# Computer Talk



## Vaneyes

I thought a thread for Computer Talk might be useful. 

Ground rules: Except maybe from some Computer Science majors, no computer-related comments or questions should be considered downright stupid.:lol:

I'll kick it off. I've been using Avast Free anti-virus for some time. I think I started it when it was version 4.8, or something like that. Things were going smoothly until this past week, when Avast 7 Free was dispensed. I quickly saw a computer slowdown. I wrestled with eliminating some of it's extra services, but nothing helped, so I uninstalled Avast 7 from add-remove, and also used a Avast uninstall utility, with success.

Note: Avast forums are full of discontent with this premature release.

I intended to go back to Avast 6, but that was made unavailable, so I returned to old nemisis AVG Free anti-virus. Custom installation of this was a breeze. I eliminated much of the bloatware. It's running smoothly, so I may stick with it.

Funny how software companies want to cut their own throats. AVG did what Avast now appears to be doing several years ago. Lucky for consumers, that there's usually someone doing it right, to jump to. Knock on metal.

Mini-rant away. Or feel free to pose a question for someone. Enjoy.


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## Polednice

Screw all anti-virus software, because they all slow your computer down - just stop looking at disreputable porn websites.


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## Kopachris

Polednice said:


> Screw all anti-virus software, because they all slow your computer down - just stop looking at disreputable porn websites.


TBH, most malware comes from websites which look completely harmless--a news or travel website, for example. After all, their goal is to lure in unsuspecting victims. I do agree with your "screw all anti-virus software" comment, though, which is part of why I use Linux. It may not be as invulnerable as fanboys claim it to be, but it's still inherently more secure than Windows as long as you know what you're doing.


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## Vaneyes

Yes, clicking on pop-ups about an infection in your 'puter (accompanied by a savior anti-virus software) is a sure way to excite one's day. Scripting is another badguy ploy, which is more incentive to stick to "sophisticated" websites. Hard to do sometimes with Google searches. Google is trying to combat some of that with three searching options.


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## Huilunsoittaja

About a week ago, one of my email accounts was hacked, and through it a message was sent to like 30-40 people. I didn't dare click what this attached message was, but the URL for it was .ru ... RUSSIAN SPY HAX!  The Russians have been tracking me...

I have anti-virus and spyware software, but it still happened. But nothing actually entered my computer, only my online account, so that was good. That's what it's for.


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## Polednice

What was your password, Hui? 12345?


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## Huilunsoittaja

Polednice said:


> What was your password, Hui? 12345?


Well, to set aside doubts, I did not put any particular favorite Russian composer in the password.


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## Ukko

I have given up on the free AV apps (AVG, Avast, one other I don't remember the name of); they 'leak'. I'm running Norton in this computer, which is fast enough to make the messing around Norton does tolerable. I'm running a not-free version of Avast in my laptop.

About 3 years ago a nasty beastie got around AVG-free and did a job on my computer. I ended up reformatting the harddrive during the process of re-installing XP Pro. I don't surf the internet, so the beastie found me some other way.


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## emiellucifuge

Ive used Mcafee for a while now and am happy with it. Ive never had a bad piece of programming get onto my computer, but have been alerted to files that have been blocked or quarantined, and I dont notice any particular slowing down.

If youre worried about speed I suggest getting a faster processor or getting some more RAM rather than getting rid of protection.


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## Couchie

Does Windows 7 still really require 3rd party antivirus software? I have it at work and it barely allows one to breathe without prompting you for permission.


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## Vaneyes

Couchie said:


> Does Windows 7 still really require 3rd party antivirus software? I have it at work and it barely allows one to breathe without prompting you for permission.


Permission to use the bathroom denied.


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## Vaneyes

Hilltroll72 said:


> I have given up on the free AV apps (AVG, Avast, one other I don't remember the name of); they 'leak'. I'm running Norton in this computer, which is fast enough to make the messing around Norton does tolerable. I'm running a not-free version of Avast in my laptop.
> 
> About 3 years ago a nasty beastie got around AVG-free and did a job on my computer. I ended up reformatting the harddrive during the process of re-installing XP Pro. I don't surf the internet, so the beastie found me some other way.


Getting bit deters usage, no question. In the 1990's, it seemed I was paying bloated Norton every year to get infected, then provide no support. That's when I gave up on the paid stuff. I've had excellent results from the free AV and AM stuff. As always, knock on metal.


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## Kopachris

Couchie said:


> Does Windows 7 still really require 3rd party antivirus software? I have it at work and it barely allows one to breathe without prompting you for permission.


Not really. I've heard that Microsoft Security Essentials (free download for Windows 7 from Microsoft's website, therefore not technically third-party) works just fine.


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## Couchie

Meanwhile, Apple is worth $500,000,000,000.00


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## Kopachris

Couchie said:


> Meanwhile, Apple is worth $500,000,000,000.00


Apple actually has too much money--it's starting to burn a hole in their execs' pockets and they know it. They're currently trying to figure out what to do with it. They'll probably start giving dividends.


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## Couchie

Kopachris said:


> Apple actually has too much money--it's starting to burn a hole in their execs' pockets and they know it. They're currently trying to figure out what to do with it. They'll probably start giving dividends.


In my opinion they should start a hardcore research department. Instead of merely _innovating _they should be _inventing. _That, and continue building increasingly extravagant stores:


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## Chris

Going back to AV...the latest _PC Pro_ has AVG 2012 as the best of the free packages. It detected 98% of their test threats. Three of the paid-for packages scored 100%. These were Trend Micro Titanium 2012 (the winner), Bitdefender 2012, and F-Secure 2012.

edit: I missed one; Eset Smart Security 5 also scored 100%. It's expensive though.


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## Vaneyes

Chris said:


> Going back to AV...the latest _PC Pro_ has AVG 2012 as the best of the free packages. It detected 98% of their test threats. Three of the paid-for packages scored 100%. These were Trend Micro Titanium 2012 (the winner), Bitdefender 2012, and F-Secure 2012.


Thanks for that info, Chris. I read similar things about AVG 2012 Free, and that's what I'm running now. So far, so good. I like their freedom for and easy-to-read option choices on custom install. Much improved there, compared to the last time I was with them several years ago.

I've been checking Avast forum, to see if they have their Avast 7 Free stuff ironed out. Not yet. What a blunder that premature release has been. They all go through it. I'm sure they'll recover, and hopefully learn, from this.

I guess their close race for market share is just too consuming. Note: Both AVG 2012 Free and Avast 7 Free (according to download.com) were downloaded over a million times last week.


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## regressivetransphobe

Couchie said:


> In my opinion they should start a hardcore research department. Instead of merely _innovating _they should be _inventing. _That, and continue building increasingly extravagant stores:


Oh great, yuppie heaven.

Since when did innovation come to mean overpriced toys, anyway? Apple are innovative at making money, sure, but beyond that they're overpraised.


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## Couchie

regressivetransphobe said:


> Oh great, yuppie heaven.
> 
> Since when did innovation come to mean overpriced toys, anyway? Apple are innovative at making money, sure, but beyond that they're overpraised.


Well, suggest a single one of Apple's competitors that operates better than Apple on any of the following:

- Supply chain management
- Branding
- Marketing
- Industrial design and aesthetics
- Retail
- Customer support

That's why they're worth 500B. It's not because the stuff inside their phones is any fancier than the next guy's, but as a company they simply execute on a level that makes other companies look pathetic for even trying.


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## Fsharpmajor

Chris said:


> Going back to AV...the latest _PC Pro_ has AVG 2012 as the best of the free packages. It detected 98% of their test threats. Three of the paid-for packages scored 100%. These were Trend Micro Titanium 2012 (the winner), Bitdefender 2012, and F-Secure 2012.
> 
> edit: I missed one; Eset Smart Security 5 also scored 100%. It's expensive though.


I have Webroot Security Essentials (which is paid for), but (in spite of doing real-time scans) it let a trojan through that was picked up by AVG when I eventually installed it. (There were no outward signs that the trojan was there).

The worst problem I've had was a browser hijack by something called "whitesmoke," which was my own fault for downloading the Linkury toolbar. (Never do that!). I cleared whitesmoke from the registry using Hijack This!, but I still had to reinstall both Google Chrome and Firefox to get their right-click context menus to work properly, instead of directing searches to whitesmoke's website.

Now, I use a freeware program called Browser Protect, which would probably spared me from all the hassle.


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## Fsharpmajor

Polednice said:


> Screw all anti-virus software, because they all slow your computer down


Here's the Daily Mash's take on the subject (language warning):

*http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-%26-technology/new-antivirus-software-'deadliest-yet'-201202174911/
*
If your antivirus software is slowing your computer down noticeably, you can generally set it up not to start with Windows and run all the time, and instead start it up and do scans whenever you want to. This is less safe, but it's certainly better than nothing.


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## emiellucifuge

Enough about the virus stuff. What browsers do you all use and why?


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## Couchie

emiellucifuge said:


> Enough about the virus stuff. What browsers do you all use and why?


Safari on OSX and Chrome on Windows. They're simple, fast, and get the job done. Never cared for the bloated feature-rich browsers like Firefox and Opera.


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## Ukko

SeaMonkey. Works smoothly, integrated email and Usenet reader, regularly upgraded, and a Mozilla outfit.


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## Fsharpmajor

I like Chrome--it's elegant, fast and simple--but I don't like Google's counterpart for it, Gmail, which is inelegant, slow and simple-minded. Why can't Google get Gmail to look and work like Chrome does? Being able to use the same skins for both of them would at least be a start.


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## beethovenian

Couchie said:


> Does Windows 7 still really require 3rd party antivirus software? I have it at work and it barely allows one to breathe without prompting you for permission.


You can disable the UAC(user access control) to stop the prompting.


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## Vaneyes

Fsharpmajor said:


> Here's the Daily Mash's take on the subject (language warning):
> 
> *http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-%26-technology/new-antivirus-software-'deadliest-yet'-201202174911/
> *
> If your antivirus software is slowing your computer down noticeably, you can generally set it up not to start with Windows and run all the time, and instead start it up and do scans whenever you want to. This is less safe, but it's certainly better than nothing.


Have only a bloatwareless anti-virus starting up. Be safer and faster.

Check Services configurations for your OS, tailoring them (Automatic, Enable, Disable) for your needs and safety.

Remove remnants of all old AVs, that you think you've completely removed. Add/Remove, Revo, Windows Utility Uninstaller, etc. usually don't do it all. Instead, get and run the specific removal tool for each AV company. Some companies, such as Avast, provide one list for many of them, so a lengthy hunt for each and every isn't necessary.


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## Vaneyes

Re browser, IE8. I like its speed, and security features.


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## Vaneyes

Personal update. After several days with AVG Anti-virus Free Edition 2012, I'm pleased to be back with the final and stable release of Avast! Free Antivirus 7.0.1426.

Compared to AVG, the Avast product is allowing webpages to load faster and smoother, causing little CPU usage. 

AVG frequently caused high CPU usage. So much so, that it became disruptive and concerning. Buggy. It needs to go back to the drawing board, also.


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## moody

Polednice said:


> Screw all anti-virus software, because they all slow your computer down - just stop looking at disreputable porn websites.


But I like them !!


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## Vaneyes

I noticed some 'puter chatter on another Community thread, so I thought I'd bump this. 

I've stayed with Avast (current version 7.0.1474) with success. No viruses.

Still running XP SP3 IE8. I don't expect a pc change until 2014, when XP support ends.

I've found Windows and Java updates during the past week have considerably improved Internet usage. I disabled Java most of the past year, due to ineffective plugins. 

I had some problems relating to Windows Framework updates. Had to call India a couple of times. I eventually uninstalled the most problematic Framework 4. 

Everything seems to be running smoothly now. Knock on metal.


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## Flamme

Kopachris said:


> TBH, most malware comes from websites which look completely harmless--a news or travel website, for example. After all, their goal is to lure in unsuspecting victims. I do agree with your "screw all anti-virus software" comment, though, which is part of why I use Linux. It may not be as invulnerable as fanboys claim it to be, but it's still inherently more secure than Windows as long as you know what you're doing.


I read somewhere that Windows is made intentionally with errors and holes so it must be updated ALL THE TIME...Linux?


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## Hayze

Flamme said:


> I read somewhere that Windows is made intentionally with errors and holes so it must be updated ALL THE TIME...Linux?


In the software business programmers create enough unintentional bugs. Windows (and anything by Microsoft) is way over-complicated so they have plenty of unknown bugs at the time of production. And not all updates are bug fixes, by the way, some are upgrades or improvements.
But yeah, definitely Linux.


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## PetrB

Polednice said:


> Screw all anti-virus software, because they all slow your computer down - just stop looking at disreputable porn websites.


I got one of the meanest 'take over blackmail-repair offer' from merely clicking on a [non-prurient] Google image.

That is all it takes.... most of the porn sites, logically, are real cash-cow businesses, so unless someone has hacked into one of those sites, I bet there are more viruses and trojans in the 'normal' stuff.

A line out is a line in. 
Protect yourself.


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## Vaneyes

One internet irritant that's still around, are websites that won't let you leave. Rather than click on their "helpful" options, I use Ctrl Alt Delete and restart the 'puter.


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## Kopachris

Flamme said:


> I read somewhere that Windows is made intentionally with errors and holes so it must be updated ALL THE TIME...Linux?


I thought the rumor was the intentional back door used for government spying. Oh, well. Haven't seen any evidence of either. Most Linux distros will update pretty often if you let them (daily), but they do so quietly and you only have to restart the computer for the update to take effect if it's a kernel update. And, of course, you can set update frequency, etc.


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## Vaneyes

PetrB said:


> I got one of the meanest 'take over blackmail-repair offer' from merely clicking on a [non-prurient] Google image.
> 
> That is all it takes.... most of the porn sites, logically, are real cash-cow businesses, so unless someone has hacked into one of those sites, I bet there are more viruses and trojans in the 'normal' stuff.
> 
> A line out is a line in.
> Protect yourself.


Mind telling how you removed the ransomware?

F-secure seems to have a "free" helpful attitude...

http://www.f-secure.com/en/web/labs_global/removal/removing-ransomware


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## Flamme

Vaneyes said:


> I noticed some 'puter chatter on another Community thread, so I thought I'd bump this.
> 
> I've stayed with Avast (current version 7.0.1474) with success. No viruses.
> 
> Still running XP SP3 IE8. I don't expect a pc change until 2014, when XP support ends.
> 
> I've found Windows and Java updates during the past week have considerably improved Internet usage. I disabled Java most of the past year, due to ineffective plugins.
> 
> I had some problems relating to Windows Framework updates. Had to call India a couple of times. I eventually uninstalled the most problematic Framework 4.
> 
> Everything seems to be running smoothly now. Knock on metal.


Kaspersky is pretty cool too though it takes lot of resources...


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## Ralfy

All operating systems contain vulnerabilities, especially if more features are added, but malware authors will often focus on the more popular ones. Also, vulnerabilities are usually discovered only after an attack.

With that, no matter what OS you use, you will have to add various security software and hardware, including antivirus programs, a firewall, anti-malware plugins and similar features for browsers, etc.


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## Flamme

Being without any defese for like 3 weeks cause of the hardware changes and laziness (lol) downloaded today Bit defender AV...We will see if its good like it should be...


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## Ralfy

Sites like this:

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

give ratings for various antivirus programs, and several programs have free versions.

What I do is look for the free version of one of the best-ranked antivirus programs and use that. From there, I use other anti-malware programs (like Malware Bytes) then do non-real time scheduled scanning. For any features missing, I look for free versions of programs that offer them, like Win 7 Firewall Control and mail scanners. Finally, I add plugins or extensions to the browser like pop-up blockers, Adblock, and Do Not Track Me.


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## Flamme

Bit defender seems effective enough and doesnt slow down general performance although it does scanning in the background all the time..


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## Vaneyes

Flamme said:


> Bit defender seems effective enough and doesnt slow down general performance although it does scanning in the background all the time..


Check the settings. Sometimes you can keep the main guts of an AV running/scanning, and stop all the superfluous stuff that's too often redundant. FWIW Avast Free has that capability.


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## Flamme

This one has two main functions *Virus shield* on/off and Auto scan which displays idle...Virus shield scans all...


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

I'm still using a TRS80

I don't want to write any more for the old Man-power instruments and am handicapped by the lack of adequate electrical instruments for which I now conceive my music.


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## Huilunsoittaja

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> View attachment 12022
> 
> 
> I'm still using a TRS80


Where's the footpump for that?

:tiphat:


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## kv466

A Van thread, eh...I'd never seen this one...hah, that TRS80 is pretty sweet...reminds me of my first Tandy, c/1983.


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## Vaneyes

Apple-1 sold for $666 in 1976. 666? Sold again at auction three years ago, for over $200K.

Little Stevie Jobs personally provided a receipt (from his parents home address), and offered to answer questions.

View attachment 12048


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## KenOC

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> View attachment 12022
> 
> 
> I'm still using a TRS80.


Hey dude, where's your expansion interface? Got more than 4K in that thing?  You can play tones through the cassete recorder, but you probably know that.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

KenOC said:


> Hey dude, where's your expansion interface? Got more than 4K in that thing?  You can play tones through the cassete recorder, but you probably know that.


You shoulds have seen my old machine- this one is the latest in digital recording you know...... next I'll get a GUI - my compositions will improve 10 fold !!!

So what do you think we will be saying about the stuff we are using know in 10 years....


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## Flamme

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> View attachment 12022
> 
> 
> I'm still using a TRS80
> 
> I don't want to write any more for the old Man-power instruments and am handicapped by the lack of adequate electrical instruments for which I now conceive my music.


LOL i remember my highschool with all commodores in informatic classroom...
I ve decided to thank Bit defender for his service but as time rolled by it begun to slow computer more and more so i reinstalled it...Took Avira...


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## Vaneyes

Reading about Windows 8.1 aka "Blue", which is partly due to customer demand.

Re touchscreen, I like it in public settings, such as airports, transit stations, restaurants, etc., but I prefer the old-fashioned mouse 'n cursor way for personal computer usage. I find it physically less-demanding over long periods.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/30/windows_81_update_changes/


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## Vaneyes

The Top Tech Turkeys of 2013.

http://www.infoworld.com/slideshow/130414/the-top-tech-turkeys-of-2013-231723#slide1


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## shangoyal

About the worst thing that can happen to your computer is tea falling into your keyboard, jamming the NumPad completely and permanently.


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## ahammel

shangoyal said:


> About the worst thing that can happen to your computer is tea falling into your keyboard, jamming the NumPad completely and permanently.


Dude, that's not even in the top 10 worst things that can happen to your computer when you spill tea on it.


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## Vaneyes

Microsoft fires another warning shot at me. hee hee

http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsof...crosoft-security-essentials-windows-xp-233721


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## brotagonist

^ Microsoft and Apple are just in it for the money. That's why I switched to Fedora Linux in 1999 (then Red Hat).


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## ahammel

brotagonist said:


> ^ Microsoft and Apple are just in it for the money. That's why I switched to Fedora Linux in 1999 (then Red Hat).


Because you think they're in it for their health at Red Hat?


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## brotagonist

ahammel said:


> Because you think they're in it for their health at Red Hat?


Fedora is a community effort and it is free to download and use. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it functions sort of as a testing ground to work the bugs out and then Red Hat releases a for-pay version based on Fedora. So, to recapitulate, Fedora is basically driven by fans and Red Hat, like the others, is a commercial endeavour.


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## ahammel

brotagonist said:


> Fedora is a community effort and it is free to download and use. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it functions sort of as a testing ground to work the bugs out and then Red Hat releases a for-pay version based on Fedora. So, to recapitulate, Fedora is basically driven by fans and Red Hat, like the others, is a commercial endeavour.


Yes, I've used both. They're fine OS's (although I don't like yum much).

I simply find it curious that you criticize Apple and MS for being in the business of making money and yet choose to use a commercial Linux.


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## cwarchc

I'm running Mint on this pc, and #crunchbang on the other one.
Still getting my head round using Terminal, but I will persevere


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## ahammel

cwarchc said:


> I'm running Mint on this pc, and #crunchbang on the other one.
> Still getting my head round using Terminal, but I will persevere


Command line interfaces are a way of life. You must embrace them with your whole heart.

Godspeed, grasshopper.


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## Taggart

ahammel said:


> Command line interfaces are a way of life. You must embrace them with your whole heart.
> 
> Godspeed, grasshopper.


Quite agree. If you haven't used DDT on CPM or edlin, then you haven't lived!


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## Vaneyes

Reading about a chat demon of Biblical proportions. No, not hpowders...a trojan.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/27/im_trojan/


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## Vaneyes

*Surface* is pronounced dead.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/28...-the-demise-of-microsofts-surface-tablet.html


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## QuietGuy

I use PC Matic that they're advertising now. $150 for lifetime [of the company] of coverage on 5 computers. It's pretty good, catches things before they happen, runs a quick diagnostic once a week (or whenever you schedule it), fixes things as they need it and it's fine. I don't worry about it any more.

I have had bad luck with AVG and won't go with Symantec/Norton.


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## Albert7

I swing with Windows 8.1, Mac OS X, and the latest flava of Ubuntu Linux across a few machines.


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## Vaneyes

Reading a few articles. Lenovo just went on my never-to-buy list. That list's getting longer each week. 

The GROK hack threat.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/17/technology/security/malware-nsa/index.html?iid=HP_LN

White House rethinks their IT people.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/28...te-house-has-replaced-its-top-it-leaders.html

Lenovo adware blunder.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/28...erfish-screwup-will-release-cleanup-tool.html


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## spokanedaniel

When I was a kid, there was a Univac machine on Art Linkletter's TV show People Are Funny, and they used it from time to time as a matchmaker. I suspect that what it did was sort a list of men and women by height. It occupied an entire back wall of the studio with flashing lights and rapidly-spinning reel-to-reel tape drives that would spin one way then the other all independently of each other. It was fascinating.

When I was in college about the time the Vietnam war started to heat up, there was a mainframe computer that you could run programs on my handing in a stack of punch cards with your Fortran program on them, and in the morning you'd get a print-out with your results, or, in my case, a list of compiler errors. I never got a program to compile.

Some time around 1970 or '71 I took some classes at a local college and by that time there were filing-cabinet-size computers connected to teletype terminals with paper-tape punch and reader. You could save your program on punched paper tape and feed it back in later. I think the computers had about two kilobytes of memory and a limit of 200 program lines of Basic for your program. I wrote a simplified blackjack program for it, and a program that I called a poetry-generating program, which randomly assembled words from as long a list as I could fit in the available memory. And no, it never produced anything I'd call poetry. Mainly it was an excuse to be at the computer so I could write the blackjack program.

My first computer was a Kaypro 2X, some time around the mid-1980's. It had 64 kilobytes of memory and ran CP/M, which was 1/10 the size of DOS but infinitely more elegant. If Digital Research, rather than Microsoft, had gotten the contract to produce the operating system for IBM's PC, we never would have been burdened with the disaster which is Windows.

Today my iPad, tiny as it is, has a gazillion times more memory and computing power than the mainframe computer when I was in college. I used to own an encyclopedia, then briefly I subscribed to an on-line encyclopedia, and now Wikipedia has made both obsolete. I have not opened my print dictionary in nearly a decade. In the mid-1990's my house was crammed with bookshelves, and today my Kindle can hold many times as many books as I had then, and when I travel I could take several thousand books with me on my iPad (in practice I take 10 or 15) when I travel, and they add nothing to the weight of my luggage. I used to take one or two books with me and then I'd have to ration them out to myself to make them last the whole trip. Now I can read all I like when I travel, and even buy more books any time I have a Wi-Fi connection.

And I might even live long enough to own a self-driving car. Both my mother and my father were severely inconvenienced when they got too old to drive. Maybe if I'm lucky I won't have that problem because the car will drive itself. (My initial reaction to the idea of a self-driving car was to think of all the ways it could go wrong and have an accident, but upon further reflection I decided that compared to human drivers, a computer could only be an improvement.)

I've been fascinated by computers all my life. In spite of all the dystopian movies, I really don't think they'll ever become sentient and take over. And if they ever do, there too, they probably won't do a worse job than we've done ourselves. And that certainly won't happen in my lifetime unless someone invents an immortality pill pretty darn soon.


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## Vaneyes

One might think that "Putin on the Ritz" is helping with the continuing NSA 
Equation Group press.

http://arstechnica.com/security/201...ies-nsa-to-omnipotent-equation-group-hackers/

2012 article -

""But that is the paradox of Eugene Kaspersky: a close associate of the 
autocratic Putin regime who is charged with safeguarding the data of 
millions of Americans."

http://www.techworld.com/news/secur...s-angrily-alleged-kremlin-sympathies-3372156/


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## padraic

I guess I count as a computer geek - I'm an electrical engineer that is increasingly called upon to do software development. While I still won't insult real software devs by calling myself one, my skills are gradually improving. Other than that, I do like to tinker with stuff at home - raspberry pi, etc.


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## Vaneyes

Microsoft has announced a continuation of their chopping. Next July and August, they'll no longer support IE 6, 7, 8.

February '15 desktop marketshare for OSs--Windows 7 55%, XP 19%, Windows 8.1 10%. 
Hooray for XPers. Of course, many corporations are paying serious money for extended support.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems


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## Couchie

Microsoft is the supreme leader in boring, productive enterprise software. If they stuck to their guns and stopped trying to be Apple or Google, they'd do a lot better. Windows 10 looks like more crap but hopefully Windows 11 is a return to the clean functionality in the vein of Windows XP they should have never strayed from.


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## Albert7

I am definitely a computer geek... I have like 6-7 computers running in my condo.

a desktop and Dell laptop are used to post to TalkClassical while running other websites and my listening diary

a Toshiba laptop to act as my iTunes server

another desktop which is a gaming one used for movies/film server + torrents

another desktop which is my dad's that used to house the TV shows and documentaries sent directly to the TV via HDMI

and

yet another desktop which is used for iTunes ripping of CD collection

and

two more laptops for internet posting as well as backup of iTunes server too.


----------



## Polyphemus

Interested to get opinions on 'Windows 10'.


----------



## MrTortoise

Polyphemus said:


> Interested to get opinions on 'Windows 10'.


Jeff W installed with no issues on his laptop and says it runs his hardware well. I'm still waiting for the upgrade even after attempting to force it.


----------



## KenOC

This is my second full day with Windows 10 on my ancient machine and I pretty much like it. That said, I can't say it's a compelling upgrade from Windows 7. I'll be happy to answer any specific questions.


----------



## MrTortoise

KenOC said:


> This is my second full day with Windows 10 on my ancient machine and I pretty much like it. That said, I can't say it's a compelling upgrade from Windows 7. I'll be happy to answer any specific questions.


Ken: My main concern is compatibility installed software compatibility. Have you had an issues with the software you run?


----------



## KenOC

Windows 10 looks for incompatible software. On my computer, it found, warned, and removed Media Center, which I never used. It will also remove Microsoft Live Outlook, but it can quickly be reinstalled with a mouse click and the new version recovers all your mail, address book, etc.

Finally, save any important files in new Libraries you may have made into (say) My Documents. Windows 10 no longer uses these rather confusing Libraries.

Your new default browser will be Edge, and you can import all your bookmarks from IE if you had been using that. Or, you can switch the default back to IE, I believe.

Otherwise, no issues I've seen.


----------



## MrTortoise

Ken: Thanks for the report. I ran the 'Get Windows 10' app and it reported my system was compatible and announced no issues. Is this where it warned you of the Media Center incompatibility?

I've never been a big fan of how Windows stores files by default, I store all my data files on a separate drive.


----------



## KenOC

No, there is another quite thorough scan during installation. That is a quite long process.


----------



## MrTortoise

10-4, thanks again. Hopefully my install will kick off sometime in the next few days.


----------



## ptr

Polyphemus said:


> Interested to get opinions on 'Windows 10'.


Installed it Friday night on top of previous installation, like the user interface better then 8.1, but is quite unstable, have blueascreened on me several times and made Firefox 39.0 quite unstable (have died several times as well)... I might revert for the time being!

/ptr


----------



## Weston

I think I will wait a bit longer.^


----------



## Polyphemus

KenOC said:


> No, there is another quite thorough scan during installation. That is a quite long process.


Many thanks Ken.

Polyphemus.


----------



## Taggart

Windows 10 is ... interesting. My four year old desktop (just repaired) didn't get offered the update so I went and got it. The (newish) laptop was offered the update but keeps falling over - back to Windows 8. Dell says both should work.

The desktop worked just fine. Don't believe it when it says it'll keep your settings. It managed to mess up the usual country date and time settings. Locale US and date formats to match. Took some playing to get it back to proper English (United Kingdom) settings. Changed the default browser - yuk! Didn't change the default search engine. All the bookmarks etc survived - both Chrome and Firefox. 

The taskbar icons and pinned items work OK. It lost the auto-logon feature. I've got some antique Windows programs - back to Win 98 and written in Turbo Pascal for Windows  They work just fine except Microsoft hasn't got a new version of the old help engine yet so I can't read the help files. The hidden task bar item area is tiny. Thank goodness I'm going for any eye test on Monday. You tube and so forth all work.

I've got a two volume set up - programs on C data on D. It managed to mess up all the library redirects for documents, pictures, music, videos and downloads.

What I suspect is that if you never tweak a system you won't notice too much. If you have a system tailored to suit you, be prepared to do some work.


----------



## Dr Johnson

^^
I have started investigating Linux Mint against the day when Microsoft go one step too far.


----------



## Taggart

Unfortunately, I have one or two applications in Word which can't be replaced. Otherwise, a lot of the stuff I use is already free - Gimp, audacity, vlc player etc. The change over would be relatively straightforward and I've run both Unix (SCO) and Linux in production environments. It's sheer laziness keeps me with Microsoft.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Taggart said:


> Unfortunately, I have one or two applications in Word which can't be replaced. Otherwise, a lot of the stuff I use is already free - Gimp, audacity, vlc player etc. The change over would be relatively straightforward and I've run both Unix (SCO) and Linux in production environments. It's sheer laziness keeps me with Microsoft.


Linux Mint has a package called wine that allows Windows applications to run on Linux. I don't know if this extends to everything that is run on Windows.


----------



## Vaneyes

InfoWorld.com is a good source for Windows 10 help. Hit "Load More" link at bottom of pages to see older articles.

Meanwhile, wondering if all the 'puter related posts could be moved to Computer Talk in Community Forum? 

http://www.talkclassical.com/18277-computer-talk.html


----------



## Taggart

Done. I only posted in Random Thoughts because that's where I found the Windows 10 stuff. 

Hopefully this thread can get bumped.


----------



## KenOC

Windows 10 did not replace my default browser (IE 11) with Edge. It replaced my browser link on the task bar only. Double clicking on an Internet link will still bring up IE. Either way, all easy to fix. Default programs can be set at Settings/System/Default apps. Several of mine had been reset (music, pictures).


----------



## Jeff W

Polyphemus said:


> Interested to get opinions on 'Windows 10'.


I've been running it on my laptop since release day and all in all, it has run pretty well. Of course, I did install it not as an upgrade but as a clean install using the Windows 10 upgrade tool from the Microsoft website. I have a habit of doing clean installs instead of upgrades though. Everything is pretty easy to configure, but then again, I've been using computers since the DOS days!


----------



## MrTortoise

Weston said:


> I think I will wait a bit longer.^


Always a good idea with MS. Rule of thumb: wait til service pack 1!


----------



## Jeff W

MrTortoise said:


> Always a good idea with MS. Rule of thumb: wait til service pack 1!


Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Someone's gotta figure out where all the bugs and issues are!


----------



## MrTortoise

Dr Johnson said:


> ^^
> I have started investigating Linux Mint against the day when Microsoft go one step too far.


Mint is a great OS for home. I've tried many Linux distros and Mint is my favorite desktop. It does a great job recognizing most hardware and team that leads the project is interested in creating a great desktop experience instead of making an OS that will run on a desktop/tablet/phone/server/toaster. The only thing that holds me back from using Linux full time is using MS dev tools and I prefer to run my music player and cd ripper natively instead of through emulation. I love Foobar2000 and dbPoweramp


----------



## MrTortoise

Jeff W said:


> Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Someone's gotta figure out where all the bugs and issues are!


Haha, that is a good point. MS has had the biggest QA department in technology. 

I have had a fine experience so far, and I loathe Windows 8.


----------



## Dr Johnson

MrTortoise said:


> Mint is a great OS for home. I've tried many Linux distros and Mint is my favorite desktop. It does a great job recognizing most hardware and team that leads the project is *interested in creating a great desktop experience instead of making an OS that will run on a desktop/tablet/phone/server/toaster.* The only thing that holds me back from using Linux full time is using MS dev tools and I prefer to run my music player and cd ripper natively instead of through emulation. I love Foobar2000 and dbPoweramp


That's what drew me to it. I certainly prefer it to Ubuntu.


----------



## Jeff W

MrTortoise said:


> Mint is a great OS for home. I've tried many Linux distros and Mint is my favorite desktop. It does a great job recognizing most hardware and team that leads the project is interested in creating a great desktop experience instead of making an OS that will run on a desktop/tablet/phone/server/*toaster*.


I think they prefer to be called Cylons, not toasters...



> I have had a fine experience so far, and I loathe Windows 8.


Which leads to the other Windows rule, skip every other version!


----------



## Dr Johnson

Jeff W said:


> I think they prefer to be called Cylons, not toasters...
> 
> *Which leads to the other Windows rule, skip every other version!*


I have been very lucky so far and managed to dodge Vista and Windows 8.


----------



## MrTortoise

Jeff W said:


> I think they prefer to be called Cylons, not toasters...
> 
> Which leads to the other Windows rule, skip every other version!


Nice BG reference


----------



## MrTortoise

Dr Johnson said:


> I have been very lucky so far and managed to dodge Vista and Windows 8.


I was able to avoid Millennium however I did have a laptop with Vista and it was horrible. The everything other rule worked well on the pocket book too. It sure was nice to do a Windows upgrade without a downgrade to the wallet!


----------



## Dr Johnson

MrTortoise said:


> I was able to avoid Millennium however I did have a laptop with Vista and it was horrible. The everything other rule worked well on the pocket book too. *It sure was nice to do a Windows upgrade without a downgrade to the wallet!*


Indeed.

Another good thing about Linux Mint is that it is free.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I run Linux operating system. For Microsoft, run bitdefender free version. Skip Avast and AVG, not that good.


----------



## Vaneyes

Florestan said:


> I run Linux operating system. For Microsoft, run bitdefender free version. Skip Avast and AVG, not that good.


3 years ago, Avast was getting wonky with adding more features, and a couple of updates ddn't run too smoothly because of. But generally i can say, I've run Avast Free version for about 8 years, and remain very happy with it. No viruses have got through it. I'm able to customize the Avast Free model the way I want it, without unnecessary interference. I'm hands-on (manual) with regard to all software installation and updates.

A few years ago, I tested AVG and it seemed very oppressive. Haven't tried Bitdefender for a decade or more. IIRC it seemed to also be more involved than I wanted. Maybe both have improved, but I have no reason to switch. :tiphat:


----------



## Vaneyes

MrTortoise said:


> *I was able to avoid Millennium* however I did have a laptop with Vista and it was horrible. The everything other rule worked well on the pocket book too. It sure was nice to do a Windows upgrade without a downgrade to the wallet!


I was one of the Millennium (ME) tortured.


----------



## Vaneyes

Weston said:


> I think I will wait a bit longer.^


Me, too. Before that jump, I'll hold a meritorious-with-distinction service for my beloved XP (PC). Currently, also using Windows 7 (laptop).

FWIW July '15 OS market share...

https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0


----------



## Vaneyes

Jeff W said:


> I've been running it on my laptop since release day and all in all, it has run pretty well. Of course, I did install it not as an upgrade but as a clean install using the Windows 10 upgrade tool from the Microsoft website. I have a habit of doing clean installs instead of upgrades though. Everything is pretty easy to configure, but then again, I've been using computers since the DOS days!


Re Windows 10, have you found any software that's balked operating with it...not up to speed yet?


----------



## Jeff W

Vaneyes said:


> Re Windows 10, have you found any software that's balked operating with it...not up to speed yet?


iTunes 12 is the only program so far. I don't know if that is an iTunes problem or a Windows problem. I'll let you know if I find anything else that has issue. Then again, I don't run too much on the laptop. I only use it to sync my iPod and browse the internet.


----------



## mtmailey

I have AVG antivirus BUT i block third party cookies because they mostly have spyware in them.I scan the computer once a week.Also certain browsers are lame like google chrome.Also i empty the cache for the browser.


----------



## KenOC

So far everything I have works fine with Windows 10. It has an anti-virus built in. But I'd say if you have a Windows 7 installation that's treating you right, it's not a compelling upgrade.


----------



## Dr Johnson

mtmailey said:


> I have AVG antivirus BUT i block third party cookies because they mostly have spyware in them.I scan the computer once a week.Also certain browsers are lame like * google chrome.*Also i empty the cache for the browser.


I'd be very wary of using Google Chrome.

Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware are also good for finding unwanted visitors.


----------



## MrTortoise

Jeff W said:


> iTunes 12 is the only program so far. I don't know if that is an iTunes problem or a Windows problem. I'll let you know if I find anything else that has issue. Then again, I don't run too much on the laptop. I only use it to sync my iPod and browse the internet.


I'm lucky there, iTunes working fine for me. Not 100% sure which version. It was the one that added Apple Music, so very recent.


----------



## Potiphera

KenOC said:


> So far everything I have works fine with Windows 10. It has an anti-virus built in. But I'd say if you have a Windows 7 installation that's treating you right, it's not a compelling upgrade.


I had the dreadful Windows 8 and always had trouble with flash payer, sometimes a video would stream then after a bit I would get a green screen. No picture but just the sound. 
I have since Downloaded FREE Windows 10 and everything is working fine. Don't know how but it is just fine except I haven't found the favourites panel and I haven't figured how to save shortcuts to my screen .


----------



## Taggart

To save shortcuts to the screen (this doesn't work for the apps) :

Any installed program will be in all apps in the start button. Right click on the program and then open file location, right click on the shortcut and send to desktop. That's the easy way to find programs. Or you can pin them to the taskbar - again from all apps and that does work for apps.

Anything else, right click on the desktop, select new and then shortcut and then navigate to the item.


----------



## TxllxT

I've got Windows 10 working fine & quiet, but I also noticed some issues. In Windows 7 I had the size of my photo thumbnails set by a slider that allowed me to choose inbetween 'big' and 'very big'. Now in Windows 10 the slider (in the Explorer) is gone and I have to look at 'very big' thumbnails that are far too big for me or at 'big' thumbnails that are far too small  . I hope Microsoft will give back the thumbnailsize slider in the near future...

Another issue that again is connected with photos is the popup from the black bar at the bottom of the screen. In Windows 7 I got a popup + info on the complete filename. Now there is only the popup 

Today I was working a long time with Word and I found out, that Windows 10 is nastily, intrusively & automatically changing my keyboard settings from US / International to Dutch (which I never use and has a lot of different key assignments). I would love to have this fixed: just one keyboard setting please that is kept unchanged until I want it.


----------



## Potiphera

Taggart said:


> To save shortcuts to the screen (this doesn't work for the apps) :
> 
> Any installed program will be in all apps in the start button. Right click on the program and then open file location, right click on the shortcut and send to desktop. That's the easy way to find programs. Or you can pin them to the taskbar - again from all apps and that does work for apps.
> 
> Anything else, right click on the desktop, select new and then shortcut and then navigate to the item.


I was able to save to desktop with previous windows as you described, but not with Windows 10. 
When I right click , I get a drop down thingy that says: 
Select all 
Inspect elements
View Source.

And that's it. There are no options for saving shortcuts to the desktop


----------



## cwarchc

Dr Johnson said:


> Linux Mint has a package called wine that allows Windows applications to run on Linux. I don't know if this extends to everything that is run on Windows.


I run, several, different flavours of Linux; Mint 17 being one
WINE does NOT run all windoze applications
It actually stands for WINE Is Not an Emulator
Unless you require a "specific" programme you will find a good open source equivalent. Taggart has already mentioned a few.
If you want to run the latest games, newest software?
Then Linux may not be for you
If you want a:
Stable OS
Very fast system
Quick updates
Secure system
and FREE software
Then Linux is worth a look
Try one of the "test" systems, you can run them from a bootable USB drive, bear in mind they run slower than from the HD
If you want any advice, I can ask my son:lol: He writes applications in code
Regards
Cwarchc


----------



## Dr Johnson

cwarchc said:


> I run, several, different flavours of Linux; Mint 17 being one
> WINE does NOT run all windoze applications
> It actually stands for WINE Is Not an Emulator
> Unless you require a "specific" programme you will find a good open source equivalent. Taggart has already mentioned a few.
> If you want to run the latest games, newest software?
> Then Linux may not be for you
> If you want a:
> Stable OS
> Very fast system
> Quick updates
> Secure system
> and FREE software
> Then Linux is worth a look
> Try one of the "test" systems, you can run them from a bootable USB drive, bear in mind they run slower than from the HD
> If you want any advice, I can ask my son:lol: He writes applications in code
> Regards
> Cwarchc


Thank you for your kind offer. 

If I need help I will let you know.

I don't have wine installed on my Linux laptop because I do not plan to run any Windows applications on it.

I just mentioned it to Taggart in response to his post.


----------



## SixFootScowl

cwarchc said:


> I run, several, different flavours of Linux; Mint 17 being one
> WINE does NOT run all windoze applications
> It actually stands for WINE Is Not an Emulator
> Unless you require a "specific" programme you will find a good open source equivalent. Taggart has already mentioned a few.
> If you want to run the latest games, newest software?
> Then Linux may not be for you
> If you want a:
> Stable OS
> Very fast system
> Quick updates
> Secure system
> and FREE software
> Then Linux is worth a look
> Try one of the "test" systems, you can run them from a bootable USB drive, bear in mind they run slower than from the HD
> If you want any advice, I can ask my son:lol: He writes applications in code
> Regards
> Cwarchc


I use Linux Mint. The only time I might want to run a program that needs Windows would be if I had a CD-ROM.


----------



## TxllxT

A question for Windows 10 users: does your Windows also start & finish without any sound? I would like to have my Mussorgsky-soundbites there again!


----------



## haydnfan

When starting up (after log in) a chime plays but not shutting down.


----------



## Potiphera

Mine is silent on opening and closing down.


----------



## Potiphera

TxllxT said:


> A question for Windows 10 users: does your Windows also start & finish without any sound? I would like to have my Mussorgsky-soundbites there again!


Ah, just found how to get the sound. Right click on your desk top screen a window will come up with options, click on personalise, then click on Advanced sound settings.

You can also sort out the size of your desktop icons , small , large, or medium, just click, VIEW
I now see how to do a shortcut, by clicking, NEW. That's what Taggart was explaining to me, I see now.

I used to be able to click on the actual page I wanted to save and do shortcut to send to my desktop that way. But Now I have found how to do it on Windows 10. It's a bit more long winded though.

Thanks Taggart.


----------



## Taggart

Potiphera said:


> I used to be able to click on the actual page I wanted to save and do shortcut to send to my desktop that way. But Now I have found how to do it on Windows 10. It's a bit more long winded though.


You still can right click on a document and use send to ... Desktop (create shortcut) That hasn't changed from win 7.

The create shortcut option is there too but dumps the shortcut in the same folder. Interestingly, when I tried it, it went at the end of my list despite being sorted by name. The thing is not keeping the list sorted unless you refresh.


----------



## Potiphera

Thanks Taggart, I'll have a go at that later.


----------



## TxllxT

Potiphera said:


> Ah, just found how to get the sound. Right click on your desk top screen a window will come up with options, click on personalise, then click on Advanced sound settings.
> 
> You can also sort out the size of your desktop icons , small , large, or medium, just click, VIEW
> I now see how to do a shortcut, by clicking, NEW. That's what Taggart was explaining to me, I see now.
> 
> I used to be able to click on the actual page I wanted to save and do shortcut to send to my desktop that way. But Now I have found how to do it on Windows 10. It's a bit more long winded though.
> 
> Thanks Taggart.


Yeah, I get there, but starting Windows doesn't work


----------



## Potiphera

HI Txl, 

I'm afraid I'm finding my way around windows 10 too, so not going to be much use at the moment.
But what I could suggest is if you click on your windows icon bottom left on your screen. Then the left window pops up options. Go into settings, another window pops up, then choose either Accounts, or Update Security, Windows update and recovery. You should check if windows are activated. See how you go from there. 
I hope Windows 10 isn't going to be another nightmare like Windows 8.


----------



## Taggart

I presume you've got here:










I don't use this but according to everything I've read, if you click on play Windows Startup sound, it should work.

Edit: Just tried it and it worked fine for me. Interestingly as you will see my choice of sounds box is greyed out.


----------



## eljr

TxllxT said:


> A question for Windows 10 users: does your Windows also start & finish without any sound? I would like to have my Mussorgsky-soundbites there again!


I have not noticed but I like what you did. If You can do it on 10 let me know how!

Thanks


----------



## TxllxT

In the XP days I made for myself a collection of Mussorgsky/Prokofiev/Tchaikovsky soundbites and the PC started merrily with the famous waltz from Pique Dame... (and went to bed with a melancholic Khovantchina theme). Then came Windows 7 and I  lost my festive entry; instead of that there came a Microsoft dingdong. Now we've progressed towards absolute silence, which however is better than the pingpong from Windows 7... 
I've also looked at the Windows 10 sounds-window, but my Windows 10 doesn't want to give any note at the startup (probably because I do not have a Microsoft sounds theme).


----------



## Taggart

I got a sound without a microsoft sound theme.

There is another option. There's a registry hack here - http://www.askvg.com/how-to-enable-...n-logoff-exit-and-unlock-sounds-in-windows-8/ - which works in 10 and allows you to assign sounds to logon and logoff -which is almost startup and exit.


----------



## Ingélou

I would love to 'like' every single post on this valuable thread, but .... *duh*!


----------



## Taggart

Windows 10 - yet again.

Finally got the laptop onto W10. Despite running Dell update which said it was up to date, it wasn't. I went to the Dell site for something else and did a check. Lo and behold, it needed a new BIOS! Ran this through and it worked. Interestingly when W10 arrived, the network was disabled. The laptop came with minimal documentation and you can't turn the network on from within windows! I've met this before because I hit an odd function key and disabled the network so I was able to restore it.

Interestingly, disabling the network was one of the suggestions on the net to get W10 to install, It worked at first, but as soon as I re-enabled the network and rebooted, it died again. The BIOS update fixed that.

Another things on the same lines, I have noticed on the desktop, that the network gets disabled after an update has arrived. Most odd.

I've been spending sometime getting to know the system. Found out how to uninstall all the bloatware that I never use - powershell - the joys of a command line again! 

On the desktop, I had a real oddity. It is set up so that if anything goes wrong with Ingélou's computer she can log on. There is no obvious way to switch users (actually it's the three fingered salute to bring up a list of options). Anyway, when I logged into Ingélou's account we had to reset it up. Although Chrome was installed (from W7) and available, it wasn't in the list of apps to select as the default browser  The multi-user options on Google didn't work! So I did a stand-alone install as Ingélou using my admin credentials. No joy. Restarted and when I logged in and started Chrome, it told me that there had been a multi-user install. I then had to reselect Chrome as the default browser. I was then able to do the same for Ingélou.

Interestingly, when I clicked on a link from e-mail, I then got a box asking for the default app for that. Most annoying.

Basically, I feel that Microsoft is heading down the Apple path - they know best, and will hide all the usual methods for a user to customise the system. Not a good sign.


----------



## Dr Johnson

^^

It looks like Linux Mint all the way for me when my Windows 7 laptop gives up the ghost.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> ^^
> 
> It looks like Linux Mint all the way for me when my Windows 7 laptop gives up the ghost.


I've been on Linux Mint for a year or so now and love it. Would never go back to Windows except I am stuck with it at the office. My son loaded Mint for me, and from what I understand it is a cake walk to load Linux on a computer. And when I upgraded to an older computer (2006 to 2004/5) we just switched my hard drive over to the older computer and I was up and running just like nothing happened but with 4GB Ram instead of 2GB.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Florestan said:


> I've been on Linux Mint for a year or so now and love it. Would never go back to Windows except I am stuck with it at the office. My son loaded Mint for me, and from what I understand it is a cake walk to load Linux on a computer. And when I upgraded to an older computer (2006 to 2004/5) we just switched my hard drive over to the older computer and I was up and running just like nothing happened but with 4GB Ram instead of 2GB.


I bought a second hand laptop, wiped XP off it, and installed Linux Mint (very easy). I have tinkered around with it a bit but I think I will have to get more serious now.


----------



## MrTortoise

Taggart said:


> Windows 10 - yet again.
> 
> Finally got the laptop onto W10. Despite running Dell update which said it was up to date, it wasn't. I went to the Dell site for something else and did a check. Lo and behold, it needed a new BIOS! Ran this through and it worked. Interestingly when W10 arrived, the network was disabled. The laptop came with minimal documentation and you can't turn the network on from within windows! I've met this before because I hit an odd function key and disabled the network so I was able to restore it.
> 
> Interestingly, disabling the network was one of the suggestions on the net to get W10 to install, It worked at first, but as soon as I re-enabled the network and rebooted, it died again. The BIOS update fixed that.
> 
> Another things on the same lines, I have noticed on the desktop, that the network gets disabled after an update has arrived. Most odd.
> 
> I've been spending sometime getting to know the system. Found out how to uninstall all the bloatware that I never use - powershell - the joys of a command line again!
> 
> On the desktop, I had a real oddity. It is set up so that if anything goes wrong with Ingélou's computer she can log on. There is no obvious way to switch users (actually it's the three fingered salute to bring up a list of options). Anyway, when I logged into Ingélou's account we had to reset it up. Although Chrome was installed (from W7) and available, it wasn't in the list of apps to select as the default browser  The multi-user options on Google didn't work! So I did a stand-alone install as Ingélou using my admin credentials. No joy. Restarted and when I logged in and started Chrome, it told me that there had been a multi-user install. I then had to reselect Chrome as the default browser. I was then able to do the same for Ingélou.
> 
> Interestingly, when I clicked on a link from e-mail, I then got a box asking for the default app for that. Most annoying.
> 
> Basically, I feel that Microsoft is heading down the Apple path - they know best, and will hide all the usual methods for a user to customise the system. Not a good sign.


Sorry to hear about your upgrade problems. Unfortunately when Windows and hardware are incompatible it is a mess. Glad Dell had a BIOS update. My upgrade path from 7 to 10 was relatively pain-free. The only thing that gave me problems was the video driver but that was overcome in the usual Windows style of reboot/reinstall.

Unfortunately for power users like us Microsoft is trying to move the user more and more into the Microsoft Cloud and encourage you to use MS services for everything. When I set up 10 I opted out of using anything MS/Cloud related and now my computer is basically Windows 7 with a bit of a refresh on the UI. Certain navigation functions have improved. I was hoping to get a bit of a performance boost however 10 seems to use as much memory as 7. Some of the updates to the system programs are welcome. I like the new look and functionality in Task Manager and thank goodness you can still get to the classic 'Control Panel'.

I have used PowerShell only a little bit since I rarely have to do any sys-admin type work, but it might be the most powerful command-line environment ever, and this is coming from a bit of a Linux fanboy! It is amazing how much you can control and script in PowerShell. You can even use .NET assemblies on the command line. Now all those Unix admins have something to play with!

Just like DrJohnson, I think many Windows power users are going to move to Linux in the future. Unfortunately Microsoft and Apple are not making money from their OS business and they are going to focus on revenue makers like services and devices. I use Windows mainly for a few essential programs and the better hardware support for video, but I bet I will be using Linux again as my main OS within the next couple of years.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Having been a Windows user ever since I was first connected to the internet I find it difficult to accept on trust the often repeated claim that there are no viruses for Linux. Probably I am just being paranoid but do any of the Linux users here have any thoughts on this?


----------



## Taggart

There are a couple of things putting me off Linux for home use - Blu Ray support and some Word applications that I use. We've given up on a separate TV and use the computer to catch up and watch videos so good media support is necessary.

The other thing is when you have major changes. Looking at some of the mint reviews, you get the feeling that the upgrade path isn't as smooth as it could be.

The startup management in Task Manager is useful. One feature I love is the right click on start button menu










If you dislike mice, then it's windows key + x. The only thing missing is powershell, but that's less often used.


----------



## MrTortoise

Dr Johnson said:


> Having been a Windows user ever since I was first connected to the internet I find it difficult to accept on trust the often repeated claim that there are no viruses for Linux. Probably I am just being paranoid but do any of the Linux users here have any thoughts on this?


Oh there are many exploits for Linux, just a few months ago there was a gapping hole in bash and ssh that was a huge deal. The first internet worm exploited a vulnerability in the emacs software installed on just about all UNIX computers, and Linux and UNIX are members of the same operating system family tree, so security problems have always been around.

I did my first Linux install way back in the day, around 1999, and back in the day a default installation of Linux was NOT a secure environment. Lots of obscure and unneeded services would run along with no firewall, no good software package management. Today this is not the case. A default install today includes a firewall and unnecessary services have to be turned on, and there is a new subsystem called SAE Linux that goes a long way to make the system more secure. But, even though you are running Linux, you should still be paranoid. You are less likely to encounter OS security problems, but make sure you keep your software updated, especially any web browsers. Anyone who tells you there are no security concerns running a Linux system are just plain wrong.


----------



## MrTortoise

Taggart said:


> There are a couple of things putting me off Linux for home use - Blu Ray support and some Word applications that I use. We've given up on a separate TV and use the computer to catch up and watch videos so good media support is necessary.
> 
> The other thing is when you have major changes. Looking at some of the mint reviews, you get the feeling that the upgrade path isn't as smooth as it could be.
> 
> The startup management in Task Manager is useful. One feature I love is the right click on start button menu
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you dislike mice, then it's windows key + x. The only thing missing is powershell, but that's less often used.


Nice feature, I'm a cntrl-r type-program-name kind of guy, so this is cool for me.

DRM and Linux is a real weak spot for average users. Given the open source nature of Linux it doesn't get to sit at the table when Apple/MS/Dell and all the other big guys in the entertainment world and they hand out the keys to the kingdom. Those keys usually get cracked pretty quick. Open source and DRM sit on opposite sides of an idealogical divide. You can usually get any media to play in Linux, but sometimes it requires more effort that an Apple or windows system would require.

Ease of use due to things like this and hardware is why my day-to-day system is Windows. I hope MS doesn't do anything too restrictive too soon.


----------



## Dr Johnson

MrTortoise said:


> Oh there are many exploits for Linux, just a few months ago there was a gapping hole in bash and ssh that was a huge deal. The first internet worm exploited a vulnerability in the emacs software installed on just about all UNIX computers, and Linux and UNIX are members of the same operating system family tree, so security problems have always been around.
> 
> I did my first Linux install way back in the day, around 1999, and back in the day a default installation of Linux was NOT a secure environment. Lots of obscure and unneeded services would run along with no firewall, no good software package management. Today this is not the case. A default install today includes a firewall and unnecessary services have to be turned on, and there is a new subsystem called SAE Linux that goes a long way to make the system more secure. But, even though you are running Linux, you should still be paranoid. You are less likely to encounter OS security problems, but make sure you keep your software updated, especially any web browsers. *Anyone who tells you there are no security concerns running a Linux system are just plain wrong.*


As I suspected. Thanks.


----------



## Krummhorn

Keeping my Win7 ... even got rid of the Win10 icon and the "gwx" files associated with the free upgrade. 

Heard the horror stories of friends of mine who, after upgrading to Win10, had modem troubles and had to find compatible drivers for their printers, scanners and such. They have since reverted back to Win7. 

Win10 is just too new for me to even think about trying it yet. In the meantime, I'm quite happy with Win7 and what it is able to do for me ... and everything attached to this system works like it is supposed to. If it ain't broke, it don't need fixing is my outlook on an upgraded OS. I don't need all the new bells and whistles to visit forums, download pdf scores, etc. 

Kh


----------



## mtmailey

I staying with windows 7 i hate it when they come up with new software every few years.I am used to windows 7.It was not easy being adjusted to different version of windows.


----------



## TxllxT

Krummhorn said:


> Keeping my Win7 ... even got rid of the Win10 icon and the "gwx" files associated with the free upgrade.
> 
> Heard the horror stories of friends of mine who, after upgrading to Win10, had modem troubles and had to find compatible drivers for their printers, scanners and such. They have since reverted back to Win7.
> 
> Win10 is just too new for me to even think about trying it yet. In the meantime, I'm quite happy with Win7 and what it is able to do for me ... and everything attached to this system works like it is supposed to. If it ain't broke, it don't need fixing is my outlook on an upgraded OS. I don't need all the new bells and whistles to visit forums, download pdf scores, etc.
> 
> Kh


I had trouble installing Windows 10 on my PC because I've been changing the original configuration: a new SSD drive + a 3 Tb & 4Tb harddisk have come onboard. On Windows 7 these technical novelties initially seemed to work fine, but there happened every now and then sudden instabilities (blue screens) that are now gone with Windows 10 running. Windows 7 was never conceived of having to manage so many Terabytes. So when you don't upgrade your hardware I think you don't need to upgrade your software. But with new hardware that nobody thought possible a few years ago you need new software that is able to manage that stuff. So I'm glad with Windows 10, but there are drawbacks: a DOS 16 bits program that I use often and that still worked under Windows 7 now has been proclaimed incompatible with 64 bits. Happily I've got a second Windows Vista 32 bits PC that will help out.


----------



## Vaneyes

Keep in mind, the clock is ticking with regard to rollback. Info as follows. 

"In addition, you have one month to initiate the uninstallation of Windows 10 and rollback to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. After 30 days, the old Windows installation file may be removed by Windows 10 automatically."

https://techjourney.net/uninstall-windows-10-to-rollback-downgrade-to-windows-8-1-or-windows-7/


----------



## Taggart

You don't mean that people won't have backups?


----------



## SixFootScowl

My father-in-law just upgraded to Windows 10 and already has asked my son to restore his old Windows. When he went from 7 to 8 he liked it, but for some reason he does not like 10.


----------



## KenOC

Taggart said:


> ...One feature I love is the right click on start button menu.


Taggart, thanks for that. Tres kewl!


----------



## Vaneyes

Taggart said:


> You don't mean that people won't have backups?


More explanation below. My interpretation is that things can go south pretty fast, if one changes their mind after the 30 days.

http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-10-psa-you-have-30-days-roll-back

https://askleo.com/four-ways-to-go-back-to-windows-7-from-windows-10/

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/windows-10-how-to-roll-back/

"Microsoft gives you 30 days from the day you upgraded to Windows 10 to roll back to your previous version of Windows. Before you do so, however, it's a good idea to back up your data, even though it will remain intact."


----------



## Vaneyes

Another related...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...y-lock-on-windows-update-in-win7-and-8-1.html


----------



## Genoveva

I've switched to Win 10 on all three of my computers. My desktop was previously running Win 7 and the two laptops were running Win 8.1. 

I did this because I was experiencing occasional instability problems with Win 7, which I think may have been due to a registry clean-up having not worked correctly. Rather than undertake a re-install of Win 7, I thought I'd first try out Win 10. In doing so I experienced a couple of driver problems, both of which were quickly and easily solved. Because of this success I then switched to Win 10 on my two laptops a few days later.

However, I don't use any of the extra bells and whistles incorporated in Win 10 compared with Win 7. These extra features (Cortana and such like) are of no interest to me. Although Win 10 has a conventional start button, it still incorporates various other features that I don't like the look of. For the time being, all I need is operating software on each of my computers that looks like Win 7 as much as possible. 

To achieve this, I use IObit "Start Menu 8". This is a piece of free downloadable software that came out a few years ago to allow users to make their Win 8 machines look as if it was running Win 7, with the return of a conventional start button etc. In its latest guise, this software can also be used to make Win 10 look like Win 7. Before settling on "Start Menu 8", I tried out several other similar brands of software, including "Classic Shell", but I preferred Start Menu 8.

Should I ever need any of the extra features of Win 10, I can easily use them, but for the time being, I'm content with the more limited functionality of Win 7. For example, I can foresee that at some stage in the future I might prefer to run my touchscreen laptop in full Win 10 mode.

I've now been running Win 10 - in Win 7 look-alike mode - and I see no reason to dislike it. Microsoft say they won't be bringing out any further versions of Windows, but instead will continue to refine and develop Win 10. As far as I'm concerned, it's the future. I don't wish to be stuck with old, out-of-date operating software indefinitely and then have to pay good money to get Win 10 at some future stage.


----------



## KenOC

My Win 10 installation has settled down and everything's working fine. I still find the interface a bit plain Jane compared with Win 7. Where's my aero? But have cancelled my tentative rollback plans.

I would love to see Microsoft issue a solid registry cleaner, but guess they lack the courage (or foolhardiness).


----------



## SixFootScowl

Windows 10 is bad news--very, very bad news!


----------



## Tedski

Florestan said:


> Windows 10 is bad news--very, very bad news!


Windows 10 may be the worst thing since the Chevy Vega, or it might not; I don't know. But, it's hard for me to take seriously a supposed PhD who writes, ". . . you should be very concerned about Micro-Softs new software."


----------



## SixFootScowl

Tedski said:


> Windows 10 may be the worst thing since the Chevy Vega, or it might not; I don't know. But, it's hard for me to take seriously a supposed PhD who writes, ". . . you should be very concerned about Micro-Softs new software."


These things (micro-softs) can happen from reformatting a document, and the author of the article is not the same person who is speaking on the video, and though I have some issue with some of what she says, there is a lot there to think about and be concerned over.


----------



## Vaneyes

'Top 25 computer science colleges, ranked by alumni earnings'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...ience-colleges-ranked-by-alumni-earnings.html


----------



## Vaneyes

August 27, 2015 Windows 10 info and opinion.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...tches-could-bring-down-all-of-windows-10.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...-arrive-on-windows-10-sans-documentation.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...32-rolling-out-to-those-with-build-10525.html


----------



## Taggart

Since I never use Bing, I have edited my hosts file to point it to 127.0.0.1 :devil:

Any more nasties that I find can go the same way.


----------



## MrTortoise

Taggart said:


> Since I never use Bing, I have edited my hosts file to point it to 127.0.0.1 :devil:
> 
> Any more nasties that I find can go the same way.


A custom host file can really cut down on the potential for malware/spyware and improve overall performance. Here is a link to the site that maintains the host file I use on my computers:

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

This really helps out!


----------



## Vaneyes

Got tired of the Firefox 40.0.3 freezes and crashes. Back to Chrome.


----------



## MrTortoise

Vaneyes said:


> Got tired of the Firefox 40.0.3 freezes and crashes. Back to Chrome.


I'm a Chrome/Chromium user as well. I'm glad that Mozilla is out there fighting the good fight as far as open standards for the web but there is nothing more irritating than constant browser crashes, and Chrome does a pretty good job of stabilizing the web surfing experience. It does mean that I tend to keep a LOT of tabs open, and that can chew through some memory pretty quick and Chrome has your back there. Each tab is isolated from the others so if one site crashes it doesn't bring down your browser (usually).


----------



## KenOC

Edge, though its functionality is still limited, doesn't crash like IE has a tendency to do. Not at all, in fact. Still, I have to open a page in IE (easy enough to do) to accomplish some things.


----------



## Taggart

Weird. I run both firefox (40.0.3) and chrome (45.0.2454.85 m) on Windows 10. I use firefox for TC and my standard approach is to go to new posts and check through opening up a new tab for each thread. Not having any crashes or freezes so far. Chrome is equally as stable and runs as a background process. So far, I haven't need to run IE although I'm waiting for the dodgy site that needs it.


----------



## elgar's ghost

I've been on Windows 8.1 since last December and I've only just about got used to it after previously having Vista. I'm a casual laptop user with no downloads or Word documents on file apart from my CV and a few opera libretti so if upgrading to Windows 10 amounts to being primarily cosmetic in my case then I'm staying put.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I get an occasional Foxfire crash and on restart it reloads my tabs. I heard from an IT person that Chrome takes more memory.


----------



## Dr Johnson

I have used Firefox as my main browser for years. Never had a problem other than a temporary one generated by one of their updates. Also use Pale Moon, a fork of Firefox. No problems there either.

I dislike Chrome, but that is a personal issue. One thing Chrome users might want to know is *this*..

Happy surfing!


----------



## Guest

Yeah good that one Dr. I use Firefox and ixquick.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Good man!

I used to use Scroogle until it died (or was killed off).

I use Startpage (Ixquick Google Scraper) and Duck Duck Go.

Others can be evil but there's no reason for me to help them.


----------



## GhenghisKhan

Of course you have to put your own faith in the middleman


----------



## Dr Johnson

GhenghisKhan said:


> Of course you have to put your own faith in the middleman


True............................................


----------



## Vaneyes

Dr Johnson said:


> I have used Firefox as my main browser for years. Never had a problem other than a temporary one generated by one of their updates. Also use Pale Moon, a fork of Firefox. No problems there either.
> 
> I dislike Chrome, but that is a personal issue. One thing Chrome users might want to know is *this*..
> 
> Happy surfing!


Re Chrome, for those interested in adjusting, navigate to Settings, Privacy, Content Settings.


----------



## Vaneyes

Florestan said:


> I get an occasional Foxfire crash and on restart it reloads my tabs. *I heard from an IT person that Chrome takes more memory.*


Not in my new experience, so far. Not even close. Chrome seems to be very user-friendly, since the last time I tried.

I found Flash Player to be highly problematic with Foxfire and IE. And when Flash Player was disabled, issues remained. After CPU storming and browser freezing, Task Manager was often called on to shut the browsers down.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Vaneyes said:


> Not in my new experience, so far. Not even close. Chrome seems to be very user-friendly, since the last time I tried.
> 
> I found *Flash Player* to be highly problematic with Foxfire and IE. And when Flash Player was disabled, issues remained. After CPU storming and browser freezing, Task Manager was often called on to shut the browsers down.


It's departure is long overdue.


----------



## Vaneyes

Dr Johnson said:


> It's departure is long overdue.


"Don't try to fix it, kill it." ha ha


----------



## KenOC

Question: Here in the US, I'm exploring dropping cable and getting my TV by streaming. Everything looks good but -- how can I get the local broadcast channels I enjoy without putting up an antenna, etc.? Any help with this?


----------



## Krummhorn

KenOC said:


> Question: Here in the US, I'm exploring dropping cable and getting my TV by streaming. Everything looks good but -- how can I get the local broadcast channels I enjoy without putting up an antenna, etc.? Any help with this?


We did this years back. We got a Tivax Digital to TV converter with a powered antenna. The antenna are in the style of the olden days rabbit ears and reside on top of one of my audio speakers inside the house. We are able to get the major network TV stations, NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS as well as some local independent stations. Some newer TV sets have this DTV already installed ... mine, from 1998, does not, and the DTV box was lots cheaper than buying a new TV to replace one that works perfectly otherwise.

When we dropped cable, we acquired a DSL connection from our phone company. The DSL connection is by far lots faster and very constant (40 MB) and the modem/router included enabling Wi-Fi in the house, so we are able to get streaming television via a set top box.

Kh


----------



## haydnfan

KenOC said:


> Question: Here in the US, I'm exploring dropping cable and getting my TV by streaming. Everything looks good but -- how can I get the local broadcast channels I enjoy without putting up an antenna, etc.? Any help with this?


ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and Fox all have free apps on the Roku, Apple TV etc. The trick with them though is that they ownly allow you access to a handful of current episodes at a time, so don't wait to watch.

If you want a better archive, you have to pay for hulu plus (like watch a whole season or whole series run from those networks.)

I dropped cable years ago and never looked back.


----------



## Vaneyes

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I thought some could find this useful.:tiphat:

'How to clean the Windows 10 crapware off your Windows 7 or 8.1 PC'


----------



## starthrower

I was wondering about that free download for Windows 10. My computer is 4 or 5 years old. Should I just keep using 7?


----------



## Taggart

starthrower said:


> I was wondering about that free download for Windows 10. My computer is 4 or 5 years old. Should I just keep using 7?


No good answer. If you're happy with 7, then stay with it. If you want to see what 10 is like or enjoy playing with systems, then try it. It may or may not work depending on your hardware.

I had the weird experience that my (newish) laptop took ages to get to Windows 10 but my old (4 years old) machine took to it like a duck to water despite the manufacturers denying it was suitable.


----------



## SixFootScowl

If I wanted Windows and had 7 I would stick with it. But I have Linux Mint.


----------



## starthrower

I started to download 10, but I chickened out. The only thing I've noticed about my computer recently is that Firefox is running slower. I did the recommended tweeks and scans, but it didn't seem to help.


----------



## TxllxT

starthrower said:


> I started to download 10, but I chickened out. The only thing I've noticed about my computer recently is that Firefox is running slower. I did the recommended tweeks and scans, but it didn't seem to help.


I think it depends on your hardware. When you have new multi Terabyte harddisks inside or outside (external drive) your computer or a fast ssd drive, Windows 10 manages these much better than Windows 7 as is my experience. But with regard to reading photo images out of my camera I find Windows 10 horribly primitive in comparison with Windows 7. So in the end it's a mixed bag...


----------



## starthrower

Maybe this has been answered before, but any idea what might prevent internet access while using a wireless router? The problem is in the computer because one HP Notebook can connect, but the other one can't. The internet provider couldn't figure out the problem. Thanks for any help.


----------



## MrTortoise

Florestan said:


> If I wanted Windows and had 7 I would stick with it. But I have Linux Mint.


That's a great distro, the best Linux desktop I've run.


----------



## Vaneyes

Well, it turns out, I did have a dog in this fight. My wife's laptop with Windows 7 has been hassled (as have many thousands of others) with Windows 10 availability, so I tried to help. About 40 important Windows 7 updates were being blocked by the optional Windows 10 upgrade notice. I read how to get rid of the crapware, but resisted going to that length. Somehow, I managed to finally get the updates. What an obnoxious group of ******** at Microsoft, to allow this sort of hostage taking.


----------



## starthrower

Is there an easy way to get rid of the windows 10 notice?


----------



## MrTortoise

Vaneyes said:


> Well, it turns out, I did have a dog in this fight. My wife's laptop with Windows 7 has been hassled (as have many thousands of others) with Windows 10 availability, so I tried to help. About 40 important Windows 7 updates were being blocked by the optional Windows 10 upgrade notice. I read how to get rid of the crapware, but resisted going to that length. Somehow, I managed to finally get the updates. What an obnoxious group of ******** at Microsoft, to allow this sort of hostage taking.


You did thoroughly read and accept your End User Agreement, didn't you? *ducks to avoid any projectiles thrown*


----------



## Taggart

starthrower said:


> Is there an easy way to get rid of the windows 10 notice?


Google for Tutorials on getting rid of windows 10 notice.

Basically, click on the system tray, then customise, select GWX (get windows X cool hu?) and hide icon and notifications. That gets rid of the notice but not the process that is running in the background.

To do that you need to uninstall the KB3035583 update and then hide it so it doesn't show up again.

All depends on how far you want to go to get rid of it.


----------



## starthrower

Yeah, sounds like a hassle.


----------



## Vaneyes

Taggart said:


> Google for Tutorials on getting rid of windows 10 notice.
> 
> Basically, click on the system tray, then customise, select GWX (get windows X cool hu?) and hide icon and notifications. That gets rid of the notice but not the process that is running in the background.
> 
> *To do that you need to uninstall the KB3035583 update* and then hide it so it doesn't show up again.
> 
> *All depends on how far you want to go to get rid of it.*


That's one of the first things I tried. Didn't do anything. I wasn't willing to go further with "How to get rid of crapware", for fear of digging a deeper hole.


----------



## Vaneyes

starthrower said:


> Maybe this has been answered before, but any idea what might prevent internet access while using a wireless router? The problem is in the computer because one HP Notebook can connect, but the other one can't. The internet provider couldn't figure out the problem. Thanks for any help.


Possible help at these links, if you haven't already tried, and failed...

http://ccm.net/forum/affich-95028-wireless-router-connected-but-no-internet

http://www.informationweek.com/mobi...problems-and-how-to-solve-them/d/d-id/1078434?


----------



## Krummhorn

Also, find the update: *KB 3022456 installed DiagTrack; aka CEIP *which Microsloth installed to possibly track activity.

One can disable DiagTrack by going to any of the MS Office products (Excel, Word, Powerpoint, etc) and change the option to not be tracked:

Open the MS Office program, go to Options >> Trust Center (click on that) >> Privacy Options. Uncheck the box next to "Sign up for the Customer Experience Improvement Program". Doing so will change that selection for all of your MS Office applications.

Disable "diagtrackrunner.exe" (if it is there) from running processes in the Task Manager window.

To stop future auto downloading of this "gotcha" from MS, you can change the way you receive/install updates from "auto" to "ask me every time" and select only those that you want/need.


----------



## starthrower

^^^
Thanks! Will try uninstalling Avast.


----------



## SixFootScowl

starthrower said:


> ^^^
> Thanks! Will try uninstalling Avast.


Go with Bitdefender Free version. And I can't reiterate enough, the Free version. You will love it and it won't keep hassling you to buy the paid version. My son is an IT student and says it is the best antivirus.


----------



## starthrower

^^^
Thanks! I'm getting tired of Avast.


----------



## Taggart

Florestan said:


> Go with Bitdefender Free version. And I can't reiterate enough, the Free version. You will love it and it won't keep hassling you to buy the paid version. My son is an IT student and says it is the best antivirus.


Free version is not yet W10 compliant.


----------



## starthrower

I uninstalled Avast on my mom's notebook, and bingo!, back online. And all of these so called tech support people she called couldn't figure this out.


----------



## KenOC

Taggart said:


> Free version is not yet W10 compliant.


Since W10 has a perfectly adequate virus and malware blocker built it, what's the point of adding something else besides slowing everything down?


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> Since W10 has a perfectly adequate virus and malware blocker built it, what's the point of adding something else besides slowing everything down?


Do you trust Windows? Do you trust Microsoft?

(BTW Ken, referring to another thread, that is an extremely obnoxious avatar your sporting today.)


----------



## Vaneyes

starthrower said:


> I uninstalled Avast on my mom's notebook, and bingo!, back online. And all of these so called tech support people she called couldn't figure this out.


This may apply, or not. In my finding, the secret and pleasure of Avast is to just use their File System Shield. Most, if not all anti-virus programs offer "the extras" that aren't much more than bloatware. That said, if one isn't knowledgeable enough to custom install....


----------



## Vaneyes

I had a *good* computer experience last night...in changing an old desktop from hard-wire to wireless. I utilized the Linksys WUSB6300 AC1200 Wireless USB Dual-band Network Adapter. Easy set-up, and it's helping produce faster speeds than before. Cleaning the tower's insides is probably contributing to the performance. Jus' sayin'.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I am sick and tired of how Microsoft will move stuff around on the desktop at random. Sometimes I will find everything is in different places on the desktop and I have to search for it. Often it happens when MS boinks out on me, but sometimes you just place a word doc on the desk top, edit, save and close and it is on a different part of the desktop. I have never had that problem with Linux. I use Linux Mint Mate.


----------



## Art Rock

I took the plunge and upgraded from 8.1 to Windows 10. So far, liking what I see.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Art Rock said:


> I took the plunge and upgraded from 8.1 to Windows 10. So far, liking what I see.


I have heard that the Windows 10 interface is much nicer than that of Windows8, but too bad they won't let you upgrade to Windows7. 

That is weird, when I wrote Windows7 with a space before the 7 and saved, there was a live link to Ama-zon (that is live linking too; hence the hyphen) listing of Windows7. What gives? There was no live link in my message.


----------



## Taggart

Florestan said:


> I am sick and tired of how Microsoft will move stuff around on the desktop at random. Sometimes I will find everything is in different places on the desktop and I have to search for it. Often it happens when MS boinks out on me, but sometimes you just place a word doc on the desk top, edit, save and close and it is on a different part of the desktop. I have never had that problem with Linux. I use Linux Mint Mate.


I don't use the desktop much apart from temporary items like screen captures. What I do use is the taskbar. My most common programs are lined up. If I'm using any program, I've got the jump list of most recent items. If something is important, I can pin it to the list so that it's always there. Occasionally, I've used a folder on the desktop to group items. (That goes right back to windows 3!) Basically, the desktop, like any desktop gets messy you need trays or whatever to keep things in order


----------



## Krummhorn

Florestan said:


> I am sick and tired of how Microsoft will move stuff around on the desktop at random. Sometimes I will find everything is in different places on the desktop and I have to search for it. Often it happens when MS boinks out on me, but sometimes you just place a word doc on the desk top, edit, save and close and it is on a different part of the desktop. I have never had that problem with Linux. I use Linux Mint Mate.


I am a task bar user as well. I do not have any icons on my desktop whatsoever ... I don't like the clutter. I have a Dell XPS 8100 system that utilizes what it calls "Dell Dock". That resides (hidden) on the right side of the screen and appears when I hover the mouse pointer at the far right. On that "dock" I have all the programs I use the most frequently.

There should be a way to lock positions of icons on a desktop for Win users (?). I have forgotten how at the moment but it was helpful when I was storing icons on the desktop.


----------



## KenOC

Florestan said:


> (BTW Ken, referring to another thread, that is an extremely obnoxious avatar your sporting today.)


You may remember him from Full Metal Jacket, the first half.


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> You may remember him from Full Metal Jacket, the first half.


Except I never saw that movie.


----------



## Vaneyes

Windows 10 browser talk.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2989367/web-browsers/windows-10-users-back-away-from-the-edge.html

Update on my latest Chrome usage with Windows XP. After trying a few, I've found pop-up or ad block extensions for Chrome pretty much useless, slowing page-loading to a crawl. Otherwise, things are good, with 90%+ of sites loading fine.


----------



## Vaneyes

OS market share, as of September 15, 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems


----------



## Vaneyes

If your 'puter's running a bit sluggish lately, you might check your Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program, if you have it installed.

When I updated my Free a few months ago, I noticed I was given their Premium edition free of charge for a year. It offered constant scanning redundant bloatware, which I instantly disabled. But, every chance it gets, it tries to enable those. It did again today.

That's when I Googled for people receiving the Premium free...and found what seems like a marketing song 'n dance story about how Malwarebytes is providing amnesty to pirates. Read all about it link below. Story short, I'm as far from being a pirate as one can be.

Anyway, I've uninstalled Malwarebytes, and may only reinstall and run it when I have a suspected issue. In that regard, they haven't found anything for me for years, but PUPS and PUMS.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/28/m...-of-its-premium-antimalware-product-for-free/


----------



## KenOC

I have had nothing but good luck for some years with Microsoft Security Essentials (free) for Windows 7 and now Defender (built-in) for Windows 10. No fuss, no bother, lightweight, and quite dependable in my experience. Nothing has every snuck in. Updates itself in the background daily.


----------



## Vaneyes

Re Chrome, I've found that disabling its built-in Flash Player enhances this browser even further. Very impressed thus far.


----------



## Vaneyes

Re W10 upgrade info...links newer to older, top to bottom.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...fix-two-glaring-shortfalls-in-windows-10.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...y-upgrades-win7-and-81-pcs-to-windows-10.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...pgrade-block-settings-are-still-in-force.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...agware-on-windows-7-windows-81-computers.html


----------



## Vaneyes

'Unwanted Win7/Win8.1 upgrades to Win10 can now be stopped'


"In short, Microsoft has turned itself into the world's largest distributor of potentially unwanted programs using the Windows Update mechanism."

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2995915/microsoft-windows/unwanted-win7win81-upgrades-to-win10-can-now-be-stopped.html


Wondering if there's a class action suit to join? These Microsoft ******** need to suffer for causing suffering, say wha'!

Later edit: Frustrated folk at Microsoft Community have begun asking the class action lawsuit question. Via links, I example two webpages from...

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/upgrade-10-class-action-lawsuit/cd4bfca3-e297-479a-a7fd-94bdf765dcc9?page=5

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/.../cd4bfca3-e297-479a-a7fd-94bdf765dcc9?page=12


----------



## Vaneyes

'With Windows 10's forced update policy there's no obvious way to protect your system'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2996720/operating-systems/patch-kb-3105208-for-windows-10-beta-build-10565-triggers-bsods.html


----------



## Flamme

LOL i still have Windows Professional XP...Tried one time W7 and burned myself...No more ''fancy new things''...Its funny how program was made that when you install the ''newer system'' you cant go back the older (version)...! You can only go further...And further


----------



## KenOC

With the W10 upgrade, you can turn back to W7 or W8, whichever you had, with a click. Well, for the first month, but not after that.


----------



## Vaneyes

Re Windows 10 mandatory data collection...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...datory-data-collection-as-a-privacy-risk.html


----------



## Vaneyes

I'm still learning about the Chrome browser. I didn't realize it has a built-in pop-up blocker and it's set by default. It didn't do a very good job, because pop-ups still appeared, and now I'm loading pages faster and getting fewer pop-ups with it disabled.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Vaneyes said:


> I'm still learning about the Chrome browser. I didn't realize it has a built-in pop-up blocker and it's set by default. It didn't do a very good job, because pop-ups still appeared, and now I'm loading pages faster and getting fewer pop-ups with it disabled.


I use Adblock on Foxfire. Works great.


----------



## Vaneyes

Re updated Windows 10 updates nag protection...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...-you-from-coerced-get-windows-10-updates.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Florestan said:


> I use Adblock on Foxfire. Works great.


I tried AdBlock with Chrome. It showed some promise early on, then slowed things down as I began to choose sites not to block. In fairness, at that time I didn't realize Chrome had a pop-up blocker, so there may have been some conflict.

Currently, I have nothing, including a disabled Chrome pop-up blocker, and things are working fine. I believe more and more legitimate websites are becoming responsible with respect to kicking Flash, Java, script, etc. to the curb.

That said, my opinion (with an older 'puter and OS) is that ad-blockers work fine in theory, but less fine in the wild. :tiphat:


----------



## Vaneyes

Re browser market share, current and '16 forecast.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...e-user-share-swells-to-record-31-percent.html

New OS? This prospect is particularly yummy.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...-alphabet-remains-committed-to-chrome-os.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Hotels busted for WiFi blockage.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...work/fcc-strikes-again-on-wi-fi-blocking.html


----------



## Vaneyes

More on Firefox's decline.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...th-dangerous-10-percent-user-share-level.html


----------



## Vaneyes

"Deck the halls with poison ivy"--latest on the Get Windows 10 debacle.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...ptions-to-upgrade-now-or-upgrade-tonight.html


----------



## sospiro

Vaneyes said:


> "Deck the halls with poison ivy"--latest on the Get Windows 10 debacle.
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...ptions-to-upgrade-now-or-upgrade-tonight.html


This is so annoying. I'm perfectly happy with Windows 7 and I don't want 10.


----------



## SixFootScowl

sospiro said:


> This is so annoying. I'm perfectly happy with Windows 7 and I don't want 10.


Microsoft is like a pushy salesman. I can't stand pushy salesmen.


----------



## sospiro

Florestan said:


> Microsoft is like a pushy salesman. I can't stand pushy salesmen.


:lol:

Nor me. I'm grateful for this information and have turned off automatic updates.


----------



## SixFootScowl

sospiro said:


> :lol:
> 
> Nor me. I'm grateful for this information and have turned off automatic updates.


I shot the article on Win 10 (updates now or tonight) to my son who is into Linux but maintains a Win 7 OS on one computer and he said:



> that is why I only have it set to install important updates, and not the "recommended" updates as well.


----------



## sospiro

Can anyone recommend a free and safe program to convert mp4 to mp3?

:tiphat:


----------



## SixFootScowl

sospiro said:


> Can anyone recommend a free and safe program to convert mp4 to mp3?
> 
> :tiphat:


I use Audacity audio file editor. It will load an MP4 and then you can save it as a MP3.

But here is a secret. You can actually rename the file from .mp4 to .mp3 and it will play fine on your mp3 player. Of course, converting through Audacity probably reduces the file size for more storage capacity.


----------



## Taggart

vlc media player will do this as well and also outputs to flac, wav and one or two other formats. It even copes with m4a used by some phones.


----------



## sospiro

Florestan said:


> I use Audacity audio file editor. It will load an MP4 and then you can save it as a MP3.
> 
> But here is a secret. You can actually rename the file from .mp4 to .mp3 and it will play fine on your mp3 player. Of course, converting through Audacity probably reduces the file size for more storage capacity.





Taggart said:


> vlc media player will do this as well and also outputs to flac, wav and one or two other formats. It even copes with m4a used by some phones.


Thank you! I have both these programs and didn't know they could do this. #technodinosaur


----------



## Vaneyes

Chrome poised to take over #1 browser spot.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...s-its-majority-falls-under-50-user-share.html


----------



## Wood

Van asked me to expand on my implementation of Ubuntu 15.10 on this thread.

It went so smoothly that there is not too much to report. I had Linux Mint Rebecca Cinnamon before, until I tripped over my cable and the laptop came crashing to the floor, breaking the hard drive. 

The process was fast, easy and intuitive. The controversial Unity desktop didn't prove problematic, it was very easy to get the hang of it. As with Mint, the processes run fast and the software updates are unintrusive.

I shudder to hear all of the horror stories about Windows 10 and remember with relief that I no longer have to tolerate unstable OSes and applications like Word and Windows Media player. One person I knew got a laptop for Christmas, then two days later W10 wouldn't boot and it had to be returned. It still isn't sorted. If the same thing happens with Linux you can just stick the disc in and re-install immediately.

So yes, Ubuntu is easy to install, stable, like Linux Mint, fast, boots quickly, has a large software repository, updates unobtrusively, probably doesn't need antivirus software, upgrades for free, is flexible, is free, seems to be on the side of the user, and is intuitive.


----------



## Vaneyes

Wood said:


> Van asked me to expand on my implementation of Ubuntu 15.10 on this thread.
> 
> It went so smoothly that there is not too much to report. I had Linux Mint Rebecca Cinnamon before, until I tripped over my cable and the laptop came crashing to the floor, breaking the hard drive.
> 
> The process was fast, easy and intuitive. The controversial Unity desktop didn't prove problematic, it was very easy to get the hang of it. As with Mint, the processes run fast and the software updates are unintrusive.
> 
> *I shudder to hear all of the horror stories about Windows 10 and remember with relief that I no longer have to tolerate unstable OSes and applications like Word and Windows Media player. One person I knew got a laptop for Christmas, then two days later W10 wouldn't boot and it had to be returned. It still isn't sorted.* If the same thing happens with Linux you can just stick the disc in and re-install immediately.
> 
> So yes, Ubuntu is easy to install, stable, like Linux Mint, fast, boots quickly, has a large software repository, updates unobtrusively, probably doesn't need antivirus software, upgrades for free, is flexible, is free, seems to be on the side of the user, and is intuitive.


Thanks for that testimony, Wood. Much appreciated.

Speaking of W10, and specifically, its nagware...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...ows-10-nagware-isnt-as-easy-as-you-think.html

As mentioned earlier on the thread, some 'puter companies support (for 'puters still under warranty, I'm assuming) entails helping their customers ditch W10 and/or its nagware.

Failing that, and if one has the time for lengthy but free phonecalls, get the Microsoft techies in India to sort it out. Microsoft must allow Windows 'puters to receive Security/Critical updates as long as the OS is still supported.


----------



## Wood

That is horrific Van.

Whilst I'm here, has anyone tried ABCDE or Rubyripper for CD ripping? The ones I've used so far, Asunder, K.., Amarok, Rhythm Box and Banshee have all proved a bit limited. I've heard these two are pretty good.


----------



## starthrower

I read that Microsoft is no longer supporting old OSs. Do I need to download 10 to be safe?


----------



## Taggart

Weird. The market shares are basically


*7*
*55%*
*8.1*
*10%*
*XP*
*10%*
*10*
*10%*


Only 8.1 and 10 have Microsoft support. If you're using 7 then you need good anti-virus to be safe as there is no support from Microsoft. There is no need to move to 10 just because Microsoft is pushing it. If your OS suits your hardware and does what you want,then stick with it. The updates and security patches are not that important for ordinary users.


----------



## KenOC

Win 7 is kept safe by Microsoft Security Essentials, which continues to be updated in the background daily. Free. Support, including security patches, will continue until 2020.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> Van asked me to expand on my implementation of Ubuntu 15.10 on this thread.
> 
> It went so smoothly that there is not too much to report. *I had Linux Mint Rebecca Cinnamon before,* until I tripped over my cable and the laptop came crashing to the floor, breaking the hard drive.
> 
> The process was fast, easy and intuitive. The controversial Unity desktop didn't prove problematic, it was very easy to get the hang of it. As with Mint, the processes run fast and the software updates are unintrusive.
> 
> I shudder to hear all of the horror stories about Windows 10 and remember with relief that I no longer have to tolerate unstable OSes and applications like Word and Windows Media player. One person I knew got a laptop for Christmas, then two days later W10 wouldn't boot and it had to be returned. It still isn't sorted. If the same thing happens with Linux you can just stick the disc in and re-install immediately.
> 
> So yes, Ubuntu is easy to install, stable, like Linux Mint, fast, boots quickly, has a large software repository, updates unobtrusively, probably doesn't need antivirus software, upgrades for free, is flexible, is free, seems to be on the side of the user, and is intuitive.


Any reason why you didn't go with Linux Mint again?


----------



## starthrower

Thanks, guys! I'll stick with 7.


----------



## DeepR

I would never upgrade Windows 7 to 10 in the first place. Clean installation or no go. 
I have zero faith in Microsoft that this upgrade can be done entirely smooth and clean. It will be messy one way or another.
Anyway, I'm perfectly happy with Windows 7, it's by far the best experience I've had with Windows (the worst was Windows ME).


----------



## DeepR

If anyone is interested in controlling their PC from an Android device, this post will save you a lot of time and frustration. I spend hours searching for a good, simple, free piece of software without limitations. There sure is a lot of commercial trash out there. And the worst of all is Chrome Remote Desktop, an unnecessary complicated mess. Teamviewer is nice but the free version has limitations and will shut down after a while.

So here it is.
On your PC install TightVNC, on your Android device install the Remote Ripple app from Google Play. 
Launch TightVNC and set a password and port number. 
Make sure that this port number is forwarded by your router (ok, sorry, this step may not be for everyone ). 
Launch Remote Ripple on your Android device and set your PC's (external) IP address and port number. 
Connect, type in the password you set in TightVNC et voila. Now you can use your smartphone to control your PC's desktop. The controls are pretty smooth.


----------



## sospiro

I have two ancient laptops with XP and although they take a while to boot up, they serve their purpose which is to store photos and music respectively until I transfer them to external hard drive. I have AVG anti-virus on both.

Main laptop and travel laptop both on 7 and don't want 10 and have a horror of Microsoft uploading it by stealth. Have turned off automatic updates so I hope this will prevent 10 by stealth.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> Any reason why you didn't go with Linux Mint again?


No, just laziness. I happened to have a DVD with the new Ubuntu image file on it, so I thought I may as well use that rather than downloading the latest for Mint.

I'll report back on how I get on connecting my hardware to the laptop, it is an area which challenges linux systems.


----------



## Krummhorn

The PC's we use at work (county government) are all running on XP platforms on a LAN (thousands of PC's) and still works very well. The IT people are able to keep them running in top notch condition and need not worry about any updates from the manufacturer. 

To update all the machines would be cost prohibitive ... and besides, if it still works why fix it. 

Personally, I bought a Win 7 Professional PC in late 2010. I'm keeping Win 7 and not at all interested in Win 10. I have the same philosophy as my county job, if it ain't broke, there's no reason to fix it.


----------



## Dr Johnson

"If it ain't broke, there's no reason to fix it."

It's a shame Microsoft don't have that attitude.


----------



## Wood

DeepR said:


> I would never upgrade Windows 7 to 10 in the first place. Clean installation or no go.
> I have zero faith in Microsoft that this upgrade can be done entirely smooth and clean. It will be messy one way or another.
> Anyway, I'm perfectly happy with Windows 7, it's by far the best experience I've had with Windows (*the worst was Windows ME*).


Mine too. As it happened to be my first home computer, I thought that it was normal and struggled with it for six years. Unfortunately that meant that I bypassed XP and upgraded to Vista, which was also a poor release.

W 7 was fine until it got slow after two or three years use. I moved to linux at that point, with a reset Windows 7 on a dual partition. I found that I wasn't using W7 at all, so after a few months got rid of it completely.


----------



## Wood

I've just been trying another Linux OS. This time it is 'Tails'.

Tails is a secret squirrel OS. It covers your tracks so you can go online without your browsing being tracked back to your PC, in theory at least.

Some people could use this for nefarious purposes, such as watching pirate Pakistani cricket channels without the appropriate licence, though they would need a later version than the 1.7 I was using. Apparently.

This OS runs from a DVD, so when you finish using it nothing is left behind on the host computer. This is useful when using someone else's computer to access your internet bank account, for example. And with the Government's new powers of snooping on us via our computer and telephone use, it could also have value in keeping the users online activities untraceable.

If you want to try it, find an image file for the Tail's OS online, then burn it to a DVD. Go into the BIOS of your computer to change the boot order to CD_ROM first, and you're away.


----------



## sospiro

Type "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" into Google and other time wasting stuff.


----------



## sospiro

Can anyone recommend a basic printer? I want to replace the one I've got which is an HP Photosmart Wireless B109. The ink is expensive and the cartridges don't last very long; I'm only getting about 10 sheets per multi-colour cartridge.

It may be a fault with the printer(out of warranty now) but the ink is genuine HP.

:tiphat:


----------



## TxllxT

sospiro said:


> Can anyone recommend a basic printer? I want to replace the one I've got which is an HP Photosmart Wireless B109. The ink is expensive and the cartridges don't last very long; I'm only getting about 10 sheets per multi-colour cartridge.
> 
> It may be a fault with the printer(out of warranty now) but the ink is genuine HP.
> 
> :tiphat:


Personally I would always prefer a colour laser printer, because the toner stays OK when you don't use it for a longer time. With inkjet printers you get the problem of drying up, making the whole thing trash... I cannot advise on brands, just compare the toner prices (brand / no brand / refill etc.).


----------



## sospiro

TxllxT said:


> Personally I would always prefer a colour laser printer, because the toner stays OK when you don't use it for a longer time. With inkjet printers you get the problem of drying up, making the whole thing trash... I cannot advise on brands, just compare the toner prices (brand / no brand / refill etc.).


That's very helpful. Thank you.


----------



## Vaneyes

sospiro said:


> Can anyone recommend a basic printer? I want to replace the one I've got which is an HP Photosmart Wireless B109. The ink is expensive and the cartridges don't last very long; I'm only getting about 10 sheets per multi-colour cartridge.
> 
> It may be a fault with the printer(out of warranty now) but the ink is genuine HP.
> 
> :tiphat:


We've been happy with the Canon PIXMA line, our latest being MX922. Shop around, prices can vary greatly. :tiphat:


----------



## SixFootScowl

On buying a printer, consider the cost of replacement ink cartridges. We got a new (used and for free) printer that had more expensive cartridges and I was happy to discover the lower priced cartridges from my old printer were the exact same size and so have been using them in it.

My printer is, 
hp psc 1200 all-in-one printer scanner copier.
We were considering it for $20 at a garage sale but were questioning whether it works well and the guy said, just take it. It has been a great little printer. Using HP cartridges #21 (Black) and #22 (color) while it specified the more expensive #56 and #57.


----------



## Vaneyes

Re Windows OS support.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/lifecycle


----------



## KenOC

Printers -- I mostly use a cheap wired Canon Pixma, picked up at WalMart for $30. Very reliable, prints pictures nicely on photo paper, and scans and copies. Has been dead-on reliable for two years, never a misfeed or jam, and the ink seems to last a good long time.

Meanwhile, my 13-inch carriage Canon photo printer seldom sees use these days.


----------



## sospiro

Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions. While I'm dithering, I'll get some cheap ink. The last set of ink cartridges cost £45 ($64) and I only got about 15 copies.


----------



## KenOC

sospiro said:


> Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions. While I'm dithering, I'll get some cheap ink. The last set of ink cartridges cost £45 ($64) and I only got about 15 copies.


Something's definitely wrong there. That's just ridiculous. Never had any experience like that, and I've gone through several printers over the years.


----------



## sospiro

sospiro said:


> Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions. While I'm dithering, I'll get some cheap ink. The last set of ink cartridges cost £45 ($64) and I only got about 15 copies.





KenOC said:


> Something's definitely wrong there. *That's just ridiculous*. Never had any experience like that, and I've gone through several printers over the years.


I know  but the printer is out of warranty now.


----------



## ArtMusic

This is useful read to me. I have never owned/bought a printer. Have been thinking about one, though there is always something else more urgent when it comes to the money involved.


----------



## sospiro

ArtMusic said:


> This is useful read to me. I have never owned/bought a printer. Have been thinking about one, though there is always something else more urgent when it comes to the money involved.


Printers aren't that expensive but before you get one check the price of the ink.


----------



## Vaneyes

Being a Chrome user on a XP SP3 machine, I received a reminder from Chrome today, that they'll be ending my support in April 2016. Cut off at the knees again. Well, there are a few browsers left to try. ha ha

Chrome's original announcement--

Today (November 10, 2015), we're announcing the end of Chrome's support for Windows XP, as well as Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8, since these platforms are no longer actively supported by Microsoft and Apple. Starting April 2016, Chrome will continue to function on these platforms but will no longer receive updates and security fixes.

If you are still on one of these unsupported platforms, we encourage you to move to a newer operating system to ensure that you continue to receive the latest Chrome versions and features.

Posted by Marc Pawliger, Director of Engineering and Early Notifier


----------



## sospiro

Vaneyes said:


> Being a Chrome user on a XP SP3 machine, I received a reminder from Chrome today, that they'll be ending my support in April 2016. Cut off at the knees again. Well, there are a few browsers left to try. ha ha
> 
> Chrome's original announcement--
> 
> Today (November 10, 2015), we're announcing the end of Chrome's support for Windows XP, as well as Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8, since these platforms are no longer actively supported by Microsoft and Apple. Starting April 2016, Chrome will continue to function on these platforms but will no longer receive updates and security fixes.
> 
> If you are still on one of these unsupported platforms, we encourage you to move to a newer operating system to ensure that you continue to receive the latest Chrome versions and features.
> 
> Posted by Marc Pawliger, Director of Engineering and Early Notifier


Thanks.

It's been a while since I logged on to my two old XP SP3 laptops which I use for music and photos and hadn't seen that.



> we encourage you to move to a newer operating system ...


I wonder how much Microsoft are paying Chrome ...


----------



## Kivimees

Maybe someone can explain yesterday's strange event:

I was listening on the Naxos Music Library on my laptop (Windows 8, Firefox). After finishing with one piece, I tried to listen to the next, but when I clicked the "Play Selections" icon, nothing happened. The Naxos player window didn't so much as open. I tried Internet Explorer and it functioned as usual.

Does anyone have an idea what happened - and how it can be fixed?


----------



## Taggart

sospiro said:


> Thanks.
> 
> 
> 
> Vaneyes said:
> 
> 
> 
> If you are still on one of these unsupported platforms, we encourage you to move to a newer operating system to ensure that you continue to receive the latest Chrome versions and features.
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder how much Microsoft are paying Chrome ...
Click to expand...

Umm.. I think they meant Android (or similar).


----------



## Krummhorn

sospiro said:


> Can anyone recommend a basic printer? I want to replace the one I've got which is an HP Photosmart Wireless B109. The ink is expensive and the cartridges don't last very long; I'm only getting about 10 sheets per multi-colour cartridge.
> 
> It may be a fault with the printer(out of warranty now) but the ink is genuine HP.
> 
> :tiphat:


About 7 years ago I picked up a Brother HL-2040 laser (black only) printer for roughly $30 (USD). The toner lasts for about 2800 copies and I can still find discounted Brother brand toner cartridges online. I will not use any "compatible" toner cartridges.

The nice thing about lasers is that the toner never dries out, unlike inked cartridges, and is ready to print at a moments notice without having to clean nozzles or run test pages first. My prior printer was a Lexmark and used two ink cartridges which promptly went dry after 3 months, and at $80 for the pair, four times a year, I decided I had enough of ink printers.


----------



## Vaneyes

*'Microsoft continues to bleed browser share at record rates'*

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...s-to-bleed-browser-share-at-record-rates.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

Vaneyes said:


> *'Microsoft continues to bleed browser share at record rates'*
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...s-to-bleed-browser-share-at-record-rates.html


I don't give a tinker's cuss (to use no stronger term) for Microsoft's browser woes but I am sorry to see this paragraph further down the article:

*Firefox's problems have been different: Mozilla's flagship has been in slow decline for more than five years. The browser that once shook up the market -- it was the first to take on IE, and triggered a resumption of browser development by Microsoft -- has gradually slipped toward irrelevance.
*

If Firefox/Mozilla give up I am going back to the abacus.


----------



## Guest

Yes, and remember: a firefox is a red panda!!!!
(Naturally I use it, and ixquick)


----------



## Taggart

Dr Johnson said:


> If Firefox/Mozilla give up I am going back to the abacus.


There's always SeaMonkey which harks back to the Netscape days.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Taggart said:


> There's always SeaMonkey which harks back to the Netscape days.


I used them as my email client for a while, but after one update all my archived emails disappeared so I started using Thunderbird.

That's not to say that their browser may not be excellent. I never used it.


