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6301
Living Room / Re: All-In-One Multi-Touch Computers - Thoughts?
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 02:53 PM »


40hz - Thanks for the pricing from that you quoted; I shall review those now.   :)

Thanks!

Jim

You're welcome. It took about three minutes.  ;D

On a more serious note though, do some shopping. Look at the chipset, the graphics and do a mix and match to get exactly what you're looking for if you do go with a desktop. That's why you buy a desktop: to get exactly what you want. (A quick and dirty spreadsheet helps.)

If you want to cut into the saving differential between that all in one and a desktop, consider upgrading the video since she likes games. There's some excellent inexpensive graphics cards that can do wonders. How much you'd need would be determined by the games she'll play.

FWIW, with the games I play I've found the Intel built-in with an i5 CPU chip on the board is more than I need.
6302
Living Room / Re: Google Ends Privacy
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 02:41 PM »
It's hard for me to get worked up about these privacy issues.. I'm not sure why, they just don't seem to bother me.

Possibly because you've already ceded the point to those who don't seem to see what 'your problem' would be with what they're doing either?  ;)

Not a problem. They're glad to see you've finally come around to not being bothered by it. ;D

I think we're all too quickly approaching this way of thinking:

I don't know what will happen, but this seems the time for the big government people to make their push. Their framework is now in place, and their time to act is coming. If they allow another election they know and so does everyone else they will lose their power. This cannot be allowed to happen in their eyes. They have the food prices were they need them. They have the money supply were they need it. They have all the federal agencies they need in place. They have the schools. They have mainstream media in their pocket. And the biggest of all they have the people who believe in the constitution against the wall, and isolated.

(taken from R. Horn's tongue-in-cheek Countering Rules for Radicals)

 :(

6303
Living Room / Re: Google Ends Privacy
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 02:37 PM »
Since when was it a problem for companies who provide you with multiple services to know what services they provide you with and use/consolidate that information in their efforts to provide you service? It's actually quite convenient e.g. for my bank to let me access information about all my accounts at once, including facilitating transfers from one of my accounts to another.

Do you feel the same way about Google providing you with different search results based on what they think you're looking for - or more accurately, what they think you should look at first?

Because that's what they now do.

 :)

6304
Living Room / Re: I came to a conclusion this morning...
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 02:34 PM »
I wished a friend a happy b-day on FB, and he replied that he'd totally forgotten about it. That tends to happen once you no longer love turning another year older. :D

I'm not that old (or so I keep insisting) and I've long since lost the love of turning another year older. I don't usually completely space my birthday but perhaps that's because, like your friend, someone will remind me. I'll tell you though, I've had a hard time keeping track of my age since I was 19.

That might be a symptom of thinking you're secretly immortal - or at least not truly believeing you aren't.

Funny thing about holidays, birthdays, and serendips...

When you're younger, you tend to breeze by them. Christmas parties? I'll pass. My birthday? Who cares?

But as you get older (and I don't mean standing at Death's door) it suddenly dawns on you one day that there's a significantly smaller number of them before you than there are behind you. And you now realize on a very deep and personal, rather than a purely intellectual level, that they will be coming to an end much sooner than you originally thought. At which point, they all become much more precious.

When you're flush, you tend not to count your change. When you're down to your last $1000, you look at calendars  - and start watching every penny.

Maybe that's one of the reasons why, as people get older, they appear more "sentimental" or maudlin to those who still haven't realized (on a gut level) that they really won't be living forever. As in: really... won't...be.

It's not so much older people get sentimental. It's more like they've just been...humbled by the realization that nothing is going to last forever. Not even them.

And once that happens, you tend to "lighten up."  ;D

tookcare.jpg

 :Thmbsup:


6305
Living Room / Re: I came to a conclusion this morning...
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 01:56 PM »
I'm not *that* old. And I try to keep fairly active. Even so, it's annoying to stretch after sitting for a few hours, and something in my shoulders and neck makes a sound like an old mechanical music box being wound up followed shortly after by a 'pop' best described as the sound a deadbolt makes when it's unlatched.

you need Gokhale and more (same thread) ;-)

I definitely need something. I've been told it's the result of muscular tension brought on by stress.

Since I'm usually a fairly calm individual - and feel that way - I suspect I've become a master at subconsciously pushing it all down. And it's now reaching critical mass.

