Recent Posts

9501

Living Room / Re: Graphic Help for N.A.N.Y. 2011 Project?

« Last post by Renegade on September 13, 2010, 12:27 AM »

It's a complete no-go if I can't get someone to do graphic art for the software though. iPhones are all about pretty UIs, and I just can't pull it off on my own.

-Renegade (September 12, 2010, 09:11 PM)

I had similar thoughts about porting one of my apps for OSX. Finally got the art I needed for the dock icon, so I might try it now.

-app103 (September 12, 2010, 09:16 PM)

Are/were you going to do the Crazy URL Thing?

I have a kindof similar app that I wrote for myself. It is a custom browser to open a list of URLs quickly. It just opens up tabs from a list of URLs. One of those dumb things that I'll never do anything more with and never release.

9502

Living Room / Graphic Help for N.A.N.Y. 2011 Project?

« Last post by Renegade on September 12, 2010, 09:11 PM »

I posted here:

https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=23938.0

This is an idea I've had for some time now. I know that I can't do exactly what I want right now, but it might be possible to get a basic version done.

iPhone: Simple voice recorder & text memopad.
Windows client: Speech to text for the voice recorder & iPhone sync.
No Mac client proposed initially.

I have NOT investigated this thoroughly, and am not yet committing to this. Not yet anyways.

I will need a graphic designer though, mostly for the iPhone program interface. It must be super-slick. The iPhone is all about presentation.

If anyone is interested, please let me know and I'll look into the nitty-gritty more and see if it is feasible. (I'm on a bit of a tight schedule, but as I'm already doing audio work on the iPhone, this should fit well into my development schedule.)

-Renegade (September 09, 2010, 07:42 PM)

It's a complete no-go if I can't get someone to do graphic art for the software though. iPhones are all about pretty UIs, and I just can't pull it off on my own. I suck at graphic design. Badly. Worse than badly. My only redeeming quality is that I know that I suck at it.

If anyone thinks they can pull off the super-slick graphic design needed for a successful iPhone app, and wants to help out, please let me know.

Without help there, I won't even bother looking into it further. I need to know that the art is covered before proceeding. I could end up investigating it and finding out that the time commitment is too much for me at the moment as well. Not sure. I basically need to look into iPhone/PC client connections and Speech-to-Text. Those are the 2 areas that could be problematic/time-consuming.

9503

Living Room / Re: Need some help with front audio panel on computer case

« Last post by Renegade on September 12, 2010, 09:01 PM »

Quite often they're not even hooked up. That could be it. Check the wiring inside.

9504

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 12, 2010, 08:59 PM »

@cmpm

+1

I worked in a French restaurant when I was a kid, and I made extremely good money for my age then. But it's not really a career choice unless you are a chef. Or perhaps a head waiter in an extremely high-end restaurant with massive prices.

9505

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 12, 2010, 08:21 PM »

The Hyatt Regency DFW airport hotel. (Dallas Fort Worth)

I was shocked. You'd THINK that gratuity is going to the serving staff. It's blatant deception.

9506

Living Room / Re: Tipping - Why does this appear to be a "requirement"?

« Last post by Renegade on September 12, 2010, 07:37 PM »

Here's a tip...

PAY YOUR EMPLOYEES AND DON'T MAKE THEM BEG~!  

I hate tipping. Why would you make me do math at the end of a nice meal?

Tip on 8~15% tax? Um. No.

That being said, service in North America is *generally* much better than it is elsewhere.

However, there are exceptions, and a lot of exceptions depend on your expectations.

Many of the restaurants that I would eat at in Seoul had better service than any places I would eat at in North America. When running out of greens, I'd just ask for more and they'd bring it right away. AND it didn't add to the bill. It was included already. However, the expectation is that when you need something, you'll ask for it. Servers don't always ask if you'd like more of something. That goes for food & booze.

Here in Australia there are tip jars all over the place. But the service level is far below that in North America. Why would I tip? They also get paid much higher than in North America.