----------



## cwarchc

I tend to use Opera but I'm having a play with this one https://vivaldi.com/


----------



## JosefinaHW

I need help in the process of selecting what playlists will be available on my iPhone when I lose a signal. I am going to be in an area where there is no telephone/internet reception for the first time since I've joined streaming sites and music libraries that are available in the clouds. I used to just plug the phone into my PC and select the playlists: I cannot do that anymore. I tried turning off the icloud, wireless service, and auto-sync settings on the phone, but iTunes still does not show me an option to select playlists. I would greatly appreciate help with this. Thank you!


----------



## Vaneyes

For Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users who are still plagued by Windows 10 nagware, I as a Windows 7 user have good news. GWX Control Panel worked for me. For those interested, a link to.

http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

Sidenote:
Windows 7 extended support ends January 13, 2020.
Windows 8.1 extended support ends January 10, 2023.


----------



## cwarchc

I have a question

Why use Windows ?


----------



## Becca

cwarchc said:


> I tend to use Opera but I'm having a play with this one https://vivaldi.com/


I tried Vivaldi last week on both Linux and Windows and it does have some problems. Sufficiently so that I went back to Firefox. Specifically there are cases when you try to click on a link and it tries to send you to a garbage URL.


----------



## SixFootScowl

cwarchc said:


> I have a question
> 
> Why use Windows ?


Only if your employer requires it or if you have CD ROMs you want to play or if you work in IT and have to know windows so you can help the pour souls who are stuck with it.


----------



## Taggart

cwarchc said:


> I have a question
> 
> Why use Windows ?


Because it runs software I need for Scottish Country Dancing. It's relatively familiar and I find *nix a pain for more advanced stuff - although most of the other stuff I use is actually *nix ports - audacity, gimp, VLC.


----------



## JosefinaHW

Kivimees said:


> Maybe someone can explain yesterday's strange event:
> 
> I was listening on the Naxos Music Library on my laptop (Windows 8, Firefox). After finishing with one piece, I tried to listen to the next, but when I clicked the "Play Selections" icon, nothing happened. The Naxos player window didn't so much as open. I tried Internet Explorer and it functioned as usual.
> 
> Does anyone have an idea what happened - and how it can be fixed?


I haven't had any problems with that kind of issue, but their Customer Service is great--they get back to you very fast and work with you until whatever problem is solved. Good Luck


----------



## TxllxT

Kivimees said:


> Maybe someone can explain yesterday's strange event:
> 
> I was listening on the Naxos Music Library on my laptop (Windows 8, Firefox). After finishing with one piece, I tried to listen to the next, but when I clicked the "Play Selections" icon, nothing happened. The Naxos player window didn't so much as open. I tried Internet Explorer and it functioned as usual.
> 
> Does anyone have an idea what happened - and how it can be fixed?


My wife's PC (64 bits, Windows 10) sometimes starts to disfunction (mostly with sound & Youtube not reacting), because Windows 10 has an update prepared. Microsoft just brutely forces one to restart & execute the update....


----------



## SixFootScowl

TxllxT said:


> Microsoft just brutely forces one to restart & execute the update....


Microsoft is fascist towards their users.


----------



## TxllxT

After our last holiday we decided to purchase a secondhand 12.5'' travel notebook. It's amazing that the HP Elitebook 2570p from 2012, that costed more than 1000 Euros in those days, nowadays just costs 200 Euros! It has legal Windows 7 professional 64bits (Microsoft immediately pushes you towards Windows 10), everything looks fine (aluminium cover, high quality keyboard, nice matte display) and the only minus I could notice is the battery that stucks at 32%. This is no big problem, because we will not carry it outdoors etc. Just Wifi + mains voltage will do.


----------



## clockworkmurderer

Batteries are a finicky bit of technology and do often stop working as intended as many people don't allow their laptops to actually operate on battery, instead keeping them plugged in the entire time. The chemicals inside can get disrupted and the reaction no longer works properly, leading to batteries that cannot hold charge etc etc. You might be able to find that exact laptop battery for fairly cheap (20-50 euros or thereabouts)


----------



## TxllxT

clockworkmurderer said:


> Batteries are a finicky bit of technology and do often stop working as intended as many people don't allow their laptops to actually operate on battery, instead keeping them plugged in the entire time. The chemicals inside can get disrupted and the reaction no longer works properly, leading to batteries that cannot hold charge etc etc. You might be able to find that exact laptop battery for fairly cheap (20-50 euros or thereabouts)


I just checked it: 23 Euro in Holland. But I think that we can do without...


----------



## sospiro

clockworkmurderer said:


> Batteries are a finicky bit of technology and do often stop working as intended as many people don't allow their laptops to actually operate on battery, instead keeping them plugged in the entire time. The chemicals inside can get disrupted and the reaction no longer works properly, leading to batteries that cannot hold charge etc etc. You might be able to find that exact laptop battery for fairly cheap (20-50 euros or thereabouts)


I didn't know that.

I will let my travel laptop run on battery until it needs charging up again.


----------



## Taggart

You should also check to see if there is a utility to extend battery life e.g. by altering the charging frequency. My Dell laptop has this option to allow it to run off the mains without (too much) damage to the batteries.

You'll probably find it on the control panel under either power or battery.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Hello all. I have finally switched to Windows 10 as I got fed up with the prompts. All seems well but now McAfee Safe Search seems to have unhooked itself from my browser home page which means I'm missing the reassuring green ticks or red crosses which previously showed up next to any search results. Also, I can't seem to be able to open my McAfee app even though the icon is still on my desktop where it was before. This might be relatively minor and maybe it's something obvious but any suggestions/remedies would be much appreciated, thanks.


----------



## Taggart

One suggestion I've seen is to uninstall via control panel then use the clean up tool to get rid of any leftovers; reboot then re-install McAfee from your online account.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Thanks, T - I'll try that. I did read some time back that Windows 10 wasn't compatible with McAfee when it first came out but I thought that would have been resolved by now. I've got Windows Defender up and running in the meantime.


----------



## clockworkmurderer

I like to use "geek uninstaller" when faced with issues like that. Actually I pretty much use it any time I uninstall something because it ensures that the program doesn't leave litter on your drive.


----------



## KenOC

Elgar, after your change to Win 10, are you using Edge or Explorer? If it's Edge, maybe you should change the default back to Explorer. Just a thought.


----------



## Taggart

KenOC said:


> Elgar, after your change to Win 10, are you using Edge or Explorer? If it's Edge, maybe you should change the default back to Explorer. Just a thought.


 Use Firefox or Chrome or SeaMonkey or anything but Explorer!


----------



## elgar's ghost

KenOC said:


> Elgar, after your change to Win 10, are you using Edge or Explorer? If it's Edge, maybe you should change the default back to Explorer. Just a thought.


It defaulted to Edge when the upgrade was done. I was using MSN before that and it seemed OK.


----------



## JosefinaHW

elgars ghost said:


> It defaulted to Edge when the upgrade was done. I was using MSN before that and it seemed OK.


:elgars ghost: Have you resolved the McAfee problem yet?


----------



## elgar's ghost

JosefinaHW said:


> :elgars ghost: Have you resolved the McAfee problem yet?


Not yet, JHW - I'm waiting for next month's data allowance to kick in first as upgrading to Windows 10 took up about a fifth of this month's. I'll post here when I get around to it.


----------



## clockworkmurderer

just a polite suggestion; unless you're paying for McAfee, there are myriad better antivirus suites out there. Avast is one of my personal favorites, though I actually tend to keep malwarebytes around for on demand and don't have one actively running these days. It's too easy to pop the windows 7 usb in and reinstall if something goes wrong and my important stuff stays backed up with vmWare and teamViewer


----------



## elgar's ghost

Thanks for the suggestion but I have a McAfee subscription lasting the whole year. After my upgrade to Windows 10 it's up and running (it ran a full scan the other day) but their Site Advisor facility is still not showing when I browse.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

OK, here I go. Upgrading my dysfunctional Linux Ubuntu from distribution 15.10 to 16.04 in the hope of curing its instability. This could go well, or alternatively you may not see me on-line for a bit...


----------



## Vaneyes

clockworkmurderer said:


> just a polite suggestion; unless you're paying for McAfee, there are myriad better antivirus suites out there.* Avast is one of my personal favorites,* though I actually tend to keep malwarebytes around for on demand and don't have one actively running these days. It's too easy to pop the windows 7 usb in and reinstall if something goes wrong and my important stuff stays backed up with vmWare and teamViewer


I use Avast, and I like their new custom install which allows one to say no to just about everything except their main meat, File System Shield.

Malwarebytes has gone the way of other bloateds. Suggest running Malwarebytes in only one-off checks.

A good rule of thumb is to uninstall all the bloatware that comes with a new or refurbished machine, and that often includes McAfee and Norton.:tiphat:


----------



## JosefinaHW

:Elgars Ghost: Following is my final edit for instructions to add Site Advisor, Now called WebAdvisor to Google Chrome, as of today this feature is not available for Internet Explorer.:

The bizarre thing is you download this thing via Internet Explorer.

1. Open Internet Explorer and go to: http://siteadvisor.com

2. Then click, Download.

3. Click Downloaded Tab at bottom of screen

4. Install

5. When Installation is done go back to the McAfee Control Center on your computer.

6. Click Check for Updates, even if you have automatic updates turned on.

7. Update will take a few minutes.

8. Then if you are using Chrome, Click the Settings icon (three horizontal lines, arranged vertically.)

9. Click "More Tools"

10. Click "Extensions"

11. New window opens, type in McAfee in search line.

12. Click "McAfee Secure Safe Browsing."


----------



## Vaneyes

Some recent info for W7 and W8.1 users fighting W10 nagware.

Update patches to avoid by hiding. They have no function except to torture W7 and W8.1 users.

KB3035583
KB3150513

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...e-patch-kb-3035583-back-on-windows-7-pcs.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...another-windows-10-update-enabling-patch.html


----------



## elgar's ghost

JosefinaHW said:


> :Elgars Ghost: Following is my final edit for instructions to add Site Advisor, Now called WebAdvisor to Google Chrome, as of today this feature is not available for Internet Explorer.:
> 
> The bizarre thing is you download this thing via Internet Explorer.
> 
> 1. Open Internet Explorer and go to: http://siteadvisor.com
> 
> 2. Then click, Download.
> 
> 3. Click Downloaded Tab at bottom of screen
> 
> 4. Install
> 
> 5. When Installation is done go back to the McAfee Control Center on your computer.
> 
> 6. Click Check for Updates, even if you have automatic updates turned on.
> 
> 7. Update will take a few minutes.
> 
> 8. Then if you are using Chrome, Click the Settings icon (three horizontal lines, arranged vertically.)
> 
> 9. Click "More Tools"
> 
> 10. Click "Extensions"
> 
> 11. New window opens, type in McAfee in search line.
> 
> 12. Click "McAfee Secure Safe Browsing."


Thanks for the reply - I'll have a crack at it when next month's data allowance comes through. :tiphat:


----------



## Wood

TurnaboutVox said:


> OK, here I go. Upgrading my dysfunctional Linux Ubuntu from distribution 15.10 to 16.04 in the hope of curing its instability. This could go well, or alternatively you may not see me on-line for a bit...


Good luck TV. Let us know how it goes.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

It's been a bit frustrating, really.

My Unity desktop stopped functioning after upgrading Ubuntu from version 14.10 to 15.10. The only desktop environment I could boot into was Gnome Flashback Metacity, which is OK but older and less sophisticated. At least I know it can't be a problem with the Linux kernel.

I wondered if upgrading Ubuntu to 16.04 lts which has recently become available would repair Unity.

It hasn't, but as before the computer boots happily into Gnome Flashback Metacity.

So I guess my weekend may be spent figuring out how to repair the problem. I will probably start by purging Unity and reinstalling it.


----------



## Dan Ante

I used Mc Afee for about 4 years and about 6 months ago switched to AVG Free version with no problems as yet, I am still using Vista home.


----------



## clockworkmurderer

TurnaboutVox, I've had Unity become busted after updates like that too. I however don't actually like Unity so it's fine for me because I'll generally set up gnome 3 anyway. Right now as I post this I'm installing Mint 17.3 to a backup HDD, mainly because I'm bored.


----------



## Wood

TurnaboutVox said:


> It's been a bit frustrating, really.
> 
> My Unity desktop stopped functioning after upgrading Ubuntu from version 14.10 to 15.10. The only desktop environment I could boot into was Gnome Flashback Metacity, which is OK but older and less sophisticated. At least I know it can't be a problem with the Linux kernel.
> 
> I wondered if upgrading Ubuntu to 16.04 lts which has recently become available would repair Unity.
> 
> It hasn't, but as before the computer boots happily into Gnome Flashback Metacity.
> 
> Si I guess my weekend may be spent figuring out how to repair the problem. I will probably start by purging Unity and reinstalling it.


Have you considered using Linux Mint instead? It is based on Ubuntu but less bleeding edge and more user friendly. I'm running both on different laptops. The difference in the desktop environments (if that is the right thing to say) doesn't bother me one way or the other, but Linux Mint is more stable so I prefer it.

One other little quirk of Ubuntu is that it is necessary to press the window key and W in order to see how many pages are open. If I forget to do this and I haven't shut down for a few days I can have so many applications running that eventually the OS will freeze. This also makes it easy to open a spreadsheet file twice, and be updating two separate files at once.

None of this would make me think of returning to Windows, but next time I need to upgrade, I'll move from Ubuntu back to Mint, or try Fedora.


----------



## clockworkmurderer

Just be sure that you don't wipe out your MBR if you want to install Linux on a secondary hard drive. I've never had this problem installing it on a separate partition on the same drive with Windows, but this last time I had to use the windows recovery disc to rebuild it. I'm actually still confused about what I did that borked things up, because normally grub just sets up and works as it should.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

Wood said:


> Have you considered using Linux Mint instead? It is based on Ubuntu but less bleeding edge and more user friendly. I'm running both on different laptops. The difference in the desktop environments (if that is the right thing to say) doesn't bother me one way or the other, but Linux Mint is more stable so I prefer it.


I have spent much of today downloading Linux Mint, backing up the data on my office PC, installing Mint and then reinstalling all the data. At the current rate of progress this will take until tomorrow evening (there were a lot of flac and jpg files on that hard drive).

I haven't been aided much in this task by no fewer than 6 crashes, each caused by trying to do something else simultaneously with the data restoration. So eventually I learned my lesson, locked the office and left the PC to get on with it. I need to go to Manchester tomorrow morning which will keep my sticky finger off it until late afternoon at least. 



clockworkmurderer said:


> Just be sure that you don't wipe out your MBR if you want to install Linux on a secondary hard drive. I've never had this problem installing it on a separate partition on the same drive with Windows, but this last time I had to use the windows recovery disc to rebuild it. I'm actually still confused about what I did that borked things up, because normally grub just sets up and works as it should.


This machine isn't running Windows at all: I bought it pre-owned sans operating system. Or did you mean the external hard drive I back up to?


----------



## TxllxT

Yesterday I installed Windows 10 on my (200 Euro secondhand) travel notebook, because in two months Microsoft is unplugging its free download possibility. Immediate comparison with Windows 7: Internet functions smoother and the network interconnection with my 'master' PC functions much speedier. On the other hand the Dutch keyboard setting constantly switches from 'US international' to 'Dutch' automatically under Windows 10, which is a real nuisance!!!


----------



## clockworkmurderer

I was actually just speaking in general; I should have used a "one" construction rather than using "you."


----------



## TurnaboutVox

Well, I've had an interesting two weeks with Mint, mostly resulting in not having a working computer. On three occasions a boot-up into Mint failed or resulted in an unresponsive desktop. The Home folder kept not being recognised, or the task bar seized up or became inoperative. Each time the online forums suggested that it was a known problem and that the best way to resolve it was to reinstall Mint. But after doing this successfully three times, it refused to boot from the USB Linux master, which looked like it had corrupted.

So I have done a clean install of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and...I'm back on-line! So far so good...


----------



## TurnaboutVox

And hurrah! I have got Foobar and Spotify up and running (for some reason I couldn't get Foobar to see the external DAC when I ran Linux Mint, and I tried _everything_). I also have Pepper Flash running so that I can play videos in Firefox, which no longer supports / is no longer supported by Adobe Flash Player.

I'm a happy bunny tonight. I think the lesson I've learned is not to upgrade Ubuntu Unity until a stable new release is made available, and instead of trying to upgrade the old system, back up my data and clean install the next new iteration.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Wood said:


> Have you considered using Linux Mint instead? It is based on Ubuntu but less bleeding edge and more user friendly. I'm running both on different laptops. The difference in the desktop environments (if that is the right thing to say) doesn't bother me one way or the other, but Linux Mint is more stable so I prefer it.


I have been using Mint for a couple of years and it works quite nicely.


----------



## starthrower

I just got an Arris wifi modem for my laptop, and Time Warner tech support can't get it to work without the cable connected. Do I have to screw around calling HP to get this working? That's what they told me to do.


----------



## DeepR

Does anyone know if it is currently possible to post comments on Youtube without having to activate anything related to Google+ ?

Some time ago they announced that Youtube and Google+ would be fully seperated again, but I'm still not sure.... all information I can find about this is vague.

I despise being forced to use things I don't want, so I've been waiting patiently ever since they started linking Youtube to Google+.

EDIT: Nevermind that, I found out myself. It now works without Google+. 
Can't be careful enough. I sure as hell wasn't going to get tricked again into creating a Google+ profile.


----------



## Vaneyes

More on W10 forced upgrades.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...-windows-10-upgrade-heres-how-to-recover.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Microsoft continues to stir it, though many 'puter owners/warriors are familiar with their pesky KB3035583 by now.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...-app-kb-3035583-re-appears-for-no-reason.html


----------



## sospiro

Vaneyes said:


> Microsoft continues to stir it, though many 'puter owners/warriors are familiar with their pesky KB3035583 by now.
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...-app-kb-3035583-re-appears-for-no-reason.html


I was listening to a phone-in last night and several people were complaining about this. The expert was a professional techie and he recommended this site if you don't want a forced upgrade.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Microsoft accused of Windows 10 upgrade 'nasty trick'
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36367221


----------



## Vaneyes

Stay calm, Francis.

[Admin edit: offensive video removed]


----------



## JosefinaHW

elgars ghost said:


> I'm waiting for next month's data allowance to kick in first as upgrading to Windows 10 took up about a fifth of this month's. I'll post here when I get around to it.


:ElgarsGhost: You're probably saying, OMG, I'm sorry I said anything re/ this 'cause Jo keeps harping on about it-- well McAfee has solved the problem and you will see it when you do your regular updates--and not another peep from me about it.


----------



## Vaneyes

Articles re updaters and bloatware:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...top-updaters-riddled-with-security-holes.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...ware-what-it-is-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it.html


----------



## sospiro

Vaneyes said:


> Articles re updaters and bloatware:
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...top-updaters-riddled-with-security-holes.html
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...ware-what-it-is-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it.html


Very useful info. Thank you.


----------



## Vaneyes

Microsoft's unscrupulous tactics have increased W10 market share five points in three months. Unless my math needs adjustment, Microsoft total OS market share currently stands at greater than 87%.

May article, partial OS and browser user shares -

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...es-in-may-but-windows-7-xp-remain-strong.html

March article, OS user shares -

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-10-market-share-12-percent/#:eW3z-w+MqquznA


----------



## sospiro

Vaneyes said:


> Microsoft's unscrupulous tactics have increased W10 market share five points in three months. Unless my math needs adjustment, Microsoft total OS market share currently stands at greater than 87%.
> 
> May article, partial OS and browser user shares -
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...es-in-may-but-windows-7-xp-remain-strong.html
> 
> March article, OS user shares -
> 
> http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-10-market-share-12-percent/#:eW3z-w+MqquznA


Interesting what they say about 7. I'm in the 'refuse to be trampled' bracket.  I also have two ancient laptops still with XP and I'll keep them for as long as possible.


----------



## Vaneyes

sospiro said:


> Interesting what they say about 7. I'm in the 'refuse to be trampled' bracket.  *I also have two ancient laptops still with XP and I'll keep them for as long as possible.*


Hang in there, sospiro...maybe add more RAM, if needed. I'd likely still be on XP, if I hadn't received a W7 hand-me-down.:tiphat:


----------



## SixFootScowl

Switching from Windows to Linux Mint is like adding RAM with Windows (and processor speed), but includes many other benefits beyond that.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

Florestan said:


> Switching from Windows to Linux Mint is like adding RAM with Windows (and processor speed), but includes many other benefits beyond that.


I don't disagree about the advantages of using Linux distributions but there are downsides too, not least the need for sorting out unresolved problems yourself.


----------



## KenOC

Just as a counterpoint, and without excusing Microsoft's dirty tricks, I'll say that I have now been using Win 10 for almost a year and everything has been fine and trouble free. It runs as fast or faster on my 8-year old desktop as Win 7, but feature wise it is inferior in a few respects.

My wife, who is not really computer literate, had an unexpected "upgrade" to Win 10 a couple of weeks ago. She loves it, thinks it is far better. Maybe people like her are the real target for Microsoft.


----------



## Wood

TurnaboutVox said:


> And hurrah! I have got Foobar and Spotify up and running (for some reason I couldn't get Foobar to see the external DAC when I ran Linux Mint, and I tried _everything_). I also have Pepper Flash running so that I can play videos in Firefox, which no longer supports / is no longer supported by Adobe Flash Player.
> 
> I'm a happy bunny tonight. I think the lesson I've learned is not to upgrade Ubuntu Unity until a stable new release is made available, and instead of trying to upgrade the old system, back up my data and clean install the next new iteration.


That sounds like a nightmare TV. I feel guilty for recommending Mint to you now. Perhaps you had a faulty image file?

I think you are right about doing clean installs, I have never yet attempted to upgrade an existing system. KISS is my humble approach.

Strangely, since I was last on this thread, a month or so ago, Ubuntu has been working very well, and has been very stable. Presumably whatever was wrong was corrected by an update or two.


----------



## Wood

TurnaboutVox said:


> I don't disagree about the advantages of using Linux distributions but there are downsides too, not least the need for sorting out unresolved problems yourself.


The Windows community seems to have much more comprehensive support than the equivalent in Linux. However, I have found that so far I have dealt with any problem that Linux has thrown up, either by a workaround or trying a different software package for example. It does require some time input occasionally, but then so does Windows when the computer is always on a go-slow, or freezing or it is necessary to go out to work to pay for the next version. :lol:

Using free OSs and cheap or free second hand laptops is quite satisfying, though I will need to be a bit more creative to avoid the £45 per month I'm currently paying for wifi...


----------



## TurnaboutVox

Wood said:


> That sounds like a nightmare TV. I feel guilty for recommending Mint to you now. Perhaps you had a faulty image file?
> 
> I think you are right about doing clean installs, I have never yet attempted to upgrade an existing system. KISS is my humble approach.
> 
> Strangely, since I was last on this thread, a month or so ago, Ubuntu has been working very well, and has been very stable. Presumably whatever was wrong was corrected by an update or two.


Ah, don't worry about it! It was worth trying and the nerd in me quite enjoys this kind of thing. It reminds me of being 17 again and discovering computer programming for the first time (I told you it was the nerd in me!)


----------



## SixFootScowl

I am fairly lost with problems in Windows or Linux. Fortunately my son is an IT student and knows most of the stuff we need to resolve any problems. In worst case, reload OS. That is easier with Linux Mint than with Windows. Also no forced restarts in Linux. I have a nice setup too if I ever did need to reload the OS because all my file storage is on an external 1TB hard drive that is always hooked to the computer, so the OS is in the internal 250 MB hard drive and little else but what is currently on the desktop.


----------



## Wood

TurnaboutVox said:


> Ah, don't worry about it! It was worth trying and the nerd in me quite enjoys this kind of thing. It reminds me of being 17 again and discovering computer programming for the first time (I told you it was the nerd in me!)


As we are about the same age, I'm guessing that, like me, you tried to teach yourself 'Basic', because apparently everyone had to learn it if they were going to have a successful future. Saving files on cassette was always fun back in those days.


----------



## clockworkmurderer

I like to "play with" linux. I don't use it seriously however as none of the video games I play will run on it except for Battle for Wesnoth. I realize that Wine exists but that is far more work than simply restarting the computer (and with an SSD that takes a matter of seconds). I still use windows 7 because hahahaha I'm not falling for that micro$oft. Until programs stop working on windows 7 in spite of all the workarounds I can come up with (haven't needed this yet, but remember it well from XP), I am not going to waste my time with micro$oft's bandwagon.


----------



## Taggart

Wood said:


> As we are about the same age, I'm guessing that, like me, you tried to teach yourself 'Basic', because apparently everyone had to learn it if they were going to have a successful future. Saving files on cassette was always fun back in those days.


You mean losing files?


----------



## DeepR

Florestan said:


> Microsoft accused of Windows 10 upgrade 'nasty trick'
> http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36367221


How typical.
I think I never needed optional updates (unless it's a specific hardware driver). Pro tip: use manual updating only and do not enable "give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates".

Speaking of dirty tricks: Avast free antivirus has tried a few! Like quietly enabling e-mail signatures, quietly installing new components and things like that.
I'm still using it though, as it seems to be quite good for a free antivirus. You just have to do a couple of things to make it hassle-free.


----------



## SixFootScowl

DeepR said:


> Speaking of dirty tricks: Avast free antivirus has tried a few! Like quietly enabling e-mail signatures, quietly installing new components and things like that.
> I'm still using it though, as it seems to be quite good for a free antivirus. You just have to do a couple of things to make it hassle-free.


Had some problems with Avast and now my IT son recommends bitdefender antivirus free edition as the best free antivirus.


----------



## clockworkmurderer

I use bitdefender but the most effective antivirus is avoidance. Not visiting celebrity news sites and clicking the ads therein. Not downloading "free microsoft office 2013 keygen + crack." Not letting children use the computer outside of a virtual machine.


----------



## Wood

I don't use anti-virus software on my Linux OSs. It has been fine so far...


----------



## SixFootScowl

Wood said:


> I don't use anti-virus software on my Linux OSs. It has been fine so far...


Right. Antivirus generally is not needed on Linux OS.

Best way to run Microsoft is version 7 on a computer that is not and cannot connect to the web. Then you get no viruses, but can use MSWord and run CDROMs to your heart's content. Do all your online work from a Linux OS computer. Just be careful passing files by thumb drive from the Linux computer to the MS computer lest you pass along a virus. Linux does not recognize .exe files which is a big factor in not being affected by viruses, although I suppose those files could get on your computer an do nothing. Same reason CD ROM won't run on Linux as it is .exe.


----------



## TxllxT

If you don't wander into internet's limbo, there's no need to for fear. But arousing fear is the reason why the antivirus business exists.


----------



## Xenakiboy

You have the chance to win $10,000,000,000.00
Just insert your _name, credit card number, address, social security number, put our website in your will, send us $100_ *right here*

this is in no way a scam or anything


----------



## Vaneyes

France encourages less e-time.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...irst-step-in-right-direction/article30261434/


----------



## SixFootScowl




----------



## TurnaboutVox

Spotted today, in an Ubuntu users forum:


User: I've tried everything, I can't get the nvidia drivers to work at all with 16.04 LTS. All I can see is a black screen, I can't even log in. Why do they even release this distribution as an 'LTS', it should have been released as a Beta version until they knew what it was going to do 'in the wild'.

Superuser: (tetchily) LTS doesn't stand for 'Bug Free Distribution...'


----------



## JosefinaHW

Would someone here please tell me how to take three pages from a score on Petrucci (Verdi, MacBeth, "Pieta, rispetta, amore") and cut it into two-three line blocks and post those two-three line block images onto TC?

I will be looking for instructions on google, etc. and if I still don't find out I will just do the REAL cut and paste job, but saving me time would be most appreciated.


----------



## KenOC

Something I recently discovered, maybe of interest if you're a PC user on a budget. I wanted a "new" computer and found a lot of refurbished business desktop PCs on Amazon. I bought a Dell 780 MT, a tower computer with lots of drive bays and card slots and USB connectors. Came with a 3 GHz Intel Duo 2-core processor, 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 1 TB hard drive with Win 64 Pro 64-bit installed, including both a restore partition and a separate install DVD with certificate of authenticity and all the proper numbers. It can be updated for free to Win 10 through July 29, when that Microsoft offer ends. Oh, it has Ethernet and a DVD writer, and comes with a USB keyboard and mouse as well, cheap ones.

Dells are nice because manuals and so forth are readily available on their site and many parts for these machines, both used and new, are sold on Amazon quite cheaply. The 780s can be completely disassembled and put back together without tools, which is nice too. Price was $150 with free shipping!


----------



## Vaneyes

KenOC said:


> Something I recently discovered, maybe of interest if you're a PC user on a budget. I wanted a "new" computer and found a lot of refurbished business desktop PCs on Amazon....


A good consideration, Ken. I recently steered someone to an office supplies chain re refurb i7 laptop. Only downsides were a dud battery (replaced), 4 GB RAM (which can be jacked to 16), and a 90 day warranty.


----------



## TxllxT

KenOC said:


> Something I recently discovered, maybe of interest if you're a PC user on a budget. I wanted a "new" computer and found a lot of refurbished business desktop PCs on Amazon. I bought a Dell 780 MT, a tower computer with lots of drive bays and card slots and USB connectors. Came with a 3 GHz Intel Duo 2-core processor, 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 1 TB hard drive with Win 64 Pro 64-bit installed, including both a restore partition and a separate install DVD with certificate of authenticity and all the proper numbers. It can be updated for free to Win 10 through July 29, when that Microsoft offer ends. Oh, it has Ethernet and a DVD writer, and comes with a USB keyboard and mouse as well, cheap ones.
> 
> Dells are nice because manuals and so forth are readily available on their site and many parts for these machines, both used and new, are sold on Amazon quite cheaply. The 780s can be completely disassembled and put back together without tools, which is nice too. Price was $150 with free shipping!


I've got a an HP Elitebook (made for business professionals) for 200 Euro; the most important thing to check IMO is the keyboard. That's the reason why I do not recommend any 2nd hand consumer laptop...


----------



## Vaneyes

'What about my music collection and Windows 10?'

http://www.askwoody.com/


----------



## Vaneyes

The "evils of encryption" and "low-hanging fruit".

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3087615/encryption/its-time-to-lock-the-door-on-backdoors.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

'I urge everyone to fight back' - woman wins $10k from Microsoft over Windows 10 misery:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/27/woman_microsoft_windows_10_upgrades/


----------



## KenOC

Microsoft really pewed the scrooch with this one. The lady was using her computer to run her business! Not nice to trick her into an unwanted “upgrade.”

However, I note than any Win 10 upgrade can be rolled back, for a month, with a single mouse click. I’ve never heard of anybody having a problem doing that.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Perhaps she just felt it was time someone stuck it to Microsoft.


----------



## Taggart

KenOC said:


> However, I note than any Win 10 upgrade can be rolled back, for a month, with a single mouse click. I've never heard of anybody having a problem doing that.


Only if W10 installs properly. I had horrendous problems with a laptop. It said it was W10 ready, so off we went - no joy. Had to re-install old OS. Tried one or two fixes - no joy. Eventually found the beast needed a bios update. Not mentioned anywhere. Did that, W10 installed just fine. Then had to re-install quite a few applications.

If you don't have a proper backup and / or re-install disks, then you will be in trouble. W10 would not not run without the bios upgrade and that took some finding.


----------



## KenOC

Thanks Taggart. Yes, that sounds like an issue! My comment may have been too flippant. Microsoft tests these on thousand of machines, and yours (or mine) turns out to be the exception.


----------



## Taggart

I think the problem was that Dell said it was ready and that the Dell update procedure was running and also said it was ready so Microsoft said it was ready. Trouble was that the Dell driver scan missed / didn't flag a Bios update. That left me running round in circles.

Having said that, the general level of support for W10 is good - for the desktop. I've got fixes for stuff that Dell say doesn't run - Bluetooth; and for stuff the Microsoft say doesn't run - old windows help files. OK you've got to fiddle with msi install scripts, but it can be done.


----------



## Badinerie

I haven't had a problem with the windows 10 update on one of our two laptops. I caught on in time to stop it on the other one. 
I cant believe MS havnt been further punished by this clear breach of business etiquette.


----------



## Vaneyes

Re browser user share...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...uanders-browser-dominance-in-record-time.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

Man sues YET AGAIN for chance to marry his computer

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/01/man_sues_yet_again_for_chance_to_marry_his_computer/


----------



## Vaneyes

Maybe a rethink's due for non-free anti-virus software.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...hlights-the-dangers-of-security-software.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Dr Johnson said:


> Man sues YET AGAIN for chance to marry his computer
> 
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/01/man_sues_yet_again_for_chance_to_marry_his_computer/


ha ha The cpu may rev up, the box may heat, but there's no breathing. No marriage certificate for this gumball!


----------



## Vaneyes

Avast offers $1.3B for AVG.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3092500/m-a/antivirus-merger-avast-offers-13-billion-for-avg.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

*It's that time of the month again.*

Deep joy.


----------



## Vaneyes

The latest W10 nag info.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/30...-windows-10-nagster-kb-3035583-yet-again.html


----------



## Guest

I just got a "free" (had to pay tax on it) Verizon Ellipsis tablet. I tried to sync my Google Chrome bookmarks from my PC with it, but it doesn't work. I've followed the online directions--does anyone have any suggestions?


----------



## Vaneyes

*Windows 10 upgrade stuck at 99 percent? Here are your options*

*The Get Windows 10 campaign will see its day in court

*W10 Pro advertising -

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...d-advertising-creeps-into-windows-10-pro.html


----------



## millionrainbows

Anti-virus: screw all of it. Use a Mac.


----------



## SixFootScowl

millionrainbows said:


> Anti-virus: screw all of it. Use a Mac.


Or wipe Windows from your computer and load Linux Mint.


----------



## Judith

Mine is a problem. On the keyboard, the Z has stopped working so having to type words without that letter in. I do use phone mainly. Going for repair at weekend!


----------



## Pugg

Judith said:


> Mine is a problem. On the keyboard, the Z has stopped working so having to type words without that letter in. I do use phone mainly. Going for repair at weekend!


Not just a bit of dust? Try a small brush , helps me all the time .


----------



## Taggart

Judith said:


> Mine is a problem. On the keyboard, the Z has stopped working so having to type words without that letter in. I do use phone mainly. Going for repair at weekend!


As Pugg says, small brush or simply tip the keyboard upside down over a sheet of (Used) newspaper and tap the base gently to free any trapped material.


----------



## TxllxT

Taggart said:


> As Pugg says, small brush or simply tip the keyboard upside down over a sheet of (Used) newspaper and tap the base gently to free any trapped material.


If nothing helps, you can always buy a cheap USB plug&play keyboard and push the 'z' on this 2nd one...


----------



## Vaneyes

Latest W10 screw-ups.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...inst-windows-10-anniversary-update-grows.html


----------



## joen_cph

TxllxT said:


> If nothing helps, you can always buy a cheap USB plug&play keyboard and push the 'z' on this 2nd one...


or copy one of the "z"´s from website texts and insert it when necessary.


----------



## Wood

Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead.


----------



## Wood

*VPN*

For a variety of reasons I'm thinking of subscribing to a Virtual Private Network.

Has anyone here ever used one and how have you got on?

I think that this may be a way of getting the cheap boxsets on Amazon.com via the American servers. Any thoughts?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Wood said:


> For a variety of reasons I'm thinking of subscribing to a Virtual Private Network.
> 
> Has anyone here ever used one and how have you got on?
> 
> I think that this may be a way of getting the cheap boxsets on Amazon.com via the American servers. Any thoughts?


Might work. I didn't know what a VPN was until I saw your post and googled. This article says it should let you shop other country web sites that otherwise would bar you, but will they ship to your country.


----------



## Poodle

Florestan said:


> Might work. I didn't know what a VPN was until I saw your post and googled. This article says it should let you shop other country web sites that otherwise would bar you, but will they ship to your country.


Careful what you buy, you don't want to end up in jail in another country :lol:


----------



## SixFootScowl

Poodle said:


> Careful what you buy, you don't want to end up in jail in another country :lol:


Unless they have an reciprocity agreement with the U.S. to arrest and ship malefactors, or I visit that country and am arrested, I am safe. But first they have to figure out who is hiding behind the VPN.


----------



## Potiphera

Earlier this year I bought a good refurbished Apple Macbook Pro and have only started to use it which is fine but discovered I can't upload pictures etc. from my vodaphone smart phone. Does anyone know how to get round this problem ?

It looks like Apple only want the user to use Apple products , but there must be software downloads for other phones. 


Thanks.
__________________


----------



## Vaneyes

Looking ahead to Chrome 55.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...s-flash-embraces-html5-in-chrome-browser.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Life after "free" W10 upgrade.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...ee-upgrade-halts-rapid-windows-10-growth.html


----------



## KenOC

The article points out that the adoption of Windows 10 has slowed quite a bit since it became no long free on July 29. Hardly a surprise.

To counteract some of the negative posts here, I want to mention that I have been using Windows 10 for a year now. It has been rock solid and stable. Auto-updates work well and in the background, mostly unnoticed. Similarly, the included anti-virus and anti-malware protections are invisible, updating their virus signature files daily and going about their business unnoticed. I can imagine no reason to pay for commercial virus protection. Finally, the many open-source software products for other previous versions of Windows work fine with Windows 10. I have no commercial for-pay software on my computer at all.

On one occasion, I lost the ability to play music files, or any sound files. Stepping back to the latest automatically-generated restore point fixed things immediately. That took about 30 seconds.

In short, I think Windows 10 is fine.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Question to the Linux Mint users here: any particular make and model of laptop that you recommend for Mint? Currently I have Mint installed as the sole OS on a second hand Dell Latitude D520, which seems to work ok, although I prefer my Windows 7 Toshiba. It seems that Toshiba do not support Linux.

When my Toshiba dies or Microsoft stop supporting Windows 7 (whichever is the sooner) I will be moving full time to Linux Mint, so I may as well have a decent machine.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> Question to the Linux Mint users here: any particular make and model of laptop that you recommend for Mint? Currently I have Mint installed as the sole OS on a second hand Dell Latitude D520, which seems to work ok, although I prefer my Windows 7 Toshiba. It seems that Toshiba do not support Linux.
> 
> When my Toshiba dies or Microsoft stop supporting Windows 7 (whichever is the sooner) I will be moving full time to Linux Mint, so I may as well have a decent machine.


As far as I'm aware you can use Linux on any computer currently using Windows. My laptops are HP NC6400 and HP G72. The only hardware problem I encountered was that the latter kept losing its internet connection. It was a known fault with Linux, All I had to do was replace the thingie. It wasn't difficult or expensive.

I've used Linux Mint Cinnamon for a year and 9 months now, and thoroughly recommend it.


----------



## Wood

Florestan said:


> Might work. I didn't know what a VPN was until I saw your post and googled. This article says it should let you shop other country web sites that otherwise would bar you, but will they ship to your country.


That's right. It also provides security at wifi hotspots and restricts the data that government agencies and commercial organisations get on you, although it is far from being completely secure.

I paid £30 for one year.

I've installed the Private Internet Access VPN. It hasn't gone too smoothly so far.

1. I had to request help from their helpdesk as it wasn't working in Linux, but they gave me a link to a package which I was able to load through the terminal. That enabled me to connect to the various servers round the world.

2. By default your email clients' outgoing server is blocked. You have to open a ticket and ask for it to be whitelisted. They then send you a procedure of changes to make to your server settings. I followed them all but now neither of my email clients work at all.

3. I tried to buy one of the geographically restricted cheapo mp3 box sets on Amazon.com. It didn't work because the billing address of my credit card is the UK.

So it is still a work in progress. I'll report back later if there is any interest in this.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> As far as I'm aware you can use Linux on any computer currently using Windows. My laptops are HP NC6400 and HP G72. The only hardware problem I encountered was that the latter kept losing its internet connection. It was a known fault with Linux, All I had to do was replace the thingie. It wasn't difficult or expensive.
> 
> I've used Linux Mint Cinnamon for a year and 9 months now, and thoroughly recommend it.


I've been running Cinnamon for over a year but don't use it as much as I use my Windows 7 laptop. Recently the W7 laptop has displayed one or two signs of age, hence my question. I realise that any Windows machine (except, apparently Toshiba) will run Linux Mint, I just wanted to know if some were better than others.

Having bought a HP printer last year to replace a Canon, I have developed a loathing of HP. Sorry!:lol:


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> Having bought a HP printer last year to replace a Canon, I have developed a loathing of HP. Sorry!:lol:


I have two HP printers, one is 17 years old, the other a wireless item a year old. The former works like new, the latter is a piece of p#o.


----------



## Dr Johnson

I nearly took a hammer to mine the other day.

One way or another, it is only a matter of time before I buy another Canon.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> I nearly took a hammer to mine the other day.
> 
> One way or another, it is only a matter of time before I buy another Canon.


I'll probably do the same with mine one day. In the meantime, as the old working printer is at the opposite end of the Wood homestead, I generally find it easier to email stuff for printing to my workplace. Saves on paper and ink too.


----------



## Vaneyes

Microsoft is getting it ready, FOR YOU (W7 and W8.1 customers).

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...pdates-pushes-even-harder-for-windows-10.html

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com...ervicing-model-for-windows-7-and-windows-8-1/


----------



## Vaneyes

Re HP printers, never again. For me, it's Canon for printers and cameras.

Other e-matters. I recently bought a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi Range Extender (EX7000), and am very happy with it. It's cleared up all dead spots, resulting in faster 'puters, iPad, and a more responsive built-in Netflix app on an older Sony 1080p TV.

This is my first foray into WiFi range extenders. There are inexpensive ones available, but I decided to go with the "sure thing" (according to reviews) for more money. It's coupling with a previously-purchased Linksys EA6400 AC1600 Dual-Band Smart WiFi Router.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Vaneyes said:


> Microsoft is getting it ready, FOR YOU (W7 and W8.1 customers).
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...pdates-pushes-even-harder-for-windows-10.html
> 
> https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com...ervicing-model-for-windows-7-and-windows-8-1/


*"At the same time, though, the new approach severely hampers your ability to recover from bad patches -- and it allows Microsoft to put anything it wants on your Win7/8.1 PC."
*

Looks like I'll be moving to Linux sooner rather than later.


----------



## Dr Johnson

While on the subject of Linux Mint, I thought I'd run this one past the team.

I know that everyone says Linux has no viruses etc etc and that may well be true (although hard to believe if one comes from Microsoft) but what concerns me is online banking and moving money about.

I was thinking of having one laptop _solely_ for online banking etc and another for all the usual stuff: Talk Classical, Amazon, Ebay, YouTube, looking at films of ladies playing netball etc.

Do you think that would provide adequate security?


----------



## KenOC

Dr Johnson said:


> *"At the same time, though, the new approach severely hampers your ability to recover from bad patches -- and it allows Microsoft to put anything it wants on your Win7/8.1 PC."*


I've never had Microsoft put anything on my PC I didn't want, and I've never known anybody who did. I've never heard or read of such a thing (aside from chancy patches early on in the Win 10 cycle, which were self-curing). Paranoia much?

My wife and I have both used our windows machines for online purchases and banking for years, no problems, using only free Microsoft-supplied virus and malware protections. The danger is from your merchants being hacked, and then it really doesn't matter what OS you use.


----------



## Dr Johnson

KenOC said:


> I've never had Microsoft put anything on my PC I didn't want, and I've never known anybody who did. I've never heard or read of such a thing (aside from chancy patches early on in the Win 10 cycle, which were self-curing). Paranoia much?
> 
> My wife and I have both *used our windows machines for online purchases and banking for years, no problems,* using only free Microsoft-supplied virus and malware protections. The danger is from your merchants being hacked, and then it really doesn't matter what OS you use.


Likewise, but soon I shall be leaving for Linux.


----------



## Vaneyes

For Linux users...

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3109184/linux/its-time-to-upgrade-to-linux-471.html


----------



## Judith

Vaneyes said:


> Re HP printers, never again. For me, it's Canon for printers and cameras.
> 
> Other e-matters. I recently bought a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi Range Extender (EX7000), and am very happy with it. It's cleared up all dead spots, resulting in faster 'puters, iPad, and a more responsive built-in Netflix app on an older Sony 1080p TV.
> 
> This is my first foray into WiFi range extenders. There are inexpensive ones available, but I decided to go with the "sure thing" (according to reviews) for more money. It's coupling with a previously-purchased Linksys EA6400 AC1600 Dual-Band Smart WiFi Router.


I agree about HP printers. One I took back to the shop and the other lasted less than a year. I too prefer Canon!!


----------



## Wood

Vaneyes said:


> For Linux users...
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/3109184/linux/its-time-to-upgrade-to-linux-471.html


The gents at Canonical should take care of that for us.


----------



## cwarchc

Vaneyes said:


> For Linux users...
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/3109184/linux/its-time-to-upgrade-to-linux-471.html


The beauty of Linux is, it evolves

as well as it's free


----------



## Dr Johnson

This afternoon I snapped and decided to take a sledgehammer to my HP printer.

Unfortunately I don't have a sledgehammer, so I thought a 12 ft/lb air rifle might provide an enjoyable way of immolating the wretched thing. Not a bit of it; supremely useless it may be as a printer but it proved to hold up to (admittedly fairly low power) projectiles with some aplomb.

I think that HP are missing a trick here and should be making body armour for combat troops, not wasting their time making printers.

In the end I put it in a vice, but it was still reluctant to go off with a good grace. Even after jumping up and down on the thing it retained some structural integrity.

For all I know it might work better now.

Mid-vice treatment:









Post jumping up and down:









I wonder if I should write to HP and suggest the body armour angle?


----------



## sospiro

Dr Johnson said:


> This afternoon I snapped and decided to take a sledgehammer to my HP printer.
> 
> Unfortunately I don't have a sledgehammer, so I thought a 12 ft/lb air rifle might provide an enjoyable way of immolating the wretched thing. Not a bit of it; supremely useless it may be as a printer but it proved to hold up to (admittedly fairly low power) projectiles with some aplomb.
> 
> I think that HP are missing a trick here and should be making body armour for combat troops, not wasting their time making printers.
> 
> In the end I put it in a vice, but it was still reluctant to go off with a good grace. Even after jumping up and down on the thing it retained some structural integrity.
> 
> For all I know it might work better now.
> 
> Mid-vice treatment:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Post jumping up and down:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder if I should write to HP and suggest the body armour angle?


 :lol:

Do you feel better now?


----------



## Dr Johnson

sospiro said:


> :lol:
> 
> Do you feel better now?


Yes. Much. :lol:


----------



## SixFootScowl

There was a guy I had worked with years ago who always said he was going to destroy his alarm clock when he retires. So when he retired, he laid the clock in front of his tire and put in a board to let the tire ride up onto the clock but not cause damage to the tire. His wife watched from the house. When he drove over the clock, she saw little pieces flying out from under the tire. Later that evening driving home from his retirement party, the oil light came on. Seems a piece of that clock shot out at pretty high speed and punctured the oil pan. At least that is the story as I heard it. But then this has nothing to do with computers but that maybe the HP printer needs to be run over by a tracked piece of construction equipment.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Florestan said:


> There was a guy I had worked with years ago who always said he was going to destroy his alarm clock when he retires. So when he retired, he laid the clock in front of his tire and put in a board to let the tire ride up onto the clock but not cause damage to the tire. His wife watched from the house. When he drove over the clock, she saw little pieces flying out from under the tire. Later that evening driving home from his retirement party, the oil light came on. Seems a piece of that clock shot out at pretty high speed and punctured the oil pan. At least that is the story as I heard it. But then this has nothing to do with computers but that maybe the HP printer needs to be run over by a tracked piece of construction equipment.


I thought about running the HP over, but after its resistance to both shot and vice I decided not to risk it. :lol:


----------



## starthrower

Anybody have a problem with the text size and desk top icons constantly increasing in size on Windows 10? My mom's new HP laptop keeps doing this.


----------



## Dr Johnson

starthrower said:


> Anybody have a problem with the text size and desk top icons constantly increasing in size on Windows 10? My mom's new *HP* laptop keeps doing this.


See above for how to deal with HP products.


----------



## starthrower

Dr Johnson said:


> See above for how to deal with HP products.


You're saying I should have Gallagher pay my mother a visit?


----------



## Dr Johnson

starthrower said:


> You're saying I should have *Gallagher* pay my mother a visit?


Sorry, you've lost me. My fault for being facetious.


----------



## Miles120

That should be the only way to deal with those bloody HP printers. 

Never had one that has lasted longer the 18 months. 

Ironically, it lasts long enough to get past the 12 months warranty, then deteriorates.

Avoid at all costs.


----------



## starthrower

Dr Johnson said:


> Sorry, you've lost me. My fault for being facetious.


Gallagher is an American comedian famous for smashing watermelons with a giant wooden sledgehammer.


----------



## Dr Johnson

starthrower said:


> Gallagher is an American comedian famous for smashing watermelons with a giant wooden sledgehammer.


Right.

I don't think a wooden sledgehammer would be enough to destroy a HP product. A steamroller would really be the ideal instrument.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> Right.
> 
> I don't think a wooden sledgehammer would be enough to destroy a HP product. A steamroller would really be the ideal instrument.


I'm not sure. This steamer tried to crush an HP scanner. look what happened.


----------



## TxllxT




----------



## Dr Johnson

TxllxT said:


>


Are they paying you?


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> I'm not sure. This steamer tried to crush an HP scanner. look what happened.


Perhaps they had skimped on the servicing.

I think this might do the trick (properly deployed):










I've ordered a Canon. Which is what I ought to have done in the first place.


----------



## KenOC

I am currently using a Canon, bought from Walmart for US$30. However, the replacement ink costs more than that. I mean---what???


----------



## Dr Johnson

KenOC said:


> I am currently using a Canon, bought from Walmart for US$30. However, the replacement ink costs more than that. I mean---what???


That's how they make their money.


----------



## Taggart

KenOC said:


> I am currently using a Canon, bought from Walmart for US$30. However, the replacement ink costs more than that. I mean---what???


The Gillette method of marketing - give the razor away and make your money selling razor blades.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> Perhaps they had skimped on the servicing.
> 
> I think this might do the trick (properly deployed):
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've ordered a Canon. Which is what I ought to have done in the first place.


Yes, at least it could be shoveled over the top of a very high cliff.

Good luck with the Canon. Will you let me know how it goes with Mint?


----------



## Wood

KenOC said:


> I am currently using a Canon, bought from Walmart for US$30. However, the replacement ink costs more than that. I mean---what???


Buy the ink from aftermarket suppliers.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> Yes, at least it could be shoveled over the top of a very high cliff.
> 
> Good luck with the Canon. Will you let me know how it goes with Mint?


Cheers. Yes, I'll let you know.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

I'll cautiously admit to having two HP printers, both elderly and both in working order - an inkjet photoprinter and a colour laserjet. A remnant of the days when the family still lived at home and we still used printers frequently for school A level projects etc.

My everyday printer is a venerable black and white Samsung laser which deals efficiently with my daily needs. I was annoyed to have to replace its predecessor when the paper feed stopped working and no-one was interested in fixing it for less than the cost of an upgrade.


----------



## TxllxT

KenOC said:


> I am currently using a Canon, bought from Walmart for US$30. However, the replacement ink costs more than that. I mean---what???


I've got a *secondhand* professional laser-printer from ... yes .... HP , which was filled to the top with all the toner-drums, for 250 Euro. I can go on printing for about 3000 - 4000 full colour copies without worrying about anything. The trouble with all these cheapish products is the expensive fill-up with ink & the lousy build quality. Go secondhand! Go professional!


----------



## SixFootScowl

I have a second hand HP printer that I got at a garage sale for free. It takes expensive ink cartridges, but the cheaper cartridges fit so that is what I have been using. Have had it for several years and it works fine. Best printer I ever had. And is makes copies and scans.


----------



## Judith

Mine went in for repair so without it for two weeks. Had three things wrong with it, very slow, two of my letters on keyboard wouldn't type and speakers fuzzy. Put new harddrive in, hadn't done keyboard or speakers so going to be without it for another two weeks. Very frustrating.


----------



## KenOC

Taggart said:


> The Gillette method of marketing - give the razor away and make your money selling razor blades.


Indeed. I have another Canon printer as well, a wide-carriage model I use for photos. It takes eight ink cartridges, which you can buy as a set for US$120. Even with that, they charged an arm and a couple of internal organs for the printer! :lol:


----------



## Vaneyes

August W10 fixes follies.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...oblem-with-windows-10-cumulative-updates.html


----------



## Art Rock

So far, I have not into any significant problems on my laptop after migrating to W10 earlier this year.

On my wife's laptop, we moved straight after buying the thing. Everything fine, except that it often shuts down in the middle of something. Tracing the error code on internet, I recently found out it is a problem that is seen rather frequently in W10, independent of laptop brand. The solution, which does appear to work, is to disable the laptop's touchpad, and work with a mouse. Unfortunately, my wife cannot work with a mouse (she gets severe cramps after a few minutes). Catch 22.


----------



## Vaneyes

I plan to use W7 until extended support ends, January 14, 2020. Unless MickeySoft sabotages it before then. 

"To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect." - Oscar Wilde


----------



## TxllxT

I use the RAW image processing program 'DxO Optics' (that makes any PC sweat) quite often and under Windows 10 I encounter the problem of working memory shortage, a problem I never had before. Windows 10 then all of a sudden shuts down programs. After restarting them the problem is over, but for sure the cause is a bug...


----------



## Wood

Art Rock said:


> So far, I have not into any significant problems on my laptop after migrating to W10 earlier this year.
> 
> On my wife's laptop, we moved straight after buying the thing. Everything fine, except that it often shuts down in the middle of something. Tracing the error code on internet, I recently found out it is a problem that is seen rather frequently in W10, independent of laptop brand. The solution, which does appear to work, is to disable the laptop's touchpad, and work with a mouse. Unfortunately, my wife cannot work with a mouse (she gets severe cramps after a few minutes). Catch 22.


I don't want to come across as Linux fanboy, but it may be that a switch could be worth considering.

I read once that when you buy a new laptop, almost inevitably pre-installed with Windows, you are given the chance to reject the Windows software on first boot, and then claim a refund for the software that you will not use. I don't buy new PCs, so I'll never be able to test whether this actually works, but I heard of someone getting £40 back.


----------



## Vaneyes

Some info on OS refund -

http://ccm.net/faq/32993-how-to-get-a-refund-for-microsoft-windows-os

Laptops to get faster?

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...tops-are-about-to-get-a-whole-lot-faster.html

Apple owes Ireland $14.5B in unpaid taxes -

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...45-billion-in-underpaid-taxes-in-ireland.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> I don't want to come across as Linux fanboy, but it may be that a switch could be worth considering.
> 
> I read once that when you buy a new laptop, almost inevitably pre-installed with Windows, you are given the chance to reject the Windows software on first boot, and then claim a refund for the software that you will not use. I don't buy new PCs, so I'll never be able to test whether this actually works, but I heard of someone getting £40 back.


It's also possible to buy new laptops or desk tops with Linux pre-installed. I am investigating that option myself at the moment.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> It's also possible to buy new laptops or desk tops with Linux pre-installed. I am investigating that option myself at the moment.


Yes and I think they are generally fairly expensive because they are constructed of top quality components.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Florestan said:


> Yes and I think they are generally fairly expensive because they are constructed of top quality components.


Certainly the ones advertised in the Linux Mint store are but I've found someone in the UK who claims to be able to make them cheaper.

We shall see, as I'm currently trying to negotiate with them. They normally install Ubuntu but I want Mint (or no OS at all, so I can install it myself).

I'll let you all know if I get any joy.

In the meantime, 2nd hand Dells seem to work fine with Mint. Don't know about Ubuntu.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> Certainly the ones advertised in the Linux Mint store are but I've found someone in the UK who claims to be able to make them cheaper.
> 
> We shall see, as I'm currently trying to negotiate with them. They normally install Ubuntu but I want Mint (or no OS at all, so I can install it myself).
> 
> I'll let you all know if I get any joy.
> 
> In the meantime, 2nd hand Dells seem to work fine with Mint. Don't know about Ubuntu.


It'd be interesting to know how you do. I last bought a new one 5 or 6 years ago (HP!) & looked at the Linux pre-installed options, but they seemed to be considerably more expensive than Windows back then.

My current strategies are to buy ex-lease HP laptops for about £80 & blag old broken machines off neighbours, colleagues and friends. The former method has worked okay, but the latter less so.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> It'd be interesting to know how you do. I last bought a new one 5 or 6 years ago (HP!) & looked at the Linux pre-installed options, but they seemed to be considerably more expensive than Windows back then.
> 
> My current strategies are to buy ex-lease HP laptops for about £80 & blag old broken machines off neighbours, colleagues and friends. The former method has worked okay, but the latter less so.


I have bought two 2nd hand Dell laptops from eBay for about 50 quid each (not simultaneously).

I will look up the chaps with whom I'm currently "in talks" and let you know their URL.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Here are the people I've been swapping emails with about building me a laptop:

https://www.entroware.com/store/laptops


----------



## TurnaboutVox

My laptop is an old HP mini 210 which came with Windows 7 preinstalled. As it couldn't run Windows 7 successfully my son suggested installing Xubuntu, which runs very well on it. I was concerned about deleting Windows so I got him to partition the hard drive so it can dual boot. I've never needed to, however.

My office desktop, a second hand Packard Bell, I bought without an OS and installed Ubuntu. My problems with Ubuntu and attempt to install Mint instead are documented upthread. I guess there may have been some hardware incompatibility issues, or possibly a corrupted Mint installation. I'm back using Ubuntu 16.04 now, relatively happily. It's a nice OS to use, if the current iteration would stop freezing and crashing when you try to open a new programme / application.

Downloading and installing these systems has been trouble free.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> Here are the people I've been swapping emails with about building me a laptop:
> 
> https://www.entroware.com/store/laptops


That is very interesting. Having a tailor made PC seems like a very good development, I really like what they are doing.

Presumably you can get a laptop either with Ubuntu or no OS so you can load Mint yourself?

For me, their most basic PC seems like all I would need, but I've no idea what having a 16GB memory, for example, can do for you.


----------



## Ralfy

For Win 7 and 8, I used a program called Aegis-VOAT to control the updates, remove telemetry, etc. I used something similar for Win 10.

I plan to use Zorin or similar operating systems via dual boot or Virtualbox.

Finally, for printers, I use a laser printer and refilled toners, and inkjets only for documents that require color.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> That is very interesting. Having a tailor made PC seems like a very good development, I really like what they are doing.
> 
> Presumably you can get a laptop either with Ubuntu or no OS so you can load Mint yourself?
> 
> For me, their most basic PC seems like all I would need, but I've no idea what having a 16GB memory, for example, can do for you.


In their last email they said they could put Mint on for me. They didn't say if they would charge for that so I've asked them. No point in paying for something I can do myself.

I've opted for a more modest 4GB of RAM.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> That is very interesting. Having a tailor made PC seems like a very good development, I really like what they are doing.
> 
> Presumably you can get a laptop either with Ubuntu or no OS so you can load Mint yourself?
> 
> For me, their most basic PC seems like all I would need, but I've no idea what having a 16GB memory, for example, can do for you.


I have just discovered this account of someone's experience of ordering and getting a laptop from Entroware:

http://bit.ly/2bHqvEq


----------



## SixFootScowl

Can order desktop and notebook computers loaded with Mint here:
https://www.linuxmint.com/store_computers.php

Other Linux computer sales here:
http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-14-3451-laptop-ubuntu/pd?oc=&l=en&s=dhs

or here 
https://system76.com/


----------



## Taggart

One site I've used in the past is Euro PC who sell refurbished Dell kit. A 17" Dell Inspiron with 8Gb Ram and a 1 Tb hard disk is around £500. Lower spec models are cheaper. At that price, you could scrub the hard disc and start again.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Florestan said:


> Can order desktop and notebook computers loaded with Mint here:
> https://www.linuxmint.com/store_computers.php
> 
> Other Linux computer sales here:
> http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-14-3451-laptop-ubuntu/pd?oc=&l=en&s=dhs
> 
> or here
> https://system76.com/


Cheers. I've already ruled out the Linux Store and System 76 as more than I'm going to pay.

I'll look at the other site.


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> I have just discovered this account of someone's experience of ordering and getting a laptop from Entroware:
> 
> http://bit.ly/2bHqvEq


Interesting, they seem like a decent kind of company and worth supporting. The blog was good too, with an article on powering a hifi system off grid via a raspberry pi. I must remember to tell Figleaf about that.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> Interesting, they seem like a decent kind of company and worth supporting. The blog was good too, with an article on powering a hifi system off grid via a raspberry pi. I must remember to tell Figleaf about that.


Indeed. I would prefer a phone number as well, but if they are a two man band (as I suspect) they probably don't want to be interrupted by endless phone calls.

There is also this lot who look interesting:

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptops/


----------



## Vaneyes

Intel unloads most of McAfee -

"As part of the deal, Intel is receiving $3.1 billion in cash. It originally bought McAfee back in 2011 for $7.7 billion -- a deal that caused some industry watchers to scratch their heads."

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3117393/security/intel-sells-off-majority-stake-in-mcafee-unit.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> Interesting, they seem like a decent kind of company and worth supporting. The blog was good too, with an article on powering a hifi system off grid via a raspberry pi. I must remember to tell Figleaf about that.


I have gone ahead and ordered a laptop from Entroware.

I'll keep you posted.


----------



## Vaneyes

'Which way with Windows? Here are your options.'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...h-way-with-windows-here-are-your-options.html


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

After much work and frustration and most of the morning in Oz- I have gone mad, no sorry that was yesterday - I have got rid of Cortana- disabled totally, not just turned off like Microsoft tell you to do - bad Microsoft bad- if you want to know how I did it just ask and no I did not use lighter fluid this time....... still my PC is not great refer below but at least not everything is at 100% or beyond!

Name  80%CPU 72% Memory 1% Disk 0% Network

and that's just running Talkclassical.................. plus a couple of other web pages.............


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Switch to using Google Chrome, was using Edge Yuck and now resources are looking better and PC is quicker

Name 21%CPU 51% Memory 0% Disk 0% Network


----------



## Taggart

Firefox is even better. Watch for Chrome running in the background. Makes it start faster but it sits there in the background much like Edge does using resources.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Biggest change was getting rid of Cortana, what a resource eating monster that is.


----------



## Genoveva

I have Windows 10 "anniversary" on each of my 3 machines: a Desktop, a 15" laptop, a 10" touchscreen notebook.

I find that Win 10 runs very reliably. I've only had one "blue screen of death" and that was my fault.

I tried Linux Ubantu on one of these and didn't like it, so I removed it.

I have disabled Cortana, and don't use Edge. I have disabled most of the other WIN 10 options. I don't need any of them.

I use "Start Menu 8" to get it to look like Windows 7, which was the best layout in my reckoning. It works fine on Win 10, although it was brought out to allow Win 8 to look like any previous version of Windows.

I'm a fan of Firefox. I like its layout best of all, and have used it for many years. I know it's very popular but I dislike Chrome, having tried it several times. I occasionally use I.E. 11 as well as Firefox.

The best E-Mail in my opinion is "Thunderbird". I've tried several others but always return to this one.

On each machine, I use "Bitdefender" free antivirus. I find this the least bothersome of all those I've tried, and I've tried loads. 

Occasionally, I run "MalwareBytes AntiMalware", especially after downloading any software I think could be dodgy. A twin product "Chameleon" is worth having too. It's software that can overcome attempts by some malware to prevent use of MWBAM itself.

A useful "utility" software is "Lockhunter" for allowing the deletion of occasional files or folders that you can't access by normal means. It finds any unnecessary lock handles that sometimes occur, and allows their removal.

Yet another is "RED": Remove Empty Directories. This is a utility for finding and deleting any empty folders, of which it's possible to have dozens lurking around in large music collections stored in Windows folders. I store all my music in Windows folders, that sometimes contain several sub-folders. If I delete a particular work sometimes the folder remains, so it's useful to have software that can find these empty folders. I once found about 300 in one go.

"Eraser" of course is a useful utility to delete files permanently, using varying degrees of certainty.

I find "MiniTool Partition Wizard" to be the best free partition software. The inbuilt Win 10 file handling utility is crude in comparison. This one is very smart.

I used to be a frequent user of "CCleaner", but I don't bother with it any more. The inbuilt C drive cleaner with Win 10 is just fine. 

I never use any kind of registry cleaner. It's far too dodgy.

For disk backup I find that "AOMEI" back up is the best and most reliable. It's the free version. I've used it a few times to recover disks and has always worked well. I've tried others but got into difficulties. 

"HWMonitor" is useful to give info on fan settings, heat of the mobo, cpu, disks, video card etc.

All these above are free, but of course one has to be very careful downloading this kind of software as it's often accompanied by all sorts of dodgy rubbish, and they often try to trick you into buying the "premium" version. After downloading any freebie, I always run MWBAM to check for viruses etc.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Genoveva said:


> I tried Linux Ubantu on one of these and didn't like it, so I removed it.


I understand that Ubantu is a bit complicated. I run Linux Mint and it is very easy to work with .


----------



## sospiro

Genoveva said:


> I have Windows 10 "anniversary" on each of my 3 machines: a Desktop, a 15" laptop, a 10" touchscreen notebook.
> 
> I find that Win 10 runs very reliably. I've only had one "blue screen of death" and that was my fault.
> 
> I tried Linux Ubantu on one of these and didn't like it, so I removed it.
> 
> I have disabled Cortana, and don't use Edge. I have disabled most of the other WIN 10 options. I don't need any of them.
> 
> I use "Start Menu 8" to get it to look like Windows 7, which was the best layout in my reckoning. It works fine on Win 10, although it was brought out to allow Win 8 to look like any previous version of Windows.
> 
> I'm a fan of Firefox. I like its layout best of all, and have used it for many years. I know it's very popular but I dislike Chrome, having tried it several times. I occasionally use I.E. 11 as well as Firefox.
> 
> The best E-Mail in my opinion is "Thunderbird". I've tried several others but always return to this one.
> 
> On each machine, I use "Bitdefender" free antivirus. I find this the least bothersome of all those I've tried, and I've tried loads.
> 
> Occasionally, I run "MalwareBytes AntiMalware", especially after downloading any software I think could be dodgy. A twin product "Chameleon" is worth having too. It's software that can overcome attempts by some malware to prevent use of MWBAM itself.
> 
> A useful "utility" software is "Lockhunter" for allowing the deletion of occasional files or folders that you can't access by normal means. It finds any unnecessary lock handles that sometimes occur, and allows their removal.
> 
> Yet another is "RED": Remove Empty Directories. This is a utility for finding and deleting any empty folders, of which it's possible to have dozens lurking around in large music collections stored in Windows folders. I store all my music in Windows folders, that sometimes contain several sub-folders. If I delete a particular work sometimes the folder remains, so it's useful to have software that can find these empty folders. I once found about 300 in one go.
> 
> "Eraser" of course is a useful utility to delete files permanently, using varying degrees of certainty.
> 
> I find "MiniTool Partition Wizard" to be the best free partition software. The inbuilt Win 10 file handling utility is crude in comparison. This one is very smart.
> 
> I used to be a frequent user of "CCleaner", but I don't bother with it any more. The inbuilt C drive cleaner with Win 10 is just fine.
> 
> I never use any kind of registry cleaner. It's far too dodgy.
> 
> For disk backup I find that "AOMEI" back up is the best and most reliable. It's the free version. I've used it a few times to recover disks and has always worked well. I've tried others but got into difficulties.
> 
> "HWMonitor" is useful to give info on fan settings, heat of the mobo, cpu, disks, video card etc.
> 
> All these above are free, but of course one has to be very careful downloading this kind of software as it's often accompanied by all sorts of dodgy rubbish, and they often try to trick you into buying the "premium" version. After downloading any freebie, I always run MWBAM to check for viruses etc.


That's a load of really useful stuff! Will save that.


----------



## sospiro

Ooops! 

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...rinters-unofficial-cartridges-software-update


----------



## Dr Johnson

sospiro said:


> Ooops!
> 
> https://www.theguardian.com/technol...rinters-unofficial-cartridges-software-update


Yet another good reason to stomp on the useless things! :lol:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Dr Johnson said:


> Yet another good reason to stomp on the useless things! :lol:


Just ..... turning my printer on a HP7510 which i put a 3rd party black cart in a week ago................
........ phew it printed ok but will keep eye on it


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

01110001001 011100001000 1010000101010 1110100000000001101010 lol


----------



## SixFootScowl

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> 01110001001 011100001000 1010000101010 1110100000000001101010 lol


010110010110111101110101011100100010000001100010011010010110111001100001011100100111100100100000011000110110111101100100011001010010000001101001011100110010000001101101011000010110110001100110011011110111001001101101011001010110010000101110

Find out what I mean here.


----------



## Barbebleu

Florestan said:


> 010110010110111101110101011100100010000001100010011010010110111001100001011100100111100100100000011000110110111101100100011001010010000001101001011100110010000001101101011000010110110001100110011011110111001001101101011001010110010000101110
> 
> Find out what I mean here.


No it's not!:lol:


----------



## sospiro

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> 01110001001 011100001000 1010000101010 1110100000000001101010 lol


Error: Malformed binary. Your binary code must be divisible by 8


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

sospiro said:


> Error: Malformed binary. Your binary code must be divisible by 8


1010101001010101010010101001010101210101010010101

For all us Binary dyslexic's out there.............. 
(01000010011010010110111001100001011100100111100100100000011001000111100101110011011011000110010101111000011010010110001100100111011100110010000001110010011101010110110001100101)

(ªUJ•j•)


----------



## KenOC

01001001001000000110100001100001011101100110010100100000011011100110111100100000011010010110010001100101011000010010000001110111011010000110000101110100001000000111010001101000011010010111001100100000011010010111001100100000011000010110110001101100001000000110000101100010011011110111010101110100


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

sospiro said:


> Error: Malformed binary. Your binary code must be divisible by 8


aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

KenOC said:


> 01001001001000000110100001100001011101100110010100100000011011100110111100100000011010010110010001100101011000010010000001110111011010000110000101110100001000000111010001101000011010010111001100100000011010010111001100100000011000010110110001101100001000000110000101100010011011110111010101110100


0100010001101111011011100010011101110100001000000111011101101111011100100111001001111001001011000010000001101110011001010110100101110100011010000110010101110010001000000110010001101111001000000100100100101110


----------



## SixFootScowl

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> 0100010001101111011011100010011101110100001000000111011101101111011100100111001001111001001011000010000001101110011001010110100101110100011010000110010101110010001000000110010001101111001000000100100100101110


01000010011101010111010000100000011010010111010000100000011100110111010001100001011100100111010001100101011001000010000001110111011010000110010101101110001000000111100101101111011101010010000001110000011011110111001101110100011001010110010000100000011101110110100001100001011101000010000001101100011011110110111101101011011001010110010000100000011011000110100101101011011001010010000001100010011010010110111001100001011100100111100100100000011000110110111101100100011001010010000000101000011100000110111101110011011101000010000000110100001101110011010000101001001011000010000001100010011101010111010000100000011010010111010000100000011000110110000101101101011001010010000001110101011100000010000001100001011100110010000001101101011000010110110001100110011011110111001001101101011001010110010000101110

conversion here


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

001100010011000100110000001100000011000100110001001100000011000000110001001100010011000000110000001100010011000100110000001100000011000100110001001100000011000000110001001100010011000000110000


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Wanna try my coded binary code............. 

89181811710736305558789570503085172578083988649753477794647728940205143445047887241834.8828115965335855
multiplied by 123456789 then add first digit 0 and truncate last digit to whole number.......... easy


----------



## sospiro

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
> View attachment 88896


D'oh

This is making my brain hurt :lol:


----------



## Dr Johnson

My Entroware Triton arrived today and I have successfully installed Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon.

Seems like a nice piece of kit.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

Dr Johnson said:


> My Entroware Triton arrived today and I have successfully installed Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon.
> 
> Seems like a nice piece of kit.


Please do let us know how you get on with Mint - you may recall that I had quite a lot of problems and quickly reverted to Ubuntu, but it was suggested that my self-installed version of Mint may have been corrupted.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Well I am using Mint Mate. Not sure how Cinnamon is.


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

This seems like a great deal


----------



## SixFootScowl

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> This seems like a great deal
> 
> View attachment 88951


My first computer had a 11 megahertz processor, a 10 Megabyte hard drive, a floppy drive, a monochrome monitor and a 9-pin dot matrix printer that took tractor feed paper (had the perforated strips on both sides). I produced a Master's thesis on that thing. Cost me about $950 in 1990.


----------



## sospiro

Florestan said:


> My first computer had a 11 megahertz processor, a 10 Megabyte hard drive, a floppy drive, a monochrome monitor and a 9-pin dot matrix printer that took tractor feed paper (had the perforated strips on both sides). I produced a Master's thesis on that thing. Cost me about $950 in 1990.


:tiphat:

Well done you!

I bet that kit would be worth a bit now as collectors items.


----------



## sospiro

The worst part of the Yahoo hack is that it looks like they tried to hide it.


----------



## Dr Johnson

TurnaboutVox said:


> Please do let us know how you get on with Mint - you may recall that I had quite a lot of problems and quickly reverted to Ubuntu, but it was suggested that my *self-installed version of Mint may have been corrupted*.


Perhaps the simplest thing would be to buy a disc from Linux mint and install it from that.

https://www.linuxmint.com/store_cds.php


----------



## Taggart

Florestan said:


> My first computer had a 11 megahertz processor, a 10 Megabyte hard drive, a floppy drive, a monochrome monitor and a 9-pin dot matrix printer that took tractor feed paper (had the perforated strips on both sides). I produced a Master's thesis on that thing. Cost me about $950 in 1990.


I started with










Z80 (8 bit) processor, twin floppy disc drives, 64kb of RAM, CPM Operating system. First job was to format a box of discs and make copies of the operating system 

We also had a dot matrix printer but because it was American we had to change to English settings - this involved swapping an EPROM on the circuit board.

Those were the days!


----------



## KenOC

My first was a Z-80, 4K of RAM, a small CRT, and a cassette player. Kind of like Taggart's. There was a chess program available for it, with graphics, that ran in 4K! Not very strong. As they say, it's not amazing that the pig sings well but that it sings at all.

Actually before that I had a TI-59, the one with the card reader, and the print cradle for it. It was, effectively, a computer, and it got me through college nicely.


----------



## KenOC

A couple of years earlier, before microcomputers, I studied Fortran in 1972. What awe we felt as we shyly passed our card decks through the window to the white-smocked acolytes of the mighty intelligence within, the holy IBM 360! We prayed that our humble offerings would well received, or would at least not bring forth divine displeasure at some elementary mistake. Most of all, as we were constantly reminded by the acolytes, our programs must never, ever, send the computer into an “infinite loop.” Punishments were never spoken of directly, which made them all the more awful to contemplate.


----------



## SixFootScowl

In college in the early 1980s I took classes in Pascal, Fortran, and Basic. Our first assignment was to write a small program and load it by punch cards. After that we got to program on the terminals. Ha! Remember terminals? Yea, before the advent of the PC. I did a lot of programming in Basic and Fortran over the next ten years, but never used Pascal again. In fact, I wrote a Fortran program for my Master's Thesis to run a Monte Carlo simulation of forest sampling to compare edge effect bias in samples with different correction methods (my Prof's method was the most accurate). It was fun.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

^Same, ^^ Same here in Uni in the early 80's at RMIT in Melbourne Oz, doing Fortran on a terminal run by a Mainframe thing (remember them) called a CDC Cyber 720 (know it was called a Cyber but not sure of the model number!!) with punch cards and paper print outs/ teleprinters etc, only a few green screens for the undergraduate students - yuck! An Infinite loop- was always good fun.............


----------



## Taggart

Looks like many of us come from the same vintage of computing. I got into it in the early 1980's too - as a second degree at the Open University - a British distance learning institution. To describe the facilities as primitive would be a gross overstatement. The provision for undergrads was a (very) basic teleprinter at a local college. It ran over the phone line at about 100 baud (on a good day).  I had a BBC micro (similar to the Apple II) with an added Z80 processor so I could run Pascal locally. I also had a modem and could get on to the system at 300 baud. By the end of the course, they were trialling modules on local PCs so that students could work much better at their own rate. Great fun.


----------



## Wood

The first computer I used was a Sinclair ZX81.









I used it to write the dissertation of my undergraduate degree, thereby saving a tidy sum on a typist. 

After staying up overnight to type the whole thing in a oner, I had a panic later the next morning when I seemed to have lost all of my work. Fortunately I discovered that a brother had realigned the head of the cassette player I had been using. Once his adjustment was reversed, I was able to print the thing out.

I had a very early lesson in the importance of backing up.


----------



## TxllxT

My first one was an Intel 385 with 'Windows 3.1' on which I wrote all the university stuff, so I guess I must be a bit younger than ^^^...


----------



## SixFootScowl

Mine had MS Dos where all commands were entered at the Dos prompt.

C: dir/p 

If I recall correctly that listed the current directory (folder) contents and paused so you could page through. Without the /p it sped past you to the end of the listing.

I did my thesis on MSWorks--a very shabby integrated word processor, spreadsheet, etc.

My first email was at work: Lotus CCMail.

Ha! Who of you remembers WISIWYG? (Wizz-e-wig) Google it if you must! :lol:


----------



## Taggart

Florestan said:


> Ha! Who of you remembers WISIWYG? (Wizz-e-wig) Google it if you must! :lol:












Dear old Wordstar under CPM - none of this WYSIWYG or rather what you *don't* get. Wordstar was a bit like using the standard editor on the site where you see all the codes. Still, it was a step up from Ed and Edlin.


----------



## KenOC

For a long time I used Microsoft Word -- not the Windows version but the DOS version, which I beta-tested as well. MS was determined to dethrone WordStar (which of course it did). One of the Word "Easter Eggs," which you could see by pressing a certain combination of keys, was an animated character-based graphic of WordStar bouncing across the landscape, and a huge foot labeled "Word" coming down from above and squashing it. Good fun!

WordStar, comfortable in a huge entrenched market share and $495 a copy pricing, refused to develop a WYSIWYG version for Windows until far too late. Microsoft didn't help because it withheld details of how to link to important APIs, so when WordStar did develop a Windows version it was slow and buggy. The courts ultimately ruled the Microsoft had to make its API's public, but by then it was far too late.

*Note*: I think I am confusing WordStar with WordPerfect in some places here.


----------



## Wood

Florestan said:


> Ha! Who of you remembers WISIWYG? (Wizz-e-wig) Google it if you must! :lol:


What You See Is What You Get.

I remember that as a considerable advance over what we had before. The detail of it is thankfully hazy.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I was using Wordstar in the early 90s and liked it a lot. They we got switched to MSWord and it is very difficult and cumbersome, but the track changes feature is invaluable in my job.


----------



## motoboy

We had the Radio Shack Tandy 1000 in the mid-eighties. It would always freeze up when I started beating it at chess or when Thorin and Co. got into the Misty Mountains.


----------



## motoboy

I was surprised to find Wordperfect is still a thing.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

I used Wordstar also

First computer I owned - TRS80 Pocket Job, was great in exams, before the Uni's worked out what you could do with one of those things :devil: Mind you the programming took some effort.............


----------



## sospiro

Because of my very slow internet speed, converting YouTubes into mp4 takes ages and by ages I mean about 4 hours for a 2½ hour complete opera.

If I set the conversion going at night or when I go out and leave it, the download stops after about an hour. If I set it going and am then active on the computer, it chugs along happily and slowly but doesn't stop. I would have thought that being active would slow the download down even more but it doesn't.

I'm using something called Freemake but I think they're all about the same.

Has anyone got any tips or suggestions on better software or a better method of converting YouTubes?


----------



## Taggart

We cannot countenance any breach of copyright.

As it stands downloading videos to a PC is an infringement of YouTube's terms and conditions. It is almost certainly illegal as well, if you do not own the copyright or have permission from the copyright holder or distribute and benefit financially from the download.

Please do not discuss this matter further. The ToS are quite clear on this:



> Members may not post/blog any messages or insert any images, nor insert URL links to any images or text that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or* otherwise in violation of any laws.
> *
> 
> Talk Classical shall not be held responsible for member-posted information that may violate copyright law.


----------



## KenOC

Got my computer upgraded to Win 10 Anniversary edition. This turned out to be a nastier process than the original update from Win 7! Anyway, it's done and all is fine.

Not a lot of difference, but the nicest part is that Edge can now use Adblock Plus. It seems to work quite nicely, and it's free!


----------



## Wood

Taggart said:


> We cannot countenance any breach of copyright.
> 
> As it stands downloading videos to a PC is an infringement of YouTube's terms and conditions. It is almost certainly illegal as well, if you do not own the copyright or have permission from the copyright holder or distribute and benefit financially from the download.
> 
> Please do not discuss this matter further. The ToS are quite clear on this:


Can we talk about Sospiro's speed of downloading video from legal sources?

Also, I feel that there is a debate to be had on this whole area of copyright law and how it seems to benefit large corporations at the expense of both listeners and artists. It is extremely relevant to TC, though there seems to be considerable reticence amongst members in broaching this topic, perhaps understandably. Can we discuss copyright law, whether we agree with it or not, and what alternatives could be put in place? Does anyone want to?

Can we discuss the legality of some of these issues? My perception is that there are grey areas, and you say 'almost certainly illegal' on this particular issue.

I've always felt that we should have this out.


----------



## Taggart

Wood said:


> Can we talk about Sospiro's speed of downloading video from legal sources?


Certainly. Things like speed tests and use of wi-fi v cable connection seem useful plus a discussion of good, fast ISPs, download managers and so forth.



Wood said:


> Also, I feel that there is a debate to be had on this whole area of copyright law and how it seems to benefit large corporations at the expense of both listeners and artists. It is extremely relevant to TC, though there seems to be considerable reticence amongst members in broaching this topic, perhaps understandably. Can we discuss copyright law, whether we agree with it or not, and what alternatives could be put in place? Does anyone want to?


Personal view. Some of this is purely political and only suitable for groups. Among friends I have noticed that performers and their friends are keener on copyright than the ordinary user. There is a possible place for it in Politics and Religion in relation to Classical Music.



Wood said:


> Can we discuss the legality of some of these issues? My perception is that there are grey areas, and you say 'almost certainly illegal' on this particular issue.
> 
> I've always felt that we should have this out.


Trouble is we're multi-national and copyright is country specific. UK is quite reasonable in getting information. The site is actually governed by Danish law about which I know less than nothing.

We have a specific party line about download sites:



Krummhorn said:


> Please be aware of any copyright issues regarding the downloading of anything off the internet. There are rogue sites (aka torrents) some of which are based within countries where there is absolutely no regard to honoring copyright laws of other regions.
> 
> Kh ♫


The important point is to be aware of a) your own local copyright laws and b) the copyright laws of the people who put the material up. Discussion of that can only be helpful to aid people in making moral choices.


----------



## Judith

Has Microsoft Windows 10 changed its systems? Now have to sign in computer using Microsoft Account instead of my own password!!


----------



## Taggart

Not necessarily.

See http://www.howtogeek.com/230543/how...local-one-after-the-windows-store-hijacks-it/ to revert back to a local account and details of how it may have been changed.

Also http://www.howtogeek.com/227763/how-to-completely-delete-your-microsoft-account/ to get rid of any microsaoft accounts you don't want.

If you are using a desktop, you might also want to consider http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-automatically-login-in-windows-10/ to set up automatic log in.

Please do *not* do this on a laptop because it is a major security breach.


----------



## Vaneyes

MickeySoft's Get Windows 10 nagware is back, though the free offer is way over. 

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...s-10-snooping-patch-kb-2952664-reappears.html


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Judith said:


> Has Microsoft Windows 10 changed its systems? Now have to sign in computer using Microsoft Account instead of my own password!!


Bloody Microsoft, first our computers then our minds........


----------



## Judith

Judith said:


> Has Microsoft Windows 10 changed its systems? Now have to sign in computer using Microsoft Account instead of my own password!!


I have since found out that Microsoft has done an Anniversary Upgrade. Just does it suddenly and you don't get a choice, (I was in the middle of doing some work)and the whole system has changed including log-in. Have to sign in with Microsoft Account!!


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

^ Bast**ds....................


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

My Damn windows just did the update thing too - so has to kill Cortana all over again.............


----------



## SixFootScowl

I just did updates on my Linux Mint OS and kept on surfing TC while it updated.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> My Damn windows just did the update thing too - so has to kill Cortana all over again.............


Just had to dispose of Cortana again 3rd time lucky..................


----------



## Genoveva

Judith said:


> I have since found out that Microsoft has done an Anniversary Upgrade. Just does it suddenly and you don't get a choice, (I was in the middle of doing some work)and the whole system has changed including log-in. Have to sign in with Microsoft Account!!


I downloaded the "Anniversary" upgrade of Win 10 soon after it was released a few months ago.

As far as I'm concerned, it's very similar to the previous version.

I've not had any trouble with the "Anniversary" upgrade, except that I noticed that "system protection" was turned off for some inexplicable reason. I don't know whether this is now corrected.

To check the situation, go to start/control panel/system. In the "restore settings" box, enable "Turn on system protection". Then create a system restore point.


----------



## Judith

Another problem. Had to put phone on factory re-set due to virus!!


----------



## Judith

Genoveva said:


> I downloaded the "Anniversary" upgrade of Win 10 soon after it was released a few months ago.
> 
> As far as I'm concerned, it's very similar to the previous version.
> 
> I've not had any trouble with the "Anniversary" upgrade, except that I noticed that "system protection" was turned off for some inexplicable reason. I don't know whether this is now corrected.
> 
> To check the situation, go to start/control panel/system. In the "restore settings" box, enable "Turn on system protection". Then create a system restore point.


Thank you. Will try that!


----------



## Vaneyes

Yahoo email snooping.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3128849/government/yahoos-email-snooping-its-all-legal.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

Vaneyes said:


> Yahoo email snooping.
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/3128849/government/yahoos-email-snooping-its-all-legal.html


Depressing reading.


----------



## Vaneyes

Yahoo tries to minimize its email deserters.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...orwarding-as-privacy-controversies-swirl.html

A recap of the Yahoo gang that couldn't shoot straight. Microsoft offers nearly $45B in 2008. It's rejected. The 2016 Verizon offer of $4.8B is accepted. But now Verizon may want a $1B discount because of email concerns.


----------



## Vaneyes

Lawmakers want answers on Yahoo email spying.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...want-answers-on-yahoo-email-surveillance.html

Mickeysoft goes backward on their word.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...-surface-pro-3-owners-with-bad-batteries.html


----------



## Wood

Dr Johnson said:


> My Entroware Triton arrived today and I have successfully installed Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon.
> 
> Seems like a nice piece of kit.


How are you doing with this Dr J?


----------



## Dr Johnson

Wood said:


> How are you doing with this Dr J?


So far, so good. Not sure how robust the keyboard is but time will tell.


----------



## Vaneyes

June '16 article -

'Why Firefox will continue to lose market share'

http://www.ghacks.net/2016/06/09/why-firefox-will-continue-to-lose-market-share/

Oct. '16 article -

'4 big changes coming soon to Firefox'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3136644/open-source-tools/4-big-changes-coming-soon-to-firefox.html


----------



## Judith

Judith said:


> Another problem. Had to put phone on factory re-set due to virus!!


Had to do it again yesterday due to another virus at the same time as re-loading printer as that wouldn't work properly on computer. Typewriter. Please come back!! All is forgiven!!


----------



## Pugg

Judith said:


> Had to do it again yesterday due to another virus at the same time as re-loading printer as that wouldn't work properly on computer. Typewriter. Please come back!! All is forgiven!!


Try eBay, I am sure you can find one.


----------



## Vaneyes

Mickeysoft ends sales of W7 to OEMs.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...-sales-of-windows-7-professional-to-oems.html


----------



## SixFootScowl

Microsoft joins the Linux Foundation


----------



## Vaneyes

IT career picture.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3148821/it-careers/7-hiring-trends-for-2017.html


----------



## SixFootScowl

Vaneyes said:


> IT career picture.
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/3148821/it-careers/7-hiring-trends-for-2017.html


Thanks, Good info. I am sending it to my son who is in college for IT Security and transitioning to programming.


----------



## hpowders

Florestan said:


> Thanks, Good info. I am sending it to my son who is in college for IT Security and transitioning to programming.


Thanks, Dad!


----------



## SixFootScowl

hpowders said:


> Thanks, Dad!


So TC member hpowders has retired from the site and TC member Rocco has changed his name to hpowders. Pretty sneaky son. So how long as this been the case?


----------



## hpowders

Florestan said:


> So TC member hpowders has retired from the site and TC member Rocco has changed his name to hpowders. Pretty sneaky son. So how long as this been the case?


Better for me. I hated being confused with that flying squirrel! :lol::lol:


----------



## KenOC

A useful trick I just learned, if you have Windows and Office. I often want to grab some text from a JPG or PDF file but haven’t been able to do it. For instance, an excerpt from CD liner notes or whatever. Here’s how.

Open the Microsoft Snipping Tool (it’s in Windows 10). Drag a rectangle around what you want and capture it. Save the clip as a file to your desktop. (I suppose you can use any similar screen grabber utility for this.)

Now, open OneNote (it’s in Office). Import the clip as a picture. Right-click on the picture and you will find an option to copy the text out of it, which you can then paste into Word or Notepad or whatever.

I find it’s pretty accurate and needs little editing. Post if there’s an easier way!

BTW I just used this trick to capture a long passage from an Amazon book page, one of those where you can “look inside” the book. Amazon won’t let you copy the text in the book, but you can do it easily enough this way.


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> Open the Microsoft Snipping Tool (it's in Windows 10). Drag a rectangle around what you want and capture it. Save the clip as a file to your desktop. (I suppose you can use any similar screen grabber utility for this.)


Sounds a lot like a screen shot but directed. On my Linux I can select whole desktop, current window, or select area for a screenshot. So it goes into a pgn file on mine. Handy tool.


----------



## KenOC

Florestan said:


> Sounds a lot like a screen shot but directed. On my Linux I can select whole desktop, current window, or select area for a screenshot. So it goes into a pgn file on mine. Handy tool.


Yes, I don't think the basic Microsoft OS can capture anything but the full screen, so it's nice they included this little utility. I used to use a program called SnagIt for this, but it got too big and complex, a bad case of featuritis.

Added: I notice the Snipping Tool can also capture any open window.


----------



## Vaneyes

Apple crumble.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/23/technology/consumer-reports-macbook-pro/index.html


----------



## starthrower

Anybody know why my HP laptop battery begins to drain if the ac power is disconnected only for a minute? Even after it's plugged in again this happens. I bought a new battery and it's doing the same thing. I usually have to shut down for several hours for the battery to re-charge, and then only after several days of doing this will the battery charge while the computer in started up.


----------



## Vaneyes

starthrower said:


> Anybody know why my HP laptop battery begins to drain if the ac power is disconnected only for a minute? Even after it's plugged in again this happens. I bought a new battery and it's doing the same thing. I usually have to shut down for several hours for the battery to re-charge, and then only after several days of doing this will the battery charge while the computer in started up.


It's apparently happened with other hp users. Google "hp battery drain", and you may find a solution.:tiphat:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Does anyone else get annoyed by the Action Centre in windows 10- find it a waste of time that it tells you that you have an email- like der I can see it in outlook I don't need Action Centre to tell me also errrrrr MicroSoft****


----------



## KenOC

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Does anyone else get annoyed by the Action Centre in windows 10- find it a waste of time that it tells you that you have an email- like der I can see it in outlook I don't need Action Centre to tell me also errrrrr MicroSoft****


Turn on "quiet hours." Should work.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/18273-quiet-hours-turn-off-windows-10-a.html

And there's an "official" way to change how notifications are processed..

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4111-notifications-apps-turn-off-windows-10-a.html


----------



## Judith

Charged phone overnight, switched on went to safe mode!!!! Prominent apps weren't there and nearly lost twitter and facebook account! What's that about????


----------



## Vaneyes

Windows 7 SP3 rumor.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...nent-release-of-windows-7-service-pack-3.html


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Judith said:


> Charged phone overnight, switched on went to safe mode!!!! Prominent apps weren't there and nearly lost twitter and facebook account! What's that about????


Apple Scruffs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_scruffs


----------



## Dan Ante

Is anyone still using Vista apart from me ?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dan Ante said:


> Is anyone still using Vista apart from me ?


Had Vista but gave it up a few years ago and switched to Linux Mint.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

I could be still using 3.1 but no I'm not. Vista isn't that what you need now to get into the EU from the UK..........


----------



## Vaneyes

MickySoft, the gang that can't shoot straight, yanks Windows 7 disinformation.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...et-windows-10-for-a-secure-and-modern-it.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Supercomputer race.

http://www.computerworld.com/articl...inds-trump-that-supercomputing-is-a-race.html


----------



## Judith

Just wondering what security everyone uses for computers etc? I am just renewing McAfee which I have used for a while. Used to use Norton!


----------



## TxllxT

Judith said:


> Just wondering what security everyone uses for computers etc? I am just renewing McAfee which I have used for a while. Used to use Norton!


Many, many years already I use free Avast! Just do not enter the no go areas of the internet, be careful with clicking and nothing will happen.


----------



## SixFootScowl

My family was using is Bitdefender free version. But most of us have been on Linux OS for several years and not using AV software.


----------



## Vaneyes

TxllxT said:


> Many, many years already I use free Avast! Just do not enter the no go areas of the internet, be careful with clicking and nothing will happen.


I've used Avast Free for over a decade, and with the exception of a rare screwed-up version update, or when they tried to over-extend the product with redundant bloatware, I've been very happy with it.

Regarding redundancy, it still exists, but a custom install solves that with easy selection choices. File System Shield is a must. For the rest of the components, decide for yourself, depending on your current security make-up.


----------



## Vaneyes

US travel ban and techies.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3162715/h1b/trump-immigration-ban-means-a-war-with-tech.html


----------



## DeepR

I'm still using Avast free version as well. It has blocked a few things here and there. 
They pulled a few tricks over the years, but nothing that made me switch to another AV. 
Sometimes you may want to disable a new component that you didn't ask for. And you may want to disable their e-mail signature that they ninja added without persmission. To disable annoying popups simply enable silent/gaming mode.


----------



## cwarchc

Florestan said:


> My family was using is Bitdefender free version. But most of us have been on Linux OS for several years and not using AV software.


Same here.
However, be aware Linux is not "totally" risk free


----------



## SixFootScowl

cwarchc said:


> Same here.
> However, be aware Linux is not "totally" risk free


Right, and I wish I knew more about that. I believe I do have a firewall, but not sure what else is needed. It seems more of a thing where the hackers have focused on Microsoft OS.


----------



## Vaneyes

Net Neutrality

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...to-save-net-neutrality-rules-under-trump.html


----------



## Vaneyes

'Why do hackers prefer Linux?'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3122590/linux/why-do-hackers-prefer-linux.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Windows OS support info.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...w-about-windows-10-versions-and-lifespan.html


----------



## Vronsky

Judith said:


> Just wondering what security everyone uses for computers etc? I am just renewing McAfee which I have used for a while. Used to use Norton!


I have Malwarebytes Premium and Microsoft Security Essentials combo. Malwarebytes is excellent, the Internet protection has high quality. I used Avast free with Malwarebytes on my previous PC, but Microsoft Security Essentials is good for now, I don't have any problems.


----------



## KenOC

I used the free Microsoft Security Essentials for some years, and now Defender, again free, which comes with the current Windows and is installed by default. Defender is just an updated version of Security Essentials and works the same -- set it and forget it.

Never a problem in all those years.


----------



## Vaneyes

"Ransomware 'customer support'"

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...port-chat-reveals-criminals-ruthlessness.html

Free anti-ransomware tools to combat these ********.

http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-anti-ransomware-tools


----------



## Vaneyes

*AMD Naples Chip*

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...r-dominance-with-new-32-core-naples-chip.html


----------



## Judith

Help! Finding it more difficult to buy CDs. With streaming, can you download to computer and burn to a disc? Can you also do it with a USB stick?


----------



## Taggart

Judith said:


> Help! Finding it more difficult to buy CDs. With streaming, can you download to computer and burn to a disc? Can you also do it with a USB stick?


Copyright is a nightmare. Please check your local laws.

With streaming you can not (legally) download *anything*. You pay (or have to endure adverts) for listening to a track but do not own it.

With mp3 downloads (or better quality) you pay per track or per album. You own the mp3 file but cannot (usually) burn it to CD. This is usually stated in the small print of the service. There are some exceptions e.g. CD Baby which makes music available via mp3 *and* allows you to burn it to disc.

Sometimes a disc is only available as a download and you *shouldn't* burn it to disc.

The simple ethical position is that the mp3 should only be playing on one device at a time. It doesn't matter if it's a PC, a phone, an mp3 player, a usb stick or whatever. Fair use generally allows you to make a backup copy but it also means that you can only use one copy of the file at a time. Check the local copyright situation.

Under no circumstances should you give a friend a copy or (worse) sell copies.

A usb stick is similar to an mp3 player, so if you own the file, you can put it on a usb stick provided only copy is in use at any time.

Please be aware that TC cannot countenance *any* breach of copyright. Posts suggesting illegal or unethical methods will be deleted.


----------



## Vaneyes

'How to remove ransomware: Use this battle plan to fight back'
http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...mware-use-this-battle-plan-to-fight-back.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Judith said:


> Help! *Finding it more difficult to buy CDs. * With streaming, can you download to computer and burn to a disc? Can you also do it with a USB stick?


Judith, do you mean because of cost, or availability? If it's the latter, retailers such as Arkiv Music or Presto Classical offer licensed copies of out-of-print CDs. Not all, but many of them. Cheers. :tiphat:


----------



## Vaneyes

Taggart said:


> Copyright is a nightmare. Please check your local laws.
> 
> With streaming you can not (legally) download *anything*. You pay (or have to endure adverts) for listening to a track but do not own it.
> 
> With mp3 downloads (or better quality) you pay per track or per album. You own the mp3 file but cannot (usually) burn it to CD. This is usually stated in the small print of the service. There are some exceptions e.g. CD Baby which makes music available via mp3 *and* allows you to burn it to disc.
> 
> Sometimes a disc is only available as a download and you *shouldn't* burn it to disc.
> 
> The simple ethical position is that the mp3 should only be playing on one device at a time. It doesn't matter if it's a PC, a phone, an mp3 player, a usb stick or whatever. Fair use generally allows you to make a backup copy but it also means that you can only use one copy of the file at a time. Check the local copyright situation.
> 
> Under no circumstances should you give a friend a copy or (worse) sell copies.
> 
> A usb stick is similar to an mp3 player, so if you own the file, you can put it on a usb stick provided only copy is in use at any time.
> 
> Please be aware that TC cannot countenance *any* breach of copyright. Posts suggesting illegal or unethical methods will be deleted.


"Copyright is a nightmare. Please check your local laws....Please be aware that TC cannot countenance *any* breach of copyright. Posts suggesting illegal or unethical methods will be deleted."

Curious. What if a TC poster posted something that they did or do, that wasn't/isn't copyright infringement in their country, and specified that it wasn't, but could be in another country? Would that post still be deleted?


----------



## Judith

Vaneyes said:


> Judith, do you mean because of cost, or availability? If it's the latter, retailers such as Arkiv Music or Presto Classical offer licensed copies of out-of-print CDs. Not all, but many of them. Cheers. :tiphat:


Because of availability of CDs!! I want to use streaming or mp3 as a last resort!

Will Arkiv or Presto send in the UK?


----------



## Taggart

Vaneyes said:


> "Copyright is a nightmare. Please check your local laws....Please be aware that TC cannot countenance *any* breach of copyright. Posts suggesting illegal or unethical methods will be deleted."
> 
> Curious. What if a TC poster posted something that they did or do, that wasn't/isn't copyright infringement in their country, and specified that it wasn't, but could be in another country? Would that post still be deleted?


As long as copyright was respected the post would be OK.

Part of the problem is the differences in local laws.

The other problem is that some things are "accepted" but are both illegal and against the terms of service of the provider e.g. downloading from You Tube or other streaming services.


----------



## Vaneyes

Judith said:


> Because of availability of CDs!! I want to use streaming or mp3 as a last resort!
> 
> Will Arkiv or Presto send in the UK?


Presto Classical is in the UK, so yes. Arkiv Music is in the US and mails to the UK.:tiphat:

Links to their licensed copies for out-of-print CDs (Presto CD, Arkiv CD):

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/prestocd.php

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/AlbumGroup?album_group=8

Another out-of-print option is used CDs at Amazon (UK) Marketplace. Conditions - "Good", "Very Good", "Like New".


----------



## Vaneyes

Microsoft sued for damage caused by W10 free upgrade.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...ws-10-upgrade-destroyed-data-damaged-pcs.html


----------



## Guest

Now that internet privacy has been destroyed by the White House, is anyone considering a VPN? (Virtual Private Network) Does anyone currently use one, and if so, how do you like it?


----------



## Vaneyes

IT jobs.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3186503/technology-business/go-west-young-techies-for-it-jobs.html


----------



## Krummhorn

Kontrapunctus said:


> Now that internet privacy has been destroyed by the White House, is anyone considering a VPN? (Virtual Private Network) Does anyone currently use one, and if so, how do you like it?


Some VPN's contain IP addresses that are being used to register on our site have been rejected as being known to promote spamming/hacking. Those that are known are then blacklisted on an international database, a site that Forum admins have access for and an API key for entering data when a spammer is found and banned on our site.

