Recent Posts

8901

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 52

« Last post by tomos on December 30, 2008, 03:40 PM »

9. Windows XP Allowed to Live Again

But now Microsoft has put in place a scheme that will allow the hardware firms to get hold of XP licences until 30 May 2009.

Previously Microsoft extended XP's life until 2010

-
I presume the 2010 date was for support of xp - otherwise article contradicts self (I think )


thanks as ever Ethyar 

-tomos (December 28, 2008, 09:21 AM)

You skipped the end of that quote tomos. Windows XP can be installed on netbooks and low cost machines until 2010, presumably because MS didn't want to loose that space to Linux as vista is far too resource hungry to be used on those types of machines

-Ehtyar (December 28, 2008, 01:59 PM)

I managed to miss that in your quote AND in the linked article, ouch!!
thanks for explanation too

8902

Living Room / Re: Recommendations for good external hard drive solutions?

« Last post by tomos on December 30, 2008, 03:36 PM »

Well, I think the first item to get is this WD Raptor drive.  Newegg has a rebate for it which makes the price $200 for the 300GB model.  In my list, I have the 150GB model for $170, so it makes sense to upgrade that to 300GB for only $30 more.  Unless I change my mind, I'll buy this in a couple of days.

-superboyac (December 29, 2008, 01:39 PM)

did you get the wrong thread there superboyac or am I reading too quick!

8903

Living Room / Re: Official DC meet-up in Berlin, Germany: January 3rd @ c-base

« Last post by tomos on December 28, 2008, 09:42 AM »

sorry, I cant make it - have fun

8904

Living Room / Re: Tech News Weekly: Edition 52

« Last post by tomos on December 28, 2008, 09:21 AM »

1. sad news about Castle Cops - I've often gotten help there ...

8. Australia continues to entertain

9. Windows XP Allowed to Live Again

But now Microsoft has put in place a scheme that will allow the hardware firms to get hold of XP licences until 30 May 2009.

Previously Microsoft extended XP's life until 2010

-
I presume the 2010 date was for support of xp - otherwise article contradicts self (I think )


thanks as ever Ethyar 

8905

Site/Forum Features / Re: Longtime DC Member JoTo is in hospital again -- address for sending postcards

« Last post by tomos on December 28, 2008, 08:54 AM »

wow, just seen this
he's probably not checking in here but Gute Besserung JoTo if you are!
will send card today

8906

Living Room / Re: Photography Questions

« Last post by tomos on December 22, 2008, 05:39 AM »

have you checked out that lens -  it might be worth buying lens separately (even if you mightn't stick with the camera) - well, research it anyway.

here's one site
http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/index.php
it's affiliated with
http://www.imaging-resource.com/
which is my first stop for camera reviews (they review full range of cameras - pro included)

one of the camera forums might be good place to post if you havent already
(above or steve's digicams http://forums.steves...digicams.com/forums/ )

8907

Developer's Corner / Re: Can someone make an icon for me?

« Last post by tomos on December 21, 2008, 01:31 PM »

frew, you'll have to do it like in farr where we can choose icons
-
both (ooups havent looked at the attatched ones by majorspacecase) really nice and very different from each other

8908

General Software Discussion / Re: mp3 Audio OUTPUT volume normalizer? Any such thing?

« Last post by tomos on December 21, 2008, 08:30 AM »

thanks hirudin
I should have clarified - the programme they are both (I think both, Ampa at any rate) talking about is called mp3gain
from their FAQ
http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/faq.php

My tags ("Artist", "Title", etc.) are not working after using MP3Gain
MP3Gain stores "Analysis" and "Undo" information in special tags inside the mp3 file itself. These tags are in the APEv2 format. APEv2 tags are carefully designed to not interfere with other tag formats, such as the popular ID3v1 format.

Unfortunately, some mp3 players do not strictly adhere to the ID3v1 standard when reading tags. As a result, when MP3Gain writes its APEv2 tags, these mp3 players might get confused and try to read the MP3Gain tags instead of the regular ID3v1 tags such as "Artist", "Title", etc. As a result, the player will show random garbage in these fields.

(To be fair, the mp3 players that have this problem are actually probably trying to compensate for data corruption that can occur in mp3s due to bad encoders, incomplete downloads, etc.)

If you use MP3Gain and discover that your mp3 player has this problem, then here's what you need to do:

    * Select "Options - Tags - Ignore (do not read or write tags)" from the MP3Gain menu. This will prevent MP3Gain from writing any more tags to your files.
    * To remove tags that MP3Gain has already written, simply load the affected mp3s into MP3Gain and do "Options - Tags - Remove Tags from files"

IMPORTANT
If you choose the "Options - Tags - Ignore" option, then you will not be able to automatically undo changes made by MP3Gain. You will still be able to undo any changes, but you will have to manually keep track of what changes you make to your files.

