Recent Posts

8551

Living Room / Re: Is SEO worth the trouble?

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2011, 05:07 AM »

Yes of course. But these are Wordpress frameworks, like those mahesh2k have mentioned. Example StudioPress http://www.studiopre...s.com/themes/genesis

The transporter plugin, made by framework people, is to migrate SEO data between supported WP plugins/themes. You need a tool to migrate! Which points to the problem I mentioned. mahesh2k find it hard to see there is a problem because as long as you use a framework you can switch to something else just like that. Yeees, but within that framework

-Bamse (January 27, 2011, 04:49 AM)

Duh... That'll teach me to skim... 

8552

Living Room / Re: Is SEO worth the trouble?

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2011, 04:47 AM »

But most blogs/websites are not build on frameworks

???

Huh? I think the vast majority of them are built on frameworks or use a CMS, which is just a specialized framework.

Some include:

WordPress
Joomla
Drupal
DotNetNuke
etc. etc.

It's a huge list.

8553

Living Room / Re: Post Your Funny Videos Here [NSFW]

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2011, 04:39 AM »

"Fuck you" Sign language performance

[...]

It's simple fantastic! She's really got it nailed down.

-Renegade (January 26, 2011, 09:53 PM)

unfortunately all versions are blocked by EMI or WMG here
they seem to block a lot more stuff in Germany - even compared to UK/Ireland

-tomos (January 27, 2011, 02:35 AM)

What????

The sign language exam is blocked there?

THAT is seriously messed up.

1) It's fair use. The music is nowhere near production quality -- it's a video camera...
2) Censored for language? Wow... That would be totally nuts.

I can't think of any other possible reasons.

Either way it blows.

8554

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple Photo Resizer - Please Give Feedback

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2011, 04:34 AM »

regarding IrfanView

by the way, all your wife needs to remember is, to press Ctrl+R > Alt+1 (for 1024x768 pixels), (or Alt+9 for 1920x1080 pixels),> OK > save.

-Curt (January 26, 2011, 03:08 AM)

and tell here to not look at the screen but at the keyboard ;-)

-Curt (January 27, 2011, 03:03 AM)

I was wondering what you were talking about there. I thought you meant in Windows Explorer... Which didn't work.

Got the memory done after one of my famous taco dinners~!

8555

N.A.N.Y. 2011 / Re: NANY MUGs

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2011, 01:54 AM »

YAY~!

Got my NANY mug coupon from mouser and promptly ordered this one:

8556

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple Photo Resizer - Please Give Feedback

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2011, 01:28 AM »

I know, I was just giving a 'no input required after installation' alternative for the specific example you mentioned.

For those people where even a slider is too confusing

-4wd (January 27, 2011, 12:39 AM)

Ah. Got it.




UPDATE: I've just finished the mouse wheel scrolling and a few other things in there. Download here. ed. Update is here.

Changes/tweaks:

* Mouse wheel works to resize (by 10%).
* Preview is much faster now (lower quality preview, but still high-quality saved image)
* +/- images work to resize (by 32px per click)
* No forcing image sizes in multiples of 16
* Minimum image size is 64px wide (It's not an icon resizer)
* Initial preview set to 25%'s closest multiple of 16
* Min size 32px wide, Max size 100%

TODO:

* Save image size for next image (remember)

Am I forgetting anything?


UPDATE 2011-03-25:
Follow up is in this thread.

8557

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple Photo Resizer - Please Give Feedback

« Last post by Renegade on January 27, 2011, 12:31 AM »

i.e. People want to reduce photos to make them smaller to upload or email (most often).

-Renegade (January 24, 2011, 03:58 PM)

I stuck Shrink Pic on the wife's computer, set dimensions that were a good compromise of file size/readibility and then promptly forget about it.  It takes care of all emailed pictures, (and now uploaded ones too, I see).
 (see attachment in previous post)

-4wd (January 26, 2011, 11:27 PM)

I know I could go out and find something... But...

I'd tried to get her to use IrfanView:



But nope. Too complicated.

Hermite? Bell? Mitchell? Is this a baseball team lineup?

Sharpen? I don't see any knives in the picture...

DPI? Damn Photo Isnotworking...




Still plugging away here though -- working on scrolling to resize and speeding it up a bit.

8558

Living Room / Re: Is pranking Josh unfair?

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 10:38 PM »

Hahahahaha~! Nice!

8559

Living Room / Re: Post Your Funny Videos Here [NSFW]

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 10:23 PM »

I actually got that one from Nick Bradbury.