Here's another tip...

If there's going to be gratuity paid, why not just include it in the bill? To take an old saying in the software industry... DON'T MAKE ME THINK~!

Speaking with a server in the USA, I found out that the hotel simply took the gratuities that were tacked onto the bill. Servers never saw it, or much of it anyways.

I do find that tipping is out of control in North America. Everywhere you go people want tips. They'll even ask for them outright. And it's not the 10% or 12% it used to be. I was in one place where they had an insert in the menu that talked about tipping and expected 20% to START! "at least 20%" Ahem...

Tipping at cafeteria-style places? Uh. No.

Begging is annoying. Tipping is nothing more than a euphemism for socially acceptable (presumably) begging.

Yes... This is a pet peeve of mine. When I moved to Korea, I found out just how nice it is to not have to tip. Adjusting back isn't possible. I've been spoiled.

I wish that restaurants would just pay their employees.

9507

Living Room / Re: Does Flash or java make websites suck?

« Last post by Renegade on September 11, 2010, 11:47 PM »

I think lack of information/organization is a problem at most sites.

-Renegade (September 11, 2010, 07:57 PM)

Yes, I agree that this is a problem on many sites, but I was focusing on sites where Flash and/or java were a large part of the problem, and all too many high falutin' restaurant sites seem to be good examples. 

-cyberdiva (September 11, 2010, 08:50 PM)

e.g. The local Dominoes Pizza site is all Flash... And unusable. You have to enter credit card information BEFORE you can see the menu... Ahem... Idiocy piled upon idiocy.

And... to top it all off... the front page now plays a loud video right off the bat...

Hopeless...

9508

Developer's Corner / Re: Java and braces ... how do you keep track of them?

« Last post by Renegade on September 11, 2010, 08:12 PM »

Why not just use an IDE like Eclipse?

9509

Developer's Corner / Re: Are there any Android developers here? Wanna write a media player?

« Last post by Renegade on September 11, 2010, 08:11 PM »

I do plan on getting to Android development eventually, but the media player I had planned would not likely be what you're looking for. Still, I'm a bit surprised to hear all that. I figured WinAmp or someone would make a decent mobile version.

9510

Living Room / Re: Does Flash or java make websites suck?

« Last post by Renegade on September 11, 2010, 07:57 PM »

Adobe Reader is heavy in part because it's a platform and not *just* a program. The same holds true for Real Player, Internet Explorer, Quicktime, Microsoft Office, and Windows Media Player. They are platforms for developers to build on top of, and there's overhead for that.

-Renegade (September 09, 2010, 06:33 PM)

Perhaps that's why I no longer use any of the above except perhaps, occasionally, Quicktime.  I've replaced Adobe Reader with PDF-XChange Viewer (thanks to Gizmo's freeware ratings), I've replaced MS Office with SoftMaker Office (thanks to Neat Net Tricks software review), never use Internet Explorer unless absolutely necessary (prefer Firefox and Opera), and also have alternatives for Real Player and Windows Media Player.

The sites I get annoyed with most often are restaurant sites.  When I go to a restaurant site, I generally want information: what's on the menu, what does it cost, where is the restaurant located, when is it open, etc.  The one question I never ask is how much of a showoff is its web designer, but most of the time, that's the question that gets answered first, at the expense of all the stuff I want to know.   

-cyberdiva (September 11, 2010, 07:46 AM)

I think lack of information/organization is a problem at most sites.

Even for most products you buy, they don't contain enough information to make an informed decision. Just check your phone (or some phone) and find out some details about it at the manufacturer site. You can't. They aren't there. What software is included with the phone? What's the CPU? RAM? Storage? Is device storage shared with SMS? What's the limit before SMS messages are rejected? Sure it has a web browser, but what are the limitations on it? Silverlight? Flash? Java? ActiveX? etc. etc. etc.

