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Source: (consider it) Thread: It's Geek to me: Translating computereze
Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081

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Answering a question on the question thread has generated a question of my own.

While I was composing that answer, I hit some key combination that highlighted only the text box, putting everything else in shaded grey. There were several menu tabs along the bottom of the screen. When I hit reply, it disappeared.

I'm using Firefox 7 with no relevant add-ons that I can think of. What key combination was that??

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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  |  IP: Logged
LeRoc

Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216

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I think I need a wizkid! In the last weeks, I made a film of a traditional African dance group. I just used my normal photo camera (which makes MPG files), and I added these files together with Windows Moviemaker, which saves films in a WMV format.

We want to have a party where I show the film to the group. The group has a projector, but no cable to connect it to a computer. Where we are in Africa, we can't get our hands on a cable easily. The only thing we can do, is to connect this projector to the dvd player that the group has.

The dvd player has a usb entrance, but when I put the film on a usb stick, the dvd player won't play it. This doesn't surprise me much, since the WMV format is pretty much Windows only.

I have VirtualDub, with which I can transform the film in an AVI format. I also have Handbrake, which can make a MP4. I used these to convert the film. The dvd player will play the AVI, but without sound. In fact, it says something like 'The right codec is unavailable to play audio for this film.'

Does anyone have an idea what I can do?

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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)

Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333

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ISTM the easiest solution would be a DVD authoring software. This would put the movies into a DVD native format. There are free versions, I cannot vouch for any as I do not use them.

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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  |  IP: Logged
Ambivalence
Apprentice
# 16165

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You could try DVDFab - I've used that before as a slightly shady alternative when Handbrake hasn't worked.
Posts: 22 | From: Peterlee | Registered: Jan 2011  |  IP: Logged
Paul.
Shipmate
# 37

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It's been a while since I used VirtualDub but you should be able to change the audio format at the same time as changing the video. If you can find the relevant menu then try setting it to mp3 and if that doesn't work mp2.
Posts: 3689 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
LeRoc

Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216

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quote:
lilBuddha: ISTM the easiest solution would be a DVD authoring software. This would put the movies into a DVD native format.
I'm showing my ignorance here, I didn't know that this kind of software could convert as well. My employer installed Creator Business DVD on my work computer, and that did the job splendidly.

We're probably going to have the party on Sunday evening. Thank you all.

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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)

Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged
Barefoot Friar

Ship's Shoeless Brother
# 13100

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quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
Evening, comrades.

My ancient laptop (Acer Aspire 5101) has subtly and mysteriously Done Something, and I don't know what it means.

Previously, when the power cable was in the back, the power LED on the front panel glowed green. When it was charging the battery, it glowed orange. When it's about to run out of battery juice, it goes red.

What does blinking orange when the power cable's in mean?

My googlefu seems to indicate that it might mean that the battery's not charging, but I've recently (6 months) replaced the battery, and currently it's on 2h40m charge, from a peak of 3h, which is as good as it gets on the old thing. I'm running the battery down to see if it'll recharge.

But in the meantime, [Confused]

I'm experiencing the same problem with my new (to me) Dell Inspiron 5150. When I got it a couple weeks ago, it didn't have a battery included. A quick trip to Amazon fixed that, and it arrived a couple days ago. At first it was perfect. But yesterday and today it has stopped recognizing the battery. It'll run on battery, but it won't charge, and the battery light flashes orange (instead of the green/orange/red solid that you described above).

If I shut down the laptop and remove the battery, then reinstall it and turn the computer back on, it works like it should for a random amount of time, usually half an hour or so.

Bad battery? Bad software? (I'm runnning Ubuntu 11.10) Bad computer component?

Aggravating, because there are plenty of times when I need to be wireless!

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Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. -- Desmond Tutu

Posts: 1621 | From: Warrior Mountains | Registered: Oct 2007  |  IP: Logged
The Machine Elf

Irregular polytope
# 1622

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quote:
Originally posted by Eutychus:
Answering a question on the question thread has generated a question of my own.

While I was composing that answer, I hit some key combination that highlighted only the text box, putting everything else in shaded grey. There were several menu tabs along the bottom of the screen. When I hit reply, it disappeared.

I'm using Firefox 7 with no relevant add-ons that I can think of. What key combination was that??

Possibly Ctrl+A - select everything on the page.

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Elves of any kind are strange folk.

Posts: 1298 | From: the edge of the deep green sea | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081

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Nope. The screen was greyed over, if that makes any sense, apart from the text box. There were a number of options in tabs along the bottom. This all disappeared when I hit "add reply".

