Hraefn

I just took a look at Bluefish and I really liked the look of it. It seems to have most of the features Notepad++ has, and more. I'm currently migrating over to Linux myself, but it's not a full migration since there are some needed apps that unfortunately run only on Windows. Yeah, I know I can dual boot and run an emulator like Wine, etc., but I'd much prefer having a fully Linux system. =^^= Thanks to all who recommended Bluefish. That's one app off my checklist. =^^=

Paidware? Is that even a word? Well, I guess it is. =^^= Anyway, I personally disagree with the statement that because a software is commercial, it has to be better that the alternative. I get the impression that some people think that the programmers who work on freeware just aren't as skilled or as dedicated as those who are paid to develop software. On the contrary! Frankly, there are a lot of freeware and opensource software floating around that are just as good as (or in a few cases, even better than) their commercial counterparts. Case in point: Linux vs Windows. =^^= Don't mistake me; it's not that I'm saying that there's anything wrong with commercial software. I realize that with commercial programs, what we're actually paying for is the support. Not to mention that some of those programs can look really sexy. But really, a lot of the stuff we get for our money is just fluff â pretty, but altogether useless. The real appeal of commercial software is, in my opinion, the low learning curve required of them. Most commercial software is aimed at your average point-and-click users, after all. For people who generally have money to burn and can't be bothered to expend extra effort to be a bit more "hands-on", then commercial software is the way to go. =^^= Freeware generally requires a modicum of understanding about your computer and how things work. Hence the somewhat steeper learning curve when compared to most commercial products. Frankly, I think that's a good thing. It's always been my opinion that if you're going to use a computer, you might as well learn as much as you can about it. No sense having to call for tech support for every little hiccup â not unless you have some very deep pockets. Heck, I do my own computer maintenance, for myself and my relatives, and we've saved a lot of money on problems that the average user would have to shell out $$$ for. =^^= Anyway, on the topic of what software I use, well, I use AVG Free Antivirus, Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, Spyware Blaster and ZoneAlarm firewall. I also regularly check my system with HiJackThis! for any stuff that might have gotten through. If something really nasty breaks through that can't be removed by the aforementioned software, I usually just go and remove it manually using whatever specific removal techniques apply. It's never really a big deal for me, because I consider the money I've saved to be well worth the time I spend on maintenance (which really isn't much, considering). By the way, for anyone wanting to know just what other alternative freeware products there are for your PC's security, here's an incomplete list: AntiVirus AVG Free Edition a2 Free AntiVir Avast Home Edition BitDefender Free Edition eTrust EZ Armour Adware/Spyware Detection & Removal Lavasoft Ad-Aware Spybot Search & Destroy Adware/Spyware Prevention IE-SPYAD Javacool Spyware Blaster Firewalls Kerio Personal Firewall Sygate ZoneAlarm Miscelleneous HiJackThis! (Note: HJT is an advanced tool and should only be used with help from someone knowledgeable about system hijackers.)

While it's good that the authorities are trying to be innovative in the fight against piracy, I don't see how having CD-sniffing dogs will be helpful in the long run. Dogs are rather limited, after all, and they really can't go around the hundreds of thousands of people passing through airports just to find a few CDs. Besides, as good as a dog's sense of smell is, the quantities of CDs passing through the airport would have to be of a significant number before a dog can sniff it out with reasonable certainty. A few disks would likely slip through, and that's all it takes, really. What's to stop pirates from shipping in a single CD and copying it once they're in the country? A detector (such as the ones already used to detect deadly weapons) capable of detecting optical disks would be a more cost effective method, I think. =^^=

That's some interesting information there, vizskywalker. So l33t did have a legitimate purpose in the beginning! Well, that's something of relief, I must say. I was beginning to think that l33t was invented out of man's perverse desire to drive himself to insanity. =^^= I'm able to read l33t, but it's not something I actively tried to learn. It was more out of self-defense, I guess, otherwise I'd be reduced to migraines everytime someone typed in l33t. Heh, I just remembered something... a couple of years ago in one writer's club webforum I used to visit, someone wrote a short Lord of The Rings fanfiction parody entirely in l33t. While I unfortunately don't have a copy of it (it was posted on a message board that went under long since), I remember that it made for some interesting reading since, despite the l33t-speak, it was actually well written. =^^= Oh, and if anyone else wants to know what l33t's all about, here's the Wikipedia page for it. =^^=