The forum software automatically checks the IP and Email address of new registrations against this international database. If their Email or IP shows up on that list the registration is terminated.

Seems that VPN's are just as subject to spam/hacking as are public networks.


----------



## Becca

Florestan said:


> My family was using is Bitdefender free version. But most of us have been on Linux OS for several years and not using AV software.


BIG MISTAKE ... Linux malware does exist. Use Clamav. If you have your own mail server then Spamassassin


----------



## SixFootScowl

Becca said:


> BIG MISTAKE ... Linux malware does exist. Use Clamav. If you have your own mail server then Spamassassin


Point taken. If it connects to the web it can be hacked.


----------



## Guest

Krummhorn said:


> Seems that VPN's are just as subject to spam/hacking as are public networks.


I guess hackers gonna hack...


----------



## MissKittysMom

I'm new here, and just noticed this thread, with the usual discussions of AV software, viruses, and such. As a software engineer who develops web applications, I'll offer some bits of advice.

1. Trust nothing. If something looks suspicious, be suspicious.

2. Never, ever, connect directly to the internet. This is rare any more, and connecting through a wireless network provides at least this much protection, noting that...

3. Routers can be hacked, and frequently are. If it's your home network, at a minimum, change the network name (SSID), as well as the admin user and password. Put a good security password on your network access. Very few people keep their router software up to date, but if there is any question about your router, update to the latest software. If it's a public network, give it minimal trust.

4. Keep all of your software up to date, especially your operating system and browsers. That means latest version and automated updates. This applies to applications, too; Adobe software is a favorite target.

5. Anti-virus software no longer offers much protection. There are too many other attack vectors, and in any case, by the time AV software can find a problem, the problem is already on your system. Integrated tools embedded in the operating system (e.g., Windows Defender) are still useful, because they know best where to clean up the mess.

6. Any web site with advertising is a risk. Most sites get their ads through ad broker networks, and can deliver malware unknowingly.

7. If something comes up during web browsing that looks are acts suspiciously, don't interact with it. Do not click on popups, messages, or anything else. Even the back button and the close button can be intercepted. 

8. "Social engineering" is real. Malware often looks very legitimate, imitating down to every detail a real web site or application. If a web page tells you that your Flash player is out-of-date, or that you have a virus, or that you need to call some "support center" for assistance, it is probably malware. Don't respond.

9. Most modern browsers will give clues about certain problems. Secure sites will use secure protocols that use encryption, and require certificates. This may be indicated by a "lock" symbol on the address bar, a green background in the address bar, or other signs. They may also warn you about certificate errors before a page loads. Secure sites always use a secure protocol - "https://" at the start of the web page address, instead of "http://". Sites such as Facebook and YouTube use https protocol for everything now. If your browser hides this, click on the address bar and you should see the full web page address. Also note the domain name of the web page; if it looks suspicious, it probably is.

10. Know how to kill your browser without touching it. In Windows, right-click on the task bar, open Task Manager, select your browser application, and click "End Task."

11. The best protection against ransomware is good backups. Some of the newer ransomware simply deletes data; there is no "restore."

12. Be smart about passwords. Passwords managers are one option. Don't use obvious passwords, like "password". Pass-phrases (16 characters or longer) are better than short passwords with numbers and punctuation, although you don't always have a choice.


----------



## SixFootScowl

^ And if you have a password recovery set of quesitons. Don't use the real answers. 

It is much harder for them to figure out the answer to "what is your mother's maiden name" or "favorite pet" if you put random characters rather than your mother's maiden name or favorite pet name, which are pieces of info that can be obtained, especially if you are on social networks and talk a lot about your personal life.


----------



## Klassik

Florestan said:


> ^ And if you have a password recovery set of quesitons. Don't use the real answers.
> 
> It is much harder for them to figure out the answer to "what is your mother's maiden name" or "favorite pet" if you put random characters rather than your mother's maiden name or favorite pet name, which are pieces of info that can be obtained, especially if you are on social networks and talk a lot about your personal life.


Good advice. A lot of those answers would be obvious to someone who knows the person reasonably well.



Florestan said:


> Point taken. If it connects to the web it can be hacked.


It does not even have to be on the web! I came across a story this week about how Smart TVs can be hacked even if they are never connected to the web. Of course, I think it was Vizio that was caught setting up their smart TVs to connect to any available Wi-Fi connection even if the user told it not to so it could "phone home." Perhaps the best advice here is to sell your smart TV and spend more time listening to classical CDs on your good ole dumb CD player.

Smart TV hack embeds attack code into broadcast signal-no access required - https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/smart-tv-hack-embeds-attack-code-into-broadcast-signal-no-access-required/


----------



## SixFootScowl

Klassik said:


> Good advice. A lot of those answers would be obvious to someone who knows the person reasonably well.


And the bad guys can mine info. A little here, a little there, and before long they have quite a lot of info on you.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Do any of you Linux users use Firejail?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> Do any of you Linux users use Firejail?


Is that for running Microsoft type .exe files? Never done it.


----------



## Dr Johnson

It may be able to run MS .exe files but I use it as a sandbox in which to run Pale Moon, Firefox and Thunderbird.

https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/security#TOC-Secure-your-web-browser


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> It may be able to run MS .exe files but I use it as a sandbox in which to run Pale Moon, Firefox and Thunderbird.
> 
> https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/security#TOC-Secure-your-web-browser


Interesting because those programs will run on Linux anyway, so what is the advantage? I thought using a sandbox to run MS programs would open you up to MS oriented viruses.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Florestan said:


> Interesting because those programs will run on Linux anyway, so what is the advantage? I thought using a sandbox to run MS programs would open you up to MS oriented viruses.


"You can run Firefox, Google Chrome and Chromium from within a secured sandbox called Firejail, which enhances the security of those web browsers greatly."

from https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/security#TOC-Secure-your-web-browser

Of course Firefox etc can run on Linux without a sandbox.

This article explains more cogently than I can the possible advantages of Firejail:

http://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2015/173/Firejail


----------



## Vaneyes

Re W10 data collection.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...at-data-windows-10-collects-from-your-pc.html


----------



## SixFootScowl

Becca said:


> BIG MISTAKE ... Linux malware does exist. Use Clamav. If you have your own mail server then Spamassassin


My personal Linux expert says,



> Yes it can exist, but is very difficult to run because you have to allow a program to run, unlike windows.
> 
> Clamav is what you use if you want to check the system for windows viruses. Nothing to do with Linux malware.


Furthermore, the site Dr. Johnson posted says



> Antivirus software and rootkit removers
> 1.1. You don't need antivirus software or rootkit removers in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian. And they even decrease your security(!) Below I'll explain why I'm against installing antivirus.
> 
> a. Antivirus is useless
> A virus or rootkit can't install itself in Linux. Mainly because of this: in order to install on your computer, a virus or rootkit needs your password. And that it doesn't have.
> 
> Furthermore, you generally only install software from the secured "software store" (repositories) of your Linux distribution. This is a very effective barrier against malware.
> 
> Therefore there are no Linux viruses or rootkits "in the wild" (with the exception of web servers, but securing web servers is quite a different cup of tea).


----------



## Becca

My business IS Unix/Linux security and what I see posted is nonsense...

- Clamav does more than Windows viruses
- There most definitely are Linux rootkits in the wild
- As to needing root password, somebody seems to have forgotten about artificial privilege escalation and it isn't hard, I know, I've written it into some security applications.
- Unless your are running a browser in a sandbox, there are ways for malware code to be executed without your knowledge.

I suggest that some folks need to spend some time reading the various SANS newsletters. Of course if you don't believe it, just leave your system open that's a great way to find out who is right.


----------



## Taggart

Vaneyes said:


> Re W10 data collection.
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...at-data-windows-10-collects-from-your-pc.html


Another attempt to re-install the usual bloatware and change all your settings.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Becca said:


> My business IS Unix/Linux security and what I see posted is nonsense...
> 
> - Clamav does more than Windows viruses
> - There most definitely are Linux rootkits in the wild
> - As to needing root password, somebody seems to have forgotten about artificial privilege escalation and it isn't hard, I know, I've written it into some security applications.
> - *Unless your are running a browser in a sandbox,* there are ways for malware code to be executed without your knowledge.
> 
> I suggest that some folks need to spend some time reading the various SANS newsletters. Of course if you don't believe it, just leave your system open that's a great way to find out who is right.


Hence my use of Firejail. 

BTW, I'd be interested to know your opinion on using chkrootkit and rkhunter in Linux.


----------



## Becca

For those "experts" who insist on saying that there is no Linux malware...

_...the Amnesia malware is the first Linux malware to adopt virtual machine evasion techniques to defeat malware analysis sandboxes. Virtual machine evasion techniques are more commonly associated with Microsoft Windows and Google Android malware. Similar to those, Amnesia tries to detect whether it's running in a VirtualBox, VMware or QEMU based virtual machine, and if it detects those environments it will wipe the virtualized Linux system by deleting all the files in file system. This affects not only Linux malware analysis sandboxes but also some QEMU based Linux servers on VPS or on public cloud._


----------



## Becca

Dr Johnson said:


> Hence my use of Firejail.
> 
> BTW, I'd be interested to know your opinion on using chkrootkit and rkhunter in Linux.


I use and recommend chkrootkit. Hopefully it never detects anything but I'd rather take the time to scan regularly rather than find out that I should have!

Of the two, chkrootkit is kept much more up to date.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Becca said:


> I use and recommend chkrootkit. Hopefully it never detects anything but I'd rather take the time to scan regularly rather than find out that I should have!
> 
> Of the two, chkrootkit is kept much more up to date.


Thank you.


----------



## Guest

Taggart said:


> Copyright is a nightmare. Please check your local laws.
> 
> With streaming you can not (legally) download *anything*. You pay (or have to endure adverts) for listening to a track but do not own it.
> 
> With mp3 downloads (or better quality) you pay per track or per album. You own the mp3 file but cannot (usually) burn it to CD. This is usually stated in the small print of the service. There are some exceptions e.g. CD Baby which makes music available via mp3 *and* allows you to burn it to disc.
> 
> Sometimes a disc is only available as a download and you *shouldn't* burn it to disc.
> 
> The simple ethical position is that the mp3 should only be playing on one device at a time. It doesn't matter if it's a PC, a phone, an mp3 player, a usb stick or whatever. Fair use generally allows you to make a backup copy but it also means that you can only use one copy of the file at a time. Check the local copyright situation.
> 
> Under no circumstances should you give a friend a copy or (worse) sell copies.
> 
> A usb stick is similar to an mp3 player, so if you own the file, you can put it on a usb stick provided only copy is in use at any time.
> 
> Please be aware that TC cannot countenance *any* breach of copyright. Posts suggesting illegal or *unethical *methods will be deleted.


Of course, there are many who would argue that proprietary software is unethical and an attack on our personal freedom. Perhaps it would be equitable if you also deleted any posts promoting non-free software.


----------



## Taggart

Tulse said:


> Of course, there are many who would argue that proprietary software is unethical and an attack on our personal freedom. Perhaps it would be equitable if you also deleted any posts promoting non-free software.


The ToS are quite clear on this:



> Members may not advertise nor insert URL links to any commercial or non-commercial products or websites within their personal profile page, within blogs, nor in threads/posts. You may post promotional links within the designated area(s): The »Classifieds« forum, only if they apply solely to Classical Music and no other genre, unless given express permission by the owners of Talk Classical.


----------



## Guest

Taggart said:


> The ToS are quite clear on this:


There is a misunderstanding. Perhaps I have been unclear.  I did not mean promoting in the sense of 'advertising and promotion'.

I was referring to the advocation and recommendation of proprietary software being acceptable on this forum when in fact it is seen by many to be unethical. As such, the ethical position regarding mp3 files is not as simple as you assert.


----------



## SixFootScowl

> Members may not advertise nor insert URL links to any commercial or non-commercial products or websites within their personal profile page, within blogs, nor in threads/posts. You may post promotional links within the designated area(s): The »Classifieds« forum, only if they apply solely to Classical Music and no other genre, unless given express permission by the owners of Talk Classical.


I must not understand this or else am violating it. Sometimes I post an Amazon link to a particular recording so others can listen to the sound clips. Is that a violation? Also I may have at times posted a link to a listing that was a great deal so others could partake as they may.

I assume a link to just a picture of a CD from Amazon, but not the actual listing, is okay.


----------



## Becca

> *Members may not* advertise nor *insert URL links to any* commercial or *non-commercial* products or *websites* within their personal profile page, within blogs, nor in threads/posts. You may post promotional links within the designated area(s): The »Classifieds« forum, only if they apply solely to Classical Music and no other genre, unless given express permission by the owners of Talk Classical.


This is so broadly worded as to render the majority of the Current Listening posts as violating the ToS


----------



## Guest

Kontrapunctus said:


> Now that internet privacy has been destroyed by the White House, is anyone considering a VPN? (Virtual Private Network) Does anyone currently use one, and if so, how do you like it?


I use a paid for VPN service though I will not renew it when it expires. It has minor niggles, but the main problem is that you need to trust the VPN provider. I understand that in the US (at least) the government can force the VPN providers to release any data they require and instruct them not to tip off the client that their data has been released.

Better security would be to encrypt your data before it leaves your device, by using Tor. I plan to look into this. Do any of the linux users on here have any experience of, or knowledge about Tor?


----------



## Vaneyes

'30% of malware is zero-day'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...e-is-zero-day-missed-by-legacy-antivirus.html


----------



## Becca

Vaneyes said:


> '30% of malware is zero-day'
> 
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...e-is-zero-day-missed-by-legacy-antivirus.html


From that article...

_The leading exploit category was Linux trojans, which look for open Linux devices to turn into zombies. A close second was droppers, which typically deliver ransomware and banking Trojans._


----------



## Guest

Becca said:


> From that article...
> 
> _The leading exploit category was Linux trojans, which look for open Linux devices to turn into zombies. A close second was droppers, which typically deliver ransomware and banking Trojans._


What does 'zero day', droppers and 'zombies' mean?


----------



## Guest

Tulse said:


> I use a paid for VPN service though I will not renew it when it expires. It has minor niggles, but the main problem is that you need to trust the VPN provider. I understand that in the US (at least) the government can force the VPN providers to release any data they require and instruct them not to tip off the client that their data has been released.
> 
> Better security would be to encrypt your data before it leaves your device, by using Tor. I plan to look into this. Do any of the linux users on here have any experience of, or knowledge about Tor?


I tried the Tor browser, but it was unacceptably slow for even normal browsing, and now that I'm downloading a lot of hi-res files (that I pay for!), I can't imagine how long it would take for even one recording to download--probably a day or more!


----------



## Vaneyes

Just in time for Easter. This week's MS Patch Tuesday is their last security support for* Windows Vista*, one of MickeySoft's biggest turkeys.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/31...three-actively-exploited-vulnerabilities.html


----------



## Judith

Just having a moan! In the middle of doing some work, computer decides to restart and configurate which took a while! Annoying!!


----------



## SixFootScowl

Judith said:


> Just having a moan! In the middle of doing some work, computer decides to restart and configurate which took a while! Annoying!!


I don't miss those forced restarts. Switched to Linux a couple years ago and no more forced restarts. Updates are manually started and run in the background and do not require restarting.


----------



## Klassik

So a lawsuit has been filed against Bose claiming that the Bose Connect app is collecting and sending information back to Bose about what users listen to with their Bose wireless headphones.

http://www.pcmag.com/news/353181/lawsuit-claims-bose-wireless-headphones-are-spying-on-you

I wonder what Bose and the third party marketers think of someone who listens to a lot of Bach and the Spice Girls. They ought to be fed some interesting ads.


----------



## Vaneyes

Spyware article.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3191727/security/theres-now-a-tool-to-test-for-nsa-spyware.html


----------



## Vaneyes

More on Net Neutrality.

https://www.freepress.net/press-rel...-will-ignore-internet-users-and-bury-evidence


----------



## Judith

Got a new phone and there is an app loaded called "Flipboard" which looks interesting. Anyone know about it and what is it?


----------



## Vaneyes

Malware for MacOS.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3193...lware-spies-on-encrypted-browser-traffic.html

What's coming for Chrome.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3193...-start-warning-you-more-about-http-pages.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Judith said:


> Got a new phone and there is an app loaded called "Flipboard" which looks interesting. Anyone know about it and what is it?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipboard


----------



## Vaneyes

Net Neutrality update.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3193...hear-a-challenge-to-net-neutrality-rules.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Warning on VPN router.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3194...ng-on-vpn-router-3-high-priority-caveats.html

iPhone8 rumors.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3126154/hardware/iphone-8-rumors.html

Ransomware update.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3193981/security/report-average-ransomware-demand-now-over-1000.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Flights and laptops.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3196146/it-industry/dhs-likely-to-expand-laptop-ban-on-flights.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Internet pioneer Vinton Cerf.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3193...-affair-with-tech-and-what-s-coming-next.html

Facebook fined.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3197...sleading-european-commission-over-merger.html


----------



## Klassik

Does anyone remember the Commodore Amiga? Well, new Amigas are still being made with updated software. It seems like a rip-off at $1,840, but at least it's something new for the handful of Amiga enthusiasts. The Amiga was a real multimedia powerhouse back in the day. Anyway, here's a review of the newest Amiga model:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/the-a-eon-amiga-x5000-reviewed-the-beloved-amiga-meets-2017/


----------



## Vaneyes

Browser talk regarding enterprises.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3198...rosofts-browsers-sidelined-on-its-own-os.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Klassik said:


> Does anyone remember the Commodore Amiga? Well, new Amigas are still being made with updated software. It seems like a rip-off at $1,840, but at least it's something new for the handful of Amiga enthusiasts. The Amiga was a real multimedia powerhouse back in the day. Anyway, here's a review of the newest Amiga model:
> 
> https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/the-a-eon-amiga-x5000-reviewed-the-beloved-amiga-meets-2017/


Another greener option at a high price point.


----------



## Vaneyes

Airlines don't mind nickel-diming their customers for considerable profit. However, little of this seems to be going into IT improvement. Latest example is British Airways.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3198...-airways-data-center-causes-flight-chaos.html


----------



## KenOC

The better airlines still have complimentary cabin pressurization.


----------



## Vaneyes

Windows 7

http://www.itworld.com/article/3199373/windows-pcs/mays-windows-numbers-windows-7-digs-in.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Cyber attackers favorite days. 

http://www.itworld.com/article/3199997/phishing/don-t-like-mondays-neither-do-attackers.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/09/cracked_labs_surveillance_capitalism/

*For example, a person's mobile phone usage could affect the ability to get a loan. The Cracked Labs report describes how Singapore-based Lenddo calculates credit scores based on online behavior. It assesses mobile data, browser data, application data, transactional data from telecom companies, and web and social network data.

"The company even includes computer mouse click data and data about how people fill out web forms," the report explains. "In this vein, 'always running out of battery' might impact one's credit score; conversely, an extremely well-maintained smartphone might raise a red flag in the system, too."
*


----------



## KenOC

A scary surprise. I went to my computer just now and there was a big notice on the screen with a drawing of a padlock in it. Looked very much like what you get with that ransomware virus that encrypts all your files!

Fortunately, the fine print said it was only Microsoft asking me to review my privacy settings in advance of a major Windows 10 update. With some relief, I clicked “Remind me later.”

Not sure I appreciate that sort of attention, at least given that way.


----------



## Dr Johnson

http://www.news.com.au/technology/o...e/news-story/3e60aa78393affd8e89a6692dbbc426f

Let's see if this works.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> Creepy new website makes its monitoring of your online behaviour visible:


Hmmm, URL did not go into your link.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Florestan said:


> Hmmm, URL did not go into your link.


Sorted. See above.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Help! Why do Microsoft keep giving me a pop-up notification saying my Firewall facility is switched off when I've been using the one provided by McAfee since I bought this laptop 18 months ago? I've checked my McAfee current status and their Firewall is in operation. This has only cropped up in the last week or so but the repeated messages are getting irksome.


----------



## Taggart

elgars ghost said:


> Help! Why do Microsoft keep giving me a pop-up notification saying my Firewall facility is switched off when I've been using the one provided by McAfee since I bought this laptop 18 months ago? I've checked my McAfee current status and their Firewall is in operation. This has only cropped up in the last week or so but the repeated messages are getting irksome.


For the time being, turn the notification off in the Control Panel - Security and Maintenance - Change Security and Maintenance settings screen. Then check the McAfee site to see what the problem is.


----------



## Vaneyes

elgars ghost said:


> Help! Why do Microsoft keep giving me a pop-up notification saying my Firewall facility is switched off when I've been using the one provided by McAfee since I bought this laptop 18 months ago? I've checked my McAfee current status and their Firewall is in operation. This has only cropped up in the last week or so but the repeated messages are getting irksome.


Part of the help will depend on what OS you're using. XP was relatively simple in changing notifications.

McAfee forums may be a good place to start. A sample...

https://community.mcafee.com/thread/106638

A pat answer is often uninstall/reinstall. Cheers! :tiphat:

PEE-ESS:

Should it apply.

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/antivirus-protection-expired-next


----------



## elgar's ghost

Thanks for the replies, Taggart and Vaneyes - on further investigation the use of the McAfee Firewall facility is acknowledged by Microsoft in the Security & Maintenance section so I have removed the tick from the Firewall message alert box and double-checked the McAfee Firewall status.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

FOd, they can monitor me as much as they want, they will see Zappa and Varese and lots of them and plenty of STI posts.....


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

FFS, they can monitor me as much as they want, they will see Zappa and Varese and lots of them and plenty of STI posts.....


----------



## Vaneyes

Mozilla says Firefox 54 is, "Just right." I doubt it, but good luck to them. 

http://www.itworld.com/article/3201...a-upgrades-firefox-more-processes-please.html


----------



## Bettina

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> FFS, they can monitor me as much as they want, they will see Zappa and Varese and lots of them and plenty of STI posts.....


If they monitor me, they'll see plenty of TMI posts! :lol:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Bettina said:


> If they monitor me, they'll see plenty of TMI posts! :lol:


TMI??

Terrific Music Insightful posts?


----------



## Bettina

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> TMI??
> 
> Terrific Music Insightful posts?


Thank you so much for the compliment, but I'm actually using TMI to mean Too Much Information! Many of my posts reveal stuff that people would probably rather not know, about my panties and all the things that are going on down there! :lol:


----------



## Vaneyes

Bettina said:


> Thank you so much for the compliment, but I'm actually using TMI to mean Too Much Information! Many of my posts reveal stuff that people would probably rather not know, about my panties and all the things that are going on down there! :lol:


Then there are the foxfire browsers.


----------



## Klassik

Bettina said:


> Thank you so much for the compliment, but I'm actually using TMI to mean Too Much Information! Many of my posts reveal stuff that people would probably rather not know, about my panties and all the things that are going on down there! :lol:


Given all the advanced web advertising tracking these days, I'm sure you're getting a lot of pantyliner commercials whenever you load Beethoven videos on YouTube! In fact, I'm sure the pantyliner companies are lining up to sponsor Bettina's upcoming Vaginal Monologue (yes, I know that isn't exactly the name of them. Blame the TC censors!) about her experiences when she listens to Beethoven!  Now that's something worth Talking Classical about!


----------



## Bettina

Klassik said:


> Given all the advanced web advertising tracking these days, I'm sure you're getting a lot of pantyliner commercials whenever you load Beethoven videos on YouTube! In fact, I'm sure the pantyliner companies are lining up to sponsor Bettina's upcoming Vaginal Monologue (yes, I know that isn't exactly the name of them. Blame the TC censors!) about her experiences when she listens to Beethoven!  Now that's something worth Talking Classical about!


I would gladly star in a pantyliner commercial if anyone asks me. Beethoven's "Scene by the brook" could be the soundtrack.


----------



## KenOC

My computer just upgraded itself to the "Creator's build" of Windows 10, build 1703. It took over an hour! Finally finished and I can't see that anything has changed. Well, at least it still works!


----------



## Klassik

KenOC said:


> My computer just upgraded itself to the "Creator's build" of Windows 10, build 1703. It took over an hour! Finally finished and I can't see that anything has changed. Well, at least it still works!


Wouldn't build 1 be the creator's build? Who else were doing the other 1,702 builds?  But, hey, at least it works. With Windows 10, one must temper their expectations!


----------



## Vaneyes

IT leaders enter The New Twilight Zone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/donald-trump-tech-leaders-faces_us_59487fb3e4b0cddbb008efc1


----------



## Vaneyes

In some respect, Google says it won't spy on you any longer. 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/23/technology/business/google-ad-scanning-email-stop/index.html


----------



## Klassik

Vaneyes said:


> In some respect, Google says it won't spy on you any longer.
> 
> http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/23/technology/business/google-ad-scanning-email-stop/index.html


They're still spying, just in one less area I guess. Google is, fundamentally, an advertising/data mining company above all else.


----------



## Vaneyes

Klassik said:


> They're still spying, just in one less area I guess. Google is, fundamentally, an advertising/data mining company above all else.


And they continue being spanked/fined around the world for it. 

Related:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...d-21bn-fine-abusing-internet-search-monopoly/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...f443171f6bd_story.html?utm_term=.c36cb547b53d

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_litigation

https://www.forbes.com/companies/google/


----------



## Vaneyes

Latest ransomware news via Avast.

https://blog.avast.com/


----------



## Art Rock

An employee from Microsoft called me to warn me about a problem with my PC. What amused me is that it was a guy with an Indian accent - a nice attention to detail. I told them to XXXX off. Sad though that there are still people fooled by this scam.


----------



## Klassik

Art Rock said:


> An employee from Microsoft called me to warn me about a problem with my PC. What amused me is that it was a guy with an Indian accent - a nice attention to detail. I told them to XXXX off. Sad though that there are still people fooled by this scam.


That was a scam obviously, but Microsoft does have a lot of Indian employees. Their CEO is, in fact, a native of India. You would hear a lot of Indian accents if you visited Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, WA.


----------



## Vaneyes

Windows OS numbers.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3199373/windows-pcs/mays-windows-numbers-windows-7-digs-in.html


----------



## Vaneyes

July 12, 2017 will be a massive, Internet-wide day of action to save Net Neutrality.

Info, if interested. :tiphat:

https://www.battleforthenet.com/july12/


----------



## Art Rock

Klassik said:


> That was a scam obviously, but Microsoft does have a lot of Indian employees. Their CEO is, in fact, a native of India. You would hear a lot of Indian accents if you visited Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, WA.


Yes, I know. That's why I said "a nice attention to detail".


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Art Rock said:


> An employee from Microsoft called me to warn me about a problem with my PC. What amused me is that it was a guy with an Indian accent - a nice attention to detail. I told them to XXXX off. Sad though that there are still people fooled by this scam.


Your PC has the same problem as mine with windows, who would have guessed. Although they have not managed to call me for a follow up diag since I moved 800 miles 

Last time they called from India I told them that I've just got them double glazed to solved the problem.....:lol:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

I hate windows 10 it sucks, not as much as windows 8 but it still sucks big ones.............


----------



## Pugg

Art Rock said:


> An employee from Microsoft called me to warn me about a problem with my PC. What amused me is that it was a guy with an Indian accent - a nice attention to detail. I told them to XXXX off. Sad though that there are still people fooled by this scam.


I had this just 5 minutes ago, same accent and I told him to stick his scams where the sun don't shine.
F#ck you was his answer, so polite . :lol:


----------



## Judith

Mobile phone rather than computer. Bought new Sansung J5 16gb to increase storage as problems with last one. Within three months went from 50gb to 85gb. Not got that many apps but every time it updates, it eats storage. Help!


----------



## Klassik

Judith said:


> Mobile phone rather than computer. Bought new Sansung J5 16gb to increase storage as problems with last one. Within three months went from 50gb to 85gb. Not got that many apps but every time it updates, it eats storage. Help!


Perhaps there are some apps on the phone that you can uninstall if you don't need them. A lot of phones come with a bunch of junk on them that can be uninstalled without you losing anything you need.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> I had this just 5 minutes ago, same accent and I told him to stick his scams where the sun don't shine.
> F#ck you was his answer, so polite . :lol:


Might try the old sales call trick. Act interested then suddenly interrupt with, "just a minute something came up I'll be right back, don't go away." Stick the phone receiver on the table and forget about it. See how long the sucker waits before they hang up. :lol:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Pugg said:


> I had this just 5 minutes ago, same accent and I told him to stick his scams where the sun don't shine.
> F#ck you was his answer, so polite . :lol:


Hey they told me to F#ck you too......Maybe they are lurking on TC too


----------



## Pugg

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Hey they told me to F#ck you too......Maybe they are lurking on TC too


No way José ( F word part) :devil:


----------



## ST4

The whole phone scam stuff is so widely mocked that I find it hard to be sympathetic for people that fool for it, just like those damn lazy dating scams. It's 101 we are talking about lol, if you haven't seen their face and spoken to them in person (or skype at the least, online) to know that they are really your future significant other, you'd have to be stupid to give them your credit card details :lol:

As for phone scams, those are fun to respond to


----------



## Vaneyes

As the Google Tax World Turns.

http://www.itworld.com/article/3207767/internet/google-wins-1-3b-tax-ruling-in-europe.html


----------



## Vaneyes

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Hey they told me to F#ck you too......Maybe they are lurking on TC too


*
"Mr. Eddie, STI referred you."

*


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Vaneyes said:


> *
> "Mr. Eddie, STI referred you."
> 
> *


Who you after.......... hang on I just get the wife


----------



## Tallisman




----------



## Vaneyes

A full stack engineer's tale.

https://hackernoon.com/my-week-at-soundcloud-385e25c65d33

Related:

http://seanfeeney.name/2015/05/what-is-a-full-stack-engineer/


----------



## Vaneyes

"Internet Association" should choose another name.

http://thehill.com/policy/technolog...-blasts-net-neutrality-group-over-ad-campaign


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Vaneyes said:


> "Internet Association" should choose another name.
> 
> http://thehill.com/policy/technolog...-blasts-net-neutrality-group-over-ad-campaign


What to Idiots Anonymous


----------



## KenOC

Just a note. My wife's PC tried a couple of days ago to update to the new version of Windows 10. It got stuck. After a couple of reboots it gave up and thankfully restored the existing version. This morning it said it would try again and asked for a good time. My wife said 1:00 PM since she would be out. It did that, and this time successful. Another crisis passed!


----------



## SixFootScowl

My new office computer came with Windows 10, but they have some features of 10 disabled (for security I presume). As it turns out, I hardly notice a difference from the old computer which had Windows 7 NT, but for the different menu on the start button. My big complaint is the Windows Picture Viewer is not there, so photos and jpg files open in Internet Explorer. Googling tells me the viewer is there, but need to run a registry mod to make it show up. Our IT folks won't let us do any changes like that, and when I put in a request they gave me some other funky viewer that does not have the feature to scroll through a folder of pictures, so I have to open each picture separately. Oh well.


----------



## Taggart

Ask them to get you irfanview. It's also a picture editor as well and will scroll through a folder.

Trouble with many of the microsoft apps is their idea of security - none - they just love to phone home and let people know what you're doing.


----------



## KenOC

I too use Irfanview and have for years.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Taggart said:


> Ask them to get you irfanview. It's also a picture editor as well and will scroll through a folder.
> 
> Trouble with many of the microsoft apps is their idea of security - none - they just love to phone home and let people know what you're doing.


What they gave me is Microsoft Office Picture Manager which I now see does have scroll arrows. I just did not see the tiny arrows at first. It seems as good as the old photo viewer, so now I am all set.

They also gave me GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), which I have had at home on my Linux OS for a couple years and just can't figure out, so use Kolorpaint (Similar to MS Paint) instead. However, I recently discovered enough about GIMP to go in and do a rotation to any angle, copy it, and then paste it back into paint. That is great because Kolorpaint and MS paint only do 90 degree rotations.


----------



## Belowpar

Heeeellllllllpppppppppppppppp!

I know we need a new laptop. 

Use it for surfing, storing photos, word, excel semi work basis

Watch DVDs (I've been told "that's old hat daddy-o! download" ) I will if I want to! But can see in future may download more so need the memory.

So biggish screen with a good memory? Simple right?

Anyone care to quantify what these mean, Inches and bytes in an easy to follow way please.

I have spent money recently 0n a 9 year old Macbook pro and a Dell and they still wont work many applications. IN future I want to trade in for a new model every 5 years, so I dont want this years most expensive top of the range stuff. I hope never to gain any expertise in this or ever again pay someone to 'upgrade'. So I would appreciatee any simple help you can offer.

PS Buying in UK so who from is also useful.


Thank you in advance. 



PS I've got used to Word etc and don't get Apple so easily


----------



## Taggart

Try https://www.europc.co.uk/

I got a basic Dell inspiron 17 from Dell outlet http://www.dell.com/uk/dfh/p/?~ck=mn&dgc=IR&cid=271561&lid=5090164#

Basically 17" screen, 16Gb memory and 1Tb hard drive - desktop replacement.


----------



## Klassik

Belowpar said:


> Heeeellllllllpppppppppppppppp!
> 
> I know we need a new laptop.
> 
> Use it for surfing, storing photos, word, excel semi work basis
> 
> Watch DVDs (I've been told "that's old hat daddy-o! download" ) I will if I want to! But can see in future may download more so need the memory.
> 
> So biggish screen with a good memory? Simple right?
> 
> Anyone care to quantify what these mean, Inches and bytes in an easy to follow way please.
> 
> I have spent money recently 0n a 9 year old Macbook pro and a Dell and they still wont work many applications. IN future I want to trade in for a new model every 5 years, so I dont want this years most expensive top of the range stuff. I hope never to gain any expertise in this or ever again pay someone to 'upgrade'. So I would appreciatee any simple help you can offer.
> 
> PS Buying in UK so who from is also useful.
> 
> Thank you in advance.
> 
> PS I've got used to Word etc and don't get Apple so easily


I would suggest a business class laptop if you want it to last for a while. Maybe get one with an on-site extended warranty. Dell, HP, and Lenovo all have business class lines. This is a US spec one, but it has a built-in DVD drive. http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-probook-640-g2-notebook-pc-(energy-star)-p-v1p73ut-aba--1


----------



## KenOC

If you're feeling frugal, you might look for reconditioned computers. I recently bought a nice 3-GHz Dell desktop with 8 GB of Ram, a one-TB hard drive, Windows 10, plus new (cheap) keyboard and mouse for USD 150 from Amazon. Working perfectly!

They have reconditioned corporate laptops at similar savings. When I was working, I always had a laptop for travelling and used it in the office as well with external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. That was a happy configuration.


----------



## Klassik

One recommendation I would make is to buy a laptop with an SSD instead of a conventional hard drive unless you need a lot of storage space. SSDs are a lot faster than conventional hard drives and will make computing a lot more snappy. As always, however, you want to be sure to back up all your important files.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Microsoft is killing legendary Paint after 32 years


----------



## Klassik

Florestan said:


> Microsoft is killing legendary Paint after 32 years


My dad brought home a Microsoft bus mouse back in the 1980s. It came with Paint (then called Paintbrush) on a 5.25" floppy and a thick owner's manual for Paintbrush. Those were the days! :lol:


----------



## Taggart

Florestan said:


> Microsoft is killing legendary Paint after 32 years


They just hit ctrl Z - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/25/microsoft_paint_on_windows_store/


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Damn thats what I use to do my pics.........


----------



## SixFootScowl

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Damn thats what I use to do my pics.........


This is what I use on my Linux OS. Similiar to MSPaint for what I do:
http://kolourpaint.sourceforge.net/about.html


----------



## Dr Johnson

If you don't have KDE there is Pinta:

https://pinta-project.com/pintaproject/pinta/


----------



## Vaneyes

Worst-kept IT secret--Adobe to kill Flash.

http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/343650-adobe-to-kill-off-flash-by-2020


----------



## Judith

Anyone else had massive Windows 10 update? Takes off my photo on screensaver so having to put it in again!


----------



## KenOC

Florestan said:


> Microsoft is killing legendary Paint after 32 years


Not so fast. "Microsoft suggested it would not remain on Windows 10 by default but did say it would be available for free on the Windows Store. Its successor, Paint 3D, will be part of the Windows 10 package."


----------



## Klassik

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Damn thats what I use to do my pics.........


I usually print them out first and then...oh wait...that's not what you're talking about! :lol:

Did you do my portrait on MS Paint?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> If you don't have KDE there is Pinta:
> 
> https://pinta-project.com/pintaproject/pinta/


Thanks for posting that. I see it is in the Software Center on my Linux OS so I installed it (all of about a minute) and checked it out. I like that it will rotate a selection to any angle, unlike MSPaint and Kolourpaint which only go at 90 degree intervals. I was having to use the extremely complex GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) to do such rotations. I may switch over to Pinta entirely depending on how it feels with further use.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Klassik said:


> I usually print them out first and then...oh wait...that's not what you're talking about! :lol:
> 
> Did you do my portrait on MS Paint?


You got it ....................:lol:


----------



## Vaneyes

Best software developers.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/32...t-software-developers-not-silicon-valley.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Kaspersky, friend or foe?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ab-has-been-working-with-russian-intelligence


----------



## DeepR

I'd like to recommend this beautiful, free piece of software which is mostly made by just one person(!)

http://spaceengine.org/

It's not a game. All you can do is move around through a 3D universe. It looks great and contains a lot of real objects (stars) from our milky way. And of course our solar system, all extrasolar planets and over 10.000 galaxies. Next to that there are literally endless procedurally generated galaxies, stars and planets. You can turn the procedural part on or off. You can also hover over planet and moon surfaces with rudimentary landscapes (still a nice touch).

You can travel through our solar system and watch the rings and moons of Saturn go around with some nice ambient music in the background. I find this very relaxing.

The interface is not too complex. Just hover over the buttons with your mouse and see what it does.
The controls are not that hard either (W,A,S,D... Q, E, R F, and mouse-buttons/movement and mousewheel for speed up or down; it goes all the way from meters per second to kilo-lightyears per second, or faster. :lol:

There's also a galaxy map. But you can simply click on any object you see, right mouse -> go to. Or type in the destination at one of the options.

(I guess it helps if you have a little experience with 3D games that often have similar controls. And a graphics card that isn't too shabby)

Traveling without moving, it's simply amazing.


----------



## Flamme

Whaat bout this bitcoin frenzy...? My cousin seems to earn some serious dough from it and he isnt computer savy to say at least...


----------



## Vaneyes

Google has a HR firestorm on its hands, and its CEO is playing firefighter.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/07/technology/google-anti-diversity-memo-engineer/index.html


----------



## Vaneyes

FWIW W7 update today, then wireless mouse didn't work (cursor freezing). Pulled out USB receiver, put back in. Device driver automatically searched for, and installed. All's well again. :tiphat:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17417/windows-mouse-touchpad-keyboard-problems

Later edit: Never mind. Can't blame this one on Windows Update. 'Twas a faulty USB receiver. First time for that.


----------



## Guest

I'm having an iTunes problem. I imported a bunch of CDs, and when I dragged the titles I wanted from Recently Added to a playlist, they stayed greyed-out as if they are placeholders or something! I've made such lists in the past using this method with no problems. Any suggestions?


----------



## Guest

I solved it. I think the problem was I was copying straight from the files to the playlist on my iPod instead of creating playlists on iTunes first, then transferring them to my iPod. Seems like an unnecessary step, but that's just a quirk of iTunes!


----------



## georgedelorean

Figured I'd spread the wealth around so to speak. There are two extensions I use for Firefox which are Ad Block Plus, and Facebook Purity. In regards to computer health and speed, I use: JRT (Junk Registry Cleaner), Slim Cleaner, Slim Computer, Anvi Smart Defender, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Anti-Malware Realtime Guard. Hope those might benefit some of you.


----------



## TxllxT

Yesterday Windows 10 commanded an update for itself. Today 'Outlook 2007' showed a Scandinavian language (Swedish I guess) in the display of a lot of buttons. Now I'm busy with getting my Dutch version of Outlook back. THX Microsoft!


----------



## TxllxT

TxllxT said:


> Yesterday Windows 10 commanded an update for itself. Today 'Outlook 2007' showed a Scandinavian language (Swedish I guess) in the display of a lot of buttons. Now I'm busy with getting my Dutch version of Outlook back. THX Microsoft!


Microsoft acknowledges there is an issue with the september update changing the language display of Outlook.


----------



## KenOC

The US government has banned Kaspersky anti-virus software from government departments. There's a fear, evidently, of the software delivering spyware and so forth (nothing like this has ever been demonstrated). Russian company founder Eugene Kaspersky is not happy.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41267221


----------



## Judith

Tried to update a table on word 2013, when saving it lost table and text and just kept header. Trying to system restore to see if I can get it back again!! Any other ideas?


----------



## Taggart

File history
Automatic (word) backup file
Other backup

You'll need to be able to see hidden files for the next two

search for *.wbk Word Backup files
search for auto saved versions aka autorecovery*.*

start in your root username folder - you may need to copy them soemwhere safe before you start to look at them.

Depends what you have. Best of luck.


----------



## Judith

KenOC said:


> The US government has banned Kaspersky anti-virus software from government departments. There's a fear, evidently, of the software delivering spyware and so forth (nothing like this has ever been demonstrated). Russian company founder Eugene Kaspersky is not happy.
> 
> http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41267221


Thought I hadn't seen Kaspersky in shops for a while!


----------



## Judith

Taggart said:


> File history
> Automatic (word) backup file
> Other backup
> 
> You'll need to be able to see hidden files for the next two
> 
> search for *.wbk Word Backup files
> search for auto saved versions aka autorecovery*.*
> 
> start in your root username folder - you may need to copy them soemwhere safe before you start to look at them.
> 
> Depends what you have. Best of luck.


Thank you. Been in touch with Currys Know How and they think there is a virus so having to do a full scan and get back to them in the morning!


----------



## DeepR

Since you can't change it manually, here's a simple program to change the startup sound in Windows 7 (make sure the "Play Windows Startup Sound" setting is enabled).

http://ccm.net/download/download-23680-startup-sound-changer

And here's what I changed it into, the ending of Sibelius' 7th 

https://app.box.com/s/fjkp8r3tttmcr6k67mllhg0rowqtdeu8


----------



## Dr Johnson

Microsoft being shifty:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/...ows_10_patches_punch_holes_in_older_versions/

"While it's not realistic to expect a vendor to maintain major updates and produce patches indefinitely for older software versions, as many as half of all Windows users are still running Windows 7 and 8 - meaning millions of people are being put at risk by Windows 10's security improvements, ironically.

Windows 8.1 is supposed to receive monthly security fixes until January 10, 2023, and for Windows 7, January 14, 2020."


----------



## KenOC

Interesting news -- players of the board game Go will appreciate this.
---------------------------------------------
Google's DeepMind says it has made another big advance in artificial intelligence by getting a machine to master the Chinese game of Go without help from human players.

The AlphaGo program, devised by the tech giant's AI division, has already beaten two of the world's best players. It had started by learning from thousands of games played by humans.

But the new AlphaGo Zero began with a blank Go board and no data apart from the rules, and then played itself.

Within 72 hours it was good enough to beat the original program by 100 games to zero.
...
[David Silver] enthuses about an idea some may find rather scary - that in just a few days a machine has surpassed the knowledge of this game acquired by humanity over thousands of years. "We've actually removed the constraints of human knowledge and it's able, therefore, to create knowledge itself from first principles, from a blank slate," he said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41668701


----------



## Couchie

"But the new AlphaGo Zero began with a blank Go board and no data apart from the rules" - In other words the computer has no idea what it's doing or what the purpose of the data set it is producing is, it's merely brute forcing a set of algorithms (something computers have always been terrific at) and being told "pass or fail" in order to configure a dumb neural network. This crap should not be called AI or compared to symbolic human knowledge which understands context. If the size of the game board is changed the computer's 3000 years of "knowledge" would completely fail, whereas a human player's knowledge is still valid.


----------



## TxllxT

KenOC said:


> Interesting news -- players of the board game Go will appreciate this.
> ---------------------------------------------
> Google's DeepMind says it has made another big advance in artificial intelligence by getting a machine to master the Chinese game of Go without help from human players.
> 
> The AlphaGo program, devised by the tech giant's AI division, has already beaten two of the world's best players. It had started by learning from thousands of games played by humans.
> 
> But the new AlphaGo Zero began with a blank Go board and no data apart from the rules, and then played itself.
> 
> Within 72 hours it was good enough to beat the original program by 100 games to zero.
> ...
> [David Silver] enthuses about an idea some may find rather scary - that in just a few days a machine has surpassed the knowledge of this game acquired by humanity over thousands of years. "We've actually removed the constraints of human knowledge and it's able, therefore, to create knowledge itself from first principles, from a blank slate," he said.
> 
> http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41668701


Now what will happen if two Google's DeepMinds play Go together? Will it just get busted, or will a real game develop?


----------



## KenOC

Couchie said:


> If the size of the game board is changed the computer's 3000 years of "knowledge" would completely fail, whereas a human player's knowledge is still valid.


But the computer would be totally up to speed with the new board in three days. Could a human player say the same?


----------



## KenOC

TxllxT said:


> Now what will happen if two Google's DeepMinds play Go together? Will it just get busted, or will a real game develop?


Humans match off their consumer-grade chess computers all the time. Most such computers can be set to play themselves as well -- there are even some online chess computers that will do this.

_Added_: Go was long considered a reasonably safe haven for humans because the huge number of variations involved made brute-force lookahead methds, such as used by chess computers, impractical.

But more generalized strategic algorithms were developed, largely by the Go computer itself examining many thousands of historical top level games and determining what was likely to work and what wasn't. The result: "In May 2017, AlphaGo beat Ke Jie, who at the time continuously held the world No. 1 ranking for two years, winning each game in a three-game match."

The point of this article is that the new computer developed its algorithms purely by playing against itself, and was able to best the older version (which was at least as strong as the world's strongest player) 100 times straight without having ever seen an actual game of Go as played in the real world.

So the new computer was given only the rules and the objective of the game. It developed its own tactics and strategies in just three days and became what is likely the world's strongest Go player. Some might consider that pretty darned close to artificial intelligence.


----------



## Couchie

KenOC said:


> But the computer would be totally up to speed with the new board in three days. Could a human player say the same?


Humans have to play very slowly, while even my own computer's GPU can do trillions of calculations per second and play a mind boggling-number of games in the time I have made my first move. This is nothing new. We know computers are good at opening and closing transistors real fast. Big whoop.

The question is intelligence, which is nothing if not the ability to take local experience, infer abstract understanding, and inductively apply that knowledge to new situations through an innate understanding of cause and effect.

Deepmind is merely brute-forcing a specific optimization problem applicable only to that specific problem. Useful, especially in optimizing real-world problems such as business processes and protein folding, but not intelligence. The "intelligence" is the humans who interpret what AlphaGo is actually doing, such recognizing the set of optimized opening moves it has guessed after a huge number of games.


----------



## KenOC

Couchie said:


> The question is intelligence, which is nothing if not the ability to take local experience, infer abstract understanding, and inductively apply that knowledge to new situations through an innate understanding of cause and effect.


It seems to me that you are not addressing the issue of a computer's "intelligence" but limiting the definition of intelligence to remove the computer from consideration entirely. If a human could become a world-class Go player in three days, and without even cracking a Go book, we might reasonably assume that he or she was pretty darned smart!

PS -- Pushing electrons around and solving problems by brute force may seem crude, but it could be sufficient to determine who is the master and who is the servant. Maybe it already has!


----------



## Couchie

KenOC said:


> It seems to me that you are not addressing the issue of a computer's "intelligence" but limiting the definition of intelligence to remove the computer from consideration entirely. If a human could become a world-class Go player in three days, and without even cracking a Go book, we might reasonably assume that he or she was pretty darned smart!
> 
> PS -- Pushing electrons around and solving problems by brute force may seem crude, but it could be sufficient to determine who is the master and who is the servant. Maybe it already has!


Human functions *are* the holy grail of AI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligence

We already know that computers are more "intelligent" at performing quick calculations. A rock is also much more intelligent than humans at keeping one's form for millions of years.


----------



## TxllxT

If two computers are able to play Go or Chess at the brutest force intelligent level imaginable, who cares or who will spent time to analyse these games? Only computer tuners, not Go or Chess players. As soon as the risk of making mistakes / unwise moves becomes zero, our attention level decreases as well to such a level.


----------



## Taggart

KenOC said:


> If a human could become a world-class Go player in three days, and without even cracking a Go book, we might reasonably assume that he or she was pretty darned smart!
> 
> PS -- Pushing electrons around and solving problems by brute force may seem crude, but it could be sufficient to determine who is the master and who is the servant. Maybe it already has!


Um ... Over those 3 days, the computer played more games than most people would play in several lifetimes. As the computer progressed, it began by recognising the standard patterns which people use, but it also developed new ones.

The machine it beat 100 0 was an early version of the orignal program. Against the latest version, it has a 90% record.

OK the big question is can it explain what it did and show the superiority of its strategies?

In some ways, we're asking the same questions about this as we do about computer proofs. We know that the 4 colour map problem is solved because we can't find a counter example and we can show that we have completely searched the solution space. Does that mean that the 4 colour problem is trivial? Are we looking for some new, elegant insight to "really" prove it?


----------



## KenOC

Taggart said:


> OK the big question is can it explain what it did and show the superiority of its strategies?


I'd say yes. Circuitry could be designed to allow the machine to show certain configurations of stones and how they would likely play out. That's all a human could do if asked the same.

But I think the implied question is, can the machine really _know _what it did? That question can't be answered, now or ever. After all, the person sitting next to me has no way of demonstrating that he/she actually _knows _something and isn't just producing some supposed fact from memory or whatever. Is that person even conscious? They may say they are, but it could be just the programming speaking…


----------



## philoctetes

But did the same machine also take time to plan its day, go to work, clean the house, cook dinner, pay the bills, and fix the car? It wouldn't have a clue.

Just read an interesting review of the new Bladerunner on NYROB. Have not seen movie yet.

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/10/20/blade-runners-immaterial-girls/

I recently got a Raspberry Pi and become quite fond of it. Anybody else tried one?


----------



## philoctetes

In other MS news, I just learned that my Office 2007 is no longer supported, and it's no secret that Office is a bugfest. But once more, Linux is there with an alternative, so goodbye Office.

I'm running Debian on an old HP laptop that came with Vista. It can also rip CDs that are copy-protected (Warner), so it's become a pretty valuable piece of junk.


----------



## philoctetes

With enough computing power, the universe of possible games can be simulated and stored for instant recall. So any move on any layout can be ranked in terms of probability of success. This is what people did with blackjack in the 70s. Very good players are able to memorize numerous action tables (hit/double/stand etc) that vary depending on the card count as well as the dealer's cards.

For go, the memory required for such tables simply has to favor the computer at some point, and my guess is that it does less thinking (algorithm) and simply more table lookups (recall).


----------



## Guest

philoctetes said:


> In other MS news, I just learned that my Office 2007 is no longer supported, and it's no secret that Office is a bugfest. But once more, Linux is there with an alternative, so goodbye Office.
> 
> I'm running Debian on an old HP laptop that came with Vista. It can also rip CDs that are copy-protected (Warner), so it's become a pretty valuable piece of junk.


How easy is Debian to use for a non-techie? I'm happy with Ubuntu, Lubuntu and Mint, but Debian appears to be a deeper step into GNU/Linux. Also, is it light on resources? My laptops are aging.


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## Dan Ante

Don't laugh, my old HP lap top still on XP and used as a back up no problems, my current desk top still on Vista home 32 again no problems.


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## philoctetes

Stick with ubuntu of some flavor unless you're a command-line wizard. I'm pretty happy with lubuntu myself. Even seems to work pretty good on the RPi.


----------



## SixFootScowl

philoctetes said:


> In other MS news, I just learned that my Office 2007 is no longer supported, and it's no secret that Office is a bugfest. But once more, Linux is there with an alternative, so goodbye Office.
> 
> I'm running Debian on an old HP laptop that came with Vista. *It can also rip CDs that are copy-protected* (Warner), so it's become a pretty valuable piece of junk.


I am using Linux Mint. I cannot run Windows on my 11-year-old computer. It would hog too much memory. Besides, once you use Linux you will not want to go back to Windows and it's problems such as forced restarts.

I use Assunder to rip CDs. I don't know if I have ever encountered a copy protected CD. Does Warner put out classical CDs or only non-classical? That may explain why I haven't encountered it. Another potential way around a copy protected CD, though time consuming, would be to pull each track up on Audacity and re-save it to MP3 file.

I am pretty sure Brasero will make an image file (.iso) of a copyrighted DVD, and if you make and play from image files of the DVDs you can use out-of-region DVDS.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Tulse said:


> How easy is Debian to use for a non-techie? I'm happy with Ubuntu, Lubuntu and Mint, but Debian appears to be a deeper step into GNU/Linux. Also, is it light on resources? My laptops are aging.


I use Linux Mint 17.3 most of the time. I also have an old Dell with Fedora 25 on it which I tinker with now and again. A few weeks ago I loaded Debian 9 on to it. I gave up with it after a few hours and went back to Fedora.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> I use Assunder to rip CDs. I don't know if I have ever encountered a copy protected CD. Does Warner put out classical CDs or only non-classical? That may explain why I haven't encountered it. Another potential way around a copy protected CD, though time consuming, would be to pull each track up on Audacity and re-save it to MP3 file.


Yes, Warner is a major player in the classical music market. They currently own EMI's catalog in addition to their own labels. Some of the popular Warner classical labels include Warner Classics, Erato, Teldec, and Nonesuch.

Some people report having problems ripping Warner CDs, but I've never had a problem with them. It seems that most of the people who have problems ripping Warner CDs are using Macs. I don't know if there's something with the software on Macs that cause them to be more sensitive to things or if the CD drives Apple uses don't like reading Warner's discs. Some people have had better luck reading Warner discs on Macs using USB CD drives. Some PC users occasionally run into problems with Warner discs (though much less frequently than Mac users), but again, using a different CD-ROM drive usually helps.

Turning error correction on in iTunes _may_ help the Mac users who have trouble ripping Warner discs. It's been a while since I've read about the issue (and I've never had it personally) so I can't remember all the details about it. Anyway, Warner uses the same companies to make their discs now as the other labels. I don't think this should still be an issue with newer CDs.


----------



## philoctetes

As a new member, good to find some Linux users out there. I was a Unix user in a past life back when computers did what we wanted them to do. Now I'm trying to catch up and get off as much commercial hijack-ware as possible.

Apparently Linux distros can be unstable. I just tested three different flavors on the RPi this week and they all have issues. As with my Toshiba I had major problems with updates. Perhaps better to just install new versions as they come out?


----------



## philoctetes

I don't completely understand how copy protection works, or why it works on some systems and not others. Last month I tried to rip a copy-protected CD with Lubuntu on my Toshiba and got the same result, a bunch of noise, as with Windows. But the same CD rips fine on my old Vista HP, as always, which is now running Mate. So I tend to wonder, is it the machine, the OS, both, or what?

This same Toshiba won't let me use a dual boot loader for both Windows and Linux, without screwing up the boot loader once I update Linux. Again, the instability is introduced with the Linux updates. So I have to have a dedicated Linux machine, not one with a double OS setup.


----------



## Klassik

philoctetes said:


> Apparently Linux distros can be unstable. I just tested three different flavors on the RPi this week and they all have issues. As with my Toshiba I had major problems with updates. Perhaps better to just install new versions as they come out?


Yes, unfortunately. It's best to use distros which have extended support for a particular version, like Ubuntu's LTS releases, so you won't have to re-install the OS as frequently.

Sometimes a new version will have issues even with a clean install if new drivers have issues and so forth. It is one of the potential frustrations with Linux.


----------



## Klassik

philoctetes said:


> I don't completely understand how copy protection works, or why it works on some systems and not others. Last month I tried to rip a copy-protected CD with Lubuntu on my Toshiba and got the same result, a bunch of noise, as with Windows. But the same CD rips fine on my old Vista HP, as always, which is now running Mate. So I tend to wonder, is it the machine, the OS, both, or what?


It's probably the CD drive. Try an external USB drive if you have one laying around. The problem itself may not be copy-protection as such, but some labels may have taken advantage of weaknesses in certain CD-ROM drives by designing their discs so they would not be read by them. As you've seen, usually these CDs can be read by a different drive.


----------



## philoctetes

Actually, my dual boot Toshiba problem was with the "stable" Mate release, after updates. However this problem has been reported elsewhere in the cyber media, with accusations that it's by manufacturer design, perhaps like copy-protection measures, to prevent alternatives to Windows from being used. 

But I never know what to believe until I run enough tests for myself, and sometimes time forbids.


----------



## philoctetes

I use both internal and external drives, same result.

I have not tested every possible combination of conditions, but my experience so far tells me that my Toshiba applies copy protection, even with external drives and Lubuntu, while my older HP does not. But I always have Windows on the Toshiba, which could be a factor. I have never used the Toshiba as a dedicated Linux system.

I have also seen CD reviews on Amazon that call out Toshiba on this issue. Then they get no-voted because they're not revewing the music. Well, I'm one of those who likes to own CDs I can copy.


----------



## Klassik

philoctetes said:


> I use both internal and external drives, same result.
> 
> I have not tested every possible combination of conditions, but my experience so far tells me that my Toshiba applies copy protection, even with external drives and Lubuntu, while my older HP does not.
> 
> I have also seen reviews on Amazon that call out Toshiba for this issue. Then they get no-voted because they're not revewing the music. Well, I'm one of those who likes to own CDs I can copy.


It seems unlikely to me that a computer itself would or could apply copy protection when using an external CD drive and when using an operating system that it didn't come installed with, but perhaps it is possible.  If it's not working with the internal CD drive and with an external drive, then I would lean towards the software or the possibility that both the CD drives you tried aren't capable of reading the disc. If the same software works on a different computer, then obviously I would lean towards it being the CD drives you've tried. Perhaps try a CD drive from a different brand (though it should be noted that there's only a small handful of companies that actually manufacturer CD/DVD drives these days so you could end up getting the same manufacturer even if the name on the product itself is different).


----------



## philoctetes

The one thing I haven't tried with the Toshiba is removing Windows from it completely and loading Linux exclusively. Given that exception, it does exactly as I described. The same external drive works fine in the HP, but when I use it with the Toshiba and Linux (via USB boot) SNR -> 0.

Any particular reason that you doubt this possibility? For me it's only left to wonder what would happen if I scrubbed the Toshiba HD and installed Linux exclusively. The dual OS/boot option isn't stable.

Since it seems that older computers don't apply CP, how else can it possibly work unless the computer (hardware/firmware) has a role?

Thes are important questions for me since I'd like to install Linux on newer PCs, but not if I can't update it ot copy CDs that way. For example, what happens if I want one of those fancy new laptops with Windows 10 and SS storage and want to install Linux in a dual partition? Will the dual boot remain stable after updates? Will it be able to rip all CDs or will it sometimes just rip noise?

Is this why we see Linux laptops and certain used PC models asking higher prices on the market? I have no clue. The Toshiba was actually given to me, and I'd scrap it in a heartbeat but it's the only 64 bit windows 10 system I have!


----------



## Klassik

philoctetes said:


> The one thing I haven't tried with the Toshiba is removing Windows from it completely and loading Linux exclusively. Given that exception, it does exactly as I described. The same external drive works fine in the HP, but when I use it with the Toshiba and Linux (via USB boot) SNR -> 0.
> 
> Any particular reason that you doubt this possibility? For me it's only left to wonder what would happen if I scrubbed the Toshiba HD and installed Linux exclusively.


I cannot really see why Windows would have any impact on the ability to rip a CD in Linux. Windows isn't doing anything at all when you're in Linux unless you're running Linux through a virtual machine (which it does not sound like that is the case). The only thing I can suggest is to try using a different Linux distro on a Live CD/flash drive and see if you can rip the CD using the external USB drive. Also, check the error correction settings in the ripping software you're using to see if that makes any difference (not all programs will have that option).

I really can't think of any anything on the hardware or BIOS/UEFI level that would apply copy-protection for CDs even when using a USB drive. Perhaps something has been created to do that, but I'm not aware of anything like that.


----------



## Dr Johnson

philoctetes said:


> As a new member, good to find some Linux users out there. I was a Unix user in a past life back when computers did what we wanted them to do. Now I'm trying to catch up and get off as much commercial hijack-ware as possible.
> 
> Apparently Linux distros can be unstable. I just tested three different flavors on the RPi this week and they all have issues. As with my Toshiba I had major problems with updates. Perhaps better to just install new versions as they come out?


Which distros are you having trouble with? I have only ever had one problem with Mint (and that may have been my fault). To be fair I have Mint on a dedicated Linux laptop from these people.

The Dell I use for Fedora is a Latitude E6400, again no issues there.

Perhaps Toshiba and Linux don't mix.

Could be worth having a look here for that sort of information:

https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/


----------



## SixFootScowl

philoctetes said:


> As a new member, good to find some Linux users out there. I was a Unix user in a past life back when computers did what we wanted them to do. Now I'm trying to catch up and get off as much commercial hijack-ware as possible.
> 
> Apparently Linux distros can be unstable. I just tested three different flavors on the RPi this week and they all have issues. As with my Toshiba I had major problems with updates. Perhaps better to just install new versions as they come out?


I have been using Linux Mint for several years and it is very stable. My particular version is Mint Mate.


----------



## Guest

philoctetes said:


> As a new member, good to find some Linux users out there. I was a Unix user in a past life back when computers did what we wanted them to do. Now I'm trying to catch up and get off as much commercial hijack-ware as possible.
> 
> Apparently Linux distros can be unstable. I just tested three different flavors on the RPi this week and they all have issues. As with my Toshiba I had major problems with updates. Perhaps better to just install new versions as they come out?


My experience with GNU/Linux is mostly positive. Certainly linux distros have been completely stable for me. I run old laptops, 5 to 10 years old, and they do most of what I need mostly very well. Updates are much better on linux as you do them when you want to and a restart is not required immediately. I don't do dual boots, WINE or that thing where a distro sits inside another. Last year I needed windows for my car diagnosis software. I bought a 2nd hand laptop with windows 7 on it, and it is used just for that, and as back up in case of problems with my other laptops.

If you want to continue with Windows 10, my suggestion is for you to get a 5 year old laptop from ebay, load a user friendly and popular Linux OS onto it, and take it from there.

I haven't read the details of your hassles with CD ripping, but I often find some linux software doesn't do what you want it to, so I just try other versions until I get the functionality I need.

Hope this helps, and apologies if you've considered these points already!


----------



## Guest

philoctetes said:


> The one thing I haven't tried with the Toshiba is removing Windows from it completely and loading Linux exclusively.


One thought on this. Manufacturers are now putting malware on the ROM which cannot be removed at all, unlike the booting software. The only way to get rid of this is by jettisoning the ROM from your motherboard and replacing it with another, which may contain the same malware. Whatever is giving you hassle on your Toshiba may not be eradicated by removing Windows.


----------



## Dan Ante

I received an email that had two versions, the normal type of email and one that was goblegook, below is a small sample it went on and on. Is this Java ??


----------



## Taggart

Looks like an image file - jpeg or bmp. Java is written in basic English. 

I've seen this on TC when you hit copy image rather than copy image address and then when you paste the supposed URL you get this sort of gobbledegook.


----------



## Couchie

Anybody have recommendations for anti-malware? Recently got hit with a program which flooded my machine with all sorts of spyware and adware and even corrupted my browsers so I couldn't download anti-malware to fix it. It was so hopeless I had to reformat my drive and reinstall windows from scratch.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Couchie said:


> Anybody have recommendations for anti-malware? Recently got hit with a program which flooded my machine with all sorts of spyware and adware and even corrupted my browsers so I couldn't download anti-malware to fix it. It was so hopeless I had to reformat my drive and reinstall windows from scratch.


Well, you could ditch Microsoft and go with Linux Mint.


----------



## Couchie

Fritz Kobus said:


> Well, you could ditch Microsoft and go with Linux Mint.


I also have Linux on another drive. But still need Windows for a few programs.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Couchie said:


> I also have Linux on another drive. But still need Windows for a few programs.


Ah yes. The old Windows-dependent program problem.


----------



## ldiat

Couchie said:


> Anybody have recommendations for anti-malware? Recently got hit with a program which flooded my machine with all sorts of spyware and adware and even corrupted my browsers so I couldn't download anti-malware to fix it. It was so hopeless I had to reformat my drive and reinstall windows from scratch.


try "hit man pro"


----------



## TxllxT

Couchie said:


> Anybody have recommendations for anti-malware? Recently got hit with a program which flooded my machine with all sorts of spyware and adware and even corrupted my browsers so I couldn't download anti-malware to fix it. It was so hopeless I had to reformat my drive and reinstall windows from scratch.


If the origin of the malware troubles is related to your Valkyrie-rides on the internet (I mean: probing into its unsafe corners), I would advise you just to split your browsing the internet in two physically separate hardwares: one laptop for safe, another for unsafe...


----------



## Couchie

TxllxT said:


> If the origin of the malware troubles is related to your Valkyrie-rides on the internet (I mean: probing into its unsafe corners), I would advise you just to split your browsing the internet in two physically separate hardwares: one laptop for safe, another for unsafe...


Yeah I've been wanting to digitize my opera DVD collection and downloaded a "free" DVD ripper which turned out to just be a malware downloader. Ooopsies


----------



## cwarchc

Dr Johnson said:


> Which distros are you having trouble with? I have only ever had one problem with Mint (and that may have been my fault). To be fair I have Mint on a dedicated Linux laptop from these people.
> 
> The Dell I use for Fedora is a Latitude E6400, again no issues there.
> 
> Perhaps Toshiba and Linux don't mix.
> 
> Could be worth having a look here for that sort of information:
> 
> https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/


I'm running Xubuntu on a Toshiba laptop with no issues

We also one running Mint, again no issues

We have to keep my sons on Windows for the "odd" program that is needed


----------



## Dr Johnson

cwarchc said:


> I'm running Xubuntu on a Toshiba laptop with no issues
> 
> We also one running Mint, again no issues
> 
> We have to keep my sons on Windows for the "odd" program that is needed


Good to hear. Toshiba laptops seem very durable.


----------



## Klassik

Does anyone remember CompuServe's forums? They're still around, but they will be gone next month. I'm not sure when the CompuServe forums first opened, but it must have been in the early 1980s. This vintage ad indicates that they targeted classical music fans with their forums back in the day. They still have a classical music forum, but there's not a lot of activity on it. I'm sure the last holdouts preferred their style of discussion over knockout survival games though.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/15/compuserve_to_kill_off_its_forums/


----------



## Klassik

Here's an interesting article. Several of the most popular websites, including Microsoft, WordPress, and Spotify, use keyloggers to track all typing input (even if the user deletes information before hitting submit), mouse actions, and scrolling actions on the website. Some websites even logged credit card information and submitted it to a third party using encrypted connections even though the site itself was encrypted. Some sites, like Walgreens, may have disclosed identifiable medical information to third parties.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ploy-privacy-invading-session-replay-scripts/


----------



## Couchie

Klassik said:


> Here's an interesting article. Several of the most popular websites, including Microsoft, WordPress, and Spotify, use keyloggers to track all typing input (even if the user deletes information before hitting submit), mouse actions, and scrolling actions on the website.


Seems to me that websites which employ predictive-autocomplete searches would have to employ keyloggers. Also makes sense they would track those things to optimize the search engine and the GUI. Not sure what is so nefarious about that.


----------



## Klassik

Couchie said:


> Seems to me that websites which employ predictive-autocomplete searches would have to employ keyloggers. Also makes sense they would track those things to optimize the search engine and the GUI. Not sure what is so nefarious about that.


As the article says...



> "Collection of page content by third-party replay scripts may cause sensitive information, such as medical conditions, credit card details, and other personal information displayed on a page, to leak to the third-party as part of the recording," Steven Englehardt, a PhD candidate at Princeton University, wrote. "This may expose users to identity theft, online scams, and other unwanted behavior. The same is true for the collection of user inputs during checkout and registration processes."


https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ploy-privacy-invading-session-replay-scripts/

One of the third party collectors, Yandex, is basically Russia's Google FWIW. And, of course, the fact that the information going to some third parties is passing through unsecured connections (without the user knowing about it) certainly opens the potential for the information to get stolen by hackers.


----------



## KenOC

Interesting to me that younger users, in my experience, seem to place very little value on privacy. They use their smartphones all day long and simply assume that everything is quite public.


----------



## Dan Ante

Taggart said:


> Looks like an image file - jpeg or bmp. Java is written in basic English.
> 
> I've seen this on TC when you hit copy image rather than copy image address and then when you paste the supposed URL you get this sort of gobbledegook.


A belated 'Thank you' Taggart I see you posted 8 Nov but I have only received notification within the last hour, and it seems you are right on the ball it was some sort of graphics, thanks.


----------



## Klassik

KenOC said:


> Interesting to me that younger users, in my experience, seem to place very little value on privacy. They use their smartphones all day long and simply assume that everything is quite public.


If they are wanting to share their lives with their friends and anyone else who is interested, then obviously they won't care much about privacy. They probably don't understand the consequences of such openness though. I suppose that's just the nature of youth though.

Many people, if not most people, don't really understand the world of data mining though. Age doesn't make a difference here. Sometimes data mining might be done with good intentions (or perhaps non-evil intentions like targeted advertising), but there's more potential for things to go wrong when there's more data out there being stored. Look at all the data breaches out there. They've become so common that they don't even make headline news even when major companies get hit, but the consequences are still major.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund

Hey there! I most likely will have to find out for myself but...I have a mac, sibelius 8.7, cubase artist 9.5, vienna symphonic library, and soon NI komplete kontrol s88. My plan is to try to make a midi-orchestra/string quartet sound human...I already did some experimenting and have a small course available. My way of doing this has been slow as hell: Writing the score in sibelius and transporting MIDI into cubase, where I have loaded vsl as a plug-in and assigned dynamics, expression controls ++. With a keyboard I hope to get things done faster. This thing is like a JOB...
...so HELP!!!


----------



## TxllxT

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> Hey there! I most likely will have to find out for myself but...I have a mac, sibelius 8.7, cubase artist 9.5, vienna symphonic library, and soon NI komplete kontrol s88. My plan is to try to make a midi-orchestra/string quartet sound human...I already did some experimenting and have a small course available. My way of doing this has been slow as hell: Writing the score in sibelius and transporting MIDI into cubase, where I have loaded vsl as a plug-in and assigned dynamics, expression controls ++. With a keyboard I hope to get things done faster. This thing is like a JOB...
> ...so HELP!!!


You mean JOB, the suffering guy in the Bible...:devil: Hope you get your job done! :angel:


----------



## KenOC

Do you have an Amazon Echo? Maybe time to think again. An Echo figures in a murder case in Arkansas, where the police obtained recordings of sounds in the home at the time of the crime. A search warrant was served on Amazon. The warrant request states:

"The Amazon Echo device is constantly listening for the 'wake' command of 'Alexa' or 'Amazon,' and records any command, inquiry, or verbal gesture given after that point, _or possibly at all times without the 'wake word' being issued_, which is uploaded to Amazon.com's servers at a remote location." (italics added)

Oh-oh…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/murder-charge-dropped-in-arkansas-amazon-echo-case/ar-BBFVx5v


----------



## Klassik

KenOC said:


> Do you have an Amazon Echo? Maybe time to think again. An Echo figures in a murder case in Arkansas, where the police obtained recordings of sounds in the home at the time of the crime. A search warrant was served on Amazon. The warrant request states:
> 
> "The Amazon Echo device is constantly listening for the 'wake' command of 'Alexa' or 'Amazon,' and records any command, inquiry, or verbal gesture given after that point, _or possibly at all times without the 'wake word' being issued_, which is uploaded to Amazon.com's servers at a remote location." (italics added)
> 
> Oh-oh…
> 
> https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/murder-charge-dropped-in-arkansas-amazon-echo-case/ar-BBFVx5v


It's not just Amazon devices. Many "smart" devices have microphones and cameras that can "phone home" all kinds of information. Even if they don't "phone home," hackers can hack the devices and see/hear what is going on at home. Most "smart" devices don't get many security patches like PC operating systems do when there are security bugs.


----------



## Taggart

Dont forget children's toys see https://iconewsblog.org.uk/2017/11/...data-safe-when-buying-smart-toys-and-devices/ for some advice.


----------



## Klassik

This is from a few years ago, but it was found that LG smart TVs were not only "phoning home" information about viewing habits, but it was also telling LG (and perhaps 3rd parties) about file names on USB flash drives plugged into the TV and on shared network folders. Oh, and this "phoning home" was done on an unsecured connection. It wouldn't have been difficult for hackers to get that data.

https://arstechnica.com/information...extends-to-home-networks-second-blogger-says/

Vizio was fined by the US FTC earlier this year for "phoning home" second-by-second information (on an insecure connection, of course) about viewing habits so that it could be sold to 3rd parties for advertising purposes. The fact that the TVs were doing this was not disclosed to consumers.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ked-viewers-around-the-clock-without-consent/

Obviously, these issues with "smart" devices are a little bit different than the issues where audio/video recordings can be captured by unknown 3rd parties. On the A/V front, as I mentioned earlier, "smart" devices rarely get security updates like PCs get for their operating systems. I would say that one has to be very careful with any Internet connected devices that captures audio and/or video. This, of course, includes PCs and smartphones even though they may get more regular updates (though some phones rarely get security updates even if they need them). It may be a best practice to scrap any "smart" devices that connect to the Internet after a couple of years just to make sure the security is up-to-date. Of course, I'm sure the manufacturers love that kind of planned obsolescence!  The manufacturers certainly love the advertising data that can be collected and sold from those devices.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Microsoft asked me to run a Windows 10 update which I did yesterday. Since then I've been unable to paste images copied from Amazon (or anywhere else) into the Insert Image box 'From URL' option on the Quick Reply panel. Prior to this it had worked every time. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.


----------



## Taggart

elgars ghost said:


> Microsoft asked me to run a Windows 10 update which I did yesterday. Since then I've been unable to paste images copied from Amazon (or anywhere else) into the Insert Image box 'From URL' option on the Quick Reply panel. Prior to this it had worked every time. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.


Run notepad and check that the image URL has copied. Are you using either edge or IE neither of which do this easily?


----------



## elgar's ghost

^
^

I use Edge but I have Chrome set up as an alternative. Maybe I should try that. Thanks for your reply.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Nope - it doesn't work on Chrome either. I've opened Notepad - I've never used it before so I don't know where I'm supposed to look to see if the URL was copied.


----------



## Taggart

Just paste into notepad and see if there's anything there. I presume you get the usual right click menu?

Check chrome for updates.

Also try logging off, clearing your cache, restarting the computer and then try again.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Thanks, Taggart - I'll give it a go.


----------



## Dr Johnson

This won't be everyone's cup of tea and it s rather long, nonetheless:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n16/john-lanchester/you-are-the-product


----------



## Guest

Dr Johnson said:


> This won't be everyone's cup of tea and it s rather long, nonetheless:
> 
> https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n16/john-lanchester/you-are-the-product


Two billion? That's even more then TC.

I see you're still residing here DrJ; how you doing?


----------



## Dr Johnson

Not bad, ta. 

At least nothing that being 10 years younger wouldn't put right :lol:

Sorry to see you've been in the wars.


----------



## Guest

Dr Johnson said:


> Not bad, ta.
> 
> At least nothing that being 10 years younger wouldn't put right :lol:
> 
> Sorry to see you've been in the wars.


Ta. Yeah I've noticed getting older can be.... challenging....
I seem to remember you had an episode involving a hospital and unreasonable amounts of blood. Hope that was a one off.


----------



## Dr Johnson

dogen said:


> Ta. Yeah I've noticed getting older can be.... challenging....
> I seem to remember you had an episode involving a hospital and unreasonable amounts of blood. *Hope that was a one off*.


I hope so too! :lol:


----------



## Guest

011100110001011101111000010010110100010111101001000101101001010100000011


----------



## Guest

506178558564260 1479939


----------



## TxllxT

Tulse said:


> 506178558564260 1479939


What's going on? The aliens have landed?


----------



## Guest

elgars ghost said:


> Microsoft asked me to run a Windows 10 update which I did yesterday. Since then I've been unable to paste images copied from Amazon (or anywhere else) into the Insert Image box 'From URL' option on the Quick Reply panel. Prior to this it had worked every time. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.


I'm having the same problem. Have you discovered a cure for it yet? I mainly want to post recording covers in the "Current Listening" section. I suppose I could just type out what I'm listening to and played by whom, but a picture is worth 1,000 words! Oddly enough, I can post pictures directly in the Steve Hoffman audio/music forum, and on Facebook, but not URLs. Overall, I prefer Edge, so I hope this problem gets solved soon.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund

So I got my mac rebooted! Didn't do a backup of the old system since I've put my files in dropbox...BUT...I just found out I forgot all my sibeliusfiles...Does anybody do such a thing?


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund

.....yes, me...


----------



## Taggart

Kontrapunctus said:


> I'm having the same problem. Have you discovered a cure for it yet? I mainly want to post recording covers in the "Current Listening" section. I suppose I could just type out what I'm listening to and played by whom, but a picture is worth 1,000 words! Oddly enough, I can post pictures directly in the Steve Hoffman audio/music forum, and on Facebook, but not URLs. Overall, I prefer Edge, so I hope this problem gets solved soon.


Use google - search for your CD. Use the images section and find one of about the right size. Click on the button that says view image and copy the address in the address bar. Done.

Edge seems to want to force you to share images using apps.It's a *feature *not a fault


----------



## Klassik

Taggart said:


> Use google - search for your CD. Use the images section and find one of about the right size. Click on the button that says view image and copy the address in the address bar. Done.


Poor Kontrapunctus. He just wants to learn how to post images, but instead it sounds like he's being told how to violate the ToS!


----------



## KenOC

Taggart said:


> Edge seems to want to force you to share images using apps.It's a *feature *not a fault


In Edge you just right-click the picture and choose "Copy" from the dropdown menu. Then paste it into the "Insert image/From URL" box being sure to uncheck the checkbox. The web address of the picture will be pasted in as text.


----------



## Taggart

KenOC said:


> In Edge you just right-click the picture and choose "Copy" from the dropdown menu. Then paste it into the "Insert image/From URL" box being sure to uncheck the checkbox. The web address of the picture will be pasted in as text.


This is the recommended fix, but doesn't work for me. If I go to notepad and paste - nothing; if I go to irfanview and paste - picture. Copy obviously now copies the picture data not the URL.

W10 Pro Version 1709 Build 16299.64



Klassik said:


> Poor Kontrapunctus. He just wants to learn how to post images, but instead it sounds like he's being told how to violate the ToS!


How?

It is generally accepted that photos of album covers on various sites are not copyright or are available under a fair use license. Current Llistening has been running for 11 years with no take down requests. I am indicating how to post a link which seems acceptable.


----------



## KenOC

Hmm...I am running 1703, for whatever reason. Getting good copy/paste of image URLs into Notepad, Word (text only) or whatever. Weird! This is not happy-making.


----------



## Klassik

Taggart said:


> How?
> 
> It is generally accepted that photos of album covers on various sites are not copyright or are available under a fair use license. Current Llistening has been running for 11 years with no take down requests. I am indicating how to post a link which seems acceptable.


You may well be right that posting album covers here is fair use, but what we think might be true is not necessarily true. Plus, laws vary by country. I can think of reasons that it would be considered fair use by US laws, but I can also think of reasons why it wouldn't be. Regardless, if you look at the ToS, I'm not sure if it matters:



> *Before posting any image, please be certain that you have the express written permission of the copyright owner(s) and have provided a copy of such to the forum staff. *
> 
> Members may not advertise nor insert URL links to any commercial or non-commercial products or websites within their personal profile page, within blogs, nor in threads/posts.
> 
> ...
> 
> *Any kind of material copyrighted or owned by any individual or entity other than the member may not be posted on Talk Classical without the consent of the owner.* If such an event occurs, the individual posting the information shall be held solely responsible. Talk Classical shall not be held responsible for member-posted information that may violate copyright law.


Do I think that record companies care about their album covers being used here? Probably not. That said, they have to license certain images of artwork or stock images and so it might not matter what the record company thinks because they don't own the rights to the images on their covers. There's also the issue of using the bandwidth of other websites by posting images on remote servers. Some places openly encourage sharing that way, but not all.

I've posted images before. I don't have issues with it personally. I think it adds some value to posts in some cases, but it almost certainly seems in violation of the ToS and maybe of various national laws too.


----------



## Dr Johnson

I think what Taggart means is that there is no problem posting an image if you do it by searching for the image on (e.g.) Google, right clicking on the image, clicking on "copy image location" and then posting the consequent URL in the "insert image" box.


----------



## Klassik

Dr Johnson said:


> I think what Taggart means is that there is no problem posting an image if you do it by searching for the image on (e.g.) Google, right clicking on the image, clicking on "copy image location" and then posting the consequent URL in the "insert image" box.


From a technical perspective, that would work. From a legal and ToS perspective, that method would not necessarily be within the rules. Many (most?) of the images that Google Images comes up with are actually copyrighted. It's possible to go into the "Advanced Search" menu on Google Images and tell it to only give "free to use or share" results under the "usage rights" settings though. Even with that, however, there are differences between "free to use or share" images. Furthermore, just because the images are free to use does not mean that it's free to use the URL of an image on another site. It might be required to save the image and re-upload it to TC through attachments.

Just as an example, I typed in "levine mahler" into the Google Images search box. The first several images are all album covers. When I went into advanced search and limited the results to, "free to use or share," few/none of the results are album covers.

The TC ToS seemingly would require written proof from the copyright holder that the image is okay to use. I doubt many people do that.


----------



## Art Rock

Ah, the quagmire of copyright law.

If you want to upload pictures to the TC server (which is still the default presented by the software), you need to make sure that you are not contravening Danish law (good luck with finding good lay-man information on that).

If you deeplink images so that they appear on the post but are not on the TC server, things are even less clear. Does this fall under Danish law (because of board ownership), or under the law of the country where the files of these images are stored? In any case, deeplinking does not mean you cannot have copyright issues.

Album covers are definitely copyrighted, but their use may be fair use ("may be" because it is a guess until a judge has a say on it). Or it may not, because fair use only applies (from what I've seen) to cases where you would need to include the image for a review where the cover is essential. Personally, I doubt that the majority of the Current listening posts fall under fair use. Nevertheless, as Taggart stated, the chance that record companies would sue over use like this is low.


----------



## Klassik

Art Rock said:


> Album covers are definitely copyrighted, but their use may be fair use ("may be" because it is a guess until a judge has a say on it). Or it may not, because fair use only applies (from what I've seen) to cases where you would need to include the image for a review where the cover is essential. Personally, I doubt that the majority of the Current listening posts fall under fair use. *Nevertheless, as Taggart stated, the chance that record companies would sue over use like this is low.*


I agree that it's unlikely, but it should be noted that the record companies don't own all of the images on their covers. In some cases (perhaps in many cases), the images are licensed from other companies. Some image copyright holders are very aggressive in protecting their copyrights. As unlikely as it might be, complaints can still happen. Besides, the TC ToS is pretty clear (at least clearer than international IP law) about the procedure for posting images.


----------



## Taggart

KenOC said:


> Hmm...I am running 1703, for whatever reason. Getting good copy/paste of image URLs into Notepad, Word (text only) or whatever. Weird! This is not happy-making.


I think Kontrapunctus and I must be on the same (or similar) versions. Wait till your next "upgrade" to find out.

As to copyright, when you pull up an image, google will warn you if there may be a copyright problem. I've yet to see that on an album cover.


----------



## Art Rock

Taggart said:


> As to copyright, when you pull up an image, google will warn you if there may be a copyright problem. I've yet to see that on an album cover.


I've tried google image for a couple of album covers. Every time the standard phrase "Images may be subject to copyright" comes up. Same for my own photographs, who are definitely copyrighted, and stated as such on the Flickr site.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Klassik said:


> From a technical perspective, that would work. From a legal and ToS perspective, that method would not necessarily be within the rules. Many (most?) of the images that Google Images comes up with are actually copyrighted. It's possible to go into the "Advanced Search" menu on Google Images and tell it to only give "free to use or share" results under the "usage rights" settings though. Even with that, however, there are differences between "free to use or share" images. Furthermore, just because the images are free to use does not mean that it's free to use the URL of an image on another site. It might be required to save the image and re-upload it to TC through attachments.
> 
> Just as an example, I typed in "levine mahler" into the Google Images search box. The first several images are all album covers. * When I went into advanced search and limited the results to, "free to use or share," few/none of the results are album covers.*
> 
> The TC ToS seemingly would require written proof from the copyright holder that the image is okay to use. I doubt many people do that.


Point taken.

Ignore what I said.

Oh dear.


----------



## Guest

I've had one or two "bespoke" tops via tinterweb, using the same online retailer of said products. When I last did one, I used a photograph from Google to put on the front of a long-sleeved (more detail than you need) top and duly got an email saying Ta very much, we're printing it now....

Then about an hour later I got a long legalistic email telling me the order had been cancelled due to copyright law and if there was a knock at the door it would be the rozzers. So now I'm topless.


----------



## philoctetes

A couple months ago I confessed all my aspirations for liberating myself with Linux and leaving behind the Cult of Microsoft, with other addictive dependencies (cable tv, for example) also on the chopping block. Two particular problems were bothering me then, and I have the answers to them now.

The first problem was how to stabilize a dual-OS configuration on my Toshiba so I could have both Win10 and Linux. I made progress and almost got there but still found ways to break it, so I just gave up and installed Linux in BIOS mode.

The second "problem" was about using Linux to rip CDs, and I was especially curious to know if the DRM copy protection that was apparently built into the Toshiba would persist under Linux, and the answer is no, which makes me very happy, and should be of interest to others with this issue.

And my cable tv is gone too. So I've been testing out streaming services, Hulu and Spotify, on my newly installed Linux OS. I think they both work better with Linux than they did with Windows, probably because Linux resources are more dedicated, or less easily interrupted.

Goodbye Microsoft, goodbye cable.


----------



## SixFootScowl

philoctetes said:


> The second "problem" was about using Linux to rip CDs, and I was especially curious to know if the DRM copy protection that was apparently built into the Toshiba would persist under Linux, and the answer is no, which makes me very happy, and should be of interest to others with this issue.


Many good things await you. You can burn .iso image files of DVDs and play them direct off your hard drive. Use Brasero. I also found that it would make an image file of a disk that on Microsoft would not even copy to a folder. Even out-of-region DVDs work fine if you make an image file and only play the image file.

You will find that Asunder does a much better job of finding music labels that Windows Media Player ever did. With Asunder you can customize what parameters are included in the song titles and I recommend shortening that list to exclude the work title. Audacity can be useful to edit music tracks. I have cut out excessive applause from some operas.


----------



## philoctetes

Fritz Kobus said:


> Many good things await you. You can burn .iso image files of DVDs and play them direct off your hard drive. Use Brasero. I also found that it would make an image file of a disk that on Microsoft would not even copy to a folder. Even out-of-region DVDs work fine if you make an image file and only play the image file.
> 
> You will find that Asunder does a much better job of finding music labels that Windows Media Player ever did. With Asunder you can customize what parameters are included in the song titles and I recommend shortening that list to exclude the work title. Audacity can be useful to edit music tracks. I have cut out excessive applause from some operas.


Many good things indeed... so many useful tools... I once used Audacity on Windows to create an audio track for a videoclip... Audacious works great on my Raspberry Pi, and Spotify works great on anything with Linux, though the RPi takes some tinkering... the weakest point is I've got the 120 gb ipod and haven't found a tool that matches itunes for support... wondering how best to use it without Apple software... rhythmbox is just ok... i will check out Brasero, it's already installed... thanks.


----------



## SixFootScowl

philoctetes said:


> Many good things indeed... so many useful tools... I once used Audacity on Windows to create an audio track for a videoclip... Audacious works great on my Raspberry Pi, and Spotify works great on anything with Linux, though the RPi takes some tinkering... the weakest point is I've got the 120 gb ipod and haven't found a tool that matches itunes for support... wondering how best to use it without Apple software... rhythmbox is just ok... i will check out Brasero, it's already installed... thanks.


Also I use VLC media player for video and music.


----------



## Guest

I use Asunder / Banshee / Brasero but I prefer i-tunes from when I was using Windows. This is because labelling doesn't work well. It almost doesn't work at all on Banshee / Rhythm Box, whilst though it works on Asunder, too often not all tracks are ripped by this software. I then have to re-rip the CD on Banshee, and label it manually. Also, when using Brasero to burn CDs a usable track list cannot be printed off.

I haven't made a DVD for a long time, but it works well, I think I use DeVeDe.


----------



## philoctetes

Tulse said:


> I use Asunder / Banshee / Brasero but I prefer i-tunes from when I was using Windows. This is because labelling doesn't work well. It almost doesn't work at all on Banshee / Rhythm Box, whilst though it works on Asunder, too often not all tracks are ripped by this software. I then have to re-rip the CD on Banshee, and label it manually. Also, when using Brasero to burn CDs a usable track list cannot be printed off.


Thanks for reporting back from a few steps ahead, it helps. I have nobody to consult nowadays and just try a lot of things, failing and rebooting until something works or not... Amazing how much misleading advice I find on tech forums too.


----------



## philoctetes

Sooo, does anybody have experience setting up Mopidy on a Linux platform? It's a MPD server that that can run on a headless Raspberry Pi, and seems to be the key to connecting the RPi to Spotify. 

I have it running inside a standalone package called PiMusicBox, and I really like it, but haven't yet configured it successfully within a desktop OS environment, and that's where I really want it.

The RPi seems to be especially popular in the UK, where it was developed. Nobody I know has one.


----------



## philoctetes

Well, scratch Mopidy. To get Spotify Connect capability on a Raspberry Pi, PiMusicBox uses a function called librespot, and that's the essential ingredient for my objective. It's now installed on the Raspbian OS and my RPi has finally become the super little music box I knew it could be. 

With the Pi hooked up to both tv and stereo, I can output audio to either device. My sources can be my own files on Audacious or streaming audio from Spotify. So now my favorite way of watching sports, muting announcers and playing music, is completely supported by the Pi. Plus I keep all the inherent functionality of Raspbian, Chrome, Firefox, Python, Librecalc, etc...which PiMusicBox did not provide. Having those awesome math-generated screensavers on my 50" tv while Spotify streams through my stereo makes my lava lamp look rather quaint.

You may be wondering why not use the web player on a browser for Spotify but I was never able to make that work on the Pi with either Chrome of Firefox. I'd love to hear from anybody who may have succeeded, but I suspect others have met the same fate. I even tried other varieties of Ubuntu that were packaged for Pi, no success. And none of those distributions, while cosmetically attractive, seem to run as smoothly as Raspbian.

So time for another project now, probably involving bathroom plumbing... do we have a thread for that? but not until after the NFL marathon this weekend... my GF has finally become used to announcer-less football.. as I tend to make a nonstop commentary of my own observations...


----------



## KenOC

Some kudos for the new technology. I was doing some work tonight with my PC online when my ISP’s cable connection went down. So I grabbed my new Android phone, my first, a Christmas present from my son. Went to settings and with one swipe turned it on as a hotspot and assigned a password. Connected via my PC and…back to work.

Took less than a minute. I was truly impressed!


----------



## philoctetes

Just made another big step away from Google / Chrome dependence... porting personal info to Firefox... also discovered VNC, which allows screen control from one device over another... so I can view and control Raspberri Pis from an Android tablet... soon I hope to root the tablet itself and replace the OS with something geekier... Still using Audacious to play music files on but noting some of the streaming features with VLC and pondering how they might be useful.

Received the book on Bitcoin and Blockchain, published by O'Reilly last summer, and it may have already become obsolete, as the Proof of Work mining algorithm needs to be replaced by something more efficient before it melts our polar caps... one alternative being thrown around is Proof of Stake... meanwhile, Ethereum crypto is under attack by a Satori botnet, and that kind of thing isn't going away...


----------



## Becca

Just out of interest, what Linux distributions are being used? Personally I have Fedora (currently 26) at home. My office network has a mix of CentOS 4 thru 7 and SuSE. Also some Solaris, AIX and HP/UX. In case you are wondering why such mix, it is because we support operating system level software with customers having all of them.


----------



## philoctetes

I used Solaris on Sun workstations back back in the last century. Now it's Mint on my two old laptops and Raspbian on the Raspberry Pi, but I'm open to trying others. I actually like the kiddie-python-oriented OS on Raspbian quite a bit, having a lot of programming tools, although it may be somewhat lagging on security features.


----------



## Guest

Mint Cinnamon 17.1 on a 7 year old laptop. It's been on there for 3 years and its getting a bit slow.

Lubuntu on an 11 year old laptop. Installed last year, it is fast and reliable. 

So the Mint needs changing soon. Will a more up to date non-Cinnamon Mint work fast enough, or should I get a simpler OS? Any suggestions appreciated.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Becca said:


> Just out of interest, what Linux distributions are being used? Personally I have Fedora (currently 26) at home. My office network has a mix of CentOS 4 thru 7 and SuSE. Also some Solaris, AIX and HP/UX. In case you are wondering why such mix, it is because we support operating system level software with customers having all of them.


Mint 17.3 on one laptop and Fedora 27 on another.

I mostly use Mint.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Tulse said:


> Mint Cinnamon 17.1 on a 7 year old laptop. It's been on there for 3 years and its getting a bit slow.
> 
> Lubuntu on an 11 year old laptop. Installed last year, it is fast and reliable.
> 
> So the Mint needs changing soon. Will a more up to date non-Cinnamon Mint work fast enough, *or should I get a simpler OS? Any suggestions appreciated.*


Plenty of OS on display here:

https://distrowatch.com/


----------



## Dr Johnson

I have my eye on this OS (not lightweight BTW):

https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=qubes


----------



## SixFootScowl

Tulse said:


> Mint Cinnamon 17.1 on a 7 year old laptop. It's been on there for 3 years and its getting a bit slow.
> 
> Lubuntu on an 11 year old laptop. Installed last year, it is fast and reliable.
> 
> So the Mint needs changing soon. Will a more up to date non-Cinnamon Mint work fast enough, or should I get a simpler OS? Any suggestions appreciated.


Seems I recall that Mint Mate uses less memory than Cinnamon. Might help you to speed up your computer, but verify that first.

I run Mate on a 2006 computer that has 4GB ram and an Intel® Core™2 CPU 6320 @ 1.86GHz × 2. Works fine but for my wife will open up so many tabs that it gets bogged down.


----------



## Becca

The desktop software can make a big difference in system performance so personally I prefer Xfce4 as the best compromise between speed, resources and functionality. KDE is great but is a bit of a resource hog.


----------



## Klassik

Becca said:


> I prefer Xfce4 as the best compromise between speed, resources and functionality.


I use LXDE. The related development, LXQt, might be good too, but I have not tried it yet. I've used Xfce in the past and I remember it being good enough. Of course, there are some who say that the CLI is the only way to use a *nix.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Klassik said:


> I use LXDE. The related development, LXQt, might be good too, but I have not tried it yet. I've used Xfce in the past and I remember it being good enough. Of course, there are some who say that the CLI is the only way to use a *nix.


Now you're talking Greek. I have no idea what these acronyms mean.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> Now you're talking Greek. I have no idea what these acronyms mean.


Linux can be a real alphabet soup. Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems (*nix) use a command line interface (CLI) in their purest forms. This is to say that you have to type in all commands and there are not any graphics to click on. In order to make these operating systems easier to use, various different desktop windowing environments (DE) can be used to provide a graphical user interface (GUI). Some of the more popular DEs, like KDE, GNOME, and perhaps even Cinnamon/MATE, are known to use more system resources than other DEs like LXDE and Xfce. Most distributions use one of these DEs. Some use multiple DEs depending on user choice, but really any DE can be used with any distribution.

LXQt is being developed by the project that develops LXDE. LXQt uses the Qt development toolkit, LXDE uses the GTK+ development toolkit. It seems that the LXDE project got upset with the direction of GTK+ and decided to proceed with Qt in the long-term. Changes in direction like that are common with Linux.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Klassik said:


> Linux can be a real alphabet soup. Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems (*nix) use a command line interface (CLI) in their purest forms. This is to say that you have to type in all commands and there are not any graphics to click on. In order to make these operating systems easier to use, various different desktop windowing environments (DE) can be used to provide a graphical user interface (GUI). Some of the more popular DEs, like KDE, GNOME, and perhaps even Cinnamon/MATE, are known to use more system resources than other DEs like LXDE and Xfce. Most distributions use one of these DEs. Some use multiple DEs depending on user choice, but really any DE can be used with any distribution.
> 
> LXQt is being developed by the project that develops LXDE. LXQt uses the Qt development toolkit, LXDE uses the GTK+ development toolkit. It seems that the LXDE project got upset with the direction of GTK+ and decided to proceed with Qt in the long-term. Changes in direction like that are common with Linux.


Ah yes, my son does command line a lot on his computer. I don't know the first thing about it. But back in the 1980s I did command line all the time on MS DOS.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> Ah yes, my son does command line a lot on his computer. I don't know the first thing about it. But back in the 1980s I did command line all the time on MS DOS.


There are some good Linux programs that still use the CLI interface. Some of these programs have graphical shells made by other developers, but they are intended to be CLI software. Also, it is sometimes necessary to use the CLI to install/fix hardware issues in Linux. Fortunately, this isn't as common as it used to be a few years ago. There have been a few times where I've updated a Linux install and the update somehow broke X (the DE) and so I have to use the CLI.  Linux still isn't as seamless as Windows in that regard.

I have not used a CLI frequently since Windows 95 came out. I still used DOS about as frequently as I used Windows before that in the 1990s. In the 1980s, it was CLI or else on an IBM compatible PC for the most part.


----------



## Guest

I'm not techie but I find the terminal fine to use iff I am given the exact instruction of what to input. It is convenient for opening programs and using random software which has no GUI. I like it, but wish I had time to learn more.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Tulse said:


> I'm not techie *but I find the terminal fine to use iff I am given the exact instruction of what to input.* It is convenient for opening programs and using random software which has no GUI. I like it, but wish I had time to learn more.


Exactly how I feel.


----------



## Guest

Fritz Kobus said:


> Now you're talking Greek. I have no idea what these acronyms mean.


It's simply about the use of an OS. The commonest GHL (gated) is the DD Bus, but some folk like to incorporate less integrated drive electronics to allow more C+ run-throughs. Just detoggle your NVRAM to check on your use of FLEE bytes. (Check your EVS, IFG and A-I plug-in too; just to be on the safe side).

That should fix it.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Chortle:

*Facebook invents new unit of time to measure modern attention spans: 1/705,600,000 of a sec*

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/23/facebook_flick_time_interval/


----------



## philoctetes

Sometimes I feel like such a noob. Just learned about OpenDNS this week, configured it on my router this morning and zoooom those wily coyotes will never catch me now...

Next step is DNSCrypt which does exactly what it says and maybe Pi-hole for blocking website ads...


----------



## philoctetes

It all makes sense if you remember that one FLEE byte = 8 FLEE bits, but their only main use is to annoy the dog...


----------



## philoctetes

I think it's worth using command lines mainly for the buffer and edit capability. Actually easier for frequent tasks than a pull-down menu.

For example, I am always switching audio output on my pi, and it's much easier to do it by command line than entering the system configuration menu.

And one more thing, your menus can be configured to run any command line options you want... if you know what they are. I use -P on Firefox, and my panel icon has been edited to run that option.


----------



## philoctetes

My Toshiba runs Mate with 1.66 GHz and 4 GB and seems to like it.

I don't know about other people but my default mode of security and performance tuneup is simply frequent OS reinstallations. I keep all my personal stuff on a separate partition and backup drives. It rarely happens but if something seems wrong I can have a fresh computer running within an hour...

Of course that was not possible with MS Windows, more like 2-3 hours... for a system that is open to attack out of the box...


----------



## Klassik

Klassik said:


> Here's an interesting article. Several of the most popular websites, including Microsoft, WordPress, and Spotify, use keyloggers to track all typing input (even if the user deletes information before hitting submit), mouse actions, and scrolling actions on the website. Some websites even logged credit card information and submitted it to a third party using encrypted connections even though the site itself was encrypted. Some sites, like Walgreens, may have disclosed identifiable medical information to third parties.
> 
> https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ploy-privacy-invading-session-replay-scripts/


I was poking around the DG website and came across this statement:



> Declaration of data privacy for the use of Mouseflow
> 
> This website uses Mouseflow, a web analysis tool from Mouseflow ApS, Flaesketorvet 68, 1711 Copenhagen, Denmark, to record randomly selected individual visits (only with anonymized IP addresses). This creates a record of mouse movements and clicks with the intention of randomly playing back individual website visits, thus deriving potential improvements for the website. The information is anonymous and is not passed on. If you do not want this information recorded, you can deactivate this on all websites that use Mouseflow at the following link: www.mouseflow.de/opt-out.


So it seems that DG (and presumably also Decca) uses website session tracking, but at least they give an opt-out option. Granted, it's really hidden, but I don't think most websites have that option. Who knows if they actually turn the system off if one opts out.


----------



## philoctetes

So here is a linux problem that seeks desperate solutions or explanations if not easy ones - formatting a USB stick or micro SD card for best RW perfomance. My transfers to these devices freeze up if I format them on the laptop I'm backing up. Windows could do this much better with everything else equal. So far the best performance is gained by formatting them on my Android phone, a tip I got from some linux forum...