Even the absolute most basic things can't get done right. Check the expiry date on ANY product. Ahem... 10/09/08 is not informative. ISO date formats are informative. Even then, is the date of expiry inclusive or exclusive? It matters for short expiry dates like bread and dairy products.

You can apply that same basic principle to almost anything at the consumer level. It changes at the industrial level though. Still, consumers are left in the dark.

We are all mushrooms!

9511

Living Room / Re: PayPal horror stories: Getting uglier each day

« Last post by Renegade on September 11, 2010, 07:46 PM »

@tranglos

You're absolutely right.

PayPal should be subject to regulation as banks & finance institutions are, but then again, they need to be regulated. Deregulation there led to the sub-prime crisis. Let an idiot run around with a knife & someone will get hurt... The industry is a disaster.

I'll stick to my guns on the entire banking & finance industry being completely wrong. My wife vehemently disagrees with me though (she's doing her PhD in finance).

9512

Living Room / Re: Do virus scanners need to get stupid again?

« Last post by Renegade on September 10, 2010, 11:59 PM »

Eset NOD32 that I use recently popped up a dialog saying that there was a file that needed to be submitted for review to Eset. I clicked Next to bring up the file submission window and the file was 'firefox.exe' from the Program Files directory! I ignored it but it kept reminding me every few days - so I finally submitted it. Wonder what they will find?

Jim

-J-Mac (September 10, 2010, 11:41 PM)

That's actually not surprising. Given the ability of FF to host all kinds of extensions, you never know what could be going on.

9513

Living Room / Re: Does Flash or java make websites suck?

« Last post by Renegade on September 10, 2010, 11:57 PM »

My solution to snazzy website craze is to use text based browser like Elinks. Since I have started using it I waste less time in websites as well. If I am desperate adn need to see that flash site I use FF.

-kartal (September 10, 2010, 11:51 PM)

That's pretty hard core. I could never get used to Lynx or anything like it.

9514

Living Room / Re: Does Flash or java make websites suck?

« Last post by Renegade on September 10, 2010, 11:35 PM »

I think some high-end products/companies can get away with all Flash web sites. Gucci, Chanel, etc. But for most others? It's hard to justify. High fashion just seems to work well with Flash. Rendering in Flash is simply far better than what you get out of a browser.

9515

Living Room / Re: Do virus scanners need to get stupid again?

« Last post by Renegade on September 10, 2010, 11:27 PM »

I for one am tired of false positives that you report and then they say that it's a virus, so you report it again and... Sigh...

I wonder if having a "safe signature" would help...

9516

Living Room / Re: PayPal horror stories: Getting uglier each day

« Last post by Renegade on September 10, 2010, 11:22 PM »

I have had no serious issues with PayPal, and I've been using them for years. They've been quite good.

Now, for 600k Euro? JEEZ! They are a payment processor. It's not cash from a bank. Of course they're going to hold back for things to clear up. It's pretty normal. Most companies have 30, 60, or 90 or more days payable on accounts. There's no way they'll just keep it. Now, if you had a 600k running balance over a period of time, and took out 600k, then that wouldn't be a concern given the account history. But 600k in a week? They'd better hold it back. It's suspicious.

I don't think he has anything to worry about. I think he's just skittish because of the amounts involved, and probably just a tad paranoid. Can't blame him though. If I were in the same situation, I'd likely lose my mind and freak out completely!

9517

Living Room / Re: What's Your Internet Speed/Reliability SATISFACTION?

« Last post by Renegade on September 10, 2010, 01:57 AM »

DSL - 3mbps though the actual speed is roughly 2mbps

For the price I am paying for country dsl, in the city/town, you get 15mbps. 

-Cloq (September 09, 2010, 11:05 PM)

Another reason why telcos need some kind of oversight/regulation. (Yes, on this issue I have some leftish tendencies.)

9518

Living Room / Re: What's Your Internet Speed/Reliability SATISFACTION?