Like OpaQue says, it just means that there are forums in Xisto where your post count does not increase, which means that posting in those forums does not add to your credit. Such forums are clearly labeled with the tag (No post counts). =^^=

Just so you know, this is what comes up in Firefox when trying to login to your cPanel (after using Firefox's "Clear Private Data" tool): When viewing the certificate, you get this: Now, this isn't really an issue for me since I know very well that Xisto is a part of the Xisto Corporation, but I can certainly see where ganeshn11 is coming from. =^^=

I a gree with xboxrulz — this is definitely one of the best anti-Microsoft sites I've ever seen. Most such sites consist of nothing more than rants with very little info to back them up. The "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" article is a real eye-opener — biased, to be sure, but still very convincing nonetheless. I've long been considering switching to Linux and this article (and website) fully justifies that decision. =^^= Looking over the list of Microsoft's piratical business practices, it's rather ironic to think that Microsoft founder Bill Gates has been chosen as one of Time Magazine's Persons of the Year for his "philantrophic" activities. More like a publicity stunt to me. All that money he's supposedly giving out doesn't really matter much considering that [1] it's just small change to him, and [2] despite it all, he's still living the life of Midas. Genuine concern for the less fortunate? Hah! Give me a break! If old Bill Gates really wanted to be a philanthropist, he should take a look at the life of James Widener Ray. Now there's a real philanthropist. =^^=

I could have lived with it if Wii was pronounced 'why', which is how I read it at first. Then they had to go and say that it's pronounced 'we'. Blech. XPHeh. Imagine telling your friends that you couldn't go out because you had to go Wii. =^^=

I am so loving this thread. =^^= Microsoft, the reason for our technological advancement? That's a matter of opinion. Very much a matter of opinion. Might as well thank Hitler for nuclear power since he started the war that pushed people to develop nuclear weapons in the first place and thus advance technology as a whole. If there's any reason why Microsoft would provide incentive for other developers to advance, it's because those developers are trying to fill the hole left by the growing number of dissatisfied Microsoft customers. Just look at all those people who switched to Firefox and Linux. =^^= Eh, you might want to check that link again. IE7 is available only for a selected few. According to the official MS info, IE7b2 is available only for Windows XP SP2 users, XP Pro x64, and Windows Server 2003 SP1. Oh, and it'll probably also come out with the new Vista OS. Now if that's Microsoft's definition of 'everyone', then I'm afraid that a developer with such a myopic view just isn't worth very much. And then there's your statement about Microsoft being better because they're taking their time with innovations that other browsers thought of a long time ago... ... ... ... Sorry, that just doesn't compute. =^^= Care to run that by me again? Have you taken a look at IE7's overview? I did, and you know what? Their 'new' features just aren't that new. Practically everything you would be getting with IE7 can already be had on Firefox. Heck, even the browser's layout isn't original! =^^= IE, secure and stable? Wow, where have you been living the past couple of years? If there's anything IE's known for, it's how many security flaws it has. It's gotten so bad that two years ago the U.S. Government's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) pleaded with users to stop using Internet Explorer and recommended that people use alternative browsers. That was two years ago, so how have they [Microsoft] been doing since? Answer: Not very well. Just take a look at Secunia's vulnerability report for Internet Explorer 6.x. 25% unpatched security flaws doesn't make for a pretty picture. For comparison, here's Firefox's vulnerability report. Hmm... I think I'll just pick this section apart by commenting on the alternative browsers you've mentioned. =^^= Maxthon - uses the Trident layout engine which IE uses, but is also capable of using the Gecko engine (Firefox) through a third-party program. It's better than IE, but since it uses the Trident layout engine, it is subject to the advantages and disadvantages of that engine. Netscape 8 - in one word: bloated. 'Nuff said. Opera - the best alternative browser next to Firefox. However, I disagree with your statement that's it is based on IE. The whole point of Opera was to be a radical departure from IE, not be based off of it. Oh, and another thing â it's not that user friendly. =^^= Actually, we bash Microsoft because they're more concerned about the money and the bottom line than about the users who'll be using their products. =^^=

