Recent Posts

9701

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 29, 2009, 09:31 AM »

Companies that do underhanded things to try to sabotage another company's efforts because they can't compete.

No, I'm not talking about Microsoft, but EA right now.  I ordered Mirror's Edge off of Steam, and then ordered the DLC through EA's store since they didn't put it on Steam, and it won't work!  They could at least (its been months apparently since this first surfaced) put a disclaimer on the DLC page, but nothing...

9702

General Software Discussion / Re: The Best Of: text editors

« Last post by wraith808 on May 28, 2009, 10:34 PM »

Just tried it on a 60.9MB

-wraith808 (May 28, 2009, 09:27 AM)

But in the context of this thread, 60.9MB is not a large file.  Even Zeus will handle 100MB files with out any problems.

The original request for an editor that could handle 1 or 2 Giga byte sized files.

-Jussi Jumppanen (May 28, 2009, 07:37 PM)

In the context of the question, it's large enough for a reply, I think.  The person that I was replying to said something about 100MB files- thats just the largest I had readily on hand.

9703

General Software Discussion / Re: The Best Of: text editors

« Last post by wraith808 on May 28, 2009, 09:31 AM »

Ah.. these are plain text files.  Just masses of numbers and stuff slammed together in a fixed format, or delimited with a ~.  There's no highlighting involved- I wonder if that's what makes the difference.

EDIT - NM.  I just tried to make a significant edit (rather than just massaging a number or two) and it locked the machine down for a minute or so when I tried to c&p, then again when I saved it.  I guess it's all in the way you use it.

9704

General Software Discussion / Re: The Best Of: text editors

« Last post by wraith808 on May 28, 2009, 09:27 AM »

I haven't had a problem with it on huge files- again, they aren't major changes I'm making... so I'm not sure if that's why it works for me.

EDIT - Just tried it on a 60.9MB file and made a change to one figure (my usual change) to see if I was crazy or not.  Total elapsed time <30 sec, and most of that was finding the number I could safely edit.  I'm using Notepad++ 4.2...

9705

General Software Discussion / Re: INfix: easy, capable, but expensive WordPad-like PDF editor

« Last post by wraith808 on May 28, 2009, 09:11 AM »

I am surprised that noone has mentionned OpenOffice

-elpresi (May 12, 2009, 06:29 PM)

- you really shouldn't be surprised, because this thread is about a pdf EDITOR.

-Curt (May 12, 2009, 06:32 PM)

Well, can you import a PDF file, edit it, and export it again and get an edited PDF no muss, no fuss?

9706

DC Gamer Club / Re: Battlefield Heroes

« Last post by wraith808 on May 28, 2009, 06:59 AM »

Game looks great.

Real money for in-game advantage doesn't.

-Deozaan (May 28, 2009, 12:02 AM)

+1.  I'm not as much of a stickler over this if you can get the advantage for free also.  Which is I guess one of the reasons I don't really care that much about gold farmers (other than the advertising tactics they use, and the underhanded methods they use to get gold at times).  If you can trade time for money, I don't see the problem.  It's when money gives you and advantage you can't get otherwise that I get hot under the collar.

And isn't battlefield heroes ad supported?

UPDATE - did a bit of research. They don't say it's ad supported, so that may have changed since I last looked at it.  And they had this to say about the money for items bit...

We won't be publishing a list of items at this time. But suffice it to say the following:
We don't plan on letting players buy a gameplay advantage, like bigger/better weapons for "real" money.
What you will likely be able to buy are items like clothing, cool looking things and fun stuff.

I guess at this point I'll take a wait and see attitude, but it is EA...

9707

General Software Discussion / Re: The Best Of: text editors

« Last post by wraith808 on May 28, 2009, 06:55 AM »

Very often, I see text editors advertised as being able to handle huge files (100+ Mb) and people commenting that they work on those incredibly large files. It boggles my mind and I wonder what kind of files are you working on that are so hefty? That's equivalent to 50,000 pages or more of text. Is the capability of editing 100's of megabytes all that common as a requirement for a text editor?

-tide (May 28, 2009, 02:08 AM)

Yeah, I also wonder the same thing.  (No offense to anyone, i swear!) but sometimes I think it's one of those things where people pick one really minor issue about a program and just get totally hung up on it.  I know I catch myself doing that sometimes.

-superboyac (May 28, 2009, 02:12 AM)

Actually, this is a real requirement for some people.  I get extracts from mainframe reports that are easily this large every month.  When I have to go check to see whether I received wrong info from the mainframe, V is a lifesaver.  Then if I have to actually edit something to get end of month going, Notepad++ is a real lifesaver!

Well, a text file of around 60-100mb (which I have to deal with often) does take a few seconds on any editor that puts it in memory. EmEditor is the only one that streams it.

-urlwolf (May 28, 2009, 06:51 AM)

V seems to open it up instantly, even if I use a layout on top of it for columns.  Notepad++ doesn't seem to take too much longer...

