Recent Posts

8576

Living Room / Re: NEW Cody desert island wallpaper

« Last post by Deozaan on February 25, 2008, 03:34 PM »

Wow that's fantastic!

Now I have the Desert Island image on my main monitor and the Beach image on my second monitor. Looks like Cody got to the treasure first, but he lost a leg and his pirate hat fighting off Audrey and the others.

Actually, when I look at them closer, the island in this image is in the background of the Beach image. So it seems Cody knows he's been beat to the island everyone is heading for in this picture, and heads off to another island for the real loot!

Or maybe the Beach image was taken before and it shows that sly Cody tricking everyone by making the other island look like the treasure spot but burying his treasure on another nearby island. So in this new image Cody is making sure nobody is going to where the treasure really lies!

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Living Room / Re: Sleep is killing my mouse

« Last post by Deozaan on February 25, 2008, 01:44 PM »

so it was the usb->ps2 adapter that caused the problem? i would have never guessed that one adapter would work and the other wouldn't.  good to know.

-mouser (February 25, 2008, 01:39 PM)

It seems that way. Maybe the adapter is failing. Loose screw or something.

8578

Living Room / Re: USB Keyboard not available during windows boot sequence

« Last post by Deozaan on February 25, 2008, 12:44 PM »

After you upgraded the BIOS did you check the settings to make sure USB devices were enabled or check for legacy support like Wordzilla suggested?

Another possible method of finding an answer is to Google your problem. If other people have had the same problem you can often find other forums with the solution.

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Living Room / Re: Sleep is killing my mouse

« Last post by Deozaan on February 25, 2008, 12:37 PM »

I switched out my USB->PS2 adapter with the one for my other computer and now my mouse survives shutdowns and sleep mode. Hooray for S3 sleep!

The question now is, what will happen to my mouse on my other computer. 

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Living Room / Re: Sleep is killing my mouse

« Last post by Deozaan on February 24, 2008, 12:30 PM »

Well here's the thing: I've come to the conclusion that sleep mode is working as it should be. S3 is "deep sleep" and turns off USB ports. S1 isn't and doesn't.

My problem seems to be that something is wrong with my PS2 port (or USB->PS2 adapter) to keep stopping the mouse from working whenever my PC is shutdown or enters sleep mode.

8581

Living Room / Re: Sleep is killing my mouse

« Last post by Deozaan on February 24, 2008, 12:51 AM »

Well, after turning my computer on (from completely off) today my PS/2 mouse wasn't working again, so I plugged it back into the USB port and tested the difference with S1 and S3 sleep. S3 is definitely the culprit in stopping the USB from working during sleep, and unfortunately Lashiec's suggestion to uncheck those boxes didn't help. So I changed it to S1 mode and it works as it should.

Unfortunately, S1 sleep isn't quiet and it seems to me no use since all the lights are on and the fans are spinning. My wife will think it's on still and try to shut it off. S3 sleep was great until my PS2 mouse stopped working. I'm not sure what it is, since it was working when I shut it down but it stopped working when I turned it on.

It's a USB mouse with a USB->PS/2 adapter. I suppose it's possible that the adapter is failing. Maybe I can find another one to test it with. I was really enjoying the benefits of quiet S3 sleep.

8582

DC Gamer Club / Re: Lets get organized so we can get gaming!

« Last post by Deozaan on February 22, 2008, 09:33 PM »

Here are links to DC Members' game profiles on various services:

Steam

DonationCoder Steam Group

Ampa | Lanux128





Xbox Live or Games for Windows Live

GamerCards have been discontinued

PlayStation Network





Xfire

8583

DC Gamer Club / Re: Instant Action

« Last post by Deozaan on February 22, 2008, 08:31 PM »

What have I done? Opened the very gates of Trolltopia within the DC community?

Sure I'll send you one. Check your inbox.

Here's a tip: Don't write in all caps. It's annoying and is symbolic for shouting. Also use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation to the best of your ability. It really helps your message get across.

