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9851

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by 40hz on October 01, 2009, 06:52 PM »

Macintosh? I was an early adopter:first a MacPlus, later an SE/30.



I've read all six volumes of Inside Macintosh. I've 'whined & dined' with Apple hipsters. I've attended Apple conferences. And I have used Macintosh computers with varying degrees of pleasure over the years.

But in the end - the Macintosh computer is still just another piece of technology. Something to learn; something to use; and something else to scrap when the time comes.

Maybe I'm just not that sophisticated, but I have yet to find anything I want, or need to do, that I can't also do on a Windows or NIX based PC.

Macs may be nice. But they're not essential.

At least not in my world. 

9852

General Software Discussion / Re: Installers: "This may take several minutes."

« Last post by 40hz on September 30, 2009, 08:16 PM »

Of course, there's always the option of capitalizing on how long the general population thinks such things will take...

Check this out. It could come in handy:

Fake Progress Bar

A fully configurable spoof progress bar for your desktop. Make it look like your PC is doing something - while you do something else!

    * As featured in the Wall Street Journal!
    * Features include fully cutomizable titles, icons, buttons, speed and progress messages.
    * Disable the screensaver

Link: www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/content/fake-progress-bar

Just a thought.

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General Software Discussion / Re: What is your preferred font?

« Last post by 40hz on September 30, 2009, 07:47 PM »

I really like a font called "Beyond Wonderland" for fancy work.  Google search should find it for you.

-crossesfour (September 30, 2009, 06:55 PM)

Very nice find!  

It has distinct possibilities.



Link: www.dafont.com/beyond-wonderland.font

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Living Room / Re: How much Soda/Energy-Drinks you drink / week?

« Last post by 40hz on September 30, 2009, 06:43 PM »

None.

9855

Living Room / Re: Here come the airport rectal exams! (NSFW)

« Last post by 40hz on September 30, 2009, 01:07 PM »

9856

Living Room / Re: Real code vs. Code in the movies

« Last post by 40hz on September 30, 2009, 12:49 PM »

Also, why does the computer genius in the movie always need a roomful of active monitors that never sleep?

-zridling (September 30, 2009, 05:31 AM)

Probably because he works for Best Buy and owns stock in the local electric utility.

9857

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by 40hz on September 30, 2009, 12:40 PM »

All of these of 32 bit editions of the OS, granted they have 2Gb of memory to play with but I have been pleased with the way Win 7 has pumped a bit more life into this system. With Vista I was thinking of looking for a new mobo to use a multicore processor but now I am not going to bother.

-Carol Haynes (September 30, 2009, 03:13 AM)

I'm glad your experience mirrors my own, Carol. I think a lot of people are going to be happy with this release. Little Kylie didn't lie to us. More happy *really* is coming.

-Innuendo (September 30, 2009, 09:14 AM)

Mirrors mine as well. So far, the overall experience has been positive.

I have the 32-bit version of Win7 Pro running quite happily on 'Modest Mouse' which is my low-end test box. 'Mouse' has a 2.2Ghz Athlon 64 mobo with onboard GeForce 6100 graphics + 1.5 Gb RAM. Vista never did run well on this box. Win7, however, seems to be quite happy with it. Overall performance is good.

I sill think the icons could be a little less cartoony. And all those pastel shades remind me of the decor you'd find in a baby's room. But that's just me.  

Win7 integrates very nicely into a network running Windows Server 2003. Far less hassles on that score than was the case with Vista. Haven't tested it with Server 2008 yet, but I'm sure it will work just as well (or better) in that environment. I'm very curious to see how well it behaves in a non-Windows network, but that will have to wait for a slow rainy day.

Overall, I'm quite impressed. And since I'm bored to tears with WinXP, this new release is a very welcome change. I don't know if I would say I'm excited. But I'm definitely interested...

Either way - it's here to stay.  

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Living Room / Re: Here come the airport rectal exams! (NSFW)

« Last post by 40hz on September 29, 2009, 02:48 PM »

This might be a blessing in disguise if we think outside the box.

Consider how going to the airport could save men over 50 the cost of an annual physical provided we could get the TSA to toss in an eye test and some blood work to go along with that rectal exam...

In an era of rapidly rising health costs it's always prudent to seek out synergies and encourage government agencies to provide more for less!

 

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General Software Discussion / Re: For those who write articles on CMS, a question.

« Last post by 40hz on September 29, 2009, 07:31 AM »

Thanks!

Edit: I forgot to ask does the Wordpress stack (I don't really know what stacks is) support everything from simulating adding Adsense, Wordpress plugins, Writing from Windows Live Writer-like editor to the stacks or is it just a simulator for the barebones service?

-Paul Keith (September 29, 2009, 12:35 AM)

Solution stack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
In computing, a solution stack is a set of software subsystems or components needed to deliver a fully functional solution, e.g. a product or service.