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 09:38 PM »

I have been nothing but happy with my service.  Rock solid, FAST, polite and knowledgeable LOCAL support.  I pay $59 for 10/1.5, and even with all the college kids in town, during prime time, I still get almost 100% of my rated speed.  It has been this way since I first got broadband cable in 1999.  We bought our house in 2007 in a small town 45 minutes from where I first got cable, and the connection stayed the same.

I have cable, phone, all movie channels, and a PVR through them for a total of $180 a month.  Not the fastest connection nor the least expensive, but I would rather have a solid, reliable connection with good support and pay a little extra.

-y0himba (September 07, 2010, 07:47 AM)

A few extra dollars is worth it.

Problem is, a lot of the time you really have no idea what the actual quality of an ISP is, and by the time you've found out, you're already locked into a multiple-year contract. Unpleasant.

So when shelling out for a more expensive plan, unless you already know the ISP & quality, it's a gamble.

$180 is pretty high though. I suppose the phone and movie channels though make it much more reasonable. $50 for movies and $50 for phone? $80 for reliable broadband? Doesn't sound bad at all.

I remember years ago when Korea Telecom's broadband was total garbage. That's changed though. They're extremely good now. (They bought enough equipment for an entire country, and ended up buying from all different vendors because nobody could supply them with enough. As such, mismatches caused problems for them at the start.)

@app103 - Yuck. Sorry to hear that.

9519

Living Room / Re: The Weather...

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 09:24 PM »

You'll need to have a really good arm to bean me from Dandenong as I'm in Toorak.

-Renegade (September 09, 2010, 06:44 PM)

Since I've got a height advantage I better dust off the trebuchet^w then I guess. 


PS. That's Mount Dandenong to you     

-4wd (September 09, 2010, 08:14 PM)

Hahahahaha~!

9520

Living Room / Re: Does Flash or java make websites suck?

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 07:44 PM »

Um... Can I forward the above rant to the brass where I work so they stop bugging me about adding (read centering the page around) some silly-assed flash widget to the company website?

-Stoic Joker (September 09, 2010, 07:40 PM)

Certainly!

Would you like me to redo it with all the profanity and obscenity that I really wanted to use? =p

9521

N.A.N.Y. 2011 / N.A.N.Y. 2011 Proposal: iPhone Voice Memo Tool & Windows Client with STT

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 07:42 PM »

This is an idea I've had for some time now. I know that I can't do exactly what I want right now, but it might be possible to get a basic version done.

iPhone: Simple voice recorder & text memopad.
Windows client: Speech to text for the voice recorder & iPhone sync.
No Mac client proposed initially.

I have NOT investigated this thoroughly, and am not yet committing to this. Not yet anyways.

I will need a graphic designer though, mostly for the iPhone program interface. It must be super-slick. The iPhone is all about presentation.

If anyone is interested, please let me know and I'll look into the nitty-gritty more and see if it is feasible. (I'm on a bit of a tight schedule, but as I'm already doing audio work on the iPhone, this should fit well into my development schedule.)

Hey Renegade: Exciting! 

If you're offering testing equipment I'd be very happy to do some testing 

-Perry Mowbray (September 09, 2010, 08:57 PM)

I only wish! No... sorry... no free testing equipment... :

9522

Living Room / Re: The Weather...

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 06:44 PM »

I moved to Melbourne last November. But I really do miss Korea... Especially restaurants and shopping there!

-Renegade (September 06, 2010, 02:02 AM)

I have a vague recollection of you saying something about that, but you're profile still says Seoul...

-Target (September 06, 2010, 05:57 PM)

Tch, tch ,tch - haven't you been listening to all the moaning about the internet access, (or lack of). 

BTW, you need to update your map location Renegade, then I'd know if I can hit you with a rock from up on the hill.

-4wd (September 07, 2010, 12:41 AM)

You'll need to have a really good arm to bean me from Dandenong as I'm in Toorak.

