Recent Posts

701

Living Room / Re: Why ebooks are bad for you

« Last post by Josh on June 12, 2011, 09:38 AM »

The device is still capable of tying personally identifiable information about you to the book, and remotely deleting or modifying it. There are no laws that I'm aware of that would keep Amazon, or any other company, from doing either of these things, or simply recording your behavior quietly, as the collected data awaits a sales opportunity or subpoena. Can't do this on a massive scale with physical books.

-doctorfrog (June 11, 2011, 11:29 PM)

There are outlets other than b&n and amazon for purchasing non-drm books.  And if one of them actually modified something on the device that you didn't purchase from them, that would be a very bad thing for them (and pretty stupid also, as most would have backups - or in the case of a couple of outlets you can re-download).

-wraith808 (June 12, 2011, 08:50 AM)

Which sites do you know of? I am always looking for some good non-drm sites to buy ebooks for my kindle.

702

Living Room / RANT: College textbooks - Why are they so *@(!ing expensive?

« Last post by Josh on June 11, 2011, 08:11 PM »

As a undergrad student pursuing a degree in Computer Networking, with follow up work in Systems Engineering for my graduate masters, I have often questioned why textbooks are so expensive. Is it the amount of research which goes into a textbook writing, is it that someone who writes a book, typically a professor, feels that their PhD or Masters warrants them being compensated at a certain dollar-level, for their studies?

Why do these books have to cost so much? When my introduction to computing book (I could not test out of this course which is why I had to take it) back in 2005 cost me $79.95 USD, I immediately began to question why.

Any insights?

703

Living Room / Re: Buy portal 2 on PS3, get free copy on steam

« Last post by Josh on June 10, 2011, 03:14 PM »

But how can you resist the cake!

704

Living Room / Re: Buy portal 2 on PS3, get free copy on steam

« Last post by Josh on June 10, 2011, 12:17 PM »

Portal 2 is now 29.99 for the PC on amazon.com

Source

Deozaan, this is aimed at you!

705

General Software Discussion / Re: Zenix is a "fun, fast, different" Linux distro!

« Last post by Josh on June 08, 2011, 07:49 AM »

I read the review, but it just didn't inspire me. It sounded like yet another "minimalistic, fast, blah blah blah" distro. The review wasn't remotely compelling for me. I didn't see anything that really said, "try this".

Post back and let me know if it's worth looking at.

-Renegade (June 08, 2011, 07:17 AM)

+1

706

Living Room / Re: Tablet Discussion - in the market to buy

« Last post by Josh on June 08, 2011, 07:48 AM »

TheQwerty

Thanks for the in depth reply. I realized that the droid tablet would have some issues with reading in the sun. However, with certain screen protectors, I can alleviate most of the glare issues for her. Other than that, I think this will serve very well as a laptop replacement since she can take it anywhere. She doesn't use any proprietary apps that require Windows right now. The only thing we use like that is Quicken and that can go on my daughters desktop under a separate login.

The USB connectivity is something I want her to have. While the PDMI is OK, I do not like having to buy custom cables to do basic things.

The only reason I might hold off is for the quad core tablets coming out shortly. But, I am likely going to bite the bullet and buy her one as her laptop screen is just about shot.

Thanks for the great reply!

707

Living Room / Re: Microsoft unveils new UI prototype - Windows 8?

« Last post by Josh on June 07, 2011, 08:56 PM »

Does anyone remember this from way back?

http://research.micr...cr/work/taskgallery/

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Living Room / Re: Tablet Discussion - in the market to buy

« Last post by Josh on June 07, 2011, 08:51 PM »

Deo, not sure if you realize this, but I am that homicidal, lying robot!

709

Living Room / Tablet Discussion - in the market to buy

« Last post by Josh on June 07, 2011, 02:38 PM »

To the community,

I seek your guidance, all knowing DoCo community. I am in the market to buy a tablet for my wife. As she is an avid reader, the tablet only makes sense. She has no real need for a full-fledged PC and a tablet will give her the mobility she requires since she loves to sit at a park and read. I do not want to get a dedicated e-reader as she does like small games (diner dash, freecell (yes the classic one), bejeweled, etc). With a tablet, she can do all of this without the need for a full laptop.

That said, I have some basic requirements I want for the tablet. I want it to be android and I want it to be 3.1. It must have a USB port (full sized + mini-usb would be a plus) and hdmi output would be a nice to have.

Now, I have looked at the xoom and I do not see any reason to go with that particular model since it really doesn't offer anything over the lower cost models. Now, I would like some feedback. Some models of tablets are shipping with 3.1 already. I am looking at the thrive and the acer iconia a500, currently.

Does anyone have any experience or info about tablets? I seek any and all information.

Thanks!

Josh (The forum clown)

710

Living Room / Re: Apple admits existence of MacDefender malware - Update planned

« Last post by Josh on June 01, 2011, 05:01 PM »

UPDATE:

The update released today has already been defeated by the makers of the original malware. As the saying goes...

"Anti-malware, yeah, theres an app for.....oh wait"

Source

711

General Software Discussion / Plants Vs Zombies - Android Version - Free Today, 31MAY2011, on Amazon App Store

« Last post by Josh on May 31, 2011, 01:36 PM »

That's right, the famous PvZ game is now available for free, today only, on the Amazon.com app store for android devices.

