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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: HEAVEN: Ancient Geek - the computer thread
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
lilBuddha, the comment about not buggering up the computer was in the context of removal, not running two AV side-by-side. Zappa was concerned about whether removing would cause problems, not keeping.
Also, IIRC, MacAfee Security Scan is an on-demand thing, rather than on-access, so in theory could just sit there harmlessly. However, my personal/professional view of MacAfee is such that I'd remove it regardless ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Agreed that if you're trying to be super-protected and think more is better, running two AV products simultaneously can cause problems, although you can work around it by only having one of them do on-access scanning, and the other do an on-demand/scheduled scan - it's generally running two resident on-access scanners at the same time that stuffs everything up. Which is why a lot of malware stuff can co-exist because most of them are on-demand only (or at least, the freebie versions are).
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
OK, a silly question for you. Which is the proper way to pronounce MacAfee? I first heard it as Maca-fee. But when I said it that way, a friend said, "No, no, no. It's MacAf-fee."
So, which is correct?
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by jedijudy:
OK, a silly question for you. Which is the proper way to pronounce MacAfee? I first heard it as Maca-fee. But when I said it that way, a friend said, "No, no, no. It's MacAf-fee."
So, which is correct?
Mac Afee (as in son of Afee in gaelic) - it's more like Macaf-ee.
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Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Snags:
lilBuddha, the comment about not buggering up the computer was in the context of removal, not running two AV side-by-side. Zappa was concerned about whether removing would cause problems, not keeping.
Also, IIRC, MacAfee Security Scan is an on-demand thing, rather than on-access, so in theory could just sit there harmlessly. However, my personal/professional view of MacAfee is such that I'd remove it regardless
Agreed that if you're trying to be super-protected and think more is better, running two AV products simultaneously can cause problems, although you can work around it by only having one of them do on-access scanning, and the other do an on-demand/scheduled scan - it's generally running two resident on-access scanners at the same time that stuffs everything up. Which is why a lot of malware stuff can co-exist because most of them are on-demand only (or at least, the freebie versions are).
![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif) Sorry, did not read thoroughly.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
Were it me, and it has been, I would do the same to Norton when the subscription comes up.
Norton is too controlling and resource intensive.
There are better out there.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
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Posted
I have three different computers running three different AV products - partly because I'm perverse and want to see how they operate.
The Lapdog is running PCTools freeware - no horribles yet, but I don't tend to connect to foreign networks if I can possibly avoid it.
The new computer runs Bullguard - I've had one virus install that it detected but that I had to delete manually (it was of the type that most AV progs didn't autodelete). Bullguard seems to be quick to load and resource-lite.
The old computer runs Norton Internet Security - it's pretty nails but sucks at front-loading. When the box dies of heat-death, its replacement will probably run Bullguard too.
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Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
Apart from taking the chance for a cheap shot at McAfee I've been studiously avoiding AV wars Mostly because (apart from Sophos, which we use, but isn't appropriate at a consumer level) I still haven't tracked down something that combines good, cheap, and easy to use for a normal human being.
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Pasta la Vista:
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
I've been given a very old laptopp that has some microsoft applications on it I would like to use on my desktop PC. Is there any way of copying the software over on to the desktop PC? I don't have the original software disks.
The applications are Powerpoint, Access and Publisher.
Allegedly, you can make a disk image of one machine (such as your old laptop) and run it in a virtual machine on another physical machine, courtesy of something like VirtualBox. But it would be a breach of the stringent EULA and would upset those nice people at Microsoft. So clearly no right thinking person would do that. I know I wouldn't. Oh no.
OpenOffice.org will allow your conscience to remain clear.
Still wondering about this, would it work if I took the disk out of the laptop and put it in an external disk housing and connected it to the desktop?
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
Sparrow, not if I understand what you're asking correctly. For your applications to work* they'll expect to see various things: files in particular locations, settings in the registry etc. If you just stuff the old drive in an external housing it will have a different letter, you'll be working off the new not the old registry etc. so nothing lines up.
