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7301

General Software Discussion / Re: USB Drive shows Write Delay error

« Last post by 40hz on July 11, 2011, 03:20 PM »

Most likely culprit is either a malware infection or a problem with his system's USB root hub(s).

The first is relatively easy, if tedious, to fix. You'd need to run multiple scans using more than one antimalware utility to be reasonably assured you got his machine clean. Better would be to do a clean OS reinstall if he's seriously infected. (Tell him to be a little more careful where's he's visiting - and a lot more careful where he's getting his files from next time.)

A USB root hub issue is a little harder to deal with. You'd need to clean out all the USB mass storage drivers with something like GhostBuster or a similar utility. Then add the devices back one by one and let them reinstall themselves.

If it really is a USB issue, that should fix it..

Right now, I'd be more inclined to put money on malware causing the problem for his machine. Especially in the wake of some of what you've told us about it.

Luck!

7302

Living Room / Re: Real SciFi Technology - a 3D-Replicator

« Last post by 40hz on July 11, 2011, 08:06 AM »

@Deo- sorry about you Mom. Having gone thru similar with mine, I can relate. Wish her my best. My best to you too.

7303

General Software Discussion / Re: Google+

« Last post by 40hz on July 11, 2011, 07:52 AM »

^quite correct.

Privacy is not something you can get back after the fact. You really need to think about it from Day1 - or forget about it. For most people it's already too late.

Fortunately, for most people, it will never be a problem.  

Personally, I don't have a problem with FB or G+ requiring real names or gender info. It's their house, therefor it's their rules. If you don't want to play by them: go elsewhere, build your own, or do without.

That's pretty much the way everything else works in this world, so it's not like anybody's breaking new ground here. 

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General Software Discussion / Re: Google+

« Last post by 40hz on July 11, 2011, 07:27 AM »

For me file it under layered security practice. The obscurity layer, granted not the best...but still worth using. Just because the information can be put together doesn't mean it needs to be prepackaged, preassembled, and printed on a T-shirt with a freaking bow on top. Make'em work for it.

-Stoic Joker (July 11, 2011, 06:45 AM)

I think that's it exactly.

A lesson learned back in the days of the "counterculture."

Years ago a friend of mine summed it up as follows: "Do the "soft parade," man. Stand up for what you believe in. But no need to paint a bull's eye on your back just to prove your sincerity. It's not you lack for balls. It's just being smart enough not to hang 'em out where they can be kicked by every casual passerby.

My old buddy ('Arv') spoke wisdom.    

7305

Living Room / New Riff on a Standing Desk: Introducing the Sitting/Standing Desk Hybrid

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 08:34 PM »

No opinions or comments from me since I haven't tried it. But it does look like an interesting idea to either build - or use as a starting point for your own design.

 

Fitting yourself a sit-to-stand desk
July 9, 2011 – 3:06 pm

It’s been a while since I wrote about geeky things, so here goes: I love my new desk setup. Several months in the making and saving, a few days in shopping, and a few hours of setup and calibration… and it makes me smile every time I use it.

Design criteria:

    

• A sit-stand workstation that makes use of my existing laptop, monitor, and keyboard/mouse.
• Assisted lifting that does not require power – which means hydraulics or springs or levers or something of the sort. Sorry, geekdesk.
• Affordable on a grad student’s budget. (This desk is the most expensive piece of furniture in my apartment, but it’s also the one I’ll spend the most time at. The bed is the second most expensive, and it’s probably the one I’ll spend the second most time using, so this seemed fair.)
• Sturdy — which, for something this specialized and load-bearing, means getting quality components meant for the use, rather than cobbling together stacks of boxes and books and clamps myself.
• Portable, such that I can disassemble the components and haul them to the next place in a minivan (better yet: car).

I wanted a sit-stand workstation because I spend ridiculous amounts of time on my computer and am the restless sort, so being able to change positions and maintain proper alignment while I fidget around is a real boon to ergonomics. I’ve made makeshift sitting and standing desks for years, from kitchen counters to book piles to a strategically placed empty dresser, but no matter how well I set them up, a static desk just didn’t seem right.

The past few years of experimentation did teach me about how one should be aligned in both sitting and standing positions, though.

Link to full article here.

(With thanks to LXer.com for the find!)

7306

General Software Discussion / Re: Google+

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 06:27 PM »

Can I ask why people are hesitant to reveal who they are?

I just don't get it. Really. I don't mean to be an idiot about this. I just don't get it.

-Renegade (July 10, 2011, 04:53 PM)

Deal with corporations, or get involved with political issues (in the United States at least), and you'll soon become enlightened as to why you might sometimes want a smaller profile up on the web.  

7307

Living Room / Re: Real SciFi Technology - a 3D-Replicator

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 03:44 PM »

Imagine the medical applications once this technology gets more sophisticated: almost perfect facsimiles for knee replacements, etc.

