... the users posting these comments gave their neighbor's information when creating an e-mail address to register at Topix and posted from their neighbor's insecure wifi?
This will fix the toolbar... [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser] "ITBar7Position"=dword:00000001
But it seems to be a losing fight -- from my peeks at Server 2008 and Win7 beta, it looks like MS is keen on making IE7's toolbar behavior (off by default, appears as a minor sub-toolbar when invoked) part of the standard UI.
Maybe it's because of the perception that they've illegally and immorally maintained a monopoly by threatening manufacturers, undermining open standards, funding McBride, etc.
WHO uses Windows Live Search to look up things? Any sane person goes and googles something, he window-live-searches.
I actually took this as a bit of a jab at the Microsoftening of the once-beloved Sysinternals toolset. Process Explorer, or whatever it was called back then, used to have "Google..." in the context menu to do a quick query on a process, but I think after Microsoft took over it got changed to "Windows Live Search", which is just impossible to use as a verb with a straight face. In later releases it's been sanitized to "Search Online." and uses your default search provider.
By far the most egregious change was the addition of the EULA dialog that requires a yes click per user per program (there are over 70 programs). Even the command-line-only utilities were suddenly saddled with a GUI EULA dialog, breaking many a script.
Mark deserves every penny he's getting out of them, but it's still sad to see Microsoft so cluelessly ruining what made the Sysinternals tools so pleasant -- all function, no bullshit.
Mark Russinovich has an enlightening blog entry called The Case of the Slow System that might serve as an example of how, if you are are one of the planet's top 10 Windows experts, you can, with persistence, luck, and the proper tools, solve one of the obscure problems that are slowing down your wife's computer. This particular case pertains to Vista, but the general techniques are applicable to XP as well.
...getting Novell's OO.o distribution (here) in which you can install an extension for OpenXML.
Note that the MSOpenXML plugin is a seperate download from that same page. Free registration required for either.
The installation instructions for the newest version (2.5) of the MSOpenXML plugin claim that it will work with Novell's OOo (for Windows or SUSE) or with Go-OO. But, branding aside, is there really any difference between the Novell builds and the Go-OO builds?
1 - These damn 2-year contracts make "getting with the times" a real pisser.
2 - Pulse dialing for land lines still works fine... right? Well there are some systems that *never* supported it, nasty phone trees and VOIP providers and whatnot, but it works on every POTS network I've ever plugged into. Flick the little switch on the back of your phone and try it, or, if you've got rhythm, just tap out the numbers using the cradle switch! Weee, fun!!!!
Still mostly true, but Microsoft has begun dropping the ball on this, under the pressure of trying to verify and maintain the security of dozens of decades-old proprietary parsing routines.
DOS Power Tools by Paul Somerson. This beautifully written book was full of history and practical tips, encouraged tinkering, taught simple assembly language, was generally a delight to read and use. After reading it, I felt like I actually understood the operating system top to bottom, and I was its master. I've never found its equivalent for any other OS.
Lightweight & full-featured: Hmm, this is a tough pairing, even without the "free". Consider WordPerfect (which stretches the definition of lightweight) and Jarte Plus (which stretches the definition of full-featured.) Apple's Pages may fit the bill, Mac only of course.
And then there's SoftMaker, mentioned in the summary -- I'm not sure where they fit in; I guess I'll download the 2006 edition and see what gives.
And if, for whatever reason, you prefer a Novell-branded version, you can download it for free from Novell (Registration required, windows only -- they figure if you want the Linux version you'll spring for SUSE Enterprise Desktop; it's not even available in OpenSUSE.)
You can also download the deal-with-the-devil MS-OOXML file format translator, if you need to save in the.docx etc formats. Again, it's Windows or SUSE only. It works pretty well with Word stuff; haven't tried any of the others.
I've used par2 for this purpose, and it's not bad. It doesn't support multiple directories -- you have to create separate parity data for each directory on the CD. It also has no support for restoring any filesystem metadata, only the file names and contents.
I've also used dvdisaster, and I think it has some advantages. It creates a single block of error correction from the entire disc image, so it includes any filesystem information on the disc. It can use existing media in the drive, or an.iso file. The error correction data can then be appended to the.iso file before burning (assuming you've calculated the size correctly.)
I'd really like to see dvdistater's method become a standard feature of CD burning software, with the presumption that most people would want to add error correction to their discs if there's free space. Operating systems could check for this data when reading a CD and automatically use it to detect and correct read errors.
I'd really love to see this system adopted by software companies, music labels and movie studios -- but of course they'd much rather have a shot at selling you another copy of the disc you scratched.
It's the software, of course. If there's a single OS that runs all the software you need, you'll probably stick with it. Otherwise you might need two or three. Maybe you can get by with Wine, Crossover, and virtual machines... maybe you can't.
The list of things that are Windows only is huge -- lots of business apps and games, Visual Studio, Netflix watch-it-now... If your job/lifestyle don't require any of them, good for you, but otherwise you've gotta have Windows.
There's a lot of great software in the AV world that's Mac only, both on the beginner level (iLife suite) and the professional level (Logic, Final Cut suite). Also, maybe you want to develop for the iPhone -- got to have a Mac for that.