What you could do is take the aforementioned image from the drive whilst it's in the housing, and then shove that into a virtual machine as the boot drive, potentially.
You should be able to see the contents of your old drive when it's in an external housing, but running applications is a bit different ...
*Unless they're very simple, that is.
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Gladly The Cross-eyed Bear
Fixed Bearly Tone
# 9641
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Posted
This is one of those things that everyone I have talked to seems to think I should know, but somehow I missed that day in class.
We are moving from having ATT be our internet provider (via DSL) to where Verizon will be our phone company (and no DSL is available). Our current email address is ourname@ATTcompany.net. If we pick up a dial-up service, do I get to keep that email address, or do I have to change to ourname@DIALUPcompany.net? I have been talking to various company representatives, and they don't seem to be able to understand what it is I am asking. For that matter, I'm not sure what I am asking. It's what I get for not having changed providers in over ten years . . .
Gladly
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Percy, Mace, and Grease be with you!
Posts: 162 | From: East end of the Desolation of Smog | Registered: Jun 2005
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Gracious rebel
Rainbow warrior
# 3523
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Posted
Gladly, not sure if different rules apply in different countries, or for different providers, but I can tell you that I am still able to use an email address with a company that I no longer have any business with - I switched to DSL with a different service provider (from dial up, so the opposite way around to you) yet I can still collect my mail from the original email address.
You just need to edit the outgoing mail SMTP server names for that email account to be that of the NEW service provider, then you should be able to still send and receive email via the old account name if you want to. But its probably a good idea to also set up a new address for the new one, to gradually migrate to. This is what I did, and 8 years later I still receive mail on the old account most days.
[ 07. July 2010, 10:39: Message edited by: Gracious rebel ]
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Fancy a break beside the sea in Suffolk? Visit my website
Posts: 4413 | From: Suffolk UK | Registered: Nov 2002
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
I don't know the situation in the US for sure, but I would guess the answer is "it depends".
As a general rule, if your email address is clearly provided as part of your ISPs package, then when you stop paying them, you'll probably lose the right to use it. However, some ISPs are generous and will leave the POP box open so that you can continue to receive, but you won't be permitted to send via their systems (see Gracious Rebel's post). Other ISPs are plain incompetent, and just taken ages to clear up old accounts, so you may still have access for a while, then one day, boom, it will vanish, and you'll have no-one to blame but yourself, really (unless you have an agreement with them).
If you're prone to changing provider, then your best bet is to get a provider-independent address, either by registering your own domain (even if you then just forward it to your current provider-address), or by using something like GoogleMail. Given everything I've heard about AT&T (filtered by a lot of pond) over the years, I'd be very surprised if they let you keep the email address without you having some kind of commercial relationship with them.
The question you want to ask, though, of AT&T is "If we cancel our services with you, can we still keep on our existing email address of ...?" making it clear it's an AT&T-based address.
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
It maybe possible to keep your old email address for a small fee. I think I pay Ł1 per month for one of mine, admittedly I set it up when broadband was very new, and one company was selling broadband without an email address. I have never since used the company supplied one.
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
It maybe possible to keep your old email address for a small fee. I think I pay Ł1 per month for one of mine, admittedly I set it up when broadband was very new, and one company was selling broadband without an email address. I have never since used the company supplied one.
Jengie
Me too - and all the emails are redirected to my gmail account.
I like gmail as it keeps everything neat and tidy
[ 07. July 2010, 14:52: Message edited by: Boogie ]
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Gladly The Cross-eyed Bear
Fixed Bearly Tone
# 9641
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Posted
Wow. Thanks to all for the advice. I will probably be linking to the internet via cable rather than dial-up. Having had little experience in these things, I am sure I am going to go in some unintended directions. Everybody wants to sell bundles, but I am not sure what I want. I am sure I don't want to pay for television. I haven't changed providers since I bought service from a company which is now two generations into the corporate digestive system, and none of the rules I learned ten years ago apply now.