----------



## Dr Johnson

Windows 7 users:

Has anybody else had trouble installing this month's security update KB 4074598?

Some sites suggest that there is a potential problem with some AV software/registry settings but I have checked my registry settings and they are correct.

All information welcome.


----------



## Dr Johnson

For those of you keen to keep up to date with my Windoze problems (evidently nobody  ), I have finally succeeded in installing KB 4074598.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I thought Windows 7 is no longer supported by Microsoft. Is this an old update?


----------



## Dr Johnson

Fritz Kobus said:


> I thought Windows 7 is no longer supported by Microsoft. Is this an old update?


Extended support ends on January 14 2020.

KB 4074598 is this month's "Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7" as it is rather grandly (and absurdly) called.

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4074598


----------



## Dr Johnson

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/15/man_sues_microsoft_windows_7/

Got to admire this chap.


----------



## Klassik

Dr Johnson said:


> https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/15/man_sues_microsoft_windows_7/
> 
> Got to admire this chap.


It sounds like Microsoft will rue the day they made Dickman mad by taking away his Windows 7!


----------



## starthrower

What search engines are people using for images? As of a couple days ago I can't upload anything from Google. They have a copyright notice on every search I do. So I found a site called Bing. https://www.bing.com/?FORM=Z9FD


----------



## Klassik

starthrower said:


> What search engines are people using for images? As of a couple days ago I can't upload anything from Google. They have a copyright notice on every search I do. So I found a site called Bing. https://www.bing.com/?FORM=Z9FD


Perhaps you should clear your cookies. You may have clicked on some setting to limit your search to copyright-free images. Clearing your cookies should revert everything to Google's defaults.

As for other options, Bing is one. DuckDuckGo is pretty good too.


----------



## Art Rock

starthrower said:


> What search engines are people using for images? As of a couple days ago I can't upload anything from Google. They have a copyright notice on every search I do. So I found a site called Bing. https://www.bing.com/?FORM=Z9FD


This is the new Google policy after many complaints that they made it too easy to download copyrighted pictures. Undoubtedly Bing will have to follow suit.


----------



## starthrower

Thanks, Art Rock. I'm surprised they get away with having every album in the world uploaded on YouTube.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Try www.Duckduckgo.com for browsing.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Also try https://www.startpage.com/


----------



## hpowders

Klassik said:


> *Perhaps you should clear your cookies. * You may have clicked on some setting to limit your search to copyright-free images. Clearing your cookies should revert everything to Google's defaults.
> 
> As for other options, Bing is one. DuckDuckGo is pretty good too.


Got goosebumps. Sounds sexy!!!


----------



## Klassik

hpowders said:


> Got goosebumps. Sounds sexy!!!


Well, I do clear my cookies regularly. Actually, I just use "private mode" so that I don't have to clear my cookies!


----------



## hpowders

Klassik said:


> Well, I do clear my cookies regularly. Actually, I just use "private mode" so that I don't have to clear my cookies!


The real problem is, after that, one must re-log in to all web sites one belongs to, as saved passwords are then gone. I did that once; never again! Imagine if I was blocked on TC because of cookie clearing and I could never get back on because my hand-typed password wouldn't ever get accepted again, and 137 TC members could then re-open their "hpowders ignore list"? Why, it's unthinkable; unimaginable!


----------



## Klassik

hpowders said:


> The real problem is, after that, one must re-log in to all web sites one belongs to, as saved passwords are then gone. I did that once; never again! Imagine if I was blocked on TC because of cookie clearing and I could never get back on because my hand-typed password wouldn't ever get accepted again, and 137 TC members could then re-open their "hpowders ignore list"? Why, it's unthinkable; unimaginable!


The way I see it, TC has to earn my business each time I visit.* Besides, the muscle memory in my fingers are pretty good. Some might be better, but it's good enough for my purposes!

*Obviously my standards are pretty low given some of the threads I see up at the top when I first access the site!


----------



## hpowders

Klassik said:


> The way I see it, TC has to earn my business each time I visit.* Besides, the muscle memory in my fingers are pretty good. Some might be better, but it's good enough for my purposes!
> 
> *Obviously my standards are pretty low given some of the threads I see up at the top when I first access the site!


I just got a compliment before and my typing finger turned red, so I guess the muscle memory is pretty good there...goes well with my fishy white socks.


----------



## hpowders

Typo above: "figure" changed to "finger".


----------



## KenOC

WaPo story: "Getting a new iPhone battery is often a frustrating, weeks-long process"

An interesting article. On the other hand, my wife thought the battery in her aging Android phone was fading. I ordered a new one, 3200 mAH, from Amazon for eight bucks. Got here in two days and it took about 30 seconds to swap out, using only my fingernails as tools to pop the case. Is there a moral here?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...n-a-frustrating-weeks-long-process/ar-BBJnHoo


----------



## Couchie

The flagship Androids don't have replaceable batteries anymore either.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Here are the specs for the new computer my son (IT student) is building for me. He has the exact same set-up since a year ago and loves it. Says he can have 120 tabs open in the browser and not notice any slowing down of the processor.

OS: Linux Mint Cinnamon

ASUS LGA1151 DDR4 M.2 HDMI DVI USB3.0 H110 MicroATX Motherboard (H110M-A/M.2)

Intel Boxed Core I5-6400 FC-LGA14C 2.70 Ghz 6 M Processor Cache 4 LGA 1151 BX80662I56400

CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 2400MHz C16 Memory Kit - Red (CMK8GX4M1A2400C16R)

SanDisk SSD PLUS 120GB Solid State Drive - SDSSDA-120G-G26

Seagate 2TB BarraCuda SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive (ST2000DM006)

Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive DRW-24B1ST

Here is the case it will go into:


----------



## Dr Johnson

Can he build me a laptop version?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> Can he build me a laptop version?


Not likely. Laptop is very difficult because everything has to fit just so in very tight spaces. He has not ever built a laptop.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> Here are the specs for the new computer my son (IT student) is building for me. He has the exact same set-up since a year ago and loves it. Says he can have 120 tabs open in the browser and not notice any slowing down of the processor.
> 
> OS: Linux Mint Cinnamon
> 
> ASUS LGA1151 DDR4 M.2 HDMI DVI USB3.0 H110 MicroATX Motherboard (H110M-A/M.2)
> 
> Intel Boxed Core I5-6400 FC-LGA14C 2.70 Ghz 6 M Processor Cache 4 LGA 1151 BX80662I56400
> 
> CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 2400MHz C16 Memory Kit - Red (CMK8GX4M1A2400C16R)
> 
> SanDisk SSD PLUS 120GB Solid State Drive - SDSSDA-120G-G26
> 
> Seagate 2TB BarraCuda SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive (ST2000DM006)
> 
> Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive DRW-24B1ST


I'm sure you'll like your new computer. My only suggestion is to get a full ATX motherboard if you're getting a full ATX case so you'll have more room for upgrades. Of course, if you don't plan on adding anything, I guess Micro ATX is fine. Also, don't skimp on the power supply. A good one will be more reliable, quieter, and more energy efficient.

On the topic of cases, that's one of the better ones I've seen. That said, I wish the DIY case manufacturers would make more attractive cases. Most of the ones I see look like they were designed by 13 year old gamers who will never be touched by a females when they get older. C'mon China, not everyone who builds their own computers wants blue lights on them that will illuminate a highway and angles that look like a bad Transformers toy from 1986. 



Dr Johnson said:


> Can he build me a laptop version?





Fritz Kobus said:


> Not likely. Laptop is very difficult because everything has to fit just so in very tight spaces. He has not ever built a laptop.


There are some pretty powerful laptops on the market now. Long gone are the days when laptops had a significant disadvantage to desktops. Still, if you want a beastly PC for the latest video games or multimedia programs, a desktop is the way to go.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I didn't think to post the power supply but here it is:

EVGA 450 B1, 80+ BRONZE 450W, 3 Year Warranty, Includes FREE Power On Self Tester, Power Supply 100-B1-0450-K1

Also have two of these:
ARCTIC F9 - 92 mm Standard Case Fan | Ultra Low Noise Cooler | Silent Cooler with Standard Case | Push- or Pull Configuration possible

No upgrades planned for this computer.

If I wanted an awesome desktop, there are companies making them specifically for and loaded with Linux. They tend to be expensive, but excellent computers, and I think you can customize to some extent.

Here is a site for Laptops that my son likes: https://system76.com/

He would like one, but is holding off as he still has his HP laptop and it is working fine as he does not use it much.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> EVGA 450 B1, 80+ BRONZE 450W, 3 Year Warranty, Includes FREE Power On Self Tester, Power Supply 100-B1-0450-K1


I don't know about that PSU specifically, but that should be a good choice.



> Here is a site for Laptops that my son likes: https://system76.com/
> 
> He would like one, but is holding off as he still has his HP laptop and it is working fine as he does not use it much.


I suspect that System76 uses whitebox barebones laptops from companies like Clevo, MSI, or Compal and then customizes them to what the customer wants in terms of RAM, storage, and so forth. These might be good laptops, but I prefer buying something like an HP, Dell, or Lenovo business laptop. I have an older HP Compaq Elitebook Core i5 laptop and it's built like a tank. These things are designed to take abuse and they are also designed to be used and not just be something fancy to look at when they are new. They have matte screens that don't have the big glare problems that consumer laptops have and they have keyboards/trackpads that are actually meant for use. They are also designed not to get too hot and roast your nuts. And, of course, they can be customized to have all the important features like an internal optical drive. :lol: I know HP will ship their business computers without an OS if you don't want Windows (the keyboard will probably still have Windows buttons though). Dell and Lenovo probably do the same and I think you can even get Linux pre-installed from Dell. I'm not sure about Lenovo or the others.

The business laptops are more expensive naturally, but I think it's money well spent if you want to keep the laptop for more than a year or two.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I did not realize the business grade laptops have anti glare screens. I should check my office Dell. I rarely use it separate from the dock and my two 24" screens and full sized keyboard.

When shopping for my wife's laptop in 2013 the glare on the screens was annoying in the store displays until we found the only one that had anti glare (matte finish) which was a Samsung, so that is what we got.

My current computer dates to around 2006 and is a used business model with a Intel Core 2 CPU 6320 @ 1.86 GHz * 2 and 3.9 GB memory. 

My new computer will be expandable to 16 GB is needed, but 8 seems like plenty.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> When shopping for my wife's laptop in 2013 the glare on the screens was annoying in the store displays until we found the only one that had anti glare (matte finish) which was a Samsung, so that is what we got.


Yes, I hate those glossy screens that are common on consumer laptops. What a disaster. I also dislike the 16:9 or even 16:10 monitors on desktop computers. Yeah, they're great for watching movies or working on spreadsheets with many columns, but they are terrible for browsing the web and working on written documents. I use a 5:4 monitor on my desktop and also at work. One of those huge, high resolution monitors look tempting, but I don't have room on my desk for it anyway.

The keyboards and trackpads on consumer laptops tend to be really poor as well. Some of them have weird textures on the trackpads which makes using them accurately difficult. My HP actually has both a trackpad and a pointing stick. The keyboards work better on the business laptops and don't wear away and get as greasy looking as easily as well. Another side benefit of business laptops is that you can order them without webcams and microphones if you want to increase the security of the system. And, like I mentioned earlier, they tend not to get as hot as consumer laptops. Mine only gets warm during normal use and the fan doesn't have to run very hard at all so it's pretty silent.

As for used business computers, that's not a bad way to go. Nice laptops and desktops can be brought off-lease for a very fair price. Computers don't get outdated as quickly as they used to so something that is 3-4 years old should still have a lot of life left in it if it's used for web browsing, typing stuff, and playing music. I can't really say which company makes the best business laptop right now. Desktops are less of a problem and you should be okay with any of the major manufacturers.



> My current computer dates to around 2006 and is a used business model with a Intel Core 2 CPU 6320 @ 1.86 GHz * 2 and 3.9 GB memory.
> 
> My new computer will be expandable to 16 GB is needed, but 8 seems like plenty.


My desktop from home is also from 2006, but it has a Core2 Duo E6400. I believe that was one of the two original C2Ds. It's old (ok, ancient), but it does what I ask to it (browse the web, play HD video, play and record music, do light duty word processing/spreadsheet stuff). My Core i5 M560 laptop from 2010 or 2011 is virtually brand new in comparison. :lol:

8GB is probably enough for now unless you're doing multimedia work or you like to keep a ton of browser tabs/windows open. I suppose you've been able to test your son's system to make sure the on-board sound card works well in Linux. That can be a problem.


----------



## Guest

I find it amazing how long modern computers can last for without breaking or becoming obsolete (if you don't play games).

I buy second hand HP laptops. The one I use for work is 12 years old, running Lubuntu, and it cost £40 from ebay. My main non-work computer I bought new 7 years ago has Linux Mint Cinnamon and I have another of a similar age which cost about £80 where I have kept Windows 7 on it. It is handy to keep as a spare in case the others fail but I haven't booted it up in a year.

The only problems I've found with HP laptops is that the fans choke with dust causing them to overheat, and this needs a full strip down, which I find quite tricky but doable, and the keyboards cannot survive a glass of red wine spilt over them.


----------



## Dr Johnson

I have a huge prejudice against HP because of an absolutely rubbish printer that I ended up gleefully smashing to pieces (recorded somewhere in this thread or another in the Community Forum).

However that's just me! :lol:

I have found "pre-loved" Dells to be very reliable.

I'm sure there are other decent 2nd hand buys out there.

Mrs Johnson has the first Dell I bought (£50?) with Mint Cinnamon 17.3

I have a slightly more expensive (£90?) Dell on which I run Fedora 27.

But, as recorded in this very thread, I have an Entroware Titan running Mint Cinnamon 17.3 as my main laptop.


----------



## Klassik

Dr Johnson said:


> I have a huge prejudice against HP because of an absolutely rubbish printer that I ended up gleefully smashing to pieces (recorded somewhere in this thread or another in the Community Forum).


Oh, trust me, I've had a rubbish HP ink jet printer too. I still have it even though it does not work (the POS only lasted about a year). I've been waiting to take it to an electronics recycler, but maybe I ought to go "Office Space" on it like you seemingly did. HP consumer printers and laptops are total rubbish (their consumer desktops are probably about as good as anything else). I will say that HP's business laser printers are still pretty good and durable though even if they aren't the tanks they used to be. I can't speak for their current business laptops and desktops, but the ones from a few years ago are very solid.

Long story short, HP is one of those brands where blanket statements are hard to make.


----------



## Guest

I've found for decades where my employers have used HP Compaq the computers have been bullet proof. A bad IBM Thinkpad experience in the 90s made me a late adopter of laptops. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much, or indeed, any parts interchangeability amongst my laptops except for the power cables where I find it very convenient to plug them in in various locations round my house.

I've had the same experience with an HP wireless printer, I never really got it going right and after a few weeks it seized up. Now I have a Brother laser printer and my back up is an HP Deskjet which is still working after 17 years (but the ink supply is drying up).


----------



## Klassik

Tulse said:


> I've had the same experience with an HP wireless printer, I never really got it going right and after a few weeks it seized up. Now I have a Brother laser printer and my back up is an HP Deskjet which is still working after 17 years (but the ink supply is drying up).


I have a HP Deskjet 5550 from around 2002 that's still kicking around. I kept it after I got the new POS HP printer because I wasn't sure if the new HP would last very long Well, that proved prophetic. Unfortunately, as you say, ink for it is hard to find and very expensive if it can be found. It'll probably have to go to the recycler too even though it does still work. I had a Deskjet 550C from ~1993 before that and that thing was a tank of an inkjet printer. Of course, it cost about as much as a tank. :lol: I've used a lot of HP laser printers at my employers over the years. The low end models are real junk, but the mid-tier lasers on up are pretty good. The days of seriously overbuilt printers, like the Laserjet 4, are in the past, but the new HP lasers are still pretty solid. I believe HP has used Canon print engines in their laser printers for decades now.

One thing I liked about the older HP inkjets is that the print heads were right on the cartridges. If they became dirty, all one had to do was take the cartridge out and clean it with alcohol or put in a new cartridge. Some of the lower end HP inkjets might be like this still, but those are rubbish printers anyway. The higher end models, like most inkjets from other brands, have the printheads built into the printer and the only way to clean them is to waste a lot of ink. Given this, laser printers make a lot of sense if monochrome printing is fine.


----------



## Guest

Laserjets were boringly reliable, i doubt if there is anything of their quality available now. My Brother laser printer on the other hand feels quite delicate but it has been fine for a year so far and was pretty cheap, about £160 new.


----------



## Klassik

Tulse said:


> Laserjets were boringly reliable, i doubt if there is anything of their quality available now.


We have/had some relatively new HP LaserJets at work and they have been reliable even though some of them were used well beyond their duty cycle. The thing I don't like about them is that they are made out of brittle plastic and it always feels like something is about to break off if you open a paper tray or something. Now I will say that I do have some experience using entry level LaserJets and they are total garbage. Stick to something like a Brother or Oki if you need a lower end laser printer.


----------



## Guest

Klassik, I nominate the two of us as the most boring people on TC for our in depth discussion of computer printers.


----------



## Klassik

Tulse said:


> Klassik, I nominate the two of us as the most boring people on TC for our in depth discussion of computer printers.


I used to have a daisy wheel printer that used to produce horrible sounds when in operation. Given that, I'm sure some of our contemporary music loving posters would have loved it. :lol:


----------



## Capeditiea

Well... mine is a Gateway... running Manjaro. Used to use Arch for a few years... but too much work maintaining it...  so i switched to manjaro. 

---edited to be more humble.


----------



## hpowders

Capeditiea said:


> Well... mine is a Gateway... running Manjaro. Used to use Arch for a few years... but too much work maintaining it...  so i switched to manjaro.
> 
> ---edited to be more humble.


Gateway, that's like....an antique, no?


----------



## Capeditiea

hpowders said:


> Gateway, that's like....an antique, no?


almost.  mine came out in 2012.  and has survived this long.  (time travelling with it included.)


----------



## Klassik

hpowders said:


> Gateway, that's like....an antique, no?


It could be worse, he could have a Wang. Now that'd really be an antique. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Laboratories

Remember when the 2000 in Gateway 2000 seemed really far off into the future? Now, not so much. It seemed that Gateway made a bit of a miscalculation in thinking that people would want cow-themed computers in the new millennium. :lol:


----------



## Capeditiea

Klassik said:


> It could be worse, he could have a Wang. Now that'd really be an antique.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Laboratories
> 
> Remember when the 2000 in Gateway 2000 seemed really far off into the future? Now, not so much. It seemed that Gateway made a bit of a miscalculation in thinking that people would want cow-themed computers in the new millennium. :lol:


The computer i got used to playing Diablo 2 and Starcraft was a gateway...

i have a blatant fear for dells and hps... hp slows down tragically when you are low on disk space... and dell's performance decreases substantially by the end of the first few years...

apples just suck...

I haven't experienced alienware... though my next pc will be build your own...  but that would cost me around 3000USD for what i want... (plus two additional screens... because those are necessary for anyone who spend about 95% of their waking life in front of the computer.)

thought the screens would probably end up being enough to fill my room... with two exceptions. the pathway to my chair, and the pathway to my bed.  thusly i would end up with about 30-40 screens to fit my comfort needs.  which after all this obtained i can dive deeper into my delusional mind and rule the world. *nods


----------



## Capeditiea

i am also guessing Wang was text only... and not GUI


----------



## Klassik

Capeditiea said:


> i am also guessing Wang was text only... and not GUI


Wangs are more powerful than you think. A 486 Wang could run Windows 95 or NT!


----------



## Capeditiea

Klassik said:


> Wangs are more powerful than you think. A 486 Wang could run Windows 95 or NT!


Maybe run puppy linux?


----------



## Klassik

Capeditiea said:


> Maybe run puppy linux?


I doubt it .


----------



## Capeditiea

Klassik said:


> I doubt it .


nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(extra o's to fill in the spaces.)

---edited because fnord.


----------



## KenOC

Dr Johnson said:


> I have found "pre-loved" Dells to be very reliable.


Amazon has plenty. I'm using a refurbished Dell OptiPlex 780 Tower with 8GB memory, 1 TB hard drive, and Windows 10. All for about $150 incl. shipping! Kind of a battleship but plenty of USB ports and open slots. Rock-solid too. Quite amazing.

Generally these older refurbed corporate machines will need an add-on video card for any serious gaming. I didn't need that but added a USB 3 card for my external drives.


----------



## Klassik

On the topic of HP, you have to admit that their scanners are pretty musical:






No word if Epson scanners will perform Xenakis on demand.


----------



## KenOC

Perverse incentives: I need new ink for my cheap Canon printer. I can buy the two cartridges new for about $50, or $35 from a refiller. The printer only cost $30 in the first place, with “economy” cartridges included.

I see that I can replace the whole printer with a similar model from WalMart for $20, again with economy cartridges. It looks like the best plan is to simply stuff the old printer into the garbage can every time the ink runs out and get a brand new replacement. Can this be right? Should my conscience be troubled?


----------



## Klassik

KenOC said:


> It looks like the best plan is to simply stuff the old printer into the garbage can every time the ink runs out and get a brand new replacement. Can this be right? Should my conscience be troubled?


The printer companies make money on the supplies, not the printer itself. I can see how someone could come out ahead buying a new, cheapo printer each time the ink runs out. Having said that, cheap printers are no bargains when it comes to price per page. You might be better off buying a more expensive printer that has much lower costs per page. Plus, more expensive printers have built-in duplexing to save paper. A low-cost laser might be the best way to go if you don't need color.


----------



## Dr Johnson

The ink cartridges for my Canon MG2450 seem to only last for about 20 pages


----------



## Klassik

Dr Johnson said:


> The ink cartridges for my Canon MG2450 seem to only last for about 20 pages


A lot of ink simple goes towards keeping the print heads clean. This is especially true if the printer is not used often. Again, the older HPs were nice because they didn't run cleaning cycles very often on their own, but that was then. Again, the answer is to get a monochrome laser printer if you don't need color. The toner won't dry out since it's already dry so the stuff in the cartridge actually goes on the paper and not in a sponge at the bottom of the printer.


----------



## Art Rock

We got fed up with the "ran out of ink" problems on our HP printer. We don't print that often anyway, and there is a shop in walking distance that prints good quality for 10 cents a page. Works out far cheaper.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Klassik said:


> A lot of ink simple goes towards keeping the print heads clean. This is especially true if the printer is not used often. Again, the older HPs were nice because they didn't run cleaning cycles very often on their own, but that was then. Again, the answer is to get a monochrome laser printer if you don't need color. The toner won't dry out since it's already dry so the stuff in the cartridge actually goes on the paper and not in a sponge at the bottom of the printer.


Unfortunately there are times when I do want colour.


----------



## Klassik

Dr Johnson said:


> Unfortunately there are times when I do want colour.


Well, crayons are always an option. :lol: There are times where I need color prints too (mostly color photocopies). I currently have a Canon MX922 inkjet. The ink costs for it are kind of high (especially since it has 5 different tanks) and it is slow for a higher end inkjet, but it's still cheaper per page than the cheaper ink jets. It's also more reliable than the HP POS I had before it. I looked at color lasers, but they were much more expensive to get one that does duplex scanning from the feeder. Color lasers aren't bad if you don't need photo-quality prints, but they aren't quite as economical as monochrome lasers.

I should say that the Canon does not work as well in Linux as the HP, but it does work.

On a completely different topic, I mentioned a few posts up that an older HP scanner has an "easter egg" feature where it'll play the Ode to Joy. Well, here's a transcription I just found of the Ode to Joy for six floppy drives.  It still sounds better than Celibidache! :lol:






If you're really in for some torture, here's BWV 565 on eight floppy drives:






For our classical radio crowd, here's Pachelbel's Canon in D on eight floppy drives:






And, finally, I mentioned the possibility of daisy wheel printer music in an earlier thread. Well, this is not that, but here's a little night music performed by a dot matrix printer:






:tiphat:


----------



## Couchie

I've never had issues with HP or Canon printers, although I prefer Canon. If you want to know what hell is, buy Lexmark.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I heard that HP printers are the best to use with Linux. When I got my HP last fall it took a lot of effort and searching to find drivers for the Linux Mint Mate operating system. I just got my new computer installed the other day and it has Linux Mint Cinnamon and the printer just connected up with no effort at all.


----------



## SixFootScowl

My major gripe about printers is they are default set to print the entire file, which one rarely does and the times one does print the entire file are when they forget to change the setting to "current page." Arrrrrrrrrgh! What is it? A conspiracy by the printer companies to promote sales of ink and paper? Googling on it shows that there is no solution short of making a macro to print current page and running the printer off the macro. This is as bad as General Motors utterly stupid idea that backup lights should come on at any time other than when a vehicle is in reverse with the ignition on.


----------



## Klassik

Couchie said:


> I've never had issues with HP or Canon printers, although I prefer Canon. If you want to know what hell is, buy Lexmark.


Fortunately, Lexmark does not make inkjet printers anymore. They did have a bad reputation for their inkjet printers. Having said that, their laser printers are supposedly quite good.



Fritz Kobus said:


> I heard that HP printers are the best to use with Linux. When I got my HP last fall it took a lot of effort and searching to find drivers for the Linux Mint Mate operating system. I just got my new computer installed the other day and it has Linux Mint Cinnamon and the printer just connected up with no effort at all.


HP printers do work well in Linux. The older version of Mint may have not had your printer model on it, but I guess the newer one did. You probably could have downloaded the driver anyway from HP's site. In most cases, you don't really need the driver for the specific model of printer you have. The driver for a similar printer should work fine. In the case of laser HP printers, a generic PCL driver should be fine too. Of course, that may not help with the scanner part of the printer or anything like that.



Fritz Kobus said:


> My major gripe about printers is they are default set to print the entire file, which one rarely does and the times one does print the entire file are when they forget to change the setting to "current page." Arrrrrrrrrgh! What is it? A conspiracy by the printer companies to promote sales of ink and paper? Googling on it shows that there is no solution short of making a macro to print current page and running the printer off the macro. This is as bad as General Motors utterly stupid idea that backup lights should come on at any time other than when a vehicle is in reverse with the ignition on.


I'm thinking that the decision whether to print all pages or just the current page is made by the software that you're printing from and not the print driver settings. I could be wrong about that though, but it might be possible to do something from the print driver to only print the current page. Anyway, it's a good habit to do a print preview first (Chrome, Microsoft Office 2007+, Adobe Acrobat, and some other programs give a print preview by default on the printing screen) and then decide which pages you want to print. I always go into the print settings and adjust the quality/duplex options for each print job too depending on what I need. In most cases, draft mode in black-only (low ink density) with duplex turned on is what I use, but occasionally I need to set it to higher quality. I will say that Windows print drivers usually have more customization options than Linux print drivers in this regard.


----------



## Dr Johnson

With Linux and printers I have found the following commands most useful on many occasions:

lpstat -o

and

cancel -a [printer]

Much frustration has been avoided with these.


----------



## Capeditiea

Dr Johnson said:


> With Linux and printers I have found the following commands most useful on many occasions:
> 
> lpstat -o
> 
> and
> 
> cancel -a [printer]
> 
> Much frustration has been avoided with these.


linux always makes controling things easier... with the exception of a few things... like trying to make your android into a keyboard/mousepad. so you can simply sit back and relax while doing things on the laptop. :3


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dr Johnson said:


> With Linux and printers I have found the following commands most useful on many occasions:
> 
> lpstat -o
> 
> and
> 
> cancel -a [printer]
> 
> Much frustration has been avoided with these.


I have not done command line. I do have a print queue on the bottom bar that I can pull up fairly easily (2 clicks). Cancel is just a couple more clicks or in a panic turn off the printer.


----------



## Judith

Think my computer has only two speeds. Dead slow and stop


----------



## SixFootScowl

Judith said:


> Think my computer has only two speeds. Dead slow and stop


What are it's specs?


----------



## Klassik

Judith said:


> Think my computer has only two speeds. Dead slow and stop


It's hard to say why without knowing what kind of computer it is. Perhaps it's hardware related. Perhaps it's an old install of Windows that has "acquired" some junkware and maybe malware that is slowing things down. Maybe it's a brand new computer out of the box that has been pre-loaded with a bunch of garbage by the manufacturer!  That does happen. Anyway, if the hardware is still good enough for modern computing, perhaps you should backup your data and install a clean copy of the OS (assuming it's an OS worth using here in 2018) using the system restore options. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, be sure to backup your data because a clean restore will delete everything.


----------



## Judith

Klassik said:


> It's hard to say why without knowing what kind of computer it is. Perhaps it's hardware related. Perhaps it's an old install of Windows that has "acquired" some junkware and maybe malware that is slowing things down. Maybe it's a brand new computer out of the box that has been pre-loaded with a bunch of garbage by the manufacturer!  That does happen. Anyway, if the hardware is still good enough for modern computing, perhaps you should backup your data and install a clean copy of the OS (assuming it's an OS worth using here in 2018) using the system restore options. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, be sure to backup your data because a clean restore will delete everything.


Thank you. It is an updated "windows 10" from 7 but a laptop that's a few years old!


----------



## Klassik

Judith said:


> Thank you. It is an updated "windows 10" from 7 but a laptop that's a few years old!


Doing a system restore (after you backup your data of course) will probably help you get back to the performance your computer had when it was new, but the Windows 10 upgrade does complicate things a bit. If you use the system restore utility on your PC, I would assume that it would put Windows 7 back on it and you wouldn't be able to get the 10 update again. Some, myself included, would consider that to be a good thing. However, if you want Windows 10 again, you may have to use a different restore method. I'm not familiar with what that would be off the top of my head.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Judith said:


> Thank you. It is an updated "windows 10" from 7 but a laptop that's a few years old!


Linux would be great, would free up memory and processor speed, but I would not want to try installing Linux by myself. My son did it for me and there were a few things to deal with that I would not have known how to do.


----------



## Capeditiea

Fritz Kobus said:


> Linux would be great, would free up memory and processor speed, but I would not want to try installing Linux by myself. My son did it for me and there were a few things to deal with that I would not have known how to do.


At least it wasn't Arch Linux.


----------



## KenOC

In Windows 10, you can re-install in Settings, Updates and Security. One option there is to lose all your data and programs which I assume gives a "clean" install. So you'll need to back up your data first and be ready to re-install your apps.

Windows 10 should run just as fast as Windows 7 unless something's fouled up.


----------



## Taggart

You don't need to lose your data to do a clean install in W10. The reset tool will do a clean install while keeping all your data. Do a check beforehand to make sure that the version you use does not delete licensing information and that you have full details of all software you have currently installed. Reset will produce a list of "removed software" to help you rebuild your machine. It's fairly brutal but effective.


----------



## Couchie

I installed openSUSE on my main desktop and it only took 3 tries and I've only broken the install twice but it's working great now. I like the snapper rollback feature for when I mess everything up.


----------



## Dan Ante

My poor old desk top is playing up a bit, still using Vista but have decided to get a new lap top with windows 10 so knowing it had a few problems in the past is it now a stable system ? any comments.

http://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/laptops-ultrabooks-notebooks/new-inspiron-15-3000/spd/inspiron-15-3567-laptop/b510164nz


----------



## KenOC

Nothing about laptops, but I'm using a Dell desktop, bought reconditioned for cheap, that's run for a long time stable as a rock with Windows 10.


----------



## Klassik

Dan Ante said:


> My poor old desk top is playing up a bit, still using Vista but have decided to get a new lap top with windows 10 so knowing it had a few problems in the past is it now a stable system ? any comments.
> 
> http://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/laptops-ultrabooks-notebooks/new-inspiron-15-3000/spd/inspiron-15-3567-laptop/b510164nz


I'm not a fan of consumer laptops as compared to business class laptops, but the one in your link has a non-glare screen (albeit fairly low resolution) and a DVD/CD drive so it looks okay on paper. Some would say it hits on all the important matters. :lol:


----------



## TxllxT

Today our computers went through a Windows 10 version 1803 update, that lasted unusually long and seems to offer only speech recognition (which we dislike) as a novelty. The new version begins also with a lengthy survey of nosy questions to which we answered 'no' almost all the time. But Microsoft is opening up on its spying customs, that now can be blocked.


----------



## Klassik

TxllxT said:


> But Microsoft is opening up on its spying customs, that now can be blocked.


Until the next update...


----------



## Klassik

Smartphone maker BLU settled a case with the US FTC because it was letting a third-party company in China have access to phone user's full text messages, real-time locations, dialed numbers, and contact lists for advertising purposes.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...-let-partner-collect-customers-text-messages/


----------



## Dan Ante

I must apologise to all for not responding but my email notification did not work, its OK on other threads. 
My desk top is back to normal thanks to some assistance from a PC forum.


----------



## Joe B

Has anyone downloaded and installed the new Feature update to Windows 10, version 1803? I downloaded and installed yesterday and through the night. This morning my computer network was down. My PC could no longer find my NAS device. Wonderful! I've rolled it back to Feature update to Windows 10, version 1709 because I have too much work to do today and can't afford wasting any more time trying to trouble shoot whatever the new install did. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to finish the install.


----------



## Taggart

Yes. Went OK. Usual rubbish about settings. Usual problems about old Windows help and one or two other bits. 

Doesn't seem to offer much. Main advantage is that I'm up to date and don't get the problems of updates not being installed.


----------



## Klassik

Well, it was only a matter of time I suppose. Google's parent company is working on smart diapers. The smart diapers will be able to send a signal when it's time for a change, differentiate between urination and crapping events, and keep a log of such urination/crapping events for parents who want to run statistics on such things. :lol:

https://arstechnica.com/science/201...erily-would-skip-sniff-test-to-answer-1-or-2/


----------



## Dr Johnson

Arstechnica indeed.


----------



## DeepR

Here's the legendary demo "Second Reality" from the so called demo scene. Winner of the 1993 Assembly competition. Hobbyist programmer and computer nerd walhalla. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_(demoparty)

Graphically it may not seem like much today, but 25 years ago I watched this as a 12 year old. It completely blew my mind and made me realize the potential of personal computers.


----------



## haydnguy

I just thought I'd add a couple of unrelated things:

1) In case anyone didn't know it, on Windows 10 the old Media Player still exists. In the search bar (just to the right of the Windows button start typing in "Media Player" (w/o quotes) and you'll see a menu bar pop up with the Media Player on the menu at the top that you can select.

2) In regards to a discussion I saw earlier today regarding keeping your CD collection in the cloud. The frustration I have had is that my upload speed has been so slow that it would take FOREVER to upload everything. I have just moved to a new town and my upload speed is much better but I'm going to have to test it out to see if it's practical. Microsoft offers a "Microsoft Office Home" subscription that includes 5 terabytes of cloud drive space for $10/month. Even if you don't use Office the cloud drive space alone is worth $10/month. But my upload speed has been so slow that it's been beyond frustrating for the last few years.


----------



## KenOC

A little USB3 5TB hard drive is currently $130, same price and you can put it in your pocket and take off if you like!

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Port...qid=1527573749&sr=8-3&keywords=5TB+hard+drive


----------



## haydnguy

KenOC said:


> A little USB3 5TB hard drive is currently $130, same price and you can put it in your pocket and take off if you like!
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Port...qid=1527573749&sr=8-3&keywords=5TB+hard+drive


Thank you! I'm bad about keeping up with that kind of stuff. I do use Office for other things so i"ll keep that but definitely getting one of those.


----------



## Art Rock

haydnguy said:


> Thank you! I'm bad about keeping up with that kind of stuff. I do use Office for other things so i"ll keep that but definitely getting one of those.


You need two actually. They do crash sometimes (fortunately not very often), so you need a back-up drive.


----------



## TxllxT

Today I found out how dirty my Logitech mouse had become with dirt having heaped up in the tiny fissure near the rolling wheel on top of the mouse. After using my Swiss army knife to pull out the stuff the mouse functioned again like new.

Also the renewed Windows 10 blocked my scanner Canon Lide 60 from functioning on. Windows 10 needs adding some text in its 'path' area, after which the Canon scanner worked again in full bloom.


----------



## KenOC

TxllxT said:


> Today I found out how dirty my Logitech mouse had become with dirt having heaped up in the tiny fissure near the rolling wheel on top of the mouse. After using my Swiss army knife to pull out the stuff the mouse functioned again like new.


Thanks for that! I was about to order a replacement for my wireless Logitech mouse because the scroll wheel was getting all goofy. I cleaned out the slot behind the scroll wheel like you said and --- all is fine now!


----------



## Dan Ante

TxllxT said:


> Today I found out how dirty my Logitech mouse had become with dirt having heaped up in the tiny fissure near the rolling wheel on top of the mouse. After using my Swiss army knife to pull out the stuff the mouse functioned again like new.





KenOC said:


> Thanks for that! I was about to order a replacement for my wireless Logitech mouse because the scroll wheel was getting all goofy. I cleaned out the slot behind the scroll wheel like you said and --- all is fine now!


What on earth are you doing with your mice?

]


----------



## KenOC

Dan Ante said:


> What on earth are you doing with your mice?


I assure you, it's nothing like what Richard Gere does with his gerbils.

http://hollywoodandswine.com/man-who-started-infamous-richard-gere-gerbil-rumor-finally-apologizes/


----------



## haydnguy

I did a little test tonight to see how fast a CD would upload to my cloud drive.

I ripped it to my hard drive (Windows Media Player) then uploaded. It took about 3 minutes.


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> I did a little test tonight to see how fast a CD would upload to my cloud drive.
> 
> I ripped it to my hard drive (Windows Media Player) then uploaded. It took about 3 minutes.


Would relate very much to what upload speed your ISP provides you. That can be upgraded to a higher rate for more money on the monthly fee.


----------



## Art Rock

Got up early, wanted to check TC, moved the laptop from sleep mode - Windows10 update ongoing. For two freaking hours. After that I log in, only to find screen after screen of what was updated (very excited! you'll love this!), with the option to choose using these features or not. After clicking NO on everything, I finally got to use my computer.


----------



## Klassik

Art Rock said:


> Got up early, wanted to check TC, moved the laptop from sleep mode - Windows10 update ongoing. For two freaking hours. After that I log in, only to find screen after screen of what was updated (very excited! you'll love this!), with the option to choose using these features or not. *After clicking NO on everything, I finally got to use my computer.*


It's not really your computer, but Microsoft will let you use it every once in a while so they can gather data on you.  Of course, Apple really isn't any better than Google is probably worse. Don't be shocked if some of those options you said no to end up getting magically enabled at some point down the road. Also, don't be surprised if Windows 10 ate up a lot of hard drive space with update bloat. 

Ugh, Windows 10.


----------



## Norman Gunston

Whats the best way to set up multiple email accounts


----------



## Norman Gunston

Just asking you know, never know when or if such a thing will come in handy


----------



## Dan Ante

Art Rock said:


> Got up early, wanted to check TC, moved the laptop from sleep mode - Windows10 update ongoing. For two freaking hours. After that I log in, only to find screen after screen of what was updated (very excited! you'll love this!), with the option to choose using these features or not. After clicking NO on everything, I finally got to use my computer.


 I don't get that problem with Vista


----------



## Joe B

Windows 10 Home Edition is the culprit. The Home Edition downloads automatically. And, even though you can set the time to install, limiting it to 'off' hours for your use, it will eventually install. My wife's computer installed the latest build after coming out of sleep mode just like Art Rock's.

I will never buy another computer that does not have a "Professional" version of Windows, where you can control all update features. 

I rolled back both computers after the latest build was installed, within the 10 day period. After that you're stuck with it.


----------



## Klassik

Dan Ante said:


> I don't get that problem with Vista


That's because you don't get updates with Vista. Then again, whatever viruses and holes for hackers to exploit that the now unpatched Vista is susceptible to might still be better than malware called Windows 10.


----------



## Guest

You could all solve these problems by using linux. Then you can decide when and what you wish to update. The updates are quick and don't slow down the computer and there are no forced restarts.

Also, I have heard about this great new distro.


----------



## Guest

Norman Gunston said:


> Just asking you know, never know when or if such a thing will come in handy


Such as with Tidal.


----------



## Klassik

Tulse said:


> Also, I have heard about this great new distro.


When this great new distro gets knocked down, does it get up again? Does it sing songs that reminds you of the good times? Of the better times? :lol:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Who has the oldest operating system here
I use windows 7 on my laptop


----------



## KenOC

Anybody else using DESQview?


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

KenOC said:


> Anybody else using DESQview?


So text is your thing. Do you still use this

I foolishly used to believe also the GUI's would never catch on and still remember using tele-type computer terminal on a Mainframe that used to type on paper back at you the interface with the computer - ie no screen. At Uni (in the early 80's they were still in use but not popular so easier to get access to...............
Also use to use punch cards as in under grad............


----------



## Klassik

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Who has the oldest operating system here
> I use windows 7 on my laptop


Well, Dan said he's still using Vista. I guess NZ isn't quite as technologically advanced as Australia. That said, I don't know if NZ has any ocker cowboys. 



EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> So text is your thing. Do you still use this
> 
> I foolishly used to believe also the GUI's would never catch on and still remember using tele-type computer terminal on a Mainframe that used to type on paper back at you the interface with the computer - ie no screen. At Uni (in the early 80's they were still in use but not popular so easier to get access to...............
> Also use to use punch cards as in under grad............


Is that you, John C. Dvorak?  That said, I didn't really find a GUI that I liked until Windows 95/NT 4. I preferred the CLI over things like the early versions of Windows, GEM, GEOS, the Amiga GUI, and all versions of MacOS including modern versions.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Yeah, NT was the first PC GUI I liked


----------



## Dan Ante

Klassik said:


> That's because you don't get updates with Vista. Then again, whatever viruses and holes for hackers to exploit that the now unpatched Vista is susceptible to might still be better than malware called Windows 10.


I gave a lengthy reply to this but for some reason it has vanished but basically I intend to stick with visa until the very end, all updates are available up to my present version plus the required patches I have then on my ext HD, I back up each day (when I remember) I run FF with Kaspersky free av, I shall fight to the bitter end and never say die. God save the Vista and all who sail in her. Hip hip ……. :cheers::tiphat:


----------



## Klassik

Dan Ante said:


> I gave a lengthy reply to this but for some reason it has vanished but basically I intend to stick with visa until the very end, all updates are available up to my present version plus the required patches I have then on my ext HD, I back up each day (when I remember) I run FF with Kaspersky free av, I shall fight to the bitter end and never say die. God save the Vista and all who sail in her. Hip hip ……. :cheers::tiphat:


I still have Vista on a desktop. Vista does not have a good reputation, but I find that it runs fine as long as one has hardware that was considered good in 2007+ like a Core2 Duo type processor and at least 2gb of RAM (32-bit, 4gb for 64-bit). Vista was often as slow as a pug on something like a Pentium 4 or Atom with 1gb of RAM. The Vista GUI is vastly better, IMO, than the goofy XP, Windows 8, and Windows 10 GUIs. Now, of course, Windows 7 pretty much has all the positives of Vista and is faster.

Oddly enough, I think it's still possible to use XP and get at least some updates. While XP has not been supported for many years now, I believe there are still embedded versions of Windows that are based on XP and still get updates. I've heard it's possible to use these updates on regular XP. I was never a big XP fan though and rarely used it except for a few years at work. It felt like a dumbed down version of Windows 2000. I quite liked Windows 2000 back in the day, but it did have some major security holes that were never patched after XP came out.


----------



## Guest

Klassik said:


> When this great new distro gets knocked down, does it get up again? Does it sing songs that reminds you of the good times? Of the better times? :lol:


If I so choose.


----------



## Capeditiea

I haven't used windows since... 2014. 

*nods, 

but GUI has inevitably made computers user friendly. :O 

though i have found text is more enjoyable... GUI is quite confusing after my arch linux experience... i guess i got used to seeing what my OS was doing rather than having it say... 

Downloading... ___(insert random program name)
in a gui box with a little bar going slowly up... 

instead in arch linux you have the percentage value, the size, the size download, how much time is left, how much time has passed... plus you can configure it to match your personal preference. 

i still use the terminal for installing and fetching programs.  because the terminal is amazing and addictive.

at one point i became obsessed with linx. (which incase one doesn't know it is a text browser that doesn't use a lot of data to look up things, like wikipedia or informative sites.) 


---added after realizing
:O i forgot to click post quick reply...


----------



## SixFootScowl

Klassik said:


> That's because you don't get updates with Vista. Then again, whatever viruses and holes for hackers to exploit that the now unpatched Vista is susceptible to might still be better than malware called Windows 10.


Also, other than existing viruses for Vista, the farther Windows gets from Vista, one would think the less incentive for hackers to hack Vista because of the small remaining population using it. Maybe?


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> Also, other than existing viruses for Vista, the farther Windows gets from Vista, one would think the less incentive for hackers to hack Vista because of the small remaining population using it. Maybe?


Maybe, although I would think that a lot of viruses written for Windows 7 would work on Vista as well given the similarities of the OSes. Some XP viruses may work on Vista as well. Of course, Vista was designed to be at least a little bit more secure than XP. It's possible that some might write more viruses for Windows 7 when it becomes unsupported, but I don't know.

Vista was never a highly popular OS and very few people still use it so you're right that I doubt many hackers would bother writing anything for it specifically.



Capeditiea said:


> but GUI has inevitably made computers user friendly. :O


I didn't mind using the CLI at all in the 1980s or 1990s when the main CLI OS I was using was DOS. In fact, I still like using DOS commands within Windows when I can. With Linux, however, I don't particularly like using the CLI unless I have to.

I know of some people who still prefer to use WordPerfect over other more popular word processors because of the reveal codes that WordPerfect has for document formatting. I think Corel is still making new versions of WordPerfect, but I have not looked at that in several years now. I did use WordPerfect through most of my undergraduate years even though it was long out of fashion at that point.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Klassik said:


> I know of some people who still prefer to use WordPerfect over other more popular word processors because of the reveal codes that WordPerfect has for document formatting. I think Corel is still making new versions of WordPerfect, but I have not looked at that in several years now. I did use WordPerfect through most of my undergraduate years even though it was long out of fashion at that point.


I loved the reveal codes in Wordperfect, but haven't used it in over 20 years.

However, I recently found a similar feature for Windows (though not sure it reveals ALL codes), but when in a Word document hit

CTRL-SHFT=8 (not F8) and it will reveal many codes. Same keys toggle it off.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> I loved the reveal codes in Wordperfect, but haven't used it in over 20 years.
> 
> However, I recently found a similar feature for Windows (though not sure it reveals ALL codes), but when in a Word document hit
> 
> CTRL-SHFT=8 (not F8) and it will reveal many codes. Same keys toggle it off.


I think that just shows the paragraph formatting, right? There's a button on the toolbar for that in Word, but it's not nearly as powerful as the reveal codes for WordPerfect AFAIK. Of course, Microsoft said last week that they were going to change the ribbon toolbars for at least some versions of Office software. The screenshots of it I saw didn't look terrible, but I'm not sure what the reasoning is for the change other than that they wanted graphics that scaled better on different size/resolution monitors.


----------



## Taggart

Shift f1 opens the formatting task pane. Highlight some text and it tells you far more than you need to know. You also have the option to show the paragraph marks in the document.


----------



## Guest

I like using the terminal and often choose it over the GUI, even though I don't really know what I'm doing.


----------



## Klassik

Taggart said:


> Shift f1 opens the formatting task pane. Highlight some text and it tells you far more than you need to know. You also have the option to show the paragraph marks in the document.


While this panel is helpful because it can help someone understand why a line of text might look the way it does, it still does not really replace the reveal codes in WordPerfect (unless there is another way of editing text in Word that I'm not aware of). With the WP reveal codes, one can format text the way one would format an HTML document using tags. It's great for making changes in ways that are difficult to do with simple line highlighting and such.

Of course, there are numerous keyboard shortcuts for Office applications. Many people are aware of the copy/paste and bold type shortcuts, but there are many others. Again, I wouldn't say that these would replace WP's reveal codes, but it can help save time and effort as one only has to keep their hands on the keyboard.

https://www.wordperfect.com/en/pages/items/1500650.html


----------



## SixFootScowl

Klassik said:


> *I think that just shows the paragraph formatting, right? * There's a button on the toolbar for that in Word, but it's not nearly as powerful as the reveal codes for WordPerfect AFAIK. Of course, Microsoft said last week that they were going to change the ribbon toolbars for at least some versions of Office software. The screenshots of it I saw didn't look terrible, but I'm not sure what the reasoning is for the change other than that they wanted graphics that scaled better on different size/resolution monitors.


I did notice page and section breaks also showed up as well as blank spaces (by dots). But I have something else that irritates the ____ out of me on Word. After pasting something a stupid little menu comes up and obscures enough of my text that I can't think what I am doing and it wont go away until you do a copy function. There is a global setting but it didn't work for me. Might be my company's security people have tight control, for example, my computer clock is 4 minutes slow and I can't adjust it--says i need to be an administrator.

Oh, and I can turn off the stupid warning popup that comes every save when tracked document. It has to be done every time you open it--no global setting. I hit CTRS-S subconsciously about every sentence because once about 20 years ago the power went down and people lost a lot of work. One person said, "Oh no, two hours on a spreadsheet and it is gone!" I am thinking, do you really do that much work on a spreadsheet and haven't hit save even once?


----------



## KenOC

Fritz Kobus said:


> I am thinking, do you really do that much work on a spreadsheet and haven't hit save even once?


Word and Excel both autosave. If you lose power or whatever, the next time you open the program it will ask if you want to recover the saved document.

Somewhere deep in the bowels of each program you can specify the autosave frequency, saved file directory, and maybe more.


----------



## Klassik

KenOC said:


> Word and Excel both autosave. If you lose power or whatever, the next time you open the program it will ask if you want to recover the saved document.
> 
> Somewhere deep in the bowels of each program you can specify the autosave frequency, saved file directory, and maybe more.


They do now, but Fritz was talking about years ago when that wasn't the case. Cloud word processors, at least the few I have used, save automatically after all changes.

I know of a few people who have a bad habit of opening a file from an e-mail without saving it correctly. They'll make what changes they want to make to the file and then save the file using the normal save function. Unfortunately, this saves the file to a temporary location and the file may not be recoverable from there. The Save As function is a good thing.


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> Word and Excel both autosave. If you lose power or whatever, the next time you open the program it will ask if you want to recover the saved document.
> 
> Somewhere deep in the bowels of each program you can specify the autosave frequency, saved file directory, and maybe more.


Yeah, I never used that though am aware of it. Easy enough for me to hit Ctrl-S, also I throw copies of big reports in a backup folder on a different drive daily. That has been useful if I want to find some text from an earlier version.

When that power outage I spoke of happened I think they were using Lotus spreadsheet. You are old enough to remember WYSIWYG. :lol:


----------



## SixFootScowl

Klassik said:


> I know of a few people who have a bad habit of opening a file from an e-mail without saving it correctly. They'll make what changes they want to make to the file and then save the file using the normal save function. Unfortunately, this saves the file to a temporary location and the file may not be recoverable from there. The Save As function is a good thing.


Bad idea to open file from email unless you are very diligent to NOT do edits without first saving it somewhere else. Now if you first hit forward, then open it and work, I believe the saves will stay with the email you are forwarding. Actually if you edit a word doc from an email and then when you close the email I think it asks if you want to save the changes. THis is actually bad as it then misrepresents what was originally sent.


----------



## KenOC

Fritz Kobus said:


> When that power outage I spoke of happened I think they were using Lotus spreadsheet. You are old enough to remember WYSIWYG. :lol:


I remember what a great program Lotus was compared with my old standby, Visicalc. I also used Multiplan, an early Microsoft effort that was miserable to use.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Tulse said:


> I like using the terminal and often choose it over the GUI, even though I don't really know what I'm doing.


Maybe we should just input binary straight to the computer


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> I remember what a great program Lotus was compared with my old standby, Visicalc. I also used Multiplan, an early Microsoft effort that was miserable to use.


I don't remember Multiplan or Visicalc. I got to punch cards and compile a program with them for my first assignment in computer class. In 1990 I bought my first computer, an IBM clone with 11ghz processor, 10 mb hard drive, monochrome monitor with 9 pin dot matrix printer with tractor feed paper. I used the software that came with it called LotusWorks. To think that computer setup cost me $1100 in 1990!


----------



## SixFootScowl

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Maybe we should just input binary straight to the computer


Yeah, we could even talk on TC in binary. Think we have tried that already and it didn't get very far.


----------



## Klassik

Fritz Kobus said:


> I don't remember Multiplan or Visicalc. I got to punch cards and compile a program with them for my first assignment in computer class. In 1990 I bought my first computer, an IBM clone with 11ghz processor, 10 mb hard drive, monochrome monitor with 9 pin dot matrix printer with tractor feed paper. I used the software that came with it called LotusWorks. To think that computer setup cost me $1100 in 1990!


I used to use IBM DisplayWrite (based on the IBM DisplayWriter standalone word prossing machine - remember those?) for word processing in the 1980s before changing to WordPerfect and Lotus Ami Pro/Word Pro later on. I wasn't a prolific spreadsheet user in the 1980s, but I did have Lotus 1-2-3 and Borland Quattro Pro. I believe Corel still makes new versions of the latter, but I probably have not used it in at least 20 years.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

Don't forget WordStar


----------



## KenOC

"...everything a bad musical should be. Providing more sap than a forest full of Vermont maples, it has coy, silly songs, an inane, innocuous script, and unbelievably sugary characters."


----------



## Klassik

KenOC said:


> "...everything a bad musical should be. Providing more sap than a forest full of Vermont maples, it has coy, silly songs, an inane, innocuous script, and unbelievably sugary characters."


That pretty much describes every musical though.


----------



## goatygoatygoatgoat

Klassik said:


> I used to use IBM DisplayWrite (based on the IBM DisplayWriter standalone word prossing machine - remember those?) for word processing in the 1980s before changing to WordPerfect and Lotus Ami Pro/Word Pro later on. I wasn't a prolific spreadsheet user in the 1980s, but I did have Lotus 1-2-3 and Borland Quattro Pro. I believe Corel still makes new versions of the latter, but I probably have not used it in at least 20 years.


That DisplayWriter had an awesome keyboard - very "clicky". I'm using a similar keyboard, a 1979 IBM 3278 keyboard, connected to my Mac.


----------



## Klassik

goatygoatygoatgoat said:


> That DisplayWriter had an awesome keyboard - very "clicky". I'm using a similar keyboard, a 1979 IBM 3278 keyboard, connected to my Mac.


A company called Unicomp still makes keyboards based on the famed IBM Model M keyboards that a lot of people enjoyed using on 1980s IBM personal computers. Of course, some people still use old Model Ms from the 1980s and 1990s as well. Those keyboards are certainly not quiet though.

https://www.pckeyboard.com/


----------



## Dan Ante

I have been given the files of Straus’s Alpine Sym unfortunately they are for SACD, I have decoded to WAV via TLH but my burning studio “Ashampoo” cannot burn as a std CD or I don’t know how to set it up, any ideas?


----------



## KenOC

Dan Ante said:


> I have been given the files of Straus's Alpine Sym unfortunately they are for SACD, I have decoded to WAV via TLH but my burning studio "Ashampoo" cannot burn as a std CD or I don't know how to set it up, any ideas?


You might check here for starters:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15062/windows-burn-rip-cds


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dan Ante said:


> I have been given the files of Straus's Alpine Sym unfortunately they are for SACD, I have decoded to WAV via TLH but my burning studio "Ashampoo" cannot burn as a std CD or I don't know how to set it up, any ideas?


Can you convert the WAV files to a format that Ashampoo can burn to disk? I have converted WAV files to MP3 with http://soundconverter.org/ Alternately, get a different CD burning program.


----------



## KenOC

Also, a search on "free music cd burning programs" may help. Exercise due care!


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> Also, a search on "free music cd burning programs" may help. *Exercise due care*!


unless you have a Linux operating system where you can get your software safely from the built-in software manager.

Cnet will have downloads and about every one of them will result in tool-bar highjack software installing unless you very carefully answer each of the many pop-ups(some with trick questions) that will present themselves to you in the downloading process.


----------



## Dan Ante

*@* Ken and Fritz, thanks for your suggestions just a bit of an update, I am still running Vista (out of sheer stubbornness), which may be part of the problem.
Ashampoo has been my burner for about 7-8 years and always delivered the goods I always d/l in flac and convert to WAV, but with SACD which are two layered afaik the extra task of converting to a single layer CD seems beyond my system, unfortunately MS Media Player is faulty and to date I cannot remove and reinstall. Late last night I installed the free version of "Nero" but I still have to find my way around it.


----------



## KenOC

Terrors of technology. Tired of hunting and pecking to find programs on my Firestick, I saw Amazon offering a new Firestick with a voice remote for $20 on prime day. I clicked the button and the small package arrived on my doorstep in two days.

I wanted to use the new voice remote with my existing Firestick and read online that all you had to do was to hold the “home” button down for ten seconds. So I did that. Nothing. Tried all the other buttons, everything I could think of. Nothing.

At last, enraged, I was ready to throw the **** remote through the window. But I accidently pressed the “Settings” option and there it was. “Remote.” One of the choices was “Pair new remote.” Oh. I knew that. I really did, all along.

Technology has the ability to make us appear very stupid. And worst of all, it’s usually right.


----------



## Dan Ante

KenOC said:


> Technology has the ability to make us appear very stupid, and worst of all, it's usually right.


I sympathies Ken, I have had my first smart phone for about 2 yrs and a couple of days ago I found out that you could do all your searching just by speaking at the phone, only took 2 years.


----------



## Guest

Just be aware that The Man will be listening to everything that you say whilst you're in earshot of the phone if you activate that thing. Maybe also even if you don't.


----------



## Merl

Dan Ante said:


> I have been given the files of Straus's Alpine Sym unfortunately they are for SACD, I have decoded to WAV via TLH but my burning studio "Ashampoo" cannot burn as a std CD or I don't know how to set it up, any ideas?


I'd convert the WAVs go FLAC (theres lots of free programs out there that will do this). Then proceed as normal with AShampoo. Alternatively I think my other free burner (CDXP) does it straight from WAV. I ditched Nero years ago for giving me rubbish rips (and permanently crashing partway thru burning).


----------



## Merl

Btw, I use Free Audio Converter to convert files. It says it does WAVs but ive never tried it. Works a treat on FLAC though. I rip FLAC to MP3 with it constantly (for the car USB).


----------



## Dan Ante

Tulse said:


> Just be aware that The Man will be listening to everything that you say whilst you're in earshot of the phone if you activate that thing. Maybe also even if you don't.


That's disgusting what have I unleashed


----------



## Dan Ante

Merl said:


> I'd convert the WAVs go FLAC (theres lots of free programs out there that will do this). Then proceed as normal with AShampoo. Alternatively I think my other free burner (CDXP) does it straight from WAV. I ditched Nero years ago for giving me rubbish rips (and permanently crashing partway thru burning).


Merl thanks for you reply, it's not the codac conversion that is a problem it is getting a SACD (2 layer) file to burn onto a normal single layer CD, so that it will play on my none SACD player, I was told that "Nero" would do it but the free version does not, so like you I will be deleting Nero. :tiphat:


----------



## SixFootScowl

If anyone knows of a free program that removes excess reverb from a recording, please let me know. I feel like I am listening in a cave with this recording I recently purchased:


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese

^ If you have access to the original master tapes?

Not sure about this one back think you maybe 20 years ahead in asking for this without master tapes. You could try some filters but I think the results would be bad


----------



## SixFootScowl

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> ^ If you have access to the original master tapes?
> 
> Not sure about this one back think you maybe 20 years ahead in asking for this without master tapes. You could try some filters but I think the results would be bad


Original master tapes would be the best. There are programs that apparently nicely remove reverb, but they cost. I discovered that you can take the edge off it by running a noise reduction on the track then amplifying it back to similar level and saving. May experiment with that a bit, but it is more or less going from very bad to bad, so not sure it is worth the time.


----------



## Couchie

Simple answer is no. It's why audio is recorded dry and reverb is digitally added later.


----------



## Dan Ante

A strange thing happened last night, I was half listening to a Cannonball CD ‘Alabama concerto’ and fiddling with my Galaxy Phone, the google speak thingy must have detected the music and displayed “listening to music” the little button at the bottom which had ‘what music is this’ appeared so I pressed it and after a few seconds the info appeared on the screen: Alabama Concerto, The Loop, Cannonball Adderley, with Art Farmer Tpt. 
I switched over to our local concert program on the radio it was Angela Hewitt playing De Busy which alas it couldn’t identify but never the less very impressive.


----------



## haydnguy

I know there has been a lot of talk about this topic elsewhere but I updated my laptop to Windows 1809 the other day.

As others have said, I have had problems. It did delete pictures and documents but I was backed up so didn't lose anything. Also, it messed up my audio. My headphones were no longer recognized and the sound without the headphones sounded scratchy. I finally ran my audio driver utility and it cleared that up.

Finally, I "blue screened" on an error that I (and others) have had before. I was typing in Word and it just crashed. I can't find it in Event Viewer now but it reports a hardware error. It affects laptops with AMD processors. I have suspected that it's software related, however, because it seems to come and go with major updates. 

As a Microsoft user from DOS 3.2, I think that the reason why we are seeing such sloppy updates is because their focus is no longer on Windows like it once was. For consumers, they have XBox and Office 365 and that's really about it.

For the foreseeable future, their focus will be their cloud services to large businesses. They have some other things in "research" stage but they are a ways off. Despite what they say now, I think their going to eventually end up having Windows 365 where Windows is not on your machine but in the cloud. 

I, for one, am close to jumping ship to Linux. I don't really think Microsoft cares either because they offer Linux in their cloud service. So, the Windows days of old are just about gone. Had their mobile phone had success it may have been different but as it is I think the consumer is an after-thought of Microsoft now.


----------



## philoctetes

Been off this thread since January. Since then my whole network has changed. No more oversized laptops or desktops, no more noisy fans, no more Windows, and much smaller footprints.

I've got two Raspberry Pis running DietPi OS, two SV3C security cameras, and an Azulle Byte 3 as the primary user node running Linux Mint. The Pis run MotionEye surveillance software as a demon, no login required, taking video shots from the two cameras. The Pis also function as media clients around my small house, controlled by VNC desktop software from any remote device. The Pis and cameras each cost about $40 and connect to the network by PoE injector. The Pis can connect to any device on the network running Spotify. For personal use, and as a main controller, the Byte 3 does everything I need at a cost of about $300 including a 200GB SSD. All the software is open source. Of course I had to learn a little about SSH to make this all work, but it's not that hard.

All these devices are typically fanless and totally quiet. I added fans to the Pis because running MotionEye heated them up to 60C.... the fans cool the Pis down to the low 40Cs and they are still too quiet to be heard from more than three inches away...

I also replaced my old big box amps with two tiny Kinter amps at $32 apiece, and they sound great. A new device is arriving, a two-tube Nobsound Pre-amp that will go between Pi and amplifier. Looking forward to testing it later today.


----------



## philoctetes

RPi, Kinter + Nobsound passes first test easily. Listening to ogg files not CDs. Sounds real nice.


----------



## philoctetes

Now testing the nobsound on my bedroom system, streaming from the Byte 3, heard some distortion on sequentia's higherst loudest vocals that got me to break the system down... it wasn't the nobsound, nor the Byte 3 hardware, but switching from Audacious to VLC music player got rid of it. So now I've actually proved to myself the VLC is the better player soundwise, though I'm not sure why. But unlike Audacious, I haven't yet got VLC to switch tracks without a gap... next problem.

I did hear some hum and sizzle from the tubes for awhile which now seems to be burning away... they are quite "microphonic" i.e. sensitive to external vibrtations, but not really a problem... probably the best thing about the nobsound is the improvement at higher volumes.... more headroom for detail...


----------



## philoctetes

Following up on the Nobsound preamp, got the tube upgrade to GE 5654w and was well worth an extra $24, no more hum, sizzle or pop just a barely audible hiss at high volume, and great sound shaping. So the total cost came to $70 and I like it so much I drag it back and forth between the two systems in my house, depending on time of day...

Returning to Amazon with thoughts of buying another, all of Nobsound's products are suddenly no longer offered, so I guess there's a dispute between the two... Larkenfield brought this item to my attention long ago and it was always available, now I buy one and they're gone... there are other alternatives but the Nobsound had the best price and the best "look"...

It's like that feeling when you buy 50 shares of a stock and it immediately goes down...


----------



## Couchie

haydnguy said:


> I know there has been a lot of talk about this topic elsewhere but I updated my laptop to Windows 1809 the other day.
> 
> As others have said, I have had problems. It did delete pictures and documents but I was backed up so didn't lose anything. Also, it messed up my audio. My headphones were no longer recognized and the sound without the headphones sounded scratchy. I finally ran my audio driver utility and it cleared that up.
> 
> Finally, I "blue screened" on an error that I (and others) have had before. I was typing in Word and it just crashed. I can't find it in Event Viewer now but it reports a hardware error. It affects laptops with AMD processors. I have suspected that it's software related, however, because it seems to come and go with major updates.
> 
> As a Microsoft user from DOS 3.2, I think that the reason why we are seeing such sloppy updates is because their focus is no longer on Windows like it once was. For consumers, they have XBox and Office 365 and that's really about it.
> 
> For the foreseeable future, their focus will be their cloud services to large businesses. They have some other things in "research" stage but they are a ways off. Despite what they say now, I think their going to eventually end up having Windows 365 where Windows is not on your machine but in the cloud.
> 
> I, for one, am close to jumping ship to Linux. I don't really think Microsoft cares either because they offer Linux in their cloud service. So, the Windows days of old are just about gone. Had their mobile phone had success it may have been different but as it is I think the consumer is an after-thought of Microsoft now.


There are many reasons to switch to Linux, but a better time with audio and other drivers is *not* one of them. Took me hours just to get my headphones to work and the sound quality is not as good because the chipset is not fully supported with the generic Linux driver.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Couchie said:


> There are many reasons to switch to Linux, but a better time with audio and other drivers is *not* one of them. Took me hours just to get my headphones to work and the sound quality is not as good because the chipset is not fully supported with the generic Linux driver.


Are there any audio programs available in the Linux software center. They may have something to improve your sound. I don't know because I listen on my Linux computer but have cheapo speakers with pseudo subwoofer and it is sufficient for my ears.


----------



## Kopachris

Fritz Kobus said:


> Are there any audio programs available in the Linux software center. They may have something to improve your sound. I don't know because I listen on my Linux computer but have cheapo speakers with pseudo subwoofer and it is sufficient for my ears.


I've been through the same issues Couchie has WRT audio on Linux. Linux is very capable, and the audio subsystems available are very powerful and configurable. But it's not always easy and different audio subsystems can conflict with each other. For example I once had an issue where audio from certain sources (such as my web browser) would go to one audio "device" but other audio would go to a different audio "device". Both devices are really the same sound card, but Linux transports the audio differently and one resulted in a consistent quiet popping/scratching sound in the background.

Nowadays, I think they've gotten a lot better and PulseAudio *just works* for most day-to-day audio. The only time you'll need additional setup now I think is when you're setting up multiple audio devices or you're getting into complex routing between audio applications.


----------



## Dorsetmike

*MIDI help*

I'm having problems with getting Gran Orgue, (virtual pipe organ software) receiving MIDI signals.

The MIDI is output by Finalé Songwriter notation software and routed via MIDIOX using MIDI yoke 1, that part works as I can see the progress on the MIDIOX monitoring screen; that's as far as it gets, GO for some reason can not "see" any MIDI yoke channel, so I downloaded LoopBe Internal MIDI and set that up with MIDIOX; GO can see LoopBe in set up, but no signals are getting through. I have tried other sources of MIDI files as well as Finalé.

GO tech support so far has not given me any info that I can understand.

I used a similar set up a few years ago using an earlier version of GO without any problems so this current hiatus is puzzling to say the least.


----------



## Couchie

Fritz Kobus said:


> Are there any audio programs available in the Linux software center. They may have something to improve your sound. I don't know because I listen on my Linux computer but have cheapo speakers with pseudo subwoofer and it is sufficient for my ears.


Ended up just digging an old DAC out of a box and letting it handle the audio via optical.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Couchie said:


> Ended up just digging an old DAC out of a box and letting it handle the audio via optical.


Sounds complicated and I have no idea what the DAC is. Glad it works anyway.


----------



## Couchie

Fritz Kobus said:


> Sounds complicated and I have no idea what the DAC is. Glad it works anyway.


Digital to Audio Converter. It's the thingy in every computer and mp3 player that converts the 1s and 0s of the digital audio file to analog audio signals that can drive headphones and speakers.


----------



## Judith

Anyone else having problems with the new Windows 10 update? Just had to ring support team as couldn't get into apps or anything else


----------



## TxllxT

Judith said:


> Anyone else having problems with the new Windows 10 update? Just had to ring support team as couldn't get into apps or anything else


No problem here in Holland... But if you can get into Windows, you can restore an earlier (working) version.


----------



## Dorsetmike

I no longer have problems with Microsloth updates, I'm running Win 7 Pro 64 bit on 2 PCs and a laptop with all updates disabled and also a bit of software titled never10; it does everything I need, "if it ain't broke why fix it?"


----------



## Dan Ante

I am due for a new PC but hear so many negative things re Windows 10 that I am sticking with Vista I do get the occasional hiccup but have learned how to deal with them, I know the day will come…


----------



## KenOC

Just FYI I've been running Windows 10 since it came out on both PCs here. No problems.

Note: Both computers were upgraded during the free upgrade period. If I had to pay, I'd probably stick with Windows 7 (which I thought was a great improvement on Vista).


----------



## Dorsetmike

Beware, I ordered a PC with no operating system about December last year intending to install Win 7 from CD but it would not load Win 7 not sure if it was BIOS or hardware causing it, I queried it with the seller who informed me it would only work with Win 10. I managed to find an "end of line" one elsewhere that would accept Win 7.

Maybe you could upgrade yout existing machine with an SSD and more RAM both my machines now have 256GB SSD and 16GB RAM my laptop has 128Gb SSD and a selection of external HDDs, eample one with mostly music, another with photos and videos.


----------



## Dan Ante

I do wonder how long MS will support win 7 and 8, they ditched support for vista a while back but I found out how to keep vista going on a computer forum, so far so good.


----------



## KenOC

Dan Ante said:


> I do wonder how long MS will support win 7 and 8, they ditched support for vista a while back but I found out how to keep vista going on a computer forum, so far so good.


Win 7 and 8 are now on "extended support," meaning they will continue to receive bug fixes, patches, and security updates. Extended support ends January 14 2020 for Win 7 and January 10 2023 for Win 8.


----------



## KenOC

TxllxT said:


> No problem here in Holland... But if you can get into Windows, you can restore an earlier (working) version.


Good advice. It seems that there have been some issues with the recent upgrade to Windows 10 version 1809. Some people got it, and apparently about 500 out of a million had problems. So distribution has ceased. I checked and my computer is still running version 1803.

Here's a just-out article on Windows update schedules and issues, makes for interesting reading.

https://mcpmag.com/articles/2018/11/16/microsoft-windows-10-update-process.aspx


----------



## Taggart

I have 1809 on my main machine and my laptop - installed on 4 October - and it runs fine. Nothing particularly snazzy about it.

The one nice feature is the extended clipboard where you have a history of all you have cut so you can choose what to paste. Works well especially on Bulldog's games where you want that (+5) that you copied a while back.


----------



## Judith

Dan Ante said:


> I do wonder how long MS will support win 7 and 8, they ditched support for vista a while back but I found out how to keep vista going on a computer forum, so far so good.


One of our laptops still on windows 7


----------



## Dan Ante

Judith said:


> One of our laptops still on windows 7


My old laptop is still on XP, but is only used in an emergency


----------



## KenOC

I recently got a desk microphone for my PC. Win 10 has its Cortana of course. To test it I said, "Hey Cortana, why is a raven like a writing desk?" The answer was immediate, delivered in a very convincing female voice: "That's a question only the Mad Hatter can answer."

I was impressed, although it's even more impressive coming from my diminutive Android phone.


----------



## Dan Ante

KenOC said:


> I recently got a desk microphone for my PC. Win 10 has its Cortana of course. To test it I said, "Hey Cortana, why is a raven like a writing desk?" The answer was immediate, delivered in a very convincing female voice: "That's a question only the Mad Hatter can answer."
> 
> I was impressed, although it's even more impressive coming from my diminutive Android phone.


Sounds as if it has too much bias...


----------



## KenOC

Dan Ante said:


> Sounds as if it has too much bias...


Pretty soon whoever controls this technology controls our government. We'll casually ask our phones whatever questions we like. "Hey Google, what about Donald Trump?" So who figures out the answer, and its shades of meaning, to that one?


----------



## haydnguy

Windows 10

"Relatively" recent ago someone asked on this forum what a good program would be that would "force delete" a file. I have been having a problem of files refusing to delete. Anytime I turn the checkbox off that says "read-only" it immediately turns it back to "read-only. Some of these are simple links on the desktop. Others are files in file explorer. I have no idea why all these files suddenly won't delete.

When the other fellow asked for a force-delete program, I suggest 'iObit' but others recommended a different program. I am trying to find out what that other program is if anyone remembers. Thanks. :tiphat:


----------



## Taggart

One thing to do is check the ownership of the files. have a look at https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-delete-files-that-wont-delete-3678412/ which gives some tips.


----------



## Dorsetmike

You can download the necessary software to add "take ownership" the following explains the use and includes the download. There is also a "remove take ownership" option

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3841-add-take-ownership-context-menu-windows-10-a.html


----------



## KenOC

I seem to remember that if you have admin rights on your PC, you can share the file with yourself, with full rights. Then you can delete it.


----------



## Dan Ante

Can't you shred it??................


----------



## Couchie

I've found running command prompt as administrator then deleting it from there usually works for troublesome files.


Search for *cmd *from the taskbar
Right click on *Command Prompt *and select *Run as administrator*
Type the *del *command followed by the absolute path to the file, for example:


Code:


[B]del C:/Users/username/Desktop/filename.exe[/B]



Be aware the file is gone for good after this command and not sent to the recycle bin.


----------



## philoctetes

Interesting to revisit my issues with Linux from a year ago... I had two old laptops and a raspberry pi to get started with and wasn't willing to let go of Windows yet... and I had never tried to communicate between devices across my network...

Now the laptops and Windows are gone. I have a fanless Byte 3, two Pis, and two network cameras that all talk to each other, share drives with each other, and connect to the outside world by port forwarding, SSH, and VNC.

For the B3 I've settled on Mint Mate. But the Pis have many options that I'm still playing with, starting with the "official" distros at raspberrypi.org, Raspbian and a reduced Mate, plus other flavors offered on the Ubuntu site. But I have found that the latter all seem to be less efficient than the first two.

Another Pi option is called DietPi which has proven very useful with the two cameras. Dietpi is a minimal OS with convenient menus for additional software installation and is especially designed for servers. Motioneye surveillance software is VERY easy to set up and provides all the functionality I really need. With port forwarding I can easily access the Motioneye webserver from anywhere I go.

So I have three different Pi distros that are useful in different ways. The Mate for Pi gave me problems with SFTP so I'm stalled on that for now. DietPi runs motioneye on one Pi, Raspbian operates on the other Pi as a music server with my stereo, and the B3 is the mothership that ties them all together. All are quiet, but motioneye runs hot so I added a little fan to keep one pi from overheating...

Altogether the cost for B3, two Pis, and two cameras added up to about $400, plus this setup requires separate keyboards and monitors (I use cheap TVs and the Pis can be "headless") but this actually makes them more comfortable to use. Other costs are those that would be incurred using different devices for the same thing - networking, memory, time, etc...

If I had never switched to Linux, I'm not sure I would have ever done all this. While Macs and Windows may be easier to use for office and personal use, this kind of HW / SW integration is more easily done once one gets accustomed to Linux tools.

My latest problems involve using X display software over SSH - I'd like to have graphical SFTP over all my devices and be able to bookmark the connections. Only Caja file manager seems to be able to do that, and I don't know how to replicate that functionality with other tools. Also executing commands at boot time - however I try to automatically mount a drive it transfers ownership to root, which causes other problems. Fun stuff!

This book has helped a lot. Love the cover


----------



## philoctetes

Before I gave up on Windows completely, I found that having this book was very helpful, and I would use it again if I ever went back (fat chance)...


----------



## Dan Ante

Something that is really annoying me lately is Face book suggested friends (not people wanting to be friends) how the heck can I stop it. I am still using Vista with FF. HELP


----------



## Taggart

Try https://www.fbpurity.com/ It's a browser extension that allows you to customise facebook and shut down all the annoying feature.


----------



## Dan Ante

Taggart said:


> Try https://www.fbpurity.com/ It's a browser extension that allows you to customise facebook and shut down all the annoying feature.


Thanks Taggart will give it a go :cheers:


----------



## Ras

Hi there
I need a new laptop computer fast!! So which of these two processors is the best:

*This one: AMD Ryzen 2500U quad core processor

or this one: Intel® Core™ i3-8130U processor*


----------



## philoctetes

Why not look up and compare the specs? I'm not going to look them up for you. Do you prefer Spectre or Meltdown?


----------



## TxllxT

Yesterday Google managed to have me click on a security button (connected to the Google account), after which my old Outlook 2007 just was blocked forever. Microsoft refuses to offer the update needed, so after many many years I looked up another (free) email server, that would align with the strict security measures maintained by Google. Now I've got installed 'Mailbird', which after some time will become 'Mailbird Lite'. I'm quite satified with this program. Does anyone of you know a better alternative (freeware, no frills, no advertising)?


----------



## KenOC

You might want to look into Microsoft's web-based Outlook, which isn't software at all but runs in a tab of your browser. Meets your requirements plus allows multiple accounts, aliases, calendar, contacts, message-handling rules, and so forth.


----------



## TxllxT

KenOC said:


> You might want to look into Microsoft's web-based Outlook, which isn't software at all but runs in a tab of your browser. Meets your requirements plus allows multiple accounts, aliases, calendar, contacts, message-handling rules, and so forth.


I already have web-based Gmail. The new program Mailbird uses 'IMAP' which means that this PC program syncs with Gmail (in the cloud) saving all the emails. The 'POP3' used to download emails on the PC, but this is deemed unsafe by Google. The Mailbird already has become Mailbird Lite with a small advertisement rectangle at the bottom. For 49 dollars this can be removed for a lifetime. MS costs a lot more. But at present I'm not bothered by this ad.


----------



## Dorsetmike

I've been using Firefox browser and Thunderbird email for about 15 years now, both free from Mozilla, no problems


----------



## SixFootScowl

Dorsetmike said:


> I've been using Firefox browser and *Thunderbird *email for about 15 years now, both free from Mozilla, no problems


Interesting. I always heard of Thunderbird as a cheap wine. :lol:


----------



## Taggart

TxllxT said:


> Yesterday Google managed to have me click on a security button (connected to the Google account), after which my old Outlook 2007 just was blocked forever. Microsoft refuses to offer the update needed, so after many many years I looked up another (free) email server, that would align with the strict security measures maintained by Google. Now I've got installed 'Mailbird', which after some time will become 'Mailbird Lite'. I'm quite satified with this program. Does anyone of you know a better alternative (freeware, no frills, no advertising)?


Look in gmail settings:










and set either POP or IMAP depending on what your Outlook settings are. Gmail gives full details of how to configure these.


----------



## TxllxT

Taggart said:


> Look in gmail settings:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and set either POP or IMAP depending on what your Outlook settings are. Gmail gives full details of how to configure these.


Outlook 2007 I used to have configured on 'POP3' but a few years already Google was trying to unpop me. Now with Mailbird receiving and sending emails I must say is much quicker & smoother. Composing a message is going fine as well. One difference I noticed is the management of contacts. In Outlook my contacts a few years ago got mashed up because of a Microsoft mistake. They sent the Swedish cook of the Muppets in an update, because all of a sudden Outlook's outlook had turned from Dutch into Swedish. Microsoft issued a repair update and everything rolled back nicely towards Dutch language, except the contacts. I had to live with two files: the old Dutch and the irremovable Swedish new one. This kind of MS lore is over now. Mailbird is automatically installing the contacts from Gmail.


----------



## Art Rock

My wife had been complaining that she did not have a good internet connection at home with her iPad, even though my laptop has no problems whatsoever. Checking more information, it turns out that Apple products are very sensitive to people in the neighbourhood using the same channels. And we have oodles of wifi sources around our home (shops, restaurants and houses). So I followed some instructions to change the default channel from 1 to the recommended 11. And this luddite had a proud moment when everything went smooth, I could give all the required info and saved the final setting. And then there was no more internet for us. Restarting the modem thingy, restarting the laptop, nothing worked. And without connection I could not reset the channel choice to 1 either. In the end the helpdesk had to do a hard reset to factory conditions and now everything is up and running again..........


----------



## Steerpike

Dorsetmike said:


> I've been using Firefox browser and Thunderbird email for about 15 years now, both free from Mozilla, no problems


Yes, Thunderbird for me too. Available for just about any operating system, adequately configurable, and easy to use.


----------



## Luchesi

RF transmitters are everywhere, and appliances, light bulbs. It's a little bit scary. It surely isn't a natural environment.

Just download a free app that will show you a graph of all the transmissions around you (and through you). Check the graph inside of an electronics store. Those young people who work there are being bombarded all day long.

Some extreme people, many of them medical doctors, are saying that birth rates will drastically decline because of lowered sperm counts and the eggs of female fetuses being damaged. The evidence is out there about this damage, but hopefully it's not as bad as they extrapolate.

It's unsettling to see young people with cell phones up against their ears for long periods because they're concerned about privacy. Brain cancer and breast cancer have been directly linked to cell phones on the body. These people probably had a genetic predisposition.


----------



## jenspen

Couchie said:


> I installed openSUSE on my main desktop and it only took 3 tries and I've only broken the install twice but it's working great now. I like the snapper rollback feature for when I mess everything up.


Snapper, yes I had to use that once, it's so reassuring.

But I love openSUSE. It is industrial strength and offers more options than most distros. I've been using it exclusively since 2003 or thereabouts (back when I still had all my computing wits about me). I have configured it exactly to my liking.

So, when each new release comes out:

I use zypper at the command line to update the repositories and then "zypper dup" to install the latest OS

Reboot, and the new version (currently Leap 15) has installed itself with all its settings saved and I go straight to work.

It wasn't always so and I had to put in a lot of effort to learn how to drive it. But Linux is so much more user friendly now. I'm not sure how much effort it would require of me if I was learning openSUSE from scratch as it's not one of the newer, popular distros but it does have a very helpful, polite, online community.

Forgive the rave.


----------



## philoctetes

I've been looking at openSUSE recently, but not sure I need to go there... maybe first I should learn to use VirtualBox..


----------



## philoctetes

"RF transmitters are everywhere, and appliances, light bulbs. It's a little bit scary. It surely isn't a natural environment."

Do you know of any studies on atmospheric warming impacts by wireless / RF/ microwave technology? Just curious. I remain skeptical that it's all about fossil fuel emissions.


----------



## Luchesi

philoctetes said:


> "RF transmitters are everywhere, and appliances, light bulbs. It's a little bit scary. It surely isn't a natural environment."
> 
> Do you know of any studies on atmospheric warming impacts by wireless / RF/ microwave technology? Just curious. I remain skeptical that it's all about fossil fuel emissions.


atmospheric warming impacts by wireless / RF/ microwave technology?

No, but what's new to me in the field is the quiet sun resulting in unusual magnetic changes, and now linked to stratospheric warming episodes which dominate winter weather in the storm tracks around 40 N latitude. The continental pattern in the Northern Hemisphere along with a quiet star in combination with a slowly warming planet make for unexpected planetary wave activity. (It doesn't start this early in the winter, so we'll see if it will be indicative of climate change again this year. It began in 2011.)


----------



## Taggart

Facebook Users Still Don't Know How Facebook Works

If you use FB it's worth having a look at https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/ to see what they know about you.

I use https://www.fbpurity.com/ and that adds buttons so that you have greater control of targetted advertising.


----------



## Luchesi

Taggart said:


> Facebook Users Still Don't Know How Facebook Works
> 
> If you use FB it's worth having a look at https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/ to see what they know about you.
> 
> I use https://www.fbpurity.com/ and that adds buttons so that you have greater control of targetted advertising.


I wonder what a person has to worry about? What do you worry about?


----------



## Steerpike

Luchesi said:


> I wonder what a person has to worry about? What do you worry about?


I always find that kind of question a bit odd.

It always used to be the case that your business was accepted as private unless you chose to make it otherwise, but nowadays that seems to have changed round (i.e. your business, particularly in the on-line world, is not private unless you take steps to make it so).

Personally, I still prefer to stick with the former position.


----------



## joen_cph

In the news, many sources:

"*Nearly 773 million email accounts have been exposed ... and more than 21 million unique passwords ... in a massive data breach. Here's how to check if you were affected*"

Examples:
https://nordic.businessinsider.com/collection-one-data-breach-email-passwords-2019-1?r=US&IR=T
https://www.wired.com/story/collection-one-breach-email-accounts-passwords/

... seems to be correct, but the news stories refer to a website where you can check your account status. That website however suggests working with tools on the same website?

I checked my own email and it was listed there as affected, I then also checked 2 other email accounts and they weren't.

Finally I decided to change my password for the allegedly leaked account, but I'm a bit uncertain about the whole story & the implications ... for example, is it advisable to suddenly trust the mentioned website, etc.

News source no.2 above says:
"_While you're there you can also find out how many previous breaches you've been a victim of. Whatever password you're using on those accounts, change it_."

_EDIT:_
seems that a similar story was around in 2017??
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41095606


----------



## Taggart

Luchesi said:


> I wonder what a person has to worry about? What do you worry about?


----------



## Luchesi

Steerpike said:


> I always find that kind of question a bit odd.
> 
> It always used to be the case that your business was accepted as private unless you chose to make it otherwise, but nowadays that seems to have changed round (i.e. your business, particularly in the on-line world, is not private unless you take steps to make it so).
> 
> Personally, I still prefer to stick with the former position.


We think that everything they collect is what we put out there. It's like you're being investigated, because everything you do in public is being collected and recorded forever. Take out your Sim card and put your phone on airplane mode, but when you take it off the airplane mode about 100 K of your movement information goes immediately to Google.


----------



## haydnguy

I recently had a scary experience of being infected with malware.

While this was going on and in it's aftermath I've been reading a lot about malware. It seems that the newer types of malware are more sophisticated and some of them will actually look for backups to try to contaminate. 

I still buy CD's but it occurred to me that if I had a media server or even an external hard drive connected to my computer they would be vulnerable to one of these attacks. I had an anti-malware program running and also Windows Defender. Neither stopped it. The last I checked they still don't have a solution to the malware that infected me.

For the time being I will continue to buy CD's. Each one of us must decide what's best for ourselves.


----------



## haydnguy

I am looking for a software program that allows me to rip videos to my hard drive. These are operas and classical educational videos that I have purchased. Could anyone make a recommendation? I use Windows 10. Thanks.


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> I am looking for a software program that allows me to rip videos to my hard drive. These are operas and classical educational videos that I have purchased. Could anyone make a recommendation? I use Windows 10. Thanks.


Brasero can rip a DVD to the hard drive as an image file (.iso). It will be a virtual copy of the disk and is memory intensive. I get those at about 8GB per opera. Now I use Handbrake which put files into m4v, or I think can select other formats like mp4, and is about 1/4 the disk space of the .iso files. Also in Handbrake allows me to burn in the subtitles and I don't get the pesky menus, just the video. It does require multiple files if you have multiple selections, but VLC media player will seamlessly play through to the next part.


----------



## haydnguy

Thank very much Fritz. That is of great help. Now to start watching my operas!!:tiphat:


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> Thank very much Fritz. That is of great help. Now to start watching my operas!!:tiphat:


And unless you have a very big screen, Handbrake may suffice. But for really high quality videos and a huge screen you might want to stick with the .iso files. My screen is probably about 18 - 20 inch diagonally.

Also, I used a program called Subtitle Editor to insert about 1250 subtitles into an opera that was on You Tube (no commercial recordings of Flotow's Martha) and then was able to burn them into the You Tube rip with Handbrake.


----------



## Luchesi

Fritz Kobus said:


> And unless you have a very big screen, Handbrake may suffice. But for really high quality videos and a huge screen you might want to stick with the .iso files. My screen is probably about 18 - 20 inch diagonally.
> 
> Also, I used a program called Subtitle Editor to insert about 1250 subtitles into an opera that was on You Tube (no commercial recordings of Flotow's Martha) and then was able to burn them into the You Tube rip with Handbrake.


These large media files aren't copy protected anymore?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Luchesi said:


> These large media files aren't copy protected anymore?


You mean the opera on You Tube? I don't know. If I knew who held the rights to it I would gladly pay them a sum for the personal use of it. A shame that so many good productions are not commercially released.


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> These large media files aren't copy protected anymore?


This was a question I had many years ago while cassettes were still popular. I had a rather large cassette collection and wanted to listen to them on a CD player in my car. I had a boombox that would copy cassettes to CD. At first I thought I had to purchase new CD's but realized that was crazy because I would have to pay double for an "album" just so I could play it in my car.

What I'm doing here is basically the same. I simply want to watch the DVD that I've already purchased with a new medium. I'm not selling or giving away the content.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> This was a question I had many years ago while cassettes were still popular. I had a rather large cassette collection and wanted to listen to them on a CD player in my car. I had a boombox that would copy cassettes to CD. At first I thought I had to purchase new CD's but realized that was crazy because I would have to pay double for an "album" just so I could play it in my car.
> 
> What I'm doing here is basically the same. I simply want to watch the DVD that I've already purchased with a new medium. I'm not selling or giving away the content.


I don't know about the legalities.

So, there's no macrovision-like technology preventing you from making as many copies as you want. I mean, for more than one entertainment playback device in your house, for example.

Years ago I was able to record off the satellite source stream before it went into my TiVo. That was an old VHS recorder, but the new ones blocked such recordings. I haven't tried in a long time.


----------



## haydnguy

Fritz Kobus said:


> You mean the opera on You Tube? I don't know. If I knew who held the rights to it I would gladly pay them a sum for the personal use of it. A shame that so many good productions are not commercially released.


@Fritz - It worked perfectly. I used the Handbreak program to rip and the VLC Player to play. I used all the defaults in Handbreak so I didn't change any of the options. Easy As Pie. Thanks again.

Now I've got to figure out how to get those "unavailable" Operas off of YouTube.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Luchesi said:


> I don't know about the legalities.
> 
> So, there's no macrovision-like technology preventing you from making as many copies as you want. I mean, for more than one entertainment playback device in your house, for example.
> 
> Years ago I was able to record off the satellite source stream before it went into my TiVo. That was an old VHS recorder, but the new ones blocked such recordings. I haven't tried in a long time.


Brasero on Linux ripped iso files off DVDs that on Microsoft would not allow copies to be made.


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> @Fritz - It worked perfectly. I used the Handbreak program to rip and the VLC Player to play. I used all the defaults in Handbreak so I didn't change any of the options. Easy As Pie. Thanks again.
> 
> Now I've got to figure out how to get those "unavailable" Operas off of YouTube.


You are welcome. For the second part, try something like this: https://youtubemp4.to/

There are dozens of you tube to mp3 and mp4 converters online. Some better than others. Get one that directly converts, not one that requires you to download something first.


----------



## KenOC

Fritz Kobus said:


> There are dozens of you tube to mp3 and mp4 converters online. Some better than others. Get one that directly converts, not one that requires you to download something first.


Here's the one I use. It's totally online but a bit temperamental. It extracts audio to MP3s as well, which is what I mostly use it for.

https://www.flvto.biz/


----------



## haydnguy

@Fritz and KenOC

Thanks a lot. I will try them both out and see which one works best.


----------



## Luchesi

KenOC said:


> Here's the one I use. It's totally online but a bit temperamental. It extracts audio to MP3s as well, which is what I mostly use it for.
> 
> https://www.flvto.biz/


Is there some fine print somewhere on the site that says it isn't entirely legal everywhere?

I doubt that this one is legal either. It hasn't been taking down yet. Jeremy Denk's Goldbergs


----------



## SixFootScowl

Luchesi said:


> Is there some fine print somewhere on the site that says it isn't entirely legal everywhere?
> 
> I doubt that this one is legal either. It hasn't been taking down yet. Jeremy Denk's Goldbergs


True, there are a lot of convoluted legal ramifications, though typically they are most concerned with those who repro and resell stuff, so I wonder sometimes at these unofficial suppliers of recordings. Many are unavailable commercially, but I also see a lot of commercial stuff, some out of print, but used copies are available. Rather pull it from You Tube than pay for it if is is not an official release.


----------



## Art Rock

Luchesi said:


> Is there some fine print somewhere on the site that says it isn't entirely legal everywhere?


Apparently downloading video from YouTube does breach Google's terms of service - but that is not a legal matter. And of course the uploader may be derived of advertising revenues by downloading the music. But again, that's not a legal matter. The conclusion: it is legal, but it may be "immoral". Link.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I have a USB problem. My new computer will kick out my MP3 player at random. My external hard drive won't work on the computer. It just sits and clicks unless I tap or shake it (bad for the drive but...) then I hear it spin up. Both devices continue to work flawlessly on my old computer.

From Google searches these are symptoms of a poor electrical current in the USB drive. It seems to be all the drives on the computer. So, what to do?

Is there a way to test the voltage or whatever electrical parameter I should measure on a USB drive?

Is it possible that there is a USB hub in the computer that is bad, or perhaps has a loose connection?


----------



## Taggart

Fritz Kobus said:


> Is there a way to test the voltage or whatever electrical parameter I should measure on a USB drive?


Yes but it gets expensive - check google for a USB loopback plug. One easy check is to move the mouse from port to port and see what happens.



Fritz Kobus said:


> Is it possible that there is a USB hub in the computer that is bad, or perhaps has a loose connection?


Sounds likely. Check device manager and update the drivers. Uninstall the usb devices and reboot to get Windows to do the work. Check your power settings to make sure the usb post isn't switching off.

Good luck.


----------



## philoctetes

Having similar issues with HDMI connections... TV couldn't see HDMI signal from a new PC stick when stick was on a long extension cord - worked fine after I plugged it into the wall. Apparently just enough of a voltage drop due to resistance to lose the connection. One of my TVs is never happy with the input signal at certain resolution settings, causing the image to be too blue.

These 5v USB-powered devices - I have a lot of them now - often seem to draw more current than the USB outlets are rated for...


----------



## Zofia

Fritz Kobus said:


> I have a USB problem. My new computer will kick out my MP3 player at random. My external hard drive won't work on the computer. It just sits and clicks unless I tap or shake it (bad for the drive but...) then I hear it spin up. Both devices continue to work flawlessly on my old computer.
> 
> From Google searches these are symptoms of a poor electrical current in the USB drive. It seems to be all the drives on the computer. So, what to do?
> 
> Is there a way to test the voltage or whatever electrical parameter I should measure on a USB drive?
> 
> Is it possible that there is a USB hub in the computer that is bad, or perhaps has a loose connection?


Knkwn issue with the latest Windows update will "brick" or make faulty the USB. If this is still an issue rollback the update or try searching for new usb drivers.


----------



## Zofia

Ableton suddenly crashing for no reason....

Not an idea of why it worked yesterday.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Zofia said:


> Knkwn issue with the latest Windows update will "brick" or make faulty the USB. If this is still an issue rollback the update or try searching for new usb drivers.


But I run Linux operating system. I did find out when I brought my off-site backup drive home to update, it hooked up fine, so I am wondering if my power is not up to par and the mp3 player and home backup drive are both more sensitive. I have another MP3 player, a cheap one, that is fine on this computer.


----------



## Zofia

Fritz Kobus said:


> But I run Linux operating system. I did find out when I brought my off-site backup drive home to update, it hooked up fine, so I am wondering if my power is not up to par and the mp3 player and home backup drive are both more sensitive. I have another MP3 player, a cheap one, that is fine on this computer.


Oh I apologise well what Distro do you run? If it Linux it is easier to fix you might just have to download software to enable proper support for ipods (even if it is not an ipod you use) it will download all the needed plugins for you.

I forgotten te one I use it as a littlr penguin icon though I will check in the morning for the name.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Zofia said:


> Oh I apologise well what Distro do you run? If it Linux it is easier to fix you might just have to download software to enable proper support for ipods (even if it is not an ipod you use) it will download all the needed plugins for you.
> 
> I forgotten te one I use it as a littlr penguin icon though I will check in the morning for the name.


I am using Linux Mint Cinnamon.


----------



## Zofia

Fritz Kobus said:


> I am using Linux Mint Cinnamon.


Connect it to your computer and try this


----------



## Becca

*Why [the lack of] Android updates matter*

For all the Android phone users in TC-land, you should read these articles and understand that while you think your phone may be cutting edge technology, it very probably isn't. And if your phone is not the current top-of-the-line for the manufacturer, you may never be getting critical operating system and security updates even though the problems are well-known and actively being exploited in malware. Even if your phone is the latest model, it will probably be at least 6 months, usually much longer, between a security update being made in Android, and when your phone gets the update, i.e. that long when your phone is vulnerable.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3339621/android/android-upgrades-matter.html


----------



## SixFootScowl

Zofia said:


> Connect it to your computer and try this
> 
> View attachment 112468


So what happened is my son simply connected to a different usb port and the hard drive spun right up. I should try it again to be sure it is consistent. Thanks.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> For all the Android phone users in TC-land, you should read these articles and understand that while you think your phone may be cutting edge technology, it very probably isn't. And if your phone is not the current top-of-the-line for the manufacturer, you may never be getting critical operating system and security updates even though the problems are well-known and actively being exploited in malware. Even if your phone is the latest model, it will probably be at least 6 months, usually much longer, between a security update being made in Android, and when your phone gets the update, i.e. that long when your phone is vulnerable.
> 
> https://www.computerworld.com/article/3339621/android/android-upgrades-matter.html


I"m not one that has to have the latest and the greatest but my old phone finally died so I went out and got a new one. I got an LG V40. I think (may be mistaken) that at some point the android version started encrypting without the user doing anything. (I'd have to check). But in any case, I would say that if someone isn't using an app to get rid of it. It will reduce your footprint for the bad guys.


----------



## Becca

Vulnerability is much more than just access to your personal data.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> Vulnerability is much more than just access to your personal data.


That's true. The problem is that there are numerous people with different versions, etc. I use NordVPN and Malwarebytes but I don't talk about that. A lot of vulnerabilities are through games and stuff that people keep on their phones.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> Vulnerability is much more than just access to your personal data.


Becca we arean't disagreeing at all. I agree with you 100%


----------



## philoctetes

I don't disagree either, but the actual threat is very ambiguous and open to speculation. If it's not personal data then I guess we're talking about what, MKUltra? Surveillance? I have tape over the lens and microphones on my mobile devices. I stopped using the fire stick and my PCs don't have mics. Some say everything is bugged down to the routers and switches, by cooperation between Cisco and the Eyes that be. The smart electric meter on my house, it probably knows everything I do and overcharges me for it too  

I also have a paranoia about apps and keep my devices down to a minimal set. And do I trust all the open-source software I use? Seems like a better choice than the alternative, but I'll never read every line of code to be sure. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to upload security cam jpegs to cloud storage from a Raspberry Pi with a minimum of freeware involved.


----------



## philoctetes

With bad weather and a hernia to slow me down I've had more time to get my command line groove going. Writing simple scripts for storage management, moving files across the network and into the cloud, and editing crontabs to perform these operations on schedule. Automation good, repetition bad...


----------



## haydnguy

The problem I've had is that ever since people started flocking to Facebook, none of the people that I know will believe me even though I've been in computing all my adult life. They go because their "friends are there". Devices will/are the same way. When they finally realize what's been going on they'll blame someone else. Typical.

It's also true that security is a moving target. We just have to accept the fact that we won't ever get to the point where everything is locked down forever. Also, who you are often times determine how much security you really need. I've been on the internet since about 1994. Just about everything I can think of is already out there in one way or another. Also I'm 63 with no kids. So there you go.

But I kind of like to "piddle" in the security area since I can't do what I used to do anymore. (Software programming).


----------



## SixFootScowl

Now you can get a 1TB microSD card.


----------



## haydnguy

Can anyone suggest anything to at least minimizing cryptojacking? I've read numerous articles and can't find anything especially for the personal user. (I use Firefox)


----------



## Taggart

Anti-virus software, ad block software, check firefox addons by searching for miner. AFAIK the first two do the job, the coin miners are worth checking if you regularly visit dubious sites.


----------



## Couchie

You sound a little paranoid. Unless you are engaged in international terrorism or dark web activities its unlikely anyone has any interest in your online activity other than targeting ads.


----------



## Dan Ante

Couchie said:


> You sound a little paranoid. Unless you are engaged in international terrorism or dark web activities its unlikely anyone has any interest in your online activity other than targeting ads.


I agree, I use FF and stopped paying for anti virus programs 5-6 years ago just the free version of Kaspersky and so far no problems.


----------



## Luchesi

Dan Ante said:


> I agree, I use FF and stopped paying for anti virus programs 5-6 years ago just the free version of Kaspersky and so far no problems.


On Windows, I think some malicious code can go through a browser and start encrypting files.

They've eliminated the threat of reformatting, but this is a new approach for destroying data.


----------



## Dan Ante

Luchesi said:


> On Windows, I think some malicious code can go through a browser and start encrypting files.
> 
> They've eliminated the threat of reformatting, but this is a new approach for destroying data.