9708

General Software Discussion / Re: Your most used SPECIAL programs

« Last post by wraith808 on May 28, 2009, 06:51 AM »

I just downloaded the program from the link in their blog and installed over my current version and it worked.  I thought perhaps the installer didn't work on a new install, but I just tested that and it does- you have to start the program once on a new install, then start it again to get it to open.  But from there you're golden.  If you're having problems on your computer, I'd try a different one if possible.  If not, you might try to uninstall and re-install.  But I don't know why you'd be having a problem.

Wish I was more help.

9709

General Software Discussion / Re: Complaint & Compliment: 3M Post-it Digital Notes vs ConceptWorld Notezilla

« Last post by wraith808 on May 26, 2009, 09:45 PM »

Nicely written!  And to think, I almost settled on 3M when I was looking for a note program ( )

9710

General Software Discussion / Re: Wakoopa's First "The State of Apps" Report

« Last post by wraith808 on May 26, 2009, 08:34 PM »

Yes, it runs and tracks constantly (unless you close it, of course). It uploads stats every couple hours to update your profile. I like it because it is interesting to see my work-to-play ratio (work being anything non-gaming, ex: Firefox, OpenOffice, Postbox, Visual Studio, etc) as well as being able to find new programs related to ones that I am using that may be better suited to what I need.

-wreckedcarzz (May 26, 2009, 08:18 PM)

That's what I use it for also.  The fact that you're in control is one of the reasons it doesn't bother me.  Though what does bother me is the fact that there's no way to block someone from following you...

9711

General Software Discussion / Re: Wakoopa's First "The State of Apps" Report

« Last post by wraith808 on May 26, 2009, 03:01 PM »

I don't think that's really missing the point.  Just because twitter is in use today doesn't mean that twitter will even be in use 5 years from now, even if the cutting edge users are using it.  Look at the linked articles- they are referring to them as trends and things that microsoft should be very concerned about.  The bleeding edge has never formed an indicator of what the mainstream trends will be as far as computer use is concerned other than in very basic categories IMO, and I think that trends show this to be true in a general use case.  In hardware such an argument that you pose does hold true- in software not so much, I don't think.

9712

General Software Discussion / Re: Wakoopa's First "The State of Apps" Report

« Last post by wraith808 on May 26, 2009, 01:30 PM »

One important thing to remember when looking at this information is the fact that it's 'geek slanted', i.e. most of the people using Wakoopa would classify themselves as geeks/early adopters.  After all is Joe Computer User going to go to Wakoopa and install it on his Wal-Mart PC?  I don't think so...

9713

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 26, 2009, 09:49 AM »

This happens to me ALL THE TIME! It hasnt happened so much with Vista as it did with XP, but lately the issues have been when the SERVEr I am playing on has an issue and restarts suddenly causing my game to crash rather than an actual game bug.

-Josh (May 24, 2009, 09:07 PM)

Server?  Are we still talking about Fallout 3?

9714

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 24, 2009, 08:54 PM »

- Video games that crash repeatedly and without any reason. (I'm looking at you, Fallout 3!)

-Shook (May 24, 2009, 01:56 PM)

Wow... I haven't had that problem; neither have any of my friends that are playing it.  Are you patched to the latest version and are your video drivers up to date?

9715

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 24, 2009, 11:05 AM »

Hmmm... my definition of rich vs wealthy is not in the amount of money you have, but how you have to work to maintain it.  For example, Shaquille O'Neal is very much rich, but we won't see how wealthy he is until his career is behind him.  Michael Jordan who doesn't have to do anything at this point to maintain his standard of living is wealthy.

9716

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 24, 2009, 11:02 AM »

Agreed, totally +1.  And I don't use them to attempt to show my education, as I am more often than not disappointed when I have to explain what I said.

9717

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 23, 2009, 02:39 PM »

When I was in this situation, I was already working a full time job and a second job as soon as I got off and had my own business on the side.  I would work sometimes literally 36 hours with only minimal sleep.  As I said, I'd sold everything I could.  I didn't blame anyone else for my situation- it was my fault.  I'd tried to borrow as much as I could from friends and relatives, but none of them had it either.  If it wasn't for that service, I'd have not had the money I'd needed.  But I put up a VCR as collateral, and got the money I needed, and paid it back the next week.  If I hadn't had that opportunity, perhaps something else would have come along- but perhaps not.

I just think 'simplifying' and removing viable options in the name of protecting the interests of the poor who perhaps need it at times without considering the other side is just as reckless as letting them go unchecked at all.

9718

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 23, 2009, 10:51 AM »

And then what about the first part of my statement?  What about the people who actually need the service?  And are they the highest percentage of the target group?  Is that actually a provable statement?  Or is this just based off of news exposes where they attempt to get their target audience?

I'm not saying that the ones with predatory practices don't need to be reined in.  I'm just saying that it's not as cut and dried as people want to make it.

9719

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 11:25 PM »

So then if your car is about to get repossessed, or your gas or power shut off, or you're about to get evicted and have nowhere to go with your wife and kids, and just need a little to pay today and you're going to get paid next week, what are you to do?  You can't get a conventional loan, and all of your friends and family are in the same situation...