I did use the mp3gain prog. on a bunch of files and then played the results in media jukebox (free version of J River player) and it was seems to work (I had one "quiet" mp3 - must compare it and the adjusted copy to see if I'm just imagining it!)
I see the "analyse audio" in media jukebox too & will try it out on another batch - gotta go wrap christmas pressies now though

8909

General Software Discussion / Re: mp3 Audio OUTPUT volume normalizer? Any such thing?

« Last post by tomos on December 21, 2008, 05:34 AM »

mp3gain itself does not write tags, the Windows GUI for it does that.
You can and should turn that 'feature' off as it uses an non-standard tag (APE) to hold the info. Those tags cause problems with some players both hardware and software.

I use mp3gain on every album I rip as part of my workflow.

-GHammer (April 24, 2008, 06:14 PM)

anyone know what is meant by the bit in bold
I presume
Menu > Options > Tags > Ignore (do not read or write tags)

does that not stop it from completing it's main purpose ?

mp3gain writes both a track gain and album gain tag to the file. It does NOT change the audio in anyway.

-Ampa (April 07, 2008, 08:07 AM)

8910

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by tomos on December 20, 2008, 01:23 PM »

i have 4 21" samsung lcd monitors (204b) and have recommended them for a couple of years.  Very affordable and attractive. 

However recently two of the four have developed problems both with stuck pixels and with very long warmup issues has stopped me from doing so.   so right now i would not recommend samsung lcds.

-mouser (December 18, 2008, 06:20 PM)

Is there a website somewhere that does reliable reviews of monitors?

-superboyac (December 18, 2008, 07:05 PM)

The LCD thread - I think the very best "summary" of what's out there monitor-wise 
scroll down to the second post (he says it's in the process of being updated but it's always being updated - if you unsure/want help, register & make a post there - they very helpful

8911

General Software Discussion / Re: Converting DRM protected music files: software recommendations

« Last post by tomos on December 19, 2008, 07:11 AM »

thanks Carol

after my last post I tried http://www.zamzar.com/ - (was recommended here somewhere) and just got a reply -
seems to work okay, they have my main email address though so hopefully they trustworthy

You have to upload seperate filetypes seperately

8912

General Software Discussion / Re: Converting DRM protected music files: software recommendations

« Last post by tomos on December 19, 2008, 06:00 AM »

I just tried to convert an M4P file in my iTunes folder and I selected MP3 as the output folder ....
... So i am still looking for a cheap and easy to use program of this kind.

Any recommendations?
Urgently needed.

-dudude (November 24, 2008, 08:08 PM)

I'm in the same situation as dudude (urgently needed as well) looking for a recommendation for:-

I want to convert a couple of MP4 and FLV files to mp3
that I only want to do a couple I dont really want to invest in software
so something free would be great - or online conversion or even a trial that would do the job?

8913

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: [bug] save file, add prefix using CH&S, filename disappears

« Last post by tomos on December 18, 2008, 07:24 AM »

Edited first post:
changed title from "saving file from web" to simply "saving file"

also removed the following cause save dialogue box is not html (of course :p)

CH&S seems to have problems in general with pasting in html (I know I should fill that out a bit but unfortunately havent been keeping track - will do & will report anything I notice)
(see also DBISAM Engine Error # 11949 which seems to be pasting in html related)

-tomos (December 18, 2008, 03:26 AM)

the problem with pasting in html is with pasting in SQLNotes' html pane (so could very well be a problem with that app) - I dont have any problem with html email pasting but do get that error message in linked thread occasionally & it seems to be related to browser or html

sorry, going off topic already

8914

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by tomos on December 18, 2008, 04:00 AM »

new Thunderbird extension for importing emails - just select emails and click add button or add via context menu
works great btw Pierre

for more details:- Email Import

8915

Clipboard Help+Spell / [bug] save file, add prefix using CH&S, filename disappears

« Last post by tomos on December 18, 2008, 03:26 AM »

saving files where I want to change the file name or add a prefix to it -
Try this:-
Choose save file; place cursor at beginning of filename -
if I now paste text in there's no problem, the prefix is added, but
if I paste using CHS (Ctrl+Alt+V) the original text/name disappears (even though not selected) - this happens everytime here

This is the case using FF or Opera [edit/ or most other programmes I've tried - but not in e.g. Freehand]

8916

Living Room / Re: Please read "my" prospectus

« Last post by tomos on December 17, 2008, 12:51 PM »

hah!

have you seen the xkcd one "Friends with Detriments"



link

8917

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009: LifeSaver diary application alpha release

« Last post by tomos on December 17, 2008, 06:12 AM »

On my computer the dates are black text on dark blue (see screenshot) - not easy to read.

-deviantopian (December 17, 2008, 03:59 AM)

Thanks. Tomos reported something similar, but I didn't quite get it. Now I can see for myself.

I'll see what I can do.

