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8376
General Software Discussion / Re: Editor able to handle very large files
« Last post by 40hz on January 17, 2011, 12:33 PM »
I'm not a coder by any stretch, but I do occasionally have to do things with very large text files.

Normally when in Windows I'll use Notepad++ since I'm most familiar with it. When I encounter a file it chokes on, I've had very good luck with EmEditor (www.emeditor.com).

Since it doesn't keep the entire file in RAM it can handle huge files.  It's not free however. A single license will set you back somewhere around $45 USD. Last time I looked they had a full featured trial copy available for download. Wouldn't cost you anything to try it out on your file first.

Might be worth a look if somebody can't point you to a freebie.  :)

If I were working in a NIX environment, I'd just use VIM. Never found anything it couldn't handle.  8)
8377
Living Room / Re: Forum / Thread Etiquette
« Last post by 40hz on January 17, 2011, 07:57 AM »

My understanding is that twit filters are a per-user setting, so they wouldn't prevent the 'target' from posting.  It just would make it so that if (for example) I never wanted to read another thing that mouser wrote, I could have the system help me out with that instead of having to avert my eyes.

Since it's a personal setting, I see no particular problem with enabling it (no one can force anyone to read posts anyway).
-mwb1100 (January 17, 2011, 01:46 AM)

The reason I thought they weren't a good idea is for more practical reasons than anything else.

What I've seen happen in some forums I'm involved in (where filters are used) is that the person filtering doesn't see all the posts.

Sooner or later what happens is that two separate conversations start to develop because of it. Things get challenged that were already explained, questions are asked that were already answered, etc. because the person who is blocking is missing pieces of the dialog.

This can create a great deal of frustration for the other participants. Usually the person who's doing the blocking ends up feeling they are being treated unfairly when they're eventually told: "Well, if you could be bothered to read the entire thread before you post something..."

So that's why I feel it's not a generally good idea.

I'm all for allowing someone to block somebody from PMing or otherwise messaging them. Because messages are private conversations. But a forum is a public one. And in order for a public conversation to be conducted effectively, all the participants need to be on the exact same page.

Works much the same way in the non-digital world. At a social gathering, nobody expects us to have a conversation with someone we don't really want to talk to. But we are expected to act politely and civilly towards them while we're there. And when they're rude, not to respond in the same manner. It's the responsibility of the hosts to deal with the chronically unruly and impolite.

Just my  :two:

 :)

8378
Living Room / Re: I need advice: which laptop to buy?
« Last post by 40hz on January 17, 2011, 06:52 AM »

None of the laptops I saw being advertised over the last months came with a SSD drive, would I need to have this one custom-built? Or is there something out there that's a fit?

Any pointers or feedback welcome!
-brotherS (January 17, 2011, 06:26 AM)

You should be able to install one yourself fairly easily depending on the laptop you get. The usual way most people do it is to is to purchase a caddy adapter that holds the SSD. With this arrangement, the SSD replaces the optical drive. Since you want to watch DVDs. that's not going to be a workable solution for you.
 
However, you can also replace the HD with an SSD if you can't find a laptop that comes with one. The procedure is straightforward provided the contents of your harddrive don't exceed the capacity of your SSD. If they do, you will need to do some file pruning and bakup before you can switch over.

Here's the steps:

  • image the laptop's harddrive
  • remove the HD
  • install the SSD
  • copy back the harddrive image to the SSD

That's it!

If it's a new machine, and it ships with a system recovery/reinstallation DVD (or let's you make one) the project gets even easier. In this case there's nothing to backup or clone because you haven't used the PC yet. In this case:

  • remove theHD
  • install the SSD
  • install the factory OS and applications from the OEM recovery DVD

Get yourself an external enclosure for the HD and you can put it to use as a backup device.

Some companies offer kits that contain everything (external enclosure for the old harddrive, cloning software, etc.) that you'll need to do this easily. But they add expense to an already expensive component, so it may not be worth it to you to buy a complete kit. You don't really need it. It just makes things more convenient.