All the more reason to back up important stuff,


----------



## Taggart

Two copies minimum and make sure that the backup device has restrictive permissions. Most good anti-virus systems offer protection against this by protecting certain file types and /or by controlling internet access to stop trojans getting the encryption key.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Taggart said:


> Two copies minimum and make sure that the backup device has restrictive permissions. Most good anti-virus systems offer protection against this by protecting certain file types and /or by controlling internet access to stop trojans getting the encryption key.


Ideally, keep one backup device off-site. Of course that means your back-ups will get backed up waiting for periodic back-ups to that device.


----------



## Dan Ante

Yeh, my mate backs up the back up of his back up.


----------



## Luchesi

Taggart said:


> Two copies minimum and make sure that the backup device has restrictive permissions. Most good anti-virus systems offer protection against this by protecting certain file types and /or by controlling internet access to stop trojans getting the encryption key.


This scammer allowed access to his PC thinking that he would look into a victim's PC. Bad strategy.


----------



## haydnguy

I use Android with FF. They are definitely listening to you because there have been a number of times that a topic we've been discussing showed up as an advertisement a short time later on my phone even though I haven't searched for it on my phone. One example was a possible deck at the back of our house.

When I fell the other day there was an offer for elderly about falling. (1 in 4 seniors fall each year).

My guess (it's only a guess) is that they have keywords they pickup on and when one of those keywords is mentioned an advertisement pops up. I have every ad-blocker and security extension known to man.


----------



## KenOC

Luchesi said:


> On Windows, I think some malicious code can go through a browser and start encrypting files.
> 
> They've eliminated the threat of reformatting, but this is a new approach for destroying data.


I have used Microsoft's free virus/malware programs for quite a few years. Currently the definition files are downloaded in the background and updated at least daily. Since there are so many Windows users out there, they probably see new viruses early on.

Anyway, haven't had any viruses even though I occasionally visit dodgy sites. Just luck?

Totally invisible. The only interaction is a notification a couple of times a week that the latest scan didn't find anything of interest.


----------



## Luchesi

KenOC said:


> I have used Microsoft's free virus/malware programs for quite a few years. Currently the definition files are downloaded in the background and updated at least daily. Since there are so many Windows users out there, they probably see new viruses early on.
> 
> Anyway, haven't had any viruses even though I occasionally visit dodgy sites. Just luck?
> 
> Totally invisible. The only interaction is a notification a couple of times a week that the latest scan didn't find anything of interest.


It's interesting that an operating system offers protection for itself. Back in the early 1990s I think Bill Gates was saying that Windows was more complex than a 747. The OS is too complicated to be protected by MS experts until it's attacked?


----------



## haydnguy

I would try Bitdefender's 30 day trial. I was using Malwarebytes (paid version) but didn't like it because it didn't let me do a full scan whenever I wanted to. I will give it credit because it helped save me from the Grandcrab about a month ago. But I still think Bitdefener is better and that 30 day free trial would be a good test. It will turn Defender off temporarily while you use it and turn it back on if you uninstall Bit defender. You might be surprised what you find. :tiphat:


----------



## haydnguy

KenOC said:


> I have used Microsoft's free virus/malware programs for quite a few years. Currently the definition files are downloaded in the background and updated at least daily. Since there are so many Windows users out there, they probably see new viruses early on.
> 
> Anyway, haven't had any viruses even though I occasionally visit dodgy sites. Just luck?
> 
> Totally invisible. The only interaction is a notification a couple of times a week that the latest scan didn't find anything of interest.


My post was for you. I had gone to some dodgy sites a few years ago and Defender never found anything but I tried something else (I don't remember what) and it found 2 trojans.


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## haydnguy

It looks like I may have one of those pesky virus thingy's. The files on my desktop are locked. My computer has been running verrry slow. Why, you ask, are you on Talk Classical when you should be trying to fix it.

I just can't break myself away!!!!! No, I'm waiting back from an answer from Microsoft. Hey, at least I don't panic when these thing happen! :lol:


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> It looks like I may have one of those pesky virus thingy's. The files on my desktop are locked. My computer has been running verrry slow. Why, you ask, are you on Talk Classical when you should be trying to fix it.
> 
> I just can't break myself away!!!!! No, I'm waiting back from an answer from Microsoft. Hey, at least I don't panic when these thing happen! :lol:


Wipe it and install Linux is one solution.


----------



## Dan Ante

haydnguy said:


> It looks like I may have one of those pesky virus thingy's. The files on my desktop are locked. My computer has been running verrry slow. Why, you ask, are you on Talk Classical when you should be trying to fix it.
> 
> I just can't break myself away!!!!! No, I'm waiting back from an answer from Microsoft. Hey, at least I don't panic when these thing happen! :lol:


HG, I have a DELL desk top PC and one very useful feature that I have used quite a few times is the "DELL Restore" this put the PC into the configuration that it was in as new. but you must back up regularly because all records will be wiped and you do need to install all updates afterwards, I back up every time something important happens, this probably won't help you but it should be a necessity on all PCs and phones.btw I am still using Vista Home with very few problems.


----------



## Zofia

Fritz Kobus said:


> Now you can get a 1TB microSD card.


I have it pre order for my Nintendo Switch =)


----------



## haydnguy

Dan Ante said:


> HG, I have a DELL desk top PC and one very useful feature that I have used quite a few times is the "DELL Restore" this put the PC into the configuration that it was in as new. but you must back up regularly because all records will be wiped and you do need to install all updates afterwards, I back up every time something important happens, this probably won't help you but it should be a necessity on all PCs and phones.btw I am still using Vista Home with very few problems.


@Dan Ante

I loved Vista. I really did. When it first came out I got a "made for Vista" machine and never had a problem. When Win7 came out I wondered what the fuss was about. But anyway, it was great (IMO)

Windows 10 came out in the last couple of updates which is kind of like you describe except that it wipes everything out except your pictures, documents, etc. It really is handy. It does wipe out all your programs so you have to make sure you have registration numbers, etc. Then you have to go back and reinstall all the programs you use.

@Fritz
I actually wish I knew Linux. I can't justify the time (at my age) learning it inside and out with no payback but I'm thinking of getting one of those "Linux for Dummies" type.


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> @Fritz
> I actually wish I knew Linux. I can't justify the time (at my age) learning it inside and out with no payback but I'm thinking of getting one of those "Linux for Dummies" type.


I confess to being a dummy on this. My son is the IT guy and he is the one who set me up with Linux but I love it. It is supposed to be pretty easy, but I watched him install it on my brand new computer (that did not come with an OS as he built it) and he had to figure a couple parameters out. So if you know an IT person who is into Linux who can set you up. Once up and running it is pretty easy.


----------



## philoctetes

Here it is, the best overall guide to Linux I have found for many purposes. I tend to buy books that are so dense they only get partially read. This one is a cover to cover page flipper that offers clarification on everything that other books obscure with detail or omission. Published this year, it touches on Kali and Raspberry Pi applications but is generally Ubuntu- friendly. It's one of those books some would wish they had a long time ago.


----------



## AeolianStrains

Depending on the Linux distribution, things have come a long, long way. Setting up Linux on a standard computer is super easy now.


----------



## haydnguy

@Fritz - As I'm sure you've seen me say, I'm an old guy. I have, however, been in the computer field since I got out of college by sheer chance and have been a Microsoft/Windows guy ever since. (User in a dev function.) I'm still interested in tech because that's all I really know (except a smattering of classical music). I thought I might learn 'ethical hacking' as my way of "playing golf" in retirement. (I know). Anyway, I do think I have a reason to learn Linux because where I am in the place learning security stuff where learning Linux is really my next step. You just have to know Linux so that's where I am.

@philoctetes - That book looks like precisely what I want. Are you planning to get it? If you are, I may get it and maybe we can learn together. IF so, we could create a "Beginning Linux" group and chat there. How does that sound to you?

@AeolianStrains - My opinion (only my opinion) is that Microsoft is going to eventually move Windows itself to the cloud and then bundle it with Office 365 (which, even today, offers a great cloud offering, for the money.)

As you say, things have never been easier. My plan would be to learn as much as I can on Windows and then by that time my current laptop will be time to be replaced and I'll be set knowing Linux. I don't know if everyone knows about this so I'll post a screen clip. (I use Windows 10 Pro). It's important to have the Pro version.

As you see below you can download different versions of Linux from the Windows Store for free. When you do, Linux runs along side Windows. Linux people will say this is garbage and for them it would be but for me (learning) it will take me a ways before I have to dive in the deep end. If you notice on @philoctetes book cover it mentions the Linux Kali version. That's the one I want. A lot of people like Ubuntu. But anyway, chime in with any ideas you might have. (I need them!)


----------



## AeolianStrains

haydnguy said:


> @AeolianStrains - My opinion (only my opinion) is that Microsoft is going to eventually move Windows itself to the cloud and then bundle it with Office 365 (which, even today, offers a great cloud offering, for the money.)


Windows was a typo. I meant Linux. (And now fixed.) But I don't disagree with your assessment. When they announced Windows 7 end of life I switched from Windows back to Linux and haven't looked back. I use Fedora, but I'm sure others are great, too, and perhaps even easier. (Fedora was my first Linux distro back in 2003/2004.)


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> As you see below you can download different versions of Linux from the Windows Store for free. When you do, Linux runs along side Windows. Linux people will say this is garbage and for them it would be but for me (learning) it will take me a ways before I have to dive in the deep end. If you notice on @philoctetes book cover it mentions the Linux Kali version. That's the one I want. A lot of people like Ubuntu. But anyway, chime in with any ideas you might have. (I need them!)


As far as I know, all versions of Linux are free. I would not download it from Windows, but go straight to the Linux distributors. I can only think Windows has nefarious intentions in their embracing Linux.

You don't necessarily need a newer computer for Linux as it should take less memory than Windows.

I use Mint Mate and Mint Cinnamon (two computers at home) and there was never a need to run them side by side with Windows. The Linux distros I have are very user friendly. The only reason to have both on one computer is if you sometimes need to use Windows, perhaps for video games, and then you would do a dual boot so that only one is running at a time. I am 5-6 years on Linux now and absolutely love it.

On the other hand, I have Windows at the office and it works just fine for the most part. The latest distribution we have, I think 10 pro, does not give me many of the dreaded forced reboots (Linux never does), and so I get along fine with it. I do like one aspect of Microsoft for my job and that is the tracking/commenting feature in MS Word. I don't know if there is a comparable feature in any word processor that runs on Linux, but since I write reports, memoranda and letters, and review others' documents, it is a very helpful tool.


----------



## haydnguy

AeolianStrains said:


> Windows was a typo. I meant Linux. (And now fixed.) But I don't disagree with your assessment. When they announced Windows 7 end of life I switched from Windows back to Linux and haven't looked back. I use Fedora, but I'm sure others are great, too, and perhaps even easier. (Fedora was my first Linux distro back in 2003/2004.)


That's cool. You've been with Linux a long time. I fought tooth and nail on another forum to try to keep Windows 7's interface instead of the "touch first" tile interface. It wasn't bad on phones but no one had touch computers at that time and so it was a failure. Then, when Windows Phone was a flop the nail was in the coffin. They finally made Windows 10 a bit more like old Windows with the Start menu and some other things.


----------



## Becca

If you really, Really, REALLY, need Windows, the only way to have it is running on a virtual machine under Linux using kvm/qemu. That way if it is going to screw up your machine, at least it only screws up a virtual machine and disk :lol: I even have a Windows Server system running this way! Of course it's not a major production server but who the h*** wants that anyway


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> If you really, Really, REALLY, need Windows, the only way to have it is running on a virtual machine under Linux using kvm/qemu. That way if it is going to screw up your machine, at least it only screws up a virtual machine and disk :lol: I even have a Windows Server system running this way! Of course it's not a major production server but who the h*** wants that anyway


Part of my short term problem is my computer resources. I started Hyper-V and it ran fine but with my shortage of RAM it would just bog down if I actually ran anything inside it. I also would have to read about the virtual machine. Malware has been known to get through VM's so that's a consideration for me. But all this is in the longer run. I hear what you're saying though.


----------



## philoctetes

I made a first pass through that book over the weekend. That's a pretty fast read but I have quite a bit of background and it doesn't go deep on any subject. It's not a command-line bible or any kind of bible at all, but it will make those bibles easier to use. Since it is oriented for Ubuntu and Kali, the examples are unambiguous for users of those distros. For example it tells you exactly how to set up a proxy server chain, a virtual machine, a Raspberry spy cam, how to watch your own network for port sniffers - not for beginners but those ready to take advantage of Linux networking tools.

I already think of this thread as Linux thread, as I joined TC about the same time I made the OS switch, also taking up Raspberry Pis, and this is the only place I post about that stuff.

PS - yes, get your distro straight from the source and do the checksum to verify. I use Linux Mint Mate 64-bit

https://www.linuxmint.com/start/tessa/


----------



## philoctetes

So... I just made a bootable Kali Live USB stick and booted up Kali Mate for the first time.... saw the menu with perhaps over 100 "hacking" tools. plus the "usual applications" which are familiar from Mint Mate, but LibreOffice tools are not included...

I recommend that first-time Linux users might want to try various distros this way, by flashing the bootable USB installation sticks. By entering the BIOS on bootup, the boot order can be changed so the USB stick is the primary boot drive. Then the distro can be test-driven on the USB without actually installing it, or installed from the USB startup menu whenever the user is ready to choose... I'm beginning to have a collection of these bootup sticks laying around...

I also flashed a SD card for Kali on Raspberry which is booting up next... hoping they will make a good combo... i have now tried about 6 different distros for the Pi, with variable success.

Here is the Kali site for DLs and docs

https://www.kali.org/

and the Ubuntu site which offers more distros

https://www.ubuntu.com/download/flavours


----------



## haydnguy

I have downloaded Kali from the Windows Store. It comes "out of the box" with only a command shell but gives instructions on how to add other tools.

I just created a Beginning Linux group. It's invite only so if you want to join send me a pm. We'll need moderators too if your interested. (I THINK it lets you have additional moderators). Anyway, it's out there. I haven't posted anything yet but will soon.

I am going to order the book @philoctetes mentioned. It sounds like there is some specific things in there I'm interested in.


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> I made a first pass through that book over the weekend. That's a pretty fast read but I have quite a bit of background and it doesn't go deep on any subject. It's not a command-line bible or any kind of bible at all, but it will make those bibles easier to use. Since it is oriented for Ubuntu and Kali, the examples are unambiguous for users of those distros. For example it tells you exactly how to set up a proxy server chain, a virtual machine, a Raspberry spy cam, how to watch your own network for port sniffers - not for beginners but those ready to take advantage of Linux networking tools.
> 
> I already think of this thread as Linux thread, as I joined TC about the same time I made the OS switch, also taking up Raspberry Pis, and this is the only place I post about that stuff.
> 
> PS - yes, get your distro straight from the source and do the checksum to verify. I use Linux Mint Mate 64-bit
> 
> https://www.linuxmint.com/start/tessa/


I was wondering how you got your book? If I download it I can get it now but read it on my phone. If I order the physical book I have to wait.


----------



## philoctetes

It took two days for Amazon delivery. You can also order direct from No Starch Press. I have several of their Linux books. My next order will probably be Wicked Cool Shell Scripts.

Not sure how the invite-only thing works for the group. You send me an invite?


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> It took two days for Amazon delivery. You can also order direct from No Starch Press. I have several of their Linux books. My next order will probably be Wicked Cool Shell Scripts.
> 
> Not sure how the invite-only thing works for the group. You send me an invite?


I'll add you. No worries.


----------



## haydnguy

Ok, you're in. I ordered book from Amazon and still can read from my phone on Kindle app until the book gets here in a couple of days.


----------



## Becca

I can't add much to an Ubuntu, Debian or Kali discussion but if anyone wants to get deep down into RedHat Enterrprise, Fedora, CentOS, SuSE, Solaris, AIX or HP/UX then ...  (and even some that faded away years ago!)


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> I can't add much to an Ubuntu, Debian or Kali discussion but if anyone wants to get deep down into RedHat Enterrprise, Fedora, CentOS, SuSE, Solaris, AIX or HP/UX then ...  (and even some that faded away years ago!)


Hey, there's nothing wrong with the Enterprise. Never was.


----------



## haydnguy

I've decided to go with use iDrive for my offsite backup. I have made so many changes to my computer in the last 48 hours that I'm not sure I'd remember what all I need to do to get it back like it is now.

I know we've all had this discussion before and I'm beating a dead horse but most of us have paid good money for our music collections and so it's kind of an important thing that this is done right. Of course, we all have to answer what "right" is for us. I just have a really bad feeling about external drives for security. (Not for other things).

I've just seen too many horror stories. Here is one. I know, apples/oranges but still.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-ransomware-cripples-boston-legal-173330761.html


----------



## DaveM

I don’t find cloud backups useful, especially when it comes to backing up a computer system. I wouldn’t want to count on an important restoration depending on some 3rd party server. I only use Windows. I have made a hobby of buying older laptops (2006-7 vintage) that used to sell for $2000 (usd) or more, but now sell for $40-60. I will buy 2 or 3, tear them apart and make one pristine laptop.

I then install windows 7. A Win 7 ISO can be downloaded for free and a perfectly legal COA can be had off eBay for $8. This is possible since Microsoft doesn’t care about Win 7 anymore and support will end in 2020. But I don’t care about that since Win 7 systems will work just fine for years to come. IMO, Windows 10 offers no benefits over Win 7, at least for me.

I backup my laptops with Acronis TrueImage. I keep the images on high-capacity USB hard disks. The backups are reliable and can be kept on more than one media in separate places. Also, I recently backed up my precious classical music files that have been carefully edited over years and consist of files as long as 3-4 hours each, such as 19th century unknown symphony adagios. I used 256gb usb jumpdrives stored elsewhere.


----------



## haydnguy

Well, as I say, to each his own.


----------



## haydnguy

I feel compelled to say something because if I leave it like I did in my previous post no one will think I know anything. First, as far as Windows 7 goes, yes it will run just fine for a long time. What your missing though is the security updates to Windows 7 itself. Of course, you can run 3rd party anti-malware for that part of the security. Second, if you want to know the truth, Microsoft doesn't care much about Windows 10 either. The only thing they really care about on the consumer side is Office subscriptions, XBox, and HoloLens. 

As far as using external hard drives as security, if you don't think there aren't things on the Dark Web that can't get to external hard drives, I can tell you (because I've read it many times), there are things there that can get to that external drive like a hot knife through butter. 

What Microsoft truly cares about are their Enterprise customers for Windows 10. Another BIG part of their "bread and butter" is Azure. Azure is Microsoft's cloud offering to businesses that competes with Amazon's AWS. AWS is way ahead in market share but Microsoft has closed the gap and in some recent quarters Microsoft has been the most valuable company (on Wall Street) in the country. The most popular operating system (the most copies running) either by means of a virtual machine or physical machine on Microsoft's Azure is Linux. Microsoft has bought Github and still has skeptics in the open source world but it is still true that they are doing things today that they never would have done in my prime.


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> As far as using external hard drives as security, if you don't think there aren't things on the Dark Web that can't get to external hard drives, I can tell you (because I've read it many times), there are things there that can get to that external drive like a hot knife through butter.


If you don't leave the external drive connected it cannot be infected. Also, when updating the back up to the external drive, it would be wise to check for any bad stuff on your computer before hooking it up.

I saw a You Tube where a guy had something like a capacitor inside a USB drive. Charged, if put into the USB port, it will fry the electronics on most computers. Very bad. The electrical equivalent of taking a sledge hammer to the computer.


----------



## haydnguy

Fritz Kobus said:


> If you don't leave the external drive connected it cannot be infected. Also, when updating the back up to the external drive, it would be wise to check for any bad stuff on your computer before hooking it up.
> 
> I saw a You Tube where a guy had something like a capacitor inside a USB drive. Charged, if put into the USB port, it will fry the electronics on most computers. Very bad. The electrical equivalent of taking a sledge hammer to the computer.


The external drive can be effected when you plug it in to the computer. Remember, you probably don't know your affected. It might find the driver for that external drive and just wait for you to plug it in. You plug it in just as you normally do not knowing your affected. That's when you get hit. Malware today is not like viruses of the past. They are stealthy.

I have a USB stick but frankly haven't used it a whole lot because it's small. It IS big enough to put Linux on so that's what I'm planning to use it for.


----------



## Larkenfield

The advantage of using the Cloud as part of one's backup routine is that if your computer and hard drives are stolen or there is a fire, you have recourse to restore your important files rather than losing a lifetime of a music library or important pictures and documents. But it's still important to use antivirus software... Someone tried to extort $891 from me after obtaining one of my passwords on the Dark Net. It was an upsetting experience trying to decide whether to pay out or not, and I decided against it because the password that they had to my computer had already been changed. I have upgraded all my passwords and use antivirus software plus a VPN which protects my internet address. The additional value of a VPN is that I can see YouTube videos in the US that are sometimes only licensed in Europe. Do what you can to protect yourself.


----------



## Guest

Larkenfield said:


> The advantage of using the Cloud as part of one's backup routine is that if your computer and hard drives are stolen or there is a fire, you have recourse to restore your important files rather than losing a lifetime of a music library or important pictures and documents. But it's still important to use antivirus software... Someone tried to extort $891 from me after obtaining one of my passwords on the Dark Net. Nevertheless,* it was an upsetting experience trying to decide whether to pay out or not,* and I decided against it because the password that they had to my computer had already been changed. I have upgraded all my passwords and use antivirus software plus a VPN which protects my internet address. The additional value of a VPN is that I can see YouTube videos in the US that are sometimes only licensed in Europe.


I'm surprised that you would even consider paying out in such a circumstance. Was it the Dutch sextortion racket?


----------



## philoctetes

Do not give Root your password.


----------



## DaveM

I have been on the internet in one way, shape or form for many years using umpteen laptops and desktops and have only been hacked once. And that was back in the early days of WinXP -my desktop got messed up and questionable shortcuts were inserted. That's it!

I don't believe that the average person is in much danger of being randomly hit with a hacker that suddenly appears to blackmail you the way it is now occurring with businesses that are specifically targeted. For the average computer user, the bigger risks occur with the following:

-web-surfing and downloading on questionable sites.
-responding to phishing in email
-using public wifi
-downloading even from what appears to be reasonable sites, especially those that aren't locked sites.
-using Windows 10 vs. older versions. Hackers spend more time looking for ways to hook into the most popular systems than they do Windows 8, 7 and XP.

I make periodic Drive C images. One can more easily keep multiple copies on small hard disks or thumb/jump drives than at any time in the past. A 256gb thumb drive costs no more than $40 usd or less. I also set Restore Points if I'm making changes to my system. Truth be told, my backups are more for the purpose of having a solution if the hard drive crashes or if the computer is lost or stolen, than for the possibility of being hacked.

I sometimes wonder why people are more afraid of being hacked than having their hard disk crash or their motherboard crapping out, because if one is careful about the things listed above, the latter dangers are more likely.

My most important computer is a big powerful Asus laptop. It is so important that I bought its twin off the internet because, the fact is that even if I have a complete backup of the hard disk available, it will likely only work on an exact twin if the original laptop goes down. You can't count on the fact that a backup hard disk will fit or work on another laptop and even if that laptop is similar, the drivers are likely to be quite different. I need to be sure that I can quickly install the backup hard disk and move on seamlessly.


----------



## Larkenfield

DaveM said:


> I have been on the internet in one way, shape or form for many years using umpteen laptops and desktops and have only been hacked once. And that was back in the early days of WinXP -my desktop got messed up and questionable shortcuts were inserted. That's it!
> 
> I don't believe that the average person is in much danger of being randomly hit with a hacker that suddenly appears to blackmail you the way it is now occurring with businesses that are specifically targeted. For the average computer user, the bigger risks occur with the following:
> 
> -web-surfing and downloading on questionable sites.
> -responding to phishing in email
> -using public wifi
> -downloading even from what appears to be reasonable sites, especially those that aren't locked sites.
> -using Windows 10 vs. older versions. Hackers spend more time looking for ways to hook into the most popular systems than they do Windows 8, 7 and XP.
> 
> I make periodic Drive C images. One can more easily keep multiple copies on small hard disks or thumb/jump drives than at any time in the past. A 256gb thumb drive costs no more than $40 usd or less. I also set Restore Points if I'm making changes to my system. Truth be told, my backups are more for the purpose of having a solution if the hard drive crashes or if the computer is lost or stolen, than for the possibility of being hacked.
> 
> I sometimes wonder why people are more afraid of being hacked than having their hard disk crash or their motherboard crapping out, because if one is careful about the things listed above, the latter dangers are more likely.
> 
> My most important computer is a big powerful Asus laptop. It is so important that I bought its twin off the internet because, the fact is that even if I have a complete backup of the hard disk available, it will likely only work on an exact twin if the original laptop goes down. You can't count on the fact that a backup hard disk will fit or work on another laptop and even if that laptop is similar, the drivers are likely to be quite different. I need to be sure that I can quickly install the backup hard disk and move on seamlessly.


One of my passwords was hacked from a very benign website and was used to try to blackmail me that they had access to my entire hard drive and all the personal information on it. They didn't, but such upsetting threats can happen and it's hard to know if they're real. Then that password information can be sold from one person to another on the dark web. It happens... and it doesn't matter if it rarely happens to others if it happens to you. One can check to see if any of your passwords have been pawned. More than 500,000,000 passwords have been subject to data breaches and perhaps it's a good idea to be a little bit more up-to-date with what's going on out there. I have improved my security habits since then:

https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2018/02/23/this-collection-of-half-a-billion-leaked-and-stolen-passwords-probably-contains-yours/amp/
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3249765/what-is-the-dark-web-how-to-access-it-and-what-youll-find.html


----------



## Luchesi

DaveM said:


> I have been on the internet in one way, shape or form for many years using umpteen laptops and desktops and have only been hacked once. And that was back in the early days of WinXP -my desktop got messed up and questionable shortcuts were inserted. That's it!
> 
> I don't believe that the average person is in much danger of being randomly hit with a hacker that suddenly appears to blackmail you the way it is now occurring with businesses that are specifically targeted. For the average computer user, the bigger risks occur with the following:
> 
> -web-surfing and downloading on questionable sites.
> -responding to phishing in email
> -using public wifi
> -downloading even from what appears to be reasonable sites, especially those that aren't locked sites.
> -using Windows 10 vs. older versions. Hackers spend more time looking for ways to hook into the most popular systems than they do Windows 8, 7 and XP.
> 
> I make periodic Drive C images. One can more easily keep multiple copies on small hard disks or thumb/jump drives than at any time in the past. A 256gb thumb drive costs no more than $40 usd or less. I also set Restore Points if I'm making changes to my system. Truth be told, my backups are more for the purpose of having a solution if the hard drive crashes or if the computer is lost or stolen, than for the possibility of being hacked.
> 
> I sometimes wonder why people are more afraid of being hacked than having their hard disk crash or their motherboard crapping out, because if one is careful about the things listed above, the latter dangers are more likely.
> 
> My most important computer is a big powerful Asus laptop. It is so important that I bought its twin off the internet because, the fact is that even if I have a complete backup of the hard disk available, it will likely only work on an exact twin if the original laptop goes down. You can't count on the fact that a backup hard disk will fit or work on another laptop and even if that laptop is similar, the drivers are likely to be quite different. I need to be sure that I can quickly install the backup hard disk and move on seamlessly.


Thanks. My HD failure rate (all the way back to my 40 megabyte drive, $849 on sale lol..) has been 1 in 20 (won't mount). Which seems high. Probably high, because I haven't spent a lot of time trying to rescue the data or tried them on other machines, or operating systems. I kept the drives, so maybe some day..

Drive manufacturers, like Seagate and Western Digital, are looking at HDD storage densities of 40TB as early as 2023, 4 years from now.


----------



## philoctetes

Use 2-factor on sensitive logins and very long pass phrases (yes, with spaces and special characters) whenever possible. Unfortunately many websites don't offer one or the other.

Also, just this week I learned how to encrypt all my external drives. Had to use ext4 formatting to do this, other formats were not encrypt-able on my tool - wondering what others do about this. So at least they are secure when not mounted.


----------



## Guest

Larkenfield said:


> I have improved my security habits since then:
> 
> https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords


Hardly if you're putting your password into a 3rd party site which may also be getting hacked.


----------



## Larkenfield

...............


----------



## Larkenfield

Root said:


> Hardly if you're putting your password into a 3rd party site which may also be getting hacked.


I knew someone would say that. You have to check the validity of websites. But if you've already changed your passwords, you can check about old ones that might still be used to threaten you. What clued me in about my situation is that they had an old password that I no longer used, but that thought it was still valid. Hackers are trying to outsmart you. There are legitimate websites they can tell you if one of your passwords is out there or there is a virus or malware in your system, including in your routers. You have to search them out and make sure it's a legitimate website. You're welcome.


----------



## Guest

Larkenfield said:


> I knew someone would say that. But if you've already changed your passwords you can check about old ones that might still be used to threaten you. What clued me in about my situation is that they had an old password that I no longer used, but they thought it was still valid. Hackers are trying to outsmart you.


If you've changed your password the wrong 'uns cannot threaten you.


----------



## Guest

(with the old password).


----------



## Larkenfield

Root said:


> If you've changed your password the wrong 'uns cannot threaten you.


It's a good idea to regularly change your passwords. :angel:

The "I've been pwned" website is legitimate and recommended by CNET to see if any of your passwords have been hacked.


----------



## Guest

Larkenfield said:


> It's a good idea to regularly change your passwords. :angel:
> 
> The "I've been pwned" website is legitimate and recommended by CNET to see if any of your passwords have been hacked.


How do you store your passwords?


----------



## Becca

When I used to give presentations about system security I would tell the group that if I knew a little about each person there, I could figure out the passwords for about 20% of them. Actually I suspect that it was higher than that! Having said that, the problem with complex passwords and frequent changes is that it leads to carelessness in creating and remembering them. So much so that the NIST's recommendations now drop both requirements.


----------



## philoctetes

DaveM said:


> I have been on the internet in one way, shape or form for many years using umpteen laptops and desktops and have only been hacked once. And that was back in the early days of WinXP -my desktop got messed up and questionable shortcuts were inserted. That's it!
> 
> I don't believe that the average person is in much danger of being randomly hit with a hacker that suddenly appears to blackmail you the way it is now occurring with businesses that are specifically targeted. For the average computer user, the bigger risks occur with the following:
> 
> -web-surfing and downloading on questionable sites.
> -responding to phishing in email
> -using public wifi
> -downloading even from what appears to be reasonable sites, especially those that aren't locked sites.
> -using Windows 10 vs. older versions. Hackers spend more time looking for ways to hook into the most popular systems than they do Windows 8, 7 and XP.
> 
> I make periodic Drive C images. One can more easily keep multiple copies on small hard disks or thumb/jump drives than at any time in the past. A 256gb thumb drive costs no more than $40 usd or less. I also set Restore Points if I'm making changes to my system. Truth be told, my backups are more for the purpose of having a solution if the hard drive crashes or if the computer is lost or stolen, than for the possibility of being hacked.
> 
> I sometimes wonder why people are more afraid of being hacked than having their hard disk crash or their motherboard crapping out, because if one is careful about the things listed above, the latter dangers are more likely.
> 
> My most important computer is a big powerful Asus laptop. It is so important that I bought its twin off the internet because, the fact is that even if I have a complete backup of the hard disk available, it will likely only work on an exact twin if the original laptop goes down. You can't count on the fact that a backup hard disk will fit or work on another laptop and even if that laptop is similar, the drivers are likely to be quite different. I need to be sure that I can quickly install the backup hard disk and move on seamlessly.


Some of the worst infections have been on Win 7 networks. I'm thinking of the ones that took over hospitals and government networks across the world in 24 hours. The names are slipping right now but they were after the release of Win 10. I'm not sure what your source is about hackers but I would be cautious about assumptions - they go after what is vulnerable to the tools they have.

What's good about Windows 10 is that it adopted some Unix-like features, as iOS has done as well. These include more scripting tools - I just received a book today about scripting that mentions the Win 10 bash shell on the very first page - and stronger application access control - requiring passwords for critical executions.


----------



## philoctetes

Becca said:


> When I used to give presentations about system security I would tell the group that if I knew a little about each person there, I could figure out the passwords for about 20% of them. Actually I suspect that it was higher than that! Having said that, the problem with complex passwords and frequent changes is that it leads to carelessness in creating and remembering them. So much so that the NIST's recommendations now drop both requirements.


I was thinking about that when I mentioned pass phrases. Until recently they were considered weaker than complex character strings.But the recs have changed and I think it makes sense. I think any kind of password manager, even a secret text file, is probably better than retyping them every time, but there are times when you just want to remember what it is.


----------



## DaveM

philoctetes said:


> Some of the worst infections have been on Win 7 networks. I'm thinking of the ones that took over hospitals and government networks across the world in 24 hours. The names are slipping right now but they were after the release of Win 10. I'm not sure what your source is about hackers but I would be cautious about assumptions - they go after what is vulnerable to the tools they have.
> 
> What's good about Windows 10 is that it adopted some Unix-like features, as iOS has done as well. These include more scripting tools - I just received a book today about scripting that mentions the Win 10 bash shell on the very first page - and stronger application access control - requiring passwords for critical executions.


Well this puts Windows 10 as more vulnerable than Win7:

https://www.cybrnow.com/10-most-vulnerable-os-of-2017/


----------



## Luchesi

If you have your copies on Mac and Windows and/or Linux machines that should keep your files safe. Only one OS of yours can be compromised at a time?

I mostly have backups on all three, but it gets complicated..

It depends. What are my files worth to me? I estimate 3 cents a megabyte.


----------



## Becca

Luchesi said:


> If you have your copies on Mac and Windows and/or Linux machines that should keep your files safe. Only one OS of yours can be compromised at a time?


That sounds like the pre-TSA story of the guy who took a gun on a flight to protect himself from hijacking under the belief that the odds of there ever being 2 guns on a flight at one time were infinitesimal.


----------



## Luchesi

Becca said:


> That sounds like the pre-TSA story of the guy who took a gun on a flight to protect himself from hijacking under the belief that the odds of there ever being 2 guns on a flight at one time were infinitesimal.


I might be attacked and have my files encrypted or deleted on my PC system before I'm aware, and so then the same on my Apple system before I have a chance to rebuild my PC file backups from my Apple backups. That would be quite some hacking! And I do have older HD bups disconnected and put away.

A friend recommended "Beyond Compare" as Windows backup software. I wouldn't recommend Apple's "Time Machine".


----------



## Guest

Becca said:


> When I used to give presentations about system security I would tell the group that if I knew a little about each person there, I could figure out the passwords for about 20% of them. Actually I suspect that it was higher than that! Having said that, the problem with complex passwords and frequent changes is that it leads to carelessness in creating and remembering them. So much so that the NIST's recommendations now drop both requirements.


That is interesting though the link seems to focus more on what not to do rather than what to do.

I have hundreds of online accounts, all with different passwords, and none are written down. This is because I have a system. But if someone cracks my system then they can access all of my accounts. It is hard to know what to do for the best.


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> I just received a book today about scripting that mentions the Win 10 bash shell on the very first page - and stronger application access control - requiring passwords for critical executions.


Did you already get that second book you mentioned on scripting???


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> Did you already get that second book you mentioned on scripting???


Yes, looks like it will get used a lot too. Meanwhile I've been playing with Wireshark - like a tickertape or market screen with IPs instead of stocks. See a lotta traffic I don't understand yet but I think it is legit.


----------



## philoctetes

Becca said:


> That sounds like the pre-TSA story of the guy who took a gun on a flight to protect himself from hijacking under the belief that the odds of there ever being 2 guns on a flight at one time were infinitesimal.


Roll over Bournoulli...


----------



## philoctetes

On Linux, I simply back up with rsync. I have never tried commercial backup software and used to simply do full backups periodically, a real drag.

Occasionally I have issues with drives that no longer want to sync. Usually SD cards that I use in my phone for music. Seems best to format them in the phone rather than desktop, but I'm still getting snagged on this sometimes.


----------



## philoctetes

Root said:


> That is interesting though the link seems to focus more on what not to do rather than what to do.
> 
> I have hundreds of online accounts, all with different passwords, and none are written down. This is because I have a system. But if someone cracks my system then they can access all of my accounts. It is hard to know what to do for the best.


One pass phrase to guard all pass phrases is the direction I'm going too. Takes much time to organize these things.


----------



## Becca

One technique that I often recommend is to have 2 or 3 core passwords, then add a short prefix or suffix to the core where the addition is related to the site being accessed. Also to reduce predictability, do some upper/lower case changes and/or punctuation substitution (e.g. use ! for 1 etc.). It sound a bit complex but really isn't once you start using it, e.g. if my core is abcd, then for TC I might have Ta!kabcd

P.S. Don't try doing that to hack my account, I'm already ahead of you


----------



## Guest

Becca said:


> One technique that I often recommend is to have 2 or 3 core passwords, then add a short prefix or suffix to the core where the addition is related to the site being accessed. Also to reduce predictability, do some upper/lower case changes and/or punctuation substitution (e.g. use ! for 1 etc.). It sound a bit complex but really isn't once you start using it, e.g. if my core is abcd, then for TC I might have Ta!kabcd
> 
> P.S. Don't try doing that to hack my account, I'm already ahead of you


Yes, I have something similar. (Not exactly the same .) I think that this is pretty good.

But if /when someone steals the log ins and passwords off TC they could work out that 'your' amazon password is Am!zabcd and also by extension the rest of your passwords.

So is that a risk worth addressing at the current time?


----------



## Becca

I'm aware of the potential risks and am not quite *that* predictable!


----------



## Luchesi

Root said:


> That is interesting though the link seems to focus more on what not to do rather than what to do.
> 
> I have hundreds of online accounts, all with different passwords, and none are written down. This is because I have a system. But if someone cracks my system then they can access all of my accounts. It is hard to know what to do for the best.


I've heard of using a phrase like welovEsequoias and then adding the first four letters of the website at the end or in front of the phrase. It's easy to remember and you can use it for all your passwords.

Or if the first four letters gets confusing you can generate a list of nicknames for your websites.


----------



## Guest

Becca said:


> I'm aware of the potential risks and am not quite *that* predictable!


Haha!

My concern is that I think that I am that predictable. Recently I received a sextortion email where I was shocked to find that the email came from my own email address and they quoted the (6 lower case characters) password that I used to use on all of my accounts in more naive times. So now I know that on any particular site my password can / will be discovered. If someone found one of my current strong passwords, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that they could work out the rest.

Becca, is there any way that I could have different passwords on each site and not have a system that is fairly easily decoded and where nothing needs to be written down either on paper or in a spreadsheet?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Ha ha. My father-in-law would use grand kids birthdays but intersperse them with some word, so it might be something like this:

6dough14nut98


----------



## philoctetes

That sextortion stuff is really going around. I got one too. The password they knew was from 8 years ago and wasn't quite correct, likely obtained in a security breach. False alarm but what a racket.

This raises my concerns about bitcoin and how it enables crime. On the other hand bitcoin assets are secure by blockchain (supposedly)... which makes a pass phrase valuable enough to torture its owner for... nothing is ever totally secure.


----------



## Luchesi

Facebook stored passwords for hundreds of millions of users in plain text, exposing them for years to anyone who had internal access to the files, according to Krebs on Security. User passwords are typically protected with encryption (a process known as hashing), but a string of errors led certain Facebook-branded apps to leave passwords accessible to as many as 20,000 company employees.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/21/...text-password-storage-hundreds-millions-users


----------



## philoctetes

"string of errors" good pun. Fortunately I never joined Facebook, but still have to keep their apps from invading my devices through my provider.


----------



## philoctetes

I wonder quite a bit how many employees of these internet companies, esp in middle to upper management, are completely indoctrinated by the spy-for-hire mentality. It's not a long stretch to think of all social media as 21st C private eye services.


----------



## Becca

Root said:


> Becca, is there any way that I could have different passwords on each site and not have a system that is fairly easily decoded and where nothing needs to be written down either on paper or in a spreadsheet?


The problem with having totally different passwords for each site is that you have to be able to remember them. The more that you have, the more that you need some type of organizing system to avoid rote memorization. Any system can be cracked but with a bit of care, it would require finding a number of different passwords in order to determine the system. Perhaps the first rule is to minimize the number of places you use which require passwords! As to writing them down, paper is safer than a spreadsheet and the obvious thing is to never write the entire password, usually it only takes 2 or 3 key characters to trigger the recollection of what was used, and they don't necessarily need to be actual characters from the password.


----------



## Guest

Interesting thank you, Becca, there are a few things I can work on there.


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> I wonder quite a bit how many employees of these internet companies, esp in middle to upper management, are completely indoctrinated by the spy-for-hire mentality. It's not a long stretch to think of all social media as 21st C private eye services.


I think it's honestly part generational. It's been quite awhile since the first cell phones (not smartphones) came out so to a lot of people smartphones are just the next generation cell phone.


----------



## Larkenfield

philoctetes said:


> That sextortion stuff is really going around. I got one too. The password they knew was from 8 years ago and wasn't quite correct, likely obtained in a security breach. False alarm but what a racket.
> 
> This raises my concerns about bitcoin and how it enables crime. On the other hand bitcoin assets are secure by blockchain (supposedly)... which makes a pass phrase valuable enough to torture its owner for... nothing is ever totally secure.


Yes, sometimes these passwords are old and gotten from sites that were easy to break into at the time, or security breaches from some of the popular social networking sites. As long as those passwords aren't current, it's likely that the hackers have no control over your computer and access to your personal information. They like to be paid in bitcoin because the payments can't be traced back to them, and I think you make a good point that bitcoin payments can contribute to criminal activities.


----------



## DaveM

After reading about the number of accounts some of you have and the websites you’re trying out, no wonder some of you are afraid of being hacked.


----------



## Larkenfield

*E*



Root said:


> How do you store your passwords?


I use what is called 'Keychain' on my iMac computer that requires a separate password to access those stored passwords, all different than my main computer password. Those two important passwords are 13 letters and numbers long and make it difficult for anyone to break into the computer and stored passwords. I also use a good antivirus and a VPN which can also help filter threats. It's not impossible to break in if a skilled hacker was determined, but it would be very difficult to hack complex passwords that long that I've easily memorized... I have a system for memorizings passwords: I start with a base word and then connect each website I visit with that word. It might be a base word like 'catalyst'. Then I usually take the first four letters of any website I visit and add those letters to the end of 'catalyst'. For the Talk Classical website it might be the word 'catalyst' plus 'talk'. Then for even more security I'll add the birth year of a friend, such as 1980. Thus, the entire password for this website might be 'catalysttalk1980.' This way, every website has a different password that's easy to remember without having to write them down. Good luck.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> The problem with having totally different passwords for each site is that you have to be able to remember them. The more that you have, the more that you need some type of organizing system to avoid rote memorization. Any system can be cracked but with a bit of care, it would require finding a number of different passwords in order to determine the system. Perhaps the first rule is to minimize the number of places you use which require passwords! As to writing them down, paper is safer than a spreadsheet and the obvious thing is to never write the entire password, usually it only takes 2 or 3 key characters to trigger the recollection of what was used, and they don't necessarily need to be actual characters from the password.


How do you feel about these password sites where they store your passwords and you have one password to access them all.?


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Facebook stored passwords for hundreds of millions of users in plain text, exposing them for years to anyone who had internal access to the files, according to Krebs on Security. User passwords are typically protected with encryption (a process known as hashing), but a string of errors led certain Facebook-branded apps to leave passwords accessible to as many as 20,000 company employees.
> 
> https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/21/...text-password-storage-hundreds-millions-users


This smells. You've got 20,000 employees that have access to clear text? Maybe the vast majority didn't see them or something but no one reports this before now?


----------



## philoctetes

DaveM said:


> After reading about the number of accounts some of you have and the websites you're trying out, no wonder some of you are afraid of being hacked.


My password that had been breached and used for sextortion came from Earthlink. Check your assumptions please.


----------



## DaveM

philoctetes said:


> My password that had been breached and used for sextortion came from Earthlink. Check your assumptions please.


Actually it wasn't a post of yours that triggered my response. Check your sensitivity please.


----------



## Joe B

I have all of my different user names and passwords in a Word doc. The doc is password protected, on my NAS (encrypted and not connected to the internet), six folders deep in an area where no one would ever think of looking, and with a name only known to myself. Safe enough!


----------



## Becca

Someone once said "The only safe computer is one which is turned off and in a locked room without outside connections ... and then I'm not sure!"


----------



## philoctetes

Dave why don't you be specific instead of just being generally judgmental? Or better yet, show the same interest in security that you showed with respect to a certain '14yo' troll, once you realized 'she' was a troll. It's not important to claim who was first to suspect her but it's important to know why some of us can claim to have suspected her early. I'm not sure you understand that and I'm not sure you are here to help this thread. If she had actually catfished somebody's personal information they would be in the same boat as whoever you are judging here. Get real.

Security is complex and we all have a right to go wherever we want but we always have to protect ourselves psychologically as well as technologically. I shared the ways- psychological - in which I spotted red flags with the troll but for you they were not apparently red enough. If you don't like that I share insights on this forum perhaps you have your own motives. I don't think you're going to get anybody to regress to Win 7, but let me know when you do ha.


----------



## philoctetes

Watch out for anyone who claims to be invulnerable to anything. It's like the investor who never loses a trade.


----------



## philoctetes

I'm interested in what people might know about different email tools. I've been phished once or twice, the first was before we had a word for it, when I had no clue how the internet worked, and the second was on a fraud healthcare notice before I learned to check addresses. And it's true that the addresses can be spoofed as well. 

I have two email services, gmail and my internet provider. The IP seems to have no spam control and my inboxes on older accounts are like honeypots. So that's how I use them now, for stuff that isn't sensitive, like TC, and lately I've deleted some accounts. After the healthcare phish I stopped using mailtools like Outlook or Edge and just go on my provider's website which is a major pain.

Then I started using gmail which never has spam. Access is either through Google mail apps on a browser or through an app, I suppose I could use a mailtool as well but with gmail the apps are convenient. 

So what I wanna know, is what does Gmail have or do that makes it different from my IP's mail system? And what do others think about the relative merits of various email tools /providers / apps / websites?

PS, I have concerns about Google's security as well, the last virus I found on my Windows system was in the Chrome folder...


----------



## Art Rock

philoctetes said:


> Then I started using gmail which never has spam.


Gmail has a separate spam folder which collects in my case something like a dozen posts per day. Their success rate is pretty good: only once in a while does a real email end up there, and spam emails appearing in my regular inbox have become a rarity (although it still happens occasionally).


----------



## Guest

I use Sylpheed and Thunderbird with gmail accounts. The spam filter is pretty much 100% successful. 

I do not use AV software and am yet to receive a wormy virus thing.


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> I'm interested in what people might know about different email tools. I've been phished once or twice, the first was before we had a word for it, when I had no clue how the internet worked, and the second was on a fraud healthcare notice before I learned to check addresses. And it's true that the addresses can be spoofed as well.
> 
> I have two email services, gmail and my internet provider. The IP seems to have no spam control and my inboxes on older accounts are like honeypots. So that's how I use them now, for stuff that isn't sensitive, like TC, and lately I've deleted some accounts. After the healthcare phish I stopped using mailtools like Outlook or Edge and just go on my provider's website which is a major pain.
> 
> Then I started using gmail which never has spam. Access is either through Google mail apps on a browser or through an app, I suppose I could use a mailtool as well but with gmail the apps are convenient.
> 
> So what I wanna know, is what does Gmail have or do that makes it different from my IP's mail system? And what do others think about the relative merits of various email tools /providers / apps / websites?
> 
> PS, I have concerns about Google's security as well, the last virus I found on my Windows system was in the Chrome folder...


https://protonmail.com/


----------



## haydnguy

Earlier today I was just looking at a post here on TC and suddenly my computer screen went black and rebooted. (Windows 10).

I checked the Event Viewer and it said that I had had a 'bugcheck'. A mini-dump was created when that happened. I looked at the mini-dump and it indicated that the problem was a hardware problem.

I believe, however, that the real culprit was a 'Cumulative Update' (software update) that I had installed two days ago. This happened once before after one of these and a subsequent software patch fixed it. After all this happened today I uninstalled the Update from 2 days ago and I'm hoping this fixes it.


----------



## TxllxT

Yesterday Windows 10 issued another update, but since the former update my monitor started to show weird irregular screen flashes... Hope they solved the problem with the newest update.


----------



## Art Rock

TxllxT said:


> Yesterday Windows 10 issued another update, but since the former update my monitor started to show weird irregular screen flashes... Hope they solved the problem with the newest update.


Thanks, I saw that this morning and thought something was wrong with my eyes.


----------



## haydnguy

TxllxT said:


> Yesterday Windows 10 issued another update, but since the former update my monitor started to show weird irregular screen flashes... Hope they solved the problem with the newest update.


Uggh... when I was uninstalling the update I thought was the cause of my problem I noticed that it also installed a new update. That must be the one you are talking about. I put my updates on hold for 30 days until they get all this worked out.


----------



## Luchesi

I need to keep a Windows machine running for Space Engine. A free program that is such an amazing effort! I don't connect to the Internet with a Windows machine.

Linux distro comparison of Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Manjaro, Slacko Puppy, Lubuntu, Zorin OS






All distros were downloaded as an ISO image and written to USB media (for testing and/or full installation) using Etcher, which is available from: https://etcher.io/ The different distros featured in this video can be obtained from the following links. Please note that all of the below are provided in good faith, and that testing and/or installing a new operating system should be done with care. Testing a distro from a USB drive should not delete files or otherwise damage your computer. However, actually installing a new operating system will replace your existing one unless you decide to dual boot, and this can cause issues . . . Linux Mint: https://linuxmint.com/download.php Ubuntu: https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop Debian Jessie with Raspberry Pi Desktop: https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads... Manjaro: https://manjaro.org/get-manjaro/ Slacko Puppy: http://puppylinux.com/index.html#down... Lubuntu: http://lubuntu.net/ Zorin OS Core (scroll down): https://zorinos.com/download/ You may also be interested in my video "Linux Mint Week" - in which (well, OK, you can probably guess that this video is about): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EAes…


----------



## TxllxT

haydnguy said:


> Uggh... when I was uninstalling the update I thought was the cause of my problem I noticed that it also installed a new update. That must be the one you are talking about. I put my updates on hold for 30 days until they get all this worked out.


The flashscreens are still there but not so numerous as before.


----------



## Dan Ante

Thank goodness I stayed with Vista, running sweet with no problems


----------



## Dorsetmike

I skipped Vista. went from XP to 7, disabled the free 10 update had a couple of update problems with 7 over a year ago so now run with all updates disabled; I have 7 pro 64 bit on 2 PCs and Home premium on a laptop, all 3 machines have SSDs as C:, plus 2Tb hard disk in the PCs partitioned for music, images and text, laptop I use external drives for files.

I often wonder how I ever managed with an Amstrad with 640K ram and 2 floppy drives running DRDOS, I later added a 32Mb hard disc on an extension card. I used to write "programmes" in Basic with subroutines written in machine code


----------



## Joe B

Dorsetmike said:


> .....I used to write "programmes" in Basic with subroutines written in machine code


There was a time when I used to do that as well.:tiphat:


----------



## Steerpike

Luchesi said:


> I need to keep a Windows machine running for Space Engine. A free program that is such an amazing effort! I don't connect to the Internet with a Windows machine.
> 
> Linux distro comparison of Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Manjaro, Slacko Puppy, Lubuntu, Zorin OS


Linux is just such a pleasure to use compared to Windoze. I haven't managed to break away entirely from Microsoft yet, but the Windows systems I have (XP and 7) are relegated to secondary roles (e.g. games), and I use Linux for everything else. I do have a copy of Windows 10, but it only runs in VirtualBox.

I think Mint is probably the best place to start for anyone thinking of making the switch.


----------



## Becca

VirtualBox is good and certainly has its place but the KVM/QEMU combination is a better way to go for Linux virtualization ... and it isn't controlled by Oracle! Now if only I could get the networking running on the QEMU Solaris/SPARC emulation!


----------



## Steerpike

Becca said:


> VirtualBox is good and certainly has its place but the KVM/QEMU combination is a better way to go for Linux virtualization ... and it isn't controlled by Oracle! Now if only I could get the networking running on the QEMU Solaris/SPARC emulation!


Is it possible (easy) to get fullscreen with KVM/QEMU? I have looked at it, but to be honest VirtualBox seems to provide everything I need, apart from the limitations on graphics (DirectX) support (is KVM/QEMU any better in this regard?). My hope is that virtualisation will one day be so good that everything that runs on Windoze as a primary OS will also run in a VM - even games.


----------



## Becca

Steerpike said:


> Is it possible (easy) to get fullscreen with KVM/QEMU? I have looked at it, but to be honest VirtualBox seems to provide everything I need, apart from the limitations on graphics (DirectX) support (is KVM/QEMU any better in this regard?). My hope is that virtualisation will one day be so good that everything that runs on Windoze as a primary OS will also run in a VM - even games.


Yes it is ... and while I haven't used it, there is Virgil3D, a virtual graphics driver which does provide DirectX support - but that isn't something I have ever played with.


----------



## Luchesi

Steerpike said:


> Linux is just such a pleasure to use compared to Windoze. I haven't managed to break away entirely from Microsoft yet, but the Windows systems I have (XP and 7) are relegated to secondary roles (e.g. games), and I use Linux for everything else. I do have a copy of Windows 10, but it only runs in VirtualBox.
> 
> I think Mint is probably the best place to start for anyone thinking of making the switch.


Microsoft spends so much money and effort on securing Windows I think it would've been cost-effective for them to develop their own software that overlays like a virtual OS, like VirtualBox. Then they could advertise that they're quite safe, instead of having the reputation that they have..

Of course, today, for the financial survival of a corporation there needs to be large and reliable profits. The Windows operating system doesn't bring in large profits. Other ventures such as intelligent cloud and business productivity, SQL Server etc. and Microsoft Consulting Services have dwarfed the Windows' profits.


----------



## Becca

*A Black Day in Computer History*

On this day in 1959, a committee was formed which started the creation of COBOL. It was designed to be English-like, self-documenting and easily readable but in fact ended creating monolithic, verbose programs which were anything but easy to read and, as the Y2K fiasco showed, were difficult to modify.</rant>


----------



## Steerpike

Becca said:


> On this day in 1959, a committee was formed which started the creation of COBOL. It was designed to be English-like, self-documenting and easily readable but in fact ended creating monolithic, *verbose programs which were anything but easy to read* and, as the Y2K fiasco showed, were difficult to modify.</rant>


As someone who spent quite a bit of time creating and amending COBOL programs, I have to disagree. It was fairly straightforward to write well structured and easily readable (relatively, and certainly compared to the alternatives at the time) and self-documented (using in-line comments) programs, but of course it was also possible to create the programming equivalent of a plate of spaghetti. It wasn't COBOL the language that gave rise to incomprehensible code, and neither was it COBOL which caused programmers to assume a date format of DDMMYY would always be sufficient.

On that latter point, I remember well the prophecies of technological doom, and the money invested in addressing the 'Y2K bug'. Ultimately the whole thing was a bit of a damp squib and we transitioned from 1999 to 2000 largely without issue.


----------



## Becca

One of the alternatives which got its start the year before was Algol (a language which I used extensively for system programming) but, at least in the US, it suffered from the NIH syndrome, although it did have much more of a long term effect on language development.

As to documenting, adding in-line comments defeats one of the purposes of a self-documenting language. By that standard even assembler language (which I have written lots of) can be considered as self-documented with sufficient comments!

I didn't mean to imply that COBOL caused the Y2K 'bug' but the structure certainly exacerbated the potential for problems. I certainly spent time going over thousands of lines of C code looking for issues, fortunately as all dates were internally kept as seconds from an epoch, it was mostly a non-issue.


----------



## Luchesi

Autocoder IBM 360?


----------



## Becca

Luchesi said:


> Autocoder IBM 360?


AFAIK the 360 only ran Autocoder in a 1401 emulation mode.


----------



## DaveM

Becca said:


> .. I certainly spent time going over thousands of lines of C code looking for issues, fortunately as all dates were internally kept as seconds from an epoch, it was mostly a non-issue.


For all I heard about the Y2K concern at the time, I've never met anyone that was involved in checking code for a conflict. I coded a fair amount of C back in the day. Reviewing all the code you must have was a pretty daunting, time-consuming, skilled responsibility.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> On this day in 1959, a committee was formed which started the creation of COBOL. It was designed to be English-like, self-documenting and easily readable but in fact ended creating monolithic, verbose programs which were anything but easy to read and, as the Y2K fiasco showed, were difficult to modify.</rant>


Not sure I totally agree with you there. Cobol was/is a programming language that compared to many programs today was very easy to read. (Compare to C). I later went to the C-style format but Colbol and Fortran served a great purpose for their time. As far as the Y2K a lot of the programmers that wrote all those programs wrote them never imagining that they would still be running at the turn of the century. It just never entered their minds.

I was exposed (didn't actually program in it) to a language called 'Natural' put out by Software A/G. It was considered a 4th generation language and was MUCH simpler than COBOL. I'm not sure whatever happened to it but I don't think it made it. (I could be wrong


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Microsoft spends so much money and effort on securing Windows I think it would've been cost-effective for them to develop their own software that overlays like a virtual OS, like VirtualBox. Then they could advertise that they're quite safe, instead of having the reputation that they have..
> 
> Of course, today, for the financial survival of a corporation there needs to be large and reliable profits. The Windows operating system doesn't bring in large profits. Other ventures such as intelligent cloud and business productivity, SQL Server etc. and Microsoft Consulting Services have dwarfed the Windows' profits.


Well, I've been on Windows since it's beginning so I know it. Moving to Linux is like starting over for me. (Not completely, their both OS's and pretty much serve the same purpose. but you are right. Microsoft has moved on. They are planning to bring out a Windows Light. They are planning to position this to compete with Chromebooks. It will require less machine resources but the question is will it run on the older machine which would probably need it the most. My guess is that it won't. The older the machine is the worse.

When you mentioned Virtual Box, were you thinking of something different than Hyper-V? It comes with Windows Pro.


----------



## Becca

haydnguy said:


> I was exposed (didn't actually program in it) to a language called 'Natural' put out by Software A/G. It was considered a 4th generation language and was MUCH simpler than COBOL. I'm not sure whatever happened to it but I don't think it made it. (I could be wrong


It actually still lives and is supported and is even now available on Linux! As with many languages/systems, they never quite die as too many organizations have too much invested in them.


----------



## Luchesi

Becca said:


> AFAIK the 360 only ran Autocoder in a 1401 emulation mode.


A long time ago.

An even longer time ago, here's a surreal TV advertisement for a Remington Rand UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer) touting its amazing capabilities.

19 minutes in;


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> Well, I've been on Windows since it's beginning so I know it. Moving to Linux is like starting over for me. (Not completely, their both OS's and pretty much serve the same purpose. but you are right. Microsoft has moved on. They are planning to bring out a Windows Light. They are planning to position this to compete with Chromebooks. It will require less machine resources but the question is will it run on the older machine which would probably need it the most. My guess is that it won't. The older the machine is the worse.
> 
> When you mentioned Virtual Box, were you thinking of something different than Hyper-V? It comes with Windows Pro.


Oh hyper-V, I didn't know. I never needed Windows Pro.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> It actually still lives and is supported and is even now available on Linux! As with many languages/systems, they never quite die as too many organizations have too much invested in them.


WOW! That's amazing!! Thank you for sharing that with me.

I'm jealous that your still around the good stuff. I wish I were.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Luchesi said:


> Oh hyper-V, I didn't know. I never needed Windows Pro.


I suspect the pro versions are better behaved than the standard version.


----------



## Becca

Fritz Kobus said:


> I suspect the pro versions are better behaved than the standard version.


:lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## Luchesi

Becca said:


> AFAIK the 360 only ran Autocoder in a 1401 emulation mode.


They never told us about such specifications. We went quickly into COBOL.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund

My printer doesn't print! I get "error during printing" (in Norwegian). Anyone that can help? It's a Xerox WorkCenter 6025. I downloaded and installed new driver...


----------



## DaveM

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> My printer doesn't print! I get "error during printing" (in Norwegian). Anyone that can help? It's a Xerox WorkCenter 6025. I downloaded and installed new driver...


Was it working well before you installed the new driver?


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund

DaveM said:


> Was it working well before you installed the new driver?


About a week ago it worked, then suddenly it didn't before & after new driver...Wondered if it was something with my mac, but really have no clue


----------



## haydnguy

Fritz Kobus said:


> I suspect the pro versions are better behaved than the standard version.


I wouldn't count on it.


----------



## haydnguy

"1401" was also a printer. Here is my first printer.


----------



## DaveM

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> About a week ago it worked, then suddenly it didn't before & after new driver...Wondered if it was something with my mac, but really have no clue


I would revert to the old driver if possible and go from there. I know how to do that with Windows, but not the Mac.


----------



## Becca

haydnguy said:


> "1401" was also a printer. Here is my first printer.


If you look verrrrry closely, you will see that it is a 1403


----------



## haydnguy

QUOTE=Becca;1619523]If you look verrrrry closely, you will see that it is a 1403 [/QUOTE]

Your right. My brain is shot. That's a good call Becca!!


----------



## Merl

I had an Amiga A500 with an A590 additional hard drive which gave my set-up a huge 3MB RAM. I was so cool!


----------



## haydnguy

Merl said:


> I had an Amiga A500 with an A590 additional hard drive which gave my set-up a huge 3MB RAM. I was so cool!


I'm not sure of those model numbers but didn't the Amiga have good graphics?


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> I wouldn't count on it.


Well, then I wonder what companies are paying for in the pro versions?


----------



## Becca

To enable all the extra features which are still present but disabled in the basic versions. To be able to run add-on software which is intentionally designed not to run in basic versions. All the fundamentals of an operating system are otherwise the same, and that is a majority of the code.


----------



## Varick

I can't stand Apple anymore so I finally got an Android phone. That was 5 months ago. I like almost everything about the new phone more except: The music player. Sorry, but NO ONE and I mean NO ONE EVEN COMES CLOSE to Apple when it comes to a music player that seemlessly, effortlessly, and so quickly, without flaws syncs up music between my computer and phone. Ex: Changes to one of the 60+ playlists (almost on a daily basis - a few songs here, a few songs there in a few different playlists) I have... just beautifully between an iPhone and iTunes on my computer (PC).

NO ONE in the android world comes close. Nothing but nightmares. I finally found a music player that "supposedly" works well between iTunes Library and Android, but what took my iPhone about 1-2 minutes to daily update, takes HOURS and HOURS and HOURS to do the same thing, but with a boat load of glitches, mistakes, and mishaps EVERY SINGLE TIME. VERY frustrating.

Music is SO important to me, that I am actually considering going back to Apple. What I can not understand, no, can't even fathom is why Apple is the ONLY company that has been able to do all these things when it comes to mobile music players and computer libraries (such as: Being able to add a song to a playlist while on my phone, then when I sync it to my computer, that song is now in the same playlist in my computer library. If I listened to a song twice on my phone, the count in my library increases by 2 after I sync up. If I rate a song on my phone, that rating transfers to my library after a sync up, etc, etc).

I'm pretty much a computer moron, but I know that programs are opened up, analyzed, certain things copied from one manufacturer to another. This happens all the time in EVERY industry. Why the hell can't ANYONE in the Android world come even CLOSE to what Apple has done here???

V


----------



## haydnguy

Varick said:


> I can't stand Apple anymore so I finally got an Android phone. That was 5 months ago. I like almost everything about the new phone more except: The music player. Sorry, but NO ONE and I mean NO ONE EVEN COMES CLOSE to Apple when it comes to a music player that seemlessly, effortlessly, and so quickly, without flaws syncs up music between my computer and phone. Ex: Changes to one of the 60+ playlists (almost on a daily basis - a few songs here, a few songs there in a few different playlists) I have... just beautifully between an iPhone and iTunes on my computer (PC).
> 
> NO ONE in the android world comes close. Nothing but nightmares. I finally found a music player that "supposedly" works well between iTunes Library and Android, but what took my iPhone about 1-2 minutes to daily update, takes HOURS and HOURS and HOURS to do the same thing, but with a boat load of glitches, mistakes, and mishaps EVERY SINGLE TIME. VERY frustrating.
> 
> Music is SO important to me, that I am actually considering going back to Apple. What I can not understand, no, can't even fathom is why Apple is the ONLY company that has been able to do all these things when it comes to mobile music players and computer libraries (such as: Being able to add a song to a playlist while on my phone, then when I sync it to my computer, that song is now in the same playlist in my computer library. If I listened to a song twice on my phone, the count in my library increases by 2 after I sync up. If I rate a song on my phone, that rating transfers to my library after a sync up, etc, etc).
> 
> I'm pretty much a computer moron, but I know that programs are opened up, analyzed, certain things copied from one manufacturer to another. This happens all the time in EVERY industry. Why the hell can't ANYONE in the Android world come even CLOSE to what Apple has done here???
> 
> V


I have never heard Apple so I have nothing to compare it to. I bought a phone awhile back and it's supposed to have pretty good sound. The LG V40 LinQ. I'll post below and you can look at the audio specs towards the middle of the page.

https://www.lg.com/us/mobile-phones/v40-thinq/specs


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> To enable all the extra features which are still present but disabled in the basic versions. To be able to run add-on software which is intentionally designed not to run in basic versions. All the fundamentals of an operating system are otherwise the same, and that is a majority of the code.


Your right on all counts. One real biggie until now (I'm mean literally right about now) is that Home users didn't have any way to delay Updates so if an Update is buggy they have had no way to stop it. The Pro version gave you a way to delay Updates until you could see that the Updates were ok (in the wild).

I have never seen so many buggy updates. I don't know if you keep up with that Becca, but it really has gotten out of hand.


----------



## KenOC

I've been using Windows Pro for several generations, since XP I think. It has been quite stable since Vista. With Win 7 and Win 10, the only reboots have been those forced by occasional overnight updates; otherwise, I just put it to sleep and leave it at that.

I'm not using any Pro features.


----------



## Adamus

https://overcast.fm/+CdQwKWV0 about the breaking up of iTunes. Marco Arment c.s.


----------



## philoctetes

As a full-time Linux / Android user now i have only two reasons to still want Windows (or Mac) - for iTunes and TurboTax. So that's one of my motives for playing around with VB right now, I don't want to do my taxes by hand anymore and I don't want to enter music info by hand (on Rhythmbox) from CDs that I rip- organizing music files with iTunes is much easier.

But my world in swinging in favor of open-source and away from Macky MacWindowFace. And while Rhythmbox is pretty flakey, I kinda like Audacious and vlc as pure music players and the latter is good for other media functions. I expect MS and Apple will have to give more of their software away to keep up with the gitters.

I have different opinions about audio on Apple's hardware. Everybody I know who has an iPhone has relatively poor voice audio quality, I have noticed this for years. And my old iPods never sounded as good as the devices I'm using with vlc now, it's as if I upgraded the files themselves.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I have heard there is a freeware called Rockbox that can be installed on most MP3 players that allows unlimited songs. I ran into a brick wall on my Sansa Clip. Seems the 4 GB internal can only handle 2000 tracks and the 16GB external about 4000. I exceeded it in the past and half the stuff did not show up in the menus. Why didn't they write the program with a larger memory capacity? I also heard that the limit is affected by length of the track titles. Someone on Amazon where I inquired about capacity asked why I would need that many tracks. They obviously were thinking non-classical. I replied that one opera may have 50 to 80 tracks and I like to keep a lot of operas on my player. They probably read that and scratched their head in puzzlement.


----------



## Boludo

philoctetes said:


> I don't want to enter music info by hand (on Rhythmbox) from CDs that I rip- organizing music files with iTunes is much easier.
> 
> while Rhythmbox is pretty flakey, .


I use Rhythmbox but rip CDs with Asunder then edit the music info by hand on Rhythmbox. The process is similar to how I used iTunes a few years back when I had Windows.

So can I ask, specifically, what does iTunes do, in terms of ripping and music info, that Rythmbox / Asunder cannot do? I'd be interested to see what I am missing from Windows as it has been a while now since I used it.

Thanks!


----------



## Jacck

Windows > Linux > Mac
I am mostly happy with Windows. I was forced to use Linux at university, and there are some small benefits over win, but also disadvantages. For example, if you try to install linux on a new laptop, it can be really frustrating. The linux had no drivers for my wifi, and without wifi I could not go to internet to download the drivers (using the sudo get apt). I spend 2 days searching various linux forums to try to solve the problem and was unsuccessful. And that is just one of my frustrations with linux. And Mac is just plain horrible. I hate the whole company


----------



## philoctetes

^^^ When it's good to have an ethernet connection.


----------



## haydnguy

I have just been accessing the jpc.de site to browse. I'm looking for a translator add-on for Firefox that will translate the page. I'd rather not use Google translator.


----------



## Varick

Boludo said:


> I use Rhythmbox but rip CDs with Asunder then edit the music info by hand on Rhythmbox. The process is similar to how I used iTunes a few years back when I had Windows.
> 
> So can I ask, specifically, what does iTunes do, in terms of ripping and music info, that Rythmbox / Asunder cannot do? I'd be interested to see what I am missing from Windows as it has been a while now since I used it.
> 
> Thanks!


Well, I rip CDs into my iTunes Library and they are automatically entered into the library with all the info. Every once in a while, I have to augment genre or composer, etc, but that's because the info on the actual CD is innacurate or incomplete.

I use Music Bee also on my computer because it's about 1,000 times more customizable than iTunes. Now, if one has an iPhone or iPod (or other Apple music device), then transfers of playlists, ratings, playcounts, songs, and everything else is seemless, quick, and amazingly easy.

The problem I have now is that I went to Android. I still have iTunes on my PC and still use that as my central music library data base (everything easily transfers from iTunes to Music Bee on my iTunes) Unfortunately Music Bee is strictly a PC/Laptop player and does not sync with portable music players or phones.

I have yet to encountered ANYTHING EVEN CLOSE to the ease and simplicity of iTunes to iPhone/iPod than iTunes to Android. It is a nightmare. And someone like me who has tens and tens of playlists, with over 600 gigs of music who likes to listen to his OWN playlists and music selection, it's a big deal. I like everything else more about Android than I do iPhone except the music thing. It's such a big deal for me personally, that I am actually considering going back to iPhone. I am going to give it the rest of the year to experiment with other software and Android players that "supposedly" work well with iTunes, but If I haven't discovered something that comes close to Apple, I will probably hold my nose and go back to iPhone. 

V


----------



## SixFootScowl

I rip with Assunder and then drag and drop folders onto my mp3 player.


----------



## Varick

Fritz Kobus said:


> I rip with Assunder and then drag and drop folders onto my mp3 player.


What Mp3 player do you use?

V


----------



## Varick

I'm thinking an MP3 player may be the way to go, but it would have to have a MINIMUM of 150 gigs of storage for me to be worth it. It would also have to be compatible with iTunes. But then again, we're kind of back to square one.

V


----------



## DaveM

Varick said:


> Well, I rip CDs into my iTunes Library and they are automatically entered into the library with all the info. Every once in a while, I have to augment genre or composer, etc, but that's because the info on the actual CD is innacurate or incomplete.
> 
> I use Music Bee also on my computer because it's about 1,000 times more customizable than iTunes. Now, if one has an iPhone or iPod (or other Apple music device), then transfers of playlists, ratings, playcounts, songs, and everything else is seemless, quick, and amazingly easy.
> 
> The problem I have now is that I went to Android. I still have iTunes on my PC and still use that as my central music library data base (everything easily transfers from iTunes to Music Bee on my iTunes) Unfortunately Music Bee is strictly a PC/Laptop player and does not sync with portable music players or phones.
> 
> I have yet to encountered ANYTHING EVEN CLOSE to the ease and simplicity of iTunes to iPhone/iPod than iTunes to Android. It is a nightmare. And someone like me who has tens and tens of playlists, with over 600 gigs of music who likes to listen to his OWN playlists and music selection, it's a big deal. I like everything else more about Android than I do iPhone except the music thing. It's such a big deal for me personally, that I am actually considering going back to iPhone. I am going to give it the rest of the year to experiment with other software and Android players that "supposedly" work well with iTunes, but If I haven't discovered something that comes close to Apple, I will probably hold my nose and go back to iPhone.
> 
> V


I had several MP3 players in the past. They all started to collect dust when the Apple iPods came out. The difference in the quality of sound was striking and iTunes made it easy to create the sort of customized classical music playlists I depend on. I have seen no evidence that the sound chips of mp3 players have improved let alone surpassed those in iPhones and iTouches.


----------



## Dan Ante

My Samsung Galaxy J2 phone has stopped receiving gmails, it sends OK any ideas?


----------



## SixFootScowl

Varick said:


> What Mp3 player do you use?
> 
> V


The discontinued SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip 4GB MP3 Player, With Full-Color Display, MicroSDHC Card Slot up to 16 GB. I also have a plug in thumb wheel volume control (actually a splitter for two to listen), and a mono earbud that I wear in the left ear, with the right ear remaining connected to the world.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Varick said:


> I'm thinking an MP3 player may be the way to go, but it would have to have a MINIMUM of 150 gigs of storage for me to be worth it. It would also have to be compatible with iTunes. But then again, we're kind of back to square one.
> 
> V


I could use 150 gigs. I need something with a clip so it can attach to my undershirt (V-neck) and then I can pause through my shirt, adjust volume etc. But not just 150 gig it also needs to be able to handle thousands of tracks (20,000 minimum, no limit better). Some players will hold more than they are programmed to handle (my Sansa about 2000 on the internal and about 4000 on the card, beyond that huge chunks of stuff will not show on the menus). I simply select by folders and play folders. Nothing fancy.


----------



## philoctetes

Fritz Kobus said:


> I rip with Assunder


This cracks me up every time I see it.


----------



## SixFootScowl

philoctetes said:


> This cracks me up every time I see it.


We could go several ways with this but let's not.


----------



## KenOC

Crockola alert! “Tiny Device Fixes Slow Wi-Fi And Exposes Greedy Internet Companies... (Everyone Should Have This!)”

The device is a low-end 300 mbps repeater/range extender that will not, as they claim, supercharge your Internet speeds. As for “Greedy Internet Companies,” they want $49 for the same device sellers on Amazon are offering at about $22.


----------



## Listenerris

*Choice for some writings*

Hi. I can`t make the choice what is use to some my own litlle writings. I would want to old laptop, but in the importance point- this is would dont any harm to the eyes. In the other words that the display must be very simple, as an old calculator, or toys.Perhaps it would be cheap as possible.


----------



## haydnguy

I may have just gotten a malware infection on my computer. If I have I can always look back to this post to see the date.

I'm posting this because this is very similar to how (some) malware works today. 

I have a Dell. Dell computers come with a program called SupportAssist. It's a program that checks that your hardware is functionaing correctly, that you have the lastest drivers (programs that allows your computer to talk with other devices such as a printer or external hard drive, and has other funtionality such as that. Occassionally, a notificatin pops up that reminds you to run SupportAssist (Not very often). 

Recently I read where someone had been able to infect SupportAssist with malware. I went out to the Dell website to download a new version but they said I had the latest version.

I just had a notification to run SupportAssist. Here is where it gets interesting. At first, that notification looked perfectly normal. It looked like other notifications that I've gotten. Normally I can just click on the notification and the program will start. This time, when I ran it I got the following message:

***** Check the Windows Store for more info about SupportAssist.

If you notice, there are two things that stick out. The first thing is that there is no such thing as a "Windows Store". There is a Microsoft Store. The second is, why would I be going to Microsofts' Store to learn about SupportAssist?

So I very well might have been infected when I clicked on that notification. I don't know. But that's the nature of malware today. They are stealthy. Had I not been very careful I might have easily missed these things. Since nothing happened right away I would have no reason to suspect anything.

I ran a full system scan with my anti-virus program. 

So now I watch and wait. But I'm watching very carefully. I never know when that little bugger is going to rear it's ugly head.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> I may have just gotten a malware infection on my computer. If I have I can always look back to this post to see the date.
> 
> I'm posting this because this is very similar to how (some) malware works today.
> 
> I have a Dell. Dell computers come with a program called SupportAssist. It's a program that checks that your hardware is functionaing correctly, that you have the lastest drivers (programs that allows your computer to talk with other devices such as a printer or external hard drive, and has other funtionality such as that. Occassionally, a notificatin pops up that reminds you to run SupportAssist (Not very often).
> 
> Recently I read where someone had been able to infect SupportAssist with malware. I went out to the Dell website to download a new version but they said I had the latest version.
> 
> I just had a notification to run SupportAssist. Here is where it gets interesting. At first, that notification looked perfectly normal. It looked like other notifications that I've gotten. Normally I can just click on the notification and the program will start. This time, when I ran it I got the following message:
> 
> ***** Check the Windows Store for more info about SupportAssist.
> 
> If you notice, there are two things that stick out. The first thing is that there is no such thing as a "Windows Store". There is a Microsoft Store. The second is, why would I be going to Microsofts' Store to learn about SupportAssist?
> 
> So I very well might have been infected when I clicked on that notification. I don't know. But that's the nature of malware today. They are stealthy. Had I not been very careful I might have easily missed these things. Since nothing happened right away I would have no reason to suspect anything.
> 
> I ran a full system scan with my anti-virus program.
> 
> So now I watch and wait. But I'm watching very carefully. I never know when that little bugger is going to rear it's ugly head.


If you're really worried you could get a Mac and transfer your files to it, and add a HD for future use.


----------



## KenOC

haydnguy: "The Windows Store is Microsoft's application store for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. It was available to consumers with the launch of Windows 8 in late 2012. Users can browse, search and download apps or game for Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and the desktop. As of September 2014, there are over 170,000 apps and games available on the Windows Store."

I think this is what is now called the Microsoft Store.

Found in a link from the Microsoft store:

"Hi William, everyone is having problems with Dell Support Assist in the last 3 weeks. There is an incompatibility with the latest Windows 10 cumulative Update, it is all over this forum and the Dell Forum."

"Your best option for the moment, until Dell come up with a fix, is to uninstall Dell Support Assist and keep an eye on the Dell website for an updated version of that utility."


----------



## haydnguy

@KenOC: I am sure Luchesi is correct. I was one of those holdouts that stayed with Windows 7 until Windows 10 was introduced so I didn't really use the Windows Store. I am not sure when they actually changed it. 

Anyway, I just posted this because the stealthy part I was trying to explain is how a lot of these malware programs work now. 

The Microsoft Store does have SupportAssist in it I see (unfortunately without the version number) but I assume that Dell would have updated the store by this time.


----------



## philoctetes

Firefox is having trouble. The Mozilla people broke the extensions. First heard about it a week ago, then started noticing non-responsive functions. Long time for a fix.


----------



## Larkenfield

Mac owners are sometimes getting phone calls from people who are saying your iCloud has been compromised. They are trying to fix a problem for a price that doesn’t exist. Apple does not call the customers over security reasons, and consequently these calls are false and they are trying to invade your system. To get into an Apple system you have to have the person’s primary password and then another password to their iCloud account which I think is a good security feature. But if a hacker is determined to get into your system, they probably know how to get password information. I use TotalAV and like it for security threats.


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> Firefox is having trouble. The Mozilla people broke the extensions. First heard about it a week ago, then started noticing non-responsive functions. Long time for a fix.


Pretty much exactly one week ago. This is truly bad news. I was affected too. I got it fairly early. So far mine seem to be working correctly.


----------



## Dan Ante

I am thinking of treating myself to a new lap top but all the problems that I see on posts complaining about windows 10 is making me think twice.


----------



## Becca

The Firefox problem was fixed a few days ago with release 66.0.4


----------



## KenOC

Dan Ante said:


> I am thinking of treating myself to a new lap top but all the problems that I see on posts complaining about windows 10 is making me think twice.


In my experience, Windows 10 is quite stable and uneventful.


----------



## Becca

Over the last couple of weeks I have had the interesting experience of working on a Red Hat Linux system running on an IBM zSeries mainframe, i.e. the current implementation of the system 360/370/390 family. It was fast, albeit not as much as I expected. The only way that I could tell that it wasn't a typical Intel architecture was the big-endian data format.


----------



## Dan Ante

KenOC said:


> In my experience, Windows 10 is quite stable and uneventful.


Thanks Ken that has put me in a more positive frame of mind my next decision is 500GB to 1TB HD or about 250GB solid state? I do have an external back up.


----------



## Taggart

Why not both? I use a desktop. I've got a 256 gb ssd with about 80gb used for programmes etc. So Probably a 128Gb would do for programs. I've also got a 2 TB hard drive with about 299gb used. So you could get away with 500gb for data.

The advantage of the system is the boot up speed - really fast. The other advantage is that with the data on a separate disc from the system you can do a real factory reset of the C drive without compromising your data. I've also got a separate external drive doing incremental back ups every half hour - the W10 file history thing.

I find W10 very stable and there are some neat tools that come with it - the multi-clip board and the clipper for two.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Taggart said:


> Why not both? I use a desktop. I've got a 256 gb ssd with about 80gb used for programmes etc. So Probably a 128Gb would do for programs. I've also got a 2 TB hard drive with about 299gb used.


I have desktop with 125 GB SSD for OS and 2TB data drive mounted internal. Is great, super fast!


----------



## DaveM

My gripe with Windows 10 -having just installed it on two laptops right from barebones, adding drivers for a working system- is how much handholding they are building in now as if they are trying to compete with the iPad. I have been able to force it back to something that is reasonably close to Win7, but it took a lot of time and digging in the weeds. All sorts of defaults were in place to prevent even the original owner/administrator from editing files. They even made it harder to find something as basic as ‘My Computer’.

I have a feeling that before long Microsoft is going to move totally in a direction like the Chromebook where the main OS is online (they already have a limited Windows 10 meant for kids and students and you can only get apps from the Windows store). Perhaps there would still be a separate business Windows 10 but it would be more expensive.


----------



## Taggart

Try win aero tweaker to get at some settings - https://winaero.com/ or fix win - https://www.thewindowsclub.com/fixwin-for-windows-10

You can get the old windows 7 games. You can even get the old windows help 

Right click on the windows button brings up a *very* useful menu.

I like the jump lists where you can have bookmarks for websites on the taskbar within the browser icon, Great to right click on chrome or firefoc and get a list of your favourite websites.

I've been with Windows since Windows 2 - graphical file manager - and it's now a lot better.


----------



## Jacck

I still use win7. But over the years, I found many small programs to customize and improve the use of windows. The single most useful program for windows management is the Total Commander, which is based on the old DOS or Linux file managers. It is INFINITELY better than the standard windows file management and interface. (many people in Czech Republic or Germany use it). I put the icon down to the task bar, and the first thing after starting windows, I start the Total Commander. All the other useful programs (about 20 programs that I use) I have also in the task bar. So although I like windows, I basically completely circumvent its crappy interface.


----------



## Dan Ante

Made my decision went for middle of the road on price and SSD 500GB I chose DELL as my desk top is DELL and has been a solid machine.

https://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/laptops-ultrabooks-notebooks/inspiron-15-5000-amd/spd/inspiron-15-5575-laptop/b510104nz

I think it will do more than I need but that is the best way. Thanks for the input guys. :tiphat:


----------



## DaveM

I just ran into a nice little curveball Apple has thrown at us over the last few years. I have collected a sizable collection of music files (classical and pop) on iTunes over the years. These came from carefully edited WAV files converted to the Apple m4a format. They reside on my main Asus desktop-replacement computer and periodically, using iTunes, I manually sync some of these files with my iPhones/iTouches.

Some years back, I decided that I wanted to be able to do this on a separate smaller laptop elsewhere, so I transferred the entire iTunes library to another iTunes created on this second laptop. Well, no problem, it worked just fine. I was able to delete or add music files to iPhones, at will, from this 2nd iTunes setup. And I was able to do the same on the original Asus system.

Now fast forward to the present. I decided to once again transfer the entire iTunes and library to yet a third laptop since the other smaller laptop was not fast enough to reliably edit/manage music files. But now, all of a sudden, on this 3rd system, iTunes will not let me delete music files on my iPhones and when I try to move some music files from iTunes to the iPhones, I get the message that I can only sync with one computer, in this case, the original Asus. And if I want to sync even a few iTune files on this laptop, it will need to erase all the music files on the iPhone first. And that’s exactly what happened. Luckily I can restore them, but it was a bit of a shock.

After doing some internet sleuthing, it turns out that this is a dirty little secret that Apple implemented in the last couple of years to try to prevent transfer of iTunes digitally-protected purchased music from one computer to another. In my case, almost none of my music comes from iTunes DRM files. Luckily, there are some 3rd party apps that will allow me to do what iTunes used to.


----------



## Luchesi

Dan Ante said:


> Made my decision went for middle of the road on price and SSD 500GB I chose DELL as my desk top is DELL and has been a solid machine.
> 
> https://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/laptops-ultrabooks-notebooks/inspiron-15-5000-amd/spd/inspiron-15-5575-laptop/b510104nz
> 
> I think it will do more than I need but that is the best way. Thanks for the input guys. :tiphat:


People say always get more storage than you estimate you'll need. I've found this to be good advice.

OTOH, you might only buy a minimum amount and wait for storage prices to come down further. I recently bought some 10TB drives for $149 each. 'Couldn't pass it up.


----------



## Luchesi

DaveM said:


> I just ran into a nice little curveball Apple has thrown at us over the last few years. I have collected a sizable collection of music files (classical and pop) on iTunes over the years. These came from carefully edited WAV files converted to the Apple m4a format. They reside on my main Asus desktop-replacement computer and periodically, using iTunes, I manually sync some of these files with my iPhones/iTouches.
> 
> Some years back, I decided that I wanted to be able to do this on a separate smaller laptop elsewhere, so I transferred the entire iTunes library to another iTunes created on this second laptop. Well, no problem, it worked just fine. I was able to delete or add music files to iPhones, at will, from this 2nd iTunes setup. And I was able to do the same on the original Asus system.
> 
> Now fast forward to the present. I decided to once again transfer the entire iTunes and library to yet a third laptop since the other smaller laptop was not fast enough to reliably edit/manage music files. But now, all of a sudden, on this 3rd system, iTunes will not let me delete music files on my iPhones and when I try to move some music files from iTunes to the iPhones, I get the message that I can only sync with one computer, in this case, the original Asus. And if I want to sync even a few iTune files on this laptop, it will need to erase all the music files on the iPhone first. And that's exactly what happened. Luckily I can restore them, but it was a bit of a shock.
> 
> After doing some internet sleuthing, it turns out that this is a dirty little secret that Apple implemented in the last couple of years to try to prevent transfer of iTunes digitally-protected purchased music from one computer to another. In my case, almost none of my music comes from iTunes DRM files. Luckily, there are some 3rd party apps that will allow me to do what iTunes used to.


Yes, it's not really Apple's fault. They're obliged to protect music they offer.

It's always best to get your files into a condition in which you know they're copy-able and then find a music player of your choice. Not a 'service'.


----------



## DaveM

Luchesi said:


> Yes, it's not really Apple's fault. They're obliged to protect music they offer...


I disagree. It shouldn't be able to mess with my ability to use my non-DRM music files the way I want. And even when it comes to protected files I purchased, they shouldn't be able to prevent me from using them on any computer I want.


----------



## KenOC

I think that if Apple places additional restrictions on music _after _you buy it, they're clearly in the wrong (morally if not legally).


----------



## Jacck

DaveM said:


> After doing some internet sleuthing, it turns out that this is a dirty little secret that Apple implemented in the last couple of years to try to prevent transfer of iTunes digitally-protected purchased music from one computer to another. In my case, almost none of my music comes from iTunes DRM files. Luckily, there are some 3rd party apps that will allow me to do what iTunes used to.


... and the lesson is: never buy an i-product again


----------



## Taggart

KenOC said:


> I think that if Apple places additional restrictions on music _after _you buy it, they're clearly in the wrong (morally if not legally).


The old Borland licensing system was quite liberal -



> ... you must treat this software just like a book, except that you may copy it onto a computer to be used and you may make archival copies of the software for the sole purpose of backing-up our software and protecting your investment from loss.
> 
> By saying "just like a book," Borland means, for example, that this software may be used by any number of people, and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another or on a computer network by more than one user at one location. Just like a book can't be read by two different people in two different places at the same time, neither can the software be used by two different people in two different places at the same time.


OK There's a bit more to it but that's the core of the EULA. What Apple (and others like them) are doing are saying that the music you buy - mp3, CD or vinyl is exactly like a book _and_ we don't trust you to make archival copies or multiple copies to have the music available.

It would be nice if we could go back to the Borland model but too many people have ripped off the companies and ruined it for all the good people.


----------



## Dan Ante

Luchesi said:


> People say always get more storage than you estimate you'll need. I've found this to be good advice.
> 
> OTOH, you might only buy a minimum amount and wait for storage prices to come down further. I recently bought some 10TB drives for $149 each. 'Couldn't pass it up.


Yes I will need another external storage back up.


----------



## DaveM

Taggart said:


> The old Borland licensing system was quite liberal -
> 
> OK There's a bit more to it but that's the core of the EULA. What Apple (and others like them) are doing are saying that the music you buy - mp3, CD or vinyl is exactly like a book _and_ we don't trust you to make archival copies or multiple copies to have the music available.
> 
> It would be nice if we could go back to the Borland model but too many people have ripped off the companies and ruined it for all the good people.


The silly thing about this is that Apple is only interfering with legitimate users. There are any number of other ways now to accomplish what I wish to accomplish which is only to be able to edit my iTunes library on more than one computer. ITunes is very obscure software. There is a learning curve to getting the best use out of it. It's unlikely that someone who has mastered it is going to take this lying down.

It's as if all of a sudden (well, it seems that way) iTunes says, 'No you can't delete 'songs' from your iPhone on this computer. No, you can't transfer this music over to your iPhone. Go to the computer in the other room and use that iTunes, otherwise we'll just have to erase all the music on your iPhone'. The premise that I'm going to say, 'Oh yes, right now, sir.' instead of cursing and finding a way around it seems rather remote.

While I'm on this rant, I'll just add how pathetic Apple software (as opposed to its hardware) is. Anybody tried to search on the Apple App Store? Apple can't even seem to write simple search code.


----------



## Becca

*WhatsApp Vulnerability Exploited to Place Spyware on Phones*

From the SANS newsletter - May 13 & 14, 2019

A vulnerability in WhatsApp is being actively exploited to install spyware on mobile phones. The attackers infected targeted devices by calling them; users did not even have to answer the call. A WhatsApp representative said that the flaw, a buffer overflow vulnerability in the WhatsApp VOIP stack, was addresses in a server-side update on Friday, May 10. A fix for end-users was released on Monday, May 13.

The vulnerability affects both Android and iOS devices. *If you're actively using the WhatsApp, update to the updated version; otherwise, uninstall it.*


----------



## philoctetes

Buffer overflow vulnerability - code from the last century...


----------



## Luchesi

Becca said:


> From the SANS newsletter - May 13 & 14, 2019
> 
> A vulnerability in WhatsApp is being actively exploited to install spyware on mobile phones. The attackers infected targeted devices by calling them; users did not even have to answer the call. A WhatsApp representative said that the flaw, a buffer overflow vulnerability in the WhatsApp VOIP stack, was addresses in a server-side update on Friday, May 10. A fix for end-users was released on Monday, May 13.
> 
> The vulnerability affects both Android and iOS devices. *If you're actively using the WhatsApp, update to the updated version; otherwise, uninstall it.*


That's not much help for users who are already infected with compromising malware and don't even know it. Oh well..

Will they be notified?


----------



## Becca

I haven't seen anything yet about either of those questions but I will post more information when I see it.


----------



## haydnguy

Microsoft has issued an emergency patch for Windows XP and Windows 7 users. (Other server versions as well. See article.)

Microsoft says this vulnerability could be as serious as the "Wannacry" malware that spread globally in 2017. Also, it is not technically difficult to exploit.

It can infect without user interaction. The user doesn't even have to be signed on to Windows. The fix came out in "Patch Tuesday" yesterday so if you use Windows 7 or Windows XP make sure to check Windows Update. (See article for more details.) *Windows 8 and Windows 10 are not affected.*

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3395538/if-youre-running-windows-xp-7-or-associated-servers-patch-them.html


----------



## KenOC

The WhatsApp vulnerability seems to be affecting mostly smartphones. I checked online and found the latest version number, which is said to be immune. Checked my Android phone and the app had already been updated.

I assume the same is true of other Android phones.


----------



## haydnguy

DaveM said:


> The silly thing about this is that Apple is only interfering with legitimate users. There are any number of other ways now to accomplish what I wish to accomplish which is only to be able to edit my iTunes library on more than one computer. ITunes is very obscure software. There is a learning curve to getting the best use out of it. It's unlikely that someone who has mastered it is going to take this lying down.
> 
> It's as if all of a sudden (well, it seems that way) iTunes says, 'No you can't delete 'songs' from your iPhone on this computer. No, you can't transfer this music over to your iPhone. Go to the computer in the other room and use that iTunes, otherwise we'll just have to erase all the music on your iPhone'. The premise that I'm going to say, 'Oh yes, right now, sir.' instead of cursing and finding a way around it seems rather remote.
> 
> While I'm on this rant, I'll just add how pathetic Apple software (as opposed to its hardware) is. Anybody tried to search on the Apple App Store? Apple can't even seem to write simple search code.


DRM has never worked. If it isn't cracked then it will drive users to use other things. It may be that the record companies made that terms of condition because I don't see why Apple would care.


----------



## Joe B

Windows Update last night - At 94% a dialogue box appeared saying a .dll file could not be located in the volume. Computer got to 100% complete but could not finish the install (5 hours). Got up at 4:30 to find and implement a solution (1 hour 9 minutes with no fooling around). *NOT* how I wanted to start the day, but I am grateful that I have the background and perseverance to be able to work through issues like this rather than boxing it up, taking it to someone, and waiting a week to get it back.


----------



## haydnguy

Joe B said:


> Windows Update last night - At 94% a dialogue box appeared saying a .dll file could not be located in the volume. Computer got to 100% complete but could not finish the install (5 hours). Got up at 4:30 to find and implement a solution (1 hour 9 minutes with no fooling around). *NOT* how I wanted to start the day, but I am grateful that I have the background and perseverance to be able to work through issues like this rather than boxing it up, taking it to someone, and waiting a week to get it back.


That's great Joe. Saved yourself a buck or two.


----------



## philoctetes

The fact that an update puts people through that is ridiculous.

I tried installing Win10 on VirtualBox last night, for the second time with the same results, failing during the system setup where Cortana pops up - I'm offered the option to skip or retry. This time I saved the machine state at that point so I can try to find a fix without reinstalling again.

I also created a VM for Kali LIte and solved a few problems I'd had earlier. My favorite distros are now Mint Mate and Kali Lite, they are both lean and sufficient, but I wind up customizing Kali Lite to be like Mate so might as well use Mate.


----------



## Joe B

philoctetes said:


> The fact that an update puts people through that is ridiculous....


No argument from me! I remember when one of the Windows 10 updates was released and no mater what, none of my home computers could see my NAS. So, I had to roll back each one individually.....about a loss of 3 hours total per machine. :scold:


----------



## philoctetes

I'm still waiting for the would-be deserters to jump ship. It's a battle against co-dependence. Breaking Bad could have been about Windows users.


----------



## haydnguy

When Microsoft released their Feature Update (New version of Windows) a couple of days ago I had my updates on pause to see what others had to say when they downloaded it. 

From looking on the tech forums it looks like everyone is a happy camper. That's good to hear after the last debacle. I'm still waiting a little while longer.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> When Microsoft released their Feature Update (New version of Windows) a couple of days ago I had my updates on pause to see what others had to say when they downloaded it.
> 
> From looking on the tech forums it looks like everyone is a happy camper. That's good to hear after the last debacle. I'm still waiting a little while longer.


Talking about updates, the new Tesla update has gotten a bad rap by media trying to make this story interesting and therefore scary.

There was a fatal crash. A man, 50 years old, was driving 68 in a 55 mile per hour zone and a truck pulled out in front of him. The Tesla could see under the truck so it continued and smashed into it, killing the driver. The driver of the truck was unhurt. The logs from the Tesla said that the driver switched on the automatic 10 seconds before the crash and a few seconds later decided he would take control ...but it was too late.


----------



## philoctetes

I don't call that a "bad rap".


----------



## KenOC

Consumer Reports pans Tesla's newly updated "*navigate by autopilot*" driving mode.
--------------------------------------------
"It doesn't take very long behind the wheel with this feature on to realize it's not quite ready for prime time," Fisher said. CR said one of the more troubling concerns were failures of Tesla's three rearward-facing cameras to detect fast-approaching objects from the rear better than the average driver.

The CR reviewers found Navigate on Autopilot lagged behind human driving skills and engaged in problematic behavior, such as cutting off cars and passing on the right. CR drivers often had to take over to prevent the system from making poor decisions.


----------



## philoctetes

To be clear, what I meant was the crticism is not undeserved, as the term bad rap is sometimes used that way. Sorry for the confusion. I'm no fan of Tesla's products and I think Elon Musk is fishy.


----------



## haydnguy

I installed the new version of Windows 10, 1903, without a hitch. I haven't seen anyone having major problems with it so maybe this is a good one. :tiphat:


----------



## KenOC

haydnguy said:


> I installed the new version of Windows 10, 1903, without a hitch. I haven't seen anyone having major problems with it so maybe this is a good one. :tiphat:


Good news! I haven't received 1903 yet. Anything worthwhile about it? The last feature update (1809 I think) offered nothing new of value to me -- but I had no issues either.


----------



## Dan Ante

I have had my new computer for four days (windows 10) and find it a big step coming direct from Vista I do realise it will take me some time to find my way about so I will probably be asking some pretty basic questions.


----------



## haydnguy

KenOC said:


> Good news! I haven't received 1903 yet. Anything worthwhile about it? The last feature update (1809 I think) offered nothing new of value to me -- but I had no issues either.


No, not really. One thing that you'll notice right away is that they have added a new Light theme. It's the default when you upgrade. Everything seems white. (Like the task bar at the bottom). The first thing I did was to go back and switch it to the dark theme I had it on. You can also go to themes and pick custom made themes that comes with different colors and styles.


----------



## haydnguy

New Windows 10 Features (1903)

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/all-the-latest-features-of-the-windows-10-may-2019-update/


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> New Windows 10 Features (1903)
> 
> https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/all-the-latest-features-of-the-windows-10-may-2019-update/


I like that Sandbox feature to run a virtual operating system so malware can't affect your computer.


----------



## haydnguy

Microsoft's Privacy Statement

(I see this says U.S. in the URL.)

https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-US/privacystatement


----------



## KenOC

It's interesting that for many years people have been crying about Microsoft spying on our machines and computing habits. And yet, I can recall not a single incident that provides an example (as opposed to Apple and a few other companies). Anybody?


----------



## haydnguy

That's true. Part of the reason I think is because their company started actually producing software to be sold so their corporate culture was born from that. They are obviously straight forward with what they collect and that's more than the rest of them do. Facebook ought to be banned.


----------



## haydnguy

If anyone hasn't gotten the Windows 10 (1903) Upgrade and would like to, you can go to the link below to download it. You will see a button labeled 'Update Now' towards the top. That should do it.

I had no problems whatsoever. Your mileage may vary of course. The only thing to remember is to carve out some time because it takes awhile. It's always been exciting for me to get something new. (When it works!)

Good Luck!

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> If anyone hasn't gotten the Windows 10 (1903) Upgrade and would like to, you can go to the link below to download it. You will see a button labeled 'Update Now' towards the top. That should do it.
> 
> I had no problems whatsoever. Your mileage may vary of course. The only thing to remember is to carve out some time because it takes awhile. It's always been exciting for me to get something new. (When it works!)
> 
> Good Luck!
> 
> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10


Are there new things?


----------



## Becca

Fritz Kobus said:


> I like that Sandbox feature to run a virtual operating system so malware can't affect your computer.


Wow, typical Microsoft, repackage something that's been around in one manner or another for over 50 years and sell it as a new security feature.


----------



## KenOC

haydnguy said:


> If anyone hasn't gotten the Windows 10 (1903) Upgrade and would like to, you can go to the link below to download it. You will see a button labeled 'Update Now' towards the top. That should do it.
> 
> I had no problems whatsoever. Your mileage may vary of course. The only thing to remember is to carve out some time because it takes awhile. It's always been exciting for me to get something new. (When it works!)
> 
> Good Luck!
> 
> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10


Worked for me, thanks! Took over two hours for the upgrade.


----------



## starthrower

The speaker/headphone jack in my two year old laptop has developed a nasty hum. Is there any inexpensive, doable way to fix this?


----------



## KenOC

starthrower said:


> The speaker/headphone jack in my two year old laptop has developed a nasty hum. Is there any inexpensive, doable way to fix this?


Cheapest might be to get one of *these *instead.


----------



## starthrower

KenOC said:


> Cheapest might be to get one of *these *instead.


Thanks! I did buy one of those modem range extenders you recommended several months ago, but for some unknown reason the problem disappeared shortly after, and before I activated it.


----------



## KenOC

BTW I've been using that USB-driven DAC for over six years. I have it plugged into a receiver with speakers, but it also has a headphone jack and thumbwheel volume control.

Also, do you get the hum when running on battery, unplugged? If not, it might be a power supply problem.