-CWuestefeld (December 17, 2008, 05:45 AM)

actually I figured out this here -

dou you know the way in titlebars in classic style it (often) uses two tones - well LS uses the lighter of those colours for the month background and for the days -
in my case this is a very pale blue which makes the days of the weeek almost impossible to read



edit: thumbnailed image

8918

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by tomos on December 17, 2008, 05:34 AM »

at least:
make sure whatever case you get can take all 120mm fans - I have one 80mm fan in mine that unfortunately is very noisy & cant be replaced with larger or removed

8919

Living Room / Re: Childhood Memory

« Last post by tomos on December 16, 2008, 03:14 PM »

I'm sure I can remember *not* having a phone (must ask my mum) I feel a bit ridiculous somehow when I make statements like that (I'm only 44 for gods sake)

our first number was changed twice (by the telephone company) since we got it around 1970 - once one digit changed then they added an extra two digits so I was able to work it out allright!
[not disclosing it in case I use it as top-secret password :p]

btw, here (where I now am) in rural Germany, there's phone numbers of THREE digits and maybe even less (I might just not have come across them yet) In Ireland I know all numbers have to be the same length - hence adding digits to numbers

8920

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

« Last post by tomos on December 16, 2008, 01:43 PM »

Heh, I was thinking into posting one of Opeth^w heaviest songs

-Lashiec (December 16, 2008, 09:12 AM)

go on -
give us a bit of noise - if f0dder can post his industrial stuff no reason for you not to get heavy on us
someone introduced me to Ramstein lately - dont know them well enough to recommend anything but I enjoyed what I heard, including the noisy bits - mind you it it was a saturday night after a few drinks...

8921

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009: LifeSaver diary application alpha release

« Last post by tomos on December 16, 2008, 07:24 AM »

I had opened the programme (no files opened) - came here to make this post
was looking at app again and this error message popped up

-tomos (December 16, 2008, 06:53 AM)

always get this if I open the app & dont immediately open a file
if I click "continue" it works fine

8922

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009: LifeSaver diary application alpha release

« Last post by tomos on December 16, 2008, 07:10 AM »

was confused initially because as you add entries it doesnt refresh the list of entries automatically

-tomos (December 16, 2008, 05:56 AM)

Actually, it's not that it doesn't refresh, it's that it doesn't actually commit the new entry until the HTML editor field loses focus. It's the fact that you're clicking off it that does it. I need to work out a better solution for this.

-CWuestefeld (December 16, 2008, 06:55 AM)

the same problem is there when I open the file (when the html pane doesnt have focus) the list for today doesnt show until I click a different date & then click today again

Adding new entries:
(if possible) if it refreshed when "New Entry" was clicked it would be ideal

Would it be possible (or is it) to add entries for dates other than current date ?
I see it is possible using drop-down date on top

8923

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009: LifeSaver diary application alpha release

« Last post by tomos on December 16, 2008, 06:53 AM »

more suggestions ;-)

(minor though)
the blue in the calandar is too light to be able to read the days of the week

I had opened the programme (no files opened) - came here to make this post
was looking at app again and this error message popped up

[unhandled exception ...
Object reference not set to instance of an object]

that text wouldnt copy so I have a screenshot if you need it but the details copied:

Spoiler

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at LifeSaverApp.MainForm.ucCalendarBrowser1_OnRequestEntriesOnDate(Object sender, RequestEntriesOnDateEventArgs e)
   at LifeSaverApp.ucCalendarBrowser.GetEntriesForDate(DateTime ForDate)
   at LifeSaverApp.ucCalendarBrowser.monthCalendar1_DateChanged(Object sender, DateRangeEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.MonthCalendar.OnDateChanged(DateRangeEventArgs drevent)
   at System.Windows.Forms.MonthCalendar.WmDateChanged(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.MonthCalendar.WmReflectCommand(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.MonthCalendar.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1433 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
LifeSaverApp
    Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/LifeSaver/LifeSaverApp.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1433 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1433 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1433 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Design
    Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/LifeSaver/Design.DLL
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.mshtml
    Assembly Version: 7.0.3300.0
    Win32 Version: 7.0.3300.0
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/LifeSaver/Microsoft.mshtml.DLL
----------------------------------------
NeodatisODB
    Assembly Version: 1.0.3265.1363
    Win32 Version: 1.0.3265.1363
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/LifeSaver/NeodatisODB.DLL
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
    <system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.

8924

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009: LifeSaver diary application alpha release

« Last post by tomos on December 16, 2008, 05:56 AM »

just got around to installing this today
looks good

was confused initially because as you add entries it doesnt refresh the list of entries automatically
I have to click on a different date then click on todays date again to see the list of entries for today

I dont currently use a (software) diary but have been considering it so yours seems like a good place to start, thanks!

8925

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Shortcut to Photoshop menu command.

« Last post by tomos on December 16, 2008, 04:28 AM »

sorry, I cant help you with specifics

I am limited when it comes to using keyboard shortcuts

-1NR1 (December 15, 2008, 06:14 PM)

do you mean you dont want to &/or cant use them?

have you seen ... Barnacle - I havent used it myself but
DONE: Barnacle - Add toolbars to your favorite programs