*rolls around with feet kicking the air*So funny...A little late to jumping up on the bandwagon, aren't we? It's not Microsoft's copy-cat act that I'm laughing about, but rather Microsoft's lateness in adopting what obviously was a winning strategy for Firefox. It's not the first time MS has been behind the times. If I recall correctly, they were also behind during the advent of the Internet age — seems old Billy Gates didn't think the Internet had a future. =^^=Part of the problem likely stems from the fact that Microsoft likes to style themselves as being the leading edge of computer and internet technology. They seem to hold to the idea that if they [Microsoft] didn't start a trend, then it's not going anywhere. Thus they always have to play catch-up, like they did with the 'Net, portable handhelds (palmtops), and now, web browsers. They've always felt so secure on their pedestal that they just didn't think of the competition. Now, they're discovering (to their dismay) that the giant has clay feet. =^^=

The problem with hiding a folder by setting properties to "hidden" is that any ordinary 13-year old can easily bypass that. I should know, it's happened to me several times. Hiding the folder deep in the directory didn't work either, even when I renamed the folder. Beats me how the kid found it so quickly. =^^=

I personally use Hide Folders XP to hide and lock my folders. It's not freeware, though — it's shareware with a 30-day trial. But it's a nice little program, with three methods of protecting your folder: (1) Hide & Lock, where the folder is not visible and not accessible to other users, (2) Hide, where the folder is accessible but not visible to other users, and (3) Lock, where the folder is visible but not accessible to other users. One feature of the program that I particularly like is that Hide Folders XP is capable of true stealth mode, ie. it can't be detected via the Task Manager nor can it be seen in the Add/Remove Programs list. =^^= But enough about that. Here are some lists of the other folder security programs around: Shareware List Freeware List Enjoy! =^^=

It's logical, really, for Microsoft to cut off support for old systems. After all, I don't think those operating systems are being sold anymore, at least those that aren't secondhand. In any case, though Microsoft has said they will be dropping support for those products, I don't think they'll be removing any 98/ME KB articles from their website. They'll only stop releasing security patches. And 98 and ME users will still have support, of a sort, from the thousands of amateur techies that abound the Web. =^^= nightfox: While I'm relatively anti-Microsoft myself, I think saying Microsoft released Windows with that many bugs was too over exaggerated. And yeah, I know you meant the number as an exaggeration, but it still delivers a misconception. Technology is constantly evolving, and many of the bugs we see today in 98, ME and, yes, even XP, just weren't bugs at the time of their release. Well, okay, maybe ME is an exception. =^^= A lot of the technology today didn't exist even just 5 years ago, so those bugs weren't an issue then. Now they are. The same goes for Linux, really. Linux isn't some bug-free programming marvel that some people like to think. Sure, it is a marvel, but in a different way. The difference between Linux and Windows is that the Linux bugs don't take on the same sense of urgency that Windows has — and that's primarily because with Windows as the predominant Operating System, Linux just isn't targeted as much. So what happens is that the Linux code guys have practically all the time in the world to catch and fix their bugs before some malicious hacker attacks the weakness, and they get to release their fixes without all the fanfare that accompanies the discovery of a new Windows bug. =^^= And as for Redhat 2 users still getting support... you do realize that Redhat — and Linux in particular — is relatively younger that the MS Operating Systems mentioned in article? Also, as far as I know, I don't think there are any new patches for the older versions of Linux. Given that Linux is opensource freeware, it's relatively easier (and cheaper) for a person using old versions of Linux to upgrade to newer versions. Therefore, there really isn't any vital need for the Linux community to release patches for those really old Linux versions when the new ones are available for free. =^^=

