Recent Posts

6076

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 08:16 AM »

Perhaps at some point (when is the comp closinganyway?) there should be a collection of the banners and a vote?

6077

Living Room / Re: Hilarious spoof ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2006, 07:02 AM »

Just found another spoof - unfortunately they have been forced to remove the sound but it still has some amusement value with the subtitles

http://eclectech.co.uk/gullible.php

6078

UrlSnooper / Re: Any plans to crack Flash binary URLs

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 13, 2006, 09:48 PM »

OK I have given it a go on the James Blunt spoof.

It works like this ...

First find the file containing the video (you can use URL Snooper for that) and download it (you can probably use anything you like for that - I used Streambox).

Run Hugflash and a tiny window opens and just says "waiting".

Drop the file on and it readsthe file looking for audio and video streams. If it finds them it will output separate audio and video files (by default AVI and MP3) which you can then run through a program (free TMPGEnc should do it if you want MPEG otherwise any video tool that can combine audio and video as separate streams) to remux the streams and produce a useable video.

Seems to work fine.

Couple of points:

1) the UI is in a mixture of Japanese and English and is not eactly easy to understand - but since it seems to work quite well without fiddling with the settings it can be used in a very basic mode easily.

2) it requires no installing - just unpack the zip file (it is alreadyin a folder) and just double click the app.

3) All documentation and the user forum are in Japanese - and google does not perform an intelligible translation.

4) The archive is in LZH format - WinRAR can unpack it.

Have fun - maybe we could contact the author and get an English (or other langs too) translation of the UI and documentation if we can find someone who speaks both languages.

6079

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 13, 2006, 07:56 PM »

Shed - that's the one for me ... I'm hooked.

The graphics are great but the printing is a little unclear, can you sharpen it up a bit?

Can I get my avatar in on the act too? Pretty please LOL

6080

Living Room / Re: Too Funny

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 13, 2006, 07:53 PM »

I knew someone once who folded a 5.25" floppy 'cos it dodn't fit in the 3.5" drive  .

It isn't made up - I had to take the thing apart to extract the offending item.

6081

Living Room / Fame at last

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 13, 2006, 07:49 PM »

Hey guess what ... http://www.us.imdb.com/name/nm1468818/

not to mention http://www.us.imdb.com/name/nm0610056/

6082

Living Room / Re: Madness is contagious!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 13, 2006, 05:48 PM »

Sorry can't listen to Barber without weeping ...

Just got back from a concert conducted by Valery Gergiev. Shostakovitch Symphony number 8.

Never heard it live before but Gergiev manages to rip the heart from you and stamp all over it. Absolutely wonderful evening!

6083

UrlSnooper / Re: Any plans to crack Flash binary URLs

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 13, 2006, 06:17 AM »

See http://www.forest.im.../flash/hugflash.html for details

Have you tried it? Does it install an English interface or is it just Japanese? Any Japanese visitors able to translate to English?

6084

General Software Discussion / Re: video editing software

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 13, 2006, 05:47 AM »

Carol, i'm very interested to why you think Vegas 6 is better than Adobe Premier. this isn't to start an argument with you, i'd just like to know what your thoughts are.

currently, i'm using Adobe Premier 2 (not very often i admit) and the only thing i'll say about it is - where are the codecs? it seems to have removed itself from being an all purpose encoder (not that it ever was 'all' purpose really) and is now strictly aiming for DV and mpeg encoding. maybe i've missed something with it but i would have thought divx, xvid, blah, blah would be built in by now.

i've played with vegas in the past - looked pretty intuitive and had a nice set of features - i just left it alone because i thought 'you've got to use Premier if you are serious'.

anyway, what are the bits about vegas you like and the bits about premier you don't, Carol?

-nudone (May 13, 2006, 01:13 AM)

I have to confess I haven't used Premier since Premier 6, and I'd guess that if you have CS2 then it has probably improved a lot.

I used AP6 because I got it free with my captur card but never really got on with it. For one thing it didn't seem very stable to me - you'd be halfway through something and it shut down without an error or anything. It also didn't feel very intuitive. Don't get me wrong it was a capable bit of kit and with the addition of realtime rendered previews in subsequent versions I am sure it has only got better. The other disadvantage is that if you want to add lots of special effects you have to buy AfterEffects which is as exensive as the original package (or a lot more if you buy the Pro version).

Because it was a freebie and I didn't like it too much I tried two other package - CineStream (now Media100) and the other Video Vegas 3 (as it was at the time) and finally settled on Vegas 3. It was so much more intuitive to use for me and seemed to do everything the other packages could do.

Now in Vegas 6 it is so slick and easy to use, plus the version I got comes with DVD Architect 3 which is worth having on its own if you like to make DVDs.