Gladly
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Percy, Mace, and Grease be with you!
Posts: 162 | From: East end of the Desolation of Smog | Registered: Jun 2005
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Leetle Masha
Cantankerous Anchoress
# 8209
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Posted
Zappa, if you can see a black bar at the top of your Windows Media Player window, a black bar that says "Now Playing, Library, Rip, Burn, Sync", etc., try right-clicking on the black bar between the words "Now Playing" and "Library". A small drop-down menu should appear, that says "File, View, Play, Tools, Help, and 'Show Classic Menus' ". If you click on "Show Classic Menus", the toolbar should appear above the black bar.
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eleison me, tin amartolin: have mercy on me, the sinner
Posts: 6351 | From: Hesychia, in Hyperdulia | Registered: Aug 2004
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
Scrap Windows Media Player - it's a resource hog and poorly written. - I only use it for ripping CDs to hard drive. Never for listening to music or watching videos.
Try the free VLC media player. Does the job rather well.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433
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Posted
Little Meesha, that sort of half helped, but the thing that looks like a car CD player face used to be 1/4 the size and sit on my task bar - now it only sits on the screen and sort of disappears behind the task bar. Oh well.
Wesley, downloaded that and, as with most things I download, it's disappeared - but I'll look later.
Thanks both!
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shameless self promotion - because I think it's worth it
and mayhap this too: http://broken-moments.blogspot.co.nz/
Posts: 18917 | From: "Central" is all they call it | Registered: Sep 2004
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zappa:
Wesley, downloaded that and, as with most things I download, it's disappeared - but I'll look later.
There should be an option in your browser to send downloads to your desktop. In Firefox, it's under Tools | Options | General. Should be somewhere similar in IE.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
Or do a search for vlc.exe
Win XP --> Start --> Search --> All files and folders --> All or part of the file name --> [enter] vlc.exe --> Look in: Local Hard Drives (C:) [or any other drives it might be on] --> Search
Once you've found vlc.exe, Win XP will display a liste of its whereabouts. If you rightclick the search result vlc.exe, you can choose to 'open containing folder'. Do this, and you can drag and drop vlc.exe from that folder to the desktop where it will create a shortcut.
Or do as suggested in the previous post.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Leetle Masha
Cantankerous Anchoress
# 8209
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Posted
Oh, dear. Sorry, Zappa! Mine's not got that little car-CD icon on it, so we must have different versions. I was glad that Wesley J. came through with such a nice alternative--he's helped me many a time!
Thanks, Wesley J!
Mary
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eleison me, tin amartolin: have mercy on me, the sinner
Posts: 6351 | From: Hesychia, in Hyperdulia | Registered: Aug 2004
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
Thank you, Miss Mary.
Change of subject: Anyone seen the new-look BBC News website yet, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/?
I personally find it utter rubbish and fairly unreadable. All cluttered and mixed up, can't find a thing anymore. And I guess it's not just because it's new. IMHO, I looks like a BBC website for kids now... pathetic. I feel even I could have designed a better layout, and I'm by no means an expert. ![[Disappointed]](graemlins/disappointed.gif)
There've been about 1,500 comments so far, and most thoroughly negative. - Any thoughts and observations?
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
I suspect the iPad is to blame.
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
I suspect iDiocy is to blame.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
I like it.
I used to be responsible for some very-in-the-public-eye website and I remember (more clearly than I want to) every re-issue of the site. Everybody hated it. Didn't matter that it had to be done, to keep up with organisational change and ever-expanding content. Didn't matter what technical improvements you made.* Users don't like having to relearn where to find stuff. They want it the Way Its Always Been (despite the fact that the Always is usually about 2 years, at the normal refresh rate for sites).
*Critics always assumed you did redesigns out of sheer caprice. That, and in order to waste public money.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Paul.
