Re: [CGUYS] Some of you will find this tragic

2010-04-29 Thread Robert Carroll
I still have some important punch cards.  Most of them are in the right 
order.


Paula Minor wrote:
s actually up and running on a working, plugged-in DOS machine.  But 
then, I'm a total pack rat.


I'm a pack rat too.  I'll be holding on to my zip and floppy 
drivesjust in case. They don't take up much space.



Paula Minor
raven880atindy.net





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Re: [CGUYS] NEF plugin for Irfanview

2010-04-13 Thread Robert Carroll
I was premature in thinking that Irfanview couldn't view NEF files with 
the latest plugin package.  The problem is that when opening a file in 
Irfanview, the default file type "Common Graphic Files" and "All Graphic 
Files" in the file type drop-down menu doesn't display either NEF or RAW 
files in the window showing files that may be opened.  One must select 
specifically "DCR/DNG/EFF/MRW/NEF/ORF/ .../X3F" as a file type for these 
files to appear in the open window.


The second problem is that Windows XP does not have a link to open 
Irfanview when a NEF file is double-clicked in a Windows file list.  
Clicking on a NEF file transfers to a browser pointed at Microsoft which 
says that the file type is unknown.  I haven't worked yet to see if I 
can associate the NEF file with Irfanview.


Contrary to information posted about RAW, or NEF, not having advantages 
over jpeg, this is not true if one post-processes a digital image in a 
photo program such as Adobe Photoshop.  (And all digital images except 
snapshots need post processing.)  There are quite a few operations that 
can be done in Photoshop to the image only if it is in RAW (or similar) 
format.


Bottom line:  snapshots from simple digital cameras ought to be in jpeg 
format.  For high-quality photography, RAW may be preferred unless there 
is a specific reason for choosing jpeg.



chad evans wyatt wrote:

Should have added that I suspect the impulse toward "raw" and "NEF" comes mostly from 
those of us who came to photography in the film era.  We remember that stepping up filmstock quality led to 
greater adjacency, overall sharpness, evenness of gradation.  "raw" does not answer that quest in 
digital, especially when using puny DX sensors (let alone the even smaller sensors in point-and-shoots and 
mobil phones).  The real answer for those of us seeking the qualitative result of film is to graduate to FX 
sensors, or simply to capture in rollfilm or 4x5, or even 35mm, as Ken Rockwell demonstrates convincingly on 
his website  http://www.kenrockwell.com/ .  If digital end result is desired, then high-end scanning gets us 
there; there are several labs that process film with scans.

--- On Mon, 4/12/10, Robert Carroll  wrote:

From: Robert Carroll 
Subject: [CGUYS] NEF plugin for Irfanview
To: COMPUTERGUYS-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Date: Monday, April 12, 2010, 10:22 PM

I want to be able to view the "NEF" files that are stored on my PC.  According 
to Irfanview, there is a plugin for NEF files (these are similar to RAW files), but I 
downloaded the plugin executable from the Irfanview web site and, after installing, 
Windows still does not recognize NEF nor does Irfanview.

The list of plugins:  http://www.irfanview.com/main_formats.htm
My Irfanview version:  4.23
My plugin version:  4.25

Question 1:  Where to obtain the plugin for NEF?
Question 2:  If plugin not available, what free program will let me view NEF 
files?



  



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[CGUYS] NEF plugin for Irfanview

2010-04-12 Thread Robert Carroll
I want to be able to view the "NEF" files that are stored on my PC.  
According to Irfanview, there is a plugin for NEF files (these are 
similar to RAW files), but I downloaded the plugin executable from the 
Irfanview web site and, after installing, Windows still does not 
recognize NEF nor does Irfanview.


The list of plugins:  http://www.irfanview.com/main_formats.htm
My Irfanview version:  4.23
My plugin version:  4.25

Question 1:  Where to obtain the plugin for NEF?
Question 2:  If plugin not available, what free program will let me view 
NEF files?



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[CGUYS] My download speed

2010-04-03 Thread Robert Carroll
Reading the "Broadband Speed Map" message, I checked my speed at 
http://www.wugnet.com/myspeed/speedtest.asp


Download Speed is 10.0 Mbps
Upload speed variable for 3 tests:  0.76 Mbps, 1.51 Mbps, and 1.6 Mbps.

Don't know if this is good or bad.  Advice, please.

I have Verizon FIOS in Vienna, Virginia.


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Re: [CGUYS] what DVD-R to buy

2010-03-28 Thread Robert Carroll
Twenty minutes per burn on best is about right if you are burning an 
image that fills the entire surface, from center to edge.  However, if 
your image is smaller the burn time is smaller as well.


For example, if you burn just a title in 36-point font and bend it to a 
circular curve, the burn time will be about 3 or 4 minutes.  The length 
of the title plus artwork doesn't matter, only the height measured along 
a radius.



chad evans wyatt wrote:

I have no trouble getting an image, but a crisp and dark one takes two burn cycles; there 
is a registration problem sometimes, cycle to cycle.  Plus, optimum image cycle 
("best") is 21 minutes; 42 minutes to make a good label is a lot of time.  The 
memorex CD has an ok one-cycle burn; memorex DVD, with its different surface, burns very 
light for one cycle.  And a two-cycle burn of DVD label sometimes smears.  My burner is 
laCie, although I believe it actually is a Panasonic.  I guess the bottom line is that I 
like a nice, dark and crisp image; it's a matter of what is acceptable to each of us.  
Perhaps I should try another brand of disc.

--- On Sat, 3/27/10, Robert Carroll  wrote:

From: Robert Carroll 
Subject: Re: [CGUYS] what DVD-R to buy
To: COMPUTERGUYS-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010, 5:46 PM

I'm not sure that I can help you.  I have never had any trouble labeling 
lightscribe disks for any brand of DVD.

I assume that you have a lightscribe-capable DVD burner.  I turn the DVD over 
in the burner tray, use Nero to make a lightscribe label (in the special 
lightscribe label section of Nero), click on the lightscribe print button, 
select best quality, and it begins.  It is possible to get a slightly darker 
label if the disk is burned twice without removing the disk after the first 
burn, but doing this probably is not needed.

You must have the lightscribe label software such as comes with Nero, or 
whatever software that came with your burner.  Trying to make a lightscribe 
label using regular label software that is intended to print on paper will not 
work.

You could try a different brand of DVD.  If the same problem occurs, I would 
suspect either that your burner is at fault or that you are not using 
lightscribe software to make the labels.  Can't think of anything else.


chad evans wyatt wrote:
  

Robert, may I tag along here?  I have had some real problems labeling Memorex 
lightscribe DVD's.  Any thoughts?


--- On Fri, 3/26/10, Robert Carroll  wrote:

From: Robert Carroll 
Subject: Re: [CGUYS] what DVD-R to buy
To: COMPUTERGUYS-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Date: Friday, March 26, 2010, 5:57 PM

There are differences in quality with DVDs.  Some brands will not play on older DVD 
players as well as other brands.  What this means is that if you are making a lot of 
DVDs, some brands will have more "duds" in a box than will other brands.

For single-layer DVDs, I recommend the Taiyo Yuden brand.
For dual-layer DVDs, Verbatim has done well for me.

I usually buy from http://www.meritline.com/ but there are a lot of listings on 
eBay.


rleesimon wrote:
   


I will need to make DVDs from AVI to watch on a typical TV DVD player both
in the US Region I and in Belgium Region II where I have a built in DVD
Region II player and a stand alone DVD player region free.  What disks
should I purchase to have the greatest ease of both recording the DVDs and
playing them .what I am looking for is DVD-R or DVD+R or DVD-RW or DVD+RW .I
will NOT archive with them for the most part, but will watch and re-record,
but I may make a few to give to family members who do NOT have a DVD
recorder so I will want some record once types for that.  Advice?  I have
IBM DVD recorder and WinDVD creator etc. that came with it.tia!



 
  



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Re: [CGUYS] what DVD-R to buy

2010-03-27 Thread Robert Carroll
I'm not sure that I can help you.  I have never had any trouble labeling 
lightscribe disks for any brand of DVD.


I assume that you have a lightscribe-capable DVD burner.  I turn the DVD 
over in the burner tray, use Nero to make a lightscribe label (in the 
special lightscribe label section of Nero), click on the lightscribe 
print button, select best quality, and it begins.  It is possible to get 
a slightly darker label if the disk is burned twice without removing the 
disk after the first burn, but doing this probably is not needed.


You must have the lightscribe label software such as comes with Nero, or 
whatever software that came with your burner.  Trying to make a 
lightscribe label using regular label software that is intended to print 
on paper will not work.


You could try a different brand of DVD.  If the same problem occurs, I 
would suspect either that your burner is at fault or that you are not 
using lightscribe software to make the labels.  Can't think of anything 
else.



chad evans wyatt wrote:

Robert, may I tag along here?  I have had some real problems labeling Memorex 
lightscribe DVD's.  Any thoughts?


--- On Fri, 3/26/10, Robert Carroll  wrote:

From: Robert Carroll 
Subject: Re: [CGUYS] what DVD-R to buy
To: COMPUTERGUYS-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Date: Friday, March 26, 2010, 5:57 PM

There are differences in quality with DVDs.  Some brands will not play 
on older DVD players as well as other brands.  What this means is that 
if you are making a lot of DVDs, some brands will have more "duds" in a 
box than will other brands.


For single-layer DVDs, I recommend the Taiyo Yuden brand.
For dual-layer DVDs, Verbatim has done well for me.

I usually buy from http://www.meritline.com/ but there are a lot of 
listings on eBay.



rleesimon wrote:
  

I will need to make DVDs from AVI to watch on a typical TV DVD player both
in the US Region I and in Belgium Region II where I have a built in DVD
Region II player and a stand alone DVD player region free.  What disks
should I purchase to have the greatest ease of both recording the DVDs and
playing them .what I am looking for is DVD-R or DVD+R or DVD-RW or DVD+RW .I
will NOT archive with them for the most part, but will watch and re-record,
but I may make a few to give to family members who do NOT have a DVD
recorder so I will want some record once types for that.  Advice?  I have
IBM DVD recorder and WinDVD creator etc. that came with it.tia!







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Re: [CGUYS] what DVD-R to buy

2010-03-26 Thread Robert Carroll
There are differences in quality with DVDs.  Some brands will not play 
on older DVD players as well as other brands.  What this means is that 
if you are making a lot of DVDs, some brands will have more "duds" in a 
box than will other brands.


For single-layer DVDs, I recommend the Taiyo Yuden brand.
For dual-layer DVDs, Verbatim has done well for me.

I usually buy from http://www.meritline.com/ but there are a lot of 
listings on eBay.



rleesimon wrote:

I will need to make DVDs from AVI to watch on a typical TV DVD player both
in the US Region I and in Belgium Region II where I have a built in DVD
Region II player and a stand alone DVD player region free.  What disks
should I purchase to have the greatest ease of both recording the DVDs and
playing them .what I am looking for is DVD-R or DVD+R or DVD-RW or DVD+RW .I
will NOT archive with them for the most part, but will watch and re-record,
but I may make a few to give to family members who do NOT have a DVD
recorder so I will want some record once types for that.  Advice?  I have
IBM DVD recorder and WinDVD creator etc. that came with it.tia!



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Re: [CGUYS] LCD HDTV

2010-03-21 Thread Robert Carroll
I bought a Sony 50-inch 1080p LCD HDTV about 6 months ago.  The only 
thing that I regret is that I should have bought a larger screen.


By positioning myself around in my viewing room, I guess that a viewing 
distance of about 8 feet is best for my 50-inch screen.  Much farther 
from that and the high resolution is not easily seen.  Thus, dividing 
the screen size by 6 gives a good viewing distance.


In principle, an LCD screen with an LED backlight will outperform the 
fluorescent backlight and the set will last longer.  Practically at this 
time, I don't know which is better.



mike wrote:

We may be on the cusp of a breakthrough ladies and gentlemen.  I may be in
the market for an HDTV.

Any thoughts will be considered...who to stay away from, brand and or
seller..who to go to first.  We are looking for something LCD in type, not
LED...42 or perhaps 46 inches.  We are budget conscious...read CHEAP.  I've
heard things like...vizio is a solid inexpensive brand and others say stay
far away.  I'm neither an audiophile or videophile, I'm just looking for
something solid and reliable.

