Recent Posts

9726

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.

9727

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.

9728

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.

9729

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.

9730

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?

9731

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...

9732

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.

9733

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.

9734

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.

9735

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.

9736

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.

9737

Developer's Corner / Re: source control systems: what's the best?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 22, 2009, 10:34 AM »

Subversion here... Though I prefer StarTeam, I must say that SVN is a worthy alternative.  Started using it because a lot of contract opportunities are starting to question your SVN knowledge...

9738

General Software Discussion / Re: Company audited my computer. Found many "unauthorized" software. Lol.

« Last post by wraith808 on May 21, 2009, 04:30 PM »

There are many possibilities why they might be responding the way they are
a. There might be no real process for procurement and that might need to be solved
b. Perhaps the manager's verbal ok isn't enough, and they have to go through a procurement process
c. They might be overloaded and not have time for each request
d. They might be lazy and don't want to do request
etc, etc

The point is, everyone is jumping on your IS team when there might be good reasons or might not- but IS is not the enemy in general, just people trying to do their job the best way they know how.  Perhaps if you could work with them and find out what might make them more open to using the product they might cooperate?

9739

General Software Discussion / Re: Company audited my computer. Found many "unauthorized" software. Lol.

« Last post by wraith808 on May 21, 2009, 03:11 PM »

The issue with those policies and what you are saying is that at least 4, 3 and 2 are easily "broken" by browsing. Even the best filters which don't allow watching videos at work for example or block sites can't prevent the most common source of serious computer problem these days...being connected to the net.

-rgdot (May 21, 2009, 02:05 PM)

While what you say is true, the purpose is to mitigate as much risk as possible.  Some companies even go as far as limiting or preventing access to the net by people who don't have a proven business purpose for being on it.  As bad as your IT policies are, they could be worse...

9740

Coding Snacks / Re: Program that searches numbers inside a txt and perfroms following opperations

« Last post by wraith808 on May 20, 2009, 10:51 PM »

If someone else gets to this first, feel free to take it; work has unexpectedly hit me with a lot to do.  Otherwise, I'll get to it as soon as I get a free moment.

9741

Coding Snacks / Re: Program that searches numbers inside a txt and perfroms following opperations

« Last post by wraith808 on May 19, 2009, 10:28 AM »

Just to clarify-

You want to have a program that takes an input file, i.e. "IM1905091047_1.txt", a source directory name, i.e. "C:\Id Boxes" and a destination directory name, i.e. "C:\output".

With that information, you want the program to search in the source directory for .txt files that begin with numbers that start with "_" in the input file, i.e. for the file given, the program would search for "C:\Id Boxes\10165.txt", "C:\Id Boxes\09983.txt", "C:\Id Boxes\09983.txt", and "C:\Id Boxes\09957.txt".  The files that are found would be moved to "C:\output", and then a report of some kind would tell you if any of these files weren't found.

Is that correct?

A couple of questions
1. What about duplicate files?  In that scenario, there would be a duplicate of "C:\Id Boxes\09983.txt"  Of course you couldn't copy the file as is twice.  Would you want that in the report?

2. Would the "_" be included in the file name?  I assumed no in my example, but wanted to be sure.

9742

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your favorite computer game from when you were young?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 18, 2009, 11:02 AM »

Glad this got resurrected   Led me down memory lane a bit...

My first computer was an Apple (Actually a Franklin Ace- a clone, but I digress).  My favorites were Earth Orbit Stations, Wasteland, Racing Destruction Set, Mail Order Monsters, Castle Wolfenstein (and Beyond Castle Wolfenstein), Adventure Construction Set, Archon (and Archon Adept), Autoduel, Bilestoad, Ultima Series, Windwalker, Wizardry Series, Bards Tale Series, Drol, The Might and Magic Series... I could just go on... there were some really good games back then- and a lot of them were by EA!

If I had to choose, I'd choose Earth Orbit Stations.  It was so open ended, and engrossing!  I'd love it if someone made a good remake.

9743

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 18, 2009, 02:23 AM »

<snip />

This is like placing non-expiring tracking cookies in your registry....the kind that make the old doubleclick look like angels.

