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FUNCTION RANDOM - All Things Technological On Your Mind

Started by Camazotz Automat, August 17, 2012, 04:04:35 AM

analog kid

Quote from: area51drone on March 17, 2015, 12:30:57 AM
The problem with gmail or any other web based email is you can't easily store emails locally and back them up.  Not only that, assuming people aren't using ad blockers, you have to view ads to see your email?  Bullshit.    Also, you have to fucking go log into a webpage to view them.   Another bullshit.   Even on my phone, the default mail app is superior to gmail, hotmail or yahoo, and I have accounts I use regularly on all three.    Zeebo is right, the web mail stuff is over engineered and utilizes way too much javascript.  Using a desktop mail client does not keep you from accessing your mail on any other device, and it makes it far easier and faster.

Backing up emails in Gmail is easy enough. Browsing the web without an adblocker is a security risk and I don't know why anyone still does that. You have to log in to Gmail once, the same as with a mail app, and that it's easier and faster is debatable.

Gmail has always had better spam filtering than any mail software I've used. It's also a mail account separate from your ISP and permanent.

b_dubb

I have uninstalled Chrome and now am only using Chromium as my primary browser.  I keep FireFox and Opera around for testing while web developing / designing.  Of course there are a couple of Windows VM's that house various incarnations of IE for testing. 

I got sick of my browser being tied to sessions on the Google domain.  That's just creepy.  Why the fuck is that necessary? 

Google.  You are the George Noory of Tech and I can't wait till someone hands you your ass.  You've got it coming you evil jerks.

albrecht

Quote from: b_dubb on March 22, 2015, 06:22:04 PM
I have uninstalled Chrome and now am only using Chromium as my primary browser.  I keep FireFox and Opera around for testing while web developing / designing.  Of course there are a couple of Windows VM's that house various incarnations of IE for testing. 

I got sick of my browser being tied to sessions on the Google domain.  That's just creepy.  Why the fuck is that necessary? 

Google.  You are the George Noory of Tech and I can't wait till someone hands you your ass.  You've got it coming you evil jerks.
While I admire their success their ties to politics and government agencies is at best questionable are some of their more possibly goals (telling us what the "truth" is, total surveillance and data-mining, odd racial agendas, the whole transhumanist cult, etc etc.)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530102.600-google-wants-to-rank-websites-based-on-facts-not-links.html
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/03/there_will_be_adjustments_living_in_googles_brave.html

www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/16/google-code-2040-tech-diversity-nation/70302194/


wr250

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/03/windows-10-to-make-the-secure-boot-alt-os-lock-out-a-reality/

microsoft has apparently designated the ability to turn off secure boot as "optional" . next step is to disable that ability all together.
this means the installations of other os'es (including older -and possibly newer- versions of windows) will be disabled. more or less like your apple/ios cellphone...

b_dubb

My Mac  is a dual boot system with Windows 7 on the other partition.

Catsmile

Apple to Windows 7 Users: It’s Time to Move On

The company’s latest MacBook Pro and Air models no longer support Windows 7 installation through the Boot Camp Assistant utility that has come built-in with Mac OS X since 2007.

This is not the first time that a Mac device has hit the market with Boot Camp support for Windows 7 disabled, though. The last instance dates back to 2013, when the company launched a Mac Pro workstation with support for only Windows 8.

http://www.maximumpc.com/apple_windows_7_users_it%E2%80%99s_time_move777

cweb

Strange times when Apple is (in a way) encouraging you to upgrade Windows...




area51drone

Quote from: analog kid on March 20, 2015, 06:35:37 AM
Backing up emails in Gmail is easy enough. Browsing the web without an adblocker is a security risk and I don't know why anyone still does that. You have to log in to Gmail once, the same as with a mail app, and that it's easier and faster is debatable.

Gmail has always had better spam filtering than any mail software I've used. It's also a mail account separate from your ISP and permanent.

If you leave your mail program on all the time like I do, then there is absolutely no way it can not be faster than a web version, as you're accessing gmail every time you read a new email on the website.   If you use a desktop client, it has the message already downloaded for you.    There may be automation tools to backup the emails, but that's far more difficult than just setting your backup software to save your message folder.      It's not really debatable, IMO.    The only plus web mail has is that you don't have to install anything, but I have found over the years that you do have to keep your browser up to date to keep up with the web based bloatware, so that's probably a wash.   