-kyrathaba (July 10, 2011, 09:59 AM)

Brilliant thinking Mr.K. !!!  

Any bone! Wow. Talk about a boon for reconstructive and orthopedic surgery if they can come up with a highly stable biocompatible modeling resin. Virtually exact replacement parts! The mind boggles at the possibilities and opportunities.
 

7308

Living Room / Re: "We're Alive" - Online Radio Show Drama

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 03:20 PM »

OK, you know I had to go and look up caries to see what the heck it was. Never heard of that before. Learn something new every day!

Jim

-J-Mac (July 10, 2011, 03:15 PM)

You're welcome! 

7309

General Software Discussion / Re: Google+

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 03:08 PM »

I should have been more clever with a more split identity from the beginning...

-iphigenie (July 10, 2011, 02:18 PM)

That's exactly what I did. However, even that's no real guarantee. I've been very open and candid in my participation at DC, so there's enough there that somebody could suss out who I am if they knew a bit about me - and then read some of my posts here. (I tend to be consistent in my beliefs and opinions. And we all have certain favorite verbal expressions and quirks that serve as "markers" for who we are.) Plus there's nothing to prevent somebody from 'outing' me either by accident or design. 

I think, in the end, there's really no such thing as complete anonymity if you're going to use the web for anything other than browsing. At least not any more. In my case, I try to minimize my footprint on the Internet to avoid casual prying eyes. But I have no doubts anything I do or say could be traced back to the "real me" if somebody bothered to allocate the small amount of time and resources it would take to do so.

And as iphigenie so aptly pointed out, for many (if not most) people, the drawbacks of such faux privacy often outweigh any of its largely imaginary benefits.

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Living Room / Re: "We're Alive" - Online Radio Show Drama

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 01:24 PM »

Huh. Netflix says, "Not Available". 88 member reviews there so it appears that it was once available, but apparently not anymore.  

Jim

-J-Mac (July 10, 2011, 01:13 PM)

@Jim - Bummer! I just edited my original post. Thx.

7311

Living Room / Re: "We're Alive" - Online Radio Show Drama

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 01:18 PM »

40hz,

Have you seen the Zombie Apocalypse page at the Centers for Disease Control web site? Everyone's getting in on the act!

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp

Jim

-J-Mac (July 10, 2011, 01:02 PM)

Yes I did. Zombie-fanatic friend showed it to me, knowing how much I adore the genre.

Just one more example of "your tax dollars at work" AFAIC.

Now if they could maybe buckle down a bit more and do something like...oh I dunno...maybe come up with a vaccine for caries? Especially since the medical industry doesn't seem to want to do it because they can garner much more "collateral revenue" treating the symptoms of that little monster rather than by slaying it.

 

7312

Living Room / Re: PWNIE EXPRESS! This is hilarious, and real!

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 01:02 PM »

I read his book, "The Art of Deception" and yes, he does have quite a few tall tales in it!

Jim

-J-Mac (July 10, 2011, 11:51 AM)

+1! There's a whole lotta BS being slung around.

That's the problem when you deal with hackers and cybersecurity stories. Everybody - and I mean everybody - from the hackers, to the "white hats" - to the agents of the law enforcement community itself - all exaggerate wildly about the events and exploits they were involved with - along with the significance of what actually went down.

About the only thing you can count on is they all want to magnify their individual roles (and importance) in the eyes of their peers, their superiors, and the general public.

 

7313

Living Room / Re: "We're Alive" - Online Radio Show Drama

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 12:47 PM »

If you like We're Alive, check out the indy film Pontypool.

It's low budget, takes place all on one set (a second string small town radio station), in one day - and it's actually one of the more believable and chilling treatments of the zombie theme ever made. (Watch trailer here.)Maybe it doesn't have the lovely Milla Jovovich or the production budget of her Resident Evil franchise to fall back on. But the terrific dialog, minimalist staging, and competent cast generates a quietly chilling (and believable) atmospheric horror experience that makes it well worth watching. Blows the doors off movies with magnitudes larger budgets. Highly recommended.

Get it from NetFlix! EDIT: Not any more. See below.

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Living Room / Re: "We're Alive" - Online Radio Show Drama

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 12:23 PM »

Horror movies don't scare me, no matter what. Real life is scary, horror movies aren't.

-app103 (July 10, 2011, 12:09 PM)

I agree. I watch the live feeds from the Senate and House of Representatives when I really want to get scared into a sleepless night. 

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Living Room / Re: "We're Alive" - Online Radio Show Drama

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 12:05 PM »

But any zombie story is gold these days... secret passion of all of us, methinks!

-J-Mac (July 10, 2011, 11:38 AM)

Not for me!  

Yeah OK!

Sorry, but I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to accept ravenous and cannibalistic walking corpses. No matter how much biowarfare and viral technology gets dragged in to support the concept.