Shipmate
# 37
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Posted
I can't see much wrong with it. It's different. Every now and then you have to update these things to show you're not out of date right?
Anyway I consume most of my BBC website News via RSS feeds and that hasn't changed.
Posts: 3690 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2004
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Drifting Star
Drifting against the wind
# 12799
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Posted
I quite like it - but then I loathed the old version. I particularly like the box for my local area part way down the page - I found it very cumbersome finding any local information before.
Like Wilson, I use the RSS feed for getting an overall idea of current news, and that hasn't changed.
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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus
Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
Thanks, guys. I'm currently trying out the mobile version, even though on a regular machine, and will look into the RSS feeds option shortly. I just can't stand the new what I find to be very cluttered look of the site.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Wet Kipper
Circus Runaway
# 1654
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Norton is too controlling and resource intensive.
There are better out there.
Those being ?
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- insert randomly chosen, potentially Deep and Meaningful™ song lyrics here -
Posts: 9841 | From: further up the Hill | Registered: Nov 2001
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
AVG, for one.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
Panda, Avast, Trend Micro among others. I listed these as I have had good experiences with them.
I would also recommend getting one or two anti-spyware programs as well. MalwareBytes and Spyware Doctor for example. MalwareBytes has a free, and very capable, version.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Mr. Spouse
Ship's Pedant
# 3353
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Posted
A vote here for Comodo. I switched to the free firewall after becoming increasingly frustrated with ZoneAlarm. Their AV product is also free, and much less intrusive than the likes of AVG, who constantly bombard you with annoying popups and requests to buy their full product.
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Try to have a thought of your own, thinking is so important. - Blackadder
Posts: 1814 | From: Here, there & everywhere | Registered: Sep 2002
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St. Stephen the Stoned
Shipmate
# 9841
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Posted
I’ve been using Ubuntu GNU/Linux for a couple of years now, ever since I heard about Windows Genuine Advantage, the “Genuine Validation test for Windows” which allows Microsoft to inspect the contents of my harddrive!
While looking for something else (as ever), I came across a video of Stephen Fry celebrating the 25th anniversary of GNU , during which which he recommends a distro called gNewSense .
It’s based on Ubuntu, but without the non-*free software included as optional by Canonical and its partners. It is therefore even more ethical than Ubuntu (for certain values of ‘ethical’).
Has anybody on board tried gNewSense, or any other totally free operating system?
*“free as in free speech, not as in free beer”.
Please note that I am not canvassing for free software or advocating its use. My only interest and involvement is as a computer user. I am interested in other peoples’ experiences of free operating systems, no matter how they were motivated in choosing them.
[ 16. July 2010, 11:27: Message edited by: St. Stephen the Stoned ]
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Do you want to see Jesus or don't yer? Well shurrup then!
Posts: 518 | From: Sheffield | Registered: Jul 2005
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Periodically I get some emails with no sender (occasionally a single non-alphanumerical character) or subject line and a pop-up alert from the anti-virus system saying my system has detected "Fake Alert" in a specific email program file. The emails can't be deleted, but seem to vanish of their own accord once the email software is closed and reopened.
I read on the internet (great source of all truth and wisdom as we all know) that this is a hoax message. I've had a look for the "infected file" in the directory the pop-up mentions (it has a .cmd extension apparently) without any success. Neither Spybot nor the AVG software I'm currently running (both up to date) have detected anything amiss and everything seems to function as normal.
Do I have a virus or not, and if so, what can I expect it to do?
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
I do not have an answer for you,Ariel, though I do have a suggestion. Download malware bytes and run the scan.
Spybot was once very decent, I am not sure that is still the case. IMO it is advisable to have more than 1 anti- spyware in any case.