  



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Re: [CGUYS] PDF creation application

2010-03-16 Thread Robert Carroll
I previously wrote the wrong latest version for WordPerfect.  The latest 
version is X4, not X3.  I have both X4 & X3 as well as many earlier 
versions for WP.  The last several versions of WP has PDF conversion 
built-in, but X4 has the most extensive capability.  For example, WP X4 
can create editable PDF files and edit *any* PDF file created by any 
other application.  The size & quality of the PDF file creation can be 
chosen in the latest version, X4.


I have MS Word also, but I much prefer WP because it is less error 
prone.  Even if the capability of Word and WP were the same (they are 
not by a long shot) except for the "Reveal Codes" capability in WP, that 
alone would persuade me to choose WP instead of Word.


As a rule, I open Word documents in WordPerfect and edit there.  These 
as well as those that I create from scratch in WP can be saved in Word 
format when need be.  Much easier & faster to do it this way.


So I think your wife is a wise woman -- whatever version of WP that she 
has is a good choice.


BTW, I have PDF995 also and it is good.  But it can't do all the things 
that WP PDF can do.



Wayne Dernoncourt wrote:

>
I shoulda mentioned that she's firmly stuck in the 1980's
and uses WordPerfect.  She's talking about moving to Word
but _really_ doesn't want to.  She uses WP for everything
including file management.


I wrote in previous message:
I use WordPerfect also.  She ought to upgrade to the latest version, 
X3.  It has an excellent PDF creator built in.  WP has had this 
capability for the last several versions, but the X3 version is most 
complete.



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Re: [CGUYS] PDF creation application

2010-03-16 Thread Robert Carroll
I use WordPerfect also.  She ought to upgrade to the latest version, 
X3.  It has an excellent PDF creator built in.  WP has had this 
capability for the last several versions, but the X3 version is most 
complete.



Wayne Dernoncourt wrote:

John Duncan Yoyo
  

Open Office lets you print directly to PDF and it
is free.



I shoulda mentioned that she's firmly stuck in the 1980's
and uses WordPerfect.  She's talking about moving to Word
but _really_ doesn't want to.  She uses WP for everything
including file management.

  



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Re: [CGUYS] TinyURLs [Was: Re: [CGUYS] FCC wants to measure]

2010-03-12 Thread Robert Carroll

John Emmerling wrote:

What real purpose does tinyurl really serve nowadays?  Don't
up-to-date mail readers handle URLs of any arbitrary length with no
problem?
  
I'm using Mozilla Thunderbird for email.  Very long web addresses are 
broken when they wrap around to the next line.



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Re: [CGUYS] Recommendation for laptop computer advice sought

2010-03-05 Thread Robert Carroll

betty wrote:
Dell notebooks are heavy and clunky, but not too bad. Toshiba makes 
excellent notebooks. If I were buying a Dell, I'd get the new Alien 
notebook. Alien finally has a smaller, still powerful notebook for a 
reasonable price. Apple also makes excellent PC notebooks, in case you 
forgot that they run both Windows and Mac OS X natively.


The weight of the Dells won't matter as long as you don't plan to 
carry one around. Sony makes computers, so I hear, but I've owned a 
lot of Sony products and the only one that didn't die before its time 
was the Trinitron CRT display--never again.


Maybe I am expecting to get a laptop too cheaply.  I looked at the 
Alienware laptops on the Dell site and they are as expensive as the 
Mac.  Cheapest is $1200 going up to $1800.



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Re: [CGUYS] Recommendation for laptop computer advice sought

2010-03-05 Thread Robert Carroll
Please advise:  what is too cheap?  Is the Dell Inspiron priced at $659 
too cheap?



Snyder, Mark - IdM (IS) wrote:

You said you were cheap (and did not tell us what you want to use the
computer for), so that should be fine.  A netbook would be even cheaper.
Don't be so cheap, though, that you buy junk and ask us a barrage of
questions when things break.  I am not inclined to advise someone who
says they are cheap to buy a decent computer, but portable computers
need to take more stress than a desktop, so caveat emptor!

Thank you, 
Mark Snyder 
-Original Message-
This listserv is so oriented towards social issues, I am almost afraid 
to ask a computer question.  But, here goes:


I have always had a PC with Windows, if I exclude the Apple IIe 
computer.  I have never owned or used a laptop, only a desktop.  I think


now that I need to buy a laptop because wife has decided to use the 
desktop many hours a day for her new-found hobby of photography:  this 
leaves me without access to a computer, particularly the internet or 
other simple tasks.  If I get a laptop I will need a simple & cheap one 
only since wife goes to sleep early, thereby freeing the desktop

computer.

Starting with the Dell web site, I find that a laptop with:

Processor  Intel TM 6600 Duo, 2.2 GHz, 800 MHz bus, 2 MB cache
Memory 4GB 800 MHz RAM
500 GB 5400 RPM hard drive
6-cell battery
Intel Link 5100 "N" wireless modem
8X CD/DVD burner (dual layer)

costs $659 before shipping.

Questions: 

Is this laptop a good choice? Is it a good price?  Are there other 
brands or options that I ought to consider?  Specially: I want good 
performance at the cheapest price.  I am very stingy by nature!


===

P.S.  Please don't say to buy a Mac laptop instead of a Windows 
machine.  I bought my daughter a MacBook Pro and she likes it very well,


but I am more comfortable with a Windows OS because I already have a 
large number of Windows programs that I can install on a laptop, plus I 
don't want to start a new personal learning curve to use the Mac -- 
i.e., sharing data between computer might be hard -- and I want to go 
cheap(!!) to buy a laptop.



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Re: [CGUYS] Recommendation for laptop computer advice sought

2010-03-05 Thread Robert Carroll

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:

I have had good luck with Dell laptops.

But I stick with the Vostro or Latitude series.

Had an Compaq this summer.  Not bad.

Stewart


Am I correct in thinking that these Dell series are no longer being made?

The Dell website shows Inspiron, Studio, Studio XPS, Alienware, and Adamo.


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[CGUYS] Recommendation for laptop computer advice sought

2010-03-04 Thread Robert Carroll
This listserv is so oriented towards social issues, I am almost afraid 
to ask a computer question.  But, here goes:


I have always had a PC with Windows, if I exclude the Apple IIe 
computer.  I have never owned or used a laptop, only a desktop.  I think 
now that I need to buy a laptop because wife has decided to use the 
desktop many hours a day for her new-found hobby of photography:  this 
leaves me without access to a computer, particularly the internet or 
other simple tasks.  If I get a laptop I will need a simple & cheap one 
only since wife goes to sleep early, thereby freeing the desktop computer.


Starting with the Dell web site, I find that a laptop with:

Processor  Intel TM 6600 Duo, 2.2 GHz, 800 MHz bus, 2 MB cache
Memory 4GB 800 MHz RAM
500 GB 5400 RPM hard drive
6-cell battery
Intel Link 5100 "N" wireless modem
8X CD/DVD burner (dual layer)

costs $659 before shipping.

Questions: 

Is this laptop a good choice? Is it a good price?  Are there other 
brands or options that I ought to consider?  Specially: I want good 
performance at the cheapest price.  I am very stingy by nature!


===

P.S.  Please don't say to buy a Mac laptop instead of a Windows 
machine.  I bought my daughter a MacBook Pro and she likes it very well, 
but I am more comfortable with a Windows OS because I already have a 
large number of Windows programs that I can install on a laptop, plus I 
don't want to start a new personal learning curve to use the Mac -- 
i.e., sharing data between computer might be hard -- and I want to go 
cheap(!!) to buy a laptop.



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Re: [CGUYS] Evil people [Was: Re: [CGUYS] FCC head calls for broadband availability]

2010-03-01 Thread Robert Carroll

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:

I really much prefer Augustine of Hippos comment.

"Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet"

Stewart

At  06:25 PM 3/1/2010, you wrote:

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:

Moderation in all things is good.

Stewart


I always liked this quotation.  Particularly since it means that 
moderation in following the advice of the quotation is tantamount to 
permitting excess in all else.

There you go!  A man of wisdom, Augustine, I say.

Chastity  and continence (I assume from the latter word, maybe being 
similar to the former word: meaning to refrain from sexual intercourse 
instead of a second meaning of peeing or pooping involuntarily) comes 
with the development of wisdom for those who actually develop wisdom 
with age.  Lucky is the man (or woman) who gains wisdom before gaining 
chastity & continence.


In my opinion, very lucky are those who survive long after developing 
their chastity and continence. 



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Re: [CGUYS] Evil people [Was: Re: [CGUYS] FCC head calls for broadband availability]

2010-03-01 Thread Robert Carroll

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:

Moderation in all things is good.

Stewart


I always liked this quotation.  Particularly since it means that 
moderation in following the advice of the quotation is tantamount to 
permitting excess in all else.



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Re: [CGUYS] Are USB Drives Dangerous?

2010-02-24 Thread Robert Carroll
As usual, I get only some of the posts on this listserv.  I did not get 
the original post, only a replay that included two previous posts, none 
that were original as far as I can tell.


I think the post involves trying to get secrets from organizations that 
keep secrets by littering the parking lot with USB flash drives that 
have a virus or rootkit installed, in the hopes that someone will pick 
one of them up, put into their computer, and subsequently many secrets 
flow forth.


I remember years ago when I worked for a very top-secret agency that 
went to great lengths to protect secrets.  Many of the secrets were not 
of much use to anyone because they were classified "when in doubt"  -- 
if in doubt, classify it so no one later could complain.  I suggested 
that the best way to protect these secrets was to Xerox all, stand on 
the street corner, and pass the secrets out to any passersby who would 
take them.  There were so many that the effort to sort out which secrets 
were valuable to a foreign agency and which were wastes of time would 
take so long that our national secrets would be declassified by the time 
that the foreign agency were to determine which were which.  Needless to 
say, my suggestion was not well received.



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Re: [CGUYS] Digital camera battery??

2010-02-21 Thread Robert Carroll
Voltage is voltage, and the right voltage is needed.  But 7.4 V compared 
to 7.2 V is small.  One may wonder how a battery can differ by a small 
voltage, since a battery by definition is a series of electrical cells 
with voltages that add up from the individual cells that are connected 
in series.  For commercial usage, there are only a few kinds of cells 
(i.e., chemistry) available,  and each kind has a unique voltage 
associated with it within a narrow tolerance.  I suspect the difference 
between a 7.4 V battery and a 7.2 volt battery is simply a kind of 
puffery used to describe the battery since your camera will probably 
require one kind of electrical cell:  usually today, a lithium-ion or 
perhaps a nickel metal hydride cell.  (Check your camera manual to see 
which kind is recommended.)


The mAh means "milliamp-hours" and measures the charge that may be 
contained in a fully charged cell or battery.  (The charge is also 
measured in Coulombs.)  Ideally, a 650 mAh battery will deliver 650 
milliamps of current for one hour before becoming discharged -- or 325 
milliamps for two hours, etc.  Thus, a higher mAh rating ought to mean 
that the battery will have a longer life in a device before needing to 
be recharged.


But as the battery ages, both the energy stored and the voltage are 
subject to diminish after many recharges.  Eventually the battery 
becomes unsuitable for your application and needs to be replaced.


So far I have gotten good results by ordering from Battery Engine, a web 
store.  It is not the cheapest but offers a good discount from the 
manufacturer's list price.  There surely are other good sources, but I 
have not had good results from eBay, especially those that ship from 
Hong Kong at a wonderfully low price.



Sue Cubic wrote:
I am searching online for an additional rechargeable battery for my 
Nikon Coolpix 775.  The original battery is 7.4V  650 mAh.  I am 
seeing choices of 7.2/7.4 800mAh (and 1000 and 1100).  All say they 
are compatible with my camera.  Most are 7.2V.  Does the difference in 
voltage matter?  Will 1100mAh last longer than 650 mAh?  What is my 
best choice?


I've just finished a road trip and kept killing the battery.  It was 
purchased in 2001, and really doesn't owe me anything!  Radio Shack 
sold me a non-rechargeable for $21, along the way.  Rechargeables I'm 
seeing online are all under $15.


Advice??

Thanks,
Sue





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Re: [CGUYS] Science Friday: Facial Recognition

2010-02-15 Thread Robert Carroll

I am dubious about facial recognition by computer in regard to accuracy.