I'm still intrigued by this, all the more so since some Googling has not thrown up anything. I should have taken a screenshot but I was running out the door or something.

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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  |  IP: Logged
Drifting Star

Drifting against the wind
# 12799

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I've had a screen a bit like that twice although I think the tabs were at the top, and they were definitely the f-keys with explanations. I have no idea how I got there though, which is a shame as it could be quite useful. Windows 7, and Firefox 9 or 10 (it was a while ago) FWIW.

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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus

Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007  |  IP: Logged
Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081

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Ah, found it.

It was ctrl + shift + I, "inspect". Which I found after, um, inspecting Mozilla's own list of keyboard shortcuts more closely...

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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  |  IP: Logged
no prophet's flag is set so...

Proceed to see sea
# 15560

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This video, in German, but it doesn't matter, seems to reflect the title of this thread very well.

So dad, how do you like the new ipad we got you?

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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/

Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010  |  IP: Logged
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984

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Anyone know how to make android work with the ship's cafe?

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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell

Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
Jen.

Godless Liberal
# 3131

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oooh, no but I'd like to.

I'll watch with interest...

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Was Jenny Ann, but fancied being more minimal.

Posts: 5318 | From: Manchester, England | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333

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T2,
I do not have any Android devices, so this is a shot in the dark. Have you tried different web browsers?

--------------------
I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou

Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008  |  IP: Logged
jbohn
Shipmate
# 8753

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quote:
Originally posted by Padre Joshua:
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
Evening, comrades.

My ancient laptop (Acer Aspire 5101) has subtly and mysteriously Done Something, and I don't know what it means.

Previously, when the power cable was in the back, the power LED on the front panel glowed green. When it was charging the battery, it glowed orange. When it's about to run out of battery juice, it goes red.

What does blinking orange when the power cable's in mean?

My googlefu seems to indicate that it might mean that the battery's not charging, but I've recently (6 months) replaced the battery, and currently it's on 2h40m charge, from a peak of 3h, which is as good as it gets on the old thing. I'm running the battery down to see if it'll recharge.

But in the meantime, [Confused]

I'm experiencing the same problem with my new (to me) Dell Inspiron 5150. When I got it a couple weeks ago, it didn't have a battery included. A quick trip to Amazon fixed that, and it arrived a couple days ago. At first it was perfect. But yesterday and today it has stopped recognizing the battery. It'll run on battery, but it won't charge, and the battery light flashes orange (instead of the green/orange/red solid that you described above).

If I shut down the laptop and remove the battery, then reinstall it and turn the computer back on, it works like it should for a random amount of time, usually half an hour or so.

Bad battery? Bad software? (I'm runnning Ubuntu 11.10) Bad computer component?

Aggravating, because there are plenty of times when I need to be wireless!

Could be problems with the chip on the logic board that controls power allocation- on Macs it's called the System Management Controller, or SMC. (Not sure what Acer or Dell call it, but it should be something similar.) If the info on that gets corrupted, it can cause weird power issues- like a battery not charging, or no power to the video output, etc. Try digging in the manual for something with a similar name and find how to reset it- on a Mac laptop (depending on the model) it can be removing all power sources and pushing the power button, or a physical reset button on the board, or a few other things. Macs and PCs are pretty much the same under the hood, so something similar may work.

It could easily be a software or firmware issue, also.

--jbohn
Apple Certified Macintosh Technician

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We are punished by our sins, not for them.
--Elbert Hubbard

Posts: 989 | From: East of Eden, west of St. Paul | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged
Barefoot Friar

Ship's Shoeless Brother
# 13100

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Thanks!

I checked the manual, and all it said was that the battery could be defective; if so, contact Dell. Since it's way past the warranty date, I'll just see if perhaps I can get a replacement battery from Amazon. Maybe the one I got really is defective. If that doesn't cure it, then I don't know what will.

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Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. -- Desmond Tutu

Posts: 1621 | From: Warrior Mountains | Registered: Oct 2007  |  IP: Logged
mousethief

Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953

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When I take my laptop to school, I have to log in through the school's firewall and it asks for my (school) login and password once for every website I was connected to in my browser. Some of these things are websites I had no intention of connecting to, and am not pleased to find I'm connected to.

Of course at school I can just hit "cancel" and not connect to them. But at home I have no idea what it's connecting me to behind the scenes. Most of them when I look them up have to do with advertising / ad targeting.

How can I make it stop connecting me to websites I don't want to be connected to?

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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...

Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333

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Mt,
Many websites have links to external code(scripts). For advertising mostly, but also to run bits and pieces that are built externally. If these are the websites you are talking about, Firefox had addons to selectively block said scripts. I use NoScript.
When you block these scripts, parts of the page might not run. Ads might not show, video may not run, forms may not work. At least until you allow the script to run.
Is this helpful, did I understand your query properly?

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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  |  IP: Logged
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333

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If that is not, make certain you do not have a virus or spyware. Those may also attempt to connect.

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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  |  IP: Logged
mousethief

Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953

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Thanks, LB. I'll try that. I scan for unwanted programs regularly using AdAware, MalWareBytes, and Spyware S&D but it's been over a week now. Will do that again.

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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...

Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
mousethief

Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953

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Oh, and I added Noscript. Interesting display across the bottom of scripts blocked.

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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...

Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
St Everild
Shipmate
# 3626

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Anyone here using Lion? What has been your experience - I';d like to know before taking the plunge. (I've been quite happy with Snow Leopard, but...)

Thanks!

Posts: 1782 | From: Bethnei | Registered: Dec 2002  |  IP: Logged
Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433

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Bloody hell, it's a zoo.

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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  |  IP: Logged
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984

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I have tried Overskreen but it made no difference. The faverolle program downloads - I think the problem is the lack of a Java virtual machine. Which is odd, cost I think android is based on java.

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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell

Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
Jengie jon

Semper Reformanda
# 273

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I did the googling and the answer is that Android has no JAVA engine simply because it may well conflict with the actual OS because that is built in Java. Apparently the app would need to be recompiled using Dalvik and I suspect some neat webcoding to check whether the machine was running Java or Dalvik.

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  |  IP: Logged
Paul.
Shipmate
# 37

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It's not so much that a regular JVM would conflict with Dalvik so much as it's not worth the effort to create one. Applications would be slower and not look as good.

Technically Dalvik is a JVM it's just not a standard one, it uses its own bytecode meaning you can't just run any compiled java program against it. Also Android has a different API to regular java and it doesn't support Java Webstart which is what the cafe uses.

You'd really need an Android "cafe app".

Posts: 3689 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Jengie jon

Semper Reformanda
# 273

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I never said Java Virtual Machines conflicted with Dalvik, afaik they don't, the usual ones
conflict with Android Operating Systems.

That is why Dalvik was developed.

Therefore using Dalvik for android phone is not because it is better than the others but because you don't have the option of the others. It is if you like a similar situation to that with pies and pasties. You may prefer pies to pasties but if you are hungry enough and only pasties are available you eat pasties.

Jengie

[ 31. March 2012, 13:32: Message edited by: Jengie Jon ]

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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge

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Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Paul.
Shipmate
# 37

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That doesn't make any sense to me. Dalvik is a component of the OS, a pretty central one. They could have chosen to implement a regular JVM instead (plenty of phone OSes do) but didn't and probably not entirely for technical reasons.

Where did you read about this "conflict"?

Posts: 3689 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Jengie jon

Semper Reformanda
# 273

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Let me start with here, I am searching for the second site I found yesterday.

Jengie

--------------------
"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  |  IP: Logged
Loquacious beachcomber
Shipmate
# 8783

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I have a computer that preceded the cursed advent of windows vista.
Recently, Bing! spread across my yahoo toolbar, and appeared to slow things down.
I clicked the x beside it; now the toolbar is skinny again.
BUT - I don't have the "page" button anymore, with the option to save, which I use to save an URL, etc.
I tried downloading yahoo toolbar again, it did so successfully, but still no "page" button.
Any advice?

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TODAY'S SPECIAL - AND SO ARE YOU (Sign on beachfront fish & chips shop)

Posts: 5954 | From: Southeast of Wawa, between the beach and the hiking trail.. | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged
Loquacious beachcomber
Shipmate
# 8783

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Just also noticed, the icon for home that lets me go to the page that comes up when I first sign on is also missing!
Windows XP is what I am using, if that helps.

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TODAY'S SPECIAL - AND SO ARE YOU (Sign on beachfront fish & chips shop)

Posts: 5954 | From: Southeast of Wawa, between the beach and the hiking trail.. | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged
The5thMary
Shipmate
# 12953

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I have a question about laptops. Specifically, DELL laptops. Does anyone own one? Can you tell me if they're reliable and last a while? I have heard some many awful stories about Dell's bitchy tech-support and lousy customer service but my sister owns both a laptop and a desktop and has had them both for years and years with nary an issue. I'm ditching my two broken-down Macs and dead PC desktop and attempting to get financing from Dell. Any advice?

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God gave me my face but She let me pick my nose.

