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Living Room / Re: Adware is not freeware, right?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 26, 2011, 10:16 AM »

Oh, and Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory is nothing like a reak geek.

-Fred Nerd (December 26, 2011, 03:12 AM)

Geeks come in all flavors and sizes.  And I have a friend that's almost exactly like Sheldon, that identifies himself as a geek.

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Living Room / Re: More Hilarity - "Can I have my spy plane back?"

« Last post by wraith808 on December 26, 2011, 09:22 AM »

NDAA 2012 gives the US govt the power to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone for *any reason*.

http://rt.com/news/t...ards-government-613/

-Renegade (December 26, 2011, 06:27 AM)

I don't think that points to what you think it does.  The smoking gun that was quoted there was distributed to military surplus stores.  I don't think wal-mart is a military surplus store.

And as far as the NDAA 2012, that's the legislative branch giving away authority to the executive branch, not the other way around.   Think about it- it made it through the house even as it stands.  The Republican controlled house.  What does that say?

And apparently (though not in as attention grabbing a headline) Obama has threatened to veto in its current form, so language is still being added to avoid a presidential veto.

More clarifications on the controversial terms.

Which, if true, would mean that Ron Paul and others who have supposedly read it, are either ignorant of these same facts (unlikely) or using the internet firestorm to their own advantage.

Which would be politics as usual.

Ron Paul can't save us now.  We can only save ourselves.

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Developer's Corner / Re: Ribbon UI - is it really THAT good?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 26, 2011, 09:08 AM »

Not really surprising - if they want to sell anything for Apple iPods/iPads/iPhones they are froced to sell through the app store.

-Carol Haynes (December 26, 2011, 05:34 AM)

I'm talking about on the Mac.  You don't have to sell things on the app store to sell for the Mac.  The threat I think that is being posed is to the desktop.  And even in the case of the Mac and Apple's App store, the point is that even they haven't been that stupid yet.  I know many people that would be less Apple friendly if they did so.  So I don't think that Microsoft would go that route either.

Then consider this - most of the major record labels have recently announced they plan to discontinue producing CDs after 2012 and switch completely over to digital distribution. No more hard media!

-40hz (December 26, 2011, 06:30 AM)

As long as I can burn it, I truly don't care.  The moment I'll start caring about that is the moment they attempt to lock down my ability to get it out from under their DRM, or to make media if I want it.  I buy few things in hard format anymore.  I'm just running out of space.  I was being choked out of my house (and losing things to moves/selling due to lack of space) all of the time.  When I left my condo 4 years ago, I literally left behind over 1000 books + 100s of CDs because I had no way/time to move them.  I would rather have had that information, but I just didn't have the resources.  Since goodwill/salvation army no longer pick up anything other than furniture/appliances, they ended up thrown away.  I'd rather not be that wasteful again.  Now, with only buying digital, though my room is still full from the move (floor to ceiling bookshelves on two of the walls) I rarely have to add to the amount, because I buy mostly digital.  And if CD sales are dying off, then why wouldn't they move to digital?  Do they still sell 8 tracks of new releases?  How about LPs?  They're relegated only to collectors.  Things move on.  It's the DRM that's the problem, not the advancement of digital media.

Point is, if Microsoft goes that route, it's far easier for enterprise customers to go along than it is for them to retool over to a new OS and a new set of core applications. Especially since Microsoft has already announced plans to allow big corporate users to run what amounts to their own app store in-house.

-40hz (December 26, 2011, 06:30 AM)

Really?  You really think that?  I've *never* seen a company that uses only software off the shelf.  That would mean that Microsoft and such were the only large IT shops, and that's just not true.  I've worked at only a few small companies over my time in development; most have been larger, and ALL have used custom software.  It's just that the software is tailored to the business, not the other way around.  Especially for proprietary processes.  And Microsoft knows this (how much money do you think they make off of software that does this?  How much does MSDN and Visual Studio make for them?  Quite a pretty penny).

All of this is just FUD, and maybe from a consumer prospective or even a small ISV prospective it might seem that this is just around the corner.  But coming from somewhere that has a huge IT department and that has just spent a sickening amount of money on VS2010 and MSDN, I can tell you that it just isn't so.

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Living Room / Re: More Hilarity - "Can I have my spy plane back?"

« Last post by wraith808 on December 26, 2011, 01:26 AM »

The Obama administration has basically given the office of the president god-like powers to do whatever he wants. The next president could simply arrest all of the 3 branches of government as traitors and terrorists. (I couldn't resist that one either~! The sad thing is that it's actually true~!)