For example, to develop a web application, the designer needs to use an operating system, web server, database and programming language. Another version of a solution stack is operating system, middleware, database, and applications.

Basically, a stack is the complete environment needed to run something. Think frozen dinners - except you'll like these.

In the case of Bitnami, it usually means an Apache webserver, PHP environment, and the MySQL database engine combined with whatever app you want to run that needs them. They're all preconfigured and install via a single Windows .exe or NIX package.

Bitnami stacks are not emulator. They're the actual software packages. Anything available for Worpress can be used. You could even install a live production system on your server using them. Some people do. (See my previous caveat about that.) It works the same because it uses the exact same software you can download yourself from Wordpress, the Apache Foundation, and all the others.

Great tools. Right up there with library furniture and firemans' helmets!

---

Re: Adsense et al -  Anything that uses outside services or requires enrollment would first need to be set up with that provider. But that's no more a limitation with Bitnami than it would be if you set up your blog (or whatever) with an ISP hosting service.

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General Software Discussion / Re: For those who write articles on CMS, a question.

« Last post by 40hz on September 29, 2009, 12:14 AM »

Also from what little I've seen of Wordpress in the previews, I don't think it will really show me all the difference between a chronological blog and a mult-page static site so that's still something I have to learn elsewhere. (somehow)

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 11:32 PM)

If you want to get some hands-on, bop on over to the Bitnami website:

http://bitnami.org/stacks

They have preconfigured stacks for all the major LAMP/WAMP apps. Most are available for either 'real' or virtual machine installation. Just download and run. You can get Wordpress or Joomla installed and working in under 10 minutes. Ditto for about 20 more apps. All are free for the download.



Bitnami has been criticized for occasionally being behind the curve with revision levels so I wouldn't want to use them to do an actual production server installation. But for trying out or learning something, they're pretty hard to beat.

9861

Living Room / Re: My Computers Latest Woes - Seeking Advice

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 11:53 PM »

I am almost positive that it was the installer for PDF Converter Pro 6, either the over-installation of the Visual C++ Redistrib or the PDF program itself.

-J-Mac (September 28, 2009, 11:24 PM)

Oooo, my sympathies. I had a problem with the Visual C++ Runtime following a program install. After screwing around with downloading and reinstalling the runtime, I gave up an reverted to a restore point. Fortunately, I create one immediately before I install any new piece of software so I didn't need to go through the hassle you're going through.

Better luck going forward.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Godin: the end of dumb software

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 11:40 PM »

...but see? You agree too.

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 11:17 PM)

Of course I do. Never said otherwise.

I've been doing nothing but pooh-poohing Seth's article starting with my first comment on page one.

..yet everyone besides me here seems to know what Seth is talking about

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 11:17 PM)

No we don't. Nobody ever completely knows what Seth Godin is talking about. We just get a feel for what he's feeling courtesy of an evocative metaphor or two. But that's Seth for you. He's made a career out of doing that. I'm amazed he never worked for Apple. I'm guessing he didn't because Steve Jobs didn't want any competition in the mystical techno-blather department. Especially since everybody (including Steve) knows Godin would have done it better.
 

9863

General Software Discussion / Re: For those who write articles on CMS, a question.

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 11:19 PM »

If I have one criticism with that it's that focusing on that concept derails as much as it helps.

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 10:46 PM)

I feel your pain.

But if you know of any way to get around that, please let me know. I've been trying for years to prove myself wrong on that score. But no matter how hard I've tried, in the end, it still keeps coming back to a [bash/test/repeat] cycle if I want to get something done. True, I've optimized part of the process through experience so I'm a lot more efficient about it as time goes on. But I'm still nowhere closer to Nirvana than I ever was when it comes to computers.

(Hmm...maybe I should use a different word? Bash sounds so inelegant and chaotic when it's actually quite the opposite in this context.)

OK, that being said, I agree with sri in his comment above. If you want to learn one thing only, go with Wordpress. It's conceptually easy to grasp, has the most extensive feature set, and can rapidly be morphed into just about anything with little more than some thought and a few plugins.

Hmmm...that sure sounds like a "bash" solution to me!

9864

General Software Discussion / Re: Godin: the end of dumb software

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 11:00 PM »

Maybe it's just me but I've never heard of people specifically using the words "smarter" when complaining about a software.

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 07:38 PM)

I can be your first! I say "stupid program" all the time. Does that count?

Even intuitive is not a word with a pre-set model that can be explained in two words that you can suddenly start producing something intuitive. It's an adjective that makes unanimous sense because we have the benefit of hindsight.

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 07:38 PM)

I think what Seth means by "smart" is what I think of as predictive or preemptive behaviors.