There's a video that shows the process using a Kensington SSD laptop replacement kit. Watch it here. There's probably better how-to videos up on YouTube.

Luck! :Thmbsup:

8379
N.A.N.Y. 2011 / Re: That NANY badge
« Last post by 40hz on January 16, 2011, 08:41 PM »
I was thinking that the number of times you participated in NANY might be considered more important than which year it happened in. Maybe what you could try is to provide two badges. One to indicate you participated either in any NANY - or possibly just the most recent. The second badge could then have a changeable numeric element to acknowledge the times someone's participated. Doing it this way eliminates the need for a multiple badges to show the same thing.

As long as there's a "Hall of Fame" of Honor Roll type page with the names and the years of participation, anybody who wanted could just look it up if they were that interested.

But again, I don't think it's so important what year somebody did NANY. IMO what's important  is the fact someone did it at all. And additional distinction comes from how many times the effort was repeated.

Just thinking out loud.
8380
Living Room / Re: Miss America Hates Wikileaks, Might Be An Idiot =D
« Last post by 40hz on January 16, 2011, 08:05 PM »
Pleased to learn she's interested in pursuing a career in politics. I'm sure I'll sleep better nights knowing that. :)
8381
Living Room / Re: Forum / Thread Etiquette
« Last post by 40hz on January 16, 2011, 02:57 PM »
Also known as a "bozo filter."

IMO not a generally good idea.  :)
8382
General Software Discussion / Re: Word Processor OS
« Last post by 40hz on January 16, 2011, 02:31 PM »
+2! :-*

Fan-freekin'-tastic!

4wd, you da man!  :Thmbsup:


8383
DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Strangeness in posting...
« Last post by 40hz on January 16, 2011, 02:22 PM »
@Mouser - Sleep-posting? Intriguing idea + great descriptive term. Is that your own?
8384
General Software Discussion / Re: Let's try to create our own suite for internet security.
« Last post by 40hz on January 16, 2011, 08:49 AM »
For this discussion, do we also want to consider boundary defense measures?

There are several free (or mostly free) products available for download that can provide a major boost to security and network performance over the consumer grade (Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, et al.) router/switch combos most people use.

I'm thinking of the community editions of products like:


None of these products are difficult to work with. Maybe they'e not suited for absolute beginners - but none of them should pose much challenge to a moderately experienced PC user. Nice browser-based front ends too. No need to keep a keyboard or monitor attached once they're set up.

Just to give you some idea :


clearos-small.png    Untangle.gif

All of the above have community editions that are free for the download. Most are licensed under some flavor of GPL. However, if you're going to use them in a business setting, please be sure to double-check the EULAs. Some of these products may also include supplemental software that is not under GPL. In most cases, free personal use is permitted.

Since these are dedicated 'security appliance' applications you'll need something to run them on. All can be loaded on relatively low-end PCs. You could build a bespoke mini-PC, or use almost any old desktop or laptop you haven't gotten around to recycling.

Take that 'old box,' throw in a second NIC, run the installer, and you're ready to go.  :Thmbsup:

Cool tools.  8)

-----------------
@SB- If not in this thread, maybe we could start a second one?
8385
DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Problems with attaching an attachment to a post...
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 05:13 PM »
yes i wonder.. did you attach an image to the post you lost?
-mouser (January 15, 2011, 01:54 PM)

Originally no. All text plus several pasted URLs. The disappearing act happened after I had been editing for a while. When I finally went to save - poof! Which was odd because I hit preview several times and that worked just fine.
8386
Living Room / Re: What Do You Think About ANONYMOUS?
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 04:31 PM »
Dunno. To my way of thinking, Anonymous seems to want their cake and eat it too.  "Let's be revolutionaries - but not stick our necks out too far in the process."

Might work if the world were as virtual as some people wish it were.

