Recent Posts

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Living Room / Re: Should I buy a tablet pc, ipad, netbook, or other?

« Last post by wraith808 on September 03, 2010, 07:23 AM »

One thing about the ipad... you'll have to spend more money to get good handling of PDFs.  Then more money to get good handling of office documents.  And truthfully, there isn't much difference when it comes to speed... most of it is an illusion, using the always on/great battery life to cover for the fact that it's not exceptionally fast.  Try to open a large pdf on it, and you'll see what I mean.  Applications launch fast- yes.  But loading large documents... no.  So keep that in mind- especially if PDFs are your main bit, and doubly if you're using large PDFs.

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Living Room / Re: tc1100 tablet pc dies before i've even set it up

« Last post by wraith808 on September 03, 2010, 07:18 AM »

3.3 isn't so bad in a tablet.  That's actually a *really* good device from what I've read.  My original tablet was a motion, and they do make good tablets.  If it wasn't for the fact that my tablet was an interim solution, I might have gone with that.

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Living Room / Re: tc1100 tablet pc dies before i've even set it up

« Last post by wraith808 on September 02, 2010, 07:14 AM »

If you may never use either machine... I'd say go the cheaper route.  That's one of the reasons I started down this road- I didn't know how much I'd use the machine.  And I'd suggest getting a dock... they're pretty cheap on ebay, and several come with an extra adapter (and you'll get around that whole plugging a drive into the usb port thing)

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Living Room / Re: tc1100 tablet pc dies before i've even set it up

« Last post by wraith808 on September 01, 2010, 04:55 PM »

well, it seems unfair to blame the seller. i've had the tc1100 for a few days, turned it on and off several times - installed a few programs after transferring stuff with a usb memory stick.

so, it's not like the machine was faulty.

-nudone (September 01, 2010, 01:01 PM)

Ah... I misunderstood.  I thought that perhaps the combination of connecting the drive and the machine caused the difficulty.  I just can't see connecting a drive causing such a catastrophic failure on its own, so assumed that it was the machine.

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Living Room / Re: tc1100 tablet pc dies before i've even set it up

« Last post by wraith808 on September 01, 2010, 12:51 PM »

Sorry to hear that.  I haven't posted my experiences yet, but I've been doing quite well with mine (other than the fact that the external I got with it didn't work- thankfully for me, I also purchased the dock).

If you purchased it off of ebay, and used paypal, I'd say contact him... then dispute if he won't do anything about it.  I'm not sure of the outcome, but I've gotten some pretty good resolution once I hold the dispute hammer over someone...

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General Software Discussion / Re: ComboFix=GREAT rootkit cleaner. (Kaspersky failed me big time).

« Last post by wraith808 on August 31, 2010, 03:15 PM »

I did a full computer scan with Kaspersky IS 2010, and it caught a bunch of stuff

Then I used malwarebytes anti-malware program to clean, and that found some stuff also

Maybe you should focus on not exposing your "workhorse" to so much "stuff".

-mrainey (August 31, 2010, 02:00 PM)

Actually, the point of an AV program is to protect my computer in case I encounter such things.  As careful as I am, I do a lot of computing and things in general on the net, so I would have to disagree with that.  What if i wasn't a big time computer supergeek?  Does that mean I have to be afraid of everything I do?  No.  That's why we pay for the AV programs.  If it's just a matter of being cautious, why do we run AV programs which slow our computers down?

-superboyac (August 31, 2010, 02:59 PM)

Agreed.  I use my computer that I develop on for pretty much everything, so I don't have the luxury of not exposing it to 'stuff'.  I don't go to questionable places, but even reputable places can have problems, thus antivirus.  If you can't depend on them, then they are just giving you a false sense of security.  The fact that he's not had a problem for years depending on kaspersky says that it's most likely not a user issue...

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Living Room / Re: Micro Reviews of Board Games From a Non-Competetive Perspective

« Last post by wraith808 on August 31, 2010, 12:02 PM »

I'll join in by recommending UR.

My BGG Review
Very easy to learn, but quite difficult to master.  The only luck involved is what tiles are where at setup.  I've had games where the way to victory was easy, and others that felt like a knife fight in a phone booth.  Recommended.