----------



## starthrower

Looks like a handy accessory, I'll have to order one. I could just listen on my smart tv, but I'm always using the laptop.


----------



## starthrower

I have the ac powered. If I wiggle the speaker jack I can get it to stop.


----------



## KenOC

*This *might be a better, cheaper approach.

Your problem is almost certainly an intermittent ground connection on the headphone jack, which is common. It needs to be re-soldered to the circuit board, which may be fiddly, dangerous, expensive, or maybe all three. Or, the tech might say, "Oh, no prob, let me fix that. There, I'm done. No charge."

Uh-huh. :lol:


----------



## starthrower

That's what I figured. Circumventing the problem with the USB adapter sounds like a cheap solution.


----------



## haydnguy

I just went to my settings and found there was a new Cumulitive Release (for 1903) waiting on me(KB4497935). I started it and given the length of installation it must be a pretty big one. I'll post the link about it below.

I also wanted to say something about the Sandbox. Sandbox is not a virtual machine in the usual sense of the word. You can't run Linux or anything like that in it. When you start it, it spins up a "Lite" version of Windows 10 so that you can test for malware. If you download something from CNET and it contains malware you can download it in the sandbox and when you see it has malware you can close the Sandbox and everything will be gone.

I tried to use a regular virtual machine not long ago and put Linux inside of it but my machine wasn't up to the task. Not enough RAM, etc. I might try to run Sandbox to see how it does.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...ulative-update-kb4497935-released-with-fixes/


----------



## philoctetes

It could be a broken solder joint as Ken says or just the socket clips not making a good connection with the jack. Sometimes just touching these things you provide the ground it wants... so if you wiggle or slide the jack and get a good connection, but the hum always returns when you let go, it's probably the solder joint which is very tiny and probably impossible to get to... that gadget looks pretty useful anyway...


----------



## Dan Ante

What is ubuntu for on windows 10 it is something I have not come across before and at this stage have not set it up on my nice shiny new PC.


----------



## Becca

Ubuntu is a Linux operating system distribution so I'm not quite sure what you are asking


----------



## Dan Ante

Becca said:


> Ubuntu is a Linux operating system distribution so I'm not quite sure what you are asking


So why would it be needed on windows 10? does it have another purpose.


----------



## Becca

Dan Ante said:


> So why would it be needed on windows 10? does it have another purpose.


For Windows, none. The only way that you could use it with Windows is via setting up a virtual machine and loading it as a guest operating system. Perhaps the idea is to give you an alternative, i.e. load the Ubuntu in place of your Windows (the smart thing to do  )


----------



## Dan Ante

Becca said:


> For Windows, none. The only way that you could use it with Windows is via setting up a virtual machine and loading it as a guest operating system. Perhaps the idea is to give you an alternative, i.e. load the Ubuntu in place of your Windows (the smart thing to do  )


Yes that makes sense now as it was in DELL set up and not W10 set up,thanks Becca.:tiphat:


----------



## haydnguy

Dan Ante said:


> Yes that makes sense now as it was in DELL set up and not W10 set up,thanks Becca.:tiphat:


Dan, Becca is 100% correct. If you've got a new Dell (I'm jealous!)  (I'm going to pick on Becca. I know I'm asking for trouble. 
***********
Becca, what you say is not exactly true. :devil:


----------



## Becca

Only depending on your definition of a virtual machine  Here it is a form of containerization.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> Only depending on your definition of a virtual machine  Here it is a form of containerization.


I was reading sometime ago (my memory is not what it used to be) that a container contains processes (of a software program). I thought that when that process is done that the container goes away and when another process starts another container is created. Have you heard anything close to this? I might be whacky.


----------



## Dan Ante

haydnguy said:


> Dan, Becca is 100% correct. If you've got a new Dell (I'm jealous!)  (I'm going to pick on Becca. I know I'm asking for trouble.
> ***********
> Becca, what you say is not exactly true. :devil:


My thoughts were that DELL included the option of running Linux or whatever its called instead of windows 10 forgive my ignorance, I use a PC but I really dont know the technicalities of the ruddy things.


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> I was reading sometime ago (my memory is not what it used to be) that a container contains processes (of a software program). I thought that when that process is done that the container goes away and when another process starts another container is created. Have you heard anything close to this? I might be whacky.


Look up Docker. When the Linux group started I was about to look in to it, but y'all got me started on VB instead.


----------



## Luchesi

I was comparing the built-in search functions of Windows 10 and Mac OS version 10.11.

In Windows if you set the search function to "File contents" you won't get any files with your search term in the title of the file.

On a Mac the default setting is always file contents. You have to catch it to change it to the filename only because like on Windows it starts immediately (and often hangs up for a minute if you don't catch it to switch it to filename only).

I wonder how these decisions were made. Because it's easier to program it this way? I wonder, because for the user the experience is aggravating.

There have always been much better search apps for both platforms. Their default is the filename and if you switch it to file contents you'll get every instance of the search term.

Does anyone know if these default settings can be changed? I want the filename search to be the default, but I also want to see everything if I switch to the file contents search.


----------



## Becca

My suspicions are that for Apple, the powers-that-be decided that they know better than the user so did it their way, and for Microsoft, because that was the easiest way to do it. </cynicism>


----------



## DaveM

I’ve mentioned before how pathetic some of Apple’s software is. It is such a contrast to the hardware. Speaking of ‘search’, just try to do one on the Apple App Store. They came out with the Apple Watch -pretty good hardware- years ago, but their own Notes app has no Apple Watch app while a few other companies do provide Note apps that work on the Watch.


----------



## haydnguy

Dan Ante said:


> My thoughts were that DELL included the option of running Linux or whatever its called instead of windows 10 forgive my ignorance, I use a PC but I really dont know the technicalities of the ruddy things.


I'm sure that's true. As I say, Becca is right. I was just kidding around with Becca. She's up on things and I"m not.


----------



## haydnguy

@ Becca: I haven't read the whole article at the link below, but this is what I was thinking of. Micro-services and how they relate to containers.

https://techbeacon.com/app-dev-test...ould-always-run-microservices-apps-containers


----------



## Becca

I have been in the computer software business for a very long time, so much so that if I had $1 for every new development paradigm that I've seen come (and usually go), I would be doing very nicely, thank you! The interesting thing about most of them is that they are not really new, just parts of old ones packaged with new names, often by a new company hoping to make people think that they have the latest hot thing.. Microservices seems like one of them and a lot of the purported advantages are possible with ideas which go back decades so only time will tell if they really do represent anything usefully new.

[Today seems to be a day for lots of cynicism]


----------



## haydnguy

@Becca:

I will tell you a story that I've told before but it tells you about me.

I was introduced to computers in the 1978-79 time frame. About 1982 or so we started getting PC's in our office. One of my mentor's was named Charlie. Charlie had been a COBOL programmer for about 15 years. One day I was unpacking a PC from it's box and Charlie was standing there beside me. 

I said, "Charlie, aren't these cool?" (Remember, I was young and this was the next cool thing.) Charlie replied, "Meh, their just toys." Of course, compared to Charlie's mainframe they WERE just toys. But I sensed in Charlie's voice something else. Charlie was comfortable in his mainframe world. I told myself right then that I would never be like Charlie. I would never get too comfortable. I would always be open to new things and new ideas. 

Through the years I've occasionally asked myself, "Am I becoming like Charlie?"

I too have seen a lot. Structured programming, object-oriented programming, functional programming, client-server, service oriented architecture, etc. But I personally don't want to become like Charlie. Charlie was static. I want to be vibrant. 

Where you are, you see and hear things that I don't. I know because I was in that position at one time. The internet makes it easier to find out some information but I'm still not in the climate that I can pick up information that only being there could give me. 

But I don't care. When I read about something like micro-services I'm interested in it. That's just me. In absolute terms you are correct. 

I'm not trying to give a lecture or speech here. I just wanted to share about Charlie and how I became to have the attitude that I do.


----------



## philoctetes

I laughed when a tech guy for a PC maker said something about 7nm technology being the next breakthrough... when I last had a job the dream was 130nm


----------



## KenOC

I'm still trying to figure out where the A: prompt went...


----------



## DaveM

^^^It’s in that box in the basement with the old floppy drive.


----------



## haydnguy

This is for people that have recently updated to Windows 10 (1903).

Sometimes when there is a big update like this settings are changed. I just noticed that some of my settings have been changed. Here are two that I just looked at that some people might want to change. If you value your privacy you'll want to change these.

In the first screen you'll see there are two options: Basic and Full. You'll want to change that to *Basic*.

In the second screen you'll see a label that says Tailored Experiences. You'll want to turn that to *Off.*


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> I'm still trying to figure out where the A: prompt went...


Yeah, I keep wanting to type DIR/p

I don't claim much computer knowledge, but did have the advantage of being one of the last classes where in my first programming class we got to compile a program on punch cards. Students in frustration would write on the bathroom walls:

Run *.* Grind Cards to Pieces! Or something like that, can't remember the exact code but it used *s.


----------



## Luchesi

Duplicate post .....


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> @Becca:
> 
> I will tell you a story that I've told before but it tells you about me.
> 
> I was introduced to computers in the 1978-79 time frame. About 1982 or so we started getting PC's in our office. One of my mentor's was named Charlie. Charlie had been a COBOL programmer for about 15 years. One day I was unpacking a PC from it's box and Charlie was standing there beside me.
> 
> I said, "Charlie, aren't these cool?" (Remember, I was young and this was the next cool thing.) Charlie replied, "Meh, their just toys." Of course, compared to Charlie's mainframe they WERE just toys. But I sensed in Charlie's voice something else. Charlie was comfortable in his mainframe world. I told myself right then that I would never be like Charlie. I would never get too comfortable. I would always be open to new things and new ideas.
> 
> Through the years I've occasionally asked myself, "Am I becoming like Charlie?"
> 
> I too have seen a lot. Structured programming, object-oriented programming, functional programming, client-server, service oriented architecture, etc. But I personally don't want to become like Charlie. Charlie was static. I want to be vibrant.
> 
> Where you are, you see and hear things that I don't. I know because I was in that position at one time. The internet makes it easier to find out some information but I'm still not in the climate that I can pick up information that only being there could give me.
> 
> But I don't care. When I read about something like micro-services I'm interested in it. That's just me. In absolute terms you are correct.
> 
> I'm not trying to give a lecture or speech here. I just wanted to share about Charlie and how I became to have the attitude that I do.


Same with me, with one difference.

Late 70s, Tandy and Commodore, Sinclair.

Early 80s, Zenith100s DOS PCs LOTUS 123 at work.

And NCEP (numerical weather prediction) was just coming in. We laughed and dismissed a lot of the runs. They were flaky and not much help. Of course now we can't do our job without these algorithms. We don't have the time and there's so much more expected of us.

1984 my brother was selling Macs out of his garage when Apple still allowed that. So I got a Mac for home and I used PCs at work. Yuck! Incompatible.

So the difference is I'm like Charlie. probably because of this long exposure to computer tasks and incompatibilities. My attitude is I have my favorite ways of doing the basic tasks. Why would I want to learn new programs that do the same things and probably not as efficiently..

Having said that, I am learning one new program (in the last many years). It's Space Engine and it is amazing! The details and the smooth running of this incredible simulation is very very impressive. You are able to completely control the program, easily.


----------



## KenOC

Everything today is bloatware. _Microchess _challenged you with a correct if weak game of chess and even had graphics, on my original Trash-80. It ran in 4K of 8-bit memory!

And who could forget _Dancing Demon_, with Tiny Tim's favorite song? It was a "machine language" program that ran on a BASIC interpreter. You'd enter each routine in the BASIC program by typing it in as the value of a string variable. When the program ran, it would find the physical address of the variable in memory and execute it as a machine language routine. You could even do lightning-fast sorts of long lists that way, something that took forever to execute in pure BASIC code.

A long time ago.


----------



## philoctetes

I just want a system that comes with no apps, let me add what I want... makes me look under the hood and use manual tools... file managers are nice, web browsers are nice, media players are nice, but beyond that leave my computer alone...


----------



## DaveM

Another long forgotten company was NorthStar (1976-1984) which made relatively inexpensive microcomputers and floppy drives. I wrote and had published one of the first medical accounts-receivable/billing software packages for microcomputers (vs minicomputers) in 1981. During this era there was little indication as to which hardware system was going to be a standard. This meant that companies had differing floppy disk standards (NorthStar used a hard-sector format incompatible with almost any other), differing protocols for monitors (required different programming ASCII code, Hewlett-Packard was one of the worst) and different Basic languages. 

Initially, I had to learn 6 different Basic dialects (Microsoft Basic, NorthStar Basic, HP Basic, IBM PC Basic, Compiler Basic and TRS-80 Basic) and at least that many forms of DOS. Eventually I settled on Compiler Basic that ran under CP/M: I could write the code in a form of Basic and compile it to machine code which is what customers got. Supporting programs to backup a customers data were written in C.

Each company was making a concerted effort that its system would be incompatible with any other. I had to buy a machine that would format 12 different floppy disk types. It was a nightmare for a small company. Basically the introduction and popularity of the IBM PC was the game changer. Several companies, including NorthStar, went under within a few years.


----------



## KenOC

DaveM said:


> ...Basically the introduction and popularity of the IBM PC was the game changer. Several companies, including NorthStar, went under within a few years.


Even then, product differentiation hell continued. My employer opted to buy DEC Rainbow desktop computers. They looked like the IBMs but were subtly different. For instance, you had to buy DEC's edition of almost any popular software -- Quattro, Lotus, Multiplan, whatever. They typically cost about a hundred bucks more per copy. And of course many specialty programs weren't available at all because DEC didn't support them.

But there were happy days. Our office sprang for a Corvus hard drive -- a big gray box with an astounding 10 MB of capacity, which I shared with the guy in the next office. I felt like stout Cortez* high on that peak in Darien, gazing out over the vast expanse of the Pacific.

*Actually it was Balboa, but what do poets know?


----------



## haydnguy

Here is one I bet no one remembers that I stupidly bought. The Commodore Plus 4.

It was great looking but besides that it had a (rudimentary) word processor, spreadsheet, and database in ROM. For instance to start the word processor you pressed F1 and there it was.

As cool as it was, it was not compatible with the Commodore 64 so it died a quiet death.


----------



## philoctetes

Though I started programming with punch cards, then Vax VMS, then Macs and PCs, I never owned a computer of my own until the late 80s. Before that I got pretty good at programming my ti-52s and hp-25s. I had been a student of astronomy and physics who became an engineer by necessity, and was always a mix of reluctant luddite and curious geek. With my second job I finally had to get a 386, to design and test algorithms at home, it was assembled at one of many PC shops that thrived in Silicon Valley at the time... I was pretty ignorant about the hardware, so I got a copy of "Make your Own 386" that made it easy to grasp. 

My 386 only had 64k RAM and my C programs were full of malloc() calls to allocate and de-allocate memory dynamically, since I needed far more than 64k for multi-stage image buffers. I examined the image buffers in hex, no graphic display necessary or available. To implement algorithms in the product I had to learn to program in assembly on custom parallel-processing boards, syncing hundreds of independent processors to achieve high real-time throughput, so my knowledge of registers, ALUs, buffers, and buses went from nothing to deeper than most programmers want to go. To reinforce that last claim, I can assure you that finding algorithm designers to program on this system was impossible and it became a career trap for me because I was too good at it. If I hadn't been such a team player I might still have a job now.


----------



## Becca

My programming also started with punch cards on a Control Data 3600, quite a monster for its time. It was sometime later that I was in a position to actually get my hands on computers - Data General machines. Since then I've had the chance to port software to state-of-the-art supercomputers as well as use some of the earliest laptop and microcomputers. It's been quite a ride!

https://www.rcsri.org/collection/nova-840/nova-840-1.jpg


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> Though I started programming with punch cards, then Vax VMS, then Macs and PCs, I never owned a computer of my own until the late 80s. Before that I got pretty good at programming my ti-52s and hp-25s. I had been a student of astronomy and physics who became an engineer by necessity, and was always a mix of reluctant luddite and curious geek. With my second job I finally had to get a 386, to design and test algorithms at home, it was assembled at one of many PC shops that thrived in Silicon Valley at the time... I was pretty ignorant about the hardware, so I got a copy of "Make your Own 386" that made it easy to grasp.
> 
> My 386 only had 64k RAM and my C programs were full of malloc() calls to allocate and de-allocate memory dynamically, since I needed far more than 64k for multi-stage image buffers. I examined the image buffers in hex, no graphic display necessary or available. To implement algorithms in the product I had to learn to program in assembly on custom parallel-processing boards, syncing hundreds of independent processors to achieve high real-time throughput, so my knowledge of registers, ALUs, buffers, and buses went from nothing to deeper than most programmers want to go. To reinforce that last claim, I can assure you that finding algorithm designers to program on this system was impossible and it became a career trap for me because I was too good at it. If I hadn't been such a team player I might still have a job now.


AH, You know physics! This is all you need. :lol:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/quantum/?view=qsharp-preview


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> AH, You know physics! This is all you need. :lol:
> 
> https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/quantum/?view=qsharp-preview


I scanned the Quickstart page and it looked like a lot of work to get two qubits entangled, but also instructive. Learning to use a qubit as a new data type seems to be a major hurdle.


----------



## KenOC

I learned Fortran while still in the service, c. 1972-73. We made card stacks on those punching machines and turned them in at the window to the actual holy-of-holies, where the 360 or 370 (can't remember which) computer resided in the care of its white-smocked acolytes.

We were constantly admonished not to create "infinite loops," which might result in our being barred from paradise for all time.


----------



## haydnguy

I learned (?) Fortran from a professor who had never programmed in it before. (He was learning along with us!) We used punched cards that took 2-3 hours to get your print out back unless it was the middle of the night. So if you made one typo it was another 2-3 hours to recompile. It was a miracle when the PC came out.


----------



## haydnguy

Could someone give me a rough idea as to how much disk space a high-res lossless recording would take of 60 minutes? Thanks.


----------



## KenOC

At normal CD resolution, about 700 MB as a WAV file (uncompressed) and maybe half that as a FLAC file (compressed but still lossless). Either should fit on a standard CD-R or CD-RW.


----------



## haydnguy

Thanks Ken. I'm thinking about the inevitable day when I have to choose between streaming and download. I'm hoping it will be a long time away.


----------



## Joe B

haydnguy said:


> Could someone give me a rough idea as to how much disk space *a high-res lossless* recording would take *of 60 minutes*? Thanks.


At 24/96 you're looking at about 1 GB. At 24/192 about 1.8 GB.


----------



## Dan Ante

Some commercial CDs are getting 80 min.


----------



## Art Rock

Dan Ante said:


> Some commercial CDs are getting 80 min.


Nowadays some even stretch to 82 minutes.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> Thanks Ken. I'm thinking about the inevitable day when I have to choose between streaming and download. I'm hoping it will be a long time away.


The way I estimate it I've had one in 10 hard drives fail about every five years. Are CDs and Blu-ray more reliable than that? It seems to me they are. .. And you lose a lot less.


----------



## haydnguy

Becca said:


> My programming also started with punch cards on a Control Data 3600, quite a monster for its time. It was sometime later that I was in a position to actually get my hands on computers - Data General machines. Since then I've had the chance to port software to state-of-the-art supercomputers as well as use some of the earliest laptop and microcomputers. It's been quite a ride!
> 
> https://www.rcsri.org/collection/nova-840/nova-840-1.jpg


Becca, I just remembered something you would appreciate. I actually started on and IBM System 3 as a night computer operator!!


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> The way I estimate it I've had one in 10 hard drives fail about every five years. Are CDs and Blu-ray more reliable than that? It seems to me they are. .. And you lose a lot less.


I have personally never had a problem with hard drives. I can't imagine hard drives failing to the extent yous has. Maybe another member has ideas.

+++++++++

Download vs. Stream

I have been thinking about it and at this point I think I'm going to go with Joe B.'s plan. Have on premises backup and then keep one backup at the lock box at the bank. That seems like overkill but I read too many articles on computer security and I'm afraid I could get my collection wiped out in an instance by malware.

I think I'm going with download whatever format (MP3, lossless) I can.


----------



## BobBrines

Luchesi said:


> The way I estimate it I've had one in 10 hard drives fail about every five years. Are CDs and Blu-ray more reliable than that? It seems to me they are. .. And you lose a lot less.


You DO have all of your important files stored on at least 2 different drivers attached to at least 2 different computers, don't you? I keep hearing people having their computer die and loose all of their data. All I can do is shake my head. I loose my main laptop on an average of once every 3 years. Buy a new laptop and reload my data form the backup.


----------



## philoctetes

I've only had one external drive fail, it was a bad choice to begin with, the others I've replaced before that happens... yes, always have double backup drives...


----------



## haydnguy

BobBrines said:


> You DO have all of your important files stored on at least 2 different drivers attached to at least 2 different computers, don't you? I keep hearing people having their computer die and loose all of their data. All I can do is shake my head. I loose my main laptop on an average of once every 3 years. Buy a new laptop and reload my data form the backup.


I have kept computers 4 years and never had a hard drive fail. I have had my current hard drive about 3 years but I've been rough on it. I've tried to run virtual machines and big databases and such and never had a problem.

I put my foot down with my wife and am going to get a new computer. The thing is, I don't know what kind of resources I need to run virtual machines with Windows and Kali. I even downloaded Kali from the Windows Store and for all intense and purposes it locked up my machine because I had to hard reboot to get it running again.


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> I have kept computers 4 years and never had a hard drive fail. I have had my current hard drive about 3 years but I've been rough on it. I've tried to run virtual machines and big databases and such and never had a problem.
> 
> I put my foot down with my wife and am going to get a new computer. The thing is, I don't know what kind of resources I need to run virtual machines with Windows and Kali. I even downloaded Kali from the Windows Store and for all intense and purposes it locked up my machine because I had to hard reboot to get it running again.


Ha, I just had a VM lock up this morning for the first time... same VM / state I've been using for several days... I have suspicions but will wait to see if it happens again... could have been a website issue... no hard reboot required, just had to reboot the VM...

But I wanted to mention that last week I ran some comparisons between Kali, Kali Lite, and Mint Mate... and Kali (the full version) is by far the biggest RAM hog of the three, requiring about twice as much RAM as the others.. Kali Lite and Mate come so close that I decided Mate is the better choice.

So to run Windows 10 and Kail at once is putting the biggest possible load on your system compared to the other possible options...


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> Becca, I just remembered something you would appreciate. I actually started on and IBM System 3 as a night computer operator!!


I graduated from this Institute before the fraud. IBM 360 days.

https://scripophily.net/progandsysin.html

Beautifully engraved certificate from the Programming and Systems, Inc. issued in 1968-1991. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of the company's initals. This item has the printed signatures of the Company's President (Irwin Mautner)and Secretary and is over 10 years old.

On June 18, 1992, the Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading of the common stock of Programming and Systems, Inc., because of information received questioning the accuracy of the Company's financial statements. Following the release of this information, the Company's common stock was delisted by NASDAQ.

November 22, 1996

Irwin Mautner, 63, of Greenwich, was indicted in August in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Education by concealing the high rate of student withdrawals at New York-based Programming and Systems Inc. The scheme was designed to prevent the schools from losing their accreditation, and consequently, their eligibility to receive the federal loans and grants.

From July 1988 through September 1993, PSI schools received federally insured student loans totaling more than $100 million and federal Pell Grant funds totaling more than $41 million, the indictment said.

Since more than half PSI's students dropped out or failed, the true rate would have disqualified the schools for federal grants and loans, prosecutors said. ``He was continuing to draw down the money for those students even though they were withdrawing, and that's where the fraud comes in,'' said Rodger Murphey, a spokesman for the Education Department.

PSI was a publicly traded corporation, which at one time had more than 3.6 million shares of stock outstanding and annual revenues in excess of $31 million. Mautner had previously consented in December 1994 to civil penalties imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with false financial statements submitted to the commission..

Mautner pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Akron, Ohio, Tuesday to charges of mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the Education Department and making a false statement. Each violation carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.

PSI operated 11 vocational schools in the following cities: Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C., Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Flint, Mich.; Indianapolis; Miami; New York; Philadelphia; Southfield, Mich.; and Washington, D.C. The schools closed in 1992 and 1993. In a plea agreement with the government, PSI National Financial Aid Director Ronald Sundick, of Roslyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty Nov. 14 to obstructing a federal audit. Mautner and Sundick are scheduled to be sentenced early next year.


----------



## Luchesi

BobBrines said:


> You DO have all of your important files stored on at least 2 different drivers attached to at least 2 different computers, don't you? I keep hearing people having their computer die and loose all of their data. All I can do is shake my head. I loose my main laptop on an average of once every 3 years. Buy a new laptop and reload my data form the backup.


I've been keeping track since the 80s and so in recent years the reliability of hard drives has gone 'way up. But I haven't revised my averaging. I should. I have more than 50 hard drives laying around here. I just accumulated drives every time I got paranoid and thought I needed a new set of backups (needed newer drives, and they were faster, USB3 upgrade etc). So I have more than 10 backups of everything, up until this month. Mainly in Mac format, but also incomplete backups on my Windows PCs. 
The total I need to back up is just over 4 TB now -- which has become cumbersome because I like those 4 TB portable hds. In the Best Buy around here they're on sale for $98, but I just bought two 10 TB drives for $149 each on sale.


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> I've been keeping track since the 80s and so in recent years the reliability of hard drives has gone 'way up. But I haven't revised my averaging. I should. I have more than 50 hard drives laying around here. I just accumulated drives every time I got paranoid and thought I needed a new set of backups (needed newer drives, and they were faster, USB3 upgrade etc). So I have more than 10 backups of everything, up until this month. Mainly in Mac format, but also incomplete backups on my Windows PCs.
> The total I need to back up is just over 4 TB now -- which has become cumbersome because I like those 4 TB portable hds. In the Best Buy around here they're on sale for $98, but I just bought two 10 TB drives for $149 each on sale.


You may have already said this but are all these failures on one computer?


----------



## KenOC

My impression is that hard drives are now far more reliable than they used to be. Back when a "big" drive was 20 or 30 MB, they would often start having read errors after just a year or two. There were programs (like those from Steve Gibson) that would do non-destructive low-level formats, locking out newly bad sectors while keeping data intact. But ultimately that was like treating measles by erasing its signs, spot by spot, whiled the disease continues to advance.

Similarly, my early CD players went out of alignment rather quickly and had to be replaced. That doesn't seem to be a problem any longer.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy - "You may have already said this but are all these failures on one computer?"

No, both Mac OS and Windows.

I stopped tracking my CPU expenditures in the 90s (below), but I continued to purchase computers Macs, MacBooks, PC clones and laptops at this same rate. Imagine the pile of cash I'd have now!

Interesting data (pricey);

1986 MacPlus $1800 used 8mhz
1991 IIsi $3995 20mhz
1994 7100 $2395 66mhz
1997 604e $1899 200mhz


----------



## KenOC

Back in the day, the computer you wanted always cost about $2,500. That was true through 86s, 286s, 386s (and 386SXs), 486s, and so forth.

Now the computer I've been using for the last couple of years is far better than any of them, and way more than I actually need, and cost $150 reconditioned from Amazon. If you factor in inflation, the drop in cost is truly amazing.


----------



## DaveM

BobBrines said:


> You DO have all of your important files stored on at least 2 different drivers attached to at least 2 different computers, don't you? I keep hearing people having their computer die and loose all of their data. All I can do is shake my head. I loose my main laptop on an average of once every 3 years. Buy a new laptop and reload my data form the backup.


Someone loses their laptop on an average of once every 3 years? All I can do is shake my head.


----------



## philoctetes

Funny how most of us do the same things we did 20 years ago with 1/20 of the CPU speed. One difference is streaming, plus all those ads that we have to download. An ad blocker helps a lot.

Even Amazon has finally bugged up their website. Only a few years ago I considered it an example of how a website should be. Now it not only drops a ton of extra baggage with every page but it seems to freeze up Firefox on two of my devices... no problem with chrome


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> Funny how most of us do the same things we did 20 years ago with 1/20 of the CPU speed. One difference is streaming, plus all those ads that we have to download. An ad blocker helps a lot.
> 
> Even Amazon has finally bugged up their website. Only a few years ago I considered it an example of how a website should be. Now it not only drops a ton of extra baggage with every page but it seems to freeze up Firefox on two of my devices... no problem with chrome


I'm having not problems with Firefox on Amazon. (I just came from there).


----------



## Luchesi

One woman's trash ended up being a recycling firm's treasure.
A Silicon Valley e-waste recycling firm is trying to find a woman who dropped off her unwanted computer without knowing the bulky machine was worth thousands of dollars.
CleanBayArea sold the woman's rare Apple 1 computer at auction for $200,000. The company's policy is to split half the proceeds with the original owner, so if they can find the woman she's in for quite the payday.
"I ask this lady, please come over to our warehouse…and we'll give you check for $100,000," CleanBayArea Vice President Victor Gichun told NBC Bay Area.
The woman, who said her husband recently died and she wanted to clean up their garage, did not request a tax receipt and did not want to leave her name, according to Gichun.
A few weeks later, when employees were rummaging through the boxes, they were shocked to find an Apple 1 Computer, Gichun told NBC. He says that only 200 Apple 1 computers were ever made.
"We really couldn't believe our eyes," Gichun said. "We thought it was fake."
Follow @MaryBowerman on Twitter.


----------



## BobBrines

DaveM said:


> Someone loses their laptop on an average of once every 3 years? All I can do is shake my head.


Loose -- as in we just lost a loved one. Not loose -- as in I can't find my car keys. I thought context implied that, but....


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## DaveM

BobBrines said:


> Loose -- as in we just lost a loved one. Not loose -- as in I can't find my car keys. I thought context implied that, but....


I was referring to you or anyone having their laptop go missing on an average of 3 years. You were commenting on the importance of backing up files and, figuratively, shaking your head if people don't while at the same time admitting that you can't find your laptop fairly often. Don't you find that ironic?

But, since you brought up the use of the word 'loose vs. 'lose': If you have lost your laptop every few years, you are someone who loses your laptop fairly frequently. One can also say that one tends to lose a loved one or several loved ones during one's lifetime. No one looses anything or anyone; that is an incorrect use of the word.


----------



## SixFootScowl

DaveM said:


> No one looses anything; that is the incorrect use of the word.


My neighbor looses his dog into the yard every morning.


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## DaveM

Fritz Kobus said:


> My neighbor looses his dog into the yard every morning.


You're right. Good catch.  I should have added that no one looses anything as in having lost something. As a further distinction: your neighbor looses his dog into the yard, but he doesn't lose his dog in doing so.


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## haydnguy

I have decided to backup to the cloud. It is cheaper for me and is off premises. I think I"m going to use Backblaze which is reviewed at the link below.

I us OneDrive and it's very useful because you can backup your pictures, music, documents, and it will keep them in sync if you desire. (You don't have to). The only problem with OneDrive is that it has a file size limit so you can't use it to do a full backup.

https://www.lifewire.com/online-backup-services-reviewed-2624712


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## haydnguy

I know this horse has been beaten to death but I think I have my CD's in some kind of order to put them in the computer in a database. I was wondering if anyone had a preference what database to use as I'll just give away copies if anyone wants them.


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## Dan Ante

Just a point of interest about 18-24 months ago I installed a free CD filing system (My Music) and of course backed it up as recommended it took quite a lot of time as you have to do it one CD at a time, I had a PC crash and guess what, it would not restore from back up I got in touch with the program owner and he said it could not be restored……


----------



## DaveM

Dan Ante said:


> Just a point of interest about 18-24 months ago I installed a free CD filing system (My Music) and of course backed it up as recommended it took quite a lot of time as you have to do it one CD at a time, I had a PC crash and guess what, it would not restore from back up I got in touch with the program owner and he said it could not be restored……


Demand your money back!


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## haydnguy

Since I've never used an NAS I would like to ask, what is the difference between an NAS and what we used to call a 'file server'?


----------



## Luchesi

Some of us remember when TEAC first started selling directdrive turntables. I HAD to have one!

It's interesting to read about the high-tech that they put into them now, and why they've gone back to belt-driven for better sound fidelity..

----------

TEAC introduces new flagship turntable to its range

Press Release dated: 2 Jun 2016
TEAC’s best-selling range of analogue turntables has now been joined by the TN-570, a new flagship model that aims to deliver the highest audio fidelity yet.

The TN-570 belt-driven turntable combines a clear acrylic platter, a premium AT100E Moving Magnet cartridge, an all-new, height-adjustable S-shaped tonearm, all mounted on a dual-layer composite black marble/high-density MDF base, to deliver a superb level of sonic reproduction.

TEAC TN-570 - Main Features
• Belt-drive turntable with electronic speed change
• New static-balanced S-type tonearm
• Clear acrylic platter
• 11.3kg Dual-Layer composite artificial black marble/high density MDF plinth
• Platter Rotation Sensing Servo System (P.R.S3)
• Built-in phono stage (moving magnet)
• Optical digital output (192kHz/24-bit max) and USB output (48kHz/16-bit) for transferring music from vinyl records to your Mac or PC 
• Supplied high performance AT-100E moving magnet (MM) cartridge

The new S-shaped tonearm features a light alloy universal headshell (to allow easy cartridge swapping) and is height adjustable, to compensate for cartridges that are greater in height than usual. In another break from the norm, speed selection between 33 1/3rd and 45 RPM speeds is achieved electronically, rather than requiring the platter to be physically removed in order to move the belt.

Why belt-drive? Because most direct-drive turntables tend to suffer from cogging effects, a fine pulsing that occurs naturally when a direct-drive motor turns. That makes direct-drive suitable for DJ turntables (because they can start/stop very quickly) but less so for domestic use where ultimate sound quality matters more. 

The TN-570 completely avoids the cogging issue by using belt-drive but then goes one step further. TEAC has also developed a ingenious Platter Rotation Sensing Servo System (using an optical sensor) to deliver a rotation precision that’s almost the same as you’d get with a direct-drive. No other analogue belt-driven turntable in this class offers such an elegant solution.

And the same goes for the combination of a clear 16mm acrylic platter and massive 11.3kg Dual Layer composite artificial marble ‘Onyx Emperador’/MDF base (secured on a honeycomb structure bottom cover). The materials have been chosen, after extensive listening, for their ability to help minimise unwanted resonance, allowing the content of your vinyl to emerge uncoloured and possessed of exceptional clarity. The fact that the turntable happens to look superb as a result is a welcome bonus!

Maximizing the TEAC TN-570’s versatility, a built-in MM phono stage is also included, along with an optical output (up to 192kHz/24-bit) and USB output (48kHz/16-bit), allowing owners to convert their vinyl to the latest digital formats (a version of the TN-570 without the digital output stage – called the TN-550 – will also be available in certain markets).


----------



## SixFootScowl

Fritz Kobus said:


> My neighbor looses his dog into the yard every morning.


Then I guess once the dog is in the yard, the dog also looses something.


----------



## Dan Ante

DaveM said:


> Demand your money back!


The point is with 2, 3 thousand CDs it is time consuming, it took me something like 5 - 6 weeks, so if you want a reliable system I would advise to keep away from that one. :tiphat:


----------



## DaveM

Dan Ante said:


> The point is with 2, 3 thousand CDs it is time consuming, it took me something like 5 - 6 weeks, so if you want a reliable system I would advise to keep away from that one. :tiphat:


Yes I know. Been there in other circumstances. Hours of one's life you can't get back.


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## haydnguy

-----------------delete-----------------


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## haydnguy

*Dell Warning To Patch Vulerability*

https://www.zdnet.com/article/dell-...10aaa6b&bhid=25886884549030942424010355444452


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## Dan Ante

In windows 10 how do you access program files? it was so easy in Vista.


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## Luchesi

Dan Ante said:


> In windows 10 how do you access program files? it was so easy in Vista.


Click on Start Menu

and then click on All apps

If All apps is not shown, click Back (to the top of the list and look for All apps (at the bottom?))

Added - now I notice it's confusing. On my machine when I first click on the start menu "All apps" isn't there. So I must click on the four lines icon ( I don't know what Microsoft calls the icon with four lines) and then you have to click on it again and you'll see "All apps" at the very bottom.

This is a gripe of mine. We need to learn and try to remember so much useless information that will be totally gone in a few years! When I think of all the programming language learning and learning each application and learning the operating systems (which are now long gone). So much! I could have learned something useful..


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Click on Start Menu
> 
> and then click on All apps
> 
> If All apps is not shown, click Back (to the top of the list and look for All apps (at the bottom?))
> 
> Added - now I notice it's confusing. On my machine when I first click on the start menu "All apps" isn't there. So I must click on the four lines icon ( I don't know what Microsoft calls the icon with four lines) and then you have to click on it again and you'll see "All apps" at the very bottom.
> 
> This is a gripe of mine. We need to learn and try to remember so much useless information that will be totally gone in a few years! When I think of all the programming language learning and learning each application and learning the operating systems (which are now long gone). So much! I could have learned something useful..


I'm not sure what you just said is what I'm saying..... but you right click the Start button and it will be at the top. You can click there and it will take you where you want to go. I'm using the Pro version. I'm assuming it's the same in the Home version.


----------



## Dan Ante

Luchesi said:


> Click on Start Menu
> 
> and then click on All apps
> 
> If All apps is not shown, click Back (to the top of the list and look for All apps (at the bottom?))
> 
> Added - now I notice it's confusing. On my machine when I first click on the start menu "All apps" isn't there. So I must click on the four lines icon ( I don't know what Microsoft calls the icon with four lines) and then you have to click on it again and you'll see "All apps" at the very bottom.
> 
> This is a gripe of mine. We need to learn and try to remember so much useless information that will be totally gone in a few years! When I think of all the programming language learning and learning each application and learning the operating systems (which are now long gone). So much! I could have learned something useful..





haydnguy said:


> I'm not sure what you just said is what I'm saying..... but you right click the Start button and it will be at the top. You can click there and it will take you where you want to go. I'm using the Pro version. I'm assuming it's the same in the Home version.


Many thanks to both of you all set now :cheers:


----------



## haydnguy

I am having trouble with my computer. It's not a hardware problem.

The OneDrive files have disappeared from File Explorer. They are in the cloud be cause I can see them on my Android. I have tried restore points but it didn't solve the problem.

Every other Office program works fine. OneDrive is the only one that is asking for a username and password. I am not giving my password. That could be bad. Also, when i right click on OneDrive at the bottom right it gives me a screen I've never seen before.

I'm going to do a complete reset (not a complete format). I've done this before and it takes about 3 hours so I'll be off line for awhile.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> I am having trouble with my computer. It's not a hardware problem.
> 
> The OneDrive files have disappeared from File Explorer. They are in the cloud be cause I can see them on my Android. I have tried restore points but it didn't solve the problem.
> 
> Every other Office program works fine. OneDrive is the only one that is asking for a username and password. I am not giving my password. That could be bad. Also, when i right click on OneDrive at the bottom right it gives me a screen I've never seen before.
> 
> I'm going to do a complete reset (not a complete format). I've done this before and it takes about 3 hours so I'll be off line for awhile.


Thanks for posting this. I've been putting off using OneDrive and I was about to take the plunge.

I'm really old school and I don't like other entities controlling my files. I've hated iTunes ever since it came out. Never wanted it. And these server storage options remind me of iTunes. They shouldn't but they do.. I can't help but distrust them because of all the things that could go wrong. As one more free storage cache they should be ok, but not exclusive.

I lost files with Google Drive and with Google Plus and with Verizon. Most of those were my fault -- but does that really matter that it was my fault and I didn't understand something and I wouldn't have programmed it that way et cetera et cetera?

Maybe hackers are attacking OneDrive. It's a large target.


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## KenOC

I've used OneDrive for quite a while with no problems. But only for posting large files to share. Guess that sort of thing makes me nervous too!

BTW I just said, "Hey Cortana, open OneDrive" and it did, showing it in a file explorer window...


----------



## philoctetes

"When I think of all the programming language learning and learning each application and learning the operating systems (which are now long gone). So much! I could have learned something useful"

And that's the story of my entire professional career... at least I got a little something back for wasting my life and I can use Linux...


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> "When I think of all the programming language learning and learning each application and learning the operating systems (which are now long gone). So much! I could have learned something useful"
> 
> And that's the story of my entire professional career... at least I got a little something back for wasting my life and I can use Linux...


computer science and programming was one of the career options I considered, but now I am really glad I did not go into it. It is fun to learn new stuff when you are young, but the constant change and evolution in this branch must get annoying as you grow older. Though once you understand the basics of one programming language, it is not difficult to learn most of the others. In high school, I learned some Basic and Pascal, but nowadays the only programming language I use is Matlab. If you know something about vectors, matrices and linear algebra, it is easy to use.


----------



## Dan Ante

A funny thing happened to me over the last few days.
My new DELL laptop would not open on the correct page it always showed “DELL Assist” and would not progress any further so I had to shut down and restart then all was OK. On the DELL forum one of the ‘virtual assistants’ asked me for my Service tag which I was suspicious of but was assured it was legit so in the end I gave it via a pm and within 24hrs it was fixed. To me this signals that they can get into my PC whenever they like?? Scary.

I then asked if the over sensitive touch pad could be fixed and was met with a stony silence? This is a bone of contention with many DELL laptop owners and not one word was forthcoming, is it something that just cannot be fixed? I can’t believe it can all that hard.


----------



## haydnguy

Dan Ante said:


> A funny thing happened to me over the last few days.
> My new DELL laptop would not open on the correct page it always showed "DELL Assist" and would not progress any further so I had to shut down and restart then all was OK. On the DELL forum one of the 'virtual assistants' asked me for my Service tag which I was suspicious of but was assured it was legit so in the end I gave it via a pm and within 24hrs it was fixed. To me this signals that they can get into my PC whenever they like?? Scary.
> 
> I then asked if the over sensitive touch pad could be fixed and was met with a stony silence? This is a bone of contention with many DELL laptop owners and not one word was forthcoming, is it something that just cannot be fixed? I can't believe it can all that hard.


I let them take over my computer not long ago but you still have control. You don't lose your control and the couple times I've let them it's been the same.


----------



## philoctetes

Jacck said:


> computer science and programming was one of the career options I considered, but now I am really glad I did not go into it. It is fun to learn new stuff when you are young, but the constant change and evolution in this branch must get annoying as you grow older. Though once you understand the basics of one programming language, it is not difficult to learn most of the others. In high school, I learned some Basic and Pascal, but nowadays the only programming language I use is Matlab. If you know something about vectors, matrices and linear algebra, it is easy to use.


The languages you know would be of no use at all in my career. But if you know something about vectors and linear algebra, we might have interviewed you for a job anyway.


----------



## Taggart

Dan Ante said:


> A funny thing happened to me over the last few days.
> My new DELL laptop would not open on the correct page it always showed "DELL Assist" and would not progress any further so I had to shut down and restart then all was OK. On the DELL forum one of the 'virtual assistants' asked me for my Service tag which I was suspicious of but was assured it was legit so in the end I gave it via a pm and within 24hrs it was fixed. To me this signals that they can get into my PC whenever they like?? Scary.
> 
> I then asked if the over sensitive touch pad could be fixed and was met with a stony silence? This is a bone of contention with many DELL laptop owners and not one word was forthcoming, is it something that just cannot be fixed? I can't believe it can all that hard.


Dell PC's come with a load of tools to give you support including support assist and Dell update. Depending on your settings, they can supply driver and bios updates on a regular basis. That's probably how they got to your PC.

As to touchpad, there's a touchpad setup in control panel (much like for the mouse) also there's a whole dell support page on it - https://www.dell.com/support/articl...chpad-usage-and-troubleshooting-guide?lang=en Enjoy


----------



## Dan Ante

Taggart & haydnguy Thanks for you replies as I said the touchpad problem appears to be a known issue with DELL laptops, I have tried all settings to minimise sensitivity (as have others) but to no avail, in the meantime I have a spare MS mouse that I can use providing it works. Also sorry for the late reply but for some reason I am not receiving notification from TC of replies so I am now checking my settings.


----------



## Krummhorn

Dan Ante said:


> . . . for some reason I am not receiving notification from TC of replies so I am now checking my settings.


One thing to check is that your current email is listed correctly in your personal profile page. If the system is trying to send email notifications to an erroneous account (email address) that would be the culprit.

That said, we recently did change our forum email notification system that was originating from the hosting company to a cloud based service. I'll have to check the forum email account to see if there are any 'mailer demons' lurking about.


----------



## haydnguy

KenOC said:


> I've used OneDrive for quite a while with no problems. But only for posting large files to share. Guess that sort of thing makes me nervous too!
> 
> BTW I just said, "Hey Cortana, open OneDrive" and it did, showing it in a file explorer window...


I use OneDrive and sync it but I seem to remember there was a file size restriction (a file can only be a maximum size) that keeps you from using it as an online backup. I don't know about CD/DVD's, I haven't looked into that and it's been awhile since I saw that.


----------



## haydnguy

@ Dan Ante:

If your coming from Vista, you may not know that they don't have big Windows versions like Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, etc.

It's just Windows 10 and they update it pretty much on a continuous basis. These updates have been problematic in the recent past (not the last one I don't think) so they give you the ability to delay updates so you can wait and see if other people are having problems. 

You may have some specific questions along these lines so ask away if you need to. :tiphat:


----------



## Ralfy

For Win 8.1, I use Open Shell to make it look like Win 7.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Has anyone had trouble with their computer memory slowing, clogging, or machine freezing up when they have a tab open to music clips on allmusic.com?

That site seems to mess with my machine. Yesterday I had to force restart when I had allmusic up, was not even running sound clips, just sitting in the tab, and my memory (8GB was filled as well as a filled 2GB of swap memory on the hard drive). I had to do three forced restarts (switch off and on) with frozen screen, then finally closed the tab with allmusic (firefox kept reloading it every restart) and the machine has been fine ever since. This morning I had about 2GB of RAM in use and swap was 0. I do run Firefox.

Found a post from last year on some website:


> I opened AllMusic.com (no other tabs open in FireFox) and within a minute I got one of the nasty pop up warnings telling me that my computer was infected and this was a warning from Microsoft. Couldn't close my browser without a reboot. I know AllMusic doesn't put that ad there but whoever their ad server is isn't legit.


----------



## Luchesi

Ralfy said:


> For Win 8.1, I use Open Shell to make it look like Win 7.


Ever since Vista I've been running these add-ons. Running fine on Windows 10 and they're safe (at least they were when I downloaded them).

Turbo Searcher and Everything.exe (for alternative ways to search, back with Vista they were crucial add-ons)

WinDirStat for a graphical map of your hard drives and a text listing of all your folders - with the sizes of the folders.

GodMode to put all your settings and controls in one place.

FolderSize-2.6-x64.msi for displaying files/folders and their sizes instantly

SpaceEngine is a very impressive, free program. Now there's a pro version.


----------



## Becca

Krummhorn said:


> One thing to check is that your current email is listed correctly in your personal profile page. If the system is trying to send email notifications to an erroneous account (email address) that would be the culprit.
> 
> That said, we recently did change our forum email notification system that was originating from the hosting company to a cloud based service. I'll have to check the forum email account to see if there are any 'mailer demons' lurking about.


If anyone else is having this problem, you should probably check your spam folder as the emails are now originating from a different IP address and may not be recognized as legitimate. I had that problem and this was the solution.


----------



## Jacck

My laptop of 7 years has broken down, so I decided to buy a new computer, a desktop this time (I also sent the laptop for repairs). I have spent a lot of time transfering the data from the laptop (I took out the harddisk and used USB to SATA cable to transfer data), installing the programs and customizing the windows 10. I finally gave up on my ancient versions of Photoshop 7.0 (2002) and ACDSee 5.0 (2002) and decided to buy the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom


----------



## Luchesi

Jacck said:


> My laptop of 7 years has broken down, so I decided to buy a new computer, a desktop this time (I also sent the laptop for repairs). I have spent a lot of time transfering the data from the laptop (I took out the harddisk and used USB to SATA cable to transfer data), installing the programs and customizing the windows 10. I finally gave up on my ancient versions of Photoshop 7.0 (2002) and ACDSee 5.0 (2002) and decided to buy the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom


Wow, you are so good for the economy. <grin> Yes I understand - we need what we need. I need a faster machine with Thunderbolt 3 for copying and collating and etc.

You didn't back up your laptop for seven years? That tickled my funny bone.


----------



## Jacck

Luchesi said:


> Wow, you are so good for the economy. <grin> Yes I understand - we need what we need. I need a faster machine with Thunderbolt 3 for copying and collating and etc.
> 
> You didn't back up your laptop for seven years? That tickled my funny bone.


if you mean why I kept using old programs instead of newer versions, I have the feeling, that many programs have degenerated into bloatware over time. There is really no sensible reason why a modern version of Photoshop needs to be 8GB, when a 300MB version had almost the same functionality (at least functionality I use). Another example might be Winamp which I used to use for music. Over time, it just denerated into bloatware, so I switched to AIMP and now I am trying MusicBee instead.

Of course I back up my data onto an external drive. But I do it manually once in a while, I am not using any automatic backing. But the most important files I back up regularly onto several locations.


----------



## Luchesi

I have over 2 million files on this iMac. I remember years ago having an app that checked for duplicates and when it got to 10,000 files an error message came up and it said, "Wow that's a lot of files!". It would stop at that point.

File Count:	2288022
Folder Count:	281742
Block Size:	4096
Total Blocks:	516277504
Free Blocks:	13368705


----------



## Guest

Jacck said:


> My laptop of 7 years has broken down, so I decided to buy a new computer, a desktop this time (I also sent the laptop for repairs). I have spent a lot of time transfering the data from the laptop (I took out the harddisk and used USB to SATA cable to transfer data), installing the programs and customizing the windows 10. I finally gave up on my ancient versions of Photoshop 7.0 (2002) and ACDSee 5.0 (2002) and decided to buy the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom


I found GIMP to be clunky, but to duplicate all of the photoshop functionality I actually used.


----------



## Guest

Dropbox has suddenly became infuriating. I have the paid version with lots of space and they introduced "smartsync" and enabled it by default. Smartsyn supposedly figures out what stuff you don't really need and deletes it from your hard disc, replacing it with some sort of link to the cloud copy. Well, I want the damn stuff on my hard disc. By infuriating trial and error I figured out that turning smart sync off doesn't put the stuff back, it just prevents it from offloading more stuff. To get the stuff back you have to turn smartsync back _on _and manually specify that the folders should be "local" then turn it off again.

Another example of stupidly designed software that is supposed to make your life easier by doing things it thinks you want it to do, requiring you to manually undo it's supposedly helpful intervention.


----------



## Guest

Becca said:


> If anyone else is having this problem, you should probably check your spam folder as the emails are now originating from a different IP address and may not be recognized as legitimate. I had that problem and this was the solution.


Checking my spam or junk folder is something I do several times daily, and have been for many years. I use "Thunderbird" and find that it's very easy to spot junk immediately, as it shows up clearly in the "junk" folder as soon as the application is opened.


----------



## Dan Ante

Krummhorn said:


> One thing to check is that your current email is listed correctly in your personal profile page. If the system is trying to send email notifications to an erroneous account (email address) that would be the culprit.
> 
> That said, we recently did change our forum email notification system that was originating from the hosting company to a cloud based service. I'll have to check the forum email account to see if there are any 'mailer demons' lurking about.


I received no notification of your post KH, my email add is correct and all my watched threads show "notify by email" I had the same problem a while back but it came right. On thread tools it does show "subscribe to this thread" yet I am/should be already subscribed?

Wow Becca I did not see your post but I did check my spam and it is not to blame. Notifications from other forums are coming through OK.


----------



## haydnguy

Windows 10 Pro (1903)
Dell Inspiron 15 (5000 series)

The pics I'm attaching show Radeon Setting icons (the little red ones) in the system tray (10 of them!). The other picture is from Task Explorer and shows everyone of those icons represent processes.

This problem has been going on for a long time but never this bad. I saw one suggestion that said turning off 'Fast Startup' would fix it but after I did that and started from a hard boot I got what you see in those pics.

From what I see out online this has been a problem for a long time but people are still reporting as a problem so I don't know.


----------



## Jacck

it looks like it is known problem with the Radeon graphic cards. Try uninstalling the Radeon driver and go back to older versions
https://community.amd.com/thread/222167


----------



## Luchesi

How long before this forum locks you out and nags you for your password again? It's very annoying.


----------



## haydnguy

Posting this for a couple people I know (maybe more) might be interested in this.


----------



## Krummhorn

Dan Ante said:


> I received no notification of your post KH, my email add is correct and all my watched threads show "notify by email" I had the same problem a while back but it came right. On thread tools it does show "subscribe to this thread" yet I am/should be already subscribed?


I will elevate this issue to the "known bugs" list. The problem may or may not be resolvable until if/we upgrade the current version of vBulletin.

I have strongly advised against upgrading to v5 ... I've see it and it's horrid - not user friendly at all like our present version.


----------



## Dan Ante

*Haydnguy* and *Krummhorn* thanks for you posts seems I will have to live with it for now.


----------



## haydnguy

This is an advertisement but the potential of this is just so unbelievable.

(Link at bottom)










https://news.microsoft.com/features...-score-shaped-by-the-skies-above-a-nyc-hotel/


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> This is an advertisement but the potential of this is just so unbelievable.
> 
> (Link at bottom)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> https://news.microsoft.com/features...-score-shaped-by-the-skies-above-a-nyc-hotel/


As a musician I can't wait.. <sarcasm>

A box of switches mindlessly generating our music.
Mindlessly writing our poetry.
Mindlessly spittng out novelettes?
AI in the visual arts.

AI surgeons. AI pets. AI caretakers.

AI gardens winning prizes?

Chess games and games of Go are already far less interesting. Billions of positions checked within seconds. Who cares?


----------



## Jacck

How I Quit Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev3qw7/how-to-quit-apple-microsoft-google-facebook-amazon

the amount of information that companies such as Google know, harvest and store about you is worrying. I never had a google account (never used gmail etc), never used Chrome due to privacy concerns (I use Mozilla) and I am trying to find alternatives for privacy search engines such as Startpage
https://www.startpage.com/
such a monopoly is not a good thing and Google is a creeping Big Brother

there is also the Windows Privacy Tweaker to tweak how much data Windows collects and sends to Microsoft
https://www.phrozen.io/freeware/windows-privacy-tweaker/


----------



## Luchesi

Jacck said:


> How I Quit Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon
> https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev3qw7/how-to-quit-apple-microsoft-google-facebook-amazon
> 
> the amount of information that companies such as Google know, harvest and store about you is worrying. I never had a google account (never used gmail etc), never used Chrome due to privacy concerns (I use Mozilla) and I am trying to find alternatives for privacy search engines such as Startpage
> https://www.startpage.com/
> such a monopoly is not a good thing and Google is a creeping Big Brother
> 
> there is also the Windows Privacy Tweaker to tweak how much data Windows collects and sends to Microsoft
> https://www.phrozen.io/freeware/windows-privacy-tweaker/


Yes, but I'm more concerned about how important personal opinions are being formed and calcified by 'discussions' on social media. What could more important in democracies?

"(In April, Bloomberg found thousands of Amazon employees listen to what people say when they speak to their Alexa virtual assistant, which is built into devices like the Amazon Echo. Amazon told Bloomberg at the time that employees listen to "an extremely small sample" to improve user experience.)
Fellow Apple bigwig, Tim Cook, CEO of the company, has also pointed fingers at much of the Silicon Valley tech cohort. 
"Lately it seems this industry is becoming better known for a less noble innovation - the belief you can claim credit without accepting responsibility," Cook said in a Stanford University commencement address in June. 
"We see it every day now with every data breach, every privacy violation, every blind eye turned to hate speech, fake news poisoning out national conversation, the false miracles in exchange for a single drop of your blood."
Cook continued: "It feels a bit crazy that anyone should have to say this, but if you built a chaos factory, you can't dodge responsibility for the chaos.""

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/09/apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-get-off-facebook.html


----------



## Jacck

the targeted political marketing is surely a problem, but the privacy issues are very serious too
Is Big Tech Merging With Big Brother? Kinda Looks Like It
https://www.wired.com/story/is-big-tech-merging-with-big-brother-kinda-looks-like-it/
https://www.quora.com/How-safe-is-Google-chrome-in-terms-of-privacy
I like the cyberpunk subgenre of scifi, and what is happening surely looks like some kind of technological dystopia


----------



## philoctetes

New Facebook policy on death threats:

https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/recentupdates/all_updates/

Do not post:

Threats that could lead to death (and other forms of high-severity violence) of any target(s) where threat is defined as any of the following:

Statements of intent to commit high-severity violence; or
Calls for high-severity violence (unless the target is an organization or individual covered in the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, or is described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses, wherein criminal/predator status has been established by media reports, market knowledge of news event, etc.)
Including content where no target is specified but a symbol represents the target and/or includes a visual of an armament to represent violence; or
Statements advocating for high-severity violence (unless the target is an organization or individual covered in the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, or is described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses, wherein criminal/predator status has been established by media reports, market knowledge of news event, etc.); or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit high-severity violence (unless the target is an organization or individual covered in the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, or is described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses, wherein criminal/predator status has been established by media reports, market knowledge of news event, etc.)

Content that asks or offers services for hire to kill others (for example, hitmen, mercenaries, assassins) or advocates for the use of a hitman, mercenary or assassin against a target.

Threats that lead to serious injury (mid-severity violence) towards private individuals, minor public figures, vulnerable persons, or vulnerable groups where threat is defined as any of the following:

Statements of intent to commit violence; or
Statements advocating violence (unless the target is an organization or individual covered in the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, or is described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses, wherein criminal/predator status has been established by media reports, market knowledge of news event, etc.); or
Calls for mid-severity violence (unless the target is a member of a dangerous organization, or is described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses, wherein criminal/predator status has been established by media reports, market knowledge of news event, etc.) including content where no target is specified but a symbol represents the target;; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit violence (unless the target is an adult public figure convicted or accused of certain crimes or is a member of a dangerous organization, or is described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses, wherein criminal/predator status has been established by media reports, market knowledge of news event, etc.); or
Other target(s) apart from private individuals, minor public figures, vulnerable persons, or vulnerable groups and any credible:
Statements of intent to commit violence; or
Calls for action of violence; or
Statements advocating for violence; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit violence (unless the target is convicted of certain crimes or is a member of a dangerous organization, or is described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses, wherein criminal/predator status has been established by media reports, market knowledge of news event, etc.)

Threats that lead to physical harm (or other forms of lower-severity violence) towards private individuals (self-reporting required) or minor public figures where threat is defined as any of the following:

Private individuals (name and/or face match are required) or minor public figures that includes:
Statements of intent, calls for action, advocating, aspirational or conditional statements to commit low-severity violence

Imagery of private individuals or minor public figures that has been manipulated to include threats of violence either in text or pictorial (adding bulls eye, dart, gun to head, etc.)

Any content created for the express purpose of outing an individual as a member of a designated and recognizable at-risk group

Instructions on how to make or use weapons if there's evidence of a goal to seriously injure or kill people, through:

Language explicitly stating that goal, or
Photos or videos that show or simulate the end result (serious injury or death) as part of the instruction
Unless the aforementioned content is shared as part of recreational self defense, for military training purposes, commercial video games, or news coverage (posted by Page or with news logo)

Providing instructions on how to make or use explosives:

Unless there is clear context that the content is for a non-violent purpose (for example part of commercial video games, clear scientific/educational purpose, fireworks, or specifically for fishing)

Any content containing statements of intent, calls for action, or advocating for high or mid-severity violence due to voting, voter registration, or the outcome of an election.

Misinformation that contributes to imminent violence or physical harm

Calls to action, statements of intent to bring armaments to a vulnerable location, or encouraging others to do the same
CURRENT VERSION


----------



## philoctetes

The above, of course, ties in directly with my post on the deepfake thread on Jeffrey Epstein.

Note the exceptions in the FB policy. Any 2-bit media hack, with *deepfake* tools at her disposal, along with $$$ for false witness, can set up ANYBODY as a legitimate target for death threats. If this is not fascism I don't know what is.

Thank you Mark Zuckerberg for bringing our communities together...


----------



## haydnguy

We've lost the privacy war. That sounds extreme but it isn't. The Facebook discussion should have been made 12-13 years ago. People to this day are willing to give up any information about themselves that can be tracked in order to discuss casseroles and the politics of the day.

When we moved to our new town I went online to find their symphony guild. Their "website" was on Facebook and since they don't have a regular website I'm out of luck. Facebook has just penetrated too far into society to ever get back. Generation-Z will not have known privacy so they won't balk a bit. 

Back when wireless access first came out, people (and especially businesses) didn't realize how important cyber security is. I never did it but I heard that you could drive up and down main street and all the businesses were "wide open". Even doctors offices and businesses you would never think would be unsecure. We are at that spot with the Internet of Things. People don't realize how wide open they really are and the ramifications of allowing these things into your homes.

I would assume at this point that the privacy battle has been decided The next battle is cybersecurity. Cybersecurity needs to be easier. The average person is vulnerable to this too. People think if they just run an anti-virus program that it's enough. 

Here is a pat on the back to myself. Remember when we were talking about how to backup our music collections and people mentioned NAS. I said that everything on the network is vulnerable. Now see article below.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-new-ransomware-is-targeting-network-attached-storage-devices/

Addition: People think that privacy relates to strictly information about someone. It also involves capturing *relationships* between people, places, and things.


----------



## Jacck

US demands social media details from visa applicants
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48486672
what next? Our DNA samples? It is funny that this is required by a man who does not even want to disclose his taxes


----------



## starthrower

What is the cheapest way to install effective internet security software? Both virus and firewall protection.


----------



## Jacck

the cheapest is free. I am using the free version of Bitdefender
https://www.techradar.com/best/best-antivirus
I have no firewall, just the standard windows built in one, it is not needed anymore
https://www.pcmag.com/article/313986/the-best-free-firewalls

if you want the best protection and privacy, then start using a VPN. The NordVPN seems to be the best one currently
https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/296955/the-best-vpn-services
these VPNs is what people in China, Russia and similar countries use to circumvent their restricted internet and stay hidden from the prying eyes of their Big Brother. So if you really want to pay, then buy the NordVPN for 3$ a month.

or use whonix
https://www.whonix.org/
which completely uses the Tor network.
NSA hates Tor users and labels them as extremists 
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/nsa-labels-linux-tails-users-extremists/


----------



## Jacck

an interesting article on Google
Google's Earth: how the tech giant is helping the state spy on us 
https://www.theguardian.com/news/20...the-tech-giant-is-helping-the-state-spy-on-us

Here's one no-brainer: Stop using Chrome and switch to Firefox.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90174010/bye-chrome-why-im-switching-to-firefox-and-you-should-too
Firefox has also an excellent Android browser called Firefox Focus


----------



## starthrower

Good information, jacck! I didn't realize I have a layer of protection with my wireless router, and Windows 10. I'll stick with the free virus protection. Thanks for the links!


----------



## philoctetes

Malwarebytes has a pretty good reputation and once found something on my tablet...

Firewalls are often part of the router firmware... but may have no user setting options so they won't help prevent a targeted attack...

For now most Linux attacks are still limited to commercial servers. I use Linux Mate in a VM now to access the internet. Whenever I'm done I return the VM to its never-online state. gufw firewall comes with mate and has a nice interface for user options and can lock down any port or service on request....

So far feeling OK without a VPN but that could change anytime... or I may use proxy servers for some of my remote access needs...

Feel free to join the Linux group if this raises any interest...


----------



## Jacck

I just watched a couple of vidoes from an excellent channel (The Hated One) on internet security/privacy etc. Higly recommended. Very enlightening. Some examples of his videos
How facial recognition advertising is becoming your new social contract
How to protect your online privacy in 2019
This is how Google is spying on everything you do
etc.... many more very informative vidoes

I am seriously worried about where the world is headed. Novels such as Snow Crash or The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson or the Neuromancer trilogy by Gibbs etc. do not look as scifi anymore.


----------



## Luchesi

You walk down the street, cameras are picking up more than what they were probably intended to.

You drive in your car with license plates showing.

Entering stores and malls and restaurants and even passing by homes (mine) and of course government buildings, on and on.

Your DNA will be found if anyone related to you has had their DNA registered. There's been some interesting cases of criminals being caught (and already some close calls involving mistakes and injustice).


----------



## philoctetes

Luchesi said:


> You walk down the street, cameras are picking up more than what they were probably intended to.
> 
> You drive in your car with license plates showing.
> 
> Entering stores and malls and restaurants and even passing by homes (mine) and of course government buildings, on and on.
> 
> Your DNA will be found if anyone related to you has had their DNA registered. There's been some interesting cases of criminals being caught (and already some close calls involving mistakes and injustice).


Just carrying your cellphone with location on is enough to be tracked... newer cars have tracking devices too...


----------



## haydnguy

People here have a good understanding that there is a problem.

In addition to those things mentioned above I would just add a few things that I've picked up

Proton mail is something to check out to help you encrypt your email. After using it I decided against it but it's something to look at. https://protonmail.com/

Also, you might consider encrypting your hard drive. Windows 10 has BitLocker on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise but NOT on Windows Home (I believe I read where Windows Home is getting it in the next Windows 10 release. . This is not turned on automatically, you have to run it. It seems like I read where Linux Kali encrypts automatically although I'm not sure.

I have read where Malwarebytes and Windows Defender (when used together) scores very high on malware infection. The reason I stopped using Malwarebytes was because it doesn't have "on-demand" system scan. Only "Quick Scan". It only scans in the "most likely places" that you would get malware.

I then switched to Bitdefender and have been very happy with it.

I would never get a free VPN. This is one thing that's important for security reasons. Also you might want to take a look at this article. "Five Eyes". Ideally, you don't want a VPN from these countries. I use NordVPN. https://vpnpro.com/vpn-basics/5-eyes-9-eyes-14-eyes/
Lastly, I've read where "file-less malware" is becoming more common. This is malware that never copy files to disk. Disk scans cannot find them. I think Malwarebytes and Bitdefender are both on the lookout for these.

Additional: I just thought of something else that might be helpful. Network segmentation.


----------



## DaveM

Are some of you guys in the witness protection program?


----------



## haydnguy

DaveM said:


> Are some of you guys in the witness protection program?


** delete ** people are tired of me talking about my age.


----------



## Jacck

DaveM said:


> Are some of you guys in the witness protection program?


20 years ago, if a government announced that it will put an eavesdropping device into each household and record everything, a massive protest would follow. Now it quitly happens everywhere. So much data is gathered about you without your consent and artificial intelligence is used to process this data, that it is scary. And it is about power. Those with the power know everything about you, but they themselves keep their stuff hidden. 
The real value of your personal data





an example from Czech News today. A newspaper wrote today, how banks are using an AI algorithm called Nikita to predict the creditworthiness of customers (if they can give them loans or not). This algorithm Nikinita
https://www.nikitaengine.com/
uses behavioral, historical, demographic etc. variables for its prediction, ie it basically uses all this data snooped about you without your consent and then gives you some score. Pretty much similar to what happens in China.


----------



## DaveM

Much of our loss of privacy has been due to the rise of terrorism -particularly in the last 3 decades- that has required the ability to find these people preferably before they do harm. It is what it is. Still, there’s no reason to believe that the average person is constantly under some form of surveillance, certainly not to the extent that people should let paranoia intrude on enjoying daily life.


----------



## haydnguy

I agree with you that it started the way you described.

It is rather troubling, however, when your sitting in the family room talking about putting a back deck on your house and ads for porch furniture pops up on your phone in just a few hours. And without even searching for it!


----------



## DaveM

haydnguy said:


> I agree with you that it started the way you described.
> 
> It is rather troubling, however, when your sitting in the family room talking about putting a back deck on your house and ads for porch furniture pops up on your phone in just a few hours. And without even searching for it!


But that's still more likely due to something other than listening devices in your walls.


----------



## Jacck

DaveM said:


> Much of our loss of privacy has been due to the rise of terrorism -particularly in the last 3 decades- that has required the ability to find these people preferably before they do harm. It is what it is. Still, there's no reason to believe that the average person is constantly under some form of surveillance, certainly not to the extent that people should let paranoia intrude on enjoying daily life.


the "war on terror" is an everlasting excuse of those in power to implement a surveillance state. As the computer security expert Mikko Hypponen says in this talk, the US intelligence services are completely out of control





the US is a surveillance state
https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/item/24048-9-11-the-rise-of-the-surveillance-state

China is a surveillance state
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/china-surveillance/552203/

and Great Britain has probably the strongest surveillance state among the democratic states
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...eillance-becomes-uk-law-with-barely-a-whimper

it is at least good to be aware of it, and make the data collection about you as difficult as possible. Which means do not use Facebook (I don't have it), do not use any google services, use Mozilla with DuckDuckGo and learn to how to use uBlock properly. That is at least what I am doing. Of course if the intelligence agencies really want to, nothing stops them, but I see no reason why to let google create profiles about me.

and there is also the very real danger of subtle mind control. Google is involved in this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_manipulation_effect
basically they use all the data they have about you to "tailor" the search results to you individually. They can have very exact personality profile on you and use AI to predict your behavior. They can use this to manipulate elections etc. 
Facebook has been doing social experiments without consent on milliions of people
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/facebook-secret-experiments/
If you want to do research in psychology, you need countless approvals from ethics commitees etc. This seems not to apply to the tech giants.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Jacck said:


> an interesting article on Google
> Google's Earth: how the tech giant is helping the state spy on us
> https://www.theguardian.com/news/20...the-tech-giant-is-helping-the-state-spy-on-us
> 
> Here's one no-brainer: Stop using Chrome and switch to Firefox.
> https://www.fastcompany.com/90174010/bye-chrome-why-im-switching-to-firefox-and-you-should-too
> Firefox has also an excellent Android browser called Firefox Focus


How about www.duckduck.go for privacy?

https://duckduckgo.com/privacy


----------



## Jacck

Fritz Kobus said:


> How about www.duckduck.go for privacy?
> 
> https://duckduckgo.com/privacy


yes, I use a combination of DuckDuckGo and Startpage. The results by DDG are not as good as the google results, but it is OK for most searches. The Startpage gives you the Google results, but should protect your privacy. The good thing is that DDG is on the rise. I use google only for Google Scholar, because it collaborates with Zotero (citation manager). And obviously I use youtube. But the important thing is to turn of all those google trackers implanted everywhere.






it is quite fascinating to install the uBlock Mozilla ad-on and investigate all the trackers (as shown in the video). The Big Brother google is indeed omnipresent. While talkclassical is almost tracker free (there is only google analytics), some websites such as newservers can have dozens of trackers.


----------



## Luchesi

Jacck said:


> yes, I use a combination of DuckDuckGo and Startpage. The results by DDG are not as good as the google results, but it is OK for most searches. The Startpage gives you the Google results, but should protect your privacy. The good thing is that DDG is on the rise. I use google only for Google Scholar, because it collaborates with Zotero (citation manager). And obviously I use youtube. But the important thing is to turn of all those google trackers implanted everywhere.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> it is quite fascinating to install the uBlock Mozilla ad-on and investigate all the trackers (as shown in the video). The Big Brother google is indeed omnipresent. While talkclassical is almost tracker free (there is only google analytics), some websites such as newservers can have dozens of trackers.


Maybe the tracking histories could exonerate us too?


----------



## Forsooth

I am not registered with any social media platform (twitter, FB, etc.). Yet lots of people who are worried about spying and loss of privacy continue to use these products. It is baffling. 

My greatest fear is that the power of social media will be used to control election outcomes by banning or "shadow-banning" content that is contrary to what these mega-tech companies want. 

Congress seems to be in their back pockets. I would love to see these big tech companies ripped apart structurally, but that will not happen any time soon.


----------



## DaveM

For all my feeling that some nefarious ‘big brother’ is not that interested in most of us unless we’re a terrorist or it wants to sell me something, I do believe that starting as early as the teenage period, people should be very careful about what they do on social media. Stupid comments on Twitter and/or behavior on Facebook will come back to haunt you later. It would probably be best to use a pseudonym on Facebook if possible (probably hard to do if you’re friended with your whole family and friends on there).


----------



## Jacck

DaveM said:


> For all my feeling that some nefarious 'big brother' is not that interested in most of us unless we're a terrorist or it wants to sell me something, I do believe that starting as early as the teenage period, people should be very careful about what they do on social media. Stupid comments on Twitter and/or behavior on Facebook will come back to haunt you later. It would probably be best to use a pseudonym on Facebook if possible (probably hard to do if you're friended with your whole family and friends on there).


if the Big Brother is not interested in you, then why does he so desparetely need to link all your activity across all you devices?
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150106198
why does he wasted several GB of space for each and every person to store all the information about him?
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...l-the-data-facebook-google-has-on-you-privacy
it is because data gathering and spying are the business model of google. How do you think this company got so rich? By selling our data. You must have a bad imagination, if you can't imagine how this can cause you harm. For example they can sell it to banks, to insurance companies, to health insurance companies, to agencies responsible for political marketing etc. Have you not registered the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...hanged-the-world-but-it-didnt-change-facebook


----------



## Jacck

Forsooth said:


> I am not registered with any social media platform (twitter, FB, etc.). Yet lots of people who are worried about spying and loss of privacy continue to use these products. It is baffling.
> 
> My greatest fear is that the power of social media will be used to control election outcomes by banning or "shadow-banning" content that is contrary to what these mega-tech companies want.
> 
> Congress seems to be in their back pockets. I would love to see these big tech companies ripped apart structurally, but that will not happen any time soon.


this fear is certainly not unsubstantiated, in fact it is already happening. By analyzing large amount of data about you, they can predict your behavior and enclose you in an information bubble, an echo chamber.
https://searchenginewatch.com/2017/08/18/how-to-escape-googles-filter-bubble/
for example the massive political polarization that you observe is certainly at least in part a result of these echo chambers. Google or Facebook basically control, what information you get exposed to, and that gives to power to control your mind. 
I absolutely believe that these giant tech companies are a threat to democracy and liberty. And not only these tech companies, but also globalization. Those in power hide in the dark, and in tax havens
The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire


----------



## Jacck

George Soros: Facebook and Google a menace to society
https://www.theguardian.com/busines...s-facebook-and-google-are-a-menace-to-society
"In the same month Facebook's founding chairman, Sean Parker, criticised his former employer: "God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains," he said. "
that is my fear as well....


----------



## Jacck

Forsooth said:


> I am not registered with any social media platform (twitter, FB, etc.). Yet lots of people who are worried about spying and loss of privacy continue to use these products. It is baffling.
> *My greatest fear is that the power of social media will be used to control election outcomes* by banning or "shadow-banning" content that is contrary to what these mega-tech companies want.
> Congress seems to be in their back pockets. I would love to see these big tech companies ripped apart structurally, but that will not happen any time soon.


watch this and you will be afraid even more
Obama manipulated Facebook users to win elections
How Cambridge Analytica manipulated US election through 50 million Facebook users
How Facebook tracks and manipulates everyone, everything, and everywhere - Delete your Facebook now
I assure you that this is no conspiracy theory. I personally know psychology and neuroscience researchers who were approached by certain people who offered unlimited funding to develop a psychological hack of the human brain that exploited altruistic behavior.


----------



## haydnguy

Thank goodness this is behind us. (I hope)

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-releases-master-decryption-keys-for-gandcrab-ransomware/


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## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> Thank goodness this is behind us. (I hope)
> 
> https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-releases-master-decryption-keys-for-gandcrab-ransomware/


Have you planned what you will do if your files are encrypted and held for ransom?


----------



## Jacck

haydnguy said:


> Thank goodness this is behind us. (I hope)
> https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-releases-master-decryption-keys-for-gandcrab-ransomware/


one of the best ways how to protoct yourself against ransomware is the master the uBlock Origin. There are 3 ways how ransomware gets into your computer - mailspam, mailvertising and 3rd party iframes. 
https://www.malwarebytes.com/ransomware/
For mailspam, you need to use your own intelligence and not open any unknown attachments send to you from unknown sources. But for the other 2 ways, uBlock Origin can protect you very well, because it essentially blocks malvertising and gives you to option to blok all 3rd party iframes. Study the video and understand the program. It is very much worth the effort.
How to use uBlock Origin to protect your online privacy and security


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## haydnguy

I want to answer the previous two posts but I will just put this out there.

Several years ago I downloaded a program called Neo4j. It's a database designed to store relationships. This is confusing because the databases that we have all used for so long are called relational databases. Relational databases were originally designed with documents in mind. (Invoices, customers, requisitions, etc.)

When I first went out to the Neo4j website you could download a free "community version". I just went out there and they have matured the product ALOT. It looks like you have to register now for the desktop version but they also have an online version. I haven't ever used that so I don't know what that requires.

Anyway, after playing with Neo4j for awhile I finally understood what Facebook was doing with all our profiles (information). Even if you don't do anything else, it might be worth it just to look around the site and look at all the pictures of graphs. It will give an idea. https://neo4j.com/


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## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Have you planned what you will do if your files are encrypted and held for ransom?


With me, if I got Ransomware, I would try to restore from my backups. I say try because this malware can be stealthy. In other words, you could have gotten infected and not know it. Then if you follow a backup plan that you've set up you could actually backup the infection. The backup plan has to take this into account.

I personally would just throw my laptop away if those backups were no good. My laptop and information is not worth whatever the ransom is asking. If I were a business, however, I probably would pay it.


----------



## haydnguy

Jacck said:


> one of the best ways how to protoct yourself against ransomware is the master the uBlock Origin. There are 3 ways how ransomware gets into your computer - mailspam, mailvertising and 3rd party iframes.
> https://www.malwarebytes.com/ransomware/
> For mailspam, you need to use your own intelligence and not open any unknown attachments send to you from unknown sources. But for the other 2 ways, uBlock Origin can protect you very well, because it essentially blocks malvertising and gives you to option to blok all 3rd party iframes. Study the video and understand the program. It is very much worth the effort.
> How to use uBlock Origin to protect your online privacy and security


Thanks Jacck. I have said this before but I got an infection earlier this year. I don't know how I got it. Presumably through email. At the time there was a lot of chatter about Gandcrab and I thought that it might have been it but I don't know. I haven't posted this before so I will describe briefly what happened.

One day I came to my computer and turned it on. It took longer than I expected to get to the sign-on screen. I thought perhaps it was Windows finishing an update as it would do after a reboot. The sign-on screen appeared. When I typed in my first character at the sign-on screen my computer screen immediately went black. Shortly there was a screen that had the beach ball turning with a message "Just a moment". That set off alarms in my head because Microsoft usually says, "Getting Windows Ready", or something similar. Shortly a prompt appeared to enter my Microsoft account password. It looked like a very crude message box. I knew that was wrong.

I turned my machine off. I knew I had been infected but by not entering the password it ask for I had hope. I actually didn't return to my computer until the next day so I could think about what I needed to do.

Without getting into the detail of what I did, I'll just say what ended up happening. It locked a number of things on my desktop (including a Tor folder). It also locked several other folders that were not on my desktop. At the time, I was using Malwarebytes and Windows Defender. Neither detected the infection. The rootkit scans in both Malwarebytes and Windows Defender were disabled.

I didn't have a complete backup but I did have my documents, pictures, music, etc., backed up to the cloud so I thought I was pretty safe on that. I ended up 1) Using FileAssasin to unlock and delete everything that had been locked. 2) I uninstalled Firefox. 3) I did a Reset of Windows (not a complete reformat).

If I were just using Windows Defender I would probably turn on Controlled Folder Access. It will probably ask you for a few (not many) of the programs you are using so it will know whether a program that it doesn't recognize is ok. It didn't ask for too many on my machine when I used it. I thought it was a good feature. https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/113380-enable-disable-controlled-folder-access-windows-10-a.html

All of that got rid of it. I do use Ublock origin among other things.


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## Guest

^In the past I've had similar experiences to you, where the normal a/v software doesn't seem to be capable of getting rid of an infection.

Like you, I currently use _Windows Defende_r and _Malwarebytes AntiMalware_. I also have _Malwarebytes Antiransomwar_e and _tdskiller_ (Kaspersky rootkit) if required.

For enforced file opening I use _Iobit Unlocker_.

I would never pay for an a/v package. I had a paid-for version of Norton once and I didn't like it - far too much advertising and generally hogging of the PC's resources. I have tried all of the free a/v software in the past, sworn by each of them turn as the "best ever", but a while later got rid of them all once they began to cause trouble (e.g. constant nagging to upgrade, or simply going wrong).
.
I find these days much less infection than used to be the case before Win10. In fact, I can't remember the last time I experienced anything serious. It must have something to do with the fact that Windows Defender is better at catching infections and that Windows 10 updates are automatic.

With past infections, I usually found that _Malwarebytes Antimalaware_ was sufficient to get rid of any infections. It got rid of some ransomware once with no trouble at all. If that software doesn't work for any reason, which was very rare, I didn't mess about any further tying other possible methods, as I've found that if it doesn't solve the problem it's best to carry out a complete "restore" of the operating software.

I have experimented with most of the free recovery software and concluded that the most reliable and easy to use is _AOEMI Backupper_. I only use the free version. I have used it several times in the past and it has always worked well. Once every 3-4 weeks I do a system backup using that software, place it on a hard drive, and know that if ever my PC is attacked by any really nasty infection I can rely on that backup to sort it out.


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## Jacck

most of this malware is probably produced by the antivirus companies themselves  And the rest is produced by governments. I am not even sure, if it is a good idea to trust the AV software. The worst hackers groups are state backed
https://fortune.com/2017/06/22/cybersecurity-5-hacker-groups/
the hackers even have hacker conferences, for example Defcon, where they have hacking competitions and the best ones are probably recruited by government. And then the states hack each other. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/12/us/nsa-shadow-brokers.html


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## Guest

Jacck said:


> most of this malware is probably produced by the antivirus companies themselves  And the rest is produced by governments. I am not even sure, if it is a good idea to trust the AV software. The worst hackers groups are state backed
> https://fortune.com/2017/06/22/cybersecurity-5-hacker-groups/
> the hackers even have hacker conferences, for example Defcon, where they have hacking competitions and the best ones are probably recruited by government. And then the states hack each other.
> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/12/us/nsa-shadow-brokers.html


If that's true, which I doubt, the best a/v software would be that produced by companies that are not primarily in the a/v business, but which have a strong commercial interest in making sure their main product is safe to use. And voila ... Microsoft! That's one of the reasons I use Windows Defender. It does the job well enough and without making a big fuss letting you know about it, unlike much of the private a/v with its fancy knobs and whistles. Besides, if any kind of virus or malware still gets through it's normally very easy to clean things up with Malwarebytes Antimalware, which I'm pretty sure is as good as one can get. Again, the free version is all that's necessary. As a backstop to that, there's always the option to do a complete restore from a decent backup.


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## KenOC

I would agree that Defender is an attractive alternative. It's free with Windows 10 and receives virus reports automatically from millions of users. It's updated daily or even more frequently. It runs in the background and seems very lightweight. When it does a disk scan, it sends a notification (unless you turn that off). Otherwise you never know it's there unless it catches a virus, in which case it lets you know.

I was an early Win 10 adapter and have only contracted a couple of viruses, which were duly caught and quarantined. What's not to love?


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## Jacck

Partita said:


> If that's true, which I doubt, the best a/v software would be that produced by companies that are not primarily in the a/v business, but which have a strong commercial interest in making sure their main product is safe to use. And voila ... Microsoft! That's one of the reasons I use Windows Defender. It does the job well enough and without making a big fuss letting you know about it, unlike much of the private a/v with its fancy knobs and whistles. Besides, if any kind of virus or malware still gets through it's normally very easy to clean things up with Malwarebytes Antimalware, which I'm pretty sure is as good as one can get. Again, the free version is all that's necessary. As a backstop to that, there's always the option to do a complete restore from a decent backup.


Microsoft left purposefully holes in the system on behalf of NSA (so they can exploit it). NSA hoards exploits in order to use them without telling anyone. Most of the worst malware that you are seeing now is cyberweapons stolen from the NSA (probably by the Russians) and used all over the world. 
A Cyberattack 'the World Isn't Ready For'
It is a good bet that the recent theft of personal data in Bulgaria was done using the same cyberweapons and that Russia is behind it too
5 Million Bulgarians Have Their Personal Data Stolen in Hack


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## DaveM

^^^You’re stating things you have no proof of. Suspecting something and having proof of it are two different things.


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## Jacck

DaveM said:


> ^^^You're stating things you have no proof of. Suspecting something and having proof of it are two different things.


proof of what? The massive theft of cyberweapons from the NSA is a fact. That these weapons are being used all over the world is a fact. The only speculation is who is behind it. Russia is the most probable culprit.


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## DaveM

^^^So you’re cherry-picking just a slice of what you’ve claimed above? Dial it down, it’s getting old.


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## Jacck

DaveM said:


> ^^^So you're cherry-picking just a slice of what you've claimed above?


then you should be more specific about the proof that you want. That NSA is hoarding security vulnerabilities without telling anyone? Yes
https://www.wired.com/2016/08/shadow-brokers-mess-happens-nsa-hoards-zero-days/
was Microsofit collaborating with NSA? Yes. Look at what happend with Skype. It was a secure encrypted communication platform. After Microsoft acquired it, it crippled its security and made it less safe (so that NSA could spy on it). These are all known facts
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/15/microsoft_skype_fixed/


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## DaveM

^^^ You state that Microsoft is collaborating with the NSA with Skype and then use a link that says nothing of the kind as proof. You’re using this thread as your own conspiracy theory pulpit.


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## Jacck

DaveM said:


> ^^^ You state that Microsoft is collaborating with the NSA with Skype and then use a link that says nothing of the kind as proof. You're using this thread as your own conspiracy theory pulpit.


I remember reading about it several years ago. Before Skype was sold to Microsoft, NSA hated it, because they could not intercept it. So Microsoft bought it and crippled it
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data


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## DaveM

^^^Collaborating is a loaded word. A number of companies cooperate with intelligence agencies when there are immediate or potential terroist risks. Your one-liner comments over-simplify and mislead without context. Of course we have to be concerned about hacking where there are back doors in software, but no government agency cares about the average person using Skype to communicate with family members.


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## BobBrines

Enough of the paranoia already. I realize and accept that everything that can be known about me is out there in someone's database. There is nothing I can do about it and there is no way to take it back. So....

I do not care what advertisements are presented to me. They might as well be relevant. I am not going to look at them anyway. For instance: I bought amazon prime. I get a daily email "Amazon Personal Choices". Delete without opening. 

I do not care if Big Brother is watching my every digital move. I am not engaged in any criminal enterprise. I don't belong to any anti-government terrorist group. I don't post political commentary. Digital surveillance on me is going to be a waste of "their" time.

What I do care about is the petty hackers after my bank account an/or credit cards. I use 16 character passwords generated by LastPass, and change the important ones routinely. I use single use credit card numbers generated by my bank. Nobody will ever get my bank account numbers on line. My credit reports are locked.

For routine security, I use Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium. I haven't had a virus since Windows 10 started and I dumped AVG. Malwarebytes has alerted me to potentially malicious sites that I did not suspect.


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## Jacck

^^^ if you are using windows, no amount of antiviruses or malware protection softwares might be able to save you. Windows is a notoriously unsafe operating system, where a lot of security holes were left on purpose so that NSA could get in. Someone has stolen cyberweapons from the NSA a couple of years ago, and is using them all over the world now. 
https://arstechnica.com/information...rs-just-dumped-its-most-damaging-release-yet/
he could have sold these weapons to authoritarian and rogue regimes such as North Korea or to terrorists. North Korea is notoriously short of money (plagued by starvations) and producing ransomware might be one of its modes how to get the money. 
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/15/wannacry-ransomware-north-korea-lazarus-group


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## KenOC

"Secrets? Winston, I'm sure you have no secrets because you're a good person with nothing to hide. It's the anti-people people who need secrets, and you're not one of them. Are you?"


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## Jacck

It is good to know, that we live in increasingly dangerous times. But I agree that it is best to talk about more pleasant matters


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## DaveM

Reality check: Over years, if one has avoided Windows, one has limited their access to countless, business, gaming and hobby-related programs. They have not been able to build and take control of their computer hardware the way you can with Windows-based systems. Linux is a royal pain. If your needs are limited, then you can make a Linux system work, but you’ll spend a lot of time doing so when you change your hardware. MacOS is fine for those who want a set it, forget it system, but there won’t be anywhere near the software available for it that there is for Windows. 

I have previously posted about having recently purchased on eBay, for $110-140 each, 2 previously top-end Fujitsu laptops that cost $2000+ 8 years ago. Bought a few accessories and 2 hard disks for peanuts on eBay and can now interchange DVD, hard disk and extra battery caddies between them. Microsoft now provides a free Windows 10 image that anyone can download, customize with drivers and activate with legal COAs off eBay for $10-20. I now have 2 fully working Win10 laptops that can use all the common business, and otherwise, programs. I have a number of other computers, laptop and desktop all built or messed with by me and all using Windows with no problem, day after day, year after year...


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## Jacck

I am using windows too, for the same reason that you state - there is much more high quality software for windows than linux. But tere is absolutely no question that Linux is a much more safety, security and privacy oriented system than windows. For that reason, most institutions are running servers with Linux. I have used both system over the years. At times I had both Linux and Windows installed and chose at boot which OS to start.


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## DaveM

^^^Most institutions are not running Linux.


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## Jacck

all universites are running on linux, at least in Europe. CERN has its own linux distro called Scientific Linux, which I have been using in the past because it had some scientific tools built in. Some scientific tools run only on Linux. Many institutions run on linux
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_adopters
if you want my opinion, if I were ruling EU, I would make the adoption of Linux in all state institutions mandatory due to strong distrust to software produced in the United States. (for the reasons stated above: deliberately implemented security holes in collaboration with US intelligence agencies - again this a fact revealed by Snowden)


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## DaveM

You make these broad statements and then when called on them, you have to backtrack. ‘All’ institutions is different than ‘some’ institutions. Experts are aware of the fact that Linux is not inherently immune to hacking. If and when ‘all’ institutions were to convert to Linux, then it would become the object of hackers. Then you would have the problem that because there is no single entity with a financial interest in collectively safeguarding Linux, it would be every man (i.e. institution) for himself.


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## philoctetes

"I don't post political commentary"

Admitting that this would be a reason to be afraid. 

*the NSA cares nothing about some nobody like you*

Some people talk like they know things they don't know. Others like to ignore what they can't verify. I don't consider this wise when I know what's possible and that somebody will exploit it, whether it's Facebook, the NSA, the two working in cahoots, WikiLeaks, whatever. Nobody even knows what's real and what's not (trojaned, hacked, backdoored, etc) even when it comes to investigating or ransoming files on an individual's computer. Knowing you are not a criminal is not enough.

Today the voting machines are a hot topic in the US as we gear up for the final year of POTUS campaign. With all the controversy following the 2016 election it's obvious that nobody can be trusted. Those who believe in good guys at this point are naive.

As for comparing Linux with other OS options, opinions of those who haven't used it don't matter.


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## Jacck

DaveM said:


> You make these broad statements and then when called on them, you have to backtrack. 'All' institutions is different than 'some' institutions. Experts are aware of the fact that Linux is not inherently immune to hacking. If and when 'all' institutions were to convert to Linux, then it would become the object of hackers. Then you would have the problem that because there is no single entity with a financial interest in collectively safeguarding Linux, it would be every man (i.e. institution) for himself.


according to some theories, NSA has a backdoor directly through Intel chips
https://wccftech.com/intel-possibly-amd-chips-permanent-backdoors-planted-nsa-updated-1/
the leaked slides from Snowden show an Intel logo with "TAO Inside".
I am absolutely not surprised that they do it. In fact, I would be surprised if they did not do it. 
What do you think the trade war with China and Huawei is about? It is that the Chinese were getting ahead of US in this technology and there was a danger, that they will supply the world with 5G networks ahead of the US, where they could have their own backdoors planted. Huawei no doubt works with Chinese intelligence and contains backdoors for them. But the US does exactly the same. It it a fight for technological superiority and control of the world. I have no doubt, that the US has planted cyberweapons in critical infrastructure all over the world, but so do other countries such as China, Russia, Israel etc. It is modern warfare done with computers and information.

From my own perspective. I care for my privacy, but I am fully aware that there is no protection from surveillance from these guys. The only protection is that I am not a valuable target for them. But I can at least protect myself from the likes of Google and Facebook


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## DaveM

philoctetes said:


> "I don't post political commentary"
> 
> Admitting that this would be a reason to be afraid.
> 
> *the NSA cares nothing about some nobody like you*
> 
> Some people talk like they know things they don't know. Others like to ignore what they can't verify...
> As for comparing Linux with other OS options, opinions of those who haven't used it don't matter.


Opinions of those based on what they think they know about what others know or what they think they know about what the experience of others with things like Linux is doesn't count for much either.


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## haydnguy

I think privacy in the U.S. is a thing of the past that, at this point in time, is past the point of no return. Maybe at some distant time it might be straightened out but for now the people have spoken. They don't care.

Privacy is much bigger than computers. There are "infotainment centers" in new cars, there are home security cameras, etc. If it's a "connected" device it is a vulnerability. Let me show a scenario.

Let's say that you have children. Your little Johnny or Jane has an ailment or accident when they are young. Years later they are looking for a job. It's possible that they might be eliminated from getting a job because of that ailment. (You don't have control over where you information goes.) No only that, you might be eliminated but you wouldn't even know it. That is one of the reasons why health records have been so private in the past.

Let's say someone in the house has an anger problem, or a drinking problem, or who knows what. All this time a smart t.v. is sitting in their den, an Alexa sitting on a table (see link below), a smartphone is in their lap, or that security camera is in the chandelier. Their are tons of things that happens inside households that are not illegal, by any means, but it's not something that you want discussed outside your household (like your financial status)

Someone is having an "affair". (outside marriage). They use their car to pick someone up on numerous occasions. Not only is the route taken in their car but also the conversations they are having in their car vulnerable to eavesdropping. This affair lasts 6 months and then is over. Or is it? Several years down the road that affair can come back to haunt the person or both of them.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/3/20681423/amazon-alexa-echo-chris-*****-data-transcripts-recording-privacy


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## Becca

DaveM said:


> You make these broad statements and then when called on them, you have to backtrack. 'All' institutions is different than 'some' institutions. Experts are aware of the fact that Linux is not inherently immune to hacking. If and when 'all' institutions were to convert to Linux, then it would become the object of hackers. Then you would have the problem that because there is no single entity with a financial interest in collectively safeguarding Linux, it would be every man (i.e. institution) for himself.


As someone who works with Linux every day at work and home, develops and supports systems level software for it, deals with customers, retail, educational, aerospace, government both US and foreign, it is clear to me that your knowledge of the operating system is suspect.

As to a single entity with interest, might I suggest that you start looking at IBM who sells and supports Linux across all their systems starting with the big mainframes (look at LinuxOne) AND who recently purchased Red Hat, perhaps the biggest company that packages and supports Linux.


----------



## DaveM

Becca said:


> As someone who works with Linux every day at work and home, develops and supports systems level software for it, deals with customers, retail, educational, aerospace, government both US and foreign, it is clear to me that your knowledge of the operating system is suspect.
> 
> As to a single entity with interest, might I suggest that you start looking at IBM who sells and supports Linux across all their systems starting with the big mainframes (look at LinuxOne) AND who recently purchased Red Hat, perhaps the biggest company that packages and supports Linux.


I'm aware of IBM's LinuxOne. Are you implying that it has worldwide penetration in most institutions? Or is it not true that as of just 2 or 3 years ago, thousands of hospital and bank (including ATMs) computers were still using Windows XP or 7? IBM seems to have been very successful in promoting LinuxOne and seems to be heavily invested in Linux for the future. IMO, if it or something like it does achieve world-wide penetration, companies will still be dealing with hacking. Still, when that happens if there are big companies like IBM supporting it, then I will take back my 'every man for himself' comment. I don't think we're anywhere near that yet.


----------



## Becca

Not yet, perhaps never with that particular machine, but I am very much aware of how many existing mainframe customers at all levels are migrating their existing applications to run on Linux on x64 hardware, usually with Red Hat Enterprise but also SuSE.


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## Jacck

I know that people generally distrust Bitcoin. But I am impressed with the blockchain technology and think that it might be the single most revolutionary thing since the invention of the internet. It essentially keeps information decentalized, for example the information about the bitcoin transfers are stored on a milion computers and no single agency, no government or any other agency, has to power to tinker with it, because they would have to do it on a million computers at the same time. The information is stored and encrypted all of the network. 




now some people want to develop a blockchain-based alternative to Facebook
https://www.zdnet.com/article/they-...with-new-social-networkers-revolution-populi/
very interesting....

PS: the Facebook Libra currency is fundamentally different from Bitcoin, because it is centralized, where Facebook would be the new FED. Bitcoin is decentralized and there is no FED that has control over it.


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## Ralfy

For privacy measures, etc., consider this site:

https://prism-break.org/en/


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## philoctetes

DaveM said:


> Opinions of those based on what they think they know about what others know or what they think they know about what the experience of others with things like Linux is doesn't count for much either.


My comment is for others. You are the problem I am warning them of.


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## Luchesi

When I want to buy something I research it myself and I go to one of the very few websites that I have already long ago used with my credit card (those were innocent times).

Does anyone in here ever say what a Nice advertisement, targeted at me! I really want that, let me drop everything and push the buttons to buy what they're selling? Anybody?


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## DaveM

philoctetes said:


> My comment is for others. You are the problem I am warning them of.


I knew that. You were the subject of my comment. I'm surprised that you, being the all-knowing person that you are, didn't pick that up.


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## Jacck

DNS over HTTPS
Mozilla is working on a cool feature how to hide what IP adresses you browse even from your ISP
https://hacks.mozilla.org/2018/05/a-cartoon-intro-to-dns-over-https/
https://blog.nightly.mozilla.org/2018/06/01/improving-dns-privacy-in-firefox/
there is an easy way how to do it in Firefox described in the second link at the end under "How-To Manually Configure DoH"
excellent stuff from Mozilla


----------



## haydnguy

I was just ask by someone why I think Facebook is bad. Where do I start? :lol:


----------



## KenOC

haydnguy said:


> I was just ask by someone why I think Facebook is bad. Where do I start? :lol:


Tell them that it's all about Cthulhu.


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## Jacck

If you don't have Facebook, you are a mass murderer
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...omething-wrong-people-who-do-not-use-facebook

__
https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/3tgxkc


----------



## Open Book

If it disturbs people so much when you don't have a facebook page, is it worse to have the bare minimum of one with not much more than a photo and a few friends that almost never gets updated?

It's useful to have one for many reasons beyond keeping up with gossip. Many businesses have a facebook page rather than a website and I think you need a facebook account to read them. Some classical musicians have their concert schedules on facebook, for instance.


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## haydnguy

Open Book said:


> If it disturbs people so much when you don't have a facebook page, is it worse to have the bare minimum of one with not much more than a photo and a few friends that almost never gets updated?
> 
> It's useful to have one for many reasons beyond keeping up with gossip. Many businesses have a facebook page rather than a website and I think you need a facebook account to read them. Some classical musicians have their concert schedules on facebook, for instance.


That's much better. There is one other thing you can do (if you use Firefox). There is an add-in that helps to block Facebook tracking. (See below). To get it click on the three horizontal lines at the top right (in Firefox). On the menu choose 'Add-ins'. Then search for this add-in and and click on the button to add. It will probably ask for permissions and just say yes.


----------



## Guest

Dropbox has become increasingly exasperating. First they migrated me to a more expensive plan with more storage than I require. Then they started pushing a "smart sync" feature which keeps turning itself on and which has to be repeatedly turned off. Now they are pushing a dropbox "file manager" which they think I will use instead of finder or windows explorer.

Does anyone have experience with a Dropbox replacement? I used to use Google Drive to sync files across devices and to "the cloud" but I found it buggy. It would routinely forget to sync files or generate spurious sync conflicts. Is there something that does what Dropbox used to do?


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> I was just ask by someone why I think Facebook is bad. Where do I start? :lol:


Yes, please list what's good and bad about Facebook. I like to hear the opinions of you and others.


----------



## Luchesi

Luchesi said:


> Yes, please list what's good and bad about Facebook. I like to hear the opinions of you and others.


Here's a list of how Facebook has probably saved these 12 lives;

https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/times-facebook-twitter-helped-save-lives/


----------



## Jacck

Baron Scarpia said:


> Dropbox has become increasingly exasperating. First they migrated me to a more expensive plan with more storage than I require. Then they started pushing a "smart sync" feature which keeps turning itself on and which has to be repeatedly turned off. Now they are pushing a dropbox "file manager" which they think I will use instead of finder of windows explorer.
> 
> Does anyone have experience with a Dropbox replacement? I used to use Google Drive to sync files across devices and to "the cloud" but I found it buggy. It would routinely forget to sync files for generate spurious sync conflicts. Is there something that does what Dropbox used to do?


I am annoyed with Dropbox too, and I don't even have an account with it. Unfortunately, we are using it at work for collaboration, ie if we work on some common project, we use it to share data and the work on the project. I made the unfortunate mistake of registering my real email with it, now it sends me a lot of unsolicited spam about everything that happens in the Dropbox. It had also integrated itself into windows, browser etc. I wonder if it too is snooping around all of my files and sending the data to who know where. I don't trust cloud services, never used them, I prefer backups of my data on my own external disks. But the SpiderOak seems like a good alternative, because it stores the data encrypted.