9523

Living Room / Re: Wikipedia Book Creator

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 06:41 PM »

Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of Wikipedia, though? Once you convert some pages to a book it's potentially out of date instantly.

It would be great if you could save your "books" for later and export them again in the future with all up-to-date wiki pages.

-Deozaan (September 07, 2010, 04:32 AM)

A lot of things don't change significantly in the amount of time that you'd use the book(s), like mathematics, physical science, or (non-recent) history.

So being out of date isn't a great worry.

One problem though for a lot of topics in Wikipedia is that the expertise needed to write articles is esoteric and at the moment there are nothing more than tiny stubs of information. e.g. It's one thing to write an article about some song from a band, and entirely a different thing to write an article on FFT implementations. One requires significant knowledge and skill.

9524

Living Room / Re: On Wikipedia, Cultural Patrimony, and Historiography

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 06:37 PM »

Very interesting.

-Deozaan (September 08, 2010, 02:18 AM)

+1~!

9525

Living Room / Re: Does Flash or java make websites suck?

« Last post by Renegade on September 09, 2010, 06:33 PM »

Depends. For the most part, Flash is overused and heavy on resources, making it terrible for mobile computing. If your site is built primarily on content -- even photographic content -- there should be little or no need for Flash. If it's built for gaming, video, or some other purpose, then it can make sense.

Obvious question: Why is everything Adobe does so fat and heavy-handed?

-zridling (September 09, 2010, 11:58 AM)

There is a madness to the method.

* I assume that you are referring to Adobe Reader and Flash.

Adobe Reader is heavy in part because it's a platform and not *just* a program. The same holds true for Real Player, Internet Explorer, Quicktime, Microsoft Office, and Windows Media Player. They are platforms for developers to build on top of, and there's overhead for that.

But back to the topic at hand...

<rant>

There is little in this existence that can set me off into a raging fury of screaming profanity and obscenity like incompetent web designers/developers.

The barrier to entry for web development is extremely low, and that attracts a lot of people that simply don't know what they are doing. This ranges from tiny sites for Sally's doll collection all the way up to fortune 500 sites. Nothing is immune to idiocy on the web.

Ajax is great, but an entire site done in it? Good Lord!

Flash can do wonderful things, but chew up all your CPU for some silly navigation and a few banners?

JavaScript can be used for basic client side error checking... Not that anyone actually knows what that is until they've put a space in their telephone number or credit card number only to have to do it again, and again... This REALLY sets me off! It shows utter and complete incompetence and supreme idiocy. REGULAR EXPRESSIONS! USE THEM!

A lot of web design is done by marketing people that have no idea what they are doing beyond some basic usability and layout. They just don't understand how things are supposed to behave. They know that they need to be there, but as to what they are supposed to do? No clue.

PowerPoint presentations with wire frames and storyboards do not make great web sites.

Microsoft created the Expression series of programs to help make web design better. Hint. If you don't know what they heck you're doing, start using them. Your sites WILL be MUCH better!

If you need to do something complex in a web page... Hint... Choosing the right technology is a good first step. Silverlight is capable of complex operations that you simply cannot do in Flash. Developing a new skill set isn't a bad idea.

Flash is the lazy choice for lazy people. It's common. It's familiar. It's the default. It's usually the wrong choice when those are the reasons.

Flash uses an interpreted scripting language which is heavy and chews CPU. It's fine for simple things or for when you actually have real application software running in the browser. But if neither of those are true, then 10 browser windows all running crappy ActionScripts will grind your computer to a halt.

I get why Steve Jobs hates Flash so much, even though he's a total douche about it. I've never been a Flash fan simply because too much of the Flash out there is done very poorly. But it isn't the fault of Flash most of the time; it's the fault of poor design decisions. The problems are the people using Flash.

Use the right tool for the job. Please! Oh God! Save us from incompetent Flash developers and web design committees full of PowerPoint jockeys!

Grrrr... 

</rant>

Java is rarely a problem on web sites because it's rarely used.