For some reason, I can recognize faces that I have ever seen -- those 
that I don't know that sit in a restaurant, those who pass by in a food 
supermarket or on a sidewalk, those that I see at a large concert, etc. 
-- even for decades later after they age.  Not an advantage at all for 
me:  I can't remember the place that I saw their face, nor can I 
remember names of anyone even those that I know well  (example: my 
mother, my best friend, etc.).


Yesterday I was playing a concert in a local church and was obliged to 
sit looking at the congregation.  I will always remember the hundreds of 
faces that I saw there, but several I have seen somewhere before.  One 
was a woman that I was unable to decide whether or not I had seen her 
face before or whether her face was an identical copy of a movie 
actress. Her face not only looked like a face that I remembered, but 
also her facial expressions (E.g., she didn't turn her head all the way 
to look where she gazed, but tilted her head a bit to the side and 
shifted her eyes.)  I stared at her face for so long, trying to decide, 
actress or not, that she became aware of my stares, and I endeavored to 
avert my eyes for the rest of the service.


My point is:  even with the best of facial recognition software for the 
foreseeable future, there will always be a false identification; and 
following a false identification there will be much anguish.  There will 
be errors especially if the software uses only a still image for 
recognition, not a movie that shows changes in facial characteristics in 
real situations.



John Duncan Yoyo wrote:

On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 11:40 AM, Snyder, Mark - IdM (IS) <
mark.sny...@ngc.com> wrote:

  

Depends on what database is used to check the face; if FaceBook, I can
see an iPhone app for that.

Thank you,
Mark Snyder

-Original Message-
On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 11:56 AM, tjpa  wrote:



Science Friday recently had an interesting segment on facial
  

recognition.
 And eventually being able to use it to get an instant


ID for anybody you meet on the street.
  

 I think that last one is pretty much out of the question for
"normal" folks.  Law enforcement and homeland security interests will
see to that.

Given Google Picassa's  facial recognition which works ok and facebook tags


there is a decent chance that a face can be recognized.

  



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Re: [CGUYS] Source for Cell Phone batteries

2010-02-08 Thread Robert Carroll
I have had good results from Battery Engine for batteries for several 
devices, but I have never gotten a cell phone battery there.


http://www.batteryengine.com/
http://www.epinions.com/pr-Online_Stores_Services-BatteryEngine_com/display_~reviews


rocky lee wrote:

I have a cell phone battery that is gasping it's last. What do you suggest as a 
source for replacement? It's a motorola razr v3  (part is BR50) Through the 
phone's vendor web site their retail price is $41.00
The various vendors on Amazon carry the equivalent part for $12.00 or so 
shipped. However, from reading the comments sections, quality control and 
counterfeiting are a problem. Should I take my chances and buy a couple online 
with a good return policy, find and price a local source, or bite the bullet 
and pay the vendor price?

Thanks,

Rocky


  



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Re: [CGUYS] digital camera shutter lag

2010-01-24 Thread Robert Carroll

Roger D. Parish wrote:

At 11:47 AM -0500 1/24/10, Robert Carroll wrote:


[snippage]
I can't remember the name of a Kodak color slide film that rendered 
false colors.  For example, a blue sky would appear reddish pink, and 
nearly every color was replaced by a greatly differing color. This 
was way before Photoshop which can do the same thing to a normal image.


I don't remember the name, either, but I believe it was an infrared film.
After the first roll of snapshots using this strange film, the novelty 
was gone.


But the challenge was to make a "good" image that just might cause the 
viewer to first linger, then puzzle over, the altered colors of the 
film.  For example, a photo of a red rose would be rendered as a yellow 
rose -- not remarkable.  If one carefully planned the photo, the altered 
colors would at first appear normal until the viewer noticed a small 
portion of the image that wasn't right.  This, hopefully, would lead to 
a careful examination of the photo to see more and more colors that were 
unexpected.  The goal was to make the viewer be completely puzzled about 
the meaning of the photo.


In my youth, I liked to do things like that with the photos that I 
took.  For example, I searched for and bought a chess set that had the 
chess board with black squares & white squares.  The chess pieces were 
ivory-colored plastic, so I painted each of them with gray paint.  
Putting the chess pieces on the board & illuminating with photo lamps 
(this was long ago) so that there was no shadows, I photographed the 
black, gray, and white image with color film.  First image was as 
described, second image was same but my hand wearing a bright red 
long-sleeved shirt reaching for a chess piece, third image was of the 
chess board with one piece moved.  When printed, all three images were 
displayed in a row.  The viewer must puzzle how a color image (shirt & 
hand) appears in a B&W photo.


These images can now be done easily with Photoshop, but when I was doing 
this the Apple computer was a decade away from being invented.



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Re: [CGUYS] digital camera shutter lag

2010-01-24 Thread Robert Carroll

Marcio wrote:

I used Panasonic X film had smal grains. Then we had Plus X.

Good old days. When color came in I no longer could work in the lab.What a pain.

Marcio
  
I think the fine-grain B&W film was Kodak Panatomic.  Speed ASA 25.   
Plus X had speed 100, Tri-X speed 400.


I like shooting with B&W but wanted large grain film to give an illusion 
of pointillism.  I used Kodak 2475 film with speed 1600, pushed to 
3200.  It was intended for police surveillance.  It had a sensitivity to 
infrared light, so that portraits of people tended to show skin 
blemishes.  Worked well for portraits of old people since the portrait 
was imbued with the concept of old age.


I can't remember the name of a Kodak color slide film that rendered 
false colors.  For example, a blue sky would appear reddish pink, and 
nearly every color was replaced by a greatly differing color.  This was 
way before Photoshop which can do the same thing to a normal image.


My daughter three years ago took photography in high school.  There they 
still use B&W film in cameras and learn to develop and print in a 
darkroom.  I loaned her my Pentax Super ME to take the class.



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Re: [CGUYS] digital camera shutter lag

2010-01-24 Thread Robert Carroll

Marcio wrote:

I started with the Argus C3. Anyone remember?

Marcio

  


I remember, although I never owned the C3.  I had an Argus C44, and 
still do.  This was followed by my first SLR, a Topcon RE Super.  It had 
a removable prism to change the view screen, and was the only camera 
that could be fitted to the periscope in a US Navy submarine.  Still 
have it also.  Also have a Mamiya SLR and a Pentax Super ME.  All still 
work.



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Re: [CGUYS] digital camera shutter lag

2010-01-19 Thread Robert Carroll

phartz...@gmail.com wrote:

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 5:18 PM, Sue Cubic  wrote:

  

Shutter lag is a problem with my Nikon Coolpix.  But I bought it in 2001, so
I can't complain too much.  I've had much fun with it over the years.



  Shutter lag can be compensated for in many instances by switching to
manual focus, setting and holding the exposure required for a given
scene, and using a small aperture so as to be able to keep a lot of
the subject matter in focus if there are some distance changes.  One
should then be able to fire away without having to wait of the camera
to reset itself for each shot.

  Steve
  


Small point-and-shoot cameras, those the size of a deck of cards, do not 
have the ability to focus manually nor do they have aperture-priority mode.


Shutter lag has improved some with these cameras, but the newest models 
still have a significant delay as well as digital SLR cameras.



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Re: [CGUYS] Obsolete consumer products...

2010-01-18 Thread Robert Carroll

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:



New college textbooks are one of the biggest rip offs around.  We buy 
used when possible.  Textbooks are being changed out way too 
frequently for monetary reasons and not content reasons.  High markup, 
high profit item.  But I do not think electronic is the answer 
either.  (real question is why do professors require you to buy them 
when they infrequently use them)



Stewart

I am a professor in electrical engineering.  I agree with you, textbook 
prices are too high and the reason is that the publishers encourage new 
editions for undergraduate courses to come out every year or every two 
years.  The obvious purpose is to prevent students from selling their 
textbooks to underclassmen after taking a class, thereby taking away 
sales of the textbook.  In some cases, additional sections are added in 
the newer edition, a practice that eventually makes the book have too 
many words for good learning.  In other cases, only the homework 
problems at the end of the chapter are changed so that a student who has 
a used textbook can't submit assigned homework for grading, thereby 
making a reason to buy the latest edition.


Today's Washington Post had an article about college bookstores renting 
textbooks in order for students to save money.  Haven't heard of 
engineering textbooks being rented instead of sold, but there might be 
some.  Hard to figure how a profit could be made by the bookstore if 
there is a new edition yearly.


BTW, a typical engineering textbook cost in the $150 to $200 range 
apiece.  Many faculty do not know what the textbook costs because they 
get them free from the publishers (who print on the cover "not for 
resale" to try to prevent the faculty from selling the free book for cash).



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Re: [CGUYS] Dump adobe reader

2010-01-17 Thread Robert Carroll

D Freye wrote:

 I want to dump adobe reader and replace it with a program that
 NEVER calls home or even asks unless I suggest it. Any ideas?
Be at Peace.
  

I use Foxit Reader.

PDF documents with many pages are better view by Adobe, however.


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Re: [CGUYS] Canon i9900 prints reds and pinks where gray should be.

2010-01-11 Thread Robert Carroll

rocky lee wrote:

I have a Canon i9900 that is printing reds and pinks where it should be 
printing grays. I tried flipping and switching color space and profiles, but 
what it came down to was paper selection.

If 'plain' paper is chosen, the colors print pretty close to what I see.

If any other choice of paper, photo, photo glossy, photo matte, etc. is 
selected, the images get a rose colored tint.

I suspected a bad color profile, but then I switched the printer to another 
computer and it repeated the tinting. On plain paper, it was fine.
On the others, the color was skewed.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks,

Rocky
  
Did you simply switch paper (only), did you switch the media type in the 
properties section without changing paper, or did you match the media 
type with the actual paper being printed upon?


If the media type doesn't match the kind of paper in the printer, a 
slight change in color may be expected. 

If the color change is large, then probably the print head needs 
cleaning.  Use the maintenance section of the printer properties to 
print first a nozzle check, then followed by cleaning or deep cleaning 
if warranted.  You may have to clean several times before more drastic 
action is required. 

The nozzle check will surely tell you if the print head is clogged.  If 
not clogged, or the colors appear right on the nozzle check then suspect 
some other problem than the nozzle.  There is a possibility that 
something else is wrong with the printer other than the nozzle, either 
hardware or software.  Investigate this before proceeding.


If the printer is under warranty, try to get a replacement from Canon.  
Be sure to remove all non-Canon ink cartridges and replace with Canon 
cartridges before taking/sending for warranty repair. 

If not under warranty, you will have to remove the print head and 
clean.  Observe how it fits in the tray so that you can replace it after 
removal.  Do the removal as a last resort, and be gentle.Try a 
bottle of compressed air first; don't blow too close to the print head, 
and blow into the nozzles from the nozzle side, not the ink side. 
Replace & see if the problem is fixed.  If needed soak the print head by 
putting several paper towels, folded, on a plate and wet them well with 
water.  Place the nozzle area onto the towels and let them soak for one 
or two hours.  Let head dry completely, and see if OK.  If not, then add 
some Windex Original Formula to the water and try soaking again, using a 
new paper towel.  If this still doesn't work, you likely need to buy a 
new print head, so you can throw caution to the wind.  Repeat the 
soaking but with some household ammonia added to the water in the 
towels.  If this still doesn't work, there is probably no hope for the 
print head.



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Re: [CGUYS] sound machine advice

2010-01-02 Thread Robert Carroll

Jeffrey Myers wrote:

I'm looking for a device that produces a background noise for sleeping at
night.  Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Jeff Myers
  
Depends on what kind of noise makes you sleep.  E.g., city dwellers who 
move to the country can't sleep because of the chirping of birds, the 
wind in the trees, or simply the silence.  Country dwellers who move to 
the city can't sleep because of the traffic noise, revelry, sirens, and 
occasional gunfire.



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Re: [CGUYS] MagicJack: a VoIP question

2010-01-01 Thread Robert Carroll

For my earlier message, a P.S.


(1)  Is there a source for info about VoIP in general, not just related 
to MagicJack.  I am under the impression that only those who make many 
long-distance calls, especially international calls, can benefit from 
subscribing to VoIP since the cost of domestic long-distance calls is so 
cheap nowadays.  (The web and email makes the need for long-distance 
calls less frequent for me.)  What telephone number would someone use to 
call me on VoIP?


(1) Information about MagicJack is appreciated.  It seems from the CU 
description that a corded handset is needed -- I might be able to find 
buried in a closet an old rotary-dial phone for MagicJack (if I decide 
to get same) since all my land-line phones are cordless.  Can MagicJack 
understand pulse dialing? 


On Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 6:00 PM, Robert Carroll wrote:

  

In the 2010 February issue of Consumer Reports, there are tests of 15 items
sold on TV infomercials that use hard-sell language.  As one may suspect,
most items did not live up to the claims made therein.  But one got a
favorable review, the MagicJack for connecting to VoIP.  The review follows
below.

I have only a general knowledge of VoIP.  Can someone point me to a source
that offers specific info so that I may decide if having VoIP is
advantageous for me?



The CU review:

*The claim.* MagicJack, a VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) phone device
and service,"makes your monthly phone bill disappear," an online ad says.
"Save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars" and get "no more poor
reception." You plug MagicJack into a computer's USB port, plug the line
cord of your own phone into the other end of the USB adapter, and MagicJack
uses the Internet to make and receive calls. You need broadband Internet 
access, and the computer has to be on
for you to make or receive a call. If it's off, messages go to voice mail.
The charge: $39.95 for the device and one year of local and long-distance
calling; then $19.95 per year. Details are at www.magicjack.com.

*The check.* One of our electronics experts made dozens of calls over
several days, sometimes while downloading files or playing online computer
games.

*Bottom line*. Shazam! Calls connected, and voice quality was clear, though
not as clear as on a good corded phone on a regular line. When our tester
downloaded a big file while playing an online game and making a call, there
was some interference. But if you can live with a few limitations, it's a
great deal. Vonage VoIP service can cost $216 a year; Skype, $95, and you
must buy a Skype phone.




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[CGUYS] MagicJack: a VoIP question

2010-01-01 Thread Robert Carroll
In the 2010 February issue of Consumer Reports, there are tests of 15 
items sold on TV infomercials that use hard-sell language.  As one may 
suspect, most items did not live up to the claims made therein.  But one 
got a favorable review, the MagicJack for connecting to VoIP.  The 
review follows below.


I have only a general knowledge of VoIP.  Can someone point me to a 
source that offers specific info so that I may decide if having VoIP is 
advantageous for me?




The CU review:

*The claim.* MagicJack, a VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) phone 
device and service,"makes your monthly phone bill disappear," an online 
ad says. "Save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars" and get "no more 
poor reception." You plug MagicJack into a computer's USB port, plug the 
line cord of your own phone into the other end of the USB adapter, and 
MagicJack uses the Internet to make and receive
calls. You need broadband Internet access, and the computer has to be on 
for you to make or receive a call. If it's off, messages go to voice 
mail. The charge: $39.95 for the device and one year of local and 
long-distance calling; then $19.95 per year. Details are at 
www.magicjack.com.


*The check.* One of our electronics experts made dozens of calls over 
several days, sometimes while downloading files or playing online 
computer games.


*Bottom line*. Shazam! Calls connected, and voice quality was clear, 
though not as clear as on a good corded phone on a regular line. When 
our tester downloaded a big file while playing an online game and making 
a call, there was some interference. But if you can live with a few 
limitations, it's a great deal. Vonage VoIP service can cost $216 a 
year; Skype, $95, and you must buy a Skype phone.



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Re: [CGUYS] Here we go again....

2009-12-30 Thread Robert Carroll
Speaking personally, it does not matter to me if TV broadcasting is 
ended.  With the switch from analog to digital, I am able to receive 
only two local digital broadcasts despite having a very large VHF-UHF 
antenna mounted 10 feet above the roof of my 2-story house.  I dwell in 
Vienna, VA, which is on the Capital Beltway only 10 miles from the 
transmission towers.  Prior to the switch, I could receive at least 14 
TV broadcasts.  Effectively, TV broadcasting is ended for me and I must 
rely on cable for TV viewing.


I don't know how important TV broadcasting is in smaller cities or in 
rural areas.  Perhaps it is more important there.



phartz...@gmail.com wrote:

  Broadcast television is likely to undergo yet another major change
similar to what was seen as it transitioned from analog to digital
about a year ago.  Cellular providers are arguing for yet even more
bandwidth, and this time they want TV broadcasters to give up spectrum
yet again.  Cellular providers argue that digital TV transmissions are
preventing them from using adjacent frequencies that could be made
available for mobile data devices, commonly referred to as cell
phones.  AT&T, Sprint, et al, say that TV broadcasts from single
locations upon tall towers radiate spurious signals that can mess with
cellular transmissions on nearby frequencies.  They want TV
broadcasters to switch to low power antennas that are scattered
throughout the coverage area of the various TV stations.  The FCC
earlier had given tacit approval to such a scheme, but because of
serious technical difficulties associated with such a plan, along with
much higher cost, such a plan was, for the most part, not employed
when TV switched from analog to digital.  However, cellular providers
now have their undies in a knit because they are finding they they are
promising much more than they can actually deliver with the situation
as it currently stands.

  If broadcast TV is forced to undergo yet another transition, this
time it could have quite an impact upon that industry.  Viewers have
been through this once already, and will probably react unfavorably is
they have to go through it yet again.  Multiple transmission sites
will create a lot of problems for both the stations as well as
viewers.  Signals that arrive at a TV receiving antenna from multiple
directions, which would be the case in most scenarios where a number
of separate transmitters are being used, will cause multipath
interference, resulting in "ghosting" of images, echo effects, even
loss of signal when out-of-phase signals collide.  In many markets,
dependent in great part upon the lay of the land, the expected quality
of digital broadcast can be severely eroded, and there will not be
much that can be done about it.  Broadcasters can make some signal
adjustments at the various broadcasting antenna sites that they would
be using, but those adjustments would basically be of a "one size fits
all" type that could fix problems for some viewers while leaving
others still dealing with a mess.

  An awful lot of consumers have sunk a lot of money into new digital
televisions, and they want and expect to get the quality images that
they have paid to be able to receive.  Many viewers re going to be
plenty upset if this change comes to pass, and cable and satellite TV
companies are already salivating and licking their lips in
anticipation.

  Steve


  



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Re: [CGUYS] Correct way to burn a video DVD

2009-12-28 Thread Robert Carroll
Sounds like the DVD player isn't able to read the DVD disk.  Some older 
players are not compatible with some kinds of computer DVD disks.


Best advice for older players is to use a DVD+R disk.  The brand of DVD 
disk also might be important.  I had an older DVD player for which some 
brands of DVDs could be read only on about 20% of the burned disks, 
whereas other brands could be read nearly 90% of those disks that were 
burned.


My advice for brand:  for single layer DVD, use the Taiyo Yuden brand.  
For dual layer, use Verbatim.



Richard P. wrote:

A friend sent a video DVD on which he had put some home movies. It
wouldn't play in the DVD player/TV set, but played OK in the computer.
What's the correct way to burn a DVD video so that it can be watched
on either a computer or stand-alone DVD player? Any suggestions will
be greatly appreciated.

Windows XP
DVD read only disc

Thanks in advance,

Richard P.


  



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Re: [CGUYS] STRANGE VIRUS?

2009-12-23 Thread Robert Carroll

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:


I remember way back when memory sold for $60 a MB.  (We sold a custom 
machine where the man wanted 16 MB of ram, cost him $640 a lone for 
the ram.)



Stewart


I remember when memory was $450 per MB.  I had a Zenith PC and it had 
proprietary memory.  Some time later I found a used MB for sale for only 
$75 so I bought it, but the machine died before I installed the memory.



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[CGUYS] Shopping advice needed -- keyboard & mouse

2009-12-11 Thread Robert Carroll
My daughter wants a wireless keyboard and mouse for her desktop computer 
(Windows Vista) at Xmas.  Quite a number of these at Newegg. 

Question, for a separate purchase of wireless RF keyboard & RF mouse, 
will the two interfere with each other? 


Looking at Logitech K350 keyboard and Microsoft optical mouse 2000.


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[CGUYS] Critical battery warning for Windows XP

2009-12-05 Thread Robert Carroll
This happened just now, and has happened a few times before.  
Immediately after switching profiles on my DESKTOP computer using 
Windows XP Pro, I get a balloon with a critical battery warning saying 
that I must soon switch to to electrical power.  There is no power 
battery in my desktop, and it is connected at all times to the 
electrical outlet.  Naturally, I have Googled the message and see only 
links for laptops.


Does this warning pertain to some actual battery in my desktop PC, or is 
it totally ignorable?



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Re: [CGUYS] ATT keeps whining, Apple attacks

2009-11-25 Thread Robert Carroll
My aunt, who smoked, favored a corn-cob pipe.  The tobacco (which she 
grew) never hurt her, and the pipe greatly enhanced her image with the 
students that she taught.



Jordan wrote:

John Duncan Yoyo wrote:

On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 2:43 PM, mike  wrote:

 
I know plenty of smokers who didn't get lung cancer, doesn't mean 
smoking

doesn't cause it.




Yep, My point was that smoker's smoke may have caused lung cancer in 
people

who never smoked.
  

Or more likely emphysema.
My grandmother never smoked, but my grandfather did and it likely 
caused emphysema that killed her.






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Re: [CGUYS] Dead desktop computer -- what is likely the matter?

2009-11-23 Thread Robert Carroll

Second follow-up on daughter's HP desktop:

She ran the HP recovery program that said that programs would be deleted 
but data saved.  After running, programs were saved but data deleted.


Per my advice, she tried to download AVG antivirus.  MS Internet 
Explorer wouldn't download; she installed Firefox.  With this, AVG 
program would download, but not install.  Trying to install simply 
returned her to the AVG download website.  She successfully downloaded 
Malwarebytes and is now running same.  It was finding numerous problems 
as of a few minutes ago.


I'm thinking that the only way to fix her computer is to reformat & 
reinstall OS.  But since HP didn't include a Windows XP disk when 
purchasing her computer, I will have to offer one of mine to her.  Is 
there a copyright issue here?  Some of my Windows OS disks were bought 
for computers that I once had but are discarded now so that the same 
disk OS would be installed on only one computer at the same time.





Robert Carroll wrote:
Update on dead computer -- a HP desktop with Windows XP Home.  
Daughter bought a power supply for $20, installed it, and the computer 
runs.


She mentioned afterwards that a downloaded iTunes video would play 
only very slowly.  I asked her about her antivirus software -- she had 
none.  I advised to download AVG and Malwarebytes.  She did, found 
some viruses with AVG; Malwarebytes wouldn't install.  Soon after 
removing viruses, computer boots only to a blank screen but with 
wallpaper.  Safe mode shows only black screen but for "safe mode" in 
four corners.  No start button.  Task Manager shows many processes 
running including "b.exe" which might be a virus.


Because HP, no Windows CD available.  Tried "boot to last good" but 
failed -- same result.  Tried everything else can think of short of 
the HP recovery program.  The recovery program starts from C: drive 
and says that all applications will be deleted, OS repaired, but that 
data will be retained.  She worries that she will loose Dreamweaver, 
which costs $500 but she got free when she was in a class at Eastman 
School of Music two years ago.  (Her full backup to external HD was a 
year ago.)


By now, she might have tried the HP recovery program, don't know.  Any 
advise?








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Re: [CGUYS] Dead desktop computer -- what is likely the matter?

2009-11-23 Thread Robert Carroll
Update on dead computer -- a HP desktop with Windows XP Home.  Daughter 
bought a power supply for $20, installed it, and the computer runs.


She mentioned afterwards that a downloaded iTunes video would play only 
very slowly.  I asked her about her antivirus software -- she had none.  
I advised to download AVG and Malwarebytes.  She did, found some viruses 
with AVG; Malwarebytes wouldn't install.  Soon after removing viruses, 
computer boots only to a blank screen but with wallpaper.  Safe mode 
shows only black screen but for "safe mode" in four corners.  No start 
button.  Task Manager shows many processes running including "b.exe" 
which might be a virus.


Because HP, no Windows CD available.  Tried "boot to last good" but 
failed -- same result.  Tried everything else can think of short of the 
HP recovery program.  The recovery program starts from C: drive and says 
that all applications will be deleted, OS repaired, but that data will 
be retained.  She worries that she will loose Dreamweaver, which costs 
$500 but she got free when she was in a class at Eastman School of Music 
two years ago.  (Her full backup to external HD was a year ago.)


By now, she might have tried the HP recovery program, don't know.  Any 
advise?





b_s-wilk wrote:

BIOS battery? Bad RAM?