Posts: 3451 | From: Tacoma, WA USA | Registered: Aug 2007  |  IP: Logged
Grits
Compassionate fundamentalist
# 4169

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I have a Dell laptop and have had no trouble with it all. I liked being able to pick out the features I wanted. The only thing I'd change is to get longer battery life.

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Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and shut it when I've said enough. Amen.

Posts: 8419 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
The5thMary
Shipmate
# 12953

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quote:
Originally posted by Grits:
I have a Dell laptop and have had no trouble with it all. I liked being able to pick out the features I wanted. The only thing I'd change is to get longer battery life.

How long have you had yours?

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God gave me my face but She let me pick my nose.

Posts: 3451 | From: Tacoma, WA USA | Registered: Aug 2007  |  IP: Logged
Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351

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Dell are often unpopular in TrueGeek(TM) circles because of inconsistency, and for their part in the race to the bottom in terms of price/quality. If you can scrape together enough to go up into the middle of the pro/business range you should be OK.

Personally I would take a mid/high end ThinkPad over Dell any day, and indeed do for our 100+ laptop using clients. However, as with all things IT, all brands have fans and haters, and all one can generally do is ... generalise [Smile]

If you really want awful after sales support, get a Sony [Biased]

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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)

Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009  |  IP: Logged
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58

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Can anyone recommend a good and effective free anti-virus and firewall package?

I had Avast last year which was OK but the interface was sufficiently complicated for me to spend quite some time trying to configure it. Also, you now don't get the firewall without shelling out £40.

I had AVG before that and have downloaded that again, but the updates slow this system to almost a standstill for about 10-15 minutes each time, during which the computer can't really be used, so I'm looking for something quicker that will update itself unobtrusively in the background that I won't notice. This is why I changed from AVG last time.

And finally, should I use the Windows firewall or not?

Thank you in anticipation.

Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Jengie jon

Semper Reformanda
# 273

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I use Comodo Free Internet Security on my father's machine. It had a lot of false positives initially but has settled down over the years.

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  |  IP: Logged
Morlader
Shipmate
# 16040

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quote:
Originally posted by Paddy O'Furniture:
I have a question about laptops. Specifically, DELL laptops. Does anyone own one? Can you tell me if they're reliable and last a while? I have heard some many awful stories about Dell's bitchy tech-support and lousy customer service but my sister owns both a laptop and a desktop and has had them both for years and years with nary an issue. I'm ditching my two broken-down Macs and dead PC desktop and attempting to get financing from Dell. Any advice?

My company has been almost a Dell closed shop for years. Not many desktops, but constant office hours use. Rare occasions needing Dell 'next business day' support went OK, but only after you demonstrated you knew what you were talking about. The one Sony laptop is old and isn't "stressed" much.
At home, my partner has a Dell laptop, top of the range when bought. Had keyboard probs, but local independent computer servicing folks diagnosed and fixed that. Dell support for home users - what's that??!
I have a newish Dell laptop. No complaints at all. I call it "Jehu" 'cos it drives really fast!

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Posts: 858 | From: Not England | Registered: Nov 2010  |  IP: Logged
balaam

Making an ass of myself
# 4543

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I use Dell at work, and it is fine, but then it it part of their business range. Their hame computers are known for being less robust.

If you buy Dell, buy one of their business machines, they are worth the extra.

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Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged
balaam

Making an ass of myself
# 4543

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Missed the edit window.

For those of you not in Scotland, I meant home, not hame, computers.

[Typos in 2 successive posts - Duh]

[ 08. April 2012, 12:52: Message edited by: Balaam ]

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Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged
jbohn
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# 8753

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quote:
Originally posted by St Everild:
Anyone here using Lion? What has been your experience - I';d like to know before taking the plunge. (I've been quite happy with Snow Leopard, but...)

Thanks!

We're using 10.7 Server at work, and it seems to run fine- we haven't made the full plunge on our workstations, though. I've the desktop version a bit, and it seems OK, although the combination of the Dock + Dashboard + Mission Control + the alt-tab feature seems like overkill for switching between apps to me...

[ 08. April 2012, 13:14: Message edited by: jbohn ]

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Posts: 989 | From: East of Eden, west of St. Paul | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged
bib
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# 13074

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I am very IT ignorant. I was given an iPod touch for Christmas and can't make head nor tail of it. I know how to put music on it from my own CDs and can find out what the weather forecast says, but that is the extent of my abilities. There was no how to booklet with the iPod. I googled for a how to site, but when I found same it went on forever in language I don't understand. I need a iPod for dummies book. Any ideas gratefully received.(I didn't even know what the word app meant until I asked someone under the age of 30.)I own a very basic mobile phone, certainly nothing like the smart phones that most people have these days. I have taught myself to use a computer but can't do anything fancy on it. Are there many other baby boomers out there like me in this regard?