[Edit: UBB]
[ 18. July 2010, 04:55: Message edited by: Zappa ]
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Wesley J:
Or do a search for vlc.exe
Win XP --> Start --> Search --> All files and folders --> All or part of the file name --> [enter] vlc.exe --> Look in: Local Hard Drives (C:) [or any other drives it might be on] --> Search
Once you've found vlc.exe, Win XP will display a list of its whereabouts. If you rightclick the search result vlc.exe, you can choose to 'open containing folder'. Do this, and you can drag and drop vlc.exe from that folder to the desktop where it will create a shortcut.
Or do as suggested in the previous post.
![[Ultra confused]](graemlins/confused2.gif)
But thanks for trying! I'm a Luddite, and I truly am going to try. Truly.
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shameless self promotion - because I think it's worth it
and mayhap this too: http://broken-moments.blogspot.co.nz/
Posts: 18917 | From: "Central" is all they call it | Registered: Sep 2004
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
I do not have an answer for you,Ariel, though I do have a suggestion. Download malware bytes and run the scan.
Thanks for this. It's picked up two viruses so far in the Registry - neither is FakeAlert, though - so I'll put it through the full scan (which should take a while) and see what else comes to light.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
Ariel, as lilBuddha says, Malwarebytes is a goodie and will track down a lot of the Spyware that standard AV sometimes misses or just does a partial on.
However ... if the alert you're getting is clearly from AVG, it's probably just our AV doing what it should, catching an incoming threat, and zapping it.
Most of the really evil implementations of FakeAlerts put up what looks like a standard Windows system message, with the red shield in the system tray, and a big "Scan/Disinfect" window. They look like proper apps/bits of Windows, but in fact are just cunningly disguised web pages running mostly in a customised instance of Internet Explorer, so anything you click on, even the "Go away" button, just drags you further into the mire. The recent common ones call themselves things like Antivirus XP 2009/2010 etc. although they're now evolving to ape Vista and Win7 too.
Which is a long way of saying, you may actually be OK (but do the scans anyway!)
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
It is an AVG alert and the pc does seem to be clean. Thanks both for the reassurance and advice.
(It's amazing how many people out there seem to have nothing better to do than sit around thinking up ways to maliciously spoil someone's computer, enjoyment of the internet, etc.)
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
More than bored pimply faces these days. Quite a bit is organized crime.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
I'm glad you smart people are here, because I have a question. Why does my mouse pointer sometimes go off to Timbuktu when I am scrolling or playing a game or just doing normal computer stuff?
For instance, I can be scrolling on the right side of the screen, and my pointer will shoot off to the upper left hand side. Sometimes it zigzags, like a squirrel running across a busy street.
Or are you going to look at me like dear S-i-L just did when he told me that has never happened to him? ![[Biased]](wink.gif) (D-U says it happens to her, though.)
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
Are you on a laptop, jj? If so could be part of your body making contact with the touch pad or other built-in pointing device.
(Giving what help I can 'til the smart people show)
[ 19. July 2010, 03:33: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
It's the Pointer Gnomes messing with your head ...
I'm with lilBuddha again. If it's not a laptop or a machine with a trackpad, then what kind of mouse is it (optical, ball etc.)? If it's optical, then bright light on a reflective surface can confuse them, but you'd normally find the mouse a complete beggar to use in all circumstances if that were the case.
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Is it a battery powered wireless mouse? Mine does that sometimes when the batteries are running out. It's really annoying.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
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Posted
Judy. Try changing your mouse pad. Low tech solution to a high tech problem. Especially if you have a solid colored pad.
[ 19. July 2010, 13:40: Message edited by: monkeylizard ]
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The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
Oooh, I knew y'all were the right people to ask!
I have a desktop with an optical (corded) mouse. So, I shall change my mousepad and report back!
Thanks to all of you!
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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monkeylizard
Ship's scurvy
# 952
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Posted
It happens with opticals on mousepads of a solid color, or those without a lot of contrasting areas. The mouse can't figure out where it is, so it resets the pointer to its default position in the corner after jumping the pointer around a few times.
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The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. ~ Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Posts: 2201 | From: Music City, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
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