-Renegade (December 25, 2011, 10:29 PM)

Ummm... what?  I don't get the reference.  And there's been a lot that hasn't been able to make it through, even down to extending unemployment benefits during the holiday season, so I *really* don't get it.

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Developer's Corner / Re: Ribbon UI - is it really THAT good?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 25, 2011, 09:02 PM »

Which is fine. But what I (and my clients) don't appreciate is Microsoft's refusal to categorically state what the long term plans for the desktop are once Win8/Metro goes gold. (And by Metro i mean the whole walled garden environment every tech company seems hell bent on copying from Apple if they can possibly get away with it.) So if there's unwarranted confusion and concern, it's largely how Microsoft's been playing it so coy that's caused it.

-40hz (December 22, 2011, 09:11 AM)

I'm advising my business clients not to buy any app they will use in their business from an app store where the owner of the store can kill apps already purchased. No business in their right mind should want any applications -- especially applications that are or might become "business critical" -- that someone can kill switch at any time. That's like giving someone a kill switch for your business. I really don't think Microsoft has thought a lot of this stuff through given that a lot of their income comes from sales to businesses.

-rssapphire (December 25, 2011, 07:25 PM)

I don't think that enterprise level applications are going to be app store type apps, in any case.  I just can't see that happening no matter what.  But then again, I was surprised to see that adobe is on the Apple app store, but even those are only the consumer level applications.

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Living Room / Re: More Hilarity - "Can I have my spy plane back?"

« Last post by wraith808 on December 25, 2011, 09:00 PM »

Terrifying (and stupid) as the whole thing is you have to wonder if Obama is actually more intelligent than George W. Bush because everything seems to indicate "White House Out to Lunch" (nothing new there then).

Reminds me of the huge amount of hope we had in the UK when Tony Blair was originally made PM, the same seems to have happened with the new politics Obama promised.

Hope is the commodity used to win elections these days, and the first casualty of every new government!

-Carol Haynes (December 25, 2011, 07:27 PM)

I really hate that, because it's true.

I'm hoping and praying that Ron Paul wins in 2012 though. He's been consistent with the same message for forever and a day. I can't seem him winning then changing.

He really is the only hope.

Help us Ron Paul! You're our only hope~!

-Renegade (December 25, 2011, 07:54 PM)

Everybody seems to forget that there are three branches of the government in the US for a reason- checks and balances.  Though the president does have a lot of power, he is not all powerful and can't act alone.  And in this case, there's been very little that he could do to make things better, with the state of politics in Washington.  Unless that changes, no matter who gets into office, there won't be much difference, other than the spin.

Basically, with any president, you win with your base + independents to your slant, then you govern from the middle.  The only problem is today, the middle is no-man's land.  He's tried to make the same shift that most presidents have, but it can't work in this environment.

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Living Room / Re: Reddit Leaving GoDaddy because of SOPA Support

« Last post by wraith808 on December 25, 2011, 12:01 PM »

Looping back a bit, some folks over at Slashdot say GoDaddy actually still supports the SOPA bill, they're just reversing their PR advocacy. Not sure of the details, I'll leave that to my betters.

-TaoPhoenix (December 25, 2011, 01:40 AM)

This specifically says they do not.  If they take any SOPA related actions/support SOPA at all, that would be the smoking gun after this explicit reversal.

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Living Room / Re: Reddit Leaving GoDaddy because of SOPA Support

« Last post by wraith808 on December 24, 2011, 11:40 AM »

The SOPA is an incredible dangerous piece of legislation that requires a crystal clear message. We The People, will not tolerate the further weakening (and destruction) of the Constitution.

-Stoic Joker (December 24, 2011, 10:55 AM)

So then make the point where it should be made.  Anyone that even thought about voting for this shouldn't be in office come their next term.  But the voting is so dissociated from the actions of the politicians, that I doubt even the most frothing at the mouth anti-SOPA voter will even think about it come next election.  Because other things matter more.  Like... frothing at the mouth over party divisions.  Or something.  I'm not sure what... but there's something!

You know that you're sending mixed signals now, eh?

-Renegade (December 24, 2011, 11:08 AM)

That was a calculated risk, but I thought the joke fit rather nicely. Moral being that some things just cannot be overlooked regardless of previous good behavior.