And you're right. Seth's choice of words is inaccurate at best. But I think that's unavoidable since he's attempting to give a name to something that doesn't doesn't yet exist. There's no good word for IT because there's no IT to begin with. It's more like a feeling he has. And with something as fuzzy as that, the best he can hope for is to come up with an evocative metaphor.

Too bad he picked the word 'smart.' He's usually a lot more clever than that.  

9865

General Software Discussion / Re: For those who write articles on CMS, a question.

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 10:29 PM »

it is kind of annoying to not receive the "Ultimate Answer" because the question is not the question that can receive it.

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 07:45 PM)

I've said this so many times when posting on various topics that I run the risk of getting lynched if I say it again so...oh well, what the heck!

"The perfect is the enemy of the good."

Once we stop wasting time looking for the absolute perfect answer to our problem, and concentrate instead on identifying a workable solution, there's no limit to what we can accomplish.

I usually shoot for a software solution that gives me 80-90% of what I'm looking for straight out of the box. I'll then fill in the remainder as time and resources permit. That doesn't stop me from looking for a 100% answer. But I don't sit around doing nothing in the meantime. If I can't subsequently fill in the missing piece (or two) of the puzzle, I have two options.  I can either learn to live without; or kick what I've got to the curb and try something else. (FWIW, most times what remains missing is not a real problem - it's just an inconvenience.)

In a way, it's like programming.

When I first learned how to program, Prof. Kugel told my class that there were two basic ways to develop a major piece of software:

The first way was the "IBM Way." It was mostly for companies with time and money to spend. This method involved requirements planning, process analysis, abstract pseudocode drafts, prototypes, etc. etc. etc. Once all that was completed, then - and only then - did you start to code.

The second way was to go down to the computer room; grab any procedural code listing you found in the trash hopper; and then "bash at it" until it did what you wanted it to do. He half-jokingly remarked it would amaze most people how many of the applications they're currently using began their lives as part of a payroll program written five years earlier.

Oddly enough, both methods seemed to work. But of the two, the [bash/test/repeat] cycle generally yielded the most bang for the buck. And the core principles behind this method have evolved (with some refinement) into what is now referred to as the "rapid application development" process. RAD gets used extensively. The old IBM methodology has been largely forgotten.

So what to do?

Be pragmatic.

If it were me asking your original question, I think the best approach for me would be to learn ONE platform extremely well. Whether it's Wordpress, Joomla, MediaWiki, raw XHTML/CSS or whatever - I'd learn it inside out. Based on experience, I know once I did that, I'd be able to get it to do whatever I want. It might not be the optimal solution. Maybe not even a complete solution. But it would be a working solution. And that's better than nothing.

80% of something now is better than all of it someday.

Just my 2¢

9866

General Software Discussion / Re: Copy a bunch of cd/dvd

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 05:49 PM »

I considered NAS but it's really expensive (I live in Hungary)

-Nuri (September 26, 2009, 03:09 PM)

No need for it to be. Try any one of a dozen free open source servers. Won't cost you so much as a forint since they're all free for download. That's the beauty of FOSS. If the first one doesn't do what you want, just download and try out another.

And if this machine isn't going to be used for anything other than media storage, you should also take a look at all those amazing free media servers. Why settle on just storing your music and movies when a media server can do ever so much more?

 

9867

Living Room / Re: How to Lucid Dream -- Nice wikiHow page

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 03:39 PM »

A Dream Within A Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

-Edgar Allan Poe

9868

General Software Discussion / Re: For those who write articles on CMS, a question.

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 03:18 PM »

I guess, I really should have thought more about the question.

-Paul Keith (September 28, 2009, 12:54 PM)

Don't be so hard on yourself.

I sometimes need to ask a few questions before I know enough to ask my real question.

This topic is especially confusing because there's so much feature bloat and overlap between blogs, wikis, and CMS systems that the original concept and philosophy behind each of them has become blurred. Blogs are incorporating CMS features; CMS is now incorporating wiki-like features; wikis now want to be taken as serious content management apps - and everybody's blogging their tail ends off about all it. It never ends.

No wonder its so confusing for so many people. But that's what happens when you're dealing with continually evolving technologies.

9869

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 03:11 PM »

I went to one of the boring windows 7 launch things today, and got much schwag-  And a free copy!

-wraith808 (September 28, 2009, 02:23 PM)

Sweet!

9870

Living Room / Re: My Computers Latest Woes - Seeking Advice

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 03:00 PM »

First set your video drivers to generic VGA and reboot. If you make it all the way to your desktop using VGA, you most likely have a video driver problem. Try reinstalling a clean copy of the most recent available for your card or mobo. (If you've just updated your video drivers before the problem started, roll them back to the previous version and see if that fixes things.)

Once you're able to rule out video driver problems, it gets more interesting. (Yeah right! Just like your first root canal...)