----------



## Guest

Jacck said:


> I am annoyed with Dropbox too, and I don't even have an account with it. Unfortunately, we are using it at work for collaboration, ie if we work on some common project, we use it to share data and the work on the project. I made the unfortunate mistake of registering my real email with it, now it sends me a lot of unsolicited spam about everything that happens in the Dropbox. It had also integrated itself into windows, browser etc. I wonder if it too is snooping around all of my files and sending the data to who know where. I don't trust cloud services, never used them, I prefer backups of my data on my own external disks. But the SpiderOak seems like a good alternative, because it stores the data encrypted.


I will look into SpiderOak.

You can turn off the notifications and I think you can disable windows explorer integration in the preferences dialog of the sync app. (Dropbox won't show up in your alt-click menus anymore). That doesn't mean it stops snooping in your file system, of course.


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Yes, please list what's good and bad about Facebook. I like to hear the opinions of you and others.


I suppose I'll start with the good. I graduated from high school in 1973. There were people in my high school that I never could have imagined I would ever see or hear from again. Some I hadn't heard from since high school. Miraculously I chatted with many of these during the times I was on Facebook. I also had an opportunity to be a part of a city redevelopment effort of our town where we discussed the issues of redevelopment on Facebook. So those were the two main benefits that I got out of Facebook.


----------



## haydnguy

Jacck said:


> DNS over HTTPS
> Mozilla is working on a cool feature how to hide what IP adresses you browse even from your ISP
> https://hacks.mozilla.org/2018/05/a-cartoon-intro-to-dns-over-https/
> https://blog.nightly.mozilla.org/2018/06/01/improving-dns-privacy-in-firefox/
> there is an easy way how to do it in Firefox described in the second link at the end under "How-To Manually Configure DoH"
> excellent stuff from Mozilla


I just saw this artical this morning about the possibility of combining some features of tor as an extension to Firefox.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mozilla-firefox-tor-mode-likely-to-start-as-a-browser-addon/


----------



## philoctetes

Luchesi said:


> Here's a list of how Facebook has probably saved these 12 lives;
> 
> https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/times-facebook-twitter-helped-save-lives/


I think of how many crimes it's assisted, if only by idiot victims broadcasting their whereabouts...


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> I just saw this artical this morning about the possibility of combining some features of tor as an extension to Firefox.
> 
> https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mozilla-firefox-tor-mode-likely-to-start-as-a-browser-addon/


I read about a move in the UK to prevent this. Many countries don't like encryption, Americans are lucky.


----------



## Guest

philoctetes said:


> I think of how many crimes it's assisted, if only by idiot victims broadcasting their whereabouts...


Facebook and other social media have also been used to organize attacks resulting in loss of life (either purposefully or by enabling herd mentality).


----------



## haydnguy

Nothings safe anymore. Not even NAS.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-new-ransomware-is-targeting-network-attached-storage-devices/


----------



## KenOC

Kopachris said:


> Not really. I've heard that Microsoft Security Essentials (free download for Windows 7 from Microsoft's website, therefore not technically third-party) works just fine.


I've never read of anybody using Security Essentials on Win 7 or Defender on Win 10 getting a virus.


----------



## haydnguy

Support for Windows 7 is approaching end-of-life. January 14, 2020 is the official date. After this date Windows 7 will no longer receive software or security updates making Windows 7 users more vulnerable.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4057281/windows-7-support-will-end-on-january-14-2020


----------



## Jacck

haydnguy said:


> I just saw this artical this morning about the possibility of combining some features of tor as an extension to Firefox.
> 
> https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/mozilla-firefox-tor-mode-likely-to-start-as-a-browser-addon/


Tor might be a little of heavy weight for regular users and by using it you probably only draw attention to yourself. But the epic browser seems a good alternative
https://www.epicbrowser.com/

I did some testing
https://www.doileak.com/
and Mozilla leaks my IP adress and the DNS encryption does not seem to be working for me, but the epic browser (using an encrypted proxy) does not leak. Due to things such as browser and device fingerprinting, it is best to use several browsers for different purposes, ie one for work, another one private or for purchases etc


----------



## SixFootScowl

Here is a poll on whether you use Facebook:
Do you use Facebook?


----------



## philoctetes

Fritz Kobus said:


> Here is a poll on whether you use Facebook:
> Do you use Facebook?


No, why do you ask?


----------



## haydnguy

Jacck said:


> Tor might be a little of heavy weight for regular users and by using it you probably only draw attention to yourself. But the epic browser seems a good alternative
> https://www.epicbrowser.com/
> 
> I did some testing
> https://www.doileak.com/
> and Mozilla leaks my IP adress and the DNS encryption does not seem to be working for me, but the epic browser (using an encrypted proxy) does not leak. Due to things such as browser and device fingerprinting, it is best to use several browsers for different purposes, ie one for work, another one private or for purchases etc


Thanks for all of that. 'Do I Leak' didn't know who I was.  The only two things that stuck out at me about the epicbrowser was that it is a free vpn. Does it keep logs? Also, based in the U.S. might raise an eyebrow.

You are correct that using Tor might draw attention. Probably less so in larger cities where there would be more people using it. I have it but only use sporadically.


----------



## Ralfy

KenOC said:


> I've never read of anybody using Security Essentials on Win 7 or Defender on Win 10 getting a virus.


Here's one test of Defender against ransomware:


----------



## haydnguy

I just saw this:



> Windows 10 Warning: 250M Account Takeover Trojan Disables Windows Defender


https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2019/07/31/windows-10-warning-250m-account-takeover-trojan-disables-windows-defender/

---> This originally came from the Beeping Computer website dated July 30th 2019.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-trickbot-version-focuses-on-microsofts-windows-defender/


----------



## haydnguy

*AG Barr rails against encryption - but security experts have heard it before*

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ag-barr-rails-against-encryption-security-experts-have-heard-it-n1035196


----------



## haydnguy

Ralfy said:


> Here's one test of Defender against ransomware:


If I were going to use Windows Defender I would probably use the free version of Malwarebytes. It runs fine with Windows Defender. *You can use both at the same time.* The very first time you run a scan it takes a few minutes but after that scans are very quick. It's pretty much what you want without the hassles.

https://www.malwarebytes.com/pricing/

EDIT: I should add not to run Malwarebytes with other anti-virus software. It may work but it doesn't work with Bitdefender so if you use other AV software google around and see how it works with the AV software you are using.


----------



## Jacck

haydnguy said:


> *AG Barr rails against encryption - but security experts have heard it before*
> 
> https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ag-barr-rails-against-encryption-security-experts-have-heard-it-n1035196


TrueCrypt + KeePass and good luck to Mr Barr. If traveling with a laptop to foreign countries, encrypt the whole drive with a strong PW. There were civilized times in the past, where people like Mr. Barr needed a suspicion that you commited some crime, and then needed to obtain some search warrant to search your property. But those days are gone.


----------



## haydnguy

Jacck said:


> TrueCrypt + KeePass and good luck to Mr Barr. If traveling with a laptop to foreign countries, encrypt the whole drive with a strong PW. There were civilized times in the past, where people like Mr. Barr needed a suspicion that you commited some crime, and then needed to obtain some search warrant to search your property. But those days are gone.


I see where TrueCrypt is discontinued:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypt


----------



## Jacck

haydnguy said:


> I see where TrueCrypt is discontinued:
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypt


I am still using it and AFAIK it has never been compromised, but there are other free alternatives.


----------



## Jacck

they are really afraid of encryption and do not know how to crack it, so they seek to outlaw it instead
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30794953
https://www.privateinternetaccess.c...tes-has-effectively-outlawed-file-encryption/


----------



## haydnguy

One thing to keep an eye on in the future is that Quantum Computers will be able to break current encryption algorithms with relative ease. New encryption algorithms will have to be in place to maintain privacy.


----------



## Jacck

haydnguy said:


> One thing to keep an eye on in the future is that Quantum Computers will be able to break current encryption algorithms with relative ease. New encryption algorithms will have to be in place to maintain privacy.


if working quantum computers will be developed, no doubt military institutions all over the world will adopt them first. I am not sure they will allow commercial quantum computers, because criminals could break the encryption of banks etc. At least not until quantum cryptography is devoloped. I do understand the mathematical and physical principles of a quantum computer, but I have no idea about how far they are with the construction - the bigest problem was decoherence, and superconductors were needed to solve that. I read that some new high temperature superconductors were found and are being applied, but I have no idea how close they really are.


----------



## haydnguy

*New Windows malware sets up proxies on your PC to relay malicious traffic*

https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-windows-malware-sets-up-proxies-on-your-pc-to-relay-malicious-traffic/


----------



## Jacck

look like they already have the quantum computers, but there are still problems with errors
https://venturebeat.com/2019/07/14/...could-be-the-the-supercomputer-of-the-future/
and there are only 2 known quantum algorithms that are actually in theory faster than classical computers.


----------



## haydnguy

Jacck said:


> look like they already have the quantum computers, but there are still problems with errors
> https://venturebeat.com/2019/07/14/...could-be-the-the-supercomputer-of-the-future/
> and there are only 2 known quantum algorithms that are actually in theory faster than classical computers.


Yeah, we're still in the vacuum tube era of quantum computing. It's exciting but I don't think anyone can predict what all will be able to be achieved with it.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> Yeah, we're still in the vacuum tube era of quantum computing. It's exciting but I don't think anyone can predict what all will be able to be achieved with it.


When will people in the know change their mood from being all a twitter about the power of new computing - to the first twinges of fear and foreboding?
Anytime soon, do you think?

After all, all the bad (and the good) is out there just waiting for humans to turn over the whole shebang that we've inherited from the strivings of Umzantsia. It's only been one and a half rotations of the Galaxy. "What me worry??"

It's Saturday so I'm just here typing away. ..Pay me no mind..


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> When will people in the know change their mood from being all a twitter about the power of new computing - to the first twinges of fear and foreboding?
> Anytime soon, do you think?


Not while there's money to be made. Who knows, maybe fate will intervene.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> Not while there's money to be made. Who knows, maybe fate will intervene.


Perhaps fate. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. heh (actually they gave 30 days notice, but it's a funny quote anyway)

So many nation-states with different goals and ambitions, all working on AI weaponization. What could go wrong..


----------



## philoctetes

We need a facepalm emoji


----------



## haydnguy




----------



## haydnguy

*Microsoft continues to face data-privacy obstacles in Europe over its core cloud-based products.*

https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-office-online-users-get-new-warning-over-data-privacy/


----------



## haydnguy

I thought someone might be interested in this. I copied and pasted into Microsoft OneNote the list of Mid Romantic Composers and Late Romantic Composers from Wikipedia. As you can see the list came out pretty well.

I have a subscription that gives me the offline apps but you may be able to use the online version for free. The only thing you have to do is get a Microsoft password.


----------



## Jacck

'Jetson' is a Pentagon laser that can identify people by heartbeat
https://www.techspot.com/news/80704-jetson-pentagon-laser-can-identify-people-heartbeat.html
what a nice toy. Now we can sent AI equipped drones who will identify "enemies" by their heartbeat and terminate
now go and use all your smart watches to measure your pulse, lock your cell phone with your fingerprint or iris scan and talk with your voice to Alexa and Cortana, so that you can share as much of your biometric data as you can with all the amazing big tech companies, who will certainly not provide this data to government.


----------



## Luchesi

Last week, a new strain of ransomware hit dozens of targets across Germany. The categorization as ransomware is really a misnomer as, while the attackers do demand a ransom, by that time the victim's data has already been irreversibly wiped, even if the ransom is paid. Aptly named GermanWiper, the malware doesn't encrypt files, it just pretends to do so by overwriting their content with zeros, then adding an extension and creating a ransom note. As the file content has been overwritten and the shadow copy deleted (standard ransomware practice these days), it is impossible to recover the 'encrypted' files unless you have offline backup.

At the time of writing, GermanWiper is delivered via malicious email purported to be from a job applicant with resume attached. The "resume" is in the form of a ZIP attachment, which contains a LNK shortcut file that initiates GermanWiper.

https://securityboulevard.com/2019/08/threat-alert-germanwiper/


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Last week, a new strain of ransomware hit dozens of targets across Germany. The categorization as ransomware is really a misnomer as, while the attackers do demand a ransom, by that time the victim's data has already been irreversibly wiped, even if the ransom is paid. Aptly named GermanWiper, the malware doesn't encrypt files, it just pretends to do so by overwriting their content with zeros, then adding an extension and creating a ransom note. As the file content has been overwritten and the shadow copy deleted (standard ransomware practice these days), it is impossible to recover the 'encrypted' files unless you have offline backup.
> 
> At the time of writing, GermanWiper is delivered via malicious email purported to be from a job applicant with resume attached. The "resume" is in the form of a ZIP attachment, which contains a LNK shortcut file that initiates GermanWiper.
> 
> https://securityboulevard.com/2019/08/threat-alert-germanwiper/


This is a nasty one. I feel for the people that paid the ransom only to discover that their files were wiped.


----------



## haydnguy

Can anyone recommend a (reasonably priced) external storage drive that I can make full backups of my laptop hard drive. I have a relatively small hard drive (< 1TB) but would like extra space for flexibility. I've looked on Amazon and even the 8TB drives do not mention full backup capability (even the reviewers) only backing up photos and such. 

Thanks.


----------



## DaveM

haydnguy said:


> Can anyone recommend a (reasonably priced) external storage drive that I can make full backups of my laptop hard drive. I have a relatively small hard drive (< 1TB) but would like extra space for flexibility. I've looked on Amazon and even the 8TB drives do not mention full backup capability (even the reviewers) only backing up photos and such.
> 
> Thanks.


I use backup programs to do full backups of my laptops. I used to use Acronis True Image, but it has been getting more expensive and far too complex for my use. Now I'm using the free, easy-to-use and well-reviewed Macrium Reflect.


----------



## Taggart

Even the old W7 full backup with W10 doing incremental backups via file history.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund

So I finally got my CD box of Beethoven symphonies with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. The live 2015 version. The computer talk is: I can't load them in my mac and import to iTunes...They are thrown out of my disc driver. It's an old 2011 model, but I managed to import my new Brouwer CD earlier today. Any suggestions to this. I was looking forward to hearing them on my music system here...


----------



## Luchesi

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> So I finally got my CD box of Beethoven symphonies with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. The live 2015 version. The computer talk is: I can't load them in my mac and import to iTunes...They are thrown out of my disc driver. It's an old 2011 model, but I managed to import my new Brouwer CD earlier today. Any suggestions to this. I was looking forward to hearing them on my music system here...


You could try Handbrake for Mac. Newer than Mac OS 11.

Q: How many computer programmers does it take to change a light bulb?
A1: None. That's a hardware problem.


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> Can anyone recommend a (reasonably priced) external storage drive that I can make full backups of my laptop hard drive. I have a relatively small hard drive (< 1TB) but would like extra space for flexibility. I've looked on Amazon and even the 8TB drives do not mention full backup capability (even the reviewers) only backing up photos and such.
> 
> Thanks.


For a useful Linux command-line exercise, you can backup like I do, using rsync. For example, 
> rsync -av --delete dir /media/user/external-drive

will sync directory dir to a directory of the same name on an external drive mounted by the user. See the man page before using, don't use the --delete option if you don't want to include deletions in the source directory, and practice on some test files before syncing all your files with it.


----------



## haydnguy

Does anyone know a secure search engine besides DuckDuckGo? It seems they are having problems or someone is trying to impersonate them.


----------



## Jacck

the problem is not with duckduckgo, because I am using it with Firefox without any issues. It is probably some other security software

__
https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/b8b8wc


----------



## haydnguy

Yeah, I don't have many (very few) extensions but I have Firefox blocking set to strict. That might be it.


----------



## Taggart

Nope. Strict blocking doesn't generate the "potential security issue". No problems here.


----------



## philoctetes

Jacck said:


> the problem is not with duckduckgo, because I am using it with Firefox without any issues. It is probably some other security software
> 
> __
> https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/b8b8wc


Haydn, did you try the vpn reset suggested here? For some reason I recall you may be using a vpn.


----------



## haydnguy

Everything is fine here. I pretty much reinstalled everything. I did a full scan with both Windows Defender and Bitdefender and everything was clean. 

Now I'm looking at cryptocurrency and fingerprinting. (I'm a tinkerer).


----------



## haydnguy

Just for the record, the strict setting in Firefox doesn't play nicely with DuckDuckGo. I used DuckDuckGo to lessen my add-ons and then turned my Firefox strict on not knowing that they wouldn't play nicely. I decided to use Firefox strict.


----------



## Open Book

I hope this isn't off topic, it's about phones rather than computers.

Does anyone know of an app that lets you quickly get through to the local police station of whatever town you're currently located in while driving?

I was once driving in a town other than my own and saw something that wasn't worthy of a 911 call, but it was suspicious, and the police might have wanted to know. It was time critical and I lost the opportunity to report it because I didn't know the number of the local police.


----------



## Jacck

Open Book said:


> I hope this isn't off topic, it's about phones rather than computers.
> 
> Does anyone know of an app that lets you quickly get through to the local police station of whatever town you're currently located in while driving?
> 
> I was once driving in a town other than my own and saw something that wasn't worthy of a 911 call, but it was suspicious, and the police might have wanted to know. It was time critical and I lost the opportunity to report it because I didn't know the number of the local police.


I don't know where you live and how it works there, but we have one universal 3-digit police number, that you can call anywhere from the country and that will connect you with an operator that will direct you further, ie local police if you need to. The same about ambulance and fireman. So no need to look up a different number in each town.


----------



## KenOC

In the US, you can call 911 quite freely, even if it's just something suspicious. They won't give you any static. Just don't be like that guy I read about who called 911 because his pizza wasn't served hot enough.


----------



## Open Book

I have received static for calling 911 in the past. It depends who you reach and how burdened the system currently is, I guess. Maybe that's been relaxed since there's no universal alternative in the U.S.

I saw more than the usual number of police out and about that night. As I was leaving town on a quiet residential road a car with its lights off came up behind me suddenly and passed me at high speed. It looked to be on the lam. I could have told the police where it was going. 

Anyway, I think such an app such as I have described would be a good idea.

If the guy with the pizza felt like he was going to kill somebody over it, then I guess he would be justified calling 911. I probably would have been justified, too.


----------



## Luchesi

360 Total Security identified a cryptominer that spread quickly and proved effective for cryptojackers. Dubbed WinstarNssmMiner, this malware also has a nasty surprise for anyone who tried to remove it: It crashes the victim’s computer. WinstarNssmMiner does this by first launching an svchost.exe process and injecting code into it and setting the spawned process’ attribute to CriticalProcess. Since the computer sees it as a critical process, it crashes once the process is removed.


----------



## Guest

It seems more and more obvious that my phone is spying on me.

About 9 months ago I bought an obscure brand of water shoes from Amazon.

On Monday I was at the beach with my wife and commented (in the presence of my phone) that the water shoes were satisfactory and she might consider getting a pair for herself.

On Tuesday night I received an email from Amazon advertising the woman's version of my water shoes.

WTF?


----------



## KenOC

Baron Scarpia said:


> It seems more and more obvious that my phone is spying on me.
> 
> About 9 months ago I bought an obscure brand of water shoes from Amazon.
> 
> On Monday I was at the beach with my wife and commented (in the presence of my phone) that the water shoes were satisfactory and she might consider getting a pair for herself.
> 
> On Tuesday night I received an email from Amazon advertising the woman's version of my water shoes.
> 
> WTF?


The BBC has a *current article* on this and claims it's a myth. Maybe today it is. But tomorrow?


----------



## Guest

KenOC said:


> The BBC has a *current article* on this and claims it's a myth. Maybe today it is. But tomorrow?


I checked any my amazon app has Siri connectivity and it was on by default. It is not impossible that it used Siri to sniff a reference to water shoes. I disabled Siri access for the amazon app. Maybe I'll try to get in the habit of shutting down the amazon app when I'm not using it.

I think it is reasonable to assume that anything they can do, they are doing. Apple makes a point of safeguarding privacy better than android, but they are not necessarily effective at policing the apps that get written for their platform.


----------



## haydnguy

I have it happen to me frequently. Just last night I got an ad on my phone for something I had talked about earlier. Believe it or not, my first thought was that this was starting to get annoying.


----------



## haydnguy

Just saw this. 'Spotify' caught my eye.



> A recent report by Privacy International revealed that 20 popular Android apps-including those by Kayak, Spotify, TripAdvisor, and Yelp-are automatically transmitting data to Facebook, even if their users don't have a Facebook account.


https://blog.malwarebytes.com/privacy-2/2019/08/how-much-personalization-is-too-much/?utm_source=double-opt-in&utm_medium=email-internal-b2c&utm_campaign=EM-B2C-2019-September-newsletter-Issue1&utm_content=personalization


----------



## Luchesi

Would a music forum make money on us?

Money makes the world go round.

John confided to a friend. “Mike, I’m in a terrible pickle! I’m strapped for cash and I haven’t the slightest idea where I’m going to get it from!”

“I’m glad to hear that” answered Mike. “I was afraid you might have an idea you could borrow it from me!”


----------



## KenOC

Luchesi said:


> Would a music forum make money on us?
> 
> Money makes the world go round.


At 2% of the recorded music market, I can't believe we're a demographic that the industry has much interest in. They probably wouldn't pay five bucks for the detailed buying habits of the bunch of us.


----------



## Luchesi

Yep, well, 

when I was growing up the most affluent households in the neighborhood listened to CM, but I think those days are gone..


----------



## haydnguy

> Windows 10 1903 problems: Now Microsoft reverts change that muffled audio
> 
> Microsoft's attempt to squish one bug exposes several more. Fixes are coming but users struggle.


https://www.zdnet.com/article/windo...-microsoft-reverts-change-that-muffled-audio/


----------



## Guest

Sounds like Amazon is introducing an HD streaming service, with most stuff at CD quality and some stuff in hirez format. $12.99 per month (in the U.S.) if you are a prime member.


----------



## haydnguy

> Anonymous researcher drops vBulletin zero-day impacting tens of thousands of sites
> 
> New zero-day could trigger a new forum hacking spree across the internet.


EDIT: Doesn't appear to affect TC.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/anonymous-researcher-drops-vbulletin-zero-day-impacting-tens-of-thousands-of-sites/


----------



## Belowpar

Help please.

I want to join the modern age!

I don't expect you to do all the work for me, so if people post suggested links I'm more than happy to read up on this.

This involves:
I buying a new phone as I wish to store a lot of music and podcasts etc. Need to choose between Android and iPhone. Current Apple needs replacing as it has a very small storage. AND I can't get calendar to to sync properly with Outlook (me) or at all with Gmail (wifes). Thinking switch to Android will help solve this?

2 Want to store my hundreds of CD's "on the cloud" (and phone.) Did this before with Apple but found their labelling of classical music useless e.g. often couldn't find disc 2 of 3 of an Opera. Managed to loose this as it was on a now defunct computer. Again use Outlook to store info so this may be way to go?

3 It all seems to point to Android but what 'Program' would make best sense to load music/films/podcasts etc to? I talking about loading though HP laptop and then sharing with phone etc.

4 Next step will be to adopt phone touch payments, and....what should I be thinking of/preparing for?

So I will be grateful for any pointers and will happily feed back my experience.

Given that I find this thread rather incomprehensible and 'tecky', is it worth starting a new thread as I'm sure there are other idiots) surfing here for help?

Thanks for reading and any help...


----------



## philoctetes

The first question to ask yourself - do you REALLY want to leave your Apple products behind? Seems for most i-heads that this crucial step is harder than quitting tobacco. Withdrawal symptoms are also likely for Win users shifting to Linux, but usually not so bad.

It doesn't have to be either/or between your options. Maybe get yourself a cheap Android device and play with it to wean yourself away from i-addiction. You will encounter new and different frustrations. But if you DO leave Apple behind you are one step closer to technical autonomy (a goal that may be illusory as long as you use application interfaces). Good luck.


----------



## Guest

Belowpar said:


> Help please.
> 
> I want to join the modern age!
> 
> I don't expect you to do all the work for me, so if people post suggested links I'm more than happy to read up on this.
> 
> This involves:
> I buying a new phone as I wish to store a lot of music and podcasts etc. Need to choose between Android and iPhone. Current Apple needs replacing as it has a very small storage. AND I can't get calendar to to sync properly with Outlook (me) or at all with Gmail (wifes). Thinking switch to Android will help solve this?
> 
> 2 Want to store my hundreds of CD's "on the cloud" (and phone.) Did this before with Apple but found their labelling of classical music useless e.g. often couldn't find disc 2 of 3 of an Opera. Managed to loose this as it was on a now defunct computer. Again use Outlook to store info so this may be way to go?
> 
> 3 It all seems to point to Android but what 'Program' would make best sense to load music/films/podcasts etc to? I talking about loading though HP laptop and then sharing with phone etc.
> 
> 4 Next step will be to adopt phone touch payments, and....what should I be thinking of/preparing for?
> 
> So I will be grateful for any pointers and will happily feed back my experience.
> 
> Given that I find this thread rather incomprehensible and 'tecky', is it worth starting a new thread as I'm sure there are other idiots) surfing here for help?
> 
> Thanks for reading and any help...


I find iTunes on iPhone to be a very elegant solution for pop and jazz. The key to satisfaction is to take care that the tagging is done in a consistent way (which typically won't happen if you just accept the tagging provided by the record label.) I have never considered using it for classical. (I don't listen to classical using my phone.)

My classical music is organized by file structure, and I listen on Mac using Swinsian, an inexpensive media player for Mac that handles FLAC.


----------



## haydnguy

Baron Scarpia said:


> I find iTunes on iPhone to be a very elegant solution for pop and jazz. The key to satisfaction is to take care that the tagging is done in a consistent way (which typically won't happen if you just accept the tagging provided by the record label.) I have never considered using it for classical. (I don't listen to classical using my phone.)
> 
> My classical music is organized by file structure, and I listen on Mac using Swinsian, an inexpensive media player for Mac that handles FLAC.


Is your HP Laptop a Windows machine? I'm a Windows/Android user. I streamed a classical video from OneDrive (Microsoft's cloud) to my laptop last night and it streamed just fine. I'm on Broadband. The problem I ran into was the media player. I tried VLC media player and no tagging showed up. I tried an EMI classics "Great Artists of the Century" Dinu Lapatti CD.

Not seeing anything show up on VLC media player, I then took a shot at Windows standard media player. When I tried that I got the picture of the album cover but that was it. Oddly, it was not the picture on the physical CD that I have but an original cover that was put out when it was put out in a previous release.

I haven't tried to stream from the cloud to my Android but I'm curious about that so I'm going to try that out too. I have found syncing between Android and Microsofts cloud to be virtually flawless. Again, I haven't tried what you want to do but in general it is. Like Outlook and such.

EDIT: I should add that philoctetes is correct that there will definitely be a learning curve with Android. I've never used an iPhone but knowing Apple's history I'm sure that they do have a more elegant solution in the sense that it's a "no brainer" to use. Several generations of iPhones ago a family member who had been an iPhone user bought an Android. She hated it and returned it to buy an iPhone. She found Android more difficult and in her situation didn't have the time to learn it.


----------



## Belowpar

Thanks for the comments so far. Just an Observation. Like many I'm happy to be non techie, I just want to have easy access to my media, share diaries etc. But when people use phrases like "as long as you use application interfaces", "Mac using Swinsian, an inexpensive media player for Mac that handles FLAC" its like a foreign language that I'm to lazy to learn. I hope you don't think I'm ungrateful for your help but I'm amazed there's no consensus and maybe I'm looking for short cuts that don't exist. Makes me think there's a Opportunity for someone to exploit 

Until 3 years ago I used an Android phone so switching back may not be such a problem.

Laptop etc use Windows. Had a MacBook for a while but didn't like it.

Like Haydnguy I'm not finding the Windows player that helpful but I think I'll have to persevere if I'm going down the Android route?


----------



## Luchesi

Anyone want to experience Windows 1.04?

Excruciating!


----------



## BobBrines

As I remember it, Windows did not become useful until 3.1


----------



## haydnguy

Belowpar said:


> Thanks for the comments so far. Just an Observation. Like many I'm happy to be non techie, I just want to have easy access to my media, share diaries etc. But when people use phrases like "as long as you use application interfaces", "Mac using Swinsian, an inexpensive media player for Mac that handles FLAC" its like a foreign language that I'm to lazy to learn. I hope you don't think I'm ungrateful for your help but I'm amazed there's no consensus and maybe I'm looking for short cuts that don't exist. Makes me think there's a Opportunity for someone to exploit
> 
> Until 3 years ago I used an Android phone so switching back may not be such a problem.
> 
> Laptop etc use Windows. Had a MacBook for a while but didn't like it.
> 
> Like Haydnguy I'm not finding the Windows player that helpful but I think I'll have to persevere if I'm going down the Android route?


I tried to download to my Android and it worked fine. No fiddling with media players or anything. It just worked. I have a
'LG V40 ThinQ' phone

EDIT: Here is a link to some media players for music. I haven't tried any of them. Maybe someone else has.


----------



## haydnguy

My wife is getting a new car and while we were looking at the cars I noticed that all of them come with Infotainment Centers, not CD's. I wonder if anyone has seen this and wonder if there is a work-around or am I going to have to drive a klunker. :lol:


----------



## KenOC

haydnguy said:


> My wife is getting a new car and while we were looking at the cars I noticed that all of them come with Infotainment Centers, not CD's. I wonder if anyone has seen this and wonder if there is a work-around or am I going to have to drive a klunker. :lol:


We recently bought a new VW Tiguan. It has a CD player, but it's somewhere beneath the glove box and hard to reach or operate while driving. But the infotainment center links nicely with the smartphone so music can be played from there, either from the phone's internal memory or streamed. I think the auto industry is trying to tell us something.

Alternatively, since most cars now have USB ports, there are a lot of units like this in the $20 range.


----------



## haydnguy

KenOC said:


> We recently bought a new VW Tiguan. It has a CD player, but it's somewhere beneath the glove box and hard to reach or operate while driving. But the infotainment center links nicely with the smartphone so music can be played from there, either from the phone's internal memory or streamed. I think the auto industry is trying to tell us something.
> 
> Alternatively, since most cars now have USB ports, there are a lot of units like this in the $20 range.


Thanks very much. That will help ALOT. We don't buy a new car often.


----------



## Art Rock

If the car entertainment centre has a USB connection, check whether it can handle MP3 files on a USB stick. You can load upto 32 GB of MP3 files on a USB stick (our car does not handle 64 GB), and the convenience of such a stick versus changing CDs is tremendous.


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Anyone want to experience Windows 1.04?
> 
> Excruciating!


I think I've said this before but I remember going down to our local Egghead store and buying (not my money) packages of Windows 286 and Windows 386. I think we tried to get Win386 running on a Windows PC AT. My boss and I stayed half the night trying to get it to work to no avail. I cannot ever remember whether these versions came before Windows 1 (the version in the video.) I didn't start using Windows until 3.1 so I never had to go through that. YUK!


----------



## Guest

haydnguy said:


> I think I've said this before but I remember going down to our local Egghead store and buying (not my money) packages of Windows 286 and Windows 386. I think we tried to get Win386 running on a Windows PC AT. My boss and I stayed half the night trying to get it to work to no avail. I cannot ever remember whether these versions came before Windows 1 (the version in the video.) I didn't start using Windows until 3.1 so I never had to go through that. YUK!


The IBM PC AT has a 80286 processor, so no surprise that Window 396 wouldn't run. Windows/286 and Windows/386 were two versions of Windows 2.1, according to Wikipedia.

I think the first windows I ever used was Windows 2.1, although I recall only starting as a novelty to play with the draw program, etc, and doing everything substantial with DOS. After that I migrated to unix due to work and ran linux on my home computer. Only migrated back to Windows later, with Windows2000, the XT, etc.


----------



## haydnguy

Baron Scarpia said:


> The IBM PC AT has a 80286 processor, so no surprise that Window 396 wouldn't run. Windows/286 and Windows/386 were two versions of Windows 2.1, according to Wikipedia.
> 
> I think the first windows I ever used was Windows 2.1, although I recall only starting as a novelty to play with the draw program, etc, and doing everything substantial with DOS. After that I migrated to unix due to work and ran linux on my home computer. Only migrated back to Windows later, with Windows2000, the XT, etc.


Yeah, I remember when I took the first IBM PC out of the box, it had DOS and AIX diskettes. My heart was with AIX but the powers that be had bought DOS programs so that's what I had to learn.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I had my mp3 plugged in to drag and drop some music files, and happened to have the data cord laying across the power cord for the space heater. When I turned off the space heater the MP3 ejected and now when I hook it to the computer I cannot add files or make folders as it is marked read only and won't let me change the setting. Guess it is time to reformat the MP3 player?


----------



## KenOC

Can you see your MP3 player as an external drive? If so, right-click on it and choose “Properties.” That should let you turn off read-only and change other attributes. Worth a try maybe.


----------



## haydnguy

Anyone know how to "select all" in Google Photo?


----------



## SixFootScowl

KenOC said:


> Can you see your MP3 player as an external drive? If so, right-click on it and choose "Properties." That should let you turn off read-only and change other attributes. Worth a try maybe.


For some reason I can change the properties to read and write but it reverts back to read only. However, I took the MP3 to my wife's computer and the MP3 loaded and was fine. I was able to copy files to it. After that it works fine on my computer again.

I don't know if it was the different computer or that she has a different version of Linux, Mint Mate, whereas I have Mint Cinnamon. But somehow it works now. I will be sure to not cross data lines with power cords on equipment that will suddenly draw or drop 15 amps at the flip of a switch!


----------



## Larkenfield

haydnguy said:


> Anyone know how to "select all" in Google Photo?


This might be of help:


----------



## haydnguy

Larkenfield said:


> This might be of help:


I haven't tried it yet but thanks. This will save me ALOT of work.


----------



## haydnguy

haydnguy said:


> I haven't tried it yet but thanks. This will save me ALOT of work.


I tried it and it worked on relatively few pictures but would not work on all my pictures. I have ALOT of pictures. I was just thinking maybe something like DownThemAll might work. I haven't used it in years but my take a look at their website.


----------



## haydnguy

I found a way I think I can do it on Google's site. I'm waiting to see if it worked right now. (My earliest picture out there was 2002) I didn't have a ton of pictures every year but as the years went on the number of pictures increased. Mainly, because I use Android so it's easy to send them to Google Photo/Drive.

Anyway, while I was looking out there I ran into something called 'Password Manager'. It said I had 85 sites in my password manager. I never gave it permission to collect those sites. They didn't have the passwords (that I could tell) but still they had a list of those sites without my consent.


----------



## TxllxT

Yesterday I unexpectedly got popups in Chrome from the 'bigdater.me' virus, which tries to alarm one with all kinds of PC breakdowns and worse. Well, the removal is easy: find 'notifications' in the 'advanced settings' of Chrome and erase all what has managed to claim the 'allowed' level. + 'Bigdater.me' is blocked forever.


----------



## Art Rock

haydnguy said:


> Anyone know how to "select all" in Google Photo?


No, but I just want to thank you. I don't remember ever using Google Photo, but I was curious, so I went there. Found a series of nice pics of our time in France (2002-2004) that I could not find on my computer.


----------



## Blancrocher

In my Google Drive, if I click "open with," the file is no longer automatically permanently converted from a word or excel doc into a Google doc or Google sheet etc. (it used to make a copy with the new file type). Anyone else having this issue or can recommend a solution?


----------



## haydnguy

Blancrocher said:


> In my Google Drive, if I click "open with," the file is no longer automatically permanently converted from a word or excel doc into a Google doc or Google sheet etc. (it used to make a copy with the new file type). Anyone else having this issue or can recommend a solution?


I'm not a Google user except storing some of my stuff in the cloud. I had an Excel spreadsheet in Google Drive that I told to open with Sheets. I saved it and it looks like it's the Google format. The little icon next to the name changed to the sheets format. I'm not sure how else to test it.


----------



## haydnguy

One of NordVPN node has been breached. I have been a big evangelist (unofficial) of them but right now I'm not going to use them until the dust settles. NordVPN says all is well. Some others say it's not so I'm waiting and seeing.


----------



## haydnguy

Anyone here have any alternatives they could recommend instead of NordVPN?


----------



## MaxB

Cisco's Anyconnect vpn


----------



## TxllxT

Since a few days the program Mailbird (for Windows 10) doesn't work anymore: SMTP server error. I was advised by Mailbird help to reinstall everything from scratch, but I keep getting stuck in the initiation phase of 'edit settings'. What to do?

I found the solution: change Gmail's settings to 'allow less secure apps'. That will do the trick.


----------



## Luchesi

A group of cybercriminals calling themselves the "Shadow Kill Hackers" has reportedly attacked the City of Johannesburg (South Africa) administration website - and is threatening to upload the stolen data on the internet unless it receives a Bitcoin BTC ransom.

Several city employees said they received a ransom note saying: "All your servers and data have been hacked. We have dozens of back doors inside your city. We have control of everything in your city. We also compromised all passwords and sensitive data such as finance and personal population information.

https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/201...government-3-days-to-pay-over-30k-in-bitcoin/


----------



## TxllxT

TxllxT said:


> Since a few days the program Mailbird (for Windows 10) doesn't work anymore: SMTP server error. I was advised by Mailbird help to reinstall everything from scratch, but I keep getting stuck in the initiation phase of 'edit settings'. What to do?
> 
> I found the solution: change Gmail's settings to 'allow less secure apps'. That will do the trick.


This morning  the same trouble returned. Strange, all settings were kept unchanged and now Mailbird is in limbo...


----------



## haydnguy

TxllxT said:


> This morning  the same trouble returned. Strange, all settings were kept unchanged and now Mailbird is in limbo...


I looked around a little bit to see if I could find someone that had your exact problem. I didn't see anyone or FAQ that gave a solution so I would just create a support request and let them tell you what to do. Most of these companies are pretty good about getting back to you. They'll probably be able to give you the answer what to do.

https://support.getmailbird.com/hc/en-us/requests/new


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> A group of cybercriminals calling themselves the "Shadow Kill Hackers" has reportedly attacked the City of Johannesburg (South Africa) administration website - and is threatening to upload the stolen data on the internet unless it receives a Bitcoin BTC ransom.
> 
> Several city employees said they received a ransom note saying: "All your servers and data have been hacked. We have dozens of back doors inside your city. We have control of everything in your city. We also compromised all passwords and sensitive data such as finance and personal population information.
> 
> https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/201...government-3-days-to-pay-over-30k-in-bitcoin/


At first I thought this was ransomware and thought they should pay. With what they are demanding though I might not. If Johannesburg has been breached so badly, they'll probably try to sell the info on the dark web anyway. My guess is that they could get more than $30,000 for the information.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> At first I thought this was ransomware and thought they should pay. With what they are demanding though I might not. If Johannesburg has been breached so badly, they'll probably try to sell the info on the dark web anyway. My guess is that they could get more than $30,000 for the information.


I really don't know what the opinion is among TC members, but I think penalties for hacking should be much more severe. These hackers affect many many thousands of people and unless prison sentences have been increased since the last one I read about, they get off too lightly in my opinion.


----------



## DaveM

For those interested in the history of some of the most potentially dangerous hacking beginning several years ago to the present that reads like thriller, get the book (available also on Audible) Sandworm, just released a day ago. It also provides a concise history of Ukraine related to Russia, particularly interesting given the subject in present-day American election-related politics. I can't put it down. It will hit the best-seller lists pretty quickly.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Since most cell phones today are essentially computers, I'll post this here:


----------



## philoctetes

Put tape over the lens


----------



## SixFootScowl

I want to transfer some cassettes to CD and wondered if there is an easy way to do it. I have a cheap portable cassette player with a headphone jack so if I can plug a male male line into that and into the microphone jack on my computer (assuming I have a microphone jack--think so), then the sound can feed in. All i need then is a program to capture the sound and convert it to mp3 or whatever. I have Linux so it would likely be something off the Linux provided programs. I haven't looked yet so maybe the answer is staring me in the face when I do. I remember when I wanted to subtitle an opera video, I found a program on Linux and it worked out well (PM me if you want the opera Martha from German television with my subtitles).


----------



## Guest

Audacity runs on linux, I think. I have used it for editing audio files, I think it can record as well.


----------



## philoctetes

Audacity.................................... should be easy to find in the software manager or just use apt


----------



## SixFootScowl

Thanks! I have Audacity and used it for editing sound tracks. Didn't know it could record. I'll certainly check it out.


----------



## haydnguy

A new version of Kali Linux was released yeterday. (2019.4)

https://www.kali.org/news/kali-linux-2019-4-release/


----------



## haydnguy

Take a trip down memory lane.


----------



## Jacck

Corporate Surveillance in Everyday Life
https://crackedlabs.org/dl/CrackedLabs_Christl_CorporateSurveillance.pdf


----------



## haydnguy

New vulnerability lets attackers sniff or hijack VPN connections



> Academics have disclosed this week a security flaw impacting Linux, Android, macOS, and other Unix-based operating systems that allows an attacker to sniff, hijack, and tamper with VPN-tunneled connections.


https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-vulnerability-lets-attackers-sniff-or-hijack-vpn-connections/


----------



## haydnguy




----------



## SixFootScowl

^  That is hilarious, but 1984 is when I started using desktop computers at my college's new computer center. It was a Mac, pretty much like that shown in the video. What's with the lady carting her Mac around in a bicycle basket? Crazy!


----------



## Roger Knox

haydnguy said:


> Take a trip down memory lane.


That's cool! I don't miss Yahoo ...

Does anyone know if any of the "lost" Myspace was ever retrieved or restored?


----------



## Luchesi

Roger Knox said:


> That's cool! I don't miss Yahoo ...
> 
> Does anyone know if any of the "lost" Myspace was ever retrieved or restored?


 I'm still on MySpace. It's always been better for me than Facebook. You can click on the classical music button and check out the albums. I only want a few friends so we use MySpace and get much less of all the Facebook annoyances.


----------



## haydnguy

Roger Knox said:


> That's cool! I don't miss Yahoo ...
> 
> Does anyone know if any of the "lost" Myspace was ever retrieved or restored?


I tried my old sign-on on MySpace about a year ago and it didn't work. Another thing that I loved back then was the messaging program ICQ (I Seek You).


----------



## haydnguy

The competition never stood a chance.


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> The competition never stood a chance.


Due to the ignorance, laziness, and general ineptitude of the general public (include me but for my son got me on Linux and it was the metaphorical computer equivalent of being born again).


----------



## haydnguy

Fritz Kobus said:


> Due to the ignorance, laziness, and general ineptitude of the general public (include me but for my son got me on Linux and it was the metaphorical computer equivalent of being born again).


A couple of people at my local ISP (at the time) tried to convince me to try Linux. This was around 1997. Finally I tried but to make a long story short it ended up costing me about $600 due to driver problems.


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> A couple of people at my local ISP (at the time) tried to convince me to try Linux. This was around 1997. Finally I tried but to make a long story short it ended up costing me about $600 due to driver problems.


Well, I guess Linux has come a long way since then. We did, a few years ago, get a new printer and the drivers were not on my Linux OS, so we had to google for directions and then follow a convoluted procedure. That was Mint Mate, then a year or two later I got a new computer with Mint Cinnamon and the drivers were readily available.


----------



## Jacck

haydnguy said:


> A couple of people at my local ISP (at the time) tried to convince me to try Linux. This was around 1997. Finally I tried but to make a long story short it ended up costing me about $600 due to driver problems.


I have installed Linux into the laptops of both my parents (the very light-weight Lubuntu linux which runs smooth even on very weak computers). It is easier for them to use than Windows. Windows is constantly harassing users with some forced updates, messages etc. This version of linux has just what is needed - a browser for the web and email, text editor (LibreOffice), something to view photos and Double Commander as file manager and it is very fast and easier to learn than Windows.


----------



## haydnguy

Jacck said:


> I have installed Linux into the laptops of both my parents (the very light-weight Lubuntu linux which runs smooth even on very weak computers). It is easier for them to use than Windows. Windows is constantly harassing users with some forced updates, messages etc. This version of linux has just what is needed - a browser for the web and email, text editor (LibreOffice), something to view photos and Double Commander as file manager and it is very fast and easier to learn than Windows.


Oh yeah, Windows is hellish today for regular users. I don't even see how IT departments do it, maintaining all those Windows 10 machines with forced, buggy, updates. Your parents would be calling you frequently if they used Windows day in and day out.


----------



## Luchesi

This week (and month) in ransomware;

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...omware-december-20th-2019-attacks-everywhere/


----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> Oh yeah, Windows is hellish today for regular users. I don't even see how IT departments do it, maintaining all those Windows 10 machines with forced, buggy, updates. Your parents would be calling you frequently if they used Windows day in and day out.


Awesome video and I really like the part about simplifier code by looking at the problem differently. Watch for about 1 minute *starting here*. It is a very simple example but makes the point. Now I should look at my Monte Carlo simulation program from college where I took samples of a stem map from a real wood lot in Upper Michigan and see if my program could be simplified (if only I had the time to do that). It is written in Fortran, circa 1990.


----------



## Luchesi

grep 'way back in the early 1970s -

stands for;

g rEGULAR eXPRESSION pRINT


----------



## haydnguy




----------



## haydnguy

Looking at this video, I'm assuming they are not referring to installed base rather they are referring to languages that are actually creating new programs.

I never realized that COBOL never caught up with FORTRAN in popularity. It may be because the school where I went to initially used COBOL in their curricular much more than FORTRAN.


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> Looking at this video, I'm assuming they are not referring to installed base rather they are referring to languages that are actually creating new programs.
> 
> I never realized that COBOL never caught up with FORTRAN in popularity. It may be because the school where I went to initially used COBOL in their curricular much more than FORTRAN.


Very interesting to watch. I'm a nerd. I remember when Pascal overtook Fortran. Turbo Pascal was so easy to program. lol Not really. We used MacForth for download telemetry. Livermore Labs was our sister lab and they couldn't understand why we used MacForth.


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> Very interesting to watch. I'm a nerd. I remember when Pascal overtook Fortran. Turbo Pascal was so easy to program. lol Not really. We used MacForth for download telemetry. Livermore Labs was our sister lab and they couldn't understand why we used MacForth.


The designer of Turbo Pascal was a guy named Anders Hejlsberg. He was originally with Borland but left to join Microsoft. He was the language designer of C# which is when I started following him. The clip below is 10 years old so it's dated but he mentions Turbo Pascal in the beginning. The clip is long so it's not worth it to watch it all but the first few minutes are interesting.


----------



## haydnguy




----------



## SixFootScowl

haydnguy said:


> Looking at this video, I'm assuming they are not referring to installed base rather they are referring to languages that are actually creating new programs.
> 
> I never realized that COBOL never caught up with FORTRAN in popularity. It may be because the school where I went to initially used COBOL in their curricular much more than FORTRAN.


I used Pascal in my first computer class in the early 1980s and never again. Used several versions of Basic. Used Fortran a lot and for a Monte Carlo simulation as part of my Master's Thesis.


----------



## haydnguy

Fritz Kobus said:


> I used Pascal in my first computer class in the early 1980s and never again. Used several versions of Basic. Used Fortran a lot and for a Monte Carlo simulation as part of my Master's Thesis.


I took two semesters of PL/1. It was a propitiatory language by IBM. I never used it.


----------



## Luchesi

Now with foldable screens, getting bigger.


----------



## haydnguy

This video is about 6 months old. Taped June, 2019

Linus Torvalds On Future Of Desktop Linux

There are some interesting topics that Torvalds talks about other than Desktop Linux.


----------



## philoctetes

Luchesi said:


> View attachment 128399
> 
> 
> Now with foldable screens, getting bigger.


They are getting lighter in weight too, I think...


----------



## Luchesi

philoctetes said:


> They are getting lighter in weight too, I think...


This was probably posted here before;

When engineers working on the very first iPod completed the prototype, they presented their work to Steve Jobs for his approval. Jobs played with the device, scrutinized it, weighed it in his hands, and promptly rejected it. It was too big.

The engineers explained that they had to reinvent inventing to create the iPod, and that it was simply impossible to make it any smaller. Jobs was quiet for a moment. Finally he stood, walked over to an aquarium, and dropped the iPod in the tank. After it touched bottom, bubbles floated to the top.

"Those are air bubbles," he snapped. "That means there's space in there. Make it smaller."


----------



## SixFootScowl

Luchesi said:


> View attachment 128399
> 
> 
> Now with foldable screens, getting bigger.


Interesting. They got smaller and then bigger. Mine is the 2005 size.


----------



## haydnguy

The rest of the story.


----------



## philoctetes

Any opinions on Paul Krugman's computer problem? It could be weeks before we know anything more...


----------



## philoctetes

Krugman in 1998:

"By 2005, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s”


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> Any opinions on Paul Krugman's computer problem? It could be weeks before we know anything more...
> 
> View attachment 128740


This is just thoughts:

When he said "my IP" I"m assuming he meant that he is using a dedicated IP. He might be able to be issued another dedicated IP. Also, if he has the Mac-Address of all of his devices they might be able to verify that it wasn't him that did the downloading. Of course he might have another device that he doesn't reveal but I would assume that's not true because he would have no reason to go to all this trouble.


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> Krugman in 1998:
> 
> "By 2005, it will become clear that the Internet's impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine's"


lack of imagination. The cyberpunk scifi authors from the 1980's got it much more accurately
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer


----------



## philoctetes

Jacck said:


> lack of imagination. The cyberpunk scifi authors from the 1980's got it much more accurately
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer


Krugman is the highly respected NYT Nobel Prize-winning economics expert who "predicted" the Mortgage Crash of the mid-2000s... but he has proven to be a pumper for the Fed QE program when it favors his friends and I'm guessing he is a typical Apple user...


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> This is just thoughts:
> 
> When he said "my IP" I"m assuming he meant that he is using a dedicated IP. He might be able to be issued another dedicated IP. Also, if he has the Mac-Address of all of his devices they might be able to verify that it wasn't him that did the downloading. Of course he might have another device that he doesn't reveal but I would assume that's not true because he would have no reason to go to all this trouble.


Knowledge of an IP Address - they are not secret, simply masked by domain names - does not compromise the owner or system of that address since it doesn't carry any privileges. Krugman doesn't know what he's talking about.

Assuming his innocence I would guess he got hit by targeted phishing... maybe he cruises crypto-currency sites and got hijacked by roque crypto-miners...


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> Knowledge of an IP Address - they are not secret, simply masked by domain names - does not compromise the owner or system of that address since it doesn't carry any privileges. Krugman doesn't know what he's talking about.
> 
> Assuming his innocence I would guess he got hit by targeted phishing... maybe he cruises crypto-currency sites and got hijacked by roque crypto-miners...


You're right of course. I dunno. I could only guess.


----------



## haydnguy

Very important Windows Update today. This affects all versions of Windows including Windows XP. Security related.



> Sources tell KrebsOnSecurity that Microsoft Corp. is slated to release a software update on Tuesday to fix an extraordinarily serious security vulnerability in a core cryptographic component present in all versions of Windows. Those sources say Microsoft has quietly shipped a patch for the bug to branches of the U.S. military and to other high-value customers/targets that manage key Internet infrastructure, and that those organizations have been asked to sign agreements preventing them from disclosing details of the flaw prior to Jan. 14, the first Patch Tuesday of 2020.


https://krebsonsecurity.com/


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> Any opinions on Paul Krugman's computer problem? It could be weeks before we know anything more...
> 
> View attachment 128740


I was wondering if anyone would comment on the article at the link below. I believe it could relate to the post by Mr. Krugman. It discusses IP spoofing.

https://nordvpn.com/blog/ip-spoofing/


----------



## haydnguy

Linus Torvalds pulled WireGuard VPN into the 5.6 kernel source tree

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/01/linus-torvalds-pulled-wireguard-vpn-into-the-5-6-kernel-source-tree/


----------



## Luchesi

The newest Samsung phone will be out in 2 weeks? Rumors.. They'll call it S20 for the year 2020, instead of S11? 108 megapixel camera in the Ultra S20? Will that be as amazing for photos as it sounds?

added:
I didn't realize there's smart phones with 108 MP -- since about Nov19.

Here's the photo experience;

https://www.abacusnews.com/tried-te...ixel-photos-xiaomi-mi-note-10/article/3045419


----------



## haydnguy

I'm not much of a picture taker. My 2018 LG has 5 cameras and I've barely scratched the surface of what it can do. I've taken pictures with all of them but I don't take enough to remember how each one functions exactly. I got it because the price was right.


----------



## Rogerx

haydnguy said:


> I'm not much of a picture taker. My 2018 LG has 5 cameras and I've barely scratched the surface of what it can do. I've taken pictures with all of them but I don't take enough to remember how each one functions exactly. I got it because the price was right.


Impulsive buying


----------



## philoctetes

So many unanswered questions

'The Intelligence Coup of the Century"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/national-security/cia-crypto-encryption-machines-espionage/


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> So many unanswered questions
> 
> 'The Intelligence Coup of the Century"
> 
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/national-security/cia-crypto-encryption-machines-espionage/


I wonder how many companies are thus compromised. I would not trust any of the US tech giants - Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Intel, Dropbox or any telecommunication etc - with any secrets. If I were running a state, I would ban all of these companies from any critical infrastructure and started using linux. 
One of the masters of orwellianism is Barr
https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-...lliam-barr-helped-build-americas-surveillance
it is now funny, that Barr wants the US government to buy Nokia and Ericksson to compete with Huawei. What a socialist !
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/business/dealbook/bill-barr-huawei-nokia-ericsson.html


----------



## philoctetes

I dunno, exposures like this, narrating "inactive" conspiracies through a rag like the WaPo, serves too many PR purposes for active conspirators.

To discuss Orwellianism we must recognize Obama and his NSA etc.. and the media we cite as publishers for Orwellian propaganda. Americans don't want to do biz with companies like Huawei so going ad hoiminem on Barr makes little difference. Why would we want an AG who is NOT competent with these problems? Should we STILL complain mock-defenselessly about "russian interference" after everything that's been revealed? I hope not.


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> I dunno, exposures like this, narrating "inactive" conspiracies through a rag like the WaPo, serves too many PR purposes for active conspirators. To discuss Orwellianism we must recognize Obama and his NSA etc.. and the media we cite as publishers for Orwellian propaganda. Americans don't want to do biz with companies like Huawei so going ad hoiminem on Barr makes little difference. Why would we want an AG who is NOT competent with these problems? Should we STILL complain mock-defenselessly about "russian interference" after everything that's been revealed? I hope not.


the fact is, that NSA destroyed the internet. That much was clear in 2013 and nothing much has changed
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...ts-warn-nsa-has-compromised-entirety-internet
both political parties were complicit in this. And good luck with cognitive disonance, if you think that Barr is in any way an honest man

Splinternet is not doubt what is going to happen in the future


----------



## philoctetes

Having worked in US tech since the late 70s, one of the most depressing observations I can make in American culture is the rejection of functional scientific, mathematical and engineering skill development within the country in favor of sourcing it all to India and China under the false assumption we could trust them. I've been complaining about it to deaf ears since all the good tech jobs went offshore almost two decades ago, and now it's finally become a public issue.

The US had the greatest technical workforce in the universe until a number of factors converged to defeat it - the dot-com bubble being a major catalyst. The real story is how middle-aged, intelligent engineers and technicians, once a strong component of the middle-class economy, became a target of American self-loathing. 

What other mass population of American workers could be summarily replaced by non-citizens while voters (left and right) nod in approval? It's one thing to hire a migrant to clean your house, another to give away your community's best opportunities.

So you are correct, here we are now, the internet has become a weakness and a weapon at the same time, so desperate to get back what we gave up, that we have someone like Barr (who is neither honest nor tech "leader") proposing desperate solutions through government. It makes me wanna cry.


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> Having worked in US tech since the late 70s, one of the most depressing observations I can make in American culture is the rejection of functional scientific, mathematical and engineering skill development within the country in favor of sourcing it all to India and China under the false assumption we could trust them. I've been complaining about it to deaf ears since all the good tech jobs went offshore almost two decades ago, and now it's finally become a public issue.
> 
> The US had the greatest technical workforce in the universe until a number of factors converged to defeat it - the dot-com bubble being a major catalyst. The real story is how middle-aged, intelligent engineers and technicians, once a strong component of the middle-class economy, became a target of American self-loathing. What other mass population of American workers could be summarily replaced by non-citizens while voters nod in approval?
> 
> So you are correct, here we are now, so desperate to get back what we gave up, that we have someone like Barr proposing desperate solutions through government. It makes me wanna cry.


it is also the laziness. No one really wants to do the hard work, the heavy lifting, and study STEM fields. The cultural heros are not the likes of Richard Feynman, but rather some "Making It Big On Wall Street" types, whose added value to society is negative rather than positive. So it is slow cultural erosion, stagnation. The Chinese on the other hand are a dynamic society, that sees itself just rising.


----------



## philoctetes

Jacck said:


> it is also the laziness. No one really wants to do the hard work, the heavy lifting, and study STEM fields. The cultural heros are not the likes of Richard Feynman, but rather some "Making It Big On Wall Street" types, whose added value to society is negative rather than positive. So it is slow cultural erosion, stagnation. The Chinese on the other hand are a dynamic society, that sees itself just rising.


I believe even Wall Street offers an education (if you can afford it) and produces worthwhile thinkers. Black-Scholes and path integrals are not that far apart on the intelligence meter. Same for certain "engineering" ideas like encryption. These are some of the applications that actually draw people to mathematics. Are they dishonest too? 

Otherwise Bill Nye the Science Guy pretty much represents the US lack of engagement to science and math and it's stupifying.


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> I believe even Wall Street offers an education (if you can afford it) and produces worthwhile thinkers. Black-Scholes and path integrals are not that far apart on the intelligence meter. Same for certain "engineering" ideas like encryption. *These are some of the applications that actually draw people to mathematics. Are they dishonest too?*
> Otherwise Bill Nye the Science Guy pretty much represents the US lack of engagement to science and math and it's stupifying.


why use your intellect to uncover the secrets of nature and take a glimpse of the mind of God through the laws of nature, if you can use it to program some algorithm for high-frequency trading to make rich someone like Trump, who has not read a single book his entire life?


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> I believe even Wall Street offers an education (if you can afford it) and produces worthwhile thinkers. Black-Scholes and path integrals are not that far apart on the intelligence meter. Same for certain "engineering" ideas like encryption. These are some of the applications that actually draw people to mathematics. Are they dishonest too?
> 
> Otherwise Bill Nye the Science Guy pretty much represents the US lack of engagement to science and math and it's stupifying.


and I also think that the US stopped being a meritocracy, ie a society where people are rewarded for the actual capacity. Instead, some really really moronic people (such as this one) started getting to the top and the American dream is an illusion. The US upward mobility ranks lowest among wealthy industrialized counties
https://www.salon.com/2015/04/19/th...racy_and_theyve_strangled_the_american_dream/
so greed and silly ideologies rationalizing the greed (Ayn Rand, neoliberalism etc) are surely some of the major factors that strangled America and reduced its competitivness


----------



## KenOC

The decay of the Republic is caused, exactly, by the other guy's ideology.


----------



## Luchesi

KenOC said:


> The decay of the Republic is caused, exactly, by the other guy's ideology.


I feel that I'm living in the best time in history. Many of my friends and I have been incredibly lucky. We tell ourselves that we worked hard but of course we never worked hard at all..

According to what I think humans will be implementing in the future, things can only get worse.


----------



## philoctetes

Jacck said:


> why use your intellect to uncover the secrets of nature and take a glimpse of the mind of God through the laws of nature, if you can use it to program some algorithm for high-frequency trading to make rich someone like Trump, who has not read a single book his entire life?


By this thinking high-tech inventors are just low-life tail-draggers I guess. Wondering what books we're supposed to read - Jordan Peterson's list? Lately I've thought of him as Jordan Gatsby.

Why not do both? Or whatever one wants? Must we all stare into space and wonder what it's made of? How do we test the existence of superstrings with only our five senses and no billion-dollar lab? Why not raise bees and drink milk? Cause Joaquin Phoenix is a sourpuss?

Get back to me when you have designed the political world with alternatives that work. Staring at galaxies ain't gonna help you there. This is just the same old snobbery I've heard (and participated in) too much already. I used to sit in physics class and sneer with fellow physics students that we were supreme. Leave the college campus and see where that gets ya.

Let's not forget, that since Archimedes physical science research has depended on government support due to it's military potential, and Feynman was Manhattan. Same as it ever was.


----------



## philoctetes

Luchesi said:


> I feel that I'm living in the best time in history. Many of my friends and I have been incredibly lucky. We tell ourselves that we worked hard but of course we never worked hard at all..
> 
> According to what I think humans will be implementing the future, things can only get worse.


If pure physics is your thing we've probably seen some of the best. For many, it creates an appetite for more that may not be satisfied for a long time. Meanwhile other disciplines continue to make progress but that would be in the dreadful inferior low-grade domain of applications to things that may improve the quality of life or just help make scammers rich. That's the thing about science everything can be used for bad or good.


----------



## Jacck

philoctetes said:


> By this thinking high-tech inventors are just low-life tail-draggers I guess. Wondering what books we're supposed to read - Jordan Peterson's list? Lately I've thought of him as Jordan Gatsby.
> 
> Why not do both? Or whatever one wants? Must we all stare into space and wonder what it's made of? How do we test the existence of superstrings with only our five senses and no billion-dollar lab? Why not raise bees and drink milk? Cause Joaquin Phoenix is a sourpuss?
> 
> *Get back to me when you have designed the political world with alternatives that work*. Staring at galaxies ain't gonna help you there. This is just the same old snobbery I've heard (and participated in) too much already. I used to sit in physics class and sneer with fellow physics students that we were supreme. Leave the college campus and see where that gets ya.
> 
> Let's not forget, that since Archimedes physical science research has depended on government support due to it's military potential, and Feynman was Manhattan. Same as it ever was.


There is no perfect world. The world is the creation of all of us. Let me quote Solzhenitsyn
"The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn"
that is the answer to designing some better world. Unfortunately, too many people have a broken moral compass or no compass at all. And the society is just a reflection of the people. And I do not know, how to "fix" other people, I can only fix myself.

as for the reason, why the US started lagging behind the competition with the 5G. I do not know. Maybe a research career is not attractive anymore and it does not attract the brightest anymore. 
https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2010/12/16/the-disposable-academic


----------



## haydnguy

I just saw a new video of a new feature that Microsoft is working on for Microsoft Outlook. At the present time this is being tested and is only available to Enterprise and School accounts. It does look pretty cool and am waiting to be able to try it out. It's called Microsoft Spaces. Here is a 1 minute video to show the idea of it.

(You might have to expand the video to full screen mode to see clearly what is going on.)


----------



## Jacck

I have never used Outlook, nor do I know anyone who does. Most people here seem to be using Thunderbird for emails. I even droped Microsoft Office a couple of years ago and switched to LibreOffice


----------



## Luchesi

Autonomous vehicle proponents have realized that pedestrians will probably game the system! Since cars will no longer be a danger to them - pedestrians will walk onto the streets of cities, walking right into the street, any place, any time. Traffic will be paralyzed.
How can this be solved? Fences?


----------



## KenOC

Luchesi said:


> Autonomous vehicle proponents have realized that pedestrians will probably game the system! Since cars will no longer be a danger to them - pedestrians will walk onto the streets of cities, walking right into the street, any place, any time. Traffic will be paralyzed.
> How can this be solved? Fences?


Indeed. Gangs of youths will especially target autonomous delivery vehicles, step into the road to stop them, and then bust them open and steal the contents. I anticipate that this sort of thing will be especially prevalent in certain parts of cities, which the merchants will try to "redline," leading to serious questions of discrimination.


----------



## Luchesi

KenOC said:


> Indeed. Gangs of youths will especially target autonomous delivery vehicles, step into the road to stop them, and then bust them open and steal the contents. I anticipate that this sort of thing will be especially prevalent in certain parts of cities, which the merchants will try to "redline," leading to serious questions of discrimination.


I've wondered about that type of stealing, but police will be there as fast as they are now (or a little faster if the alarm goes directly to the police).


----------



## Jacck

Car Thieves Attempt To Steal KITT


----------



## haydnguy

*New Windows 10 Update Is Deleting Data For Some Users*

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2020/02/19/new-windows-10-update-starts-causing-serious-problems/#1b76b9467a7e


----------



## haydnguy

Jacck said:


> I have never used Outlook, nor do I know anyone who does. Most people here seem to be using Thunderbird for emails. I even droped Microsoft Office a couple of years ago and switched to LibreOffice


I used Thunderbird years ago for my email and really liked it. At one point they decided to discontinue support for Thunderbird and decided to just let it die. I sent them a (flame) email I was so upset.

Given that they were moving on from Thunderbird so did I. They later decided to revive it but by that time I was locked into Office. I have a MS Office Home subscription and use the OneDrive (cloud) and OneNote. My wife uses it in her work. (I have a 5 seat license.)


----------



## Luchesi

haydnguy said:


> *New Windows 10 Update Is Deleting Data For Some Users*
> 
> https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordon...starts-causing-serious-problems/#1b76b9467a7e


Wow, why would anybody ever trust Windows again?

As an outsider and only an occasional Windows user, does this seem worse to me than it actually is? I haven't updated.

I realize now that since I rarely use Windows I haven't backed up my files in a long time. It's something to pay more attention to..

I was told by a System Administrator that Beyond Compare is a good backup program.


----------



## Forsooth

I don't trust any of the 'Big Data' companies and behave accordingly. I try to outguess how they're going to fail or betray me. Nevertheless, I always expect the worst.


----------



## haydnguy

My wife just told me that she got an email on her phone from Paypal saying that there had been a transaction of $150. She asked me if I had bought something and I said no. I had not used paypal in years. 

When I looked at it, it said the charge was made to Alibaba. Alibaba is "China's Amazon". My wife opened the email but she didn't click on any link inside the email. I ran Bitdefender on her phone and it said it detected nothing. 

If you get an email that looks like it comes from Paypal just ignore it unless you do business with them. The bogus email looks very real but just ignore it no matter what it says.

-----

The Windows Update problem is as bad as it seems. I have not had any problems this time but the first time it happened I had my photos and documents deleted. Fortunately I had them backed up to the cloud.


----------



## Jacck

haydnguy said:


> The Windows Update problem is as bad as it seems. I have not had any problems this time but the first time it happened I had my photos and documents deleted. Fortunately I had them backed up to the cloud.


it is likely only a problem for people, who keep their data under the 
C:\Users\<username>\Documents\
folder. I never do that. I always split the hard-drive into several logical discs - for example C,D,E - and use C just for Windows. Even if I decide to clean install Windows, the data at D,E stay intact.


----------



## haydnguy

Steve Wozniak: How Steve Jobs would react if he could see Apple today


----------



## Open Book

haydnguy said:


> My wife just told me that she got an email on her phone from Paypal saying that there had been a transaction of $150. She asked me if I had bought something and I said no. I had not used paypal in years.
> 
> When I looked at it, it said the charge was made to Alibaba. Alibaba is "China's Amazon". My wife opened the email but she didn't click on any link inside the email. I ran Bitdefender on her phone and it said it detected nothing.
> 
> If you get an email that looks like it comes from Paypal just ignore it unless you do business with them. The bogus email looks very real but just ignore it no matter what it says.


But you did log in to your account on Paypal's genuine site and check that there was no such transaction, didn't you?


----------



## AeolianStrains

Never never never never never never ever use email to login to your account. Always go directly to the site. Emails can be faked!


----------



## Jacck

The Pentagon Is Sitting on a Chunk of Valuable Airwaves. Why?
this might be interesting for the American readers, ie fights over various radiofrequency bands and 5G (we have different regulations in Europe). When I was in the US, I visited the Marconi stations that send first radiotransmissions across the Atlantic in 1901. It is impossible that it was just 120 years ago and how much the world has changed since then. 
https://www.nps.gov/caco/learn/historyculture/marconi.htm


----------



## philoctetes

Jacck said:


> it is likely only a problem for people, who keep their data under the
> C:\Users\<username>\Documents\
> folder. I never do that. I always split the hard-drive into several logical discs - for example C,D,E - and use C just for Windows. Even if I decide to clean install Windows, the data at D,E stay intact.


Been doing the same for a long time. Just keep all personal stuff on separate partitions.

Have y'all used Timeshift to back up the entire system? Again, having separate partitions makes a recovery much easier.


----------



## philoctetes

haydnguy said:


> My wife just told me that she got an email on her phone from Paypal saying that there had been a transaction of $150. She asked me if I had bought something and I said no. I had not used paypal in years.
> 
> When I looked at it, it said the charge was made to Alibaba. Alibaba is "China's Amazon". My wife opened the email but she didn't click on any link inside the email. I ran Bitdefender on her phone and it said it detected nothing.
> 
> If you get an email that looks like it comes from Paypal just ignore it unless you do business with them. The bogus email looks very real but just ignore it no matter what it says.
> 
> -----
> 
> The Windows Update problem is as bad as it seems. I have not had any problems this time but the first time it happened I had my photos and documents deleted. Fortunately I had them backed up to the cloud.


I am curious did you check the actual sender's email address and was it spoofed to look like paypal's?


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> I am curious did you check the actual sender's email address and was it spoofed to look like paypal's?


It was an email address that meant nothing to me. I should add that I too get an occasional email from "PayPal". These always say that they've changed their terms of service.


----------



## Luchesi

EV Battery Breakthrough: Twice The Range, Five Minutes To Charge

What?

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-...h-Twice-The-Range-Five-Minutes-To-Charge.html


----------



## mrdoc

I have a few problems with W10, it may be my fault but I don't get it with Vista which I am migrating from.
My latest issue is MS Word within MS office, I decided to sign up for the free MS try out but last night I spent about an hour making a program for a music evening with my friends I was nearly finished when it disappeared completely from my PC, and I cant find it anywhere, this is most annoying I just find W10 to be unstable, any suggestions other than ditching it?


----------



## TxllxT

mrdoc said:


> I have a few problems with W10, it may be my fault but I don't get it with Vista which I am migrating from.
> My latest issue is MS Word within MS office, I decided to sign up for the free MS try out but last night I spent about an hour making a program for a music evening with my friends I was nearly finished when it disappeared completely from my PC, and I cant find it anywhere, this is most annoying I just find W10 to be unstable, any suggestions other than ditching it?


I remember one update (complete renewal) of Windows 10 that also made the impression as if all personal data was gone. But after the final restarting all was OK.


----------



## haydnguy

mrdoc said:


> I have a few problems with W10, it may be my fault but I don't get it with Vista which I am migrating from.
> My latest issue is MS Word within MS office, I decided to sign up for the free MS try out but last night I spent about an hour making a program for a music evening with my friends I was nearly finished when it disappeared completely from my PC, and I cant find it anywhere, this is most annoying I just find W10 to be unstable, any suggestions other than ditching it?


On Windows 10 there is a folder called OneDrive. Within OneDrive there is a Documents folder which is the default "save" location. In the old Word, it used to "autosave" automatically in the background. If you notice in the top left hand corner of the new Word you will see an autosave slider. You might check to see if it is set to Autosave. However, if you actually saved the document it's probably in your Documents folder within the OneDrive folder.


----------



## mrdoc

TxllxT and HG thanks for your replies, I found XP and Vista so easy to use but as for W10 it is most frustrating however I will follow your advice HG in the morning when I am fresh so thanks again...


----------



## haydnguy

mrdoc said:


> TxllxT and HG thanks for your replies, I found XP and Vista so easy to use but as for W10 it is most frustrating however I will follow your advice HG in the morning when I am fresh so thanks again...


I did mis-speak to you in my last post. The old Word actually automatically backed up your document in the background. I've never had to go back to a backup on my Word (I don't use it that much) so I'm not for sure about the new Word. Hopefully, it does if you can't find your document I'll see if it does that.

----------------------------------

I'll tell you my complaint now. I have been using OneDrive for my cloud backup. My laptop has automatically been synced as well any pictures I take on my Android phone.

Whenever I clipped an album cover for Talk Classical it would automatically back it up to OneDrive which I didn't really care because I might re-use it sometime. Also, I collect a lot of picture files of old paintings so they have been backed up.

Somehow, I have many duplicates of many of the album covers and paintings. There are covers of books that I've never even heard of. Many duplicates.

I would just delete all of them but I have pictures of my now deceased parents and other cherished pictures that I don't want to delete. What a total mess. I'm going to have to go back and delete them all individually.


----------



## mrdoc

haydnguy said:


> I did mis-speak to you in my last post. The old Word actually automatically backed up your document in the background. I've never had to go back to a backup on my Word (I don't use it that much) so I'm not for sure about the new Word. Hopefully, it does if you can't find your document I'll see if it does that.
> 
> ----------------------------------
> 
> I'll tell you my complaint now. I have been using OneDrive for my cloud backup. My laptop has automatically been synced as well any pictures I take on my Android phone.
> 
> Whenever I clipped an album cover for Talk Classical it would automatically back it up to OneDrive which I didn't really care because I might re-use it sometime. Also, I collect a lot of picture files of old paintings so they have been backed up.


I went to one drive and there it was, I have not used one drive at all since I brought the PC, thanks for the help. does one drive automatically keep all documents.


----------



## haydnguy

mrdoc said:


> I went to one drive and there it was, I have not used one drive at all since I brought the PC, thanks for the help. does one drive automatically keep all documents.


It will backup to the cloud automatically if you tell it to. If you look down to the right on your screen you should see an up arrow. If you click on that up arrow you will see what looks like a shield. Click on that and you will see the "Security At A Glance" screen. It should tell you that OneDrive has not been turned on. Click on that. (Not to dismiss).

It may asked you to create a Microsoft Account. Probably you give it your email and create your password. When you do that it will create your OneDrive (in the cloud) and should ask you whether you want to sync. If you say yes it will copy everything to the cloud just as it is in your OneDrive. (Pictures in a picture folder, documents in documents folder, etc.)

Let me know if you get stuck.


----------



## Luchesi

Well, I got my Samsung S20 Ultra phone yesterday. It is far ahead of Apple, but of course a few hundred dollars more than the iPhone 11 -- for the 8k video camera with 100x digital zoom. Large files! Bixby app built-in controls the phone and its apps by voice fairly well.

By coincidence my new weather station came yesterday too. Very portable, wireless, solar powered, no moving parts, great charting software, worldwide network with the same charts everywhere, minute by minute (for weather geeks). These setups generally only run for about 2 years on average, but since this has no moving parts I'm hoping it will outlast the other models..


----------



## mrdoc

haydnguy said:


> Let me know if you get stuck.


Will do and thanks again.


----------



## philoctetes

Been trying to install motioneye on Linux Mint... keep having the same failure... found it it was about python dependency differences between ubuntu and Mint... this v2 vs v3 business comes up now and then... found the answer after some extensive searching... all I had to do was install a missing dependency manually... this took me a long time to solve but it's done...

the other remaining problem is that Virtualbox will not install some of the newer distros without bombing... but I am using v5 (again, this is the default in the Ubuntu repository) and have to try downloading v6 directly from the Oracle website.... 

this is how I spend my quarantine time at home now... I had been preparing for some spring travel into the desert until Covid came along and now the best option is to stay at home, not where I really want to be...


----------



## haydnguy

philoctetes said:


> Been trying to install motioneye on Linux Mint... keep having the same failure... found it it was about python dependency differences between ubuntu and Mint... this v2 vs v3 business comes up now and then... found the answer after some extensive searching... all I had to do was install a missing dependency manually... this took me a long time to solve but it's done...
> 
> the other remaining problem is that Virtualbox will not install some of the newer distros without bombing... but I am using v5 (again, this is the default in the Ubuntu repository) and have to try downloading v6 directly from the Oracle website....
> 
> this is how I spend my quarantine time at home now... I had been preparing for some spring travel into the desert until Covid came along and now the best option is to stay at home, not where I really want to be...


That's pretty cool. I had not heard of motioneye. I noticed they have some motioneye cameras on EBay. Are you going to use a camera?

Udemy was having a sale on their networking courses not too long ago so I bought the Networking I and II courses. Also a Wireshark course. They are supposed to help you with the CISCO exams but I'm just interested in the learning. I'm enjoying it so far. Learning a lot!


----------



## haydnguy

@mrdoc: Re: Windows 10

Tomorrow (3/9/2020) is what's known as "Patch Tuesday". Patch Tuesday is always the second Tuesday of every month.

It is wise to pause updates until the dust settles and enough people download it to ensure everything is ok with the patch.

Here's what to do:
1) Click on the Windows button in the bottom left of the screen.
2) On the menu that pops up, click on the gear icon (Settings).
3) On the Windows Setting screen click on the 'Update and Security' button.
4) On the Windows Update screen click 'Pause updates for 7 days'.

That should do it.


----------



## mrdoc

haydnguy said:


> @mrdoc: Re: Windows 10
> 
> Tomorrow (3/9/2020) is what's known as "Patch Tuesday". Patch Tuesday is always the second Tuesday of every month.
> 
> It is wise to pause updates until the dust settles and enough people download it to ensure everything is ok with the patch.
> 
> Here's what to do:
> 1) Click on the Windows button in the bottom left of the screen.
> 2) On the menu that pops up, click on the gear icon (Settings).
> 3) On the Windows Setting screen click on the 'Update and Security' button.
> 4) On the Windows Update screen click 'Pause updates for 7 days'.
> 
> That should do it.


Thanks HG I have a bit of catching to do just not enough hours in the day + old age takes its toll ha ha regards ME.


----------



## mrdoc

Here I am again:
Having trouble with Skype on my new PC, can not hear myself on testing service.

When running Skype I check on audio settings and both inbuilt and external microphones show as working but on doing Skype test I receive skypes voice but not my voice, via any of the two microphones I have used which leads me to suspect the fault may lay with Skype settings, if I have missed something please advise. 

I am using my new DELL 15 5593 Lap Top with W10.


----------



## Flamme

I have windows 7 atm and its so effin flawed...I think they do it on purpose...Making more and more shiny and resource wasteful OS...


----------



## Open Book

Flamme said:


> I have windows 7 atm and its so effin flawed...I think they do it on purpose...Making more and more shiny and resource wasteful OS...


It's flawed because it's not being supported by Microsoft anymore, which has been well advertised. Any bugs it has are no longer being fixed. You should replace it, anything not being regularly updated with fixes can be a security issue.


----------



## mrdoc

Open Book said:


> It's flawed because it's not being supported by Microsoft anymore, which has been well advertised. Any bugs it has are no longer being fixed. You should replace it, anything not being regularly updated with fixes can be a security issue.


I am still using Vista and it is very stable with few problems that I cant circumnavigate , but find W10 a very hard system to get tamed, it is so erratic, perhaps I am getting too old for it  The time I have wasted trying to get Skype up and working on W10 is rediculas so I may ditch Skype altogether.


----------



## DaveM

Have been very happy with Win7. IMO, it’s a very stable OS. Updates have been mainly security-related for some time. There’s no reason to believe that it would not be working well even now that updates have stopped. Whether the lack of security updates make it a risk depends on how you’re using it.

On the other hand, Win10 is a royal pain. It works, but Microsoft has made it so intrusive. Just when I had it fairly under control, I was pretty much forced to update to version 1909 whereupon it put all sorts of crap on the desktop including opening up Edge with Microsoft’s useless Bing.


----------



## KenOC

On my machine 1909 is an optional version. You can download and install “when you are ready.” I read the added features and none of them looked very useful to me, so I figured I wasn’t ready. Your post suggests I was correct.


----------



## Open Book

DaveM said:


> Have been very happy with Win7. IMO, it's a very stable OS. Updates have been mainly security-related for some time. There's no reason to believe that it would not be working well even now that updates have stopped.


The OS system has to work with all kinds of other stuff, I don't see how something that is never updated again can play well with others when the others are always changing and leaving it behind.



DaveM said:


> Whether the lack of security updates make it a risk depends on how you're using it.


What do you mean? How do you use it so that it's not a risk?



DaveM said:


> On the other hand, Win10 is a royal pain. It works, but Microsoft has made it so intrusive. Just when I had it fairly under control, I was pretty much forced to update to version 1909 whereupon it put all sorts of crap on the desktop including opening up Edge with Microsoft's useless Bing.


That's your biggest complaint, that it pops up an Edge window? What else don't you like about it?

Computer use with Windows 7 was deteriorating for me. Common websites didn't function well, Ebay became nearly unusable. I had other weird problems, too, instances of very high RAM and CPU being used. When I switched to Windows 10 in January all my problems went away.


----------



## DaveM

Open Book said:


> The OS system has to work with all kinds of other stuff, I don't see how something that is never updated again can play well with others when the others are always changing and leaving it behind.


If one needs the OS to interact with other programs that are changing then one probably needs to use Win10. I have to use it for TurboTax which doesn't allow Win7 anymore. OTOH, I use Win7 with music and video editing programs that work just fine.



> What do you mean? How do you use it so that it's not a risk?


The more you use the internet the greater the risk. A lot of people, including myself, will still be able to use Win7 for use with programs that don't require being on the internet much, if at all.



> That's your biggest complaint, that it pops up an Edge window? What else don't you like about it?


Did I say it was my biggest complaint? Life's too short to list all things that bug me, but one is the intrusiveness of updating. Microsoft has taken away a lot of control over updating in Windows Update. I don't need to have my hand held thankyouverymuch. It went and updated to version 1909 without my permission after bugging me about it with pop ups for 3 weeks. I can shut down updating using 'services' but didn't get to it before the update, plus I prefer not messing with 'services' if I can help it.


----------



## KenOC

DaveM said:


> If one needs the OS to interact with other programs that are changing then one probably needs to use Win10. I have to use it for TurboTax which doesn't allow Win7 anymore.


I want to mention that this year I dispensed with tax software entirely and did my return on-line using FreeTax. Did federal and California returns completely in a couple of hours. The program filed the returns electronically and told me when each return was accepted, and supplied tracking numbers. Total cost was about ten bucks as I remember, mostly for the state return (the federal return is free). It gave me PDFs of both returns for printing out.

Quite amazing, and far easier than I've ever experienced with TurboTax.


----------



## Open Book

DaveM said:


> If one needs the OS to interact with other programs that are changing then one probably needs to use Win10. I have to use it for TurboTax which doesn't allow Win7 anymore. OTOH, I use Win7 with music and video editing programs that work just fine.
> 
> The more you use the internet the greater the risk. A lot of people, including myself, will still be able to use Win7 for use with programs that don't require being on the internet much, if at all.
> 
> Did I say it was my biggest complaint? Life's too short to list all things that bug me, but one is the intrusiveness of updating. Microsoft has taken away a lot of control over updating in Windows Update. I don't need to have my hand held thankyouverymuch. It went and updated to version 1909 without my permission after bugging me about it with pop ups for 3 weeks. I can shut down updating using 'services' but didn't get to it before the update, plus I prefer not messing with 'services' if I can help it.


You're on the Internet whenever you're here, though.

What do you have, two computers? One with each version of Windows?


----------



## DaveM

Open Book said:


> You're on the Internet whenever you're here, though.
> 
> What do you have, two computers? One with each version of Windows?


I've been doing this a long time. I have operating Win98se, 2 WinXPs desktops and Win7 and Win10 desktop-replacement laptops. All my forum-related web-surfing is on an iPad.


----------



## Open Book

DaveM said:


> I've been doing this a long time. I have operating Win98se, 2 WinXPs desktops and Win7 and Win10 desktop-replacement laptops. All my forum-related web-surfing is on an iPad.


If someone has one computer and uses it for everything I don't think they should be clinging to Windows 7.


----------



## mrdoc

I have used Vista on DELL desk top for a number of years but thought I should update BIG MISTAKE a nice new DELL lap top with W10 Ha Ha you never know what is going to happen next, I get to a point where it seems I am winning then off it goes again so 2 PCs and the one with Vista is the main one I use, I wonder what their W12 will come up with?


----------



## DaveM

Open Book said:


> If someone has one computer and uses it for everything I don't think they should be clinging to Windows 7.


Can't argue with that.


----------



## KenOC

Windows 7 is just fine, aside from the limited updates. I long ago took the free upgrade to Windows 10 and it has settled down pretty well, but I miss the snappiness of some Windows 7 features, like the more agile file explorer.


----------



## Flamme

Thats what Im saying...Every new system adds more complications 4 users...B4 W7 I used WXP 4 years...


----------



## Luchesi

Flamme said:


> Thats what Im saying...Every new system adds more complications 4 users...B4 W7 I used WXP 4 years...


The problem with Macs is that Apple tries to offer new feature after new feature, as if they're good at apps. And unlike Microsoft they surely don't encourage outside app creators (and of course there's far fewer Macs). So we're stuck with lame apps.
But Apple still wants me to upgrade the OS all the time (once a day reminder). For what? More add-ons? It takes all morning to download and then more hours to install the new version of OS. Usually something is lost or incompatible.


----------



## starthrower

My wife dumped a full cup of coffee on my HP laptop a few days ago. I was amazed that it started back up and worked after drying out. There are a few problems including the right click function which does not work so I can't restore icons to my desktop. And the Firefox browser does strange things when I try to move it around. I can't center the window. It either takes up the entire screen or gets very small.


----------



## perempe

my brother did the same, a few keys don't work anymore. it's frustrating as it can't be used to change bios settings.


----------



## mrdoc

Can I ask for some advice please:
I would like to get my wife a note book or similar and wonder which would be the easier for her operate she is not computer savvy. She has a Samsung J2 smart phone which she manages OK but my DELL laptop is too erratic for her I only know of Android, Apple or MS systems. It will only be used for general web stuff, on line purchasing,cooking recipes etc. any suggestions please. I do have an old HP laptop with only 30 gb capacity but it is on XP and no Wi-Fi.


----------



## Luchesi

mrdoc said:


> Can I ask for some advice please:
> I would like to get my wife a note book or similar and wonder which would be the easier for her operate she is not computer savvy. She has a Samsung J2 smart phone which she manages OK but my DELL laptop is too erratic for her I only know of Android, Apple or MS systems. It will only be used for general web stuff, on line purchasing,cooking recipes etc. any suggestions please. I do have an old HP laptop with only 30 gb capacity but it is on XP and no Wi-Fi.


You can add wifi with a USB stick to your old machine. It's cheaper. But the speed and the storage problems might not be worth it. I would recommend Macs, for just web access, -- the shallowest learning curve for just surfing.


----------



## philoctetes

starthrower said:


> My wife dumped a full cup of coffee on my HP laptop a few days ago. I was amazed that it started back up and worked after drying out. There are a few problems including the right click function which does not work so I can't restore icons to my desktop. And the Firefox browser does strange things when I try to move it around. I can't center the window. It either takes up the entire screen or gets very small.


I did the same a few years ago with a Toshiba...now I no longer use laptops... my home setup uses a mini-desktop PC with my Tv for a monitor and a Logitech usb keyboard and it's much easier on my eyes back and shoulders... with a tablet and smart phone for portable use this works fine...

I also chucked Windows for Linux on my desktop but the Toshiba survived with a stained screen and now it's the only machine I can run TurboTax on, so I'm actually a Windows user again for temporary purposes... shelter orders likely to be lifted soon and I want to get taxes done before that...


----------



## Dorsetmike

I've spent most of the day trying to find a viewer for the UK 1881 census CDs, the viewer originally supplied will not work on a 64 bit Windoze (Win7 Pro in my case), and for some reason neither will it run on a virtual XP which some other older software will do.I've tried various viewers for MDB files, none of them seem able to do the job, I'm tempted to try and resurrect an old Dell laptop that's lying around here somewhere, can't remember what Windoze version it has - nor where the charger is either!


----------



## philoctetes

"my brother did the same, a few keys don't work anymore. it's frustrating as it can't be used to change bios settings"

attach a usb keyboard like I suggested to ST and you can probably get into bios with it... seems like keyboard and screen are typically damaged by coffee but the inner electronics can still be good so use those usb and display ports for peripheral substitutes

I really like the Logitech K400 keyboard it sits nicely in the lap and has a mousepad on the side...


----------



## perempe

I think I tried to use USB keyboard, but did not work.


----------



## mrdoc

To Day we lost internet connection for most of the day so I phoned Vodafone and got the message that none of their operatives were available by phone and advised to follow instructions on web page so yeh right, it eventually came right. OK that's fine .
Later, on google news I see that the fiber cable had been broken by a digger some where in the area, this shows how vulnerably the cable is being subject to quakes, land slides, floods etc so would it not be safer to use satellite transmission?


----------



## philoctetes

perempe said:


> I think I tried to use USB keyboard, but did not work.


I am curious, how do you attempt to enter bios? I only learned recently that tapping is easier than using the F keys


----------



## perempe

can't remember as it's a Lenovo 3000 N100 model. it was a about a year ago.


----------



## philoctetes

I took advantage of all this down time to learn to write shell script programs... something I'd managed to sidestep all my life... I'm gradually building a home server ... combining logical scripts with crontab, ssh and cloud storage I can automate everything it does, log into it remotely, or conveniently access the output files on google drive... with scripts managing backup folders automatically

I tried a few different command-line tools for accessing cloud storage and settled on google-drive-ocamlfuse, for now...


----------



## Blancrocher

After doing the latest mac update, preview has developed a glitch where it puts notes/highlights in a random order (it seems to have to do with the particular position of the note on the page, weirdly). Hope they fix this soon. Perhaps someone here knows of a workaround?


----------



## Blancrocher

Seems that combining pdfs no longer works either--what a disaster.


----------



## mrdoc

I have many files on my old Vista desk top that I want to put onto my new DELL laptop but they are in MS Works format and I want to keep it that way can anyone recommend a safe d/l of MS Works for W10 that I could try. I know it can be done but that’s all.Thanks


----------



## Luchesi

mrdoc said:


> I have many files on my old Vista desk top that I want to put onto my new DELL laptop but they are in MS Works format and I want to keep it that way can anyone recommend a safe d/l of MS Works for W10 that I could try. I know it can be done but that's all.Thanks


On my Mac I was surprised to see that my old WKS files work on LibreOffice. It's free. If there's a LibreOffice version for Windows it might work for you.


----------



## Flamme

My monitor is acting out l8ly, blinking when I turn him on or when its in stand by...I kept him on during a thunderstorm a month ago and he is misbehaving ever since...I didnt use screen saver 4 a while and now when I do, when it goes on, I can take it out of ''sleep'' w/o blinking.


----------



## mrdoc

Luchesi said:


> On my Mac I was surprised to see that my old WKS files work on LibreOffice. It's free. If there's a LibreOffice version for Windows it might work for you.


I will have to look into that, I come across a few sites that have MS Works d/l available but the links are either missing or don't work.


----------



## KenOC

I see that the free Open Office program will also open MS Works files.


----------



## mrdoc

KenOC said:


> I see that the free Open Office program will also open MS Works files.


Thanks for that Ken I had not heard of that one, I have d/l it but not yet installed, have you tried it?


----------



## KenOC

mrdoc said:


> Thanks for that Ken I had not heard of that one, I have d/l it but not yet installed, have you tried it?


Sorry, haven't tried it.


----------



## mrdoc

KenOC said:


> Sorry, haven't tried it.


I tried to install but it is in french not English so a bit more work to do.


----------



## Flamme

Reinstalled the system, now it ''purrs like the cat''...:devil:


----------



## danj

I bought a new computer and put it together! 

- AMD Ryzen 9 3900x
- 32GB of RAM
- Sapphire Radeon XT

So much goodness and speed! I installed Ubuntu on it... finally getting away from MacOS...


----------



## SixFootScowl

danj said:


> I bought a new computer and put it together!
> 
> - AMD Ryzen 9 3900x
> - 32GB of RAM
> - Sapphire Radeon XT
> 
> So much goodness and speed! I installed Ubuntu on it... finally getting away from MacOS...


I would probably not do well with Ubuntu as I heard it is more complicated. I am happy with Linux Mint as it is a very user friendly OS.


----------



## philoctetes

Trying out a Linux audio player / tool called Clementine and very impressed so far... could swear the sound is better than Audacious or VLC... haven't tried the CD rip function yet, but this may be the closest to a one-player-does-all that I've found on Linux...


----------



## cwarchc

SixFootScowl said:


> I would probably not do well with Ubuntu as I heard it is more complicated. I am happy with Linux Mint as it is a very user friendly OS.


There are plenty of different flavours of Ubuntu, some of them are very user friendly. If you are used to Mint, you would easily find one you could use


----------



## Luchesi

cwarchc said:


> There are plenty of different flavours of Ubuntu, some of them are very user friendly. If you are used to Mint, you would easily find one you could use


Are you thinking of some advantage of Ubuntu over others? I've only ever had Ubuntu and the one that starts with a "P" (I've forgot the name, not Peppermint) so I don't know about others..


----------



## philoctetes

Whenever I try something different on a VM, including Ubuntu, I go back to Linux Mint Mate every time... it has all I need, I like the classic desktop look as opposed to more of a mobile device look, and by now I'm getting to know it quite well... it's based on Ubuntu, but 18.04, not the latest release. I haven't found a better Linux out there except Kali which has a different purpose.

I was curious about Linux BDS but that is on hold for now... to much to learn and no motivation...


----------



## SixFootScowl

philoctetes said:


> Whenever I try something different on a VM, including Ubuntu, I go back to Linux Mint Mate every time... it has all I need, I like the classic desktop look as opposed to more of a mobile device look, and by now I'm getting to know it quite well... it's based on Ubuntu, but 18.04, not the latest release. I haven't found a better Linux out there except Kali which has a different purpose.
> 
> I was curious about Linux BDS but that is on hold for now... to much to learn and no motivation...


Mint Mate is on my wife's computer and mine now has Mint Cinnamon. They are very similar. Both are very easy to work with.


----------



## philoctetes

On my network I have two security cams, two POE switches, two Raspberry Pis, two fanless Linux desktops, two televisions, one tablet, and one smartphone, all connected to my provider through an ordinary home router. That's when I have no guest who needs service. I spend some time just making sure they are connected securely and efficiently. My TVs and phone are used the least and I prefer to leave home for routine errands without the phone.

One desktop acts as server for the cameras and security software, and I like to log into it remotely by SSH. This week I learned to secure the server with SSH user keys instead of a long password. It's a 2-factor approach to server security using a master *passphrase*, which unlocks a private key stored on my user system which verifies I'm the user who owns the public key.

It sounds pointless until your server has a port open to a public network. These days even long passwords are too easily broken if the server is online long enough. Before I switched to user keys my server account had to have a very long password to be secure on the internet. When I need the same password just for routine sudo operations, it's too dang long to be practical. With a master password for my user key different from my user account password, neither of them needs to be so long, and the server is far more secure, once I make a change in the SSH config file that blocks SSH logins with account passwords.

Implementing this key system manually also provides a thorough lab instruction on practical cryptography... it's one thing to read about it and another to actually make it work. I cloned twin virtual machines to set up and test the handshake process before making any changes on my real systems. The most confusing part was how to use the ssh-keygen function correctly and where to put the keys.


----------



## Luchesi

In a new study Dr. Matthew Hartley and Dr. Tjelvar Olsson from the Informatics team at the John Innes Centre show how we might be able to improve long term reproducibility for data analyses that rely on deep learning (DL) models.


https://www.cell.com/patterns/pdf/S...m/retrieve/pii/S2666389920300933?showall=true


----------



## Luchesi

I haven't used one of my Windows PCs in quite a while and so I got quite a shock. I should've remembered about how Microsoft treats us.

I just wanted to hear one MP3 quickly (my other machines were being used by visiting family members) so I turned on my PC, which used to be connected to our TV/sound system. Well, no sound, so I figured I’d reboot. The question came up, do I want to reboot and then upgrade or whatever.. No, I just want to hear this one MP3 and upgrade later. We know that that isn’t an option. It was 9:30 AM and it finally finished at about 1 PM.


----------



## SixFootScowl

Luchesi said:


> I haven't used one of my Windows PCs in quite a while and so I got quite a shock. I should've remembered about how Microsoft treats us.
> 
> I just wanted to hear one MP3 quickly (my other machines were being used by visiting family members) so I turned on my PC, which used to be connected to our TV/sound system. Well, no sound, so I figured I'd reboot. The question, do I want to reboot and then upgrade or whatever.. No, I just want to hear this one MP3 and upgrade later. We know that that isn't an option. It was 9:30 AM and it finally finished at about 1 PM.


Microsoft treats you like you live in a totalitarian state. You will obey or go without.


----------



## Luchesi

SixFootScowl said:


> Microsoft treats you like you live in a totalitarian state. You will obey or go without.


Yes, after over 30 years of trying to make it safe, they still need to force people to patch as soon as possible. As soon as possible! 
Other OSs aren't like this. I only recently upgraded ONE of my 3 Macs after 4 years (so I could use a tax program, which necessarily needs to be the latest version. It worked fine last year.). 
Three and a half hours to upgrade? This is worse than getting a virus (used to be, but they're more damaging now I suspect. I don't know, I hardly ever use Windows online. It's so cumbersome.).
This is just taken for granted and accepted by Windows users?


----------



## DaveM

Luchesi said:


> Yes, after over 30 years of trying to make it safe, they still need to force people to patch as soon as possible. As soon as possible!
> Other OSs aren't like this. I only recently upgraded ONE of my 3 Macs after 4 years (so I could use a tax program, which necessarily needs to be the latest version. It worked fine last year.).


I've used Windows for years and I'm quite familiar with Macs since most of my family use them. The primary reasons Windows needs to be frequently patched are because as the most frequently used privately and in small business (and in some government applications) it is the most targeted and also, it has to accommodate so much more non-standard hardware and software.

Still, even though Apple has the luxury of not having to worry nearly as much about hardware and software compatibility, it still has its own problems -for example- such as its OSs of a just a year ago, High Sierra & Mojave having problems with a top USB microphone for podcasts and Zooming.

I haven't had to upgrade my Windows 7 computers for years. They've been steady as a rock. (Like you I did have to use an 'upgraded OS' Win 10 to run TurboTax.)

Other OSs _are_ upgrading frequently:


----------



## Luchesi

DaveM said:


> I've used Windows for years and I'm quite familiar with Macs since most of my family use them. The primary reasons Windows needs to be frequently patched are because as the most frequently used privately and in small business (and in some government applications) it is the most targeted and also, it has to accommodate so much more non-standard hardware and software.
> 
> Still, even though Apple has the luxury of not having to worry nearly as much about hardware and software compatibility, it still has its own problems -for example- such as its OSs of a just a year ago, High Sierra & Mojave having problems with a top USB microphone for podcasts and Zooming.
> 
> I haven't had to upgrade my Windows 7 computers for years. They've been steady as a rock. (Like you I did have to use an 'upgraded OS' Win 10 to run TurboTax.)
> 
> Other OSs _are_ upgrading frequently:
> 
> View attachment 140299


I don't run any of those apps. Now I'm glad I don't. But there's always been free and better apps than those. Firefox, even Chrome. Many mail apps. VLC. I wouldn't use iTunes if I could be paid to use it. I use a phone for texting. Open Office is less bloated than iWorks or Numbers.

But you make a good point. OSs for profit are a bad idea. Especially when it's difficult to complain about Linux distros these days.


----------



## Guest

I don't notice that Mac is any more stable than Windows these days, but Mac still has an elegant interface that I can navigate easily. Windows is infinitely cluttered and annoyingly trying to do things for me that I don't want done. The Windows 10 start menu covers my screen with a bunch of weird squares which are useless to me and which I have no idea how it decided to show to me.


----------



## Guest

Does anyone have a clue what a Facebook "story" is? I'm a fairly passive facebook user, but lately it is constantly telling me that someone added to their "story" and I don't know what a story is for and how I would go about adding it it. Maybe I'm "adding to my story" and don't even know it.


----------



## Luchesi

Baron Scarpia said:


> I don't notice that Mac is any more stable than Windows these days, but Mac still has an elegant interface that I can navigate easily. Windows is infinitely cluttered and annoyingly trying to do things for me that I don't want done. The Windows 10 start menu covers my screen with a bunch of weird squares which are useless to me and which I have no idea how it decided to show to me.


Just today my main iMac's screen went black. No raster. I could take a screenshot of it, which is weird. After hitting many keys for about 5 minutes I forced a restart, ran the disk utility.. Who knows.. 'Never seen that before. It does freeze sometimes, even the clock, and comes back active after 5 minutes. 'Very annoying.


----------



## Luchesi

I was going to recommend this screen-saver app because it's so good, compared others I've installed. ArtSaver 3.0.1

But now, it might have caused the problem (above). But I've used it for a few months!


----------



## Taggart

Just gone up to W10 build 2004. Usual windows hassle and it alters your speaker volume  Once I made a few tweeks, it seesm back to normal. Wonder how everybody else is getting along?


----------



## mrdoc

A bit off topic but I wonder if any one has also experienced the same.

I have been using Vista for years my friends say Vista was useless but for me it is very stable, from the Vista help forums they told me how to re install Vista and then step by step they take you through the updates and when you get to a certain one you stop and then switch off auto install and never update again, I did this and it has been trouble free.
Also on my DELL desk top Inspiron 530, an option that got me out of trouble many times when PC became locked is the ‘Factory installed restore’ as you go through boot up you select it and follow instructions it works 100% you do have to reinstall programs etc and if you have not backed up on ext drive or such you will loose all info but you soon learn the lesson. It should be on all computers.


----------



## Guest

Luchesi said:


> Just today my main iMac's screen went black. No raster. I could take a screenshot of it, which is weird. After hitting many keys for about 5 minutes I forced a restart, ran the disk utility.. Who knows.. 'Never seen that before. It does freeze sometimes, even the clock, and comes back active after 5 minutes. 'Very annoying.


