Recent Posts

801

Living Room / Re: Making a new page of "DonationCoder's Favorite Web Sites" - suggestions?

« Last post by Edvard on September 09, 2013, 12:37 AM »

My under-appreciated go-to site for almost anything 'under the hood' Linux related:
Nixcraft - http://www.cyberciti.biz/

They spotlight the newest utilities with solid examples, review books, software and hardware, post challenging admin quizzes in my facebook feed, have a fairly lively discussion forum, maintain an excellent Bash scripting wiki and not least they keep popping up in my searches with just the right solution to just about any situation I've encountered.
 

802

Living Room / Re: printer to repair or not repair

« Last post by Edvard on September 09, 2013, 12:13 AM »

My rule for deciding to fix anything is very simple:
If I can fix it (1)myself with (2)readily available parts (local store or online) for (3) less than the cost of a new [insert object here], then proceed.  
Otherwise, I initiate replacement discussions with my Wife. 

In your position, Techidave, I would advise to not underestimate or overlook costs of downtime as the machines age, along with your long-term projections of potential repair costs.  A few hundred on repairs is not that much if the machines are actually reliable and repairs are easy, in which case you've got a good argument for repairing vs. new.  Just don't ignore how quickly things can add up when repair visits become more frequent over the next 2-5 years, and how much time (money) you'll be losing waiting for repairs to be done as parts become more scarce.
Hopefully you (or somebody responsible) has been keeping reasonably detailed records of repairs, supply usage and costs (newer machines are often more efficient with materials usage), and duration of downtimes so that a solid case can be made to justify either choice.

803

Non-Windows Software / Re: Quick Ways to Start Programs in X11 Environments

« Last post by Edvard on September 06, 2013, 06:40 PM »

I can report it IS quite snappy.  Zeitgeist is just kinda creepy.

804

Living Room / Re: Short Sell Nokia NOW! :P

« Last post by Edvard on September 04, 2013, 07:29 AM »

Aw, jeez.  Maybe they should read their own history.  Remember the last time they took a decent phone and turned it into crap?   

805

Non-Windows Software / Re: Quick Ways to Start Programs in X11 Environments

« Last post by Edvard on September 04, 2013, 07:22 AM »

Holy Schmoly! NEVER MIND!!

Zeitgeist is a service which logs the users's activities and events, anywhere from files opened to websites visited and conversations. It makes this information readily available for other applications to use in the form of timelines and statistics. It is able to establish relationships between items based on similarity and usage patterns by applying data association algorithms such as "Winepi" and "A Priori"

Yipes!

806

General Software Discussion / Re: The very very best for contextual menus

« Last post by Edvard on September 03, 2013, 11:10 PM »

I have always liked ContextEdit.  It was a free giveaway from PC Magazine a long time ago, but now it's $7.97: http://www.pcmag.com...2/0,2817,3229,00.asp

It requires a bit of knowledge about how context menus are supposed to work, file associations and things like that.  You can do much the same thing in Windows' "Folder Options" under the "Filetypes" tab.

See this thread for other software, and a link to the older free version of ContextEdit:
https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=9768.0
I don't know if it works on Windows 7.  Maybe give it a try?

807

Non-Windows Software / Re: Quick Ways to Start Programs in X11 Environments

« Last post by Edvard on September 03, 2013, 10:56 PM »

Have you tried Synapse?  No way it's even in the same ballpark as FARR, but it has a bunch of snazzy plugins, and is pretty darn snappy.
https://launchpad.net/synapse-project

808

Developer's Corner / Re: Free Online Educational Offering: Major or Minor in Computer Science at Saylor

« Last post by Edvard on September 03, 2013, 10:32 PM »

The best thing to do would be to take your newly-acquired knowledge that came with the sheepskin and do something with it.  Do lots of things.  Code something for NANY.  Contribute to some Open-Source projects.  Apply for every appropriate job you can think of on places like Odesk,eLance, or Guru.com.  Take all those things and keep details of every single one of them and whip it all into a spanky new CV/Résumé. 

THEN it won't matter if it's from Saylor, Harvard, or the local Public Library; you've got EXPERIENCE to back up your fancy certificate, which is worth much, much more.