Here's a troubleshooting process you can try. It's tedious (multiple reboots) but it almost always gets to the bottom of such problems:

Boot into safe mode, run msconfig.exe and select diagnostic mode.

Now go to the Services tab, check Hide All Microsoft Services. Uncheck everything else that remains visible. Reboot again like you would normally. Open msconfig.exe again if it doesn't start automatically. Go to the Service tab and again check the box to hide all of Microsoft's services. Now start re-enabling the remaining services one at a time and rebooting. Sooner or later one of them is going to cause your lockup problem. That's most likely your gremlin. Uninstall and reinstall whatever is using that service and you should be all set. Reboot to make sure it doesn't continue to cause problems. If it still locks up after a reinstall, you'll either need to locate a version (older or newer) that does work - or drop the app that's causing it.

If all your services check out with no problems, leave them all enabled and follow the "enable one at a time" process for each item listed under the Startup tab. Uninstall and reinstall as/if needed.

If the problem seems fixed, but starts up again after a normal boot up (i.e. all services and startup items enabled), then you most likely have an interaction issue between two services or starup apps that don't have a problem by themselves. That's a bigger hassle to isolate, but still doable. But lets save that for later if it turns out to be the case with your machine.

Luck!

P.S. You could try testing the Startup tab items first to save a little time. If that doesn't clear up the problem, then you'll have to troubleshoot the services, but it might be worth a try.

<EDIT: just added some more stuff that occurred to me.>

9871

General Software Discussion / Re: For those who write articles on CMS, a question.

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 12:34 PM »

Here's another thing thing you might want to consider.

If you are running a website where it's just you authoring the articles; you're only updating it weekly (like a formal newsletter); and you're fairly organized about things - then a CMS might be overkill for you.

If you create a well designed homepage, create basic article templates, and use a carefully thought out page directory structure, it's not such a big deal to manually maintain your website. I know several people who do that even though they have more than sufficient technical chops to go the CMS route.

On their home page they have links to: Featured Article, What's New, and Past Articles. These links get updated by some fairly simple code which grabs the information from easily maintained text files that are nothing more than title information and page links. Every individual article page has a single link which returns you to the homepage.

Newpage uploads are handled by a simple FTP utility. Most of them have automated the update process via some macros on their authoring workstation. Synchronization software might also be an option since it would allow for automatic mirroring of your pages with your home machine.  Instant backups!

A basic search engine, BBS module, and separate bog engine in one rare case (she likes to ramble and think out loud when she's not writing her carefully focused and meticulously edited main articles) takes care of the rest.

They prefer this system (or variants of it) because it allows them full flexibility to design a website their way without needing to beat somebody else's vision of how to do things into submission.

Something else to think about.

9872

Living Room / Re: Real code vs. Code in the movies

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 09:33 AM »

rarely cursing out the computer in fits of pure rage.

-mouser (December 07, 2006, 05:23 PM)

Amen to that one (...having just finished a fit earlier )

-Stoic Joker (September 28, 2009, 06:10 AM)

Or frisbie-ing a balky installation DVD across the room accompanied by shouts of: "WTF are you doing man?" and  "Bloody hell - calm down!" from your coworkers as it ricochets off the back wall and knocks over a tall latte.

9873

General Software Discussion / Re: Good news for any InfoSelect users

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 08:18 AM »

Sarah, I'm rapidly becoming a big fan of yours.

9874

General Software Discussion / Re: Complaint: Softwrap (nasty eula)

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 08:09 AM »

I hope this is informative.

-Softwrap (September 27, 2009, 06:20 AM)

It was also a breath of fresh air.

I think both of your posts were.

And although many folks here will continue to disagree with your company's DRM policy and EULA terms, I think we can all respect its concerns, and appreciate your candor in explaining why your company's policies are the way they are.

Agreeing to disagree is the highest form of respect.

9875

General Software Discussion / Re: What is your preferred font?

« Last post by 40hz on September 28, 2009, 07:44 AM »

my favourite is Comic sans MS
I am told it is what was used in comics
Maybe I am in my second childhood!!!

-jshelagh (September 28, 2009, 01:07 AM)

http://bancomicsans.com/home.html

-f0dder (September 28, 2009, 01:44 AM)

Thx f0dder! LMAO when I browsed that site!

Nice to see some of the Old Dragons are still alive, their voices crying out in the wilderness...

Of course why a collective of people who seem to be mostly involved in grundge-style urban art and bumper stickers would be so offended by Comic Sans is anybody's guess...

(These folks seem like the spiritual kindred of the people I learned print design from. That was the crowd that went around saying PageMaker was a fad, and that people would eventually realize "what a joke desktop publishing is" and go back to using real type.)

Now if they said they wanted to ban Times Roman, I just might sign up.