8584

DC Gamer Club / Re: Instant Action

« Last post by Deozaan on February 22, 2008, 04:44 PM »

Here's a YouTube video of one of the games you can play called Marble Blast Online:

http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=v0so3sPmOAg

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Living Room / Re: Sleep is killing my mouse

« Last post by Deozaan on February 22, 2008, 04:39 PM »

Thanks for the clarification on S1 and S3, mouser.

I shut off my computer to try the mouse back in the PS/2 port again and ran into some troubles getting my PC to turn on again.

Finally I managed to get it back on and now the mouse works in the PS/2 port. I haven't tried sleep mode or shutting down again because now I'm afraid that the PC won't turn on again.

I did go in and uncheck the "allow the system to turn off this device" for my USB Root Hubs, but now that the mouse is plugged into the PS/2 port again we'll see what happens.

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Living Room / Re: Sleep is killing my mouse

« Last post by Deozaan on February 22, 2008, 12:31 PM »

i think i have the answer, and this is a very important trick to know.

There are at least 2 different kinds of Standby modes (S1 and S3) that a PC can go into.  S1 leaves the fans and usb connections on, S3 turns off the fan and usb (this is the quite mode).

If you have a USB hardware device that does not wake up properly from sleep, then your solution might be to go to your bios and force it to use S3 mode instead of S1.

-mouser (February 21, 2008, 02:09 PM)

Okay so my question is why would changing it to S3 help if S3 turns off USB connections?

And by the way, my Sleep mode is quiet. No fans, no nothing. It goes down in a couple of seconds and takes maybe 15-20 seconds to come back up. When I use hibernate, though, it seems like it takes longer to hibernate than to actually shut down.

Am I mistaken in thinking that Sleep is S1 and Hibernate is S3?

8587

DC Gamer Club / Instant Action

« Last post by Deozaan on February 21, 2008, 05:50 PM »

There's a new gaming website called Instant Action that lets you play multiplayer 3D games in real-time in your web browser. It uses a browser add-on but I think it's cross-platform because it's all in the browser.

Anyway, it's in a pseudo closed beta right now. I was accepted into the beta and anyone I invite will also be accepted. There are only four games to choose from for now but at least two of them are kind of fun, depending on your play style. The reason why I only say two is because I haven't yet tried the other two in a multiplayer setting.

If you'd like to check it out and play with me (and other DC members) express your desire here and/or send me a PM with an e-mail address I can send the invitation to.

If anyone's heard of Marble Blast Ultra or Think Tanks (made by GarageGames), those are the two games I said are fun for sure.

Please note that this offer is for current DC Members. If you found this post from a search somewhere and came here looking for free goodies, then this may not be the place for that.

8588

Living Room / Sleep is killing my mouse

« Last post by Deozaan on February 21, 2008, 01:49 PM »

After mouser posted that entry about putting your computer into sleep mode or hibernation to save power and reduce startup times, I set my PC to do just that.

I set it up to go into sleep mode because in hibernate mode it takes longer to boot up and shut down. Anyway, it's been working great all this time up until yesterday.

Yesterday I woke up my computer and the mouse didn't work. I jiggled the cord and reseated the cables to make sure it was plugged in still. When that didn't work I rebooted. When that didn't work I shut the computer down and reseated the cables again. When that didn't work I removed the USB to PS2 adapter and plugged it directly into the USB port with the PC on. Windows made the little bleepy noise to indicate a USB device had been plugged and in a few seconds the mouse was working again. Problem solved, right?

Wrong!

Now every time I resume from sleep mode I have to unplug my mouse and plug it back into the USB port to get it to work. What can I do to get my mouse back permanently?

It's a Logitech TrackMan Wheel and I've never installed any drivers for it because it doesn't have any special buttons and has always worked just fine without them. I have Windows XP SP2. I have no idea what might have changed to cause this device to stop working.

8589

Living Room / Re: Ring the bells!!! The HD Format war is OVER!!! Toshiba forfeits

« Last post by Deozaan on February 21, 2008, 11:44 AM »

Just because Blu-Ray is the format winner that doesn't mean that Sony is the winner.

