages.

Creative reports that it applied for its so-called Zen patent in August
2005. The patent--nicknamed for Creative's Zen MP3 players--covers
"[Creative's] invention of the UI used by most portable digital-media
players," including Apple's iPod. Creative was a pioneer in the MP3
player market and was the first company to ship a hard-drive-based MP3
player.

"The iPods and iPod Nanos sold by Apple are specifically configured to
access and display music loaded by the user in ways that infringe the
asserted patent," Creative's complaint reads. Indeed, Apple's iPod UI
is suspiciously similar to the UI Creative used in its first hard-
drive-based player, the Nomad Jukebox, which shipped in January 2000,
almost two years before the first iPod launched.

According to Creative, Apple approached it in early 2001 to investigate
how the two companies could work together. Apple asked to license
Creative's technology and suggested that the companies spin off
Creative's MP3 player assets, but Creative declined both offers. In
October 2001, Apple launched the iPod line of MP3 players, which had a
slow start but began selling well about a year and a half later. The
iPod featured a Nomadlike UI but in a much smaller form factor.

6055

Living Room / Re: new alt.comp.freeware usenet thread with criticism of DonationCoder

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 11:38 AM »

This has been debated, as you say, a number of times now - how about considering a rebranding to stop the squabbling. You could, instead of using the emotive word "freeware", call it "free2registerware"  which tells people it is free but you need to register.

Or start a new trend - communityware - all you need to do to get free software is join a community for free!

6056

Backup Guide / Re: Good new Acronis TrueImage vs. Norton Ghost review

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 10:02 AM »

I use it for disc imaging and it works fine - certainly better than Norton Ghost (IMHO). For file backups I use Genie.

6057

Developer's Corner / Re: The Hunt for the Best CMS

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 10:01 AM »

pity

6058

Best Music Service / Re: tech crunch article comparing music services

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 10:00 AM »

Yes MP3 Explorer seems to be working now except that ordering is not available and previews don't find the files.

I'd guess they have been upgrading the server or else suffered some intrusion damage!

6059

Living Room / Re: Too Funny

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 09:53 AM »

Wouldn't the world be a poorer place without a bunch of idiots to make your day though 

6060

Developer's Corner / Re: The Hunt for the Best CMS

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 09:51 AM »

What happened to the integration project/competition that was started a while back?

6061

Screenshot Captor / Re: Capture window menus with autoscroll

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 05:13 AM »

I should also point out that SnagIt's Custom Scroll only scrolls from the current position to the bottom of the page so if you want the whole page you have to make sure you position the scroll bar at the top of the page. Having said that it could be quite useful just to capture the bit you want.

6062

Screenshot Captor / Re: Capture window menus with autoscroll

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 04:23 AM »

Doesn't help with SC but SnagIt can do it partially.

Provided the screen fits width ways you can capture a whole screen in SnagIt using Custom Scroll settings. The way it is implemented is you select the screen region (not the window) and then click on the scroll down button on the scroll bar. This can give the whole window scrolled vertically, including whatever parts of the screen you like.

For example (click thumbnail):



I deliberately chose an area of the screen that included the Firefox borders plus some extra desktop to see what happens when it tries to scroll vertically and area of the screen that can't scroll!

6063

Screenshot Captor / Re: Capture window menus with autoscroll

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 03:52 AM »

Sorry excuse me - I misread the original ...

Can they no be captured by using the timer to give you a chance to open the menu and then crop?

For example

6064

Site/Forum Features / Re: About the Prize Optimizer Used in Our Drawings

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 16, 2006, 03:14 AM »

LOL - try telling that to the south of England where there seems to be about as much water as Alice Springs these days !! Just a shame it doesn't have the same population!

6065

Living Room / Re: Fame at last

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 15, 2006, 06:00 PM »

Autographs supplied for only 1000 DC credits (allow 28 days for delivery - or longer if I am too busy collecting my Academy Awards ... or just can't be bothered dealing with little people)

6066

General Software Discussion / Re: MS Virtual Server 2005 free !!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 15, 2006, 05:45 PM »

Just spotted this on VMWare ...

http://vmware.rsc02....code=tco_uk_vmware_1

6067

Best Music Service / Re: tech crunch article comparing music services

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 15, 2006, 05:23 AM »

Interesting but I found this article published on 12th May

http://www.theregist..._uk_download_demand/

and I have certainly used the service since the techdirt article was published.

Also the BBC article was a response to that police investigation ...

Digg clocked this article at Reuters but what is said at Digg is supposition of what may happen as a result of Putin's declaration. Given that Putin only said it 3 days ago it is very unlikely that any law has been changed to affect AllofMP3 one way or the other at the moment. Of course they may be running scared.

If it goes it will be sad news but good while it lasted.