Thanks for the links. I'll be sure to check them out. :)

6306
Living Room / Re: All-In-One Multi-Touch Computers - Thoughts?
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 01:44 PM »
Can't ask her because of

I don't know.. does seem like if the computer is for her you might at least try to ask her if she would prefer a laptop or a desktop.  if you know you are going to get a desktop, then there is no real harm in getting an all-in-one touch screen pc for her -- for the extra bucks it seems like you might as well, for your planned use.  but what 40hz says about a laptop being a better fit for many people is really true, so i wouldn't dismiss that choice.. a laptop is after all the ultimate all-in-one.



I agree with Mouser on involving her. If she doesn't think she needs it, she's gonna be pissed at you whether you ask her first or just show up with a box someday. So ... ;D

And regarding maintenance:

the last one I worked on was a total nightmare to even get into the thing. It actually took two people and a full day to change the F'ing video card.

Ok...that's good enough for 40hz. Stoic's high on my list of reliable sources. And no slouch when it comes to rolling up sleeves. If he says it's a total nightmare - it's a total nightmare.

Count me out if one of these things ever breaks. (Sez 40hz, who is indulging in pure wishful thinking here. ;D )



6307
Living Room / Re: All-In-One Multi-Touch Computers - Thoughts?
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 01:33 PM »
Just ran a quick rundown to configure a similar machine...

Acer AM3910-UR30P (PT.SDXP2.001) Desktop PC Intel Core i3 540(3.06GHz) 2GB DDR3 500GB HDD Capacity Intel HD Graphics Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit @ $360 (link)

All-in-one has the newer chipset - but for what your lady is going to be doing, it shouldn't matter.

Add in an additional 2GB DDR3 RAM to bring it to 4 total to match the spec @$25 (approx)

ASUS VS Series VS247H-P Black 23.6" 2ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000000:1 (ASCR) @$185 (link)

So $360+25+185 = $570 vs $799 for a total savings of $229. And that's without even checking for specials or seeing if any additional package deals or discounts are available. Yoiks!

So basically, it comes down to deciding if the form factor and touch capability are worth the price differential.

If you really have your heart set on a touchscreen - it's probably already a moot issue. So maybe an all-in-one is where you want to go based on this particular 'client' you're working with. ;D

Note: I'd definitely get the longest extended warranty they offer if you do decide to go down that road however. :tellme:

Luck! :Thmbsup:

----

On a related note: I'd also love to hear from anybody who has ever had the pleasure of cracking the case on one of these StarTrek boxes. Anybody? Anybody?

6308
Living Room / Re: Google Ends Privacy
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 01:06 PM »
Hasn't Google recently started force-registering you for GMail and Google+ as a condition of creating any new account? (Link here.)

New Google Accounts Require Gmail and Google+

If you try to create a Google account from Google's homepage, you'll notice that Google redesigned the page, but that's not all. You'll now have to create a Gmail account, a Google Profile and you'll automatically join Google+.

Until now, creating a Google account was quite simple. You could either use an existing email address or create a Gmail account. The redesigned form includes new fields: name, gender (required for Google+) and mobile phone number (not required).

They've definitely taken away any anonymity you used to have. And by shoving you into G+, it's also become fairly easy to loose a great deal of privacy if you're not careful.

Jive move Google! When are you merging with Facebook? :down: >:(

6309
Living Room / Re: I came to a conclusion this morning...
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 12:54 PM »
you no longer love turning another year older
Sure beats the alternative!  :)
-cranioscopical (January 25, 2012, 09:59 AM)

Truer words were never spoken.  ;D


This sentence is false.

;)

(Sorry -- couldn't resist.)

But you should sometimes. You really should.  :P

(Kidding... ;))
6310
General Software Discussion / Re: MIDI pass-through for VMware, how?
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 12:50 PM »
Oh man SB! Only you! Only you... ;D

6311
Living Room / Re: All-In-One Multi-Touch Computers - Thoughts?
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 12:38 PM »
I have a few clients that opted for all-in-ones for high visibility locations such as the front lobby reception desk or security guard's kiosk.

They've generally been ok. A little pricey for what you get in the tin, but that's the tariff you pay for pretty packaging. Just remember - it's a non-standard form factor. So any hardware maintenance you may someday need to do will be a headache at best - or a depot repair at worst. So far I haven't had to crack one of these puppies open to do anything. But I dread the day when I might.

Asus has been a reliable brand in my experience. Better than some Dell models and no argument about it. I've also had good luck with eMachines/Gateway and Acer - which is my current preference if you're on a tight budget.

