Recent Posts

8851

Living Room / Re: To wide-screen or not to wide-screen

« Last post by Deozaan on November 11, 2007, 07:12 PM »

(see attachment in previous post)
Okay, I think I'm sold.

-Ralf Maximus (November 11, 2007, 06:56 PM)

That's not a monitor. That's a TV with DVI input, most likely. Sure would be nice...

8852

General Software Discussion / Re: A rant about how I finally ditched iTunes... :D

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 05:47 PM »

Let me first say that I don't like iTunes or most things that start with a lowercase "i" (especially Apple products), but I never understood the complaint about DRM from iTunes because I could always burn my iTunes DRM music to a CD, then rip the CD as DRM-free MP3s. It's a hassle that shouldn't have to happen, but it's easy to get past.

iTunes itself isn't that bad of software. I don't like how it always runs the iTunesService and iPodHelper, and how I had to resort to "wasting" a CD to get my music in MP3 format (though I've heard you can get DRM free music from iTunes now?). It's the iPod that has had my biggest complaint. I just couldn't understand why people would want to spend $400-$500 on a gimped music player.

Then I remembered high school and status.

8853

Living Room / Re: Technology Myths

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 05:26 PM »

I don't understand how a keyboard could be superior to any other for gaming, as long as they all work properly. I'm pretty sure my WASD keys work just as well as any other keyboard out there.

Mouse precision also isn't that big of a deal. Do you really need 5,000,000 dpi accuracy to snipe?

I think the determining factors for this particular example are how fast the system runs the game and the internet connection speed. Low latency is probably the greatest factor in accuracy, since being lagged can mean you're aiming at someone or something that's not in that position anymore.

Just on our Counterstrike server I've had problems of adjusting my aim quickly and when I pull the trigger the bullet hole ends up where I was aiming half a second ago because of latency. Even if perhaps that headshot wasn't perfectly aimed (ie, not a headshot) it still should have been very close to the head, on the brick wall behind the person I was aiming at, instead of at the ground or the sky.

8854

Coding Snacks / Re: [Idea] Shock site alarm

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 05:20 PM »

Hah.... Maybe i should just learn to stop trusting people (Isn't that the overall truth about the world anyway? Dont be naive?)

-p3lb0x (November 10, 2007, 05:03 PM)

Nah, you can trust people. Just don't ever trust links. Especially in IRC/chats.

You need to know your audience. Or rather, the types of people you're talking to.

8855

Living Room / Re: Technology Myths

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 04:38 PM »

i think its a bit local tho, A lot of people i know over the internet got that logitech set and keeps telling me you got perfect precision when sniping and that they dont know how people can live without it

-p3lb0x (November 08, 2007, 04:44 PM)

It's just psychology at its finest. Those things probably cost a pretty penny, right? So they've convinced themselves of the superiority of the things because they want to be happy with their purchase. If you spend a lot of money on something, you will most likely convince yourself that it was money well spent. Even if it wasn't what you had hoped.

8856

Coding Snacks / Re: [Idea] Shock site alarm

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 04:30 PM »

p3lb0x, there's a good util for this already.

Sorry, couldn't resist...

8857

General Software Discussion / Re: Free util to sound alarm when your laptop is grabbed by thief

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 04:16 PM »

If it is stolen anyway, it would bee good if LocatePC already was installed.

If the worst happens to your computer and it is stolen then usually there's no way to track where it is. That's where LocatePC comes in.

LocatePC sends you a secret email message from your computer containing vital information that can help you and law enforcement track a stolen computer, and eventually return it to you.

-LocatePC

-Curt (November 10, 2007, 02:17 AM)

Didn't mouser make something like this for the NANY last year? Phorp?

8858

General Software Discussion / Re: OS Religious Wars...

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 03:28 PM »

What's this? Bush and heavy metal? OH NOES!

-Lashiec (November 10, 2007, 10:53 AM)

I heard that those are supposed to be bullhorns from a Texas University mascot slogan thingy or something.

8859

General Software Discussion / Re: Fedora 8 hits the streets!

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 03:25 PM »

One of the most impressive new features included in Fedora 8 is the PulseAudio sound daemon, which will allow users to set the volume for each application individually...

-zridling (November 09, 2007, 04:15 AM)

That's something I really liked about Vista. Sorry for the sacrilege of mentioning Windows in a linux thread.