And what you're talking about only applies to some of the locations- when I had to do it, I had to put up something for the collateral, and I just used a VCR I had sitting around and couldn't sell.  So you can't judge a service based on the worst offenders, can you?

9720

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 07:12 PM »

One way sounds almost socialist and the other way predatory.

-wraith808 (May 22, 2009, 02:41 PM)

What is wrong with usury laws that limit the amount of interest one can charge, legally? I live in a state that has had usury laws since it was an English colony, so this is not something unheard of.

-app103 (May 22, 2009, 05:54 PM)

Well, for one thing, at times people need an alternative.  And if these become a losing proposition because you are unable to mitigate the risk, then that alternative doesn't exist.  I've used it before when I had no other alternative; I had already sold what I could, and had a critical debt that needed to be paid and I knew I would have the money when I got paid.  The fee was worth getting the money now.

What I did do was make sure I wouldn't be in that position again, and I was also very aware of what I was doing, so it was a one time fee, not a way of life.  But what if it hadn't been available?

The reason the rates are so exorbitant is because of the failure rate of the loans.  And the repossession is not really wanted; the fees to do so merely allow the businesses to stay afloat- the interest rate on the people who make good on the loans are what keep the businesses going.

It's not as cut and dried as people make it out to be, and it's easy to lose sight of this and either legislate the option out of business, or allow them too free a hand.  They do serve a purpose to those who need them, and in general those who are totally against the idea and refuse to see the service that is being provided have never found themselves in dire enough straits to use them...

9721

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 02:43 PM »

I think she was mostly kidding.  I think.  I hope.

9722

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 02:41 PM »

I do not begrudge the rich their privilege, especially if they worked hard to get where they are. Ingrateful heirs and greedy ne'er-do-wells notwithstanding, there is nothing wrong with rewarding hard work and honest effort.
BUT...
The practice of businesses built on taking advantage of the less-than-fortunate seems like some sick kind of Schadenfreude that most in their right mind would find loathsome at best. I would support legislation to regulate and curb these kinds of practices to take away the advantage they cultivate at the expense of those they prey upon.
However I fear the real problem may be multi-headed and equipped with tentacles and therefore difficult to combat and remedy in an entirely practical manner.

-Edvard (May 22, 2009, 02:17 PM)

I feel like you on this.  I see that risk is the reason that payday loans charge usurious interest, and that they do provide a service that people take advantage of so on that level it makes sense.  But is it right?  If people want to mortgage their future for their present and someone takes advantage of that want, is it our place to let or not let them?

One way sounds almost socialist and the other way predatory.

Almost reminds me of sub-prime lending and we know the way that worked out.

9723

Living Room / Re: poor? Pay up!

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 01:32 PM »

I'm not sure I agree with the general idea of the article.

Just for example, using a "payday loan" is something poor people do. But do they do it because they're poor? Or are they poor because they make unwise financial decisions such as using a "payday loan" to buy things before they have the money?

Being poor is a state of mind. I've been broke (and am broke right now) but I've never been poor.

-Deozaan (May 21, 2009, 11:16 PM)

This.  Even when I've been broke, or not so well off, it's been a temporary thing, not a way of life.  Because of that outlook, people have always looked at me as playing on a different field, and to a certain extent it's true.  Though it's a pithy saying, I've found it to be true that even in money matters, your attitude determines your altitude.

<i>Just for example, using a "payday loan" is something poor people do. But do they do it because they're poor? Or are they poor because they make unwise financial decisions such as using a "payday loan" to buy things before they have the money?</i>

a) Its different when you have kids.
b) "By buying things before they have the money" - you're talking about stuff like getting the car you need to commute to your job repaired (can that wait?). Paying doctors bills. Paying for the emergency plumber. New school clothes. An unexpectedly large fuel bill. Poor people have no contingency funds for emergencies, or anything out of the ordinary.

-cianoc (May 22, 2009, 11:03 AM)

Been there done that.  Not there anymore.  Is there that much different about me that I'm not there anymore?  It's called sacrifice unnecessary things to pay for the necessary.  We can sacrifice a *lot* more than we do in times of need- it really depends on how much it's *really* worth to you.

Not to say that I'm down on people who are in that situation, just that it's a choice.  And this whole mentality about things are so bad/people are so poor obscures the sight of those who really *are* in dire straits.  Don't mortgage your future to pay for your present is a really good thing to live by.  It took me a while to get it, but having done so, it's really freed me to live way under my means.

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Unfinished Requests / Re: IDEA: virtual drive driver

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 01:30 PM »

I actually bought it on BDJ a while ago- it's very useful!  Sort of like file collections in a few of our more celebrated file managers (xyplorer, directory opus, etc) but visible in outside applications since its a drive letter.

9725

General Software Discussion / Re: Your top 3 favorite portable software programs

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 11:14 AM »

• geek.Menu
• xyplorer
• XAMPP - PmWiki
• Evernote
• SharpDevelop
• LeaderTask

OK... so I can't count.