Key Features
The concept is very easy to grasp
While abstract, there is enough theme to grab you
Other than the tile placement, there is no chance involved
Once you read the rules, there's no language involved

Weaknesses
It is quite abstract, so if one is not used to abstract games, it can be hard to grasp the subtleties
No chance, so winning is based purely on skill which can be offputting to new players
Better with 4 players, though playable with 2 or 3.

Game design interests
The fact that your turn is composed of a move that is a choice of one of a few totally different actions can put people into a crisis of indecision.

Final Rating: 8 out of 10

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Living Room / Re: List the crappiest websites you know here. (warning: potentially NSFW)

« Last post by wraith808 on August 31, 2010, 06:25 AM »

Experts-exchange you can see the answers if you visit the site via google search results. Some are actually good but as far as 'business model' goes it's pretty much anti-spirit-of-internet

-rgdot (August 30, 2010, 09:19 PM)

Does that still work?  I'd read somewhere that this was because of the way that google cached the site, but they'd complained and google stopped caching certain sites.

A bad site in my view is something like godaddy.com, when trying to buy or manage a domain, a mish mash of extra options and extra screens just to get to where you want to go.

-rgdot (August 30, 2010, 09:19 PM)

That doesn't bother me because they put a button there to stop annoying you and go to checkout.

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Living Room / Re: OhLife - A new way to journal

« Last post by wraith808 on August 29, 2010, 02:26 PM »

I think he meant your opinions on the security of that setup, since you brought up security...

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Living Room / Re: OhLife - A new way to journal

« Last post by wraith808 on August 29, 2010, 08:01 AM »

I think he means both.  Have a tiddly-wiki in a dropbox folder so you can edit it anywhere you use dropbox.

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Living Room / Re: Should I buy a tablet pc, ipad, netbook, or other?

« Last post by wraith808 on August 29, 2010, 08:01 AM »

A couple more links for you on the tm2t (if you haven't seen them already)

http://www.laptopmag...touchsmart-tm2t.aspx
http://www.engadget....uchsmart-tm2-review/

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Living Room / Re: Dropbox and Evernote problem

« Last post by wraith808 on August 23, 2010, 08:33 AM »

So it worked fine for a bit, then started again?  Perhaps it's the combination of those processes and something else that's not as obvious?  Something that doesn't run all the time?

An experiment: turn off the computer, then restart.  After Windows is finished loading (and Evernote and Dropbox), try to go to standby again.

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Living Room / Re: Dropbox and Evernote problem

« Last post by wraith808 on August 22, 2010, 10:03 AM »

It still would be helpful for troubleshooting, especially as you say *either*.  It could also be the installation of one or the other that's causing the problem, and this would uncover that also.  I run both, on my tablet and my laptop, and have no problem with either.

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Living Room / Re: Private Servers, MMO Piracy, and the Future of DRM

« Last post by wraith808 on August 22, 2010, 07:34 AM »

Ah...   Yeah, most EULAs on software purchase from large corporations are pretty obscure, but I don't think that software for online services covers using a different online service other than theirs with it.

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Living Room / Re: Private Servers, MMO Piracy, and the Future of DRM

« Last post by wraith808 on August 20, 2010, 05:57 PM »

Is the privilege of using the server separate from the cost of the game?  I don't think the license actually allows for that...

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Living Room / Re: OhLife - A new way to journal

« Last post by wraith808 on August 20, 2010, 10:40 AM »

I guess 'dirty little secret' is subjective anyway. If I'd keep a diary I think I'd want everything in there to be secret, also the non-dirty stuff.

-phitsc (August 20, 2010, 09:51 AM)

The difference between journal and diary, IMO- which is why I refer to it as a journal.

I view a journal as more of a retrospective on the day.  What happened, my responses, what worked, what didn't, and what I'd want to take away from it.  A place to articulate my thoughts... "Those who don't learn from history", on a more micro scale.  I find myself too caught up in the day to day that I don't take the time to integrate it into the wider view of things, which is probably why I have problems doing it to begin with.

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Living Room / Private Servers, MMO Piracy, and the Future of DRM

« Last post by wraith808 on August 20, 2010, 09:02 AM »

I've heard of private servers (and even searched for one for Tabula Rasa when it was shut down- I really miss that game), but I've never really delved into the scene.  So I was pretty surprised at the numbers that were being thrown around in the recent private server prosecution.  She made $3 million?  Off of micro-transactions?  From 420,000 users?  That's pretty major, though I found out to take it with a generous amount of skepticism after I read that she didn't appear to defend herself.  But if it's anywhere near that, it's a pretty big deal, and I always thought MMOs were pretty pirate-proof.