FWIW I have yet to learn of any revolution or seismIc social change that took place without a clearly named individual being identified with the cause and leading it. People follow another person into battle. The cause may generate the buzz that sets the stage and bring about a critical mass.  But AFAIK it always an individual that serves as the catalyst for action. So whether it's Alexander, Khan, Buddah, Christ, Spartacus, George Washington, Ayotollah Kohmeni, Gorbechev - or even Stalin or Hitler - people look for names to follow. And truth be told, for someone willing to serve as a human sacrifice should push truly come to shove. (Note: it usually does.)

To succeed, every revolution needs its hero - and often its martyrs.

Maybe the Facebook generation will operate differently from the rest of human history when it comes to this. Perhaps this will be a turning point - the first revolution by anonymous proxy.

But I'll hold off on sending champagne and flowers for now.  
8387
DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Problems with attaching an attachment to a post...
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 02:00 PM »
Possibly related to this issue as well?

https://www.donation....msg231057#msg231057

https://www.donation....msg230106#msg230106

One thing I have noticed. If you're using the Quick Reply, then hit preview, then continue editing/writing in the modify message box for long periods of time, there's a very good chance you'll get a server reset notice. It has happened to me often enough that I now do a select all/copy before I posting unless I'm using my own text editor.

Seems to indicate there's a timing issue somewhere with the database or a script. Does a new message entry tombstone out if it says open too long before being committed?

8388
DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Problems with attaching an attachment to a post...
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 01:52 PM »
Possibly related to this issue as well?

https://www.donation....msg231057#msg231057

https://www.donation....msg230106#msg230106

8389
Living Room / Re: What Do You Think About ANONYMOUS?
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 09:05 AM »
Yes. We'll see.   :)

8390
Living Room / Re: What Do You Think About ANONYMOUS?
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 08:37 AM »
I'm curious to see what form their "series of global protests" will take.

8391
DC Website Help and Extras / Re: Problems with attaching an attachment to a post...
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 08:30 AM »
Happens to me regularly since the server switchover.

It may be related to image dimensions on the initial post. Once any dimension gets up over 600 the problem starts cropping up for me. It also doesn't seem to like PNG format if you want to display the image as a thumbnail.

So for now, I try to stick to GIF or JPG and watch the dimensions. That and try again when it happens.

Luck! :)




8392
General Software Discussion / Re: Word Processor OS
« Last post by 40hz on January 15, 2011, 07:11 AM »
It has been abandoned for way more than a year - no support - but a number of users are ("were"; the forum is of course also dying; last post was in Nov. 2010) quite happy with Presto. Sadly, a full key still is $20, but the trial is fair;
-Curt (January 15, 2011, 04:42 AM)

It's been abandoned but they're still selling it? :huh:
-Deozaan (January 15, 2011, 05:02 AM)

Talk about an innovative business model!

I like it!  :Thmbsup: ;D
8393
Activation/License/Language Help / Re: A piece of Sh**
« Last post by 40hz on January 14, 2011, 02:16 PM »
doing this to people

Hehehe -- "to", not "for". :D
-Renegade (January 14, 2011, 09:54 AM)

Precisely!
-app103 (January 14, 2011, 02:09 PM)

app103 is a true 'take no prisoners' techno-goddess...  :Thmbsup:

Fear her!  :tellme:


 ;D

8394
Living Room / Re: Should I work for free?
« Last post by 40hz on January 14, 2011, 02:06 PM »
I wish I had that chart when I was first starting out.  :tellme:

   I probably wouldn't have been any less stupid. :huh:

      But I certainly would have been far less gullible.  8)

May all your nephew's internships be paid internships.  :Thmbsup:

;D
8395
Activation/License/Language Help / Re: A piece of Sh**
« Last post by 40hz on January 14, 2011, 11:08 AM »

I have to give you praise for your patience, because if it were me I'd just reinstall from scratch and set it up the way I like, big ol' scary taskbar on the right and all, and stick one of my wallpapers on her desktop. (I've had no complaints doing this to people yet  ;))
-app103 (January 14, 2011, 09:33 AM)

No praise deserved - for patience or anything else.

It was one of THOSE projects. Y'know... somebody you like asks you to help a person you normally wouldn't want to be stuck in the same room with. "Run away! Run away!" I'm sure you've had your share of those.