8560

Living Room / Re: Post Your Funny Videos Here [NSFW]

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 10:19 PM »

Nice find Renegade! I can't speak for the accuracy of the signing, but it looked good to me, and her performance was great. I dig that song too.

- Oshyan

-JavaJones (January 26, 2011, 10:14 PM)

If you check out the original video, Cee Lo Green signs "fuck you" in there at about 2:20, so I think she got that one right.

8561

Living Room / Re: Post Your Funny Videos Here [NSFW]

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 09:53 PM »

"Fuck you" Sign language performance

It's simple fantastic! She's really got it nailed down.

Lyrics

Fuck You Lyrics

(Chorus)
I see you driving 'round town
With the girl i love and i'm like,
Fuck you!
Oo, oo, ooo
I guess the change in my pocket
Wasn't enough i'm like,
Fuck you!
And fuck her too!
I said, if i was richer, i'd still be with ya
Ha, now ain't that some shit? (ain't that some shit?)
And although there's pain in my chest
I still wish you the best with a...
Fuck you!
Oo, oo, ooo

Yeah i'm sorry, i can't afford a ferrari,
But that don't mean i can't get you there.
I guess he's an xbox and i'm more atari,
But the way you play your game ain't fair.

I picture the fool that falls in love with you
(oh shit she's a gold digger)
Well
(just thought you should know nigga)
Ooooooh
I've got some news for you
Yeah go run and tell your little boyfriend

(chorus)

Now i know, that i had to borrow,
Beg and steal and lie and cheat.
Trying to keep ya, trying to please ya.
'Cause being in love with you ass ain't cheap.

I picture the fool that falls in love with you
(oh shit she's a gold digger)
Well
(just thought you should know nigga)
Ooooooh
I've got some news for you
i really hate yo ass right now
(chorus)

Now baby, baby, baby, why d'you wanna wanna hurt me so bad?

(so bad, so bad, so bad)
I tried to tell my mamma but she told me
"this is one for your dad"
(your dad, your dad, your dad)
Uh! Whhhy? Uh! Whhhy? Uh!
Whhhy lady? Oh! I love you oh!
I still love you. Oooh!

(chorus)

8562

Living Room / Re: Is pranking Josh unfair?

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 09:43 PM »

Depends. Does it come with lifetime pranking upgrades?

-worstje (January 26, 2011, 09:42 PM)

Hahahaha~!

Or is it on a subscription basis? Why not add injury to insult~!

8563

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple Photo Resizer - Please Give Feedback

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 09:42 PM »

Honestly there are far too many yahoos out there who would just use max quality because they think it's always better, and there are too many over-large images around as it is. So I'm in favor of the fixed 80% quality.

What resampling algorithm are you using? I haven't tested your app, and the results you've posted above look fine, so I'm sure you're using something decent. But algorithm used in a downsample can have as much effect on the look of the output as the JPG compression ratio. Usually Lanczos is the safest bet, but Bicubic (sharper) or even Bilinear give acceptable results.

- Oshyan

-JavaJones (January 26, 2011, 12:35 PM)

Bicubic.

Specifically, InterpolationMode.HighQualityBicubic.

There's not much sense in using anything else right now. I wanted to just get it done, and didn't want to fart around too much with looking into high quality algorithms. I often get distracted by going overboard on some things and using far too much tech for the task. I'm the nitwit that when looking at storing a list of names, will say to myself, "But what if I want to store a list of names for everyone on the planet? Well, a flat file won't do, because that's too hard to search. I should use this database engine because I can search much more efficiently through there! Now... Where am I going to get a complete list of everyone's names..." So, I'm trying to avoid that as it slows me down too much. i.e. Sometimes things need to be good, and sometimes they just need to be "good enough".

I think the results are good for what it is.

At some point I'll be looking into some other better solutions, but for now, I just want to get things done.

BTW - Still working on it -- getting some stuff cleaned up, refactored, and getting the scrolling stuff in there.

8564

Living Room / Re: The Coolest Macintosh I've Ever Seen!

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 10:00 AM »

Do they have one featuring Joann Kelly or Evangeline Lilly by any chance?

I'm a great admirer of Canadian fine art.   

-40hz (January 25, 2011, 05:28 PM)

I do a mean polar bear in a blizzard~!

8565

DC Gamer Club / Re: RIFT - MMORPG Beta Invite

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 09:50 AM »

It's a bit rules heavy, but if you know how to play, and can use the rules fast, it's far better than other systems. Especially for building characters.

-Renegade (January 26, 2011, 01:43 AM)

You *do* realize that this is a debate even worse than the OSX vs Windows vs Linux debates, don't you?  So don't get me started... this is one that I can *really* get into.  It even involves prob and stats! 