Most programs that claim to speed up your computer tend to do the exact opposite. Or they're spyware. The best thing to do if you really want to improve computer performance is to use a good tweaking guide, and not rely on bogus all-in-one solutions. Just a few days ago, I came across a couple of articles on how to get the most out of your Windows XP. I'm aware of such tweaking apps as TweakUI and similar programs, and of all the tweaking guides out there, of course, but this seemed different. This was about making XP faster — something I definitely wanted. After all, I was running WindowsXP Pro SP2 on a 1.80GHz P4 machine with a measly 112MB RAM. Speed was a definite must-have. To make a long story short, I did the tweaks as instructed and I'm well pleased with the results. My XP is running faster — and no, it's not just my imagination. =^^= Here are the articles in question: (Note: Practically all of the tweaks listed require Administrator privileges for them to work.) 10 Simple Ways To Speed Up Windows XP 10 Intermediate Ways To Speed Up Windows More Ways To Speed Up Windows XP There you go. I hope these articles work as well for you as they did for me. It's been several days now since I've tweaked my XP and I'm still giddy about the results. It's almost unbelievable, really. We finally have a tweak guide that works. =^^= Cheers! =^^=

I have no problem with Microsoft trying to protect their software with whatever means they have available (however we may disagree with those methods), but I don't like the idea that a software I may plan to purchase would have its (key) features available only as an add-on download. What's the point of buying software that's basically incomplete? Might as well tag it as shareware if that's how they want to run things, and have Vista available as a trial mode with the full features of the OS available after purchase. =^^=Truth to tell, I was kind of expecting some sort of corporate Nazism from Microsoft regarding their latest OS, but even I was surprised with how stupid the collective brains of such a software giant could be. This could hardly be called a wise move — in fact, it's probably more likely to turn off potential customers looking to buy the real thing than prevent software pirates from pirating Vista. After all, don't software pirates already worship Bill Gates? =^^=

I lament the loss of days past when a policeman would help an elderly lady cross the street rather than ticketing her. Unfortunately, what we have here is just another case of the government and people in authority being more concerned about the sticks up their asses than about people. Instead of morals, they have a bottom line, and instead of a heart, they have a cash register. Their brains, too, seems to have been replaced with a rulebook. Since when has the letter of the law been more important than the spirit of the law? Damn, but the human race seems to be heading to hell in a handbasket. >_<

If that's what schools today are like, then no wonder the quality of education has deteriorated so badly! Rules are rules, and it's understandable that the school would enforce them even against public protest. However, there are always exceptions to every rule, and the school should know that. After all, the circumstances are unusual — the kid hasn't seen his mother for a long time and, while the call came during school hours, it wasn't during class hours. It happened during lunch, in fact. Given the extraordinary circumstances — and the fact that the call came at a time that was not disruptive to the class — the school should have made an exception. That would be empathetic. Instead, what they did makes them look like they had a stick up their collective asses. Of course, the kid was wrong to use profanity, but hey, who's the adult here? =^^=

Could you post a link to the relevant news article? =^^=Nothing unusual about going to jail for putting up porn, but the 10-year sentence certainly seems extreme. Then again, this is China we're talking about — the same country that pressured Google into censoring the Internet. Extreme is a fact of life for them.One thing I wonder about, though, is how the kid figured that porn would help sell flowers. Selling porn subscriptions I can understand, but flowers? =^^=

Ah yes, Firefox extensions — the one thing that puts Firefox above all other browsers. I've got a lot of them installed, so I'll just list them down. It's up to you to check them out at Mozilla's website for the details, though the extension's name should give you a clue on what they do. =^^= I'll even throw in the themes and plugins I have. =^^= Extensions (enabled: 27, disabled: 0; total: 27) Adblock Filterset.G Updater 0.3.0.3 Adblock Plus 0.6.1.2 All-In-One Sidebar 0.6.4 Another Delicious Sidebar 1.0 ChatZilla 0.9.72 ColorZilla 0.8.3.1 DOM Inspector 1.8 DownThemAll! 0.9.8.7 Download Statusbar 0.9.4 Fasterfox 1.0.3 FireFTP 0.90.1.1 Firefox Extension Backup Extension (FEBE) 1.0 FlashGot 0.5.9.993 Flashblock 1.5.1 Greasemonkey 0.6.4 ImageBot 2.2.0 InfoLister 0.9c MeasureIt 0.3.5 NoScript 1.1.3.9 Platypus 0.64 ProfilePassword-Firefox 0.3.1 ReloadEvery 1.5.1 Restart Firefox 0.3 ScrapBook 1.0pre Sort Extensions and Themes 3.0.3 Tab Mix Plus 0.3.0.5 Ñandú 0.6 Themes (2) Firefox (default) iPox [selected] Plugins Microsoft® DRM Mozilla Default Plug-in Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library