As for ad blockers, sure you and I and anyone reading this section of the forum use them, but I bet you a ton of people using public web mail programs don't.   (here is one line from a Q4 2013 article: "In a report released this week based on data collection from 220 websites using the company’s services, PageFair says that 22.7% of web surfers are blocking ads")

I agree having a separate email address from your ISP is the way to go, whether it's gmail, yahoo, hotmail or other.    I don't use gmail for more than android based stuff, youtube and communicating with Falkie, so I can't really comment on their spam filtering.  But I can say that my hotmail account's spam filter has worked pretty much flawlessly for the past couple of years.   It used to be I scanned the junk folder every day just to make sure there wasn't something in there I needed.  Now I pretty much never look at it.

cweb

I can't believe it took me this long to realize that VLC can rip videos from a certain popular site.  :o

You simply have to paste the URL into VLC as a network stream, then select convert/save. As long as you have the right libraries, it'll spit out whatever combination of codec/container you want. It seems to default to highest quality. I've tested this with 480p and 720p content.

I haven't tested this on other OSes, but it works on Linux (VLC 2.1.6).

area51drone

Quote from: cweb on March 28, 2015, 08:45:32 PM
I can't believe it took me this long to realize that VLC can rip videos from a certain popular site.  :o

You simply have to paste the URL into VLC as a network stream, then select convert/save. As long as you have the right libraries, it'll spit out whatever combination of codec/container you want. It seems to default to highest quality. I've tested this with 480p and 720p content.

I haven't tested this on other OSes, but it works on Linux (VLC 2.1.6).

Nice, I didn't even consider that as something to try.

MV/Liberace!

Quote from: cweb on March 28, 2015, 08:45:32 PM
I can't believe it took me this long to realize that VLC can rip videos from a certain popular site.  :o

You simply have to paste the URL into VLC as a network stream, then select convert/save. As long as you have the right libraries, it'll spit out whatever combination of codec/container you want. It seems to default to highest quality. I've tested this with 480p and 720p content.

I haven't tested this on other OSes, but it works on Linux (VLC 2.1.6).

Cool. Nice tip.

cweb

Just tested the VLC export tip I mentioned earlier, using Windows 8.1 and VLC 2.1.5.

It wasn't exporting until I went into the preferences and changed the wavefile "file" output setting to have 2 channels. For some reason the default was 0. I'm not sure if this is exactly why it didn't export, but the message log said "can't find sout module" or something similar before I changed that value. Idunno.

Also, sometimes it just exports an empty container file instead of a proper file filled with content. In such a case, you just double click the file in the playlist to trigger a re-export. It'll ask you if you want to overwrite- say YES. You may have to do this more than once until it actually shows an encoding progress bar at the bottom.

I have no idea why it works this way. I'm guessing that the way a certain popular site sends bits of files now has something to do with it.

albrecht

-On Sunday my cell phone was out. No calls, txts, etc. (Apparently someone accidentally cut a large fiber-optic line that knocked out AT&T services in the area for a time.)
-BellGab is suspiciously slow, weird "server errors", etc recently
-Turkey is blacked out in possible cyber attack (or terrorism, or infrastructure, etc)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/nationwide-blackout-throws-turkey-into-chaos-10145504.html
Linked? I must consult frequent C2C guest Alex Jones to confirm! ;)

cweb

It's hilarious when you're wiring RS-232 pinouts between devices and you connect a Tx to the other Tx instead of the Rx.

Connecting an output to another output: a great way to lose 30 minutes of your life on a stupid mistake.

area51drone

Quote from: cweb on April 06, 2015, 09:14:07 AM
It's hilarious when you're wiring RS-232 pinouts between devices and you connect a Tx to the other Tx instead of the Rx.

Connecting an output to another output: a great way to lose 30 minutes of your life on a stupid mistake.

What are you doing now a days that requires you to wire up RS-232?   Something industrial?

cweb

Quote from: area51drone on April 08, 2015, 12:26:39 AM
What are you doing now a days that requires you to wire up RS-232?   Something industrial?
I work at a college and we're doing some room technology renovations this summer. I'm taking my first stab at AV control system programming with Crestron equipment, since that's what we're putting in there.