There's some amazing deals coming up next week and for Christmas. 
BLACK FRIDAY! YES!! Or she can buy $1100 worth of software with $1450 
in rebates and use the difference to get a free computer.


Betty





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Re: [CGUYS] Antivirus software

2009-11-21 Thread Robert Carroll
No help can I offer, but to say that I have installed AVG on Windows XP 
and used for years without any problems.  Perhaps you ought to try a 
free virus scan of your computer -- the free scan won't fix the problem 
but can detect if one exists. 

I would also search the web for a forum that specializes in virus scan 
problems to see if this problem has happened to others.



Christopher Range wrote:
I tried AVG and, Avast.  Neither one of them finished installing.  So 
I had to get rid of both of them.  I tried McAffee Security Suite via 
Comcast.  It never properly installed.  I went back to Norton Internet 
Security and, every time I try to do a full system scan, I get a 
BSOD(Blue Screen Of Death).  Yet, I can do a quick scan without any 
problems.  I know the Windows Installer is working.  Because I 
wouldn't have been able to install Firefox or, Thunderbird.


All ideas appreciated.

Christopher


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[CGUYS] Dead desktop computer -- what is likely the matter?

2009-11-17 Thread Robert Carroll
Got a call from my oldest daughter just now that her HP desktop computer 
was dead.  Worked well yesterday -- no disk noise -- cut off at night, 
now won't start.  What to do?


She says that when she presses the "on" button nothing happens -- no 
light on button, no startup, no noise.  However, cable from modem causes 
light to illuminate on cable socket on computer (I think).  Computer is 
plugged into power strip -- all devices are working that are plugged to 
power strip except computer.  I advised her to switch computer power 
cable to another socket on power strip, to no avail.


Computer is about 4 -- 5 years old.  Seems to me that the most likely 
cause of problem is a bad on-off switch or a bad power supply.  How to 
test?  What are other likely causes of the problem?


She's hoping to get a cheap laptop during the Black Friday sales, but 
she needs a computer now.  How much should be a reasonable cost for a 
repair shop to charge if it is a power supply or a power switch?



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Re: [CGUYS] Plain English, please...

2009-10-15 Thread Robert Carroll

mike wrote:

I really wouldn't start telling these old folks about the cloud...

On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 3:46 PM, Fred Holmes  wrote:

  

At 05:25 PM 10/15/2009, Sue Cubic wrote:


I want to know---what is "the cloud"?
  
Why not? 

Old folks are simply old, not stupid.  Some are stupid -- might have 
been all their lives -- but most are not.  A few have mental or 
emotional problems, as do younger people. Old folks have more wisdom 
than younger folks taken as a whole. 

When you're old (best outcome that you can ever hope for), do you want 
some young stranger telling you that information should be withheld from 
you because you're too old to think straight?



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Re: [CGUYS] Snail Mail

2009-10-12 Thread Robert Carroll

No, but I know who coined the term "snail mail."

Edward Lear, who depicted a letter written on a snail's shell in 1864:  
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/snail.html


Tom Piwowar wrote:

An email I sent October 7th just showed up on the List. Has anyone
else noticed this kind of thing?

  



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Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas

2009-10-09 Thread Robert Carroll

b_s-wilk wrote:

Go to amazon.fr and search on "plume waterman".

Let me know if it works.


In France you're likely to get more returns at Kelkoo, same search 
terms, http://tinyurl.com/ylyt7qr. Many of the items are in Amazon 
marketplace, but many are elsewhere too.


Try 
http://www.touslesprix.com/papeterie/cherche-stylo-plume-waterman.html


What's the difference between the 800€ pen and the 10€ pen besides price?


Thanks for help.

To answer your question in the last sentence, a $10 fountain pen 
probably is ugly and may not write well.  The nib is made of base metal, 
usually is offered in one width, and probably uses pre-filled ink 
cartridges (that I don't like, since I write so much).  Ink flow is 
problematical.


An expensive pen is made for a presentation gift or for a jewelry 
collection.  One example (not the most expensive) is the Caran d'Anche 
Harmony pen priced at $6800 
http://www.joonpens.com/Caran%20d%27Ache_Harmony%20Limited%20Edition_pens  
I do not buy such expensive pens since I can't afford them, so I can't 
say how they might feel in the hand or how they might write.  Other 
expensive pens might have a gold body, a jeweled body, or simply a 
famous designer name attached to it.


One intermediate-priced pen that I have is the Montblanc model 149, once 
called the "Diplomat" but now called the "Meisterstuck" pen.  The 
current cost is just under $800.  
http://www.joonpens.com/Montblanc_Meisterstuck%20Collection_pens  It is 
fat like a cigar, has a gold nib with platinum overlay, and does not use 
ink cartridges.  I own the earlier Diplomat, which has a higher content 
gold nib than the Meisterstuck -- meaning my nib is more flexible.  It 
does not write so well -- the nib is a bit scratchy altho the ink flow 
is good if the right brand of ink is selected.  I carried the Montblanc 
in my shirt pocket for 10 years but I began to worry that I would loose 
it so now it stays at home, used infrequently.  Plus, Montblanc has one 
of the worst repair policies among all pens.


Since I want a good writing pen at a modest price, I settled on the 
Waterman Phileas pen with a medium nib.  Selling for about $35 overseas 
with shipping, or about $69 domestically with shipping, it is reasonably 
attractive, uses either a pre-filled ink cartridge or is refillable, 
comes in several colors of plastic, has a gold-plated nib, and most 
samples write well with Waterman ink.  A few do not measure up to my 
standards but the price is such that I can throw that few away.


I have other brands of pens as well, and I like the older ones.  I have 
have several Shaeffer snorkel pens with life-time warranties that I like 
very much but these are subject today of being subject to failure, and 
there are no repair parts available except for cannibalizing other 
snorkel pens for parts.



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Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas

2009-10-08 Thread Robert Carroll

I started this thread by asking how to find fountain pen stores in France.

For many products made overseas, an importer will make an agreement with 
the manufacturer to be the sole importer of that product.  This means 
that a contract is struck: the manufacturer agrees not to sell its 
product to any person or group within the importer's region, and the 
importer agrees to take on some part of the cost of importation (such 
as, warranting the product within the region, or assembling parts, or 
quality-control inspection and correction at no cost to the 
manufacturer).  As a result of the contract, the importer has a monopoly 
on sales of that product and can charge a price that is unrelated to the 
cost of manufacture, up to the maximum price that the market will bear.


In some cases (such as the Waterman fountain pen made in France that I 
sought), it is cheaper to buy the product in another country and ship it 
to the US than it is to buy the product at either a local or a web store 
that must abide by the importer's restriction: no discount from list 
price is permitted upon penalty of being denied supply of the product.  
In effect, the old "fair trade" price fixing scheme has been revived by 
contract.


Finding stores in other countries via the web that are outside the 
monopoly contract is a way that consumers can bypass unnatural elevation 
of prices.  This is why I asked for a way to find overseas fountain pen 
web stores.  Thank you for suggesting that there are regional Googles to 
search.


( To be fair, there are some products for which the "maximum price that 
the market will bear" is a narrow range of prices and for other products 
there is a much wider range.  In the case of a fountain pen, these are 
sold for as little as $10 and as much as $20,000 each, with a surprising 
lot being in the $2000 to $5000 range.  This creates confusion in 
consumers as to a reasonable price of a fountain pen.  If one wants a 
good serviceable pen but not a presentation item or a jewelry item, how 
much should it cost?  Unknown except for those, like me, who use a 
fountain pen exclusively and has tried many makes and brands and learned 
from experience.)



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Re: [CGUYS] Google Chrome add-in for IE: Speed demon or big, fat security hole?

2009-10-02 Thread Robert Carroll

Ok, changing the subject about Google Chrome:

I am webmaster of a site that offers download & playing of music for 
those who want to hear it.


I have tested the web site on all major browsers, but only Chrome fails 
to open the music for playing.  I sent a complaint to Google about this 
when it first came out as a beta, but so far no change from them.


The website is at http://riversidesax.info/  Go to "Listen" page to try it.

Any suggestions?



John Duncan Yoyo wrote:

On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 12:46 PM, tjp  wrote:

  

http://blogs.computerworld.com/14797/google_chome_add_in_for_ie_speed_demon_or_big_fat_security_hole

"Google's just released Chrome add-in for Internet Explorer can speed up IE
by as much as 10 times, tests show. But if you listen to Microsoft, it also
leaves you more vulnerable to malware and Web-based attacks. Who should you
believe?"

This is a variation on Google trying to take over and reengineer the iPhone
with GoogleVoice, except this time it is going after M$. My first reaction
is holy cow, are M$ programmers such jerks that Google can so easily speed
up IE by ten fold.  Then I wonder if our WFBs will so vigorously defend
Google now that the shoe is on the other foot.




Apparently google's programmers were frustrated by IE's lack of HTML 5 that
they wrote the chrome plugin as a work around the backward nature of IE.
This was  to allow a new google beta release to work in IE.   My guess is
part of the speed up is them by passing IE's security filters.
  



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[CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas

2009-10-02 Thread Robert Carroll
Below is a "Background" section -- it explains only my motivation for my 
question, so skip it to the actual question following unless you like to 
read stuff.


BACKGROUND =

I am a devotee of the fountain pen since my second grade in public 
school.  Write a lot, tried many brands & models of all prices, settled 
on a moderately-priced pen made in France.  Since I write so much, I 
keep 6 to 8 pens in rotation so that I don't have to fill ink from a 
bottle so often.  Problem is, I lose pens fairly frequently (I believe 
in my house but maybe not), so I have to buy more. 

Recently I found that my favorite web store increased the price by 1/3.  
Turns out, the sole U.S. importer has demanded that all stores, 
including web store, can't offer the pen lower than its list price.


I found an eBay store in France that offers both a "Buy It Now" price 
and an auction for that pen.  The "Buy It Now" price with both shipping 
& insurance is about half price of the U.S. stores.  The auction price 
is a bit less.


But before finding the eBay store,  I searched on Google for stores in 
France, Germany, & Italy.  Of course, I used the advanced search to 
specify the domain but there were very few stores listed on Google.  My 
eBay store (a large one) from which  I bought my pen was not found on 
Google.  Why does Google not list links to overseas stores?


BTW, there are a lot of examples of many different kinds of merchandise 
that are artificially increased in price because of exclusive contracts 
for importation into the U.S. by a domestic company.  So far as I know, 
buying from an overseas company via the web is not a violation of any 
exclusive contract by a U.S. company.


END BACKGROUND 

Finding web stores & sellers from other countries on Google search in 
the U.S. produces unsatisfactory results for me.  Specifying the Google 
search domain from other countries has proved for me to produce a 
limited number of links. 

Question: Is there a good way of finding web stores internationally?  
From Google, or from other web searches?  Is there a way to access a 
web search that is primarily directed to an overseas country?



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Re: [CGUYS] vhs to dvd

2009-09-30 Thread Robert Carroll
I am not a lawyer but I know that every owner of an electronic recording 
has a right to make an archival copy for himself or herself.  This 
applies to tapes as well as DVDs.  What is illegal is to copy a 
recording without owning it.


The fact that it may have a copy-prevention "feature" is irrelevant.

In the case for Macrovision, early VHS players are immune to this copy 
protection.  If I remember correctly, it shows itself as a periodic 
brightening and dimming of the video image when the tape is played.  If 
you don't have one already, see if you can find a VHS player dating from 
about the year that stereo audio was first introduced for VHS or earlier.


Failing that, you can simply find an old analog TV with both analog 
input and analog output jacks.  Play the tape to the TV and record on 
another VHS recorder from the output jacks.



b_s-wilk wrote:
A friend asked if I could convert a few VHS tapes to DVD. I've done 
many, so I said OK. One tape he gave me is a commercial 
movie--obscure, but one of his favorites--and it's never been released 
as a DVD. It has Macrovision.


Is there a legal way to do this conversion without buying expensive 
equipment like EyeTV? It's for a tape that he bought for his own use 
and wants to convert to a newer format for his own use. So far, our 
JVC VCR to Samsung DVD recorder doesn't work. We also have a cheap 
Philips VCR, a pro model Panasonic SVHS PV-S4990, and a VHS camcorder 
ca. 1985, and Canon Elura DV camcorder that we will try.


Help! Did this issue fall through the cracks of the DMCA?

Betty


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Re: [CGUYS] Vista -- Help Needed with Read Only Flag

2009-09-19 Thread Robert Carroll
Based on my experience, I would advise against trusting a "thumb drive" 
or a memory chip to store data over the long run.  A month or two, 
probably OK.