Source

712

General Software Discussion / Re: The Ribbon strikes again!

« Last post by Josh on May 26, 2011, 07:05 AM »

Josh reminded me of this one, so I shouldn't be too hard on the Ribbon:
 (see attachment in previous post)

-zridling (January 05, 2009, 02:22 AM)

April, is this you?

713

Living Room / Apple admits existence of MacDefender malware - Update planned

« Last post by Josh on May 25, 2011, 12:45 PM »

Apple is planning to release an update specifically designed to protect users against the MacDefender malware that has been circulating for the last couple of weeks. The update for Mac OS X will automatically find and remove the malware on an infected machine and also will warn users if another infection attempt is detected.

The planned update from Apple is a rare move by the company, whose users until quite recently haven't had to contend with much of a malware problem. The MacDefender scareware attack emerged in early May and is being used by attackers to trick users into downloading and installing a malicious application. Like other scareware attacks, MacDefender tells users that they have a piece of malware on their machine and they need to install MacDefender to help remedy the problem.

Of course, the download is malware itself and has the aim of stealing users' credit card information. Apple is telling concerned users that if they notice an infection attempt, they should try to close their browser or even force quit the application and then delete the installer.

Source

714

Living Room / Re: Wiki software with authentication

« Last post by Josh on May 25, 2011, 07:49 AM »

Question is, do those authentication modules allow you to assign privileges to users such as author, edit, etc?

715

Living Room / Wiki software with authentication

« Last post by Josh on May 25, 2011, 07:32 AM »

Does anyone here in the community know of a wiki package which requires authentication before editing articles, or before a change is published (admin-based approval)? I am looking to migrate a knowledge site I frequent from their manual page edits to a wiki for ease of administration and the above is a requirement.

716

DC Gamer Club / Re: Terraria

« Last post by Josh on May 22, 2011, 11:32 AM »

Does anyone know if there are plans for a demo of this?

-Lashiec (May 22, 2011, 11:21 AM)

+1. Rarely will I purchase a game without a demo first (Minus portal, death spank and defense grid)

717

DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Personal Messages

« Last post by Josh on May 21, 2011, 09:44 PM »

Happy to help!

718

DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Personal Messages

« Last post by Josh on May 21, 2011, 09:15 PM »

You don't see this?

719

DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Personal Messages

« Last post by Josh on May 21, 2011, 07:50 PM »

OR, hit the + next to the time/date in the upper right corner of the forum page, then select "X MESSAGES" where X is some number.

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DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Personal Messages

« Last post by Josh on May 21, 2011, 07:50 PM »

https://www.donation.../index.php?action=pm

721

Living Room / Re: DHCPV6 Server for Windows 7

« Last post by Josh on May 21, 2011, 04:14 PM »

To share out ipv6 addresses to my home network. I have a /56 and refuse to run ICS.

722

Living Room / DHCPV6 Server for Windows 7

« Last post by Josh on May 21, 2011, 02:25 PM »

Hello all,

I am attempting to find a dhcpv6 capable server that can run on Windows 7. I have tried Jagornet dhcpv6 server, but its config is a pain in the butt. (http://www.jagornet.com/)

I have tried dibbler (http://klub.com.pl/dhcpv6/) and it works, and well, but the service fails to start and I cannot figure out why. If anyone would be willing to try this one and see if they can get it to start, some dcredits might be in order

Other than those two, does anyone know of a good dhcp server for windows 7 that supports ipv6?

Thanks!
Josh

723

Living Room / Re: So Apple really is a religious thing...

« Last post by Josh on May 20, 2011, 07:47 AM »

I have to ask...Was it Apple who predicted the end of the world to occur tomorrow?

724

Living Room / CDC Article - Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse

« Last post by Josh on May 19, 2011, 08:25 PM »

There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency.

A Brief History of Zombies
We’ve all seen at least one movie about flesh-eating zombies taking over (my personal favorite is Resident EvilExternal Web Site Icon.), but where do zombies come from and why do they love eating brains so much? The word zombie comes from Haitian and New Orleans voodoo origins. Although its meaning has changed slightly over the years, it refers to a human corpse mysteriously reanimated to serve the undead. Through ancient voodoo and folk-lore traditions, shows like the Walking Dead were born.

In movies, shows, and literature, zombies are often depicted as being created by an infectious virus, which is passed on via bites and contact with bodily fluids. Harvard psychiatrist Steven Schoolman wrote a (fictional) medical paper on the zombies presented in Night of the Living Dead and refers to the condition as Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome caused by an infectious agent. The Zombie Survival Guide identifies the cause of zombies as a virus called solanum. Other zombie origins shown in films include radiation from a destroyed NASA Venus probe (as in Night of the Living Dead), as well as mutations of existing conditions such as prions, mad-cow disease, measles and rabies.

The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder “How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?”

Source

725

Living Room / Apple to support reps: "Do not attempt to remove malware"

« Last post by Josh on May 19, 2011, 08:23 PM »

Apple is actively conducting an internal investigation into the Mac Defender malware attack I wrote about yesterday (here and here). An internal document with a Last Modified date of Monday, May 16, 2011 notes that this is an “Issue/Investigation In Progress.”

The document (shown below) provides specific instructions for support personnel to follow when dealing with a customer who has called AppleCare to request help with this specific attack.

Source