From Kotaku.com:

There are 176 companies in the Blu-ray Disc Association, including Sony competitors Samsung and Panasonic. They're not necessarily buddies! They're competing. This is business, not summer camp!

Interesting factoid: Before Sony released the PS3, HD DVD occupied 64 percent of HD format sales, and now Blu-ray accounts for 65 percent. The ironic bit: While Sony built up big Blu-ray support with the PS3, it doesn't solely own the technology. Sony must split royalties with other members of the Blu-ray association like Samsung and Panasonic — the same members Sony is battling with for market share!

Give me 1970's sci-fi space opera film grain any day.  But that's just a matter of preference.

-allen (February 20, 2008, 06:55 AM)

Here you go: Flash Gordon (1980)

8590

Living Room / Re: Making a dream PC for cheap (as possible) - help anyone?

« Last post by Deozaan on February 20, 2008, 01:10 AM »

Hey f0dder, check this out:

Eight-Core Intel Skulltrail. It's a motherboard that supports 2 Quad-Core CPUs.

8591

General Software Discussion / Re: Request from Blueberry for BB Flashback v2 Beta Testers

« Last post by Deozaan on February 19, 2008, 11:35 AM »

Mouser I tried to e-mail them but the e-mail address doesn't exist. The reason is because you have two different e-mail addresses in your message.

In short, you forgot the F at the beginning of the address underneath the quote.

I sent an e-mail to the address in the quotes and it went through this time.

8592

Official Announcements / Re: February 2008 Software Drawing Winners

« Last post by Deozaan on February 18, 2008, 02:29 PM »

Incidentally, who is that bird with the green spots and the top hat? Is that Cody's Uncle? I don't remember the green spots/vest on him before. But now that I look at my Rocket wallpaper nudone snapped a photo of and the original photo of Cody's Uncle, it seems he is wearing that vest.

8593

Official Announcements / Re: February 2008 Software Drawing Winners

« Last post by Deozaan on February 18, 2008, 02:19 PM »

I didn't even realize it was time for the monthly drawing. 

Congratulations to all those who won!

8594

General Software Discussion / Re: "Interrupts" - killing my CPU!

« Last post by Deozaan on February 16, 2008, 01:08 PM »

Right now I have 3 Windows Explorers, WhatPulse, Internet Explorer, Firefox (with 7 tabs open), Hamachi, Google Talk, uTorrent, WinAmp, Microsoft Groove, FileHamster, Active Desktop Calendar, PowerISO, UltraMon, and Symantec AntiVirus running or in the tray. With a total of 55 Processes running.

My System Idle Process is usually at 98 or 99% with an occasional dip down to the mid 80s for about a second.

I don't know how it's possible to get 20% CPU usage when you're not touching anything.

EDIT: My CPU is a single core AMD 64 3500+ 2.2Ghz running on WinXP SP2 (32-bit)

8595

Living Room / More Dangerous Products for Children from China!

« Last post by Deozaan on February 15, 2008, 07:24 PM »

A 10-year old boy finds a razor blade in a Pokemon themed Valentine's Day sucker.

I always thought the razor blade stories were urban legends for Halloween. This razor blade is embedded in the hardened candy and sealed in a wrapper!



Read about it and watch the video here.

8596

Living Room / Re: Would anyone want a free DonationCoder.com bumper sticker?

« Last post by Deozaan on February 14, 2008, 12:41 AM »

I've never been one to put a bumper sticker on my car, but since I bought it with one on it I don't think it would hurt to have one I actually care about.

My car would wear it.

8597

Living Room / Re: The Best Games You've Never Played

« Last post by Deozaan on February 09, 2008, 03:23 PM »

Other games I thought were great but not enough people played (totally biased to the ones I played!)
Sacrifice
Magic Carpet 1 & 2

-iphigenie (February 09, 2008, 04:22 AM)

I loved Sacrifice! That was one of the most beautiful games I'd ever seen at the time of its release (2000). Plus it put a new twist on the RTS genre by having you play as an actual unit in the battles.