Zam has an article about this issue, and the future of DRM.  A pretty good read, and well-researched to boot.

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Circle Dock / Re: Circle dock doesn't find disk D:

« Last post by wraith808 on August 20, 2010, 08:27 AM »

The versions after the one which is available from there are no longer available.  There will at some point be an upgrade with some bug fixes (which is what sarge alluded to), but after that, it will depend on if anyone picks up the project.

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Living Room / Re: OhLife - A new way to journal

« Last post by wraith808 on August 20, 2010, 08:26 AM »

I never really looked at a journal as a place for dirty little secrets- just my perspective, I suppose.

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Living Room / Re: How difficult/feasible to do a desktop virtualization of my home PC?

« Last post by wraith808 on August 19, 2010, 04:14 PM »

You can also use VNC... there's a client for mac from what I understand, though I haven't used VNC since MSRDP started being a viable product.

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Circle Dock / Re: Goodbye all, I'm out of here effective immediately

« Last post by wraith808 on August 19, 2010, 07:45 AM »

I don't see how you can separate the general legal issues surrounding software from a specific case and still have anything amounting to a reasonable discussion about it. These things do not occur or exist in isolation. And to my mind, these larger issues go right to the heart of what went down with CD as well as helping to understand the varied and occasionally conflicting reactions from the members that followed. 

Nevertheless, it's not for me to say how a discussion should be conducted here.

(With a nod of acquiesence, 40hz tips his hat to Mouser and scrams the long post he was just about to send. )

 

-40hz (August 13, 2010, 12:01 PM)

Personally, I also see this as a point of contention, though I can understand the reason for it, as forums have self-destructed over such conversations.  But when we have differences of opinions, it seems that it can be constructive (as long as the discourse is moderated) to talk those things out over the point in question.  Abstract conversations are all well and good, but having a concrete incident to base a discourse around tends to gel the issues and make it more useful in general.

Just my 

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Living Room / Re: OhLife - A new way to journal

« Last post by wraith808 on August 19, 2010, 07:41 AM »

Yeah, I think the reminder is the unique bit here. Of course you could setup a repeating reminder in Google Calendar or any other such reminder/calendar system with email alerts to do the same, then use Evernote or anything else for the actual journaling, which may be better. The OhLife service ties in to its own platform for "journaling", so unless you like how it handles it, there's not necessarily a need to use it just for the reminders. But I definitely like the reminder concept. Simple and obvious but not something I've done yet, which I should try.

-JavaJones (August 19, 2010, 12:35 AM)

And the fact that you can e-mail back, and it formats them for you.  And it gives random bits from your old journals to give you a look into what you were doing at some point in the past.  And you can export them to use them in other programs.  Not for everyone, I suppose- but it seems worth a look.

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Living Room / Re: OhLife - A new way to journal

« Last post by wraith808 on August 18, 2010, 09:49 PM »

I use Evernote, but it doesn't prompt you.  I just want a simple way to be prompted, then it's up to me to write it.

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Living Room / OhLife - A new way to journal

« Last post by wraith808 on August 18, 2010, 03:45 PM »

I've been trying to keep a journal for a while.  Actually longer than I've been trying to keep a blog, though I've been as successful with one as the other.  That is... not.  I saw a tweet from Jesse Meecham about OhLife, and checked it out.  It seems like a good idea- something in my face might help.  Basically, you sign up, and it sends you an e-mail reminder every day at 8PM to write about how your day was.  You reply, and it appears in your area on the site.  A pretty simple idea... I'm hoping it will work.

OhLife

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Living Room / Re: Board Game Review Site Roundup

« Last post by wraith808 on August 18, 2010, 02:19 PM »

Most of the sites that sell games also have reviews of some extent, and I think (at least in the case of board games) that they know better than to shill their reviews.

Thought Hammer aggregates the reviews from their site, geekdo and, in the case of kid games, Kid Game Ratings.  Kid Game Ratings is a good source of ratings for kid friendly games.  I've been trying to get the family into board games since I've moved and don't have anyone local to play games with, and that's my source for reviews that let me know if they'll possibly like them.

http://www.boardgamedesign.com and http://www.gameparts.net are two resources for budding game designers also.