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701

Living Room / Re: If Only Once, If Only For A Little While - Comic about loss

« Last post by 40hz on January 06, 2015, 07:43 AM »

||: G♭min9 | G♭min | G♭min9 | G♭min :|| 

702

General Software Discussion / 4 tools to download Windows updates to a local archive

« Last post by 40hz on January 05, 2015, 12:46 PM »

A handy write-up of four different tools to create your own archive of Windows updates can be found over at the 4Sysops blog. Link to article here.

In this article, I examine four Windows Update download tools that allow you to download all updates for the various Windows versions. This enables you to perform offline updates or slipstream the updates into a Windows image.

If you do a lot of setups, or site work where you need to get a PC up to date with Microsoft's latest and greatest with the minimum amount of fuss, these apps are well worth looking at.

I most often select WSUS Offline Update as the tool of choice. I've recommended and used it for many years with good results. I currently keep the whole thing on a regularly updated 64Gb USB key (along with some other tech tools) so I'm independent of a network connection whenever I need to do updates on a machine - or a group of them. But the other apps listed are also worth a look and may be better suited to your own use cases.

Note: Microsoft's update archives are huge so you'll definitely want a very good broadband connection to perform the initial download(s). Once you have gotten your initial archives established however, any reasonably robust DSL connection should be sufficient to keep things current.

 

703

Living Room / Re: Can anyone help break "router block"?

« Last post by 40hz on January 05, 2015, 12:19 PM »

I'm on record for not subscribing to the notion of "parental controls" as being a good thing for more reasons than it's worth going into. As a result, I can't really comment on how effective routers supporting that feature are. However, I'd strongly suggest you download a copy of the manual or look at the online docs for any router your plan on buying before you lay your money down.

If you don't clearly understand what the docs are telling you, you'd best consider another router since tech "support" for this class of product is either not that great - or it's "community sourced" (i.e. provided on a forum by other users and the occasional company volunteer)  - which means you'll get a lot of questionable to so-so advice along with the good.

For home/SOHO router reviews, I've found the ones posted over at SmallNetBuilder to be reliable and accurate.

As far as Netgear goes, I haven't found them to be significantly better or worse than most of the other big name consumer-grade routers out there. Maybe marginally better at best. And they are what they are. If you get a good one, it'll run for several years without incident. If you get a lemon (which happens) you'll get headaches.

FWIW, if I were buying an inexpensive "home" type router today, I'd probably be more inclined to get a Netgear rather than a Linksys or Belkin. But that's subject to change without notice. So please don't take this as a strong recommendation.

Luck!

704

Non-Windows Software / Re: List of 40 inexpensive single-board Linux friendly computers

« Last post by 40hz on January 03, 2015, 07:26 PM »

Will I need to throw out past efforts and start from scratch? It's never any kind of an exact process, and predicting the future is, well... like playing the lottery.

-Renegade (January 02, 2015, 07:27 PM)

Considering these little boxes run Linux and/or Android, I don't think that should be a major concern. Unless you think those operating systems will soon go away.

The people producing these little boards aren't into creating lock-in or proprietary platforms. They get the benefits of an "open" philosophy with something as generic as an SBC. They need to make their products as broadly supported and compatible with existing codebases and drivers as possible. Something that makes sense when you want to sell millions of these things. It's a volume game to provide the most capability, and the broadest level of support, at the lowest possible cost to the consumer. Think RaspberryPi. Think Arduino.
 

705

Non-Windows Software / List of 40 inexpensive single-board Linux friendly computers

« Last post by 40hz on January 02, 2015, 07:44 AM »

Courtesy of the good folks over at LinuxGizmos:

Ringing in 2015 with 40 Linux-friendly hacker SBCs
Dec 31, 2014  |  Eric Brown


2014 brought us plenty of new open-spec, community-backed SBCs — from $35 bargains, to octa-core powerhouses — and all with Linux or Android support.

In May of this year, LinuxGizmos and Linux.com collaborated on a joint survey, asking our readers to choose their favorite open-spec hacker SBCs from a list of 32 that run Linux and/or Android. Our SBC survey winners, ranked one to five, included the Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, Odroid-XU, CubieTruck, and Banana Pi single board computers. Thanks to the flood of new open-spec, community-backed boards, as well as the demise of others, we have updated our list for this end-of-year snapshot.

We’re skipping the survey — and the prizes — this time around, but we hope to offer a similar, but updated list and survey in May or June 2015. With even better prizes.