I suppose at the end of the day it is what you get used to but I can't see anything in Premier that can't be done in Vegas and I much prefer the Vegas interface. Check out the demo version (just download it and install it and it runs for 30 days in trial mode). You can download all corrent versions from http://download.sony...oftware.com/current/

6085

Living Room / Reinstalling Windows XP ... how big is yours?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 12, 2006, 06:23 PM »

I have spent the last couple of days clean installing Windows and software applications.

I am astonished to see how much disc space I have got installed ...

So far the installation takes up 23.9Gb of disc space. That includes 512Mb of page file but there is no hibernation file and no data (except a few temporary files) as all the data is stored on a separate hard disc. Not finished by any means though ... (note lack of DC stuff at the mo, for example - no slight intended just haven't got that far yet) ...

The odd thing is I haven't install huge numbers of programs, but they have all been full installs when I have had the option, so I could have saved some space on clipart etc.

Here is my list so far (you can tell where dosh has been going from this list - though not much of it in recent months!):

Major Apps/Suites:

• Microsoft Office XP Pro (incl. Frontpage and Publisher) (upgrade version from previous freebie)
• SmartDraw Suite 7
• Mathtype 5 Equation Editor (plugin for Office and standalone version)
• Adobe Creative Suite CS2 Premium (Ed. version)
• Visual Studio 2005 Standard Ed (freebie) + MSDN Library (documentation)
• Finale 2006 Notation Music (upgrade from previous ed. version)
• NOD32 Anti Virus & Outpost Firewall Pro
• Sound Forge 8 + CD Architect 5.2 (upgrade from cheap version)
• Vegas 6 + DVD Architect 3 + free Boris plugins (upgrade from 4 year v. 3)
• Nero 7 Premium (just the burning apps - none of the extras)
• ACDSee Pro/FotoSlate/Foto Editor

Extra small utilities/essentials:

• Firefox (+ a few extensions)
• RoboForm
• BookmarkBuddy
• Directory Opus
• Creative Audigy related software
• Canon Scanner and Printer related software
• Yahoo & MSN Messengers (sorry gone off Miranda- I find the connections more stable with these clients and I don't use other protocols)
• iTunes
• QuickTime
• RealPlayer
• Acronis TrueImage and DiscDirector
• TweakUI
• POPfile + Outclass (spam filtering for Outlook)
• Unlocker
• Surfulator + NetSnippets
• PerfectDisc

OK it isn't exhaustive but it takes a lot of space!!!

How big is your fresh install?

6086

General Software Discussion / Re: video editing software

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 12, 2006, 06:01 PM »

The Vegas software family is really great if you want to put together videos. Vegas 6 outclasses Adobe Premier (IMHO).

I've not tried the 'consumer' products but if they do 10% of Vegas 6 then I'd say they are worth a look.

See http://www.sonymedia...ucts/vegasfamily.asp for details.

6087

General Software Discussion / Re: Free Visual Studio 2005

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 12, 2006, 03:02 PM »

Oo err ...

Just arrived in the post.

It cost me (well my mum actually) CAD$28 (about £12 in the UK) to post as there is a hefty 500 page book thrown in too called Moving to ASP.NET 2.0 which provides an introduction (and is excerpted from ASP.NET 2.0 Core Reference).

Full versions of all the programming languages but doesn't include the full SQL (it uses SQL Express) and doesn't come with team programming stuff or FoxPro. Also includes a complete MSDN library (but no updates to the library ... but you can read it online anyway).

There is also a free exam voucher (valid world wide) if you want to do MCP exams in "MS .NET Framework 2.0 - Web-based Client Development"

Not bad for a freebie - and for US/Canadian customers there is a coupon for $400 off an MSN Professional subscription.

6088

Living Room / Re: Anyone actually use rewriteable media?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 11, 2006, 12:16 PM »

I would have thought on the basis of what Scott said that almost all future optical drives can only get worse as they pack more and more info into the same area.

Having said that I don't really see a big problem (personally) with CD-R, DVD-R or DVD-RW. The only type I have had problems with is CD-RW and that is mainly because of buggy software from Roxio and Nero as far as I can tell. Nero allows discs to be verified at the end of writing which is great (too many burning packages don't) and so the handful of coasters (and it is really only a few out of hundreds burned over the last 5 years) have been spotted instantly. Touch wood (... thumps head ...) I haven't had problems reading discs at a later date once they have been verified after the initial burn.

6089

General Software Discussion / Free Windows XP front end for IP Config

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 11, 2006, 07:11 AM »

OK it doesn't do very much but it is handier than having to run IPconfig from the command line and try to remember all the switches.

http://techrepublic....6364.html?tag=search

Check out the readme for instructions.

6090

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 11, 2006, 06:26 AM »

Hmm .. this is what I read (in LangList) ....