Occasionally my MacBook Pro becomes unresponsive, a once or twice a year experience. It usually seems to be associated with a web page that goes berserk and consumes excessive resources. I get the impression that with enough patience I could quit safari and resume, but at some point I go for the power button.

On windows 10 I have less dramatic but more frequent problems. Like putting it to sleep and finding an application has quit when it wakes up. Really annoying when you have to restart a development environment and reestablish a debugging session. Or apps I never willingly installed popping up on startup and announcing I should be using them. My macs sleep and wake flawlessly. Neither system is perfect but I have less headaches from the Macs.


----------



## Guest

mrdoc said:


> A bit off topic but I wonder if any one has also experienced the same.
> 
> I have been using Vista for years my friends say Vista was useless but for me it is very stable, from the Vista help forums they told me how to re install Vista and then step by step they take you through the updates and when you get to a certain one you stop and then switch off auto install and never update again, I did this and it has been trouble free.
> Also on my DELL desk top Inspiron 530, an option that got me out of trouble many times when PC became locked is the 'Factory installed restore' as you go through boot up you select it and follow instructions it works 100% you do have to reinstall programs etc and if you have not backed up on ext drive or such you will loose all info but you soon learn the lesson. It should be on all computers.


I had vista on a fairly high end thinkpad and it literally took 15 minutes to boot. Once it was running it was ok. I was happy to replace it with windows 7. I was quit satisfied with XP and Windows 7. Windows 10 I find more annoying, particularly because it makes it hard to deferupdates to a convenient time.


----------



## mrdoc

Baron Scarpia said:


> I had vista on a fairly high end thinkpad and it literally took 15 minutes to boot. Once it was running it was ok. I was happy to replace it with windows 7. I was quit satisfied with XP and Windows 7. Windows 10 I find more annoying, particularly because it makes it hard to deferupdates to a convenient time.


I also have problems with W10 but it may be my fault as I sometimes accidentally touch the touch pad with a stray finger so I have switched off 3 and 4 finger commands so will see if that helps and yes Vista does take a while to boot I can live with that lol


----------



## Taggart

Baron Scarpia said:


> I had vista on a fairly high end thinkpad and it literally took 15 minutes to boot. Once it was running it was ok. I was happy to replace it with windows 7. I was quit satisfied with XP and Windows 7. Windows 10 I find more annoying, particularly because it makes it hard to deferupdates to a convenient time.


Two distinct options - active hours - which means that updates / restarts only happen when you're not using the computer - this is on the main update screen from settings -








And then from the advanced settings tab - defer updates until a specified date. You get a five week period before you have to update:


----------



## Guest

Taggart said:


> Two distinct options - active hours - which means that updates / restarts only happen when you're not using the computer - this is on the main update screen from settings -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And then from the advanced settings tab - defer updates until a specified date. You get a five week period before you have to update:


But how does it decide I'm "not active"? Often I have applications open that I want to resume using later. It is not convenient to find my system reset and critical applications no longer in the state I left them when I return to my computer.

Mac and previous versions of Windows had a convenient and sensible option of notifying me that updates are available and waiting for me to decide to install them.


----------



## Taggart

Baron Scarpia said:


> But how does it decide I'm "not active"? Often I have applications open that I want to resume using later. It is not convenient to find my system reset and critical applications no longer in the state I left them when I return to my computer.
> 
> Mac and previous versions of Windows had a convenient and sensible option of notifying me that updates are available and waiting for me to decide to install them.


You choose your active hours.

It's still there, check notifications in settings and look at notifications for security and maintenance.


----------



## TxllxT

This evening I updated Windows 10 to the newest 2004 version. So far I noticed one big positive change: until now I always had trouble with the wifi connection (sometimes I had to disconnect and connect two times before the wifi was stable again). Now however wifi is as stable as never before...


----------



## Guest

Today I left my Windows 10 system for a few hours and the two monitors went into power saving mode. When I came back and touched the keyboard and woke up the computer Windows 10 apparently thought the second monitor was gone, it put all of the windows that were on the second monitor on the first monitor (at inappropriate sizes) and one program crashed. Hurray Windows 10!


----------



## TxllxT

TxllxT said:


> This evening I updated Windows 10 to the newest 2004 version. So far I noticed one big positive change: until now I always had trouble with the wifi connection (sometimes I had to disconnect and connect two times before the wifi was stable again). Now however wifi is as stable as never before...


Well, of course with Microsoft ... When I wanted to shut down my PC, Microsoft asked: 'Update + Restart' or 'Update + Shut down'. First I wondered why I got this update message at all, having gone through the updating process just a few hours ago. Secondly I choose 'Update + Shut down', but instead of doing that the PC restarted. And  again the Wifi connection was in limbo.


----------



## Dorsetmike

I'm still happily using Win 7 pro 64 bit (with updates turned off for years and now unsupported) some of my software even needs an XP emulator, everything works fine, if it ain't broke why fix it?


----------



## DaveM

Microsoft has decided, at least as far as Windows Update is concerned, that you must update at some point. I ignored the ‘warnings’ to update and one day my main laptop was, out of the blue, updated to 1909. So I put a stop to any further updating using lesser known ‘services’ commands.


----------



## Jacck

these forced updates are a scourge. I have a Xiaomi phone, that forced on me an Android update. After the update, some functions of the phone stopped working, and I had to reverse to factory setting. I would really appreciate, if the companies respected that I own my own phone and I own my own operating system and I should have my freedom to do or not do any updates. Now the companies feel, that my phone, my software and my data and privacy are theirs. I heard about some cell phone running on linux. Maybe it is time to get it, if one wants to escape spying from Google. Here it is
https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/


----------



## BobBrines

And for all of you Apple fanboys, my iPhone updates in the middle of the night, moves stuff around, changes the appearance of the screens and resets all of the privacy setting to the factory default.

I have abandoned Safari and am now using Edge chrome -- on my iPhone


----------



## Guest

BobBrines said:


> And for all of you Apple fanboys, my iPhone updates in the middle of the night, moves stuff around, changes the appearance of the screens and resets all of the privacy setting to the factory default.
> 
> I have abandoned Safari and am now using Edge chrome -- on my iPhone


iPhone does allow you to disable automatic updates. And nice that iPhone allows you to use Edge. About once a day my Windows 10 system starts Edge with some web site I have never visited, even though I have never started Edge myself and have installed Firefox as my default browser.

I must say major updates of MacOS or iOS tend to induce a reaction, "Why did they change it," but in a short time I revert to, "oh, this works too," or sometimes even, "this makes more sense." But every time I start my windows 10 system I find myself saying a little prayer "maybe a miracle will happen and Windows 7 will come back."


----------



## jegreenwood

Someone's hacked my e-mail. The weird thing is they hacked both my accounts with unrelated servers and different passwords. And they hacked them again after I changed both passwords. My inboxes get completely deleted, not simply moved to trash. Who knows if they saved copies for themselves. I've spent quality time on the phone with Microsoft, Spectrum (for one account) and McAfee, who tells me my computer is clean. I can't get a person at Google, but I have looked for help on line. Fortunately I have back-ups, so I only lost a few. But I have to get this to stop.

My current No. 1 suspect is Apple. There have been reports of this problem deriving from an iOS bug. I updated to the newest version of iOS, but I'm not sure yet if that fixed things as these purges seem to happen overnight. I'm thinking I may have to do a complete reset on my iPhone and iPad, but I'd like to get further corroboration that iOS is the culprit.

By the way, in my troubleshooting I discovered that a Linux computer has been accessing my Gmail account since last December. This caused me to panic until I deduced that it was my Google Nest Mini.


----------



## starthrower

Has anybody heard about the free Honey app that will search for discount codes when you're ready to check out at any online retailer? I'm just wondering if it's safe to download and try. 
https://www.joinhoney.com/g-blog/th...AR-US-Evergreen-B-EveryCodeAwesomeBlue&from=r


----------



## KenOC

starthrower said:


> Has anybody heard about the free Honey app that will search for discount codes when you're ready to check out at any online retailer? I'm just wondering if it's safe to download and try.
> https://www.joinhoney.com/g-blog/th...AR-US-Evergreen-B-EveryCodeAwesomeBlue&from=r


I tried the Honey add-in to my browser some time ago. Didn't seem to be malicious, but it slowed down the display of Amazon pages quite a bit. Did me little good, so I dropped it.


----------



## jegreenwood

jegreenwood said:


> Someone's hacked my e-mail. The weird thing is they hacked both my accounts with unrelated servers and different passwords. And they hacked them again after I changed both passwords. My inboxes get completely deleted, not simply moved to trash. Who knows if they saved copies for themselves. I've spent quality time on the phone with Microsoft, Spectrum (for one account) and McAfee, who tells me my computer is clean. I can't get a person at Google, but I have looked for help on line. Fortunately I have back-ups, so I only lost a few. But I have to get this to stop.
> 
> My current No. 1 suspect is Apple. There have been reports of this problem deriving from an iOS bug. I updated to the newest version of iOS, but I'm not sure yet if that fixed things as these purges seem to happen overnight. I'm thinking I may have to do a complete reset on my iPhone and iPad, but I'd like to get further corroboration that iOS is the culprit.
> 
> By the way, in my troubleshooting I discovered that a Linux computer has been accessing my Gmail account since last December. This caused me to panic until I deduced that it was my Google Nest Mini.


So after a week of waiting up each morning to see if my inbox had been emptied (after having transferred everything important to my computer's hard drive each night), I concluded the problem was my iPhone. I spoke to tech support at Apple, who claimed that it wasn't a hack, but some code in the phone's mail app that had gone astray. We deleted the two accounts and recreated them and all has been well for the past four days. Still not completely comfortable (and still archiving mail each night), but only time will tell.


----------



## Jacck

jegreenwood said:


> So after a week of waiting up each morning to see if my inbox had been emptied (after having transferred everything important to my computer's hard drive each night), I concluded the problem was my iPhone. I spoke to tech support at Apple, who claimed that it wasn't a hack, but some code in the phone's mail app that had gone astray. We deleted the two accounts and recreated them and all has been well for the past four days. Still not completely comfortable (and still archiving mail each night), but only time will tell.


it is reasonable to keep two separate mail accounts for the phone and for your actual mail adress. Unfortunately, google and apple both require an email account for your phone. It is one way how they track you and spy on all your activities. So for my phone, I created a dummy email account, that I do not use for anything else.


----------



## Guest

jegreenwood said:


> So after a week of waiting up each morning to see if my inbox had been emptied (after having transferred everything important to my computer's hard drive each night), I concluded the problem was my iPhone. I spoke to tech support at Apple, who claimed that it wasn't a hack, but some code in the phone's mail app that had gone astray. We deleted the two accounts and recreated them and all has been well for the past four days. Still not completely comfortable (and still archiving mail each night), but only time will tell.


I was never tempted to use the Apple mail app for mail (except for the email that automatically comes with my iCloud, which I don't use except to receive about 1 promotional email a month from Apple). Too complicated. I use gmail and yahoo mail, and both provide their own email app which I use on my phone. My work email is read using the outlook app.


----------



## millionrainbows

I don't use cell phones for going on-line. I use them like telephones. My computer is my computer.


----------



## Luchesi

millionrainbows said:


> I don't use cell phones for going on-line. I use them like telephones. My computer is my computer.


I thought about carrying my computer around with me everywhere for email. My biceps would get SO big!


----------



## Luchesi

Baron Scarpia said:


> I was never tempted to use the Apple mail app for mail (except for the email that automatically comes with my iCloud, which I don't use except to receive about 1 promotional email a month from Apple). Too complicated. I use gmail and yahoo mail, and both provide their own email app which I use on my phone. My work email is read using the outlook app.


"Too complicated."
A tip for programmers. Add a big red button for users who just want a few simple functions!, and definitely don't want all the complexity in their face all the time.

It's not like you're learning valuable info, for the future. lol Everything changes so fast. New instructions to memorize just to type out and send an email. The send button is buried in all the 'powerful capabilities' I'll never use. I rarely use Windows and most of what I used to know is worthless, gone!


----------



## Ad Astra

How easy is it to use a 3D printer? I want one for homeschooling purposes but I don’t know if I could use it.


----------



## mrdoc

Ad Astra said:


> How easy is it to use a 3D printer? I want one for homeschooling purposes but I don't know if I could use it.


Can you afford one they must cost thousands?


----------



## Guest

I put my Windows 10 system to sleep. Next day I woke it up. It had decided to update itself, rebooted, and closed my development tools. Yay.

As a bonus, it decided I had moved over two time zones and was showing me time 2 hours earlier than it is. Yay, Yay!


----------



## bakechad

You can get a basic 3D printer for around $225 and they work pretty well.

Brands such as Monoprice & Creality are popular starter brands.


----------



## NoCoPilot

Yesterday my iMac updated from Catalina (OS 10) to Big Sur (OS 11). It was seamless, nothing broke, everything was right where I left it. Some odd changes though -- the highlight color is now red (everywhere) instead of blue. A couple of my desktop icons changed what they were. 

I did get some cool new wallpapers that change with the time of day.

I use Firefox exclusively as a browser; it is much more secure than Safari or Chrome. There are a few websites (2 or 3) that don't work with Firefox so I have to keep Safari on the ready, but only for those two or three.

I can't tell if it's faster or more stable because I never have had issues with those.


----------



## Luchesi

NoCoPilot said:


> Yesterday my iMac updated from Catalina (OS 10) to Big Sur (OS 11). It was seamless, nothing broke, everything was right where I left it. Some odd changes though -- the highlight color is now red (everywhere) instead of blue. A couple of my desktop icons changed what they were.
> 
> I did get some cool new wallpapers that change with the time of day.
> 
> I use Firefox exclusively as a browser; it is much more secure than Safari or Chrome. There are a few websites (2 or 3) that don't work with Firefox so I have to keep Safari on the ready, but only for those two or three.
> 
> I can't tell if it's faster or more stable because I never have had issues with those.


Upgrading to Big Sur is quite scary. Do I want to risk this world of hurt? Maybe it's been fixed..


----------



## Flamme

jegreenwood said:


> Someone's hacked my e-mail. The weird thing is they hacked both my accounts with unrelated servers and different passwords. And they hacked them again after I changed both passwords. My inboxes get completely deleted, not simply moved to trash. Who knows if they saved copies for themselves. I've spent quality time on the phone with Microsoft, Spectrum (for one account) and McAfee, who tells me my computer is clean. I can't get a person at Google, but I have looked for help on line. Fortunately I have back-ups, so I only lost a few. But I have to get this to stop.
> 
> My current No. 1 suspect is Apple. There have been reports of this problem deriving from an iOS bug. I updated to the newest version of iOS, but I'm not sure yet if that fixed things as these purges seem to happen overnight. I'm thinking I may have to do a complete reset on my iPhone and iPad, but I'd like to get further corroboration that iOS is the culprit.
> 
> By the way, in my troubleshooting I discovered that a Linux computer has been accessing my Gmail account since last December. This caused me to panic until I deduced that it was my Google Nest Mini.


How do you know it wqs hacked???


----------



## NoCoPilot

Luchesi said:


> Upgrading to Big Sur is quite scary. Do I want to risk this world of hurt?


Guy spends the whole video talking about the Catalina upgrade. Apparently his issue was that he couldn't charge an iPhone from his Mac afterward?

Listen, there are Mac people and there are Windows people, I get that -- and I have no appetite for opening that particular tin of sardines. This guy, though he rags on the terrible state of Windows, is obviously an MS-fanboy. Good for him.

My experience has been different, as I stated.


----------



## Chilham

I've installed Big Sur. I like it so far. Not least because my MacBook Pro doesn't get as hot when using Apple Music as it did with Catalina.


----------



## Luchesi

New Mac OS, in the past it's taking two hours or more to download and an hour or more to install (I think they've sped that up). Then hours over the next week to configure everything the way I want it. What will I benefit from all that?

What irritates me is, you need to buy PathFinder in order to use the Mac instruction set the most impressively. It's amazing! it's what Apple should be giving its users. Maybe they hold back great features (which are already in there) so that 3rd party developers can make a living? Anyway there's about 5 basic concepts in PathFinder that I can no longer go without! It's sad to go back to the Mac Finder, it's embarrassing for Apple when you experience what can be done.


----------



## Dan Ante

Just as I got W10 under some sort of control it did an update and I am back with the old useless set up, I will try a sys restore tomorrow as that has helped in the past. Oh how I hate W10 :devil:


----------



## Dorsetmike

I've never had any problems with Win 10, maybe because I'm still using Win7 Pro


----------



## TxllxT

Dan Ante said:


> Just as I got W10 under some sort of control it did an update and I am back with the old useless set up, I will try a sys restore tomorrow as that has helped in the past. Oh how I hate W10 :devil:


I notice how aggressively MS is pushing MS Edge with each update. Also the personal settings for standard programs are disrespected. There existed a 'search' problem on my PC making it unable to search in a file, but happily this has been repaired recently.


----------



## Flamme

Dan Ante said:


> Just as I got W10 under some sort of control it did an update and I am back with the old useless set up, I will try a sys restore tomorrow as that has helped in the past. Oh how I hate W10 :devil:


Im still on W7...Thats enuff ''novelty'' for me!


----------



## Dan Ante

On my old desk top I am still with Vista it runs perfectly except for some web sites that it can't access don't they realise they could be missing out on the sale of the century


----------



## Open Book

This thread should be more than a thread. There should be a subset of the forum for computer discussion. Maybe a group.


----------



## Luchesi

I needed a hard drive and this Seagate 16 TB caught my eye. I thought it might be problematic on my older iMac, but it's actually faster -- probably because it's new tech and it's so big --- and there will be no fragmentation issues in the near future. lol 

300 bucks, which is less than 20 dollars per terabyte. wow 

If i did the arithmetic extimate correctly I get; 

10c per meg - for half of my files (there’s always a lot of junk)
50cents of value in 10megs
50 dollars a gig
50,000 dollars a terabyte
800k for 16 terabytes — so for me this drive is worth 300 bucks plus tax

(I back up across many drives. When the gigabyte drives first came out I thought I don't want to lose a gigabyte! this is crazy! but now if I lose 800,000 dollars I’ll be crying!)


----------



## Luchesi

Please lengthen your message to at least 15 characters.


----------



## TxllxT

Xiaomi blacklisted https://www.androidauthority.com/xiaomi-blacklist-1193186/ Does anyone have experience with a Chinese version of Android / Google / YouTube / Gmail etc.?


----------



## Ad Astra

Luchesi said:


> I needed a hard drive and this Seagate 16 TB caught my eye. I thought it might be problematic on my older iMac, but it's actually faster -- probably because it's new tech and it's so big --- and there will be no fragmentation issues in the near future. lol
> 
> 300 bucks, which is less than 20 dollars per terabyte. wow
> 
> If i did the arithmetic extimate correctly I get;
> 
> 10c per meg - for half of my files (there's always a lot of junk)
> 50cents of value in 10megs
> 50 dollars a gig
> 50,000 dollars a terabyte
> 800k for 16 terabytes - so for me this drive is worth 300 bucks plus tax
> 
> (I back up across many drives. When the gigabyte drives first came out I thought I don't want to lose a gigabyte! this is crazy! but now if I lose 800,000 dollars I'll be crying!)


Wow that's a great price! If you done run into any issues I do a lot of my work on Mac have sone since I was a child and I'm pretty familiar with the OS/Unix.

I can't for see any issues as long as your OS is current or near current. I have an old MacBook Air (the 2nd gen iirc) it iruns the latest Mac OS just fine.


----------



## Ad Astra

TxllxT said:


> Xiaomi blacklisted https://www.androidauthority.com/xiaomi-blacklist-1193186/ Does anyone have experience with a Chinese version of Android / Google / YouTube / Gmail etc.?


What's the issue I have no experience of Android but my fiancé who is also on this site knows fluent Mandarin if that helps you?


----------



## Jacck

TxllxT said:


> Xiaomi blacklisted https://www.androidauthority.com/xiaomi-blacklist-1193186/ Does anyone have experience with a Chinese version of Android / Google / YouTube / Gmail etc.?


the problem is that Trump (and the other people from his administration) and no more trustworthy than the CCP, so hard to tell if they make these blacklists because Xiaomi is actually working with the Chinese millitary or they are just using dirty fight against the Chinese competition. From my perspective, it does not matter if my personal data gets siphoned to the US or China.


----------



## Luchesi

Windows-10-bug-corrupts-hard-drives-if-users-simply-look-at-icon


----------



## Ad Astra

Does anyone pay for a VPN? The free one I used has stopped working.


----------



## Guest

Have you tried Mozilla VPN? From the Firefox people.


----------



## Ad Astra

Baron Scarpia said:


> Have you tried Mozilla VPN? From the Firefox people.


No I stopped using Mozila products after they made some rather unethical business decisions. I don't understand how an open source company (I assume they are still open source) can start to censor search results and track user data. I don't want to get too involved in the discussion here there is a danger it will get "political". I've not touched Firefox in several years now.

I appreciate the reply though thank you for trying to help.


----------



## Dan Ante

Which free encryption software is the best for windows?? I have always used ‘SafeHouse explorer’ over the past 10 years or so.
Is there a better one?


----------



## KenOC

Things have gotten easier over the years. Seldom any more do I struggle to keep my home network running. But there are still glitches occasionally.

The whole network was down so I yanked my router from the circuit and plugged the cable modem directly into my PC. No joy. I unplugged and re-plugged the cables and things still didn’t work. Even switching them out for new cables didn’t help.

So I hopped over to the local Cox store and asked if they could check the modem for me. “No, but I can give you a new one.” Went home, plugged everything together, and all the appropriate lights on both the modem and the router lit up. Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections are all just fine now.

This made me so happy that I just had to share the news!


----------



## philoctetes

With Firefox outdating itself, getting too invasive, eliminating master passwords etc, I've been trying Brave as an alternative. I like the way it syncs, and it does seem quick. But I don't understand the omission of master (or primary) passwords. 

What do others use?


----------



## BobBrines

Haven't used FireFox for years. Clunky and slow. Used Chrome for a while, but started using Edge from its inception. I think it is now better than Chrome. I use Bing instead of Google. I have this thing about avoiding Alphabet products. Sure wish someone else owned YouTube.


----------



## Dan Ante

I have used FF for the last 4-5 years with both vista and W10, searching with google and Duck duck go and no problems with speed or passwords.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I have been using Pale Moon for a few months now. Works pretty good, but I understand it is based on Firefox.


----------



## Dan Ante

The only prolems that I get now are with W10 it is asolutly a source ofgreatfrustation there is so much keyboard lag I have to use my old desk topwith Vista to type annythinntgwith with word ad they have the cheek to send pop ups trying to get me purchas it.sorry MS not a chanceeee. grrr Annd yes this isfrom my new laptop with W10.


----------



## Art Rock

A few weeks ago I bought a new laptop. The old one (6+ years) was not gone yet, but was slow and had the tendency to overheat. I did prepare a USB stick of all important programmes copied from the old one to quickly get running. So far so good. Everything installed, everything worked fine, except that for some reason the new laptop did not offer me the chance to set Chrome as my default browser. No big deal.

In recent weeks I got error messages in Chrome that it could not update the program. Tonight I decided to uninstall Chrome and reinstall. Worked perfectly, I could now even set chrome as default browser, but... all passwords have disappeared. For every relevant site I have to ask for a new password, and also set that in my laptop in the shop and in my tablet. Computers.....


----------



## BobBrines

I purchased the password locker "LastPass" with the premium option. This allows me to set a user name/password on one computer and use it on others. It will set random string passwords of any length you feel required. DO NOT FORGET THE MASTER PASSWORD!! I have it saved off in a suitably obscure file location. Then I set the program sign-on to remember the master username and master password. That means that anyone who steals my computer has access to all of my passwords, but that's a risk I am willing to take.


----------



## Ralfy

I considered these articles and others:

https://digdeeper.neocities.org/ghost/browsers.html

https://tilde.club/~acz/shadow_wiki/browsers.xhtml

The gist is that Palemoon is probably the only one left to use, but it uses older code.

Given that, I decided to balance the need to accept some telemetry and tracking for functionality while maintaining privacy, and used the ff.

Firefox with about:config tweaks described here:

https://privacytools.io/browsers/#about_config

and two addons: Multi-Account Containers and CookieAutodelete (set to allow only cookies needed for logins).

With that, I do the ff.

1. I automatically run Facebook in its own container so it can't see any other sites that I visit. I do the same for Amazon and other social media sites, like Twitter. Because they're locked in their own containers, they can't see what I do elsewhere.

2. For the default non-container, I created a non-personal Google account (with Gmail and Youtube) which I can also use for forums and any website. They can track me all they want as they will only get info about a non-personal account, and they can't see what I do in any store, bank, or social media where I use personal accounts.

3. For all stores, I put them in a stores container; for banks, in a banks container, and so on. They can only see what I do in their sites and not elsewhere.

4. For my business Google account, I use another browser, Iridium. It's like Chrome but stripped of any privacy issues, but can still be used to install extensions.

For the wide-spectrum blocker, I use Adguard for Desktop (I got the lifetime subscription for a promo price of $20, good for three devices) which covers both browsers plus some Windows tracking. I still added uBlock Origin with all filters off for cosmetic filtering.

For the password manager, I used KeePassXC with long, randomly generated passwords for each site.

If LibreWolf is developed and functional, I'll consider switching to it. The same goes for Icecat Weasel and the Dot Browser. In any event, I am still sticking to Mozilla-based browsers because of functions like about:config (with tweaks to remove telemetry, etc.) and CSS (to customize themes or create features likes status bars, etc.).


----------



## SixFootScowl

Ralfy said:


> I considered these articles and others:
> 
> https://digdeeper.neocities.org/ghost/browsers.html
> 
> https://tilde.club/~acz/shadow_wiki/browsers.xhtml
> 
> The gist is that Palemoon is probably the only one left to use, but it uses older code.


I have been using Palemoon since later fall 2020. I works fine but some things don't. On ebay there is a feature you can hover over a product image and it blows up. Not in Palemoon. This is not the same as clicking it for a larger image, but more a hover/magnify feature. Is it Palemoon or Palemoon on my Linux OS.

My local grocery does not always sign in for me on Palemoon. So occasionally I go back to Firefox.

I thought I read somewhere that Palemoon is based on Firefox.


----------



## Luchesi

Ralfy said:


> I considered these articles and others:
> 
> https://digdeeper.neocities.org/ghost/browsers.html
> 
> https://tilde.club/~acz/shadow_wiki/browsers.xhtml
> 
> The gist is that Palemoon is probably the only one left to use, but it uses older code.
> 
> Given that, I decided to balance the need to accept some telemetry and tracking for functionality while maintaining privacy, and used the ff.
> 
> Firefox with about:config tweaks described here:
> 
> https://privacytools.io/browsers/#about_config
> 
> and two addons: Multi-Account Containers and CookieAutodelete (set to allow only cookies needed for logins).
> 
> With that, I do the ff.
> 
> 1. I automatically run Facebook in its own container so it can't see any other sites that I visit. I do the same for Amazon and other social media sites, like Twitter. Because they're locked in their own containers, they can't see what I do elsewhere.
> 
> 2. For the default non-container, I created a non-personal Google account (with Gmail and Youtube) which I can also use for forums and any website. They can track me all they want as they will only get info about a non-personal account, and they can't see what I do in any store, bank, or social media where I use personal accounts.
> 
> 3. For all stores, I put them in a stores container; for banks, in a banks container, and so on. They can only see what I do in their sites and not elsewhere.
> 
> 4. For my business Google account, I use another browser, Iridium. It's like Chrome but stripped of any privacy issues, but can still be used to install extensions.
> 
> For the wide-spectrum blocker, I use Adguard for Desktop (I got the lifetime subscription for a promo price of $20, good for three devices) which covers both browsers plus some Windows tracking. I still added uBlock Origin with all filters off for cosmetic filtering.
> 
> For the password manager, I used KeePassXC with long, randomly generated passwords for each site.
> 
> If LibreWolf is developed and functional, I'll consider switching to it. The same goes for Icecat Weasel and the Dot Browser. In any event, I am still sticking to Mozilla-based browsers because of functions like about:config (with tweaks to remove telemetry, etc.) and CSS (to customize themes or create features likes status bars, etc.).


Thanks for those concepts.

What do you fear will happen if you don't protect yourself?


----------



## Dan Ante

How many of you guys use W10 I have it on a lap top 12-15 months old and have severe keyboard lag on any thing I try to type, I have to revert to my old faithful desk top with Vista for all typing needs, I am so fed up with it I am thinking of installing a different system.


----------



## Art Rock

W10 on laptop, both my previous one and the new one I got in December 2020. No problem with the typing.


----------



## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern

Dan Ante said:


> How many of you guys use W10 I have it on a lap top 12-15 months old and have severe keyboard lag on any thing I try to type, I have to revert to my old faithful desk top with Vista for all typing needs, I am so fed up with it I am thinking of installing a different system.


Have you tried updating your drivers?


----------



## Jacck

Luchesi said:


> Thanks for those concepts.
> 
> What do you fear will happen if you don't protect yourself?


the biggest danger imho is the data aggregation about you. There are data broker companies that specialize in aggregating data about people, ie they collect all data they can mine about you, create a profile about you, and this data is sold to various customers such as banks, insurance companies. 
https://us.norton.com/internetsecur...brokers-find-and-sell-your-personal-info.html
or read about surveillance capitalism
https://theconversation.com/explain...lism-and-how-does-it-shape-our-economy-119158

in my opinion any data aggregation about customers should be prohibited by law.


----------



## Luchesi

Jacck said:


> the biggest danger imho is the data aggregation about you. There are data broker companies that specialize in aggregating data about people, ie they collect all data they can mine about you, create a profile about you, and this data is sold to various customers such as banks, insurance companies.
> https://us.norton.com/internetsecur...brokers-find-and-sell-your-personal-info.html
> or read about surveillance capitalism
> https://theconversation.com/explain...lism-and-how-does-it-shape-our-economy-119158
> 
> in my opinion any data aggregation about customers should be prohibited by law.


People are funny. This planet's global circulation is bubbling more and more intensely every year -- and species are going extinct every day, but some bank might have a paragraph about me. That's what I worry about..


----------



## Jacck

Luchesi said:


> People are funny. This planet's global circulation is bubbling more and more intensely every year -- and species are going extinct every day, but some bank might have a paragraph about me. That's what I worry about..


this digital surveillance capitalism is quite reminiscent of the infamous Chinese credit system, only it is hidden from public eye. Banks can grade customers according to data gathered abou them, categorizing some people as "trash" and other as "golden goose" etc. Chinese or Russian hackers can steal the data and then abuse it to manipulate elections, wage informatiion wars etc. The state of the planet is of course sad, but as long as people elect stupid politicians, not much can be done.


----------



## NoCoPilot

SixFootScowl said:


> I thought I read somewhere that Palemoon is based on Firefox.


Does Palemoon have the same protection add-ons as Firefox: AdBlock, Ghostery, NoScript?


----------



## Dan Ante

GucciManeIsTheNewWebern said:


> Have you tried updating your drivers?


Not manually, but I checked the update history and there has been 18 driver updates and 11 other updates the last one being 13/3/21, I do have a usb stick which came with the PC it is a DELL product W10 product key, I will have to check all the numbers and see if it does relate to this PC.
.


----------



## Taggart

Dan Ante said:


> Not manually, but I checked the update history and there has been 18 driver updates and 11 other updates the last one being 13/3/21, I do have a usb stick which came with the PC it is a DELL product W10 product key, I will have to check all the numbers and see if it does relate to this PC.
> .


Use Dell Support Assist (free from Dell even if out of warranty) to check your machine over and also check for (and install) driver updates. You can also use it to troubleshoot particular problems.


----------



## SixFootScowl

NoCoPilot said:


> Does Palemoon have the same protection add-ons as Firefox: AdBlock, Ghostery, NoScript?


I don't know. My son set mine up on my Linux OS. It does have an ad blocker, says Adblock Latitude is enabled.

Another browser that might be worth a shot is https://brave.com/


----------



## Dan Ante

Taggart said:


> Use Dell Support Assist (free from Dell even if out of warranty) to check your machine over and also check for (and install) driver updates. You can also use it to troubleshoot particular problems.


Wow, I thought I was on my own, thanks Taggart I will try to figure it out and see what happens.


----------



## Dan Ante

Taggart said:


> Use Dell Support Assist (free from Dell even if out of warranty) to check your machine over and also check for (and install) driver updates. You can also use it to troubleshoot particular problems.


I installed "Restoro" to day (free version) then tried twice to run and fix but it seemed to stall all the time, now just before bed I thought I would see if any thing had changed and this post is the result (fixed)  thTe question is 'for how long' am I a happy chappy???

Thanks for you help Taggart, you are worth your weight in gold


----------



## Dan Ante

Well it lasted for just over 24hrs then back to lag etc tried to use Restoro again but it would not recognise pass word so now doing a system restore which has just finished and still have fault, I will have to write to Dell NZ and see if they can fix it.


----------



## Art Rock

Chrome is continuing to behave badly, even after a completely new installation. It still says it cannot update and asks for yet another new installation. To top it off, it refused to generate any automatic log-in this morning, so I had to look up every freaking password and re-type it.

Well, it's been over a dozen years, and we had good times together, but I just dumped Chrome and switched to Firefox.


----------



## Taggart

Browsers - yuk!

The trouble doesn't have to be chrome. Microsoft caused problems a while back with the 1903 windows update. This interfered with chrome where you couldn't right click on the taskbar icon to get at shortcuts.

I also get problems when Opera updates and loses the taskbar shortcuts until you restart.

I currently have 3 active browsers - chrome for a lot of things - mainly because it allows google image search and translate very easily; Firefox for TC because it seems best; opera for occasional use and for testing out website problems. I've also got edge and IE but hardly ever use them unless somebody brings up a problem with the site. There are extensions for Firefox that add quick access to image search and translate options but I like to keep it lean and switch browsers.


----------



## Dan Ante

I have just had Fibre www connection installed and can’t tell any difference, our old speed with copper was 5-7 mbps and now it is 80 plus mbps but it still takes the same amount of time to load web sites etc.
Could that be down to my computers?


----------



## Luchesi

just type "chrome bad browser" into Youtube

I was surprised at all the worrisome issues.


----------



## Dan Ante

Luchesi said:


> just type "chrome bad browser" into Youtube
> 
> I was surprised at all the worrisome issues.


I use Firefox.................


----------



## Taggart

Dan Ante said:


> I have just had Fibre www connection installed and can't tell any difference, our old speed with copper was 5-7 mbps and now it is 80 plus mbps but it still takes the same amount of time to load web sites etc.
> Could that be down to my computers?


Web pages with not too many graphics represent a small amount of data. The real work is converting the code to a web page and that's down to the computer.

The real test of how good your connection is would be streaming video. Also try a speed checker, I don't know what works in your part of the world. They may tell you you're getting 80 mbps but you need to check to see that you are.

Try downloading a large file from a "good" site. Not all websites are equal and some may be slow. Looking at how fast your Microsoft updates take to download is often a good test.


----------



## Jacck

Taggart said:


> Web pages with not too many graphics represent a small amount of data. The real work is converting the code to a web page and that's down to the computer.
> 
> The real test of how good your connection is would be streaming video. Also try a speed checker, I don't know what works in your part of the world. They may tell you you're getting 80 mbps but you need to check to see that you are.
> 
> Try downloading a large file from a "good" site. Not all websites are equal and some may be slow. Looking at how fast your Microsoft updates take to download is often a good test.


in the time of modems (telephone link connection) I used to turn off image displays on webpages to load them faster and save data. Nowadays I have optical cable with unlimited data and 53 Mbps
https://fast.com/


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> I use Firefox.................


Same here. It's the only browser which itself doesn't track one's movements on the web.


----------



## Kiki

It's shocking to see there are fellow Firefox users! Thought we were going to go extinct... Edge is slowly and gradually gaining my use time. I use both on Windows. On Android, Edge is definitely faster, and it doesn't have the Android Firefox's Frankenstein UI. The trouble is, it still can't block media autoplay even when set to "BLOCK". Shame. Still can't replace Firefox.


----------



## Dan Ante

progmatist said:


> Same here. It's the only browser which itself doesn't track one's movements on the web.


Try DuckDuckGo for Fire Fox


----------



## progmatist

Kiki said:


> It's shocking to see there are fellow Firefox users! Thought we were going to go extinct... Edge is slowly and gradually gaining my use time. I use both on Windows. On Android, Edge is definitely faster, and it doesn't have the Android Firefox's Frankenstein UI. The trouble is, it still can't block media autoplay even when set to "BLOCK". Shame. Still can't replace Firefox.


I can't stand Edge. Typing an address in the address bar results in a Bing search, rather than going where I tell it to go.


----------



## perempe

Added uBlock Origin to browser, YouTube is enjoyable again.


----------



## Taggart

progmatist said:


> I can't stand Edge. Typing an address in the address bar results in a Bing search, rather than going where I tell it to go.


See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...oft-edge-cccaf51c-a4df-a43e-8036-d4d2c527a791 for how to change the search engine in the address bar.


----------



## progmatist

Taggart said:


> See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...oft-edge-cccaf51c-a4df-a43e-8036-d4d2c527a791 for how to change the search engine in the address bar.


The specific search engine is beside the point. When I type a web address, I want the browser to go to that address....not do a search on it.


----------



## ToneDeaf&Senile

I'm a Firefox fan too. Been so for ages. DuckDuckGo search engine too. Those who prefer the Chromium engine (which Chrome Browser is built on) might want to give Brave Browser a look-see. It's Chromium based, and accepts Chrome extensions, but is more privacy minded. I use it as a backup for those rare times when Firefox goes amiss. Here's its website: Brave Browser


----------



## progmatist

^^ Thanks. The one thing I find most annoying about Firefox is it underlines many words beyond the typical vocabulary as misspelled...even though they are not. Chrome works much better in that regard.


----------



## Dan Ante

Has anyone used the new Firefox ?


----------



## Krummhorn

Yes, v89.0. 64 bit. 

Working fine for me as all other previous versions.


----------



## Art Rock

I'm using version 89.0.0.7817 apparently (pretty recent download). In general happy with it (switched from Chrome in April). Also looking into Vivaldi at the moment.


----------



## Taggart

Yes, v89.0. 64 bit. 

It's getting a little glitzy. Works well but getting too many "features"


----------



## progmatist

In my experience, older versions of Firefox are slow to start, regardless of the hardware on which I run it. The newest version starts right up. They apparently removed much of the bloat.


----------



## Guest

Chrome is a fine browser, but it is distributed by the company that's business model is skimming information from you and selling it. Why would I want to go out of my way to make it easier for them? Firefox is just fine. On Apple systems I use Safari.


----------



## Dan Ante

Thanks for your reply fellow Foxes I have installed on both PCs W10 and my old Vista, so far working OK and cant notice any difference in performance compared to the FF system that was already installed. :tiphat:


----------



## Flamme

It crushes a lot...


----------



## Art Rock

The more I look at Vivaldi, the more I like it. It is fast (I did not time it, but it looks faster than Chrome or Firefox), and comes with a built-in adblocker.


----------



## Flamme

Art Rock said:


> The more I look at Vivaldi, the more I like it. It is fast (I did not time it, but it looks faster than Chrome or Firefox), and comes with a built-in adblocker.


Has a smooth name attached to it, if nothing! Does it have a RED interface???


----------



## TxllxT

The latest Windows 10 update has added a weather icon to the taskbar at the right bottom. Now a strange thing occurs. My wife and I use the same wireless modem, both we have Windows 10 on our PCs, but my wife has a different temperature than I on her PC.


----------



## progmatist

TxllxT said:


> The latest Windows 10 update has added a weather icon to the taskbar at the right bottom. Now a strange thing occurs. My wife and I use the same wireless modem, both we have Windows 10 on our PCs, but my wife has a different temperature than I on her PC.


I find Windows 10 is becoming much too bloated to be useful. It's getting to the point I use it only for apps which require it. For everything else, Linux.


----------



## Becca

I have used Firefox v89 however I found it quite unstable when using multiple video windows in a way that the previous versions were not, i.e. relatively frequent crashes, consequently I went back to the CentOS/RedHat 7 extended support release 78.10esr - it has all the security patches but not the new features/bugs.


----------



## Dan Ante

Becca said:


> I have used Firefox v89 however I found it quite unstable when using multiple video windows in a way that the previous versions were not, i.e. relatively frequent crashes, consequently I went back to the CentOS/RedHat 7 extended support release 78.10esr - it has all the security patches but not the new features/bugs.


I deeply regret having W10 it has been nothing short of a disaster and as you say it is very unstable.


----------



## Guest

Dan Ante said:


> I deeply regret having W10 it has been nothing short of a disaster and as you say it is very unstable.


I would say Disaster is overstating it, slightly. My main gripe with Windows 10 is that fact that there is no way delay an update until a convenient time. Even if I have the computer sleeping it will decide to reboot and update without consulting me, causing me to lose my working environment. How could I run a long-term simulation on such a computer if it will decide to reboot itself whenever it sees fit?

Other than that, I don't find it does anything that I couldn't just as easily do with Windows 7, and there is a huge amount of useless, distracting fluff in the user interface.


----------



## Dan Ante

Baron Scarpia said:


> I would say Disaster is overstating it, slightly. My main gripe with Windows 10 is that fact that there is no way delay an update until a convenient time. Even if I have the computer sleeping it will decide to reboot and update without consulting me, causing me to lose my working environment. How could I run a long-term simulation on such a computer if it will decide to reboot itself whenever it sees fit?
> 
> Other than that, I don't find it does anything that I couldn't just as easily do with Windows 7, and there is a huge amount of useless, distracting fluff in the user interface.


There is a way you can delay the installation of an update by 7 days go to settings then Windows update > advanced options to (pause updates) I also find there is a lot of stuff I just don't use but if I live long enough .. .. who knows.


----------



## progmatist

Baron Scarpia said:


> I would say Disaster is overstating it, slightly. *My main gripe with Windows 10 is that fact that there is no way delay an update until a convenient time. Even if I have the computer sleeping it will decide to reboot and update without consulting me, causing me to lose my working environment. How could I run a long-term simulation on such a computer if it will decide to reboot itself whenever it sees fit?*
> 
> Other than that, I don't find it does anything that I couldn't just as easily do with Windows 7, and there is a huge amount of useless, distracting fluff in the user interface.


Not just updates, other background maintenance as well. Every few days when I power up the machine, the drive and SATA buss get so bogged down, I can't do anything else. I have to wait for it to finish doing whatever it decided to do.


----------



## Becca

Dan Ante said:


> I deeply regret having W10 it has been nothing short of a disaster and as you say it is very unstable.


Clarification: I was not making any reference to W10, I was referring to Firefox crashes due to multiple video streams within a browser page. I had the problem with FF v89 on CentOS7, a problem which did not occur with the previous FF release on CentOS, nor on the long term stable release.


----------



## Dan Ante

Becca said:


> Clarification: I was not making any reference to W10, I was referring to Firefox crashes due to multiple video streams within a browser page. I had the problem with FF v89 on CentOS7, a problem which did not occur with the previous FF release on CentOS, nor on the long term stable release.


Sorry, it is obvious to me now.


----------



## progmatist

Becca said:


> Clarification: I was not making any reference to W10, I was referring to Firefox crashes due to multiple video streams within a browser page. I had the problem with FF v89 on CentOS7, a problem which did not occur with the previous FF release on CentOS, nor on the long term stable release.


As I mentioned in a previous post, Firefox v89 seems to have lost much of its bloat. It's possible some of that bloat made previous versions more stable.


----------



## haydnguy

For everyone that hated Windows 10.

Good News! Windows 11 will fix everything!! 

Actually being able to run Android apps (those games I play) is pretty cool. Plus WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is of course cool. Here it is


----------



## Becca

haydnguy said:


> Plus WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is of course cool.


I have to wonder what the point is of this  particularly as it says " without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine" and then goes on to say "The newest version of WSL uses Hyper-V architecture to enable its virtualization."

Hmm, maybe you can run WINE (WINdows Emulation) on the Linux under Windows with WINE supporting WSL which is running ... :lol:


----------



## Dan Ante

WELL i HATE w10 and if I ever get the %[email protected]@%8keyoard fixed I will try to d//lit..


----------



## progmatist

Becca said:


> Hmm, maybe you can run WINE (WINdows Emulation) on the Linux under Windows with WINE supporting WSL which is running ... :lol:


WINE on Linux used to be my be my preferred method of running Reaper, for recording my vinyl records. Now Reaper has several Linux versions for other hardware platforms, including ARM7. Now I can use a Raspberry Pi to record records in 24/96 Hi-Res without a problem.

And for those who don't know, WINE stands for W.ine I.s N.ot an E.mulator


----------



## Luchesi

This guy says think about how powerful your PC is before considering Win11


----------



## Flamme

An information overflow lately and mind somehow enjoys ''abusing'' the relative anonimity of the internet...It really is a ''wild west'' and need strong rules...Maybe pulling the plug on social media that some ''authoritarion'' countries practice is not so bad after all.


----------



## progmatist

Flamme said:


> An information overflow lately and mind somehow enjoys ''abusing'' the relative anonimity of the internet...It really is a ''wild west'' and need strong rules...Maybe pulling the plug on social media that some ''authoritarion'' countries practice is not so bad after all.


Indeed. The democratizing of the news by eliminating the gatekeepers has, to put it generously, falsified the news. Combine that with people who believe if it's on the internet, it must be true....then we have a serious problems.


----------



## haydnguy

WSL is primarily designed for programmers who want to do cross-platform development (Linux and Windows). I tried to find an article that is easy to read on the WSL that is coming out with Windows 11 but I couldn't on a quick search.

Sorry I've been so long.


----------



## haydnguy

Luchesi said:


> This guy says think about how powerful your PC is before considering Win11


I agree with everything they said in that video clip. There is one big issue that they did not mention. The TLS MUST be at least 2.0. Any TLS before 2.0 will not be compatible. With all the complaints about compatibility, I would be shocked if they didn't make some modifications to this.

I have a spare laptop. My wife bought me a "low end" HP on the QVC television program so I used that for Windows 11. It worked fine. I tried some different things. One thing I tried was to install Bitdefender (anti-malware program). It didn't play nice on Windows 11. It got into a Blue Screen of Death loop. (They have changed the BSOD in Windows 11 to green}. I used a USB stick to reinstall Windows 10 and THEN re-install Windows 11. I did try Malwarebytes and it works. If there isn't a spare laptop laying around I would just wait until the final release this fall. This "Dev Version" is really an alpha version. It really does work pretty flawlessly but after they start adding additional things to it many more bugs will start cropping up.


----------



## Flamme

progmatist said:


> Indeed. The democratizing of the news by eliminating the gatekeepers has, to put it generously, falsified the news. Combine that with people who believe if it's on the internet, it must be true....then we have a serious problems.


Umm but not just ''fake'' news...Its basically a ''dark forest'' where there are literally NO LAWS whatsoever...Everything is ''available'', one click away...And thats not always a good thing.


----------



## Flamme

I didnt turn on my pc for a day and I feel a bit of toxicity has faded away...


----------



## progmatist

haydnguy said:


> WSL is primarily designed for programmers who want to do cross-platform development (Linux and Windows). I tried to find an article that is easy to read on the WSL that is coming out with Windows 11 but I couldn't on a quick search.
> 
> Sorry I've been so long.


Microsoft Visual Studio has been capable of cross developing for Mac OSX and Linux for some time.


----------



## haydnguy

progmatist said:


> Microsoft Visual Studio has been capable of cross developing for Mac OSX and Linux for some time.


WSL has been out for some time but they are making Windows and Linux much more seamless with each version. I haven't been keeping close watch on it but I seem to remember that they will allow you to run Linux GUI apps with this new version for Windows 11. The new WSL hasn't been released to the new Dev channel but I understand that it will be updated from now on in the Windows Update like any other update. I would have to look up to see all the new stuff.

I just remembered I think you'll be able to have access to the Windows file system from Linux, like you can do a directory list and those types of things. I don't know what the limits are.


----------



## progmatist

haydnguy said:


> WSL has been out for some time but they are making Windows and Linux much more seamless with each version. I haven't been keeping close watch on it but I seem to remember that they will allow you to run Linux GUI apps with this new version for Windows 11. The new WSL hasn't been released to the new Dev channel but I understand that it will be updated from now on in the Windows Update like any other update. I would have to look up to see all the new stuff.
> 
> I just remembered I think you'll be able to have access to the Windows file system from Linux, like you can do a directory list and those types of things. I don't know what the limits are.


The main issue most distros of Linux have is writing to an NTFS partition. Due primarily to the security and user privilege issues.


----------



## TxllxT

*Invalid Partition Table*

Recently I bought a 4Tb external harddisk, which has an USB 3.2 connection through which it also receives electric currant. Well, it looks wonderfully small and easy to carry etc. But my PC encountered a problem. It recognizes the external harddisk not as an external harddisk but as an USB stick. And because of the huge storage the bios of the PC supposes that this is the startup disk. 'Invalid partition table' was the message I got. What is needed is to enter the bios (hit delete during the startup) and renew the startup order of the disks inside the PC. Perhaps this experience will help other buyers of the newest 4Tb disks...


----------



## Becca

progmatist said:


> The main issue most distros of Linux have is writing to an NTFS partition. Due primarily to the security and user privilege issues.


Considering that I have managed to do that for many years, I'm not sure what the point is.


----------



## Becca

haydnguy said:


> WSL has been out for some time but they are making Windows and Linux much more seamless with each version.


Until such time as someone figures out how to make NTFS and the various Linux file systems (ext*, etc., etc.) work transparently (e.g. symlinks, Linux case sensitivity), it ain't ever going to be seamless. My company has some software that allows (mostly) transparent account integration between Linux and Active Directory but the &*$# case sensitivity issue is an ongoing problem.


----------



## progmatist

Becca said:


> Considering that I have managed to do that for many years, I'm not sure what the point is.


Again, it depends on the distro. It's more problematic with some than others. Business oriented distros in particular tend not to play well with NTFS partitions. Many distro developers frankly don't want to be held liable for accidental data corruption on an NTFS partition. They won't even include support to write to them.

Where user permissions come into play is when an NTFS partition is created on a Windows machine, more often than not, only the user account which created it can write to it. On a different Windows system, or with a different user account, it's easy to "take ownership." When accessing it, simply say yes to the security warning. If not logged in as an administrator, additionally type in an administrative password. To make a partition universally accessible, permissions must be changed to "everyone full control." On a linux system, this is impossible. The chown command errors out and does nothing.


----------



## Dan Ante

Firstly I was not aware the computer thread has been discussing W11 but I received no notifications at all, I had to have a new keyboard fitted which has cured 95% of the problems that I experienced (W10) and at last thing are going OK now to my question…
Yesterday I had a pop up on my PC saying it can run W11, I just booted PC to night and another pop up asking if I wanted to install W11, I have made a restore point but taken it no further have any of you experienced W11 and have you had these pop ups is it better to stay with the devil you know ?


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> Firstly I was not aware the computer thread has been discussing W11 but I received no notifications at all, I had to have a new keyboard fitted which has cured 95% of the problems that I experienced (W10) and at last thing are going OK now to my question…
> Yesterday I had a pop up on my PC saying it can run W11, I just booted PC to night and another pop up asking if I wanted to install W11, I have made a restore point but taken it no further have any of you experienced W11 and have you had these pop ups is it better to stay with the devil you know ?


I haven't received any pop-ups, but then it says my processor isn't compatible. The minimum processor requirements are listed as 1GHz, and 2 or more cores. My 3rd generation i7 far exceeds that, but because it isn't at least a 10th generation, for some reason, Win11 doesn't like it.

I can only surmise Microsoft wishes to make more money by selling Win11 on upgraded hardware, rather than giving it away to everybody and their siblings. The list of compatible processors appears to be based on what's currently on the market. Not their actual capability. My 3rd generation i7 can run circles around the Atom and Celeron processors on the list.

If this is indeed Microsoft's strategy, it couldn't come at a worse time. We're in the midst of a global chip shortage. A spike in demand caused by the release of Win11 is sure to reverse 5 decades of Moore's Law.


----------



## Kiki

Will Microsoft budge on their stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11?

By their Win 10 ex-support date in 2025, I bet there will still be millions of PCs out there that will not meet their current Win 11 hardware requirements, and the number will probably be worse than when they tried to push the Win 7 to Win 10 migration, because this time some (or probably most) people simply cannot upgrade even if they want to.

Will people replace their PCs in order to run Win 11? I doubt it. I certainly won't.

Will the recent surge of PC sales, although now slowing down, enough to replace a majority of old PCs? We are talking about "old" being say 5 years old here, so I also doubt it.

I bet, by 2025, security concerns over these old PCs running Win 10 could either make Microsoft extend their Win 10 support or lower their stringent hardware requirements for Win 11.


----------



## progmatist

Kiki said:


> Will Microsoft budge on their stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11?
> 
> By their Win 10 ex-support date in 2025, I bet there will still be millions of PCs out there that will not meet their current Win 11 hardware requirements, and the number will probably be worse than when they tried to push the Win 7 to Win 10 migration, because this time some (or probably most) people simply cannot upgrade even if they want to.
> 
> Will people replace their PCs in order to run Win 11? I doubt it. I certainly won't.
> 
> Will the recent surge of PC sales, although now slowing down, enough to replace a majority of old PCs? We are talking about "old" being say 5 years old here, so I also doubt it.
> 
> I bet, by 2025, security concerns over these old PCs running Win 10 could either make Microsoft extend their Win 10 support or lower their stringent hardware requirements for Win 11.


Not even 5 years. The 10th Generation Core "i" series only dates back a couple of years to 2019. What makes it "compatible" with Win11 is it's still on the market.


----------



## progmatist

Is it just me, or has Google search, their core business started to really suck? The top results have become so saturated with paid links, the overall search has become as irrelevant as the likes of Excite and Alta Vista were back in the day.


----------



## Dorsetmike

I'm still running Win7 on 2 PCs and a laptop, it does everything I need, "it ain't broke, why fix it?" Having read peoples complaints about Win 10 and its seemingly continuous updating problems I see no reason to change, one piece of software I use a lot even requires an XP emulator - Luddites of the world unite!


----------



## progmatist

Dorsetmike said:


> I'm still running Win7 on 2 PCs and a laptop, it does everything I need, "it ain't broke, why fix it?" Having read peoples complaints about Win 10 and its seemingly continuous updating problems I see no reason to change, one piece of software I use a lot even requires an XP emulator - Luddites of the world unite!


I still use Win7 with my old M-Audio Delta 1010 audio interface. That's when driver updates for that card ended. The machine dual boots to XP for XP only apps. Most notable of which is the patch librarian for my old Roland SH-201 synthesizer.


----------



## Couchie

progmatist said:


> Is it just me, or has Google search, their core business started to really suck? The top results have become so saturated with paid links, the overall search has become as irrelevant as the likes of Excite and Alta Vista were back in the day.


Yes it has. I hate that instead of searching for what you type in, it will now modify or delete search terms to search instead for what it thinks is a better or more popular search... absolute garbage if you are looking for something specific.


----------



## starthrower

Try Ixquick search engine. Google is great if you enjoy being hounded by ads every time you look in to some product.


----------



## Dan Ante

After approx 2 hrs watching YT videos last night I received the warning your Battery is running low, my laptop is getting on for 2yrs old does that sound right? do videos use more power?


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> After approx 2 hrs watching YT videos last night I received the warning your Battery is running low, my laptop is getting on for 2yrs old does that sound right? do videos use more power?


Yes, for 2 reasons: 1) Decoding video is very processor intensive, both the CPU and GPU. This in turn uses more wattage. 2) The screen is always on. The screen on most laptops is the one thing eating the most power. You could perhaps extend your viewing time a bit by dimming the screen.

*EDIT:*
It may be time for a new battery. As lithium ion batteries are constantly discharged and recharged, they become less and less capable of holding a charge. A telltale sign of this phenomenon would be it takes less and less time to fully charge. If for example it used to take 2 hours to fully charge, but now takes an hour or 45 minutes to fully charge. It's also important to occasionally allow the battery to completely run out. This keeps it from developing a "memory." If you always plug it in at 35%, eventually it'll start behaving at 35% as if it reached 0%.


----------



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist

Best resource to learn about GANs?


----------



## Dan Ante

progmatist said:


> Yes, for 2 reasons: 1) Decoding video is very processor intensive, both the CPU and GPU. This in turn uses more wattage. 2) The screen is always on. The screen on most laptops is the one thing eating the most power. You could perhaps extend your viewing time a bit by dimming the screen.
> 
> *EDIT:*
> It may be time for a new battery. As lithium ion batteries are constantly discharged and recharged, they become less and less capable of holding a charge. A telltale sign of this phenomenon would be it takes less and less time to fully charge. If for example it used to take 2 hours to fully charge, but now takes an hour or 45 minutes to fully charge. It's also important to occasionally allow the battery to completely run out. This keeps it from developing a "memory." If you always plug it in at 35%, eventually it'll start behaving at 35% as if it reached 0%.


I Used to run with dimmed screen but now see it is not dimmed so this may have changed at the latest update, and yes I am guilty of charging without checking battery state but will now change my bad habits. Thanks


----------



## Dan Ante

Another question. 

My BB fiber connection has just been increased from 100mbps to 300mbps at no charge. When I do a speed check it shows that 100mbps is still my max speed. I am checking this on my desk top PC running Vista which is hard wired to modem (not my lap top W10) my question is would this old program (Vista) be the problem in not being able to handle this new increased speed?
As far as I can see it should not make any difference but my BB provider is now ignoring my emails on this matter…


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> Another question.
> 
> My BB fiber connection has just been increased from 100mbps to 300mbps at no charge. When I do a speed check it shows that 100mbps is still my max speed. I am checking this on my desk top PC running Vista which is hard wired to modem (not my lap top W10) my question is would this old program (Vista) be the problem in not being able to handle this new increased speed?
> As far as I can see it should not make any difference but my BB provider is now ignoring my emails on this matter…


Most likely, your modem is too old to handle the higher speeds. A new modem won't cost all that much these days.

*EDIT:* Or it could be you're using a 10/100 network. You may have to upgrade to a gigabit router, Cat 5e or 6 Ethernet cabling, and on a PC still running Vista, there's a good chance you'll have to add a gigabit Ethernet adapter.


----------



## Taggart

Another thing to do is check the source of the speed check. We had this when using cable, it went up to 150Mb but some sources could only handle 65Mb so got silly results.


----------



## TxllxT

The latest Windows 10 update has produced a Fahrenheit mess in the taskbar, where the weather forecast is summarised. My wife has an all Dutch PC and got the Fahrenheit bug as well. After a lot of searching in Microsoft's news page I got Celcius back in the taskbar.


----------



## Dan Ante

TxllxT said:


> The latest Windows 10 update has produced a Fahrenheit mess in the taskbar, where the weather forecast is summarised. My wife has an all Dutch PC and got the Fahrenheit bug as well. After a lot of searching in Microsoft's news page I got Celcius back in the taskbar.


I have just noticed that my weather icon is showing F instead of C how did you change it?


----------



## KevinW

Dan Ante said:


> I have just noticed that my weather icon is showing F instead of C how did you change it?


Bruh, that is weird. If you can access the weather application of your Windows 10 computer, you can change the temperature unit in the settings. I am using Windows 11 so I do not know whether they are exactly the same, but that is the solution I can think of.


----------



## TxllxT

Dan Ante said:


> I have just noticed that my weather icon is showing F instead of C how did you change it?


The weather forecast summary is part of Microsoft's News (which pops up when you click on the forecast). Somewhere on that page I found a more elaborate weather forecast, and lo! there I could change the 'F' into 'C' with the result that the taskbar shows 'C'. I've switched off all pop-ups from the taskbar that spontaneously fill the screen when you hover your mouse of it.


----------



## Luchesi

An interesting video about MSFT's blue screen of death. This guy's impressive and entertaining.


----------



## Dan Ante

KevinW said:


> Bruh, that is weird. If you can access the weather application of your Windows 10 computer, you can change the temperature unit in the settings. I am using Windo but not sure if it is any betterws 11 so I do not know whether they are exactly the same, but that is the solution I can think of.


Yes I have fixed it. How do you find W11 I can d/l W11 free but do not know if it would be any better.


----------



## Taggart

W11 is different rather than better Very little that I can see in the "must have" category. On of the features I don't like is the reduced menus in file explorer. Some of the usual commands like copy and past need to be accessed via a "more options" feature. There is no ribbon for file explorer either. It makes it easier for casual users but is a pain for everybody else. There are work-arounds - winaero tweaker for one -but it can get messy.

It is possible to customise it and get a more "normal" system but it takes a bit of work and understanding to get it to behave.


----------



## Dan Ante

Taggart said:


> W11 is different rather than better Very little that I can see in the "must have" category. On of the features I don't like is the reduced menus in file explorer. Some of the usual commands like copy and past need to be accessed via a "more options" feature. There is no ribbon for file explorer either. It makes it easier for casual users but is a pain for everybody else. There are work-arounds - winaero tweaker for one -but it can get messy.
> 
> It is possible to customise it and get a more "normal" system but it takes a bit of work and understanding to get it to behave.


The reason that I have not installed W11 is that it has taken me over 12 mths to get used to W10 and there is such a lot of things that I do not use with W10 so I don't want to have to start from square one on another system. The biggest problem that has persisted from day one it the sensitivity of the touch pad despite being set a minimum sensitivity it still catches me out and I am not sure if it is caused by W10 or DELL. Anyway I will stick with W10 at the moment.


----------



## progmatist

Taggart said:


> W11 is different rather than better Very little that I can see in the "must have" category. On of the features I don't like is the reduced menus in file explorer. Some of the usual commands like copy and past need to be accessed via a "more options" feature. There is no ribbon for file explorer either. It makes it easier for casual users but is a pain for everybody else. There are work-arounds - winaero tweaker for one -but it can get messy.
> 
> It is possible to customise it and get a more "normal" system but it takes a bit of work and understanding to get it to behave.


Even Win10 added a bunch of superfluous steps for those of us who know what we're doing.



Dan Ante said:


> The reason that I have not installed W11 is that it has taken me over 12 mths to get used to W10 and there is such a lot of things that I do not use with W10 so I don't want to have to start from square one on another system. The biggest problem that has persisted from day one it the sensitivity of the touch pad despite being set a minimum sensitivity it still catches me out and I am not sure if it is caused by W10 or DELL. Anyway I will stick with W10 at the moment.


I've always disabled pad tapping, opting instead to click the buttons below the pad. Saves me from wanting to throw the darn thing out the window.


----------



## Dan Ante

progmatist said:


> Even Win10 added a bunch of superfluous steps for those of us who know what we're doing.
> 
> I've always disabled pad tapping, opting instead to click the buttons below the pad. Saves me from wanting to throw the darn thing out the window.


I have set it for 1 and 2 finger operation only but it still selects if I let it hover but not every time, and recently when I scroll (two finger) it will sometimes go berserk and scroll like lightening up and down until I lift fingers then it just finishes just anywhere. grrrrr


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> I have set it for 1 and 2 finger operation only but it still selects if I let it hover but not every time, and recently when I scroll (two finger) it will sometimes go berserk and scroll like lightening up and down until I lift fingers then it just finishes just anywhere. grrrrr


Just a shot in the dark: maybe try cleaning the pad with screen cleaning solution and a micro-fiber cloth. When old ball mice got dirty, their movements become unpredictable.


----------



## Dan Ante

I need a bit of advice both my wife and myself are in our mid eighties and while I can manage all of our on line things like shopping, finance, banking, correspondence etc my wife is ok until things go wrong which they tend to do with my DELL laptop running W10 (it has a mind of its own) I don’t know if this is due to Dell or W10.
My question is what type of computer would be the most stable, HP, Apple iPad or what? just to do the basic stuff. She has a Samsung J2 smart phone but it is 5 years old and is really only any good as a phone so will keep it as that.


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> I need a bit of advice both my wife and myself are in our mid eighties and while I can manage all of our on line things like shopping, finance, banking, correspondence etc my wife is ok until things go wrong which they tend to do with my DELL laptop running W10 (it has a mind of its own) I don't know if this is due to Dell or W10.
> My question is what type of computer would be the most stable, HP, Apple iPad or what? just to do the basic stuff. She has a Samsung J2 smart phone but it is 5 years old and is really only any good as a phone so will keep it as that.


Trying not to get too technical: an iPad would be closer to a Samsung phone than Windows. Even closer would be an Android tablet or Chromebook. And of course an HP notebook could be either a Windows based notebook, or a Chromebook. Windows stands alone as the only major operating system NOT base on Unix. Everything else...Apple Mac OSX and iOS, Android, Amazon Fire OS, Linux and so on are a derivative of Unix. Unix is a far more stable platform than Windows. Not to mention, Windows is becoming what we techies call "bloatware." Software which has become too large and complicated for its own good.


----------



## Luchesi

progmatist said:


> Trying not to get too technical: an iPad would be closer to a Samsung phone than Windows. Even closer would be an Android tablet or Chromebook. And of course an HP notebook could be either a Windows based notebook, or a Chromebook. Windows stands alone as the only major operating system NOT base on Unix. Everything else...Apple Mac OSX and iOS, Android, Amazon Fire OS, Linux and so on are a derivative of Unix. Unix is a far more stable platform than Windows. Not to mention, Windows is becoming what we techies call "bloatware." Software which has become too large and complicated for its own good.


The Mac OS has definitely become bloated in my view. And so many new versions! and incompatibilities. I tried to upgrade and Apple (famously now) had forgotten to warn about needing at least 60 gigs of free space! I thought 40 gigs were going to be plenty. It got near the end and stalled. Recovery function failed…likewise out of memory. I had to jump start it with my MacBook in order to free up disk space. But first I had order the new version of their Firewire cable off Amazon. Then it allowed me to upgrade to an old ver of the OS. Many users lost all their files (if they didn't have another Mac and gave up). 
If I had turned on the internal password FileVault the recovery procedure would have been much more involved and technical. Out of memory for that crucial function also! Out of memory is Programming 101! Sheesh Apple!

Now with Apple Silicon the hardware is very fast, but the software is embarrassingly buggy. It often won't copy even 20 files/folders at a time, and it often stops in the middle (so you don't know what's been copied). Unacceptable. It should get ironed out, but it's maddening. I bought a Mac Mini mainly just for making fast backups (3 to 4 times faster) but it can't reliably handle large transfers (yet).


----------



## Dan Ante

progmatist said:


> Trying not to get too technical: an iPad would be closer to a Samsung phone than Windows. Even closer would be an Android tablet or Chromebook. And of course an HP notebook could be either a Windows based notebook, or a Chromebook. Windows stands alone as the only major operating system NOT base on Unix. Everything else...Apple Mac OSX and iOS, Android, Amazon Fire OS, Linux and so on are a derivative of Unix. Unix is a far more stable platform than Windows. Not to mention, Windows is becoming what we techies call "bloatware." Software which has become too large and complicated for its own good.


Thanks very much for your reply, I will check each of your suggestions and get back with probably a lot of silly questions, it will take me a bit of time. 
We are at the time in life when you need to think of who is going to go first etc, not being glum but it does occupy a bit more of your time. This is the first time today that I have managed to get onto TC it has been too busy


----------



## progmatist

Luchesi said:


> The Mac OS has definitely become bloated in my view. And so many new versions! and incompatibilities. I tried to upgrade and Apple (famously now) had forgotten to warn about needing at least 60 gigs of free space! I thought 40 gigs were going to be plenty. It got near the end and stalled. Recovery function failed…likewise out of memory. I had to jump start it with my MacBook in order to free up disk space. But first I had order the new version of their Firewire cable off Amazon. Then it allowed me to upgrade to an old ver of the OS. Many users lost all their files (if they didn't have another Mac and gave up).
> If I had turned on the internal password FileVault the recovery procedure would have been much more involved and technical. Out of memory for that crucial function also! Out of memory is Programming 101! Sheesh Apple!
> 
> Now with Apple Silicon the hardware is very fast, but the software is embarrassingly buggy. It often won't copy even 20 files/folders at a time, and it often stops in the middle (so you don't know what's been copied). Unacceptable. It should get ironed out, but it's maddening. I bought a Mac Mini mainly just for making fast backups (3 to 4 times faster) but it can't reliably handle large transfers (yet).


The biggest issue with Mac OS is they've been trying to delete all 32bit support. Since hardware support is at the kernel level, that means tinkering with the FreeBSD kernel at the heart of OSX. Sure, what can go wrong?


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> Thanks very much for your reply, I will check each of your suggestions and get back with probably a lot of silly questions, it will take me a bit of time.
> We are at the time in life when you need to think of who is going to go first etc, not being glum but it does occupy a bit more of your time. This is the first time today that I have managed to get onto TC it has been too busy


Incidentally: a few months ago on the train, I sat across from a man about your age, maybe a little older. He had a smart phone and was wearing a smart watch. He went to use his phone, realized he forgot to put on his glasses, put them on, then proceeding doing what he was doing.


----------



## Dan Ante

At last I can get on site 

At the moment Chromebook is looking good...


----------



## Dan Ante

*
Sorry I thought I had replied to this.* 


progmatist said:


> Incidentally: a few months ago on the train, I sat across from a man about your age, maybe a little older. He had a smart phone and was wearing a smart watch. He went to use his phone, realized he forgot to put on his glasses, put them on, then proceeding doing what he was doing.


*What was he doing snoozing? 
Yes getting old is not for those faint of heart. *


----------



## progmatist

Dan Ante said:


> *
> Sorry I thought I had replied to this.*
> 
> *What was he doing snoozing?
> Yes getting old is not for those faint of heart. *


I was actually impressed by his (and your) ease with technology. Most people of your generation are at a minimum, highly intimidated by digital tech.


----------



## Dorsetmike

> I was actually impressed by his (and your) ease with technology. Most people of your generation are at a minimum, highly intimidated by digital tech.


Having worked in Electronics from 1952 until retiring in 1999, I don't find any problem with technology apart from some hand/eye coordination when it comes to getting hnds on inside the case; I was working in machine code on 8085 and Z80 as a technical lecturer. 
As has been mentioned in a previous post Windows has become bloatware so I've not bothered to upgrade from Windows 7, it does all I need, no annoying updates to faff around with. Macs are out of my price range, plus I don't fancy a new learning curve at 87.


----------



## Krummhorn

Dorsetmike said:


> . . . Windows has become bloatware so I've not bothered to upgrade from Windows 7, it does all I need, no annoying updates to faff around with. Macs are out of my price range, plus I don't fancy a new learning curve at 87.


I am also still running Win 7 (Professional 64 bit version) and will have to buy a new machine before long ... this PC is approaching 12 years of age and is starting to show signs that its end is near ... like the blue screen of death once in a while ... and other problems. I'll stick to the PC platform ... I have an iPad Pro for my music and that is as far as I dare venture into the Apple world ... my smartphone is android based, too.


----------



## Dorsetmike

I bought a new machine about 3 years ago, it would not load any windows earlier than V8.1, so I returned it and found a suitable refurbished one and loaded Win 7; I have a second PC of similar age (also running Win7 pro 64) it's main purpose in life is playing 75 three hour playlists all day and every day, I get repeats at about 3 weeks; I download free tracks from time to time and edit the playlists. Generate random playlists using a bit of software called Mixtape, just tell it which genre(s) you want and which folders to look in, also define the duration of each playlist


----------



## Luchesi

Dorsetmike said:


> Having worked in Electronics from 1952 until retiring in 1999, I don't find any problem with technology apart from some hand/eye coordination when it comes to getting hnds on inside the case; I was working in machine code on 8085 and Z80 as a technical lecturer.
> As has been mentioned in a previous post Windows has become bloatware so I've not bothered to upgrade from Windows 7, it does all I need, no annoying updates to faff around with. Macs are out of my price range, plus I don't fancy a new learning curve at 87.


We were happy to get a Zenith z80 running Lotus 123 at work, quite powerful. I had a Fat Mac at home. My brother sold me one out of his garage ($2200), back when Apple allowed that. Before that, my son and I shared, TRS80 16k of ram, Sinclair portable, and Altair 8800 wow. Commodore 64 in there somewhere and TI Basic desktop with a tiny screen. Learned Autocoder, COBOL, Fortran with cards on an IBM 360 (I don't think they called it a mini computer).


----------



## Dan Ante

progmatist said:


> I was actually impressed by his (and your) ease with technology. Most people of your generation are at a minimum, highly intimidated by digital tech.


Thank you kind sir.
I have found this for sale which seems to be OK would appreciate your views on this product, hope the link works. this laptop has a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. Price is $NZ. 549.00

Lenovo 14" Slim 3 Intel Celeron 4020 4GB RAM 64GB eMMc Storage Chromebook

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/p/lenovo-14-slim-3-intel-celeron-4020-4gb-ram-64gb-emmc-storage-chromebook/N206935.html


----------



## haydnguy

The old timers on this thread know I've always been a Microsofty. Mainly because of when I started with computing and never seeing a need to switch to Linux. Since before Windows 11 was launched I have been in the Windows 11 Dev Channel and have gotton a good idea as to what Windows 11 is truly like.

Alot of people are wondering why their computer will not run Windows 11. I am going to post a link that talks about the requirements of Windows 11 mostly from a security perspective. It's a really good interview and gives a lot of good information.
****
The person being interviewed is:

David Weston is Director of Enterprise and OS Security for Windows at Microsoft. Today he sits down with Scott to get some real answers about the hardware requirements of Windows 11. What's the role of the TPM, and what are the other significant requirements that were needed in silicon..

EDIT: In order to see the video clip you will need to click on 'Watch on YouTube'. If it starts in the middle of the clip just back it up to the beginning to see the whole thing.


----------



## progmatist

Dorsetmike said:


> Having worked in Electronics from 1952 until retiring in 1999, I don't find any problem with technology apart from some hand/eye coordination when it comes to getting hnds on inside the case; I was working in machine code on 8085 and Z80 as a technical lecturer.


Same with my dad. As a young man in the late 60s, he was one of those guys in the white shirt, tie and pocket protector working on a mainframe computer. Meanwhile, his peers were the dope smoking hippies. He's a wiz to this day.

BTW: I was bit by the bug in the early 80s, with the Apple II+. In high school, there was a raging battle over which was better: the "Trash-80" or the "Crapple." And of course, the machine code for the Intel and Zilog chips was nearly identical.


----------



## SixFootScowl

On my first job that entailed computer work, I was at a word processor at a terminal connected to a Harris mainframe computer. Also did programming in Fortran on that computer. When the engineers would compile a big program, my cursor would freeze until the compile was done. Then we moved up to floppy disks at a shared PC workstation. My first home computer was a something like 11Ghz processor and a 10 MB hard drive, with monochorme monitor, Lotusworks, and a 9 pin dot matrix printer (tractor feed paper), purchased about 1990.


----------



## haydnguy

Although I had a Commodore Vic-20 at home, I consider my Tandy 1000 as my first real computer. It could run the DOS programs from the IBM PC. It had a 10mg hard drive in it as I recall. The first thing I tried running on it was Wordperfect 5. That was what I used on it in addition to all the games of course.

At work we used 3270 Terminals until the IBM PC's came out and then my office switched to those. IBM had a 3270 Emulation program so they could be used to access mainframes. I remember dBase 2. And of course Lotus 123. We used a word processing program by IBM called DisplayWrite. It was nothing to write home about.


----------



## Dan Ante

*Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post*
_I was actually impressed by his (and your) ease with technology. Most people of your generation are at a minimum, highly intimidated by digital tech._



Dan Ante said:


> Thank you kind sir.
> I have found this for sale which seems to be OK would appreciate your views on this product, hope the link works. this laptop has a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. Price is $NZ. 549.00
> 
> Lenovo 14" Slim 3 Intel Celeron 4020 4GB RAM 64GB eMMc Storage Chromebook
> 
> https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/p/lenovo-14-slim-3-intel-celeron-4020-4gb-ram-64gb-emmc-storage-chromebook/N206935.html


I have ordered this Chromebook and it had $100 off it @$449 so fingers crossed


----------



## progmatist

SixFootScowl said:


> On my first job that entailed computer work, I was at a word processor at a terminal connected to a Harris mainframe computer. Also did programming in Fortran on that computer. When the engineers would compile a big program, my cursor would freeze until the compile was done. Then we moved up to floppy disks at a shared PC workstation. My first home computer was a something like 11Ghz processor and a 10 MB hard drive, with monochorme monitor, Lotusworks, and a 9 pin dot matrix printer (tractor feed paper), purchased about 1990.


Harris made the V.ersatile A.viaonics S.hop T.ester (VAST) for the US Navy. An automatic test bench to which one would connect an avionic box, like a heads up display or flight control computer. Then start the test program, and the bench would quickly perform tests which would take a human tech many hours, or days with multi-meters, function generators, oscilloscopes, etc. When the Navy started flying the F/A-18 Hornet, the VAST was no longer capable of testing its more advanced avionics. Harris' solution was to create the Mini VAST, on which I worked. The result was extremely long run times. We spent most of our time watching TV, while keeping the corner of our eye on the bench's progress. The other guys on the ship hated us for our "kick back" job. Had the Navy elected to use the same benches McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing used, it would've taken a third or quarter of the time. With the even more advanced avionics of the Super Hornet, I can't imagine the Navy still uses the Mini VAST today.

There were only a few times we'd modify test programs in which we found coding errors. We soon gave up because we'd start recompiling the program on a Friday afternoon, and Monday morning the Harris computer at the heart of the bench had not yet finished. On one attempt, one of the HP hard drives with 12" platters had crashed, making the whole enterprise a huge waste of time. The day shift crew came in to hear the loud grinding noise of the read/write head scraping against the platter. We'd normally shut down the benches over the weekend to prevent such things from happening, with nobody there to intervene.



haydnguy said:


> Although I had a Commodore Vic-20 at home, I consider my Tandy 1000 as my first real computer. It could run the DOS programs from the IBM PC. It had a 10mg hard drive in it as I recall. The first thing I tried running on it was Wordperfect 5. That was what I used on it in addition to all the games of course.


I seem to recall Radio Shack still selling XT Class machines while the rest of the world was moving on to the 80286 based AT class, and the 386 DX33. Radio Shack computers were incapable of running the Windows 3.0, then 3.1 everyone else started using. When Windows really took off, Radio Shack stopped selling Tandy computers altogether.


----------



## TxllxT

Already a few days I noticed that the green LED of the CD-ROM in my PC was constantly blinking and that I couldn't open the tray anymore when I pushed the button. So this morning I pulled out the connectors of the CD-Rom and started my PC. Well, it seems that the PC reacts much faster without this relict from the past. So perhaps it is a good advice when you still have a CD-Rom in your PC: better be without.


----------



## progmatist

TxllxT said:


> Already a few days I noticed that the green LED of the CD-ROM in my PC was constantly blinking and that I couldn't open the tray anymore when I pushed the button. So this morning I pulled out the connectors of the CD-Rom and started my PC. Well, it seems that the PC reacts much faster without this relict from the past. So perhaps it is a good advice when you still have a CD-Rom in your PC: better be without.


I don't have an optical drive in any of my machines. Those few times I need to read or write an optical disc anymore, I plug in a USB DVD-RW/BD-ROM drive.


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## NoCoPilot

Krummhorn said:


> I'll stick to the PC platform ... I have an iPad Pro for my music and that is as far as I dare venture into the Apple world ...


Macs are not that different from PCs, it takes only a minor adjustment to make the switch IMO. The costs are comparable these days too. But you WILL need new software... which isn't always a bad thing. Calling Windows "bloatware" is understating the case by a couple million percent.

Macs hide all the controls, which can be frustrating until you learn where everything is. But they're fast and stable and everything works with everything else, which you can't say about Microsoft.


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## NoCoPilot

SixFootScowl said:


> On my first job that entailed computer work, I was at a word processor at a terminal connected to a Harris mainframe computer.


My dad was a manager at Boeing Computer Services, so brought CASES of used punchcards home for us kids to color on. This would have been, oh, early '60s?

My first computer job was 1979, using a green monochrome dumb terminal on a DEC VAX mainframe. We upgraded to IBM-PC smart terminals in 1983, but our local software was limited to WordPerfect and some DOS utilities IIRC. I didn't buy a personal computer until my Amstrad PCW ("personal computer wordprocessor") in 1986, which ran CP/M loaded from a 3½" floppy at boot. When Win3.0 came out in 1990 I upgraded to a PC clone, and since then it's been just one damn thing after another.


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## Luchesi

NoCoPilot said:


> Macs are not that different from PCs, it takes only a minor adjustment to make the switch IMO. The costs are comparable these days too. But you WILL need new software... which isn't always a bad thing. Calling Windows "bloatware" is understating the case by a couple million percent.
> 
> Macs hide all the controls, which can be frustrating until you learn where everything is. But they're fast and stable and everything works with everything else, which you can't say about Microsoft.


I hope they're not going to become as troublesome with this new Apple Silicon world as Windows (used to be?). So far there's been some bugs in Monterey. Yes it's faster as if most people needed that. The trade-off between speed and reliability is just so obvious to someone who is not in the industry. People (old people) just want to keep their computer running and safeguard their files. But I understand --- Apple is looking towards the future of 6G and VR and AI.

Yes, Apple wants to hide things to keep such a pretty face on everything. Elegance, metal finish replacing helpful colors, that's lame. I don't need any of that.

They need to make two lines of computers, one for the young people who want the latest race car and the other line keeping it simple for people who don't want to fill their already-crowded brains with instructions which will be useless in just a few years anyway.

Years ago I thought Windows should've come up with a big red button on the side of your screen to give you a very simplistic computer for the every day tasks. You can set a computer up like this, but first you have to know how to set it up like that..


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## progmatist

NoCoPilot said:


> My dad was a manager at Boeing Computer Services, so brought CASES of used punchcards home for us kids to color on. This would have been, oh, early '60s?


As a child in the mid 70s, we were having a large, extended family get-together. My uncle came home from work, and tossed the styrofoam packages computer tapes came as frisbees, into the backyard. We had much fun with those.


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## progmatist

NoCoPilot said:


> Calling Windows "bloatware" is understating the case by a couple million percent.


Just last night, I finally got fed up trying to run Win10 on an old Core 2 Duo machine. It got completely bogged down installing the latest update, without even asking me BTW. After a half hour and the update progress was only 44%, I wiped it and installed Linux. It still does what I need it too, without having to wait umpteen minutes for it to do what it feels like doing when it first boots.

*EDIT:* I've had a low cost Dell laptop for several years, which I carry to work. Low enough cost if somebody takes my backpack on the train, the computer is no big loss. It has a non-upgradeable 16GB EMMC drive. It used to run Win10 just fine. It got to the point there was barely enough space for Windows itself. Then when Windows tried updating itself, it would run out of storage and the entire computer would become unusable. If I tried downgrading to an older, less bloated version of Win10, it would try upgrading itself to the latest. Putting me right back where I started. I had to wipe it and install Linux to be usable at all.


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## Luchesi

It's believed that the first computer bug that was called a bug - was the moth in this picture. September 1947 in the Harvard Mark II.


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## NoCoPilot

Luchesi said:


> They need to make two lines of computers, one for the young people who want the latest race car and the other line keeping it simple for people who don't want to fill their already-crowded brains with instructions which will be useless in just a few years anyway.
> 
> Years ago I thought Windows should've come up with a big red button on the side of your screen to give you a very simplistic computer for the every day tasks. You can set a computer up like this, but first you have to know how to set it up like that.


Several years ago I bought my parents a Jitterbug, which is a smart phone for those who don't want to mess with a little computer. My dad (the Boeing computer guy) tossed it & bought an iPhone within a month.

Moral: "Simple" usually means simplistic.

Someday... maybe... computers will be voice- and gesture activated and running one will be as simple as on Star Trek.


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## TxllxT

Today I bought a wired mouse (the only wired mouse I could get is a gamers' mouse for 5.99 Euro) again after having tried out a wireless mouse for a few months. Every time I started my PC the receiver (a mini USB) of the wireless mouse needed to be reconnected because Windows 10 failed to put things into operation. Also I found out, that the wireless mouse (I've got a 'HAMA' brand) eats batteries. How does your mouse function? Wired or wireless? Are you satisfied with your wireless mouse?


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## Art Rock

I switched to wireless one or two years ago. Mine has a chargeable battery built-in, so any time I expect not too many mouse movements, I connect it by USB to the laptop to have it fully charged. No issues with recognition by Windows10 at all. Once charged, I can use it many hours.

ETA: found it in my Amazon orders. July 2019, brand name Karrong.


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## Luchesi

Years ago I was concerned about RF, so I measured it. I went back to wired devices, mice, keyboards, and stayed a distance back from the screens. Also the old lightbulbs, microwave, outlets near beds. It's everywhere and at a high-level in some places, like Best Buy stores, wow!

What is a high-level? I haven't heard of any recent warnings. The industry would be devastated..

It's probably not dangerous at my age, but for young people who will be getting so much more exposure in their lifetimes than I did. Especially young girls and fetuses, it's probably a danger.


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## DaveM

One should not spend too much time worrying about RF since it is non-ionizing (not able to pull electrons out of atoms). I understand that it may not be 100% innocuous (possibly chronic exposure from cell phones close to the brain etc.), but the fact is that as we age the risk will come far more from ionizing radiation from diagnostic and treatment procedures. Just count the number X-rays from dental and chest X-rays and then catscans, treatment radiation and so on. Some people with serious illnesses and conditions will be exposed to tremendous levels of ionizing radiation as the condition for hopefully living longer.


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## Luchesi

DaveM said:


> One should not spend too much time worrying about RF since it is non-ionizing (not able to pull electrons out of atoms). I understand that it may not be 100% innocuous (possibly chronic exposure from cell phones close to the brain etc.), but the fact is that as we age the risk will come far more from ionizing radiation from diagnostic and treatment procedures. Just count the number X-rays from dental and chest X-rays and then catscans, treatment radiation and so on. Some people with serious illnesses and conditions will be exposed to tremendous levels of ionizing radiation as the condition for hopefully living longer.


Yes, that's the current advice, before 5G and 6G. One concept I read about was that female fetuses have all the eggs they're ever going to have and since zygotes are so small - they could have a difficult time getting pregnant later on.

But also there have been some scary coincidences. Young people holding the phone to their heads and then getting a brain tumor. Women carrying their phones in their bras and getting breast tumors. The transmitter in a cellphone has to be powerful enough to reach a distant cell tower.

Of course, persistent stress is unhealthy and one of the concerns is that when they put 5G towers in neighborhoods some people will be psychologically affected. Yeah I know, put that on the list of the many modern stressors..


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## Flamme

Ever since I bought my new phone I keep it too close to myself...Idk why...I never did with previous...A bad habit.


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## Luchesi

Flamme said:


> Ever since I bought my new phone I keep it too close to myself...Idk why...I never did with previous...A bad habit.


Yes, I see it all the time people, walking with a phone plastered up against their ear. Talking on and off for hours.

Cell phones are RF transmitters and we used to get warnings about it when I would check out FM radios for my people on a lab mission project. FM radios were much more dangerous I suspect, but they only had to reach a repeater on the airbase.


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## NoCoPilot

TxllxT said:


> Today I bought a wired mouse (the only wired mouse I could get is a gamers' mouse for 5.99 Euro) again after having tried out a wireless mouse for a few months. Every time I started my PC the receiver (a mini USB) of the wireless mouse needed to be reconnected because Windows 10 failed to put things into operation. Also I found out, that the wireless mouse (I've got a 'HAMA' brand) eats batteries. How does your mouse function? Wired or wireless?


I bought my first wireless Bluetooth mouse ten years ago, and love the flexibility of being able to mouse from anywhere on the desktop or even off the desk if the desk gets momentarily cluttered. However, it was a 2xAAA mouse and needed new batteries every month or so. That got old. When it plum wore out (from too much use) I replaced it with a new Bluetooth mouse, not even knowing it was rechargeable, like Art Rock's. This new mouse goes six months, no kidding, before needing recharging (which is nothing more than plugging it into the USB port overnight). It's better, much much better.


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## NoCoPilot

DaveM said:


> One should not spend too much time worrying about RF since it is non-ionizing (not able to pull electrons out of atoms).


RF has no effect on biological beings. It's been tested extensively.


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## Luchesi

NoCoPilot said:


> RF has no effect on biological beings. It's been tested extensively.


Now I've heard on the news that 5G could affect the electronics of airliners. And experts don't know what to do about it, it's quite worrying.

https://www.usnews.com/news/top-new...n-to-avoid-catastrophic-5g-flight-disruptions


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## SixFootScowl

NoCoPilot said:


> My dad was a manager at Boeing Computer Services, so brought CASES of used punchcards home for us kids to color on. This would have been, oh, early '60s?
> 
> My first computer job was 1979, using a green monochrome dumb terminal on a DEC VAX mainframe. We upgraded to IBM-PC smart terminals in 1983, but our local software was limited to WordPerfect and some DOS utilities IIRC. I didn't buy a personal computer until my Amstrad PCW ("personal computer wordprocessor") in 1986, which ran CP/M loaded from a 3½" floppy at boot. When Win3.0 came out in 1990 I upgraded to a PC clone, and since then it's been just one damn thing after another.


I basically never messed with computers until I entered graduate school in the mid 1980s. Figured I would be writing more papers than in undergrad where I was paying someone a dollar a page to type my papers (it would take me one hour per page to type them myself two fingered back then). The computer room at school had MAC desktop units. Before that, in undergrad, I had one computer class, Pascal, and they had us do a simple program with punch cards. Then they let us actually program through terminals. Had to walk up to a window to get any printed output.

The Harris we used in the 1980s at work was either the Harris 500 or the Harris 800, they had both, not sure which my terminal was hooked to.


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## SixFootScowl

progmatist said:


> Just last night, I finally got fed up trying to run Win10 on an old Core 2 Duo machine. It got completely bogged down installing the latest update, without even asking me BTW. After a half hour and the update progress was only 44%, I wiped it and installed Linux. It still does what I need it too, without having to wait umpteen minutes for it to do what it feels like doing when it first boots.
> 
> *EDIT:* I've had a low cost Dell laptop for several years, which I carry to work. Low enough cost if somebody takes my backpack on the train, the computer is no big loss. It has a non-upgradeable 16GB EMMC drive. It used to run Win10 just fine. It got to the point there was barely enough space for Windows itself. Then when Windows tried updating itself, it would run out of storage and the entire computer would become unusable. If I tried downgrading to an older, less bloated version of Win10, it would try upgrading itself to the latest. Putting me right back where I started. I had to wipe it and install Linux to be usable at all.


I love having Linux on my home computer. So nice, updates run in the background, no forced restarts. Lots of free software right off the OS in the Software Center.


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## SixFootScowl

Luchesi said:


> Years ago I was concerned about RF, so I measured it. I went back to wired devices, mice, keyboards, and stayed a distance back from the screens. Also the old lightbulbs, microwave, outlets near beds. It's everywhere and at a high-level in some places, like Best Buy stores, wow!
> 
> What is a high-level? I haven't heard of any recent warnings. The industry would be devastated..
> 
> It's probably not dangerous at my age, but for young people who will be getting so much more exposure in their lifetimes than I did. Especially young girls and fetuses, it's probably a danger.


Wife's cousin and her husband said the 5G tower hear their house was really bad, they had to get away from the house a lot. Husband was going to try building a cage to block it in part of the house. They finally decided to move to the country.

Where I live there are dozens of cell towers in a relatively small radius. My son moved to a remote area where there are few towers and he says he feels a lot better there.

I just ditched my Wi Fi a couple weeks ago. Hadn't used it in a couple years, so figure why run the extra RF in the house.


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## Luchesi

We had a ranch with no neighbors, but I got tired of plowing and harvesting and finding good workers so we moved into town. Now we have this many neighbors…


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## Alinde

SixFootScowl said:


> I love having Linux on my home computer. So nice, updates run in the background, no forced restarts. Lots of free software right off the OS in the Software Center.


I agree.

I installed Linux for fun originally but changed to it and stayed till I was getting bored. So I upgraded what a tech once called my "low end computer" to the rolling release version of my distribution yesterday. I wanted to experience a few of those old white-knuckle Linux moments.

I'm still bored because NOTHING WENT WRONG - my files and settings saved, even the widgets - and everything's faster than it was in the stable release.

Linux is getting better all the time and I'd just like to encourage people to give it a go.


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## perempe

If I click on a letter in Gmail, it shows only the subject, but not the letter itself. They couldn't fix it in 12 hours.

edit:
had to disable the uBlock Origin extension. now I have to enable it before YouTube...


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## progmatist

I discovered another way in which Linux is far superior to Windows 10. I'm in the process of digitizing VHS tapes, capturing the Hi-Fi Stereo audio track in 24/96 Hi-Res. I don't know of any capture software which can record video and Hi-Res audio simultaneously, apart from doing a command line capture with ffmpeg. In Windows that means going through Direct Show, kind of the ground floor lobby of audio and video in Windows. Problem is, Direct Show will only stream audio in the default 16/48. I can specify a higher res in ffmpeg, but that just upsamples the original 16/48. In Linux on the other hand when I specify 26/96, ALSA and even Pulse Audio will in fact switch the audio interface to the higher res, and stream it as such.

Another big issue in Windows is timing. After about an hour into the capture, the video will start ever so slightly lagging behind the audio. This meant using a video editor to stretch the video a few frames at a time to bring it back in sync. A very tedious process to say the least. In Linux the timing is rock solid. At most, I'll have to delay the start of either the audio or video stream, because one often starts slightly ahead the other when the capture initially starts. But after correcting this, all I have to do is trim the start and end of the video and I'm basically done.


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## Chibi Ubu

Can anyone tell me if they are successfully using a set of wireless earbuds paired to their PC? Do they stay paired? Do you get "dropouts" (random intermittent sound loss)? 

I had 2 pair of the same model of Klipsch from Amazon that gave me the same problem with my PC. I even bought a new motherboard, I'm glad I did for other reasons. I gave up and went back to wired headphones. 

What's really aggravating is that I bought a pair of the same Klipsch for my wife, and they work fine with her PC.


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## NoCoPilot

Chibi Ubu said:


> Can anyone tell me if they are successfully using a set of wireless earbuds paired to their PC? Do they stay paired? Do you get "dropouts" (random intermittent sound loss)?


Not QUITE the same, but I have a pair of Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones that I use with my TV.... they drop out if I leave the room, but come right back on after I'm done peeing.


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## Chibi Ubu

NoCoPilot said:


> Not QUITE the same, but I have a pair of Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones that I use with my TV.... they drop out if I leave the room, but come right back on after I'm done peeing.


 :lol:

My upright desktop PC is sitting right under my desk witch is in my bedroom in plain view. My bed is no further than 8 feet away. I listen throughout the day, and again at bedtime. I use MusicBee to manage my library, and it features an auto-shutdown capability upon reaching the end of the queue.

I'm looking into signal extenders, but it is such a "techie" subject that I am completely lost. The over the ear headphones are physically tiring, but earbuds would be better if I didn't have the problem


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## NoCoPilot

Bluetooth is line-of-sight, unlike wi-fi. You might try putting the PC on top of the desk, it you can make room?


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## Chibi Ubu

I could try that next. :tiphat:

Or I can put my music on my I-phone, but I detest I-tunes as my media player. Transferring and managing music according to Apple is unwieldy.


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## progmatist

NoCoPilot said:


> Bluetooth is line-of-sight, unlike wi-fi. You might try putting the PC on top of the desk, it you can make room?


It's not quite line-of-sight, in that I can go to the next room and still receive the signal through the wall. It is however limited range. I can't stray too far from the source. Some wireless earbuds I've tried are more range limited than others.


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## NoCoPilot

progmatist said:


> It's not quite line-of-sight, in that I can go to the next room and still receive the signal through the wall. It is however limited range. I can't stray too far from the source. Some wireless earbuds I've tried are more range limited than others.


I believe it is infrared? Ultraviolet? Some light that bounces around a bit, but it is happiest line-of-sight. It's not radio-frequency like wi-fi, at any rate.


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## NoCoPilot

Luchesi said:


> Now I've heard on the news that 5G *could* affect the electronics of airliners. And experts don't know what to do about it


Everything I have heard or read emphasizes that "could." Nobody's proven it DOES... Kinda like having to turn your phone off while flying. Nobody's proven that either.


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## BobBrines

NoCoPilot said:


> Everything I have heard or read emphasizes that "could." Nobody's proven it DOES... Kinda like having to turn your phone off while flying. Nobody's proven that either.


I've been dealing with consumer products and airplanes (USAF) since the first 4-banger calculators came out. Always a fear of interference with aircraft electronics. Always turned out to be a non-issue. If they think that 5G affects low level altimeters, Take the airplane out and do a CAT III approach with auto-land on a VFR day. Now they have the answer!


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## NoCoPilot

I always figured making people turn off their phones before getting on a plane was a service to us all, so I don't complain.


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## Luchesi

NoCoPilot said:


> I always figured making people turn off their phones before getting on a plane was a service to us all, so I don't complain.


I thought is was about 5G towers which will be rolled out soon for cellphone customers, because such powerful transmitters will be all around the airport and too close (theoretically).


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## NoCoPilot

Luchesi said:


> I thought is was about 5G towers which will be rolled out soon for cellphone customers, because such powerful transmitters will be all around the airport and too close (theoretically).


5G has been around in Europe since 2016 and there have been no reports of any problems.
https://www.5gandaviation.com/?gcli...I-Pz6Ra91Vd1L5V9W8xPcdl4pXy5RIUxoCIUkQAvD_BwE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_on_aircraft?wprov=sfti1


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## progmatist

NoCoPilot said:


> I believe it is infrared? Ultraviolet? Some light that bounces around a bit, but it is happiest line-of-sight. It's not radio-frequency like wi-fi, at any rate.


Actually Bluetooth does use radio waves, in a different frequency band than Wi-Fi. The band contributes to its limited range, but also helps prevent interference from other nearby Bluetooth devices.



BobBrines said:


> I've been dealing with consumer products and airplanes (USAF) since the first 4-banger calculators came out. Always a fear of interference with aircraft electronics. Always turned out to be a non-issue. If they think that 5G affects low level altimeters, Take the airplane out and do a CAT III approach with auto-land on a VFR day. Now they have the answer!


I remember airlines requiring ALL electronic devices being turned off during flight, then only during take-offs and landings.


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## Luchesi

NoCoPilot said:


> Everything I have heard or read emphasizes that "could." Nobody's proven it DOES... Kinda like having to turn your phone off while flying. Nobody's proven that either.


Many people are afraid to fly, but often they must fly. Addressing these issues (with policies and procedures) is helpful for those travelers. Good public relations.


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## NoCoPilot

Luchesi said:


> Many people are afraid to fly, but often they must fly. Addressing these issues (with policies and procedures) is helpful for those travelers. Good public relations.


Israel use to (probably still does?) have a uniformed security expert on every flight. Deal with anyone who tries to disrupt the flight.

That would reassure a lot of travelers, in these days of Karens.


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## Luchesi

If you think the MacOS is more powerful for the average user than Windows has been, right out of the box, then the Path Finder app to replace the Mac Finder was a big leap above the MacOS. The navigation and trash functions and the search functions just blow away Apple's obsession with 'elegance' and appeal to kids. And it might have been intentional to allow 3rd party add-ons to be sufficiently profitable.
But now with the transition to Apple Silicon Path Finder has lost many of its great features. It's early days yet ( I really hope that's it). They had such a good product!

I've refused to upgrade to a MacOS higher than what works with the old Path Finder. It's that good of an add-on shell. On my newer machines I'm lost without it. Why is Apple so lame? These functions come right out of the Mac toolbox of functions, but Apple doesn't offer them!


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## NoCoPilot

Luchesi said:


> Why is Apple so lame?


It hasn't been the same since Steve passed.


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## progmatist

Luchesi said:


> If you think the MacOS is more powerful for the average user than Windows has been, right out of the box, then the Path Finder app to replace the Mac Finder was a big leap above the MacOS. The navigation and trash functions and the search functions just blow away Apple's obsession with 'elegance' and appeal to kids. And it might have been intentional to allow 3rd party add-ons to be sufficiently profitable.
> But now with the transition to Apple Silicon Path Finder has lost many of its great features. It's early days yet ( I really hope that's it). They had such a good product!
> 
> I've refused to upgrade to a MacOS higher than what works with the old Path Finder. It's that good of an add-on shell. On my newer machines I'm lost without it. Why is Apple so lame? These functions come right out of the Mac toolbox of functions, but Apple doesn't offer them!


Apple's stumbling block will be trying to remove all 32bit support. Since Unix hardware support is at the kernel level, that means stripping away all 32bit code form the FreeBSD kernel. Sure, what can go wrong?


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## Ralfy

Thinking about taking your computer to the repair shop? Be very afraid


Not surprisingly, female customers bear the brunt of the privacy violations.




arstechnica.com







> If you’ve ever worried about the privacy of your sensitive data when seeking a computer or phone repair, a new study suggests you have good reason. It found that privacy violations occurred at least 50 percent of the time, not surprisingly with female customers bearing the brunt.
> 
> Researchers at University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, recovered logs from laptops after receiving overnight repairs from 12 commercial shops. The logs showed that technicians from six of the locations had accessed personal data and that two of those shops also copied data onto a personal device. Devices belonging to females were more likely to be snooped on, and that snooping tended to seek more sensitive data, including both sexually revealing and non-sexual pictures, documents, and financial information.


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