We removed more than a dozen boards from the list that were no longer in stock, were not being actively supported, were just plain old, or scored too poorly in our last survey to merit inclusion. Some of these, such as the Odroid-XU, were fairly new boards but have already been replaced by newer models (Odroid-XU3). We also added about two-dozen new SBCs, thereby ending up with a total of 40 boards. <more>

Read the rest here.

Happy hardware hacking!

706

Living Room / Re: Happy New Year! =D

« Last post by 40hz on December 31, 2014, 03:21 PM »

Happy New Year to all.

My big resolution is the same this year as it's been for the last twenty at least. I resolve to seek clarity in all my thoughts, and through all my deeds. That's a pretty tall order. But each year I feel I'm inching just a bit closer to actually pulling it off.

707

Living Room / To end the year on a laugh - Dave Slater is at it again about that monkey photo

« Last post by 40hz on December 31, 2014, 02:30 PM »

Dave Slater, the photographer who can't seem to accept that the "gone viral" monkey selfie taken with his camera is not copyrightable nor his intellectual property, is back at it again. This time via a supposed Louisanna-based management company that goes by the name of Icondia.

Icondia claims to be representing David Slater and Wildlife Personalities Ltd. which has now "officially registered" the monkey image in one of those convenient UK "Crown Dependencies" that are so dear to 'legal' connivers the world over. This particular place is named The Balliwick of Guernsey. An actual balliwick? In the 21st century? For real? (You just can't make this stuff up folks!)

This is Icondia's official announcement regarding the image:

Icondia is pleased to confirm the registration of Wildlife Personalities Limited with effect from 28 October 2014 as a registered personality on the Guernsey Image Rights Register. Registered images associated with Wildlife Personalities Limited include the so-called ‘monkey selfie’ images of macaque monkeys. Use of registered images for commercial purposes without the consent of the rights holder may constitute infringement of the registered image rights. All enquiries regarding the use of these registered images should be directed to [email protected]

Silly in the extreme, I know. But unfortunately for them, Icondia recently saw fit to send a cease & desist letter to none other than Mike Masnick over at TechDirt. And they got totally pwned. Read TechDirt's entire response here.

Priceless!

Hey Dave? Dave Slater? I know it's frustrating to feel something you lucked into, and thought was going to make you a very large fortune, suddenly slip through your fingers. But it has. So please try to get over it - and move on with your life already? Make it a New Year's resolution.

708

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by 40hz on December 31, 2014, 09:58 AM »

Clues In Sony Hack Point To Insiders  The Security Ledger

-Arizona Hot (December 31, 2014, 12:46 AM)

Way more believable than the official version.

-Stoic Joker (December 31, 2014, 07:45 AM)

Agree. For a successful attack on that scale, there almost always has to be one or more insiders involved.

Those hackers might have been that good. But nobody's that good that they can't benefit from their target's security being that bad - or having some inside help along the way.

709

Living Room / Re: Want to be in my story? See inside.

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 11:16 PM »

We've spoken more than few times personally, both online and on the phone. So we're hardly strangers..

Go for it. 

710

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 07:37 PM »

He should have used a different talont agency.

-MilesAhead (December 30, 2014, 09:55 AM)

Nice. Almost crainioscopical-esque that one.

711

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 07:31 PM »

Missed a few lately: 40hz's 11,111th post...

-tomos (December 30, 2014, 10:08 AM)

It'll be easier with me going forward. I plan on drastically cutting back my online presence starting next year. It's one of my top resolutions. And I'm usually pretty good at keeping them.

-40hz (December 30, 2014, 03:33 PM)

DC is not just any online place though 

-rgdot (December 30, 2014, 04:14 PM)

I would be the first to agree 1x10^20%.

Which is why DoCo represents 90% of all the "social" type webbing I do. It's a good place to hang. Some of the best, most intelligent, entertaining -  and occasionally challenging - discussions to be found anywhere. Along with some of the finest people I've ever met - even if it's only as their online personas.

Perhaps it isn't Utopia, but it is certainly a 'eutopia' (i.e. "good place").

712

Living Room / Re: Raspberry Pi project: wireless file server

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 07:19 PM »

TBH, I'd completely forgotten about that setting

-4wd (December 30, 2014, 07:12 PM)

Me too!

713

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 04:31 PM »

 

714

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 03:33 PM »

Missed a few lately: 40hz's 11,111th post...

-tomos (December 30, 2014, 10:08 AM)

It'll be easier with me going forward. I plan on drastically cutting back my online presence starting next year. It's one of my top resolutions. And I'm usually pretty good at keeping them.

715

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 03:21 PM »

I always thought Walgreens had over-priced instant coffee; that is until i went to Walmart.
Same brand and quantity but Walmart wanted about three bucks more than Walgreens.
'Save money, live better'?  yea.. right.  