$999 Virtual Server Product Now Free!
Fred: Now that Microsoft has released its Virtual Server for free, I was wondering if you have any tips about setting it up and using it, since you use it and like it. Thanks!  ---BBentley

The Microsoft Virtual Server is a more-refined successor to the "Virtual PC" product I've written about in the past--- and that I still use regularly for software testing. It lets me try out potentially dangerous tweaks and changes without risking my main PC or having to set up a second, stand-alone system. In fact, VPC technology is so good that I've been able to steadily reduce the number of PCs here in my office. Where before I used to have a large number of multi-boot machines for different versions of Windows and Linux, I'm more and more able to run everything I need on virtualized PCs inside my main system. It's wonderfully convenient--- and saves energy and space, as well.

The VPC software used to cost $50; the Virtual Server cost as much as $999. Now it's free: http://www.microsoft...lserver/default.mspx

VPC info, much of which still applies to the now-free Virtual Server product:
http://search.atomz....=0008002a-sp00000000

Why is Microsoft doing this? It's not charity, of course. <g> They're under intense pressure from "VMware," whose product has some advantages; and whose free "virtual appliances" are revolutionizing the distribution of software and entire OSes. If you thought a plug-and-play "Live CD" version of Linux was cool, wait until you try a Linux appliance--- a complete virtualized Linux PC, already set up and ready to use--- that runs entirely within your current operating system, and free! http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/

The virtualization battle is heating up, and we'll all benefit from the competition!

6091

General Software Discussion / MS Virtual Server 2005 free !!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 11, 2006, 04:59 AM »

MS have moved on from VirtualPC to Virtual Server 2005 and what's more they have made it free (it used to be quite expensive).

Presumably this in response to VMWare's idea to give away free virtual appliances (pre built installations of Linux and others for use in VMWare Player).

Whatever it is certainly good value for money ...

http://www.microsoft...lserver/default.mspx

I wonder how VMWare will respond to this?

6092

Living Room / Re: Anyone actually use rewriteable media?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 10, 2006, 02:55 PM »

Which is kind of my point, except for the reformatting part. If you are just using a CD-RW like a CD-R, why bother with it - why not just use CD-R? The ability to re-use disks by reformatting is a plus, but traditionally I want to be able to add to and delete from a removable disk as I go, like the floppys and zip disks I used to use with such ease. I've got a thumb drive now, and it works great, but size is an issue and it's pretty expensive on a per MB basis.

You can with CD-RW??? Just use multisession writing (ie. don't finalise the disc between sessions).

6093

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommendations for form creation software?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 10, 2006, 11:06 AM »

How about http://www.ez-forms.com/index.html (never tried it but there is a free trial version)

Also http://www.colorpilo...dfmaker_example.html might be worth a look

6094

General Software Discussion / Re: Saving data in fields in pdf forms

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 09, 2006, 06:59 PM »

JawsPDF Editor is pretty good too - see http://www.jawspdf.c...pdf_editor/cost.html (there is a special offer on at the mo) though check out it does what you want (http://www.jawspdf.c...df_editor/index.html) first - it is a long time since I used that one!

6095

General Software Discussion / Re: Tons of Windows Tweaks/Tools

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 09, 2006, 06:56 PM »

Absolutely ... it is a gem of a site - I'm sure it must have been mentioned more than that!

6096

General Software Discussion / Re: Saving data in fields in pdf forms

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 09, 2006, 06:04 PM »

Yes do I'll see if I can do anything with it ...

but you are right there is nothing in the help file about setting restrictions unless you apply passwords to the file.

6097

General Software Discussion / Re: Saving data in fields in pdf forms

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 09, 2006, 04:22 PM »

Restrictions are usually in Document Properties (try the file menu). Should be in the security tab.

6098

General Software Discussion / Re: Saving data in fields in pdf forms

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 09, 2006, 12:33 PM »

This is taken from the Acrobat 7 Pro help file:



so I'd guess it is to do with the way the original PDF is generated.

One thing you may be able to do is use another PDF generator to 'print' the filled form to a new PDF file.

I have lost track of which free programs are out there to do that but if you don't mind buying something Universal Document Converter will do it and has the advantage that you can 'print' to all sorts of graphic files (including JPEG, TIFF, GIF and BMP as well as PDF). See http://www.print-driver.com for details. It isn't free but it is good and there is a watermarked demo version if you want to try it out.

6099

Living Room / Re: Madness is contagious!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 09, 2006, 03:21 AM »

Yes I agree Beethoven was the kiddie

Having said that whilst Mozart is less obviously innovative to the modern ear if you look at what he produced in his short and troubled life it is truly astonishing, and if you compare what he did to what came before it is even more amazing as he was so innovative. When you also consider that he seemed to compose in his head and then just write it down .... (usually just one copy with very few corrections) whereas Beethoven's music often took many years to reach completion.

The trouble is it is difficult to look at these things with hindsight.

6100

Living Room / Re: Search DonationCoder from Firefox!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 08, 2006, 06:48 PM »

I learned that lesson a while ago - everytime I find something new I discover at least three people have already posted about it. Still just goes to show what a great place to be this is