I have to admit that it's the first time I've ever heard of genetic privacy myself. On the face of it, it looks like having a database of genetic information would be immensely useful â and it would be, let's not forget it â but having read up on some articles regarding genetic privacy, I can see why people would leery of this most recent Google project. The privacy of genetic information and when such information can be disclosed seems to be a heavily debated issue in the bioethics community (see related article), and it looks like the main argument for genetic privacy is that the dissemination of such personal information would open up another can of worms: genetic discrimination. Now, we all know how the law enforcement agencies' practice of racial profiling has exacerbated racial discrimination. Of course, racial discrimination has been around long before racial profiling became regular practice, but the introduction of racial profiling sort of gave a reason for such discrimination, however wrong and twisted such a reason may be. People fear something similar may happen once genetic information becomes common knowledge, that people may begin to discriminate against other people simply because of supposed genetic predisposition. To quote a section of the article I linked to previously: That said, I also took a look at the website of the Captain Hook Awards for Biopiracy which Google received for details about Google's genome database project. To tell the truth, it really doesn't look all that much an invasion of privacy. If I understand it correctly, individual genetic information isn't what is going to be stored in the genome database â meaning that if someone Googles your name, for example, they wouldn't find a page with all your genetic information online. What Google will have is an online database containing a catalogue of all known genes and gene sequences, and all information associated with those genes, like genetic predisposition for certain diseases and disorders, physical and personality traits, etc.. Users can then Google up their own genetic sequences (which I believe they can find out from their doctor or through a gene test) and learn just what their genes have in store for them. They can also use that information of chose the medicine that's tailored for their particular genes. To quote the award website: Now what's wrong with that? If individual information isn't made publicly available, then is it really an invasion of privacy?

Twiggy, don't go recommending cracks. Not only are they illegal, they're also explicitly against Xisto rules. Besides, cracks are just an excuse for hackers to get their malware (virii, trojans, spyware, etc.) into our computers. Avoid at all cost. =^^= What, you mean you just skipped over my list? =^^= Of course, it's true that the three you've mentioned are the best of the lot. GIMP, as you've noted, isn't exactly like Photoshop. It has a steeper learning curve, for one thing, and fewer filters, but you can achieve practically the same results with GIMP that you could with Photoshop. All it takes is just a little more work. I've always found it best to use several similar programs when it comes to developing something. My graphics, for instance, usually requires that I use 3 different programs: Photoshop, GIMP, and Illustrator. Each program has it's own feature that adds a little something to the project and makes for a great end result. If you want to go completely freeware, then there's no reason you couldn't have GIMP, PhotoPlus, and Paint.Net (the top 3 freeware image editors) installed on the same machine. If you want to mix in some cheap but good quality commercial image editors, then there's no reason not to go with Corel Paint Shop Pro. I know, I know, I'm contradicting my first post. I admit I'm rather biased against the program, but I've heard some very reputable reviews that Paint Shop Pro X has come a long way from its predecessors. According to the reviews, it's now much closer to Photoshop (the industry standard) in terms of quality, but is much, much cheaper. Get that and GIMP, and it'll almost be as if you have Photoshop. Well, almost. =^^=