-Stoic Joker (December 24, 2011, 11:11 AM)

I think that with the quick reversal, and the prior history of good behaviour, this isn't one of those things.  If they dragged their feet in the mud and had to be pulled screaming, then I'd say so.  But not in this case.  The RIAA - yeah, I can see that.  The MPAA - yeah, I can see that too.  But this...?

I won't be pulling out at this time.  They've gone out of their way to help me at times, and not just to correct the problem, but to help me understand.  But that's just my opinion and my experience.  Let each person's wallet speak for them.

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Living Room / Re: Reddit Leaving GoDaddy because of SOPA Support

« Last post by wraith808 on December 24, 2011, 10:16 AM »

This ain't a mistake what got learned from. Unless of course the "lesson" was don't get caught. It's a pure and simple evil corporate money grab attempt at backing-the-winning-pony. They recoiled because they got $panked ... Not because they learned anything/had a change of "heart"/realized it was wrong...

-Stoic Joker (December 24, 2011, 08:44 AM)

I'm afraid Stoic is 100% correct in his analysis. 

GoDaddy talks a good game. But they're a big sprawling corporation. And many who have used GD soon discover there's often serious disconnects between what's being said and what's being done.

-40hz (December 24, 2011, 08:59 AM)

The thing that people often forget, is that corporations are not entities.  They are made up of people, and the larger the corporation, the more stratified the people are.  Maybe there is a disconnect in management, but there so often is.  There probably wasn't at the lower levels (and perhaps even at the higher levels- the people who couldn't convince the policy makers not to do this).  And perhaps those same people, in the face of the internet screaming, used that as leverage to get things done.  Perhaps the outcry by itself did nothing.  We don't know.

But what we do know is that those people are still employed there, and boycotting after a reversal will hurt them, and make the case less clear cut for people trying to work from the inside in the future.

The thing is, is there a history of negative actions.  Not that I've seen... and that history would bear out the boil them in oil attitude.  Not one incident.  At least IMO.

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Living Room / Re: Reddit Leaving GoDaddy because of SOPA Support

« Last post by wraith808 on December 23, 2011, 10:15 AM »

Spoiler

I used to sit around and drink with spooks. They were some very nice people. Tight lipped about a lot of things, but open about many others.

-Renegade (December 23, 2011, 07:32 AM)

You can't blame them though; they still are some very nice people.  It's just that the rules have changed- part of the reason is the nature of terrorism, but the other part is the pressure for nothing else to happen while someone is shining a light and taking you to task on every tactic.  Not all of them use the same tactics, and most of them respect the rule of law.  It's the same thing as everywhere else- it's the bureaucrats.  And until the citizens are willing to take the government to task for everything that is happening, the citizens won't make a difference, no matter who is in office.  Voting is like any other tool- it only matters if it is used correctly.  And because of the two party system, our media, and our lobby system, that's been broken for a while.  It's just becoming more obvious.

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Developer's Corner / Re: Ribbon UI - is it really THAT good?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 22, 2011, 08:26 AM »

which they plan on forcing everyone over to eventually.

-40hz (December 22, 2011, 07:17 AM)

I *still* haven't seen anything concrete that says they plan on switching everyone over to it eventually.  I see this quoted a lot, but no substantiation.  Is there an article or anywhere that supports this view?

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DC Gamer Club / Re: Humble Indie Bundle 4 is now live

« Last post by wraith808 on December 21, 2011, 10:58 AM »

Sorry if someone is so poor that they can't shell out $1+ they shouldn't be wasting even 1 cent on games and probably should sell their PC to buy some food! They certainly can't afford to pay a broadband subscription to cover their Steam costs.

-Carol Haynes (December 21, 2011, 10:09 AM)

Just because someone can't afford non-essentials doesn't mean that they can't buy food or don't need PCs/broadband for easy access to jobs and such.  I know quite a few people in those situations (and I'd think that most people at least in the US know someone) so I guess I'm a little more understanding with the economic situation the way that it is that but for the grace of God that I could be in the same situation, and how much entertainment helps to stave off depression and make the situation a bit brighter.  So done within reason, I can understand prioritizing a little entertainment- and that's why as a gamer I try to do these unexpected things for friends in those situations.  Economic hard times haven't spared any class of people during this downturn, and I know people who've worked hard for 20 years+ that have lost everything because of it.  And some are *still* not turning to handouts, so isn't a charitable attitude towards them just as much charity?