-wraith808 (January 26, 2011, 09:47 AM)

Ok ok ok...

For speed of play, Palladium rocks.

Muahahahaha~!

8566

Site/Forum Features / Re: Need some quick help identifying the new forum problem with character sets

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 09:43 AM »

Not sure if this helps diagnose, but...

• SMF
• YaBB SE

• SMF
• YaBB SE

• SMF
• YaBB SE

• SMF
• YaBB SE

• SMF
• YaBB SE

That's just pure BBcode from here:

http://docs.simplema...ndex.php?topic=696.0

It displays properly.

i.e. Not a server issue.

The issue sounds either PHP or DB related.

8567

Living Room / Re: Hosting in the UK

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 07:10 AM »

Does anyone have any recommendations for a hosting solution in the UK? I run a website for a small group with the need for PHP and MySQL support. I'm not exactly unhappy with my current host, but they seem to have have become a bit "dormant" and it's making me more nervous as I renew each year.

I did find a few threads on the forum but they are from about 2 years ago so I am not sure if any reccomendations would still stand.

Thanks

-markan (January 26, 2011, 06:59 AM)

I use The Planet and Softlayer, and they've been very good. I believe that they have an IDC in the UK... You'd need to double check though.

8568

Living Room / Re: Sony v. Hotz: Sony Sends a Dangerous Message to Researchers -- and Its Customers

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 06:06 AM »

May as well start planning to become a criminal mastermind, it seems everyone (here) in the UK is automatically a criminal by default - no point being a petty criminal. think big.

-nudone (January 26, 2011, 05:32 AM)

Grrr... I hate it, but you're pretty much right.

The thing is, good people that haven't done anything "wrong" are criminals! HUH? WTF!?!

I have a problem with doing things that hurt other people and things that I find morally or ethically repugnant. But I don't really have a problem with breaking the law. I just have no respect for the law at all anymore. I've lost it. None. Zero. It's a bunch of crap.

I don't steal from people because it's wrong -- not because there's a law.

I don't speed like a demon -- not because it's against the law, but because it's simply dangerous.

I don't do certain kinds of business because I find them morally/ethically repugnant, but they are still legal...

Sigh...

Making criminals out of good people isn't what a benevolent state does -- it's what an evil state does.



I think I want to go bury my head in the sand...

8569

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple Photo Resizer - Please Give Feedback

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 05:28 AM »

edit: just tested it - it does do drag and drop. excellent.

-nudone (January 26, 2011, 05:22 AM)

Hahahah~! That's the ONLY way to load an image with it. I figured clicking & browsing is simply too slow & difficult. And, it needs another button that clutters up the UI.

8570

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple Photo Resizer - Please Give Feedback

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 05:03 AM »

I think this type of image works fine for the compression you've set. I can see very tiny artifacts introduced into the face and shirt on image A - but that's because I know what to look for when doing these types of comparison.

But, the point is, without being able to do such a comparison I would be perfectly happy with image A - the difference is insignificant anyway.

I think for the general purpose the program will be used for it's worth that amount of compression. If people were trying to reduce images that contained more solid blocks of colour and hard edges then 80% is a bit too much, more like 90 or even 95 would be about right - but, again, that's not really the intended audience and use.

-nudone (January 26, 2011, 04:52 AM)

And the resident expert steps in~!

Being an expert as you are, I'm quite sure that you're more easily going to see those quality reductions than your average Joe.

And yes -- for certain types of images, 80 is going to be low. But, for your normal photograph taken on a digital camera by Joe Average, you're not really going to get those kinds of hard lines and solids. Which is why I went with 80. It preserves enough quality, and gets the file size down to a quickly emailed or quickly uploaded size.

It's one of those things that I just figured isn't worth bothering with because it's only going to confuse people. How many people actually understand much about compression, let alone lossey compression which is far more complicated.

To put something like that in, I think a simple rating of high, medium, and low quality would be more than enough. High at 90%, medium at 80%, and low at 60%.

nudone -- what %'s would you use?

8571

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple Photo Resizer - Please Give Feedback

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 03:47 AM »

Congratulations on your new application, Renegade ;-)

While in theory I agree with many of your point of views, I simply cannot understand the reason for this one:

... JPG ratios? 80% is good enough.

-Renegade (January 23, 2011, 10:21 PM)

In my opinion, 80% is never good enough. Especially the iris in the eye will need more, I think. Well, in fact the "80%" is the very reason I haven't tested your program. But of course, the program was not made for me but for your wife ;-)

-Curt (January 26, 2011, 02:59 AM)

Years and years of experience.