8860

Mouser's Zone / Re: Mouser - a plea from your users!

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 03:12 PM »

I think that the problems the DCUpdater had with Vista should have led to a rename, like the fun play-on-words AppDater (not a tool to get dates with/for App103!) instead of the "Uppdater" which looks like it could be a typo.

DonationCoder Application Updater, the DC AppDater.

That's the only piece of software I have issues with the name, but only because I'm a stickler for spelling and grammar. (But of course I make spelling/grammar mistakes too!)

I think perhaps a better idea would be for mouser to have the final decision in naming his software, but that he be more open to suggestions from the community.

How would you like to create something and then have a bunch of idiots come up with a stupid name for it? Individuals are smart, masses are stupid.

8861

Living Room / Re: The Dvorak Zine - fun comic telling story of the Dvorak keyboard

« Last post by Deozaan on November 10, 2007, 03:05 PM »

I've been meaning to learn Dvorak for a couple years now. My friend did it, and my brother, too.

One thing that's nice, mentioned in the comic and reaffirmed by my brother, is that if other people try to use your computer, they have no idea how to type what they want. From a security standpoint it's nice.

A couple of problems though: Many keyboard shortcuts are based on QWERTY to be easily accessible with your finger lengths/positions. This is especially apparent in video games. Try navigating with WASD on Dvorak. Thankfully most games let you remap the keys, or, as the comic instructs, it can be very easy to switch between QWERTY and Dvorak.

My biggest concern is how it will affect my programming speed. Because you actually DO use the semicolon a lot while programming, and those other funky characters.

8862

Living Room / Re: Fun Flash Storefront Site

« Last post by Deozaan on November 08, 2007, 05:54 PM »

Uh oh I think I broke the site... 

8863

Living Room / Re: Genuinely stupid laws - that still APPLY !!

« Last post by Deozaan on November 08, 2007, 01:15 PM »

This is (basically) what Carol linked to in the first post.

I bumped into this blog posting today:

All Laws are Stupid, But Some Laws are Stupider Than Others
The votes are in. The Top 10 most stupid British laws:

    1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (27 percent)

    5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter (four percent)

My personal favorites:

    3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store (six percent)

    6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants,
    including in a policeman's helmet (four percent)

I'm totally seeking a pregnant clerk in a tropical fish store in Liverpool to date. Are you out there?

http://www.tothepeop...t-some-laws-are.html

-CWuestefeld (November 08, 2007, 11:04 AM)

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Living Room / Re: Genuinely stupid laws - that still APPLY !!

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 06:44 PM »

And weirder still, you hand them over.

So, any guess why the law still stands?  I had no idea the Full Service Service Station Lobby was so influential.  Or that the good people of NJ were accidentally immolating themselves with such frequency that a law was required.

-Ralf Maximus (November 07, 2007, 06:32 PM)

I live in Idaho, where we pump our own gasoline. Don't go to Oregon much, and when I do I'm not usually the driver.

As to why it's a law? BigJim gave as good a reason as I can figure:

It's a 'make work' thing for (otherwise unemployable) gas attendants.

-BigJim (November 07, 2007, 08:27 AM)

8865

Living Room / Re: Technology Myths

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 06:40 PM »

Ahem.  It appears in your absence they were unable to resist the... erm, not-so-dark side.

-Ralf Maximus (November 07, 2007, 06:28 PM)

I guess I was the only thing keeping them straight... 

8866

Living Room / Re: Technology Myths

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 06:21 PM »

Oh, and the myth perpetrated by Dell that pink or yellow computers are cool.  They are not.  They just aren't.  Sorry.

-Ralf Maximus (November 07, 2007, 10:01 AM)

I've never seen a pink or yellow Dell, and I used to work there. 

8867

Living Room / Re: Technology Myths

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 06:19 PM »

Myth: Full hard drive means a sluggish computer.

While this can lead to some slowdown with the HDD having to seek everywhere from fragmented files, the real problem is most likely that that the hard drive is full because you've installed a billion programs, all of which are running services which are usually visible from a glance at the tray.

Pseudo-Myth: More memory will make your computer faster.

This is true (or can be), but many people think a bigger hard drive is more memory.

8868

Living Room / Re: tray icons, help!!

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 06:01 PM »

The only tray icon I have to set to hide each time I boot up my computer is the stupid "Your LAN is unplugged!" It doesn't matter that I tell it not to tell me when there's no connection, it always shows.