A decent Linux distro will get you a huge software repository with rapid securtity fixes and up-to-date builds of thousands of great programs. Some of this stuff is available for OSX and/or Windows, but it's often behind the curve.
Tagging along with the offtopic 7-zip lovefest -- this program rocks! A little quirky, but worth it. I literally did a double-take recently when I made a 7z-format archive of a bunch of rtf files that came out to 4% of the original size.
It's a scene from 1984: Winston's trying to pry stories about pre-Ingsoc England from an old drunk in a pub:
Calls 'isself a barman and don't know what a pint is! Why, a pint's the 'alf of a quart, and there's four quarts to the gallon. 'Ave to teach you the A, B, C next.'
'Never heard of 'em,' said the barman shortly. 'Litre and half litre -- that's all we serve. [...]
'E could 'a drawed me off a pint,' grumbled the old man as he settled down behind a glass. 'A 'alf litre ain't enough. It don't satisfy. And a 'ole litre's too much. It starts my bladder running. Let alone the price.'
To get the fairest comparison (faster processor, DVD writer) you have to start with the $800 2 GHz mini and go from there...
2 GHz Mini (starting at $799, $959 as configured) Core2Duo 2.0GHz 2 GB RAM (+$100) 160 GB hard drive (+$60) Wireless G Bluetooth 2.0 Intel GMA 950 integrated video (uses 64 MB of system RAM) One Firewire 400 Apple remote
OpenComputer (starting at $555, $809 as configured) Core2Duo 2.4GHz (+$60) 2 GB RAM 250 GB hard drive Unspecified wireless N card (+$99) Unspecified Bluetooth dongle (+$45) GeForce 7200GS 256MB Three Firewire 400 (+$50) No remote (presumably no infrared sensor either)
So you save $150 and you get something larger, uglier, faster, louder, with higher power consumption, much better graphics, and no remote. You have to worry about future OS updates. You may have to worry about flaky driver support, especially for the wireless hardware.
Overall, it's not a compelling case -- unless you really need a Mac with decent graphics or easy internal storage expansion for under $1000, in which case it's your only option.
Slashdot Mirror
... the users posting these comments gave their neighbor's information when creating an e-mail address to register at Topix and posted from their neighbor's insecure wifi?
This will fix the toolbar...
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser]
"ITBar7Position"=dword:00000001
But it seems to be a losing fight -- from my peeks at Server 2008 and Win7 beta, it looks like MS is keen on making IE7's toolbar behavior (off by default, appears as a minor sub-toolbar when invoked) part of the standard UI.
John Cale's 4'33"
Cage, not Cale.
And being a mafia hitman was the only way Sammy the Bull could attain a new Camero, but it's still no excuse.
Maybe it's because of the perception that they've illegally and immorally maintained a monopoly by threatening manufacturers, undermining open standards, funding McBride, etc.
WHO uses Windows Live Search to look up things? Any sane person goes and googles something, he window-live-searches.
I actually took this as a bit of a jab at the Microsoftening of the once-beloved Sysinternals toolset. Process Explorer, or whatever it was called back then, used to have "Google..." in the context menu to do a quick query on a process, but I think after Microsoft took over it got changed to "Windows Live Search", which is just impossible to use as a verb with a straight face. In later releases it's been sanitized to "Search Online." and uses your default search provider.
By far the most egregious change was the addition of the EULA dialog that requires a yes click per user per program (there are over 70 programs). Even the command-line-only utilities were suddenly saddled with a GUI EULA dialog, breaking many a script.
Mark deserves every penny he's getting out of them, but it's still sad to see Microsoft so cluelessly ruining what made the Sysinternals tools so pleasant -- all function, no bullshit.
Mark Russinovich has an enlightening blog entry called The Case of the Slow System that might serve as an example of how, if you are are one of the planet's top 10 Windows experts, you can, with persistence, luck, and the proper tools, solve one of the obscure problems that are slowing down your wife's computer. This particular case pertains to Vista, but the general techniques are applicable to XP as well.
...getting Novell's OO.o distribution (here) in which you can install an extension for OpenXML.
Note that the MSOpenXML plugin is a seperate download from that same page. Free registration required for either.
The installation instructions for the newest version (2.5) of the MSOpenXML plugin claim that it will work with Novell's OOo (for Windows or SUSE) or with Go-OO. But, branding aside, is there really any difference between the Novell builds and the Go-OO builds?
The flag is a little annoying... but that stray hair about an inch below the flag is what really throws me!
"Sub" because it's a subset. The smaller the committee, the greater the actual power.
Why the heck would you need to transcode them to .mp3? So they'll play on your Nuvi?
1 - These damn 2-year contracts make "getting with the times" a real pisser.
2 - Pulse dialing for land lines still works fine... right? Well there are some systems that *never* supported it, nasty phone trees and VOIP providers and whatnot, but it works on every POTS network I've ever plugged into. Flick the little switch on the back of your phone and try it, or, if you've got rhythm, just tap out the numbers using the cradle switch! Weee, fun!!!!