809

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by Edvard on September 02, 2013, 01:33 PM »

^^ that. was. awesome.

810

Non-Windows Software / Re: A new section for Linux, cross-platform code, embedded, mac, android, ios, etc.

« Last post by Edvard on August 31, 2013, 08:28 PM »

I would also say that discussion of cross-platform software here would be best limited to it's performance on non-Windows systems. 
For example, discussing Firefox in general would be more appropriate on the main software board.  Running Firefox on Haiku would be preferably discussed here.

811

Non-Windows Software / Re: A new section for Linux, cross-platform code, embedded, mac, android, ios, etc.

« Last post by Edvard on August 31, 2013, 08:22 PM »

WINE itself would count, because it is software intended to run on a non-windows system.  Discussing things like how to make [software package] run on WINE may be a gray area, and (in my opinion) MUCH better discussed on the WINE boards.  Software that runs on WINE... read the section heading and do the math.

812

Non-Windows Software / Re: A new section for Linux, cross-platform code, embedded, mac, android, ios, etc.

« Last post by Edvard on August 31, 2013, 01:41 PM »

The "etc." at the end of the topic heading "A new section for Linux, cross-platform code, embedded, mac, android, ios, etc." and the fact that the section is entitled "Non-Windows Software" would apparently include FreeBSD, [whatever]BSD, OS/2, Haiku, FreeDOS, VisopSys, Amiga (yes, it's still being developed and hardware produced), FreeVMS, KolibriOS, AROS, DearGodMakeItStopOS, etc. and all flavors of GNU/Linux you can dream up.



So quit yer bitchin'  

I'm still looking for a solid informational post about Linux here.

-Tuxman (August 31, 2013, 11:10 AM)

Be my guest...

813

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by Edvard on August 31, 2013, 11:02 AM »

Relevant: http://freecoin.ch/

814

Living Room / Re: Warp Drive Tech?

« Last post by Edvard on August 29, 2013, 11:55 PM »

Nah, we'd be more like the apes around the Obelisk.




With warp drive.

815

Living Room / Re: ArsTechnica - One Week Eating Nothing But Soylent

« Last post by Edvard on August 29, 2013, 11:44 PM »

Well, it's at least a better idea than trying to subsist on monkey chow.
*gag* 

816

Living Room / Re: The effort in xkcd comics

« Last post by Edvard on August 27, 2013, 01:07 AM »

Holy crap... Why do I know the answers to a little under half of these without searching Wikipedia? 

817

Living Room / Re: My Gadget Idea: "Timestamper Disc"

« Last post by Edvard on August 20, 2013, 10:46 PM »

Great idea Mouser, I suggest you patent it ASAP. 

-Edvard (August 20, 2013, 08:32 PM)

YES! Then go trolling with an overly-broad interpretation of the patent and all of a sudden you no longer need Kickstarter~!

-Renegade (August 20, 2013, 09:59 PM)

Nah, I believe that as long as you use a patent like patents were intended to be used, it's a good thing.  Too bad the system was gamed long ago...

818

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome’s insane password security strategy

« Last post by Edvard on August 20, 2013, 09:20 PM »

Aaaand it's in Chromium too.  Damn.  And it was such a fast browser... 

819

Living Room / Re: Make an original joke or riddle

« Last post by Edvard on August 20, 2013, 09:15 PM »

...
PUZZLE #1

For the coders & programmers out there, create a recursive version of the above riddle.

-Renegade (August 20, 2013, 07:50 AM)

If the thread ever gets to 'Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower' it gets recursive.

In the booklet accompanying his Biograph album, Dylan said: "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way... Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

820

Living Room / Re: Groklaw shutting down because of our new US survelliance state

« Last post by Edvard on August 20, 2013, 09:01 PM »

This is doubly sad, because in a way, it's exactly what a totalitarian government would want.  You want free speech?  Fine, as long as we can listen in.  Oh, you're not talking then?  Good, we won't have to make the effort to tell you to shut up.

Bad bad bad bad bad...