When my  GF went shopping for a new machine, (actually, she only went out to pick up a copy of Windows 7 to upgrade her XP machine) she looked at the all-in-ones and desktops while she was there. She came home with an "on sale" Acer 17" laptop with Windows 7 installed. The price she got was exceptionally good so it was a very cost effective decision. As she described it: I think I bought a copy of the "new Windows" and they threw in this i3 laptop for a hundred bucks. (Now you know why we always have her do the shopping when we need a new car!)

She doesn't take her new toy anywhere. It's permanently enshrined on her desk. She refers to it as her "rolltop" PC. As far as she's concerned, the lid is like the rolltop on a desk. It keeps things neat and out of sight (she hates cables with a passion bordering on mania) - plus she no longer has to dust her screen or keyboard every so often. (Big big big plus that part!)

Before I'd go with a unibox I'd definitely think about getting her a big screen laptop instead. They're cheaper and more powerful so you get a much better 'bang for the buck' ratio. And you're no worse off hassle-wise than you'd be with an all-in-one if something inside it breaks.

lady-on-laptop.jpg

Plus, the ladies (most from my observations anyway) seem to prefer laptops over desktop PCs. Take that with a dram of whiskey however. Because no two (ladies or computers) are ever exactly alike.

 8)

6312
Living Room / Re: I came to a conclusion this morning...
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 10:27 AM »
you no longer love turning another year older
Sure beats the alternative!  :)
-cranioscopical (January 25, 2012, 09:59 AM)

Truer words were never spoken.  ;D
6313
Living Room / Re: SOPA Shelved - ACTA is Worse
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 09:15 AM »

(Or maybe I'm just swallowing the bait.)


Hmm...you think maybe? ;D


6314
Living Room / Re: I came to a conclusion this morning...
« Last post by 40hz on January 25, 2012, 09:05 AM »
I'm not *that* old. And I try to keep fairly active. Even so, it's annoying to stretch after sitting for a few hours, and something in my shoulders and neck makes a sound like an old mechanical music box being wound up followed shortly after by a 'pop' best described as the sound a deadbolt makes when it's unlatched.

Used to scare the hell out of me until I conditioned myself to stop worrying about it.  ;D

6315
General Software Discussion / Re: Software Uninstallers
« Last post by 40hz on January 24, 2012, 06:36 PM »
It would be so much better if Windows adopted something along the lines of BSD's 'ports' methodology.  8)
6316
Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post
« Last post by 40hz on January 24, 2012, 06:30 PM »
Congrats SJ! Da man! :Thmbsup:
6317
General Software Discussion / Re: EXACT duplicate photo file finder
« Last post by 40hz on January 24, 2012, 02:07 PM »
@crabby3 - Woo-hoo! I see your recommendation made it into the forum! :up:

I took a minute to download your suggestion and plan on giving it a try this weekend. I have a large library of my sister's old digital artwork (she's a graphic designer) that I want to migrate off my servers and over to long-term storage. I know the folders are loaded with dups, so anything that can help reduce the number of extra images will be a godsend.

Thx for sharing.
6318
Living Room / Re: Anonymous to Attack Facebook
« Last post by 40hz on January 24, 2012, 01:46 PM »
Wait! my laser is fully charged ... you're telling me this thing is a fake!?  :P

Yes, aparently it's a Provocoteurd.

Seems like we need to be a bit more vigilant in looking for more false flags.




Which is why Anonymous needs to learn some strategies if they hope to succeed in their stated goals rather than just being a bur under the saddle of those in power.

Governments and entrenched power bases are designed to handle direct frontal assaults and most 'guerrilla' attacks.

And it's very easy to paint those who "break the law for a good cause" as common criminals. Or worse. Those who watched the movie Patriot Games may remember the scene where Dr. Ryan confronts the IRA spokesman and remarks how that's the problem with guerrilla attacks: "You claim responsibility for one thing...deny it for another. Nobody believes you anymore."

So getting into an arse-kicking contest with porcupine is not the smartest of moves.

If you really want to win, you have to change the thinking of the general public. And before you say it's not possible, look how successfully the people who engineered our current social mores succeeded when they shifted the mindset of America from an anti-establishment to a pro-establishment bias. It took Ronald Regan, a bunch of conservative TV hosts, economic prosperity, and another 15 years (plus one horrendous attack on American soil) to lock it in. But lock it in they did.