6068

Best Music Service / Re: tech crunch article comparing music services

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 15, 2006, 04:59 AM »

??? It says down for maintenance (which has happened before) - do you know differently?

Saw this (I can't find anything more recent on legal issues via websearches or on standard Newsfeeds - like Reuters) http://news.bbc.co.u...chnology/4328269.stm

6069

Official Announcements / Re: Contest - Make a new Banner for Website

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 06:43 PM »

The text looks better - but I think the row of avatars doesn't look so good.

The nice thing about the original was the fun way the avatars were integrated into the design - now it looks like a catalogue which gives it a more amateurish feel ... not that my avatar has that effect

Who's the model on the left? I'd volunteer my services but that would send people rushing away from the site rather than encourage them 

6070

Living Room / Re: Madness is contagious!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 03:10 PM »

You mean, he looks the kind of rough trade that appeals to bored tweedy ladies?

Only if you think I'm bored and tweedy ...

Just two things - life is too short to be bored, and I have never worn tweed in my life ... but yes he does look a bit rough and tumblish (wishful thinking )

6071

Screenshot Captor / Re: Updating the help file

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 01:13 PM »

You are a bit of a star - this must have been really tedious work for you to do, but it is appreciated.

6072

Living Room / Re: Madness is contagious!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 10:46 AM »

LOL _ great story! Oscar is one of those people who never fail to amuse (even if a lot of the stories are probably made up) but I'm not sure he would have been easy to deal with in person.

Was that the one they played on Radio 3 last Friday?

Not sure. My only criticism of the whole concert was I have never seen anyone look so uncomfortable in evening dress as Gergiev. He has the sort of appearance that means he looks really quite fanciable (in a Lady Chatterly sort of way) ... but he looks peculiar in a penguin suit!

See http://images-eu.ama...NIF6.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg for the best piccy of him ...

That by the way is by a long way the best recording of the Rite of Spring available today (IMHO) and I'd suspect it won't be surpassed until you can have 3D holographic dancers in your living room. Brutal and full of energy - with surprising melodies and textures I've never heard before from other conductors.

PS. I know Barber wrote other things - it was a bit of a joke 

6073

Living Room / Re: Hilarious spoof ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 10:40 AM »

Actually "Cold Comfort Farm" was made into a brilliant TV drama a few years back (I can't remember exactly but I think it was the BBC).

6074

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm Looking for a good Video Conversion app,must be able to convert real media

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 09:44 AM »

Don't seem to be able to download eo - the download pages are broken (at least I can't get anything other than an error). Looks quite good though.

6075

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm Looking for a good Video Conversion app,must be able to convert real med

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 08:58 AM »

I have used WinAVI Video Converter quite successfully to convert RealMedia files into other formats.

From the help file:

About WinAVI Video Converter

Powerful Video Converting software!
WinAVI Video Converter is an incredibly powerful and effective converting software program. It can convert video files from various formats with great stability. The possibilities are nearly endless with AVI, MPEG1/2/4, VCD/SVCD/DVD, DivX, XVid, ASF, WMV and even RM support and others. Also, it can support batch video files conversion of different video formats such as DVD, AVI, ASP, MOV, SWF, MPEG1, and MPEG2 all at the same time. In addition, WinAVI Video Converter can burn to VCD/SVCD/DVD. And best of all, it has a powerful video decompress/compress engine that can convert a whole AVI movie to DVD in just 90 minutes.

Easy to use
The interface of WinAVI Video Converter has been designed to be user-friendly and can be easily operated by anyone. All a user needs to do is click on the menu and all the options of the program are available to you. All conversions can be done easily and smoothly. WinAVI Video Converter is easy to use for the beginner as well as having advanced functions for the professional user. You can start to use it now and receive unlimited enjoyment from your digital life.

There are a few prerequisites (RealAlternative etc) so read the readme file for details.

I also found the author responsive when I had a problem ... the answer may be of use to you too ...

Here is my email correspondence:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Carol Haynes" <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2005 10:28 PM
> Subject: Form Post From Mozilla
>
>
> NAME=Carol Haynes
> [email protected]
> SUB=Weblink page missing
> DESCRIPTION=I have just downloaded WinAVI for a trail and clicked on
> RM on the main window.
>
> I get an error message which says: "No proper encode engine, do you
> want to download it now".
>
> If I click yes it goes to your website but the URL is unknown. The URL given
> is     http://www.winavi.co...ownload/HelixSDK.exe
>
> Could you point me to the correct page please.


Dear Carol Haynes
Thanks for your support of our software and your kindness cooperation! So sorry for the inconvenient what the product has given to you! Please install the HelixSDK from http://download.winavi.com/HelixSDK.exe and before you install it,please first
set a folder named for HelixSDK under \\WinAVI directory.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Take touch!
Sincerely!
Sunny!

Customer Service Dept.
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