I am sure not everyone is gaming the system but obviously a lot of people are otherwise they wouldn't have made the current statement. Another thing they can do is simply wither stop using Steam to avoid the issue - all the games are still downloadable and playable which seems fair enough - or ask Steam to make it clear that Humble Buindle Keys are not going to be eligible for any prizes etc.

-Carol Haynes (December 21, 2011, 10:09 AM)

I think the issue is being clouded as far as that is concerned.  During Steam events, sometimes you need to buy a game to complete an event.  Some people are getting the games exceedingly cheap in order to be able to compete in these events.  That's the issue, I think- not that you can use the keys to be eligible for prizes.  And to stop using Steam would punish the many for the sake of the few- sort of like DRM in a way...?  But that's a different discussion. 

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DC Gamer Club / Re: Humble Indie Bundle 4 is now live

« Last post by wraith808 on December 21, 2011, 09:49 AM »

I don't really see why they can't insist all purchases must be over $1 - if people are paying under 30 cents that shouldn't be allowed as it is costing them money for the PayPal transaction.

-Carol Haynes (December 21, 2011, 04:35 AM)

I think the spirit of the thing is not just to let people set what they think it's worth, but what they can actually pay.  I know people that are long-term unemployed whom I have introduced to it (usually through gifting) who can't afford anything.  Maybe those are some of the people who just scrape together what they can (maybe even on .01) to pay.  I'm sure some are gaming the system, but I don't think that it can be assumed that all are...

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Living Room / Re: Hard drive shortage

« Last post by wraith808 on December 20, 2011, 10:59 PM »

As for socialism, that is a dirty word that can be taken out of context in so many ways that I prefer never use it. We're hard core capitalists here in the USA, even the left-wing people who some call 'socialists'. You can bet on that. Real socialism is a totally different ballgame. Sure, we do have a mixed economy in ways, since we do have social programs, as do all first-world countries. However, nothing much has changed, and it really doesn't matter much who is in office. We are nowhere near socialism, so let's not take out that word. That's my take on things.

-db90h (December 20, 2011, 10:56 PM)

QFT.  It's all FUD to a large extent from both sides, to get people frothing at the mouth rabid and unable to look at things rationally.

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DC Gamer Club / Re: Steam Holiday Sale has Started

« Last post by wraith808 on December 20, 2011, 10:26 AM »

The steam servers were being hammered yesterday. They have finally picked up the load and are processing normally. That said, I have found some very good deals on there!

If anyone sees a good 4 pack, let me know. I am almost always up for a 4 pack.

-Josh (December 20, 2011, 06:29 AM)

Bunch of Heroes, anyone?

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DC Gamer Club / Anyone in for Bunch of Heroes 4-pack?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 19, 2011, 11:30 PM »

Bunch of Heroes is $7.49 for a 4-pack.  Anyone up for it?

About the Game:
The Bunch is the most formidable team of elite fighters ever assembled from around the world. What brought them together? Well, obviously the Earth is under attack! An alien invasion is threatening all humankind, without regards to gender, color or nationality. And these nasty aliens have a powerful Zombie Army™ at their disposal!

Play as Agent Liu, Jared Joe, El Camarada or Captain Smith becoming humanity’s last line of defense. Survive by any means necessary wielding a huge arsenal that includes flame throwers, rail guns and gravity bombs. Or charge over-the-top super powers that will annihilate your enemies! Cooperate online with up to 4 players.

“Bunch of Heroes” features stylized cartoon like artwork, funky rock and roll music, cutting edge technology, great humor and cooperative gameplay to inspire zombie killers and E.T. haters alike all over the globe!

Become a Hero; Earth needs a bunch of them at least!

Key Features:
Play with your friends in the 4 player cooperative online campaign
Amazing cartoon style graphics and Funky Rock and roll Music
4 Playable characters with amazing Ultra attacks
Lush and diverse environments
Multiple objectives within each level
Dozens of fun and wacky enemies
A huge arsenal of weaponry to annihilate them with
Place and use turrets to gain tactical advantage

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DC Gamer Club / Steam Holiday Sale has Started

« Last post by wraith808 on December 19, 2011, 11:29 PM »

http://store.steampo...m/search/?specials=1

Madness ensues from now until January 2nd

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Living Room / Re: It's alive, it's alive!!! mwahaha! - WinButtons and 7" touchscreen works

« Last post by wraith808 on December 18, 2011, 10:28 AM »

In fact, if anyone wishes to pay for the postage, they can have the MIMO. Let me know.