PaintShop and Fireworks aren't free, so they don't really fit your requirements. In any case, PaintShop Pro falls very far below Photoshop in terms of quality and features, so I'd recommend that you don't waste your money on it. Fireworks, on the other hand is a fairly good program. Not up to Photoshop's standards when it comes to image editing features, but that's because it's an image editor such as Photoshop is. Fireworks is a vector graphics program, and a fairly good one at that. It's comparable in quality to its Adobe counterpart, Illustrator. If what you really want is free I'd go with GIMP. It's a versatile little program that's really as good as Photoshopâsometimes it's even better! I use it myself, usually in tandem with another graphics software like Photoshop. Once you learn to use it, especially after browsing through the wide array of tutorials and guides on GIMPguru.org, you'll may find that it's perfect graphics software for you. If in case you want more choices, then here's a list of some of the more popular graphics software available, both freeware and commercial. Take your pick. =^^= Raster graphics software Adobe Photoshop (commercial) (recommended) Paint Shop Pro (commercial) Paint.Net (freeware) PhotoPlus (freeware) GIMP (freeware) (recommended) Vector graphics software Adobe Illustrator (commercial) (recommended) CorelDRAW (commercial) Macromedia Fireworks (commercial) Macromedia Freehand MX (commercial) Inkscape (freeware) DrawPlus (freeware) Animation graphis software Adobe ImageReady (commercial) (recommended) notes: bundled with Adobe Photoshop Animation Shop (commercial) GIMP Animation Package (freeware) (recommended) notes: a plugin for GIMP

This may be old hat to some, but a recent news update regarding this issue says that Google has managed to avoid surrending search requests to the U.S. goverment (related article). U.S. District Judge James Ware has ordered Google to give the Feds an inside peek of the California-based search giant—which basically means that they'll be handing over a list of the URLs of 50,000 randomly selected websites—but that Google doesn't have to comply with the earlier demand to hand over search request as well. This is certainly a big triumph for privacy advocates. =^^= All in all, I think Google has come out on top of this fracas pretty well. As I stated in an earlier post, one of the major concerns Google had about the government order was that it would cause Google's users to lose trust in them, which would eventually cost them billions of dollars in missed revenue. In fact, Google used that same argument in the case. And I quote: It seems like Google now holds the biggest slice of the search engine pie, especially after its competitors AOL, MSN, and Yahoo caved in so easily. I mean really, after all that, which search engine would you trust? =^^=

Frankly, I like uni.cc simply because their domain name looks so clean. Unfortunately, I've discovered that they suffer from significant downtime, which means that visitors using the uni.cc URL just couldn't get into my site. Fortunately, there are other services that are just as good. =^^= Here are a few of them: Qer.org (subdomain: user.qer.org, no ads, URL cloaking) Notlong.com (subdomain: user.notlong.com, no ads, URL cloaking) YourSubdomain.com (subdomain: user.s19.net, no ads, URL cloaking) Ne1.net (subdomain: user.ne1.net, no ads on normal redirect, ads on cloaked redirect, ad-free cloaked redirect if linked back) Kickme.to (multiple subdomains: user.domain, no ads for uncloaked, ad-supported on cloaked) Shim.net (multiple subdomains: user.domain, no ads, URL cloaking) Ulimit (multiple subdomains: user.domain, no ads, URL cloaking) WebAlias (multiple subdomains: user.domain, no ads, URL cloaking) There are a whole lot more similar services out there, but it's gonna take me weeks just to list them all. All I can say is, make friends with Google. =^^=

Actually, Shadow X, the disadvantages you were talking about aren't really that big a deal. Sure, it could get lost or stolen, but so could a USB flash drive or a CD. Heck, a burglar could break into your home and cart away your entire PC system—complete with add-on peripherals—and you wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. Having things stolen comes with the territory of having things to steal. It's a risk that's not worth worrying about. =^^= As for someone getting all of your data in the event that your external HDD is lost, misplaced, or stolen... well, there are some very good encryption and security programs available to protect your data—and some of them are even freeware. With those kinds of programs, your data is as safe as possible (unless you're up against a really determined hacker, of course). In fact, it's much safer than keeping data in a CD or DVD, both of which really can't be effectively protected. =^^=