The video scaler that hooks up to our projector uses RS-232 for control and feedback. The projector takes a DSUB-9 and the scaler uses a Phoenix connector. I swapped the Tx and Rx wires in the Phoenix by accident-- it wasn't working until I realized this and set it right.

There have been many other foibles during this whole process, but it's a good learning experience for me. My boss has a lot of Crestron experience but he's never used the model that was specified (DMPS3-4K-150-C) so I'm finding all the quirks.

area51drone

Interesting.   I'm surprised newer high end equipment like that can't communicate through wifi or standard lan.  You'd think they would even have their own web servers on them.   (Maybe they do, I didn't read up on the model you listed)

cweb

Quote from: area51drone on April 08, 2015, 10:55:51 AM
Interesting.   I'm surprised newer high end equipment like that can't communicate through wifi or standard lan.  You'd think they would even have their own web servers on them.   (Maybe they do, I didn't read up on the model you listed)
Some newer projectors do have the ability to communicate via wifi. The projector I'm using now (Panasonic PT-DW530u) has a LAN port. But for the features we need in classrooms, the RS-232 connection is still the most reliable for commands and feedback. Plus it integrates a little better with our monitoring software.

The DMPS3 actually has a web-accessible vPanel (web app) which allows you to route sources and adjust settings. However, it doesn't allow you to fine-tune the automation to the level that we need. Academia will be using touch panels with this hardware to switch between sources and control playback devices, so we really have to dumb everything down on the user end. Even then, some of them struggle with stuff that we might find simple.

We have some professors who can't tell the difference between the monitor and the computer, for godsakes. And they "don't have time" to learn...  ::)

Here's how simple it is...
[attach=1]

area51drone

Quote from: cweb on April 08, 2015, 12:47:16 PM
We have some professors who can't tell the difference between the monitor and the computer, for godsakes. And they "don't have time" to learn...  ::)

I believe it.   

cweb

Quote from: area51drone on April 09, 2015, 08:13:44 PM
I believe it.
Some of them can't even dial the support number right.

As in the support number that is on a laminated sheet right in front of them. Which is arm's length from the phone.

"I tried calling three times..."
"Were you hitting redial?"

albrecht

Quote from: area51drone on April 09, 2015, 08:13:44 PM
I believe it.
But do you really WANT them too? If professors, or pick any other person, really understood stuff IT departments would cut jobs and also, maybe, other important work would not get done. Division of labor provides more efficiencies and not everybody is technically oriented or inclined. And, actually, lots of problems can be caused by a "little knowledge" versus some person who simply asks (and pays) others to fix, set-up, or maintain the system. I have no problem with an author who wants to write longhand (if it makes a good book) or a businessman who won't use email (if they run a good business) because it provides jobs for secretaries, IT guys, etc and allows them to focus on what they are good at (versus wading/learning through the minutiae of how computers work or be interrupted by having to frequently reply to meaningless emails etc.)

cweb

Quote from: albrecht on April 10, 2015, 05:57:26 PM
But do you really WANT them too? If professors, or pick any other person, really understood stuff IT departments would cut jobs and also, maybe, other important work would not get done. Division of labor provides more efficiencies and not everybody is technically oriented or inclined. And, actually, lots of problems can be caused by a "little knowledge" versus some person who simply asks (and pays) others to fix, set-up, or maintain the system. I have no problem with an author who wants to write longhand (if it makes a good book) or a businessman who won't use email (if they run a good business) because it provides jobs for secretaries, IT guys, etc and allows them to focus on what they are good at (versus wading/learning through the minutiae of how computers work or be interrupted by having to frequently reply to meaningless emails etc.)
I don't expect academia (my customers) to completely understand everything there is to know about IT. My job will still be preserved, however, if they simply had a basic knowledge of how things work. That's all we ask. And we don't force anything on anybody. We're content to let them use the chalkboard if that's what they want.

The "I'm not a techie" excuse is the laziest bullshit I have ever heard coming from PhD-levels who expect their students to memorize the Periodic Table, yet are unable to utilize basic reading skills to follow a NUMBERED LIST that is pasted to the counter top next to the equipment they want to use. How "turn on switch" and "push button with this picture" is confusing, I will never know.