80% for JPGs is almost indistinguishable from 100%, and the file size savings are massive in comparison.

Remember, this is designed for people to produce an "end product" picture that's going to be used somewhere for viewing, not for processing again.

But, the proof is in the pudding. Here are 2 pictures, creatively named A and B. (Down below - scroll then scroll.)

Look at each one quickly to see if you can tell the difference, then take a closer look and see if you can tell the difference. Make sure to view them at the same position on your screen as viewing angles can shift perception.





Scroll more...







Scroll more...











Scroll more...








Scroll more...





A









B













Have a look, then tell me which one is 80% and which is 100%. The 80% file is 285 KB while the 100% file is 890 KB.

Make sure to not look at the file size if you download them as that defeats the purpose.

*If* you can tell the difference, note just how difficult it is to do so.

285 vs. 890. That's why I chose 80.

(edit -- change images to full to avoid load time bias)

8572

DC Gamer Club / Re: RIFT - MMORPG Beta Invite

« Last post by Renegade on January 26, 2011, 01:43 AM »

What is the Hero system you're talking about?

-Deozaan (January 25, 2011, 10:34 PM)

If it's what I'm thinking about, it's the same system that's behind Champions.  Good for Superheroes... I don't like it for much else.  Also a bit heavy in the rules, IMO.

-wraith808 (January 25, 2011, 11:00 PM)

Yeop.

http://www.herogames.com/

It's a bit rules heavy, but if you know how to play, and can use the rules fast, it's far better than other systems. Especially for building characters.

8573

Living Room / Re: ARTICLE: How not to change a licensing model

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2011, 08:15 PM »

BEGIN_RANT

How about Apple.

You buy a product from their store, you agree to the license.

Later, if you want an upgrade or re-download, YOU MUST agree with the changes or will not be able to download the software you PAID for. And of course, the only way to back it up is with iTunes.

The terms of service changes at Apples will (which changes frequently),and you have NO SAYING on it. I do not understand how this is legal, but I guess law is in the side of whoever has the deepest pocket.

END_RANT

-rxantos (January 25, 2011, 01:43 PM)

+1

That it is allowed is nuts. It's dishonest and fraudulent. Purchasing under a set of conditions is one thing, but it's very "Darth Vaderish" to change them.

Darth Vader: Calrissian. Take the princess and the Wookie to my ship.
Lando: You said they'd be left at the city under my supervision!
Darth Vader: I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.

8574

Living Room / Re: Do universities have a claim on students' IP?

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2011, 07:43 PM »

Read The Constitution of the United States for further details. Free copies of which can be found in wastebaskets conveniently located throughout the US Capitol Building and White House.   

-40hz (January 25, 2011, 07:19 PM)

Ah! Thanks for the tip there! I would have ended up wasting time looking for used toilet paper~!

But while I may not have found the Constitution, I likely would have found copies of the Bill of Rights...

8575

Living Room / Re: Sony v. Hotz: Sony Sends a Dangerous Message to Researchers -- and Its Customers

« Last post by Renegade on January 25, 2011, 07:12 PM »

They have already -*1* it is illegal in the UK to buy or have access to any software that CAN be used to circumvent copyright protection. You don't have to use the software to actually do that.

This means that technically *2* you could face criminal charges for owning a software debugger because it could be potentially used (as one part of a toolkit) to work out how copyright protection works.

Presumably it also means it is illegal to use software to allow you to rip certain copyright protected CDs to media players because it has to circumvent the protection.

The Sony Rootkit debacle was an example of software protected in law in the UK. Technically once you have inserted an offending Sony audio CD *3* if you remove the rootkit from your computer (or even attempt to and don't succeed) you are guilty of a criminal act - even though you never installed it, asked for it to be installed, or agreed to any license to allow its installation and that it effectively acted as a virus subverting the normal running of your computer. Presumably if you look for instructions on the internet on how to remove the rootkit and download those instructions to your computer but never actually use them then you are also breaking the law.

It strikes me as madness that UK law is now designed to favour foreign corporations over the thoughts of its own people. *4* Brave New World is here - and has been for some time.

-Carol Haynes (January 25, 2011, 01:12 PM)

AAARRRGGGHHH~~~!!!



Had to scream... That stuff drives me nuts.

*1* That's a moronic law.

*2* And there's one reason why.

*3* Next we'll have virus authors suing anti-virus vendors, and people that use anti-virus software thrown in prison...

*4* You're so right. And it's a shame. Laws now seem to be designed to make EVERYONE a criminal so that ANYONE can be thrown in prison at any time.

Just so I'm clear on the topic...



AAARRRGGGHHH~~~!!!



+1 Carol!