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Posts: 1307 | From: Australia | Registered: Oct 2007  |  IP: Logged
The5thMary
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# 12953

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Thanks for the advice about Dell laptops. Last night I was visiting the Dell website, applying for financing help and starting the process of placing an order when suddenly...! The right hand side of my iMac G5 turned white and gray. It's a band about 2 1/2" across and completely covers the right side. Perhaps my computer sensed that its time was coming to an end and wanted to say, "Nyah nyah, nyah, nyah!" or, "Oh, you're going to replace ME, a MACINTOSH with a PC laptop?! Well, screw you, then!" LOL. Yeah...

Anyway, because my browser is so outdated, I was not able to place my order for my laptop yet. I'll have to call them today and do it over the phone.

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Posts: 3451 | From: Tacoma, WA USA | Registered: Aug 2007  |  IP: Logged
Baptist Trainfan
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# 15128

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quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
I had AVG before that and have downloaded that again, but the updates slow this system to almost a standstill for about 10-15 minutes each time, during which the computer can't really be used, so I'm looking for something quicker that will update itself unobtrusively in the background that I won't notice. This is why I changed from AVG last time.

I have had a similar experience, however I do wish to ask you one question: is your computer just updating the AVG data when you switch on, or is it performing an entire scan?

I suggest opening the AVG "interface", going to "Scan Options" and looking to see what you've got as "Scheduled Scans" - my sister had it set to do a scan every time she turned her computer on. You can "disable" this but then you do have to remember to run a scan from time to time (and, when you do, you can set the scan to run in the background - it takes longer but the computer is more usable during the scan).

Re. Dell computers in general: I've had a laptop for about 6 years and, in general, it has performed well (I've added a bit of extra memory and had to change the battery twice). But I somehow can't love it in the same way that my wife loves her HP.

Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009  |  IP: Logged
Drifting Star

Drifting against the wind
# 12799

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I had a Dell Vostro laptop (business machine) for quite a few years, and was very happy with it. It did tend to run hot, and I needed a cooling mat underneath it. The thing that did for it in the end was my using the cooling mat upside down, which basically turns it into a heating mat... I replaced it with a Toshiba Satellite, which I am very pleased with (and which runs very much cooler), but I would happily have gone with Dell again if they'd a model with the right features at the right price.

Ariel - Windows 7 Firewall seems to be very good. I've been using it for 3 months with no problems. I wouldn't use the Windows firewall from any of the previous versions of Windows though. I'm using it with Avast - I tried AVG for a while but wasn't very keen. It had a tendency to stop me from doing perfectly safe things without any apparent way of overriding it. I expect I just needed to learn how to deal with it, but I had better things to do with my time!

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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus

Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007  |  IP: Logged
Ariel
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# 58

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quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
I have had a similar experience, however I do wish to ask you one question: is your computer just updating the AVG data when you switch on, or is it performing an entire scan?

It is actually updating - this pc's about 15 years old so things run a bit more slowly. It already tried to do the initial scan, which I cancelled.

Drifting Star - thanks! I'm on a 30-day trial of AVG but will probably go back to Avast again for the anti-virus and stick with the Windows firewall (that's Windows XP service pack 3). AVG seems to be a bit of a memory hog.

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Baptist Trainfan
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# 15128

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quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
I have had a similar experience, however I do wish to ask you one question: is your computer just updating the AVG data when you switch on, or is it performing an entire scan?

It is actually updating - this pc's about 15 years old so things run a bit more slowly. It already tried to do the initial scan, which I cancelled.
Ah. [Cool]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009  |  IP: Logged
Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351

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Without wishing to start a fight, unless they've changed recently "Vostro" isn't the Dell business range (not in the UK, anyway). They slightly naughtily market it as for 'cost-conscious SMEs' and similar, but Vostro are generally the budget/entry level kit. Very cheap for what you get, and if you're the kind of person who's careful with stuff, could do you well.

The actual business class stuff is Lattitude/Precision (?) in the laptop ranges.

And I'd still get a ThinkPad [Biased]

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Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009  |  IP: Logged
Drifting Star

Drifting against the wind
# 12799

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"Dell Vostro™ laptops are built specifically for small business"

That's from their UK website. The model I bought was only available through a business account at the time.

[ 09. April 2012, 21:50: Message edited by: Drifting Star ]

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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus

Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007  |  IP: Logged



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