The "I can't be bothered" excuse is idiotic as well. There's always a chance something can be fixed quickly. Instead of losing 50 minutes of class by not reporting it and staring at the wall, they could call and have it fixed with only 5 minutes lost. The worst offenders tend to be the ones who you REPEATEDLY remind about this.

Your mechanic doesn't expect you to know how your transmission works, but he does expect you to know how to engage it (put it in gear) so you can drive your car.

I wasn't exaggerating with my monitor/computer example. There really ARE people who expect to use the equipment but are too lazy to arrange for a 5 minute demo- so instead they call a department (with 3 staff who are responsible for 120 other rooms) to have a person go over there and push a single button while class time is lost. How the hell do you avoid embarrassing the professor when the thing you fix is blatantly obvious to each of the 60 students sitting 20 feet away? I've had to make shit up before just so they don't look like assholes in front of the kids.

I agree that division of labor is good-- for specialized tasks. Need to do some whacky-ass setup in class? I'm happy to help. But basic technology skills are becoming more wrapped into our culture. The sad thing is that all of this frustration could be partially mitigated by people giving a shit.

Sorry for the rant. The ratio of "give a shit" does vary between places. The first place I worked had about 70% of professors who actually make a basic effort. The current one has about 40%. I'm doing everything I can to increase it, in a friendly professional way. Not easy.

albrecht

Quote from: cweb on April 11, 2015, 07:20:39 AM

I agree that division of labor is good-- for specialized tasks. Need to do some whacky-ass setup in class? I'm happy to help. But basic technology skills are becoming more wrapped into our culture. The sad thing is that all of this frustration could be partially mitigated by people giving a shit.

Sorry for the rant. The ratio of "give a shit" does vary between places. The first place I worked had about 70% of professors who actually make a basic effort. The current one has about 40%. I'm doing everything I can to increase it, in a friendly professional way. Not easy.
I don't mind rants. There are certain people for whom lack of technical knowledge is seen as a benefit, they can even be boastful about it ("I don't have a iphone", "I don't use email" etc.) Other people just want others to do everything for them because they are either lazy or malicious and like the idea of minions serving them. And then there are some who are older who never grew up with tv even and computers, smart phones, etc baffle them or they figured they never had them before, so why use it now?
Generally speaking though, if "someone else will do it" then people won't learn or try and let that "other person do it."

area51drone

I used to work in support at a university, cweb..  I'm with you 100%.   I have also been a prof myself.  These guys are being lazy.  That's all there is too it.  They'd rather go to their high brow wine socials.   Fuck them.

cweb

Quote from: albrecht on April 11, 2015, 02:11:33 PM
Generally speaking though, if "someone else will do it" then people won't learn or try and let that "other person do it."
I don't disagree. Finding that happy medium when labor is limited is the challenge. (I had a particularly bonehead-heavy week at work when I posted that.)

Quote from: area51drone on April 11, 2015, 09:20:09 PM
I used to work in support at a university, cweb..  I'm with you 100%.   I have also been a prof myself.  These guys are being lazy.  That's all there is too it.  They'd rather go to their high brow wine socials.   Fuck them.
Thanks! I try to run my office like a business. The problem is, you can't really tell these customers to fuck off. So the frustration builds up.

In other news, looks like I might be reimaging my girlfriend's 4-year-old laptop. Thing is laggy and slow. Haven't dug too deep, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of software bloat on the top.

I'd like to run some diagnostics on the HDD and RAM first. I suspect that a RAM swap might fix some of the issues. Any recs on a good memory diagnostic program? I haven't done this in a while. Memtest seems to be a popular one.

She wants a new laptop, but I'm thinking it may be worth my trouble to see if this one is salvageable. Worst case, it becomes a linux box.

area51drone

Quote from: cweb on April 13, 2015, 06:52:17 AM
In other news, looks like I might be reimaging my girlfriend's 4-year-old laptop. Thing is laggy and slow. Haven't dug too deep, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of software bloat on the top.

I'd like to run some diagnostics on the HDD and RAM first. I suspect that a RAM swap might fix some of the issues. Any recs on a good memory diagnostic program? I haven't done this in a while. Memtest seems to be a popular one.

MV or Mudking are the ones  to ask but I use memtest.   You clear out the start up stuff, run registry entries etc?  Disable all unnecessary services?   Probably the first thing to do is delete the anti virus software and see if that speeds things up.


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