Still mostly true, but Microsoft has begun dropping the ball on this, under the pressure of trying to verify and maintain the security of dozens of decades-old proprietary parsing routines.
DOS Power Tools by Paul Somerson. This beautifully written book was full of history and practical tips, encouraged tinkering, taught simple assembly language, was generally a delight to read and use. After reading it, I felt like I actually understood the operating system top to bottom, and I was its master. I've never found its equivalent for any other OS.
So, any other suggestions on lightweight, full-featured word processing free software?
I'm pretty sure this is one of those "pick any two" scenarios...
And then there's SoftMaker, mentioned in the summary -- I'm not sure where they fit in; I guess I'll download the 2006 edition and see what gives.
And if, for whatever reason, you prefer a Novell-branded version, you can download it for free from Novell (Registration required, windows only -- they figure if you want the Linux version you'll spring for SUSE Enterprise Desktop; it's not even available in OpenSUSE.)
You can also download the deal-with-the-devil MS-OOXML file format translator, if you need to save in the .docx etc formats. Again, it's Windows or SUSE only. It works pretty well with Word stuff; haven't tried any of the others.
I've used par2 for this purpose, and it's not bad. It doesn't support multiple directories -- you have to create separate parity data for each directory on the CD. It also has no support for restoring any filesystem metadata, only the file names and contents.
I've also used dvdisaster, and I think it has some advantages. It creates a single block of error correction from the entire disc image, so it includes any filesystem information on the disc. It can use existing media in the drive, or an .iso file. The error correction data can then be appended to the .iso file before burning (assuming you've calculated the size correctly.)
I'd really like to see dvdistater's method become a standard feature of CD burning software, with the presumption that most people would want to add error correction to their discs if there's free space. Operating systems could check for this data when reading a CD and automatically use it to detect and correct read errors.
I'd really love to see this system adopted by software companies, music labels and movie studios -- but of course they'd much rather have a shot at selling you another copy of the disc you scratched.
It's the software, of course. If there's a single OS that runs all the software you need, you'll probably stick with it. Otherwise you might need two or three. Maybe you can get by with Wine, Crossover, and virtual machines... maybe you can't.
The list of things that are Windows only is huge -- lots of business apps and games, Visual Studio, Netflix watch-it-now... If your job/lifestyle don't require any of them, good for you, but otherwise you've gotta have Windows.
There's a lot of great software in the AV world that's Mac only, both on the beginner level (iLife suite) and the professional level (Logic, Final Cut suite). Also, maybe you want to develop for the iPhone -- got to have a Mac for that.
A decent Linux distro will get you a huge software repository with rapid securtity fixes and up-to-date builds of thousands of great programs. Some of this stuff is available for OSX and/or Windows, but it's often behind the curve.
FYI, actually having sex is usually more fun than declining it.
I agree. I just read some of this tripe and I'd like to punch this guy right in his arrogant face.
What, for free? That's valuable labor!
1) Pee in bushes
2) Get on sex offender list
3) Threaten to sign up others' email addresses
4) Collect blackmail $
Well, step #4 is tricky. It's probably more likely to be used for revenge or random abuse than profit.
I can't help wondering what form of currency I'll be slipping into the straps of fluorescent Korean strippers in 20 years.
Tagging along with the offtopic 7-zip lovefest -- this program rocks! A little quirky, but worth it. I literally did a double-take recently when I made a 7z-format archive of a bunch of rtf files that came out to 4% of the original size.
It's a scene from 1984 : Winston's trying to pry stories about pre-Ingsoc England from an old drunk in a pub:
Calls 'isself a barman and don't know what a pint is! Why, a pint's the 'alf of a quart, and there's four quarts to the gallon. 'Ave to teach you the A, B, C next.'
'Never heard of 'em,' said the barman shortly. 'Litre and half litre -- that's all we serve. [...]
'E could 'a drawed me off a pint,' grumbled the old man as he settled down behind a glass. 'A 'alf litre ain't enough. It don't satisfy. And a 'ole litre's too much. It starts my bladder running. Let alone the price.'
To get the fairest comparison (faster processor, DVD writer) you have to start with the $800 2 GHz mini and go from there...
2 GHz Mini (starting at $799, $959 as configured)
Core2Duo 2.0GHz
2 GB RAM (+$100)
160 GB hard drive (+$60)
Wireless G
Bluetooth 2.0
Intel GMA 950 integrated video (uses 64 MB of system RAM)
One Firewire 400
Apple remote
OpenComputer (starting at $555, $809 as configured)
Core2Duo 2.4GHz (+$60)
2 GB RAM
250 GB hard drive
Unspecified wireless N card (+$99)
Unspecified Bluetooth dongle (+$45)
GeForce 7200GS 256MB
Three Firewire 400 (+$50)
No remote (presumably no infrared sensor either)
So you save $150 and you get something larger, uglier, faster, louder, with higher power consumption, much better graphics, and no remote. You have to worry about future OS updates. You may have to worry about flaky driver support, especially for the wireless hardware.
Overall, it's not a compelling case -- unless you really need a Mac with decent graphics or easy internal storage expansion for under $1000, in which case it's your only option.