-crabby3 (December 30, 2014, 12:33 PM)

The problem with Walgreens is that none of their sale prices apply if you don't have one of their member cards.

I went to get something there last week and ended up picking up a dozen "on sale" items. When these items rang up significantly higher than I expected, I was informed (with a smug smile) that: "You have to have a Walgreens card to get the sale price." Had I been offered the opportunity to request a card at that point I might not have been annoyed, and probably would have played along. But this particular cashier shot a smile over to the cashier across the aisle, stepped back, crossed her arms, and then asked: "Do you still want them?"

I told her to forget it and just void my entire purchase.

At least I had the satisfaction of seeing the befuddled look on her face and hearing her say "You're kidding?" before I walked out.

I doubt I'll go back.

716

Living Room / Re: Raspberry Pi project: wireless file server

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 02:19 PM »

@4wd - Nice catch!

717

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 02:14 PM »

also...if gandalf can blast hundreds of orcs away with his ball of light from his staff, why doesn't he just do it in the beginning of every major battle...or just repeatedly?

-40hz

That would be cheating.  Too easy.  

-MilesAhead (December 30, 2014, 10:08 AM)

That plus the rechargeable batteries in a wizard's staff don't last very long. FYI: Those staffs were designed by the same people who picked the battery for the iPhone.

Along that line, what drives me nuts about Vampire films or TV shows is after all the bragging they do about "I'm 800 years old" and "I'm 2000 years old" etc..  Somebody pokes 'em with a sharp stick and they pop.  If it's that easy to kill 'em they must have lived for 2000 years by hiding in a cave.  

Right up there with the "shields" in the StarTrek universe. Hit 'em once - or at most twice - and Sulu or Scotty are announcing: "Shields are down, Captain!"

That and the snazzy "body armor" all those Imperial Storm Troopers wore in StarWars. Shoot those guys once and down they go! You have to wonder why they bothered for all the good it seemed to do them. Even ewok arrows seemed to penetrate it pretty well. Maybe the old US Pentagon originally contracted that project out for them?

The other thing is the bursting into flames in sunlight.  Bram Stoker's Dracula didn't have that problem.  At least in the movie The Breed they walked around in the day time, but wore sunglasses.  

+1!   I thought the sunglasses and daylight roaming was a touch of genius in The Breed. With modern weapons and technology, we have to do something to even up the odds for the vampires. Or at the very least, give them the benefit of modern tech like they did in Underworld: Awakening. Those vampire special ops teams were spot on the sugar.

718

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 09:03 AM »

App, you gotta admit, that pooper story was pretty funny in a messed up way!

-Renegade (December 30, 2014, 08:27 AM)

No.

719

Living Room / Re: Most popular topic at Donation Coder?

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 08:52 AM »

But I did manage to solve over 30,000 support tickets since September 2013.  

-app103 (December 30, 2014, 03:58 AM)

That's worth a honourable mention itself

-Ath (December 30, 2014, 04:22 AM)

You can have my 3rd place. You deserve it for that amount of call volume.

My having a job that requires a lot of sitting around and waiting for something has a lot to do with the amount of posting I do. Most of my work consists of problems that average 10 minutes or less to fix remotely - and then two hours or so of watching and making sure nothing else is about to break.

That's a lot of thumb-twiddling time.

720

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on December 30, 2014, 08:05 AM »

Finally finished seeing Peter Jackson's Hobbit. Which it really should have been called. Because that whole overblown three-part farrago most definitely was not JRR Tolkein's Hobbit. Jackson got it flat wrong in so many ways, and on so many levels, that I don't know where to begin.

So I won't.  

Kudos to Martin Freeman for putting what little was worth watching into the picture(s). And also to Ian McKellen and Benedict Cumberbatch. (I was a little disappointed with Smaug however. While Mr. Cumberbatch's vocal talent and timing was superb, the Smaug character itself was a little too one-dimensional and predictable. I kept hoping for just a little more.)

Still, nice to see Evangeline Lilly and Cate Blanchett. They provided some very welcome bits of eye candy, even if there really was little other reason (or no reason at all in the case of Turiel) for either of them to be in the story.

I'm a big Tolkein fan. But, as far as this picture goes, I'm completely with Miles and Superboy. Coming out of the theater, all I really felt was relief. As my GF said: "Well...that's over."


------------------------

Note: is it just me, or does it seem to take an interminable amount of time for major characters to die in Peter Jackson movies? I thought the glacially slo-mo "death of Boromir" sequence in LOTR set a new record. (Contrast that with the very brief destruction of Sauron and the fall of Barad-Dur scene! Talk about 'fall down, go boom!' Could that have been any shorter?)