-nudone (December 18, 2011, 06:05 AM)

I'd like it if anyone else doesn't.  I was thinking about getting one, but the price has been a limitation.

Nevermind... a day late and a dollar short it appears...

Hope you get it working in any case!

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Living Room / Re: Don't be a free user?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 16, 2011, 12:14 AM »

There's nothing "real" about it though. I apologize if I come off sounding antagonistic. I'm no more doing what IainB was doing in the CNET Downloader topic which is just to show and warn of obvious marketing schemes that I know of. Pinboard is not any way wrong for doing this, it's just that it shouldn't be used as a metric for "being real".

-Paul Keith (December 16, 2011, 12:13 AM)

If the statistics are truthful, then how is it not being real?  Just because others use it for marketing purposes, does that predicate that he is doing the same, rather than showing transparency?

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Living Room / Re: Don't be a free user?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 15, 2011, 02:01 PM »

And while it's true that most free software isn't truly 'free' in the absolute sense, in practice it often is. Most FOSS projects go on for years and numerous revisions with little or no financial contributions - despite the fact they're often asked for.

-40hz (December 15, 2011, 12:52 PM)

But, though that's not money, it *is* a contribution in a very real sense.  The only thing more valuable than money is time that can be utilized towards the end.  For while money is generic and replaceable (i.e. money from person a and person b are interchangeable), time isn't.  And people just don't recognize how much in the way to of time is given to these 'free' projects.

As I said, and have always found to be true, TANSTAAFL*.  It's just that sometimes, someone else pays for your lunch.


*Heinlein over Roddenberry any day of the week.

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Living Room / Re: Don't be a free user?

« Last post by wraith808 on December 15, 2011, 12:29 PM »

+1 for that blog post.

-Renegade (December 15, 2011, 02:05 AM)

Agreed.

To avoid this problem, avoid mom-and-pop projects that don't take your money!

Or get your sh!t out of the "cloud", and stick to Free Software that you contribute to.

-Ehtyar (December 15, 2011, 12:11 AM)

+1! Yes indeedy-dee!

-40hz (December 15, 2011, 12:02 PM)

But then... it really isn't free... yes, it says free, but contributions are what keep it sustainable.  Whether its time or money or some other intangible or tangible, its still goods for something.  TANSTAAFL.  But some people think there is, and that's a drain.  Maybe not unsustainable in the long run if it doesn't overwhelm those that do contribute, but still...

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N.A.N.Y. 2012 / Re: NANY 2012 Release: EasyNotes (Beta)

« Last post by wraith808 on December 15, 2011, 12:11 PM »

1. "Whatever it is" that in Notepad comes through as square boxes etc (extra line feeds or whatever), usually from pasted data, always seems to go away whenever I open it in Wordpad and then save again as text. Then the second time it looks fine in Notepad. ("Whatever"  is ... expanded character/stroke interpretation?)

Could you perhaps explain this a little more, I don't fully understand what you mean

-Stephen66515 (December 15, 2011, 06:50 AM)

He'd have to say for sure, but it's probably non-printable non-plain-text characters that aren't in the default character table.  They show up as boxes when pasted to plain text.

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N.A.N.Y. 2012 / Re: NANY 2012 Request

« Last post by wraith808 on December 14, 2011, 10:16 AM »

Ah... thanks!  I didn't know I'd messed up on the one on the blog post itself also!  That one is corrected, also.  Now I know why I usually make my file names all lower case! 

Thanks again for pointing that out!

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N.A.N.Y. 2012 / Re: NANY 2012 Pledge and Early Beta: Christian Prayer Minder

« Last post by wraith808 on December 14, 2011, 09:00 AM »

I was painfully reminded of a .NET irritation: your program cannot write to the application directory. Silly: why not? Grrr...

-kyrathaba (December 14, 2011, 07:22 AM)

Because you're supposed to write to the AppData folder.  That's for security reasons, so that what's in the program files folder is only what you install, and that it can be locked down for UAC

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N.A.N.Y. 2012 / Re: NANY 2012 Request

« Last post by wraith808 on December 14, 2011, 08:56 AM »

I fixed the URL problem in the direct download, and it works on the site, so that shouldn't be a problem.  As far as the not being able to open it in 7-zip, that's still strange, as I compressed it with 7-zip.  Also attaching it in this post (didn't do that before for the sake of changes to the code... but maybe that will work for you?)