821

Living Room / Re: Animal Friends thread

« Last post by Edvard on August 20, 2013, 08:39 PM »

822

Living Room / Re: My Gadget Idea: "Timestamper Disc"

« Last post by Edvard on August 20, 2013, 08:32 PM »

Very interesting idea.  I REALLY like the round form factor, so it really is like a button.  In fact, make the whole face pressure-sensitive so no need for a smaller button... Fitts' Law and all that...
It should also be as thin as possible, and since we now have the technology for super-thin flexible batteries, it should be doable down to the thickness of a coin.
As Renegade pointed out, the most difficult hurdle financially would be the round form factor.  It would be harder to do and use more material per item, thus cost more to manufacture, BUT as with many new ideas, the first ones out the door can open floodgates... 

I'm also in agreement that the most practical application of this idea may be to print some sort of round bar code (like ShotCode)on a sticker that would interface with an app on your phone, and put it in places you want reminders for.  They could also be printed or stuck on kitchen-magnet material or vinyl clings, things like that.  All you'd need is a printer, some label stock and the phone app, and with phones as ubiquitous as they are now, it's not as inconvenient as you may think.

Great idea Mouser, I suggest you patent it ASAP. 

823

Living Room / Re: Edward Snowden's Email Provider Shut Down Rather Than Comply With Feds

« Last post by Edvard on August 18, 2013, 06:27 PM »

Because with everything that's been happening lately, there is no longer any doubt that it is they who are the criminals.  This government has firmly and forever overstepped the bounds of the Constitution it claims to derive it's existence from.  

-Edvard (August 09, 2013, 04:32 PM)

I really hope not "forever".

-Renegade (August 10, 2013, 10:30 PM)

Me neither, but name me a time when the government or any of it's agencies did something 'over the line' and subsequently went "Oops, my bad" and backstepped?
I'm sure it's happened, but I'm also sure it got spun 'til it puked and buried in the background (and therefore, out of the history books) very quickly.

No fair replying "Watergate".

P.S. If anyone knows of a good email service provider with a similar policy, please let me know.

-Edvard (August 08, 2013, 11:24 PM)

riseup.net

-Attronarch (August 17, 2013, 02:39 AM)

Interesting, thanks for the link.  I've also found a lot of other encrypted mail services lately, but they all charge quite a bit for their services (understandably so...).  It was very gracious of Mr. Levison to offer not one but TWO different tiers of free accounts, and though I used IMAP, I always kept the setting "Delete message from server" on.

Whoever made this one must know Renegade:
 ...
 

-40hz (August 18, 2013, 11:26 AM)

LOL!!  Awesome!

824

Living Room / Re: Chocolate Medicine

« Last post by Edvard on August 16, 2013, 12:23 PM »

Although there's something to be said for convenience.  When I get a headache, I'm none too keen on finding the closest local willow tree, and go about scraping and brewing enough bark to gain relief.   
But yes, most patented medicines have biological roots for their inspiration.  The patent lies in the extraction, isolation, manufacture and 'tweaking the dose'. 

825

Living Room / Re: *Email privacy and security survey*

« Last post by Edvard on August 16, 2013, 11:55 AM »

Yes, I know what it is, and I also know the Gnu version, GPG, and about the OpenPGP standard.
Do I use it for email?  No.  Why, if I was whining so loudly about my beloved Lavabit shutting down?
Because 1- I just don't go emailing around sensitive information that would require it.  I'm not that important and neither are my email messages to friends and family.  My primary concern was to prevent "casual hacking" which might reveal passwords or other information I had stored in email (not smart, I know, and I started using POP3 instead of IMAP after someone apparently brute-forced my password to start sending out spam.  *sigh* Different story.)
2- I would have to teach my brothers, mother, grandmother, cousins and aunts/uncles and friends all about how to use it and why they can't read emails from me unless they did.  No thanks.

In my post about Lavabit shutting down, I described my very simple reason for using an email service that was encrypted, and it was about simple prevention of "casual hacking" which might reveal passwords or other information I had stored in email (not smart, I know, and I started using POP3 instead of IMAP and erasing messages from the server after someone apparently brute-forced my password to start sending out spam.  *sigh* Different story.)

Anyways, I do use GPG to encrypt my password vault, does that count?