Besides, I didn't think it would be wise to presume anything with this particular woman. Very prickly.


 :tellme:
8396
Activation/License/Language Help / Re: A piece of Sh**
« Last post by 40hz on January 14, 2011, 06:10 AM »
Wow, took you 43 minutes to write this crap...  :D just kidding.

If you need more of that 'business', I can refer some of my family members and their notebooks.
-PhilB66 (January 14, 2011, 05:15 AM)

Oh! That's because I wrote it, then got occupied for a bit with the (fixed now) laptop, and forgot to send it.  ;D

Note: about a third of the total time (~5 hrs) was spent making backups, pulling a disk image, reboots, browsing the DoCo forums, getting coffee, and other non-interactive stuff. And the desktop that "hours and hours" were supposedly spent on? It's just a theme you can download from the Deviant Art website. What must have taken her "hours and hours" was finding it. There are something like fifty available 3rd-party themes sitting on this PC!
 :-\

-----
re: "Mo' biz"

If you got any more like that, let me give you the number of my most disliked competitor.

I'm a firm believer in sharing the wealth. :Thmbsup:
8397
Activation/License/Language Help / Re: A piece of Sh**
« Last post by 40hz on January 14, 2011, 04:40 AM »
Funny. It's now 4:55am...

I've been dealing with a very irate person's technical issue since about 9:45PM yesterday. She's a self-described 'expert user' who hard-crashed her Thinkpad after messing with things in the registry and system32 folder. Supposedly, this was done at the behest of the notebook manufacturer's phone support people. (Yeah...ok...maybeeeeee...)

Of course that doesn't explain why there's an almost complete copy of her My Documents folder inside her Favorites folder inside her My Documents folder! Plus one more complete copy of the previous mess in a folder named Favorites which is sitting on her desktop. Nor does it explain why the restoration recovery partition seems to be missing half its files. Or why...

The manufacturer recommended she backup her data and then do a full "factory restore" to fix the current problem. She does not want that. She has spent "hours and hours" customizing her desktop. She wants the laptop "fixed back to exactly the way it was before - except working." (Interesting way to phrase it, don't you think?)

She's a 'very good friend' of the very important client who gave her my name.  :-\

Long night...

Kinda goes with the turf.

Welcome to the world of tech support. ;D

Update: It is now 5:38am...

8398
General Software Discussion / Re: Let's try to create our own suite for internet security.
« Last post by 40hz on January 13, 2011, 08:54 PM »
@Bamse - I was familiar with Ketarin. Use it all the time. But SARDU was a new one for me. Thanks for sharing that. Looks likely to become a very useful addition to the toolkit.
 :Thmbsup:
8399
General Software Discussion / Re: Let's try to create our own suite for internet security.
« Last post by 40hz on January 13, 2011, 06:56 PM »
At the risk of getting flamed, I'd like to add any live Linux CD to the mix for mega-safe browsing.

Very difficult to infect read-only optical media. At least last time I checked.

Pick your favorite flavor. The latest Ubuntu 10 releases finally got wireless fixed. Most NICs will now work right out if the box. It actually works with my old Belkin USB Wireless G MIMO (FD9050) - which happens to be one of the more notoriously fidgety NICs out there. It even gets fussy under Windows. No wonder Belkin abandoned it.

FWIW It performs flawlessly using Ubuntu's 10.04 32-bit live CD.
8400
Living Room / Re: R.I.P. MySpace
« Last post by 40hz on January 13, 2011, 03:18 PM »
Can't wait to see where some of the idiots who were still hanging in there end up roosting once they shut it down completely...
-40hz (January 12, 2011, 09:29 AM)

Regular users will probably move to Facebook, and bands will probably move to Last.fm and those with CC licensed works to Jamendo, unless something even better comes along.
-app103 (January 12, 2011, 09:47 AM)

That's fine.

But I was really more wondering where the idiots would end up.

I want to make it a point never to go there. ;D
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