I intended on playing it through 5 times (one for each god) and my first pick was Charnel (Necromancy), but I couldn't even get past the 2nd or 3rd level following Charnel. After that I started a new one following James (Earth), and I got to the final battle but couldn't beat it. I never played any of the other story lines. Hmm...

* Deozaan installs Sacrifice.

I dont usually like scary-ish games but this is so well done! One of the few games to make me nearly fall off my chair in a surprise (the other is an old game called Skynet), tells you how immersed I was

-iphigenie (February 09, 2008, 04:22 AM)

I haven't ever played any of the survival-horror games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill before, but one in a similar style called Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem was amazing! First of all the story is incredibly intricate, flowing over thousands of years and multiple main characters who are all linked. It's a big puzzle and the fun part of playing the game is letting the story unfold. It's easy to understand, but it takes time to come out. Not only that, but the Sanity Effects are crazy! I cannot describe the horror of when I went to save my game and quickly bypassed all the "Are you sure you want to save" screens by just pressing buttons really fast then it said "Deleting all save files!" with a progress bar taking several seconds to fill up. I was just distraught about the idea of all the hours I'd put into the game and also the hours my brother had, too, all being deleted! Then it says "This can't be happening!" and all my files were there after all.

Or when you're playing the game and suddenly a screen pops up saying something of the effect of "Thanks for playing the demo, buy the full game to continue!" and you're thinking "What the heck? I thought this was the full game! Oh man I'm going to yell at the Gamestop employee who sold me a demo disc in the retail package!!

Also the Rune-Based Magic System is great! You mix an alignment, a verb, and a noun to create a spell.

Anyway, the game is just incredible. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who hasn't played it. But you'll need a GameCube or Wii to play it.

8598

Living Room / Re: How many germs are living on your keyboard?

« Last post by Deozaan on February 09, 2008, 02:35 PM »

lol, deozaan. I don't think wiping your hands on the toilet seat would help much, the little cleaning brush beside the toilet works much better, and you even get a nice smelly after effect that reminds you to do it again the next time you sneeze.

-nite_monkey (February 09, 2008, 01:37 PM)

Sounds like the sage advice of someone with experience.

8599

Living Room / Re: How many germs are living on your keyboard?

« Last post by Deozaan on February 09, 2008, 12:39 AM »

2,381,820

Maybe if I wiped my hands on my toilet seat after sneezing or doing anything else the number would decrease.

But really, 2 million germs isn't that much, considering they're microscopic.

8600

Living Room / Re: Making a dream PC for cheap (as possible) - help anyone?

« Last post by Deozaan on February 08, 2008, 10:50 PM »

Well right now TigerDirect.com is selling a GeForce 8600 GT 256MB DDR3 for $80 after rebate.

I'm looking at Tom's Hardware VGA Charts at it looks like overall there is a big difference between the nVidia 8600 GT and the ATI 3850.

It looks like the price for an ATI 3850 is about $180. But I just saw this: nVidia GeForce 8800 GT Overclocked 512MB DDR3 for $210 after rebate. That's only $30 more and it has twice the RAM, and according to the Tom's Hardware charts, it performs a lot better!

One caveat though: If you're going to buy the computer now (in two weeks, for example), my recommendation still applies. If you're planning to get the machine in a month, then wait a bit more. nVidia is releasing a new line of cards in March-April, and Intel is going to update the entire Core 2 line by then as well (note that the new Core 2 Duos are available, though not in great quantities). So you may have to revise your choice of the Q6600 by then.

-Lashiec (February 08, 2008, 08:01 PM)

I'm not out to buy top of the line bleeding edge technology. Like I said, I'm concerned more about value than price. It doesn't seem worth it to me to spend $600 on something that in a year will be in the sub $200 range and not have any significant advantage over another product I could have gotten for $400 less at the same time.

Unless you're suggesting to wait because these new lines of GPUs and CPUs will lower the price of the ones I'm looking at now, what's the real advantage of waiting for the new stuff, taking into consideration what I just wrote about my opinion on value?