Same goes for vampires. I liked it better when it was more a case of some sort of dark magic and a bit less 'scientific' (and maybe pornographic) than most vampire stories are these days. Dracula was scary because there was no rational or understandable reason for why he came to exist.

The new stuff, with all their "bloodlines" and mutations and viral infections and DNA and yadda-yadda, just makes it seem like they're thinly veiled parables about racism and intolerance. "Meh!" To Kill a Mockingbird handled that theme much more elegantly and powerfully.

All this aside, I did give the first three installments of We're Alive a listen. And despite my problems with the whole "zombie thing" - and the occasional lapses in production or acting - it's a very well done and compelling story. Because, unlike so many other scifi/horror hybrids, there's a very solid and compelling story being told.

That alone makes it worth it to me.

I'm definitely going to listen to the whole thing.

Thanks again Mouser for finding and sharing this with us.

7316

Finished Programs / Re: Idea: App that keeps track of money you find

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 08:48 AM »

Any chance of you coming up with a companion app that finds money for you to keep track of?

I'd be more than happy to purchase a license!  

7317

Living Room / Re: Real SciFi Technology - a 3D-Replicator

« Last post by 40hz on July 10, 2011, 07:57 AM »

I was just thinking...now that it's possible to exactly scan and copy a physical object...what sort of patent or copyright legislation are manufacturers going to start demanding to protect reality from Replicator Pirates?

Can't wait to see the asinine laws and hordes of lawyers this technology is also going to create once it catches on.

I can just hear the conversation at Staples or OfficeMax:

"I'm sorry sir. But do you own the design of that spoon you want us to duplicate? Because if not, I'm afraid it's illegal for us to replicate it.  Here's a brochure the Manufacturers Protection Agency made to explain how the new laws work. It's called: You're all a Bunch of Worthless Thieving Scumbags!!!

You heard it here first, folks.  

7318

Living Room / Real SciFi Technology - a 3D-Replicator

« Last post by 40hz on July 09, 2011, 09:19 PM »

One of the more impressive demos of "3D printing" I've ever seen.  

I want one!

7319

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... Windows registry hack to display boot progress

« Last post by 40hz on July 09, 2011, 02:49 PM »

I usually don't mention commercially licensed programs, but there is a decent BootVis-type app that works under Windows 7. It's called WinBootInfo. It's not free (about $15) but it does come with a fully functional 30-day evaluation. So if it's not something you'll be needing on an ongoing basis, it won't cost you anything to use it.

We license it for most Win servers we're responsible for.

Note: the site doesn't specifically mention Windows 7, but the publisher (GreenVantage LLC) has stated it works with it. I use v1.02 on my personal Windows machine (64-bit version) so I can confirm it does.
 

--------------
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation whatsoever with GreenVantage. I'm just one of their customers.

7320

General Software Discussion / Re: Sticking to TODO software

« Last post by 40hz on July 09, 2011, 02:15 PM »

Making me want to give it a whirl again... but it's not cheap :S

-iphigenie (July 09, 2011, 01:54 PM)

They're offering a 60-day eval I think. So I might be tempted.  

We're in the process of retooling our business to come to grips with the MSoft cloud initiatives. Since we'll be switching more to sales and consulting, and throttling back on our traditional HW/SW tech support operation, some of the "above & beyond" features sound tempting for the transitional (i.e. running around like chicken sans head) period.

Once we're up to speed we'll likely just switch over to MS's CRM system since we'll be selling it - and the only way to really know enough about something you're selling is to use it yourself. "Eat your own dog food" as they saying goes.
 

7321

General Software Discussion / Re: Sticking to TODO software

« Last post by 40hz on July 09, 2011, 12:11 PM »

@iphigenie - was your Above & Beyond PIM the same product as the one currently being sold by 1Soft (www.1soft.com)?

7322

Developer's Corner / Re: Bourne / Bash Shell Scripting Resources

« Last post by 40hz on July 09, 2011, 09:33 AM »

^There ya go then!

That's why it pays to check for yourself. One person's "book o' wisdom" is another person's doorstop.
 

7323

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... Windows registry hack to display boot progress

« Last post by 40hz on July 08, 2011, 04:28 PM »

+1!

Curt never ceases to amaze me! Thx Curt. 

7324

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of ... Windows registry hack to display boot progress

« Last post by 40hz on July 08, 2011, 02:24 PM »

New one for me!

Thx. I'll add it to my tech KB. Never know when it might come in handy. 

7325

Living Room / Re: 64 Bit OS - When to Switch ?

« Last post by 40hz on July 08, 2011, 01:39 PM »

I've been exclusively running 64-bit OSs (Windows and Linux) on any machine that's capable of running them for about a year now with no bad surprises.

It's arrived. I'd do it.