-app103 (May 18, 2009, 12:41 AM)

And again I say that many installers leave just as much information on your system, and have the same capability, though it's not used in that way (or at least I'm not cynical enough to believe that it is).  Just because something could be used in that way, doesn't mean that it is, or that this was even the intent.  And judging intent without knowledge is something that's negative in another way, IMO.

9744

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 18, 2009, 02:15 AM »

Installshield (and several other installers) do the same thing.  How is this any different?

-wraith808 (May 18, 2009, 12:22 AM)

Install shield does what?  Does it install secret advertising network dlls?

-kartal (May 18, 2009, 12:26 AM)

No, but it installs dlls and registry entries that are not needed for the application without telling you.

mouser, I did not think that you were trying to pick on me. But the way wraith808 laid his cases sounded like he wanted to ridicule the idea little bit. I do not have any personally issues with any personality on this board

-kartal (May 18, 2009, 12:36 AM)

Ridicule what idea?  I'm positively stumped that anything that I said could have come across as ridicule... I was just stating a fact- that other things used during install place dlls on your system, and many of them leave them- especially things that have registration requirements.  And many times, these dlls are not needed to run the application- just for registration or during installation, or, in many cases, for similar non-identifying metrics.

9745

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 18, 2009, 12:22 AM »

Well,

The thing is that OC installs itself(in the program directory as dll and in the registry) and does not tell the user about it even if the user does not want to install the recommended software, based on my experience. I do not know why you keep claiming that you wont do anything bad or wrong but in my standard this is bad and wrong. Because first of all most people wont know that OC is included in the installer of the application until they open the installer. Second most people wont even have any idea what the heck a dll or registry is. Clearly you are targeting this majority of people and I believe this might be called an abuse of trust that is shown by those people who though that would just get a free application. You need to make it explicit.

-kartal (May 17, 2009, 10:02 PM)

Installshield (and several other installers) do the same thing.  How is this any different?

9746

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 14, 2009, 12:46 PM »

I started to make a response here, but figured it was going afield, so made a topic instead.

9747

General Software Discussion / Ads - the bane of our lives or a valid tool?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 14, 2009, 12:45 PM »

In the OpenCandy thread, a few people expressed rather vitriolic views towards ads in general, throwing Adware and Spyware around in relation to using Ads as a source of revenue at all.

I don't see ads as intrinsically bad.  They serve a purpose- they get advertisers to support the software/service/site rather than myself having to pay money.  I donate a site for use by a community, and the price gets to be a burden at times; I've thought of running a fundraiser sort of like DC, but unobtrusive ads would help offset some of the cost- of course with things like ABP, AdMuncher, etc., that lowers the use of such as an offset.  Also, if you offer freeware, then you have a burden as far as bandwidth, which perhaps things like OpenCandy would help to offset.

If something shows ads as a way to keep things free, and does not install anything to your drive, nor force exceptional increased use of bandwidth (text adds or the add of a few k to the size of the download) is it such a bad thing?

9748

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Get a free copy of Speedball 2

« Last post by wraith808 on May 12, 2009, 09:25 PM »

thanks for the info.

9749

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your favorite launch bar? Your favorite features? Missing Features?

« Last post by wraith808 on May 11, 2009, 09:48 AM »

When it comes to launch bars there are two kinds...There's TrueLaunchBar....and there's everything else.

Seriously, if anyone is looking to program a launch bar program then TrueLaunchBar is truly the one app above all others that needs to be studied very closely. What it can do out of the box is amazing. What it can do coupled with the plugins that have been written for it is nothing short of mind-staggering. TLB is the best of show in this category of apps and is the one to beat. It's greatest strength, IMHO, is that it starts with what is familiar to everyone (Quick Launch) and builds upon it with tons of functionality without becoming intrusive or obstructive. It's so good that even my stinginess had to relent and purchase a license the last time it was on sale.

-Innuendo (January 07, 2006, 01:40 PM)

+1.  I don't use it anymore, because I've become used to my shortcuts in direct access, but I keep thinking that the quick launch bar needs a friend, even if I don't use it much LOL

9750

DC Gamer Club / Re: 3D Realms closes down - Duke Nukem Forever no more

« Last post by wraith808 on May 08, 2009, 05:00 PM »

I did.  I wanted it, and I wanted it to be good.  I remember many hours playing single and multi-player.  I wanted that back again.  Oh well.