I had a SD card with student grade spreadsheets for two or three years 
of classes plus other data.  The card was in a pocket PC.  One day the 
SD card indicated that it was not formatted.  I tried to retrieve the 
data with several data retrieval programs but there was just too much 
data and too much unknown code on the SD card to be intelligible. 
Fortunately, I had backed up the SD card to my hard disk so that only a 
small portion of the data on the card was lost.  (BTW, I reformatted the 
SD card and it has functioned well since then.)


In another case, I used a 2 GB SD card to take pictures with a digital 
camera during an European vacation.  After copying them on return from 
the vacation, I removed & saved the SD card, switched it to read only, 
and stored it in a desk drawer.  Two years later, I found that about 2% 
of total number of pictures on the SD card were no longer recognizable 
as jpg files.  All the copied pictures were still good when viewed from 
the hard disk.


So far, I have not had any trouble with a USB flash drive but then I 
don't store data there for archiving -- mostly to transfer from one 
computer to another over the short run.



mike wrote:

I think at this point I'd just keep some cheapo thumb drives around.  You
can get 8 gig drives that size of chiclets.  Format them in a manner that
can be read by any system.

On Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 9:01 AM, Rev. Stewart Marshall <
popoz...@earthlink.net> wrote:

  

Thew reason Windows changes the flag when you move a file to a writable
media, is that when you write it to a CD/DVD it becomes readable only.

Once it is put on a media it must change the flag  otherwise it would error
out all the time when you try to change or write a file to your CD/DVD

I think the only way to change that is if you used your CD/DVD as a
harddrive and have the programs loaded to do that.

Stewart

At 10:48 AM 9/18/2009, you wrote:



I never said it wouldn't store the attributes.  That's exactly what it is
doing.  If you zip the file and then burn it to cd, it only locks the zip
file.

Windows xp and vista/7 seem to decide that since you are moving a file to
a
cd, it will lock the file from being changed.  Tom's problem is even after
moving the files from cd to HD he can't change that back.  So you zip the
files you want to move, then burn it to cd, it only locks the zip file.

  

Rev. Stewart A. Marshall
mailto:popoz...@earthlink.net
Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org
Ozark, AL  SL 82



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Re: [CGUYS] Guys and GPS

2009-09-06 Thread Robert Carroll

mike wrote:

I've heard this all my life, but I've never met a guy who refused or didn't
like asking for directions.

  
We haven't met.  I remember vividly the day, decades ago, when I swore I 
would never again stop my car to ask directions.


That story is too long to tell here,  but the usual accusation that it 
is a macho thing that prevents males to ask for help from other males or 
females is not correct in my opinion.


The problem is the accuracy of information one can obtain by asking.  If 
a man asks for directions, the directions might be wrong  and if so, it 
may be due to miscommunication, feigned knowledge, or deliberate 
misleading whether received from male or female.  If a woman asks for 
directions from a man, the man will strive mightily to help the damsel 
in distress so that the information she receives is more likely to be 
accurate.  If she asks another female, whether the information received 
is accurate or not, at least she has15 minutes of pleasant conversation.


Since the outcome of asking directions is more likely to be negative for 
a man than for a woman, the man is more reluctant to ask unless all else 
fails.



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Re: [CGUYS] Snow Leopard Review

2009-08-30 Thread Robert Carroll

Eric S. Sande wrote:
Apple and MS both do this to make sure people do not complain that it 
>makes their systems run like a dog not realizing that the hardware 
was never designed for it to begin with.


Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.

Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

--Mark Twain



Not Mark Twain, but Groucho Marx.


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[CGUYS] Asking for prepaid cell phone recommendation

2009-08-23 Thread Robert Carroll
So far I have resisted getting a cell phone for myself.  Wife & 
daughters insist on having one, so that I am paying about $150/month for 
same.  Don't want to add on to my plan since it requires another 2-year 
contract, plus wifey will be constantly calling me for help, for 
chitchat, and for no reason other than she's bored.  (I don't like to 
talk on any telephone since meaning of words is ambiguous without visual 
communication.)


Heard about prepaid cell phones on this Listserv, asking for 
recommendations.


What I want cell phone for:  for travel emergency and, possibly, for 
travel advice from friends while traveling

Estimated monthly useage:  <10 minutes/month
What I would use:  voice telephony
What I wouldn't use:  text or picture messaging, web browsing, picture 
taking, anything else.

What I don't want:  people text messaging me, or calling me to chitchat.
What's not important: overseas calling, or long distance except during 
travel emergency

My location:  Northern Virginia and DC.

Question:  is a prepaid cell phone cost effective for me?  Cheaper than 
adding onto a family plan?  What prepaid plan is recommended?



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Re: [CGUYS] Computer gadgets in cars

2009-08-12 Thread Robert Carroll
Speaking as a university professor of about 35 years, I don't want 
students in my classes to have guns.  There have been several instances 
of disturbed students who have obtained a gun and threatened me and 
other faculty with being shot.  We call the FBI who come quickly.  So 
far none of the faculty in my department have been shot or killed by a 
student.


On the other hand, my students study engineering and they tell me that 
engineering students don't go to Cancun during spring break for wet 
T-shirt contests.  I haven't yet figured out the correlation between gun 
threats and Cancun.



mike wrote:

During the Virginia Tech shootings, the guy reloaded several times.  Imagine
being one of those still alive, standing next to your slain friends waiting
for your killer to reload his guns to move on to you.

We can trade anecdotes all day long, stats speak for themselves.

  



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Re: [CGUYS] Computer gadgets in cars

2009-08-09 Thread Robert Carroll
Since I got a DVR from Verizon Fios, I have recorded & watched old 
episodes of "Maverick."   Everyone (except some females) carry guns on 
that program and use them profusely.  Seems to work for them, so why not 
for us today?  Maybe every walk down a sidewalk -- better said, for 
today, a drive in my car -- ought to have a gun exchange.  Of course I 
will win since I am the good guy, and besides I need to go to work 
tomorrow unlike the delinquents who fire at me as on the TV show.



Jeff Miles wrote:
I've always wondered why gun toting was disallowed in the first 
place. If I was a petty thief, the last person I'd try to mug is a gun 
toting person. On the other hand I have to think of the general common 
sense of the population. What happens when a person carries both a 
cell phone and a gun and the cell phone rings?


Jeff M





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Re: [CGUYS] Computer gadgets in cars

2009-08-07 Thread Robert Carroll

Constance Warner wrote:
As a pedestrian in the Washington, D.C. area, I'm in favor of anything 
that will improve my odds of  survival, even by just a few percentage 
points.  If windshield-mounted GPS units and similar devices make it 
more likely for pedestrians to  get mowed down by vehicles, then I 
think that the windshield-mounted devices should be illegal.  I'm 
aware that this might be less convenient for drivers, who might have 
to do something radical: plan their route before they get in the car.  
Once upon a time, this was SOP, and we used primitive devices called 
"road maps" and "map books" to do it.  I have a hard time feeling 
sorry for people who think that it's a hardship not having a GPS stuck 
right in their field of vision on the windshield.


Once upon a time I used road maps and map books too.  Or rather, I drove 
while wife attempted to read a map.  She doesn't read one and can't 
learn.  Every 15 minutes or so as we drove, we would get into a terrific 
quarrel -- me asking for directions and she insisting that the map 
didn't have our road on it.  As always, the quarrel ended with me 
pulling to the shoulder of the road (or stopping on the road if there 
was no shoulder) and glancing at the map for 15 seconds to find out 
where we were and how to make the next turn.  By the end of the trip we 
despised each other.


Since using a GPS, all our quarrels have ended.  A wonderful marital aid.


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Re: [CGUYS] Computer gadgets in cars

2009-08-06 Thread Robert Carroll

Sue Cubic wrote:
I've not travelled much out of my area since my husband died, but I'm 
thinking I might like a GPS.  Please tell me that I can get one that 
talks?


You'd be surprised what you can stick on your dashboard.

Sue

As far as I know, nearly all GPS systems talk.  I prefer to follow the 
spoken directions, and need to look at the map only occasionally. 

However,  what the GPS systems say depends on the price of the system.  
Usually those priced less than about $150 -- $175 are not verbose.  They 
will say such things as "Turn right here"  or "Take next exit."


GPS systems in the $150 and above will be more verbose.  They will say 
"In 0.6 miles, turn right onto Windom Avenue," followed by "In 0.2 
miles, turn right onto Windom Avenue,"  followed by "Turn right onto 
Windom Avenue now."


Most of the above have menus that you can select to find (and go to) 
such things as gas stations in the area, lodging, restaurants, airports, 
libraries, recreational attractions, hospitals, municipal buildings, 
etc.  In fact, I found some good restaurants near my home just by 
looking at my GPS, which separates lists of restaurants by the kind of 
food that they serve (i.e., American, French, seafood, Chinese, fast 
food, and many other categories).


GPS systems over about $250 have additional features such as interactive 
traffic monitors that can warn you of traffic jams & take detours to 
avoid same, Bluetooth availability for listening to music, and other things.


If you are looking to purchase a GPS system, my advice is to check 
Consumers Reports before buying.  You can find a good model on a web 
store at a good price.  Generally, the Garmin and the Tom Tom brands 
fare well in CU Reports but check them all out.



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Re: [CGUYS] Computer gadgets in cars

2009-08-06 Thread Robert Carroll

Constance Warner wrote:
Great essay!  I'd be in favor of ticketing drivers who mount GPS units 
and other such devices on their windshields, and I hope it soon 
becomes similarly illegal to mount laptop support brackets inside 
cars--a truly terrifying prospect.  
This is another black or white debate -- meaning that either all 
electronic devices such as GPS units or cell phones should be banned, or 
there should be no laws regarding their use in cars.  Neither situation 
is helpful.


First, there has not been a recognition in this debate that using the 
devices, particularly the GPS unit, improves driving safety.  Who has 
not been driving behind an individual who is seeking a house or business 
address and weaving from side to side on the road, especially at night, 
to spy a posted address?  Or seen drivers make U-turns in the road 
because they are lost?  If they had a GPS unit, they would drive more 
safely.  One anecdote:   my grandfather-in-law drove from his home in 
Connecticut to my home.  On the Capital Beltway he became lost and 
confused with our written directions and simply stopped in his lane of 
the Beltway during rush hour and awaited for someone to come to his 
aid.  Naturally a large backup happened, but the highway patrolman who 
eventually came directed him to the right exit.  Had he possessed a GPS, 
he would have not stopped and created a dangerous situation.


Since the GPS device is a useful tool, some safe way must be found for 
it to be accommodated in a car.  I would prefer that it be mounted on 
the dashboard either underneath the rear-view mirror or on the left side 
of the steering wheel.  But most GPS units, including mine, are intended 
to be mounted on the windshield and can't be mounted on the dashboard 
because of its texture.  I hope that future cars will provide a place to 
adhere a GPS unit to the dashboard as well as provide an electrical 
outlet there to avoid a long hanging wire.


In my opinion, these units are here to stay so claiming that they are 
illegal and therefore must be banned is narrow-minded.  Let us engineer 
better solutions, not ban all improvements.


If drivers who mount GPS units on their windshields are ticketed as Ms. 
Warner recommends, very soon there will be a change in the law which 
permits windshield mounting.



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Re: [CGUYS] Gubmint computer grab

2009-08-05 Thread Robert Carroll
FDR???   Herbert Hoover is closer to the mark for that one.  But 
methinks, hiding in shrubbery,  is a President who might be named that 
is more contemporary.


OK, maybe choosing FDR is a satirical poke at someone's belief.


Matthew Taylor wrote:

FDR
On Aug 2, 2009, at 5:36 PM, phartz...@gmail.com wrote:


By the way, who was this last President who totaled our economy?






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Re: [CGUYS] GMail Warning about Betty's Post

2009-07-19 Thread Robert Carroll

b_s-wilk wrote:

"
Yes, it's me, even when I send email from Spanish or UK servers or the 
United Transnational Republics, even when it's uʍop ǝpısdn.


Betty



How do you make text appear upside down?


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Re: [CGUYS] Switching, and why

2009-07-18 Thread Robert Carroll

t.piwowar wrote:



I know a newly-wed Mac user who switched to Windows because that is 
what his wife insisted on, he wanted to save money, and he figured it 
could not be as bad as the stories he had heard. Shortly thereafter he 
was screaming about how much worse it was than he had imagined. He 
switched back to Mac and has just bought a Mac for his wife.