And that didn't happen because they kept sending in the cops. They quickly discovered that didn't work too well. Because underneath all of this is a very simple truth that can't really be logically proven. But it remains true just the same:

                   Nothing taken purely by force is ever kept.


Call it karma, 'the spirit of human history', advanced game theory, or whatever you want. The simple truth is: force and violence never create lasting or permanent gains.

So how to win a battle like this one? Educate people. Conquer hearts and minds. Show your opponents up for what they are. Preferably with a bit of humor, since abusive authority always withers in the face of laughter and scorn.


How do you do that? Very simple. You learn how.

Start here: Saul Alinski's Rules for Radicals.

The perfect book on how to fight against this sort of thinking  :

I don't know what will happen, but this seems the time for the big government people to make their push. Their framework is now in place, and their time to act is coming. If they allow another election they know and so does everyone else they will lose their power. This cannot be allowed to happen in their eyes. They have the food prices were they need them. They have the money supply were they need it. They have all the federal agencies they need in place. They have the schools. They have mainstream media in their pocket. And the biggest of all they have the people who believe in the constitution against the wall, and isolated.

(taken from R. Horn's tongue-in-cheek Countering Rules for Radicals)

 8)

6319
Living Room / Re: As a counter-point to the SOPA/PIPA demonstration
« Last post by 40hz on January 24, 2012, 09:31 AM »
Timing is everything.

Can you say "preemptive strike"???

6320
Living Room / Re: Anonymous to Attack Facebook
« Last post by 40hz on January 24, 2012, 07:19 AM »
Oooo...it's starting to really heat up!  :o

Time to learn about some 'games' that were popular back in the days of US President Richard M. Nixon and Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Hie thee cyber-tails over to Wikipedia, young Squires and learn ye the ways of this World...

Check out
:Black Flag and Agent Provocoteur.

One more reason to study history. It's the same old playbooks being used by the same old players. The only things different are the dates, the audience, and the venues.

As a wise old man (who used to be a wise young man) once said:

I wonder if it's still legal to quote this?
Won't Get Fooled Again (Lyrics)
Artist(Band):The Who


 
We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again

Change it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fall that's all
But the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?


There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss...


 8)
6321
Mouser's Zone / Re: How do I submit a freeware product for review?
« Last post by 40hz on January 23, 2012, 06:36 PM »
My pleasure. Always glad to see a new face around here. Sorry it was such a hassle for you first time out.  See ya round the campus!  Don't be a stranger.  :)

Addendum: just so you know, we're not restricted to freeware or FOSS here. If you're aware of something good, share it. Doesn't matter if it's a commercial product. They even encourage developers to drop by and toot their own horn as long as they're not making straight advertisement or spam posts. Got a few developers in our ranks already.

How cool is that? 8)
6322
Mouser's Zone / Re: How do I submit a freeware product for review?
« Last post by 40hz on January 23, 2012, 06:21 PM »
The forum uses BBCode. You can enter it raw following this. Or you can just use the editor and highlight what you want to link from and hit the little globe button up above. Paste your URL in the box provided. When the box closes, the appropriate tags will have been inserted automatically.

You can also just type something like: www.google.com and the forum will usually be smart enough to know it's a URL and take you there if you click it.

Note: Links display as blue text with no underline in the forum. Like the word 'this' up above.
6323
Living Room / Re: Can U Say Crap-O-Riffic??
« Last post by 40hz on January 23, 2012, 06:09 PM »
Cable? Controller fritzing? Mechanical/electrical differences between different drive models and manufacturers? (My guess.)
6324
Mouser's Zone / Re: How do I submit a freeware product for review?
« Last post by 40hz on January 23, 2012, 04:21 PM »
They don't. And I was only responding to your asking if it would be ok to just post a URL.

I can't answer that.

But there's nothing wrong with opening a new topic under General Software, writing a few words (no need to write a book) about something you want to share ( including maybe why people might be interested in it) and then including a link.

Lots of us have done that. And no permission or approvals are needed.

 :)



6325

Oddly enough, I am considering suggesting it for a client of mine (a property management company specialising in apartment block bodycorp administration) - along with Qiqqa. They have a huge library and a big DM (Document Management) problem, due to a lot of their output and company records being in .PDF format.

Must be the real property industry and it's relatives.  ;D

Mine is a mortgage broker service. Same deal with them. Tons of transmissions and scans. All in PDF.

Luck! :Thmbsup:

If I hear anything worth repeating I'll let you know.
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