But now along comes Jackson's The Hobbit...where I almost wanted to shout: "Ok! Pathos! We get it! Now would you just die already so we can get on with the rest of this picture?"

721

Living Room / Re: Most popular topic at Donation Coder?

« Last post by 40hz on December 29, 2014, 06:47 PM »

Well, all statistics can be found on the stats page (hidden in the 'Forum Stats' section near the bottom of the forum front-page), where one can also see that 40hz is the number 3 top-poster (right after mouser and renegade)

-Ath (December 29, 2014, 04:10 PM)

Well...there goes the neighborhood.

722

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by 40hz on December 29, 2014, 02:00 PM »

^Very nice dancer there. Too bad it's so hard to tell.

40hz rant time!

What is it about these morons who film dancers? Why must they always do those dumb-ass tight closeups, quick cuts, and camera shifts? This is not an action film. It's dance.

The entire point of a dance is its continuity and line. And the movement through space. You need to step back and get the entire performance area in the visual frame in order for the viewer to adequately see and appreciate that. Shooting dance like it's some movie 'action' sequence - or like they also seem to be doing with sports lately - completely destroys that.

It's true that dance can be very dramatic. But that doesn't make it a drama - which most people who make movies and videos simply can't seem to grasp.

***end rant***

723

Living Room / Most popular topic at Donation Coder?

« Last post by 40hz on December 29, 2014, 12:53 PM »

It appears to be the silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content] thread started by f0dder back in February 2009. Over 672K (and counting) views plus over 4K replies. I think that's a record!

724

Living Room / Your own paper planner and calendars for 2015

« Last post by 40hz on December 29, 2014, 12:44 PM »

If you have a lot of trouble finding a paper desk planner you actually like (as I do) why not try customizing and printing your own?

Designer Dave Seah has some nice Excel-based productivity templates that can be easily customized to your individual specifications.

I find his project tracking forms are a little overkill for what I might consider using. But I do like his Academic School Year Planning Calendar which gave me 90% of what I was looking for. A few minutes in Libre Calc and I am now set to go for 2015. Woo-hoo!

Dave has an interesting and refreshingly minimalist approach to using a planning calendar. You can read about how he uses his Compact Calendar (which the Academic Calendar I modded is based on) here. His approach may not work for everyone. And he's the first to admit it probably won't work for people with complex schedules with a lot of task dependencies. But it sure works for me after I incorporate a few productivity habits and ideas of my own to go with it. YMMV.

The nice  thing about doing you own planner is that if you discover something doesn't work for you  - or you suddenly remember something additional you very much wanted to have - a few minutes worth of edits and some paper and you've now got it going forward. No need to limp along through the rest of year with that fancy $30 planner you bought at the stationers.

For a customizable 'one month per page' desk calendar, this site has an online generator you can use to make your own - along with pre-built PDFs of the more common types.

Onward to 2015!

725

Living Room / Re: For better security, maybe it's time to abandon e-mail?

« Last post by 40hz on December 29, 2014, 07:36 AM »

I'm not sure that’s universally true. For a lot of people, the journey itself is the reward rather than the destination. And many people would rather "do it right" than merely "do it right now."

-40hz (December 24, 2014, 07:55 PM)

No, of course that's not universally true. I did qualify my statements at the beginning by saying 'generally speaking'. There are always people that rise to the top, but there are always people who sink to the bottom as well.  

-Innuendo (December 27, 2014, 07:05 PM)

Understood. But if things get bogged down too much in an orgy of mocking and blaming the endusers, it becomes a distraction from what you're trying to accomplish. Perhaps there's ultimately nothing to be done because of user behavior. (Which I disagree with btw.) But I'd prefer to empirically determine that's the case rather than accept it as a given. There's a little too much smug and self-serving assumption in doing that for either my taste or experience.

Behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner made an interesting point in his novel Walden Two. When the lead character Frazier was asked what did the community planned on doing to deal with members who didn't embrace the community's ideals or plan he replied: What do you do with a mare that you can't socialize? Let her run until she drops. In the meantime, lets see what we can do with her lovely little colt. That (IMO) was the only truly profound insight to be found in Skinner's otherwise highly flawed concept for a community.

You'll always have some (or more) who don't want to know - or learn. But they seldom constitute the majority of your target demographic. And I don't think they do here. Besides, we're not looking for the 'perfect solution' that will handle all eventualities. We're only looking for something else that's significantly better than what we have, and how we're doing it now.



That's not an impossible goal.