I think switching either way brings initial difficulty.  I've used a PC 
for a long time but I bought my then college-aged daughter a Macbook 
Pro.  She likes it and can use both PCs and her Mac.  But I am at a 
total loss when I try to use her Mac, even for the most basic things.  
The programs are unrecognizable to me, and I even had to ask her how to 
delete a file.  Knowing which audio & video formats that can be shared 
between the two are a puzzle to both of us.


How did your friend's wife like switching to a Mac?  Without this info, 
the anecdote only suggests that one Mac user had trouble switching to 
Windows (?) and he doesn't care what his wife prefers.


P.S.  I've cursed the Windows OS ever since DOS, so I am not championing 
it.  If I had a Mac, I imagine I would curse its OS also.



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Re: [CGUYS] New algorithm guesses SSNs using date and place of birth

2009-07-09 Thread Robert Carroll

SSN came way before zip codes.


John Duncan Yoyo wrote:

On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 6:09 PM, Chris Dunford  wrote:

  

My dads began with a 0 means east coast.
  

Not all east coast. I grew up in NY and mine starts with 1. My wife grew up
around DC and hers starts with 2.




I wonder if they match the first digits of the zip code.  Sounds pretty
close for the East Coast.

  



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Re: [CGUYS] New algorithm guesses SSNs using date and place of birth

2009-07-07 Thread Robert Carroll

My wife was born in Connecticut.  SSN starts with 0.

I was born in NC.  My SSN starts with 2.

Chris Dunford wrote:

My dads began with a 0 means east coast.



Not all east coast. I grew up in NY and mine starts with 1. My wife grew up 
around DC and hers starts with 2.


  



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Re: [CGUYS] Bing FAILS on Big News

2009-07-04 Thread Robert Carroll

Don't forget ALGOL.  Predecessor of Fortran.  Contemporary of Cobal.

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:

That pretty much coincides with what I know.

AT&T came up with the big bear of them all UNIX.

The first two popular ones I remember (and this is only from reading) 
was FORTRAN and COBAL.


FORTRAN stood for formula translation and was used in the math and 
scientific community a lot.


COBOL stood for Common Oriented Business Operating Language or 
something similar.  This was used for a long time.  I remember when 
the Veterinary Software Company I worked for used ACCUCOBOL for their 
program in the early 90's.


Stewart


At 01:24 PM 7/4/2009, you wrote:

t.piwowar
> I bet Mozart's contemporaries said the same things about him.

> I also bet that long after Bill Gates is forgotten, people
> will still be thrilled by MJ.

Could be

> BTW, without Googling it, who invented the transistor? the
> microprocessor? the 1st programming language?

First transistor was by a team headed by William Shockley at AT&T,
Intel had the first microprocessor (depending on definition), the
first programming language is also based on definitions - in some
ways an assembler is a programming language (macro's, etc.)


Rev. Stewart A. Marshall
mailto:popoz...@earthlink.net
Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org
Ozark, AL  SL 82


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Re: [CGUYS] myEarthLink News Article - Reception problems linger after DTV transition

2009-06-18 Thread Robert Carroll
I am in Vienna, VA. and can't get channels 7 and 9.  I have an Antennas 
Direct model DB2 external antenna (UHF) as well as an amplified UHF/VHF 
rabbit ear antenna, plus several non-amplified ones.  None provides any 
picture at all on the two channels.


I was aware but paid little attention to the VHF carrier frequency of 
the two channels since I supposed that I was so close to the 
transmitting tower that any antenna would suffice.


I think that OTA transmission must be a small and shrinking part of TV 
delivery so that the TV stations are not overly concerned about this 
problem.



t.piwowar wrote:

On Jun 17, 2009, at 8:34 AM, Richard P. wrote:
Here's a local article from The Washington Post about the DC area 
losing 2

stations:


Good story, but it did not help. I get 7 but not 9. If this were true 
and I had an antenna problem I would get neither station.






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[CGUYS] formatting a USB external disk for use by Mac

2009-06-13 Thread Robert Carroll

P.P.S.

The USB external hard drive that I want to give to my daughter is called 
either 500 GB or 465 GB, depending on who is doing the calling.



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[CGUYS] formatting a USB external disk for use by Mac

2009-06-13 Thread Robert Carroll
My daughter has a MacBook Pro but no external drive for backup.  I 
thought that I would give her one of my external USB hard drives for the 
purpose, but I have previously formatted it as a NTFS to work with my 
PC.  Is it possible for her to format it for use with her Mac?  If so, how?


I have Googled this question already and get conflicting advice.  One 
result says that it can only be done if an earlier version of  the Mac 
OS can be found to boot from; others emphasize formatting so that both 
PC & Mac can read the drive,  and still others say it is no problem.  I 
expect my daughter will not know how to do the formatting.


E.G., 
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/backstage/comments/mac-os-leopard-cant-format-a-usb-hard-disk-seriously


If it can be formatted for Mac, is there a file size limitation?

P.S.  Does her Mac support USB, or must it be IEEE 1394?


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Re: [CGUYS] DTV debacle

2009-06-13 Thread Robert Carroll
Of course I rescanned.  I also entered channels 7-1 and 9-1 manually to 
the TV.  There is not enough signal even to register on the signal 
strength meter on those channels.


With the old rabbit ears, I can get a jerky picture on channel 7-1 and 
none on channel 9-1.


Since I am only 10 miles from the transmitting tower, I guess that 
channels 7 & 9 have made a decision that over-the-air broadcasting is 
not a significant part of their audience and plan to rely on cable and 
satellite instead.


Perhaps they are right.  If I now buy yet another outdoor antenna, one 
that receives both VHF and UHF signals, the cost of antennas will exceed 
the cost of the digital TV and I still will be able only to receive 
local over-the-air stations. Better to keep old analog sets, pay the 
cable company for a few more tuners.



t.piwowar wrote:
They announced they were going to do that long ago. Using those 
lower-numbered channels will give them better range.


This is why we are being told to rescan for channels after the 
switchover.


On Jun 13, 2009, at 1:14 PM, Robert Carroll wrote:
Latest problem with digital TV in DC area.  Couldn't get local 
digital channels with a digital LCD TV using rabbit ears, so I got an 
outside digital antenna.  Could get channels fine.  Then when analog 
was shut off, digital channels 7 (WJLA) and 9 (WUSA) disappeared.






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Re: [CGUYS] DTV debacle

2009-06-13 Thread Robert Carroll
Latest problem with digital TV in DC area.  Couldn't get local digital 
channels with a digital LCD TV using rabbit ears, so I got an outside 
digital antenna.  Could get channels fine.  Then when analog was shut 
off, digital channels 7 (WJLA) and 9 (WUSA) disappeared.  According to 
the blog on the channel 7 website, the reason is that channels 7 & 9 
decided to retain the old VHF carrier frequency (switching digital from 
UHF to VHF when analog was shut off) unlike all other local channels 
which use UHF.  Thus, my new digital antenna can't receive VHF signals 
strongly enough, and the rabbit ears are not strong enough even if I 
manually switch antennas when I switch channels.


Any others here have seen channels 7 & 9 disappear?  There are many 
complaining at the web site.



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Re: [CGUYS] Windows XP active partitions question

2009-06-12 Thread Robert Carroll
Thanks for your info. 

I am replying in case anyone wants to make an active partition not 
active, that I found on the web.  Here's how.


Open up a command prompt and type DISKPART.
Type LIST DISK
Type SELECT DISK n (where n is the number of the drive)
Type LIST PARTITION
Type SELECT PARTITION n (where n is the number of the active partition 
you wish to make inactive)

Type INACTIVE
Type EXIT to exit DISKPART
Type EXIT again to exit the command prompt
Reboot


Jeff Wright wrote:

I have discovered that some of my external hard drives have been marked as
active when I converted them from FAT32 to NTSC.  Each drive has one
partition only, and there are no OS on these drives.

Will having active partitions on multiple drive cause me a problem?  If so,
is there a way to make them non-active?



Luckily, you didn't convert your disks to PAL.  /jk

That won't be a problem, as long as none of these drives are marked as
the boot drive in your BIOS.  If you have 2 partitions on the same
disk, your "C" drive for example, and the one marked active doesn't
have the OS installed on it, that will be a problem.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/0260f433-b882-4d26-8d54-90f4e7cd1ffd1033.mspx


  



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Re: [CGUYS] DTV debacle

2009-06-12 Thread Robert Carroll

b_s-wilk wrote:




We went from getting around 20 stations to 2. We have a new amplified 
antenna that doesn't help. This sucks. The switch to digital was a 
gift to cable, fiber and satellite companies, as well as electronics 
companies, and gives the customers no advantage with plenty to 
complain about. I feel like we've been mugged.


I bought a digital LCD TV.  Even tho I dwell on the DC Beltway and most 
of the local TV transmitting towers are about 10 miles away 
line-of-sight, I could get NO local digital TV at all with an amplified 
rabbit-ear antenna.  Just bought an outdoor antenna, and can now get all 
but one of the local channels that I got with my analog TV using rabbit 
ears.



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[CGUYS] Windows XP active partitions question

2009-06-11 Thread Robert Carroll
I have discovered that some of my external hard drives have been marked 
as active when I converted them from FAT32 to NTSC.  Each drive has one 
partition only, and there are no OS on these drives.


Will having active partitions on multiple drive cause me a problem?  If 
so, is there a way to make them non-active?



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Re: [CGUYS] Mac or PC laptop?

2009-05-28 Thread Robert Carroll

I take it that you are voting for my buying a PC laptop.

Why, you ask?  Many reasons, here's a few why.

The reason for considering buying a Mac is the high regard that members 
of this listserv hold for the Mac.  It seems that the OS is claimed here 
to be superior to that of a PC, as well as the Mac hardware.


For the software:

My work gives me free software for PC, none for Mac.  If I buy the 
software for Mac, I must pay for it myself.


Example (one of many):  Matlab, with 13 toolboxes.  Unfortunately, the 
Matlab web site doesn't list prices, but I estimate that the packages 
would cost around $1,000 to $2,000.
There are quite a few other mathematical or scientific packages that are 
free to me for PC but for which I would have to pay for myself to get 
the Mac version.


There are a number of other, more mundane, reasons:  for example, just 
this week I upgraded to a version of a music notation program that is 
available only for PC.  What music notation program is available for a 
Mac, and how much will I have to pay?  It is the cost of switching many 
professional-quality programs to a Mac version that is a reason to avoid 
the Mac if it can't execute PC programs satisfactorily.


Thus, my question:  can a Mac run PC programs well enough to make a Mac 
laptop a desirable choice, or is there no reason to prefer a Mac laptop 
over a PC laptop?


Please note that I am not a PC or Mac partisan.  I've never owned a 
laptop nor a Mac, so I have no opinion at all about the differences 
between the PC and the Mac until I have tried both at some length.


Jeff Miles wrote:

On May 28, 2009, at 5:03 PM, Robert Carroll wrote:

I'm considering buying a laptop.  All my programs for my desktop are 
for PC, and these I will most likely use on a laptop.
My question is: is it better to buy a PC to run PC programs, or a Mac 
to run PC programs?


Please don't tell me that I can get as good as or better results 
using programs for Mac.  Except for the odd example, running Mac 
programs is not going to happen with me.



Then why are you even bothering asking the question? If you're 
dead set against running any Mac programs why would you even consider 
buying one?


Jeff M





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[CGUYS] Mac or PC laptop?

2009-05-28 Thread Robert Carroll
I'm considering buying a laptop.  All my programs for my desktop are for 
PC, and these I will most likely use on a laptop. 

My question is: is it better to buy a PC to run PC programs, or a Mac to 
run PC programs?


Please don't tell me that I can get as good as or better results using 
programs for Mac.  Except for the odd example, running Mac programs is 
not going to happen with me.



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Re: [CGUYS] Color Calibration?

2009-05-23 Thread Robert Carroll

Don't know about Spyder3Pro, but there are some free programs that might
help.

For info, visit
http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html
http://www.normankoren.com/color_management.html

For a free program to adjust gamma, visit http://quickgamma.de/indexen.html

Alvin Auerbach wrote:

I'd really like the group's advice on the following:

I'm a not very knowledgeable, low end snap shooter picture taker. 
Still, I'd like to have my camera, scanner, monitor (iMac), and both 
printers agree on what colors in photographs are supposed to look like.