So, since I don't use my LAN, I just disabled my network card. Problem solved... kinda.

8869

Living Room / Re: Alternate Reality Gaming

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 03:11 PM »

The gates are open, but the beast is asleep

-Darwin (November 07, 2007, 08:34 AM)

Don't wake the Shamurai!

8870

Living Room / Re: Wedgie-Proof Underwear!

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 03:04 PM »

I had those before they were popular!

Spoiler

No, actually, truth be told, my brother just gave me a wedgie so hard he ripped my underpants clean off. 

8871

Living Room / Re: PLEASE STOP POSTING

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 02:58 PM »

"Unread Topics" is listing 25 threads I am supposed not to have read, but I know for sure that I have read 5 of them. It seems not to be too accurate. Of course there are hundreds or thousands of topics I haven't read. Anyway, I have never before used this feature, and I don't think I will again.

-Curt (November 06, 2007, 04:30 PM)

Occasionally when I log in from another computer it resets my list of unread topics. That hasn't happened in quite some time though. Probably about a year since that last happened.

8872

Living Room / Re: Genuinely stupid laws - that still APPLY !!

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 02:56 PM »

Here is a well known law from my home state of New Jersey, that is enforced, and makes us kind of an odd-ball state:

It is against the law here to pump your own gas.

-app103 (November 07, 2007, 07:43 AM)

NJ isn't the only state with that law. Oregon is another place where you can't pump your own gas. So weird going there, getting out of your car, then seeing some guy run up to you and ask for your credit cards.

8873

Developer's Corner / Re: Consumating’s Ill-Fated Point System: Nice Blog Essay

« Last post by Deozaan on November 07, 2007, 02:04 PM »

Did you see the other post he made? The guy who co-founded Consumating with him sent him an e-mail:

    On Thu, 14 Apr 2005, Adam Mathes wrote:
    We should really get rid of the popularity stats — that was an Über Personals thing and I’m not sure it makes sense for Consumating.

    What do you think?

His response?

    Ben Brown wrote:
    Nope. Popularity is key. Its like high school. People love it. In fact, I was thinking of adding a little “Your popularity score” thing in the corner.

    It adds to the game-like aspects of the site. People want to know where they stand, and trying to become more popular encourages repeat visits.

Um, what? Why would you want to encourage high school behavior on a dating site? High school is that time in life when the stupid status game is the problem! Major red flag right there. Anyone told me my idea was like high school, I'd realize instantly it was a terrible, terrible idea that only brought out the worst in most people.

Going to Jr. High/High School is a good experience in that it teaches you that any time humans get a chance to feel superior than others, they will take that chance and abuse it and often become the worst they can be. I learned history in US public schools (which means I don't know it very well) but even I know that most of the problems in the world throughout history, or even today, are because one group of people thinks they are superior to another. And the truth about this article is that really, it's just all about the "Gold Stars." The things people judge others by in order to place a status on them, more often than not, is (at best) of as much value as a gold star.

App's post describes this perfectly.

8874

Living Room / Re: To wide-screen or not to wide-screen

« Last post by Deozaan on November 06, 2007, 12:33 AM »

but i'm still wondering about Samsung's reasoning behind NOT shipping a DVI cable when the model supports it..

-lanux128 (November 06, 2007, 12:11 AM)

Not sure. I didn't get one with mine either. But get this: My brother's laptop came with one. I ended up borrowing his until I bought another monitor that actually came with both DVI and VGA AND a DVI-VGA.

8875

Living Room / Re: To wide-screen or not to wide-screen

« Last post by Deozaan on November 05, 2007, 11:12 PM »

A DVI-VGA adapter will work to get it to plug in properly, but you still lose the benefits of DVI (DVI is digital, VGA is analog), and thus don't have the nicer picture quality. It's like recording a vinyl record album to mp3. Sure, it's playing as a digital mp3, but that doesn't improve the audio quality beyond the original vinyl record.

-Deozaan (November 05, 2007, 10:31 PM)

so that means i'll be better off buying a DVI cable separately.. since i'm still finding my feet here, i'm going to google some pics on both type of cables..

-lanux128 (November 05, 2007, 10:55 PM)

Typically VGA (D-Sub) is blue and DVI is white on the connectors. Also DVI has some prongs and then a "+" (plus sign) shaped prong separated a ways from the others in the connector. No way to mix them up.