There is a hardware-software combination called Spyder3Pro ($169 list, 
$130 street) which purports to be able to do this.


1. Will this thing really do this?
2. Can an amateur learn to use it & get reasonable results with it?
3. If I send the file to a commercial printer, can the device still help?
4. Is there another model or another brand that would be better for me?

Thanks for your advice,

Alvin






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Re: [CGUYS] Color Calibration?

2009-05-23 Thread Robert Carroll
Don't know about Spyder3Pro, but there are some free programs that might 
help.


For info, visit 
http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html#QuickGamma


For a free program to adjust gamma, visit http://quickgamma.de/indexen.html

Alvin Auerbach wrote:

I'd really like the group's advice on the following:

I'm a not very knowledgeable, low end snap shooter picture taker. 
Still, I'd like to have my camera, scanner, monitor (iMac), and both 
printers agree on what colors in photographs are supposed to look like.


There is a hardware-software combination called Spyder3Pro ($169 list, 
$130 street) which purports to be able to do this.


1. Will this thing really do this?
2. Can an amateur learn to use it & get reasonable results with it?
3. If I send the file to a commercial printer, can the device still help?
4. Is there another model or another brand that would be better for me?

Thanks for your advice,

Alvin






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Re: [CGUYS] Revealed Truth

2009-05-13 Thread Robert Carroll

Reverend,

I respect you & your religion.  Not being a Christian myself, I have 
trouble understanding your reply.  Can you elucidate?


I know this is a computer -- whatever -- so if my question is out of 
line I apologize, and no response is necessary from you.



Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:

He did but we often forget.  He comes first everything else comes last.

Stewart


At 05:51 PM 5/13/2009, you wrote:

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:
I do remember him saying render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's 
and unto God that which is God's. .
Unfortunately for the rest of us, I don't think he mentioned which 
was which ...





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Re: [CGUYS] Revealed Truth

2009-05-13 Thread Robert Carroll

Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:
I do remember him saying render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and 
unto God that which is God's. .


Unfortunately for the rest of us, I don't think he mentioned which was 
which ...



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Re: [CGUYS] Are old LPs worth anything?

2009-05-09 Thread Robert Carroll

My two cents:  depends on what the LP is.

A couple of years ago I bought an LP on eBay for over $100, recorded 
around 1953.  Most don't sell for so much.


They are like comic books:  the rare and sought after comic book fetches 
a high price, most are not of much value even if they are old.


Ranbo wrote:

*
A bit off-topic but have sense some here might know

Someone my father met said he would come by and buy his LPs.  I'm debating
whether to take all my LPs for him to buy as well.  I suspect we won't get
paid more than a token amount.  I have mostly LPs from 70's and think I've
seen some of them on sale in record stores for $20-$30.  Question is, would
it be worth it to try to sell the records individually, or as a collection
through some other means than this guy?  I have maybe 35 records.  Mix of
rock, classic, a few musicals.  Just thought I'd see what feedback I'd get.

Thanks

Randall*


  



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Re: [CGUYS] CD differences (?)

2009-05-09 Thread Robert Carroll
It is my belief that there is no difference at all between a "music" CD 
and a "data" CD except the price.  There is a royalty paid to ASCAP for 
each music CD sold because the intent is to store music on the CD that 
has a royalty attached.


Whereas DVDs, in my experience, differ greatly in quality according to 
the brand, I have found no difference in recording quality of CDs for 
each brand.  However, some CDs are vulnerable to physical damage on the 
side opposite to the playing side and should be avoided if you are 
archiving.



chrper...@aol.com wrote:
A friend recently posed the following question. Since I know nothing 
about this subject, I'm hoping for an answer from some of our forum 
"geeks" and "guru's." - TIA!


Question: Blank (writeable) CDs can be purchased either as DATA, AUDIO 
or (plain Jane) recordables. I'm  in the process of transcribing my 
vinyl record collection onto CDs, and I discovered that one set of the 
blank CDs that I purchased is labeled "DATA".


So the question is 'What happens if I write an audio content to these 
purported "data" CDs ?"


Mical Wimoth Carton
chrper...@aol.com





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Re: [CGUYS] OT: Cable & Digital TV

2009-05-06 Thread Robert Carroll

A minor correction:  3 db is twice power, not 1 db.

The formula is:  db = 10 log(P2 / P1) = 20 log (v2 / v1) where P is 
power and v is voltage.


12 db is an increase in power of about 15.8.


Tom Piwowar wrote:


SolidSignal.com has good info. Note new Channel Master model 4228HD 
covers down to channel 7. Channel Master 4228 has the highest gain of 12 
db. Remember that 1 db = a doubling of power so 12 db is a lot.
  



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Re: [CGUYS] First time computer buyer

2009-05-06 Thread Robert Carroll

b_s-wilk wrote:



As an aside to your daughter, if she expects to work in video or 
graphic design, the good studios all use Macs or other Unix. Magazines 
and newspapers, good web developers, even credit card companies, use 
Macs. Local and national TV stations use Macs. Locally, JP Morgan 
Chase has been on a 'crusade' to get rid of Macs for the past few of 
years, to "save money". They've changed their minds and just ordered 
150 more Macs, on top of the 90+ they ordered last year for their 
Delaware location. Found out that Macs are more secure, easier to use, 
and need less tech support than Windows PCs.



At the time she was attending a university that requires PCs.  The video 
& graphics department didn't have either Macs or Mac software.



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Re: [CGUYS] First time computer buyer

2009-05-05 Thread Robert Carroll
You don't say whether he wants a notebook or a desktop. 

I bought my daughter a HP desktop PC computer for Xmas this past year 
for about $350.  It was not the cheapest: I wanted a dual-core 
processor.  I am amazed at the quality and value when the mail-order 
computer arrived from HP.  My daughter does video & graphic design in 
college, needed a fast machine  -- I decided to go with 4 GB DDRAM, a 
free upgrade then.


Checking prices now at HP web site:  AMD single-core processor, $300.  
Intel dual-core, $380.  $300 computer comes with 250 GB hard drive, DVD 
burner, 2 GB memory, Eithernet card, card reader, optical mouse, 6 USB 
and one IEEE 1394 ports.  Note: card slots limited to 3 besides video 
card slot.  Wireless LAN, printer and monitor extra.  Monitor likely 
costs the most, and wireless, printer, & monitor together will probably 
cost more than $100 if bought new.  (Seems like HP computer not as good 
a deal as last Xmas.)  Some minimal software is offered for free, but 
heavy duty software will cost maybe as much as the computer.


Notebooks run about 30% more than desktops.

If he only wants to get on internet, get a netbook or perhaps a notebook 
mini computer.  Latter is $280 at HP, but is a poor excuse for a 
computer for heavy-duty use.



phartz...@gmail.com wrote:

  The brother of a good friend of mine wants to purchase his very
first computer.  This fellow just had his 48th birthday.  I was asked
to look into the question of what he should get, primarily just for
e-mail, but who knows what he will eventually want to use it for over
time.  Being a Mac user, I was thinking Macintosh for various reasons
based upon my own personal experiences and knowledge.

  However, he is insisting on a Windows machine, and I have now backed
out of trying to help him make a purchase because I have little
knowledge of what would be best for him on that platform.  His sole
reason for "having" to have a Windows machine is because, as he says,
"everyone else has one."  What he really means is that he doesn't know
anyone who uses anything else, except for me and my good friend, and
he wants to be a part of the really big flock.  His scope is limited.

  He does not need this computer for anything related to his work.  I
have said it before here, and once again it has happened.  A computer
purchase is being predicated upon the erroneous and paranoid concept
that "everyone else has one."  Queried about this, he says that he
fears not being able to get any help when he needs it if he gets
anything but a Windows computer. and from what he hears and
understands from others, he says he'll probably be needing a lot of
that.  This is a typical rationale I hear all the time.  Additionally,
he only wants to spend about $400 or so for everything, including the
printer.  He knows nothing of computer pricing, so this is not an
issue of wanting a Windows machine simply because they are known to be
initially cheap.

  This is no attempt to fan any flames, but merely a little peek into
what I have always perceived to be a major selling point for a
particular computer platform.

  Steve


  



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Re: [CGUYS] Windows Vista out?

2009-04-30 Thread Robert Carroll

Hear, Hear!

Two months ago my boot disk on my PC failed, I opted to do a clean 
install of Windows XP Pro on a new disk instead of a disk image backup 
of the failed disk.  Reason:  the computer had become so slow to operate 
that I was fretting.  With a clean install, the computer now has a 
rejuvenated life.


So, what's the problem?  Took a week to install the most used programs.  
Worse, some original disks application disks were gone missing, so I 
will have to buy same.  Most expensive, a $600 application, followed by 
a $170 application, and more.  If I had installed the backup image, I 
think that all programs would have been available as before.


Just realized tonight that I haven't yet installed Microsoft Office -- 
been happily using the computer without it. 

Question for this group:  is there a way of installing a program from a 
backup image (DriveImage, similar to Ghost image) onto a boot disk 
without the original program disks?



Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote:

I do but do you want to have to reinstall everything on your system?

In these days of key#s and stuff it takes a couple of months to 
restore a system to what it was before when you have to reload stuff.


Stewart



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Re: [CGUYS] What to look for in digital converter box?

2009-04-27 Thread Robert Carroll

b_s-wilk wrote:
 > The two converter boxes that I bought have a "feature" that it 
turns itself off after one hour of use (the box, not the TV).  What 
this means is that you can't use a VCR to record a program later 
because the box will be turned off by the time of the recording.  I 
don't know if all are like these, or just mine are.


Please name the brand to avoid!



This model is a Zenith DTT900.


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Re: [CGUYS] What to look for in digital converter box?

2009-04-26 Thread Robert Carroll
The two converter boxes that I bought have a "feature" that it turns 
itself off after one hour of use (the box, not the TV).  What this means 
is that you can't use a VCR to record a program later because the box 
will be turned off by the time of the recording.  I don't know if all 
are like these, or just mine are.



Ranbo wrote:

*Finally got my digitial tv converter box coupons (2).  Any recommendations
for models that are good or that I should stay away from?  Does model and
price matter much for this?  Anything else to be aware of in making this
purchase?

Thanks

Randall

  



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[CGUYS] Request recommendation for computer speakers

2009-04-05 Thread Robert Carroll
My Klipsch 2.1 computer speakers no longer work.  Don't know why.  Power 
is on, and cheapie speakers play OK when inserted into the same audio 
output jack that the 2.1 speakers use.  Also, have checked Device 
Manager & Play Control to see that all reports OK  (Windows XP Pro).


Two questions:

(1)  Is there some further test to do on the speakers before deciding 
that they have failed and need to be replaced?  (They are out of warranty.)


(2)  Recommendations for a high-quality 2.1 speaker system, preferably 
under $200.



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Re: [CGUYS] Would like suggestions for 4-in-1 printer

2009-03-04 Thread Robert Carroll

I've come into this ink-jet printer thread late, but will add my two cents.

(1) For printers that require an ink cartridge with a validation chip 
(most of the new ones), there are several possibilities (a) replace with 
OEM at a high price, (b) disable the validation chip and refill the 
cartridge from bulk ink (best with high volume), (c) buy a generic ink 
cartridge and transfer the validation chip to the new cartridge (cheap 
but slow to replace), and (d) buy a generic ink cartridge that comes 
with a validation chip already installed (easy, cheaper than OEM)


(2)  The quality of a photo print depends both on the ink and on the 
paper.  I have found that Costco photo paper is both good quality and 
inexpensive.  For ink, I like ink from Abacus Private Store 
http://private.abacus24-7.com/  Not the cheapest but high-quality ink.


(3)  Strange, in my area Costco is free admission.

b_s-wilk wrote:


Costco has a $50 per year fee for regular membership, $100 per year 
for business. 



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Re: [CGUYS] Norton revisited

2009-02-26 Thread Robert Carroll

OK, I using AGV free.  What reason should I switch to Norton?



Tom Piwowar wrote:
Have to say that so far I am actually very impressed, and I had a big 
anti-Norton bias to get back over.



I find the company's MO is to start with a great product (often obtained 
by buying another company) and then milking it for cash while investing 
zilch. I wonder what the reviews will be for NIS 2012? Do you think they 
have seen the error of their ways?



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