rayzoredge

I can't remember if I've said this before, but after reading what SP3 had to offer, I know personally that I didn't have any incentive to upgrade. There really isn't anything there FOR the average computer user... just networking enhancements, really [to assist working with client machines and with newer operating systems and server OS's]. What I don't exactly understand is the whole Windows Product Activation feature. They say you won't need to enter a product key to complete installation, yet for [i forget, OEM or retail?] versions of Windows, it keeps you from even booting up into the operating system until you activate Windows. (And of course, there are some versions that will lock use of the operating system after 30 days... which then this feature would make some sense... but how long will this new feature give you before it takes the same measures?)

You CAN wipe out and install XP onto any machine.Legally, I believe that one copy of a "normally purchased" copy of Windows can be installed on one PC at any one time, so if you have an older computer that you're doing away with, LEGALLY you can wipe XP off of that machine and use the same copy of Windows to be installed onto your new machine.Check out the support page for the Dell model in question for XP drivers. Also, look around for driver support on manufacturer pages.I actually did the favor of wiping Vista off of a friend's new HP Compaq in favor for XP with not too much hassle. Some drivers will be a pain in the rear end... it's almost inevitable, but it is possible. (In her case, it was the network card that wasn't wanting to cooperate after XP was installed. After some intense Google research and 2 hours of unexpected time spent on the matter, I got it to work.)

Haha... sorry about your bad experience, Flashy. Like I said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.I'm curious too... don't get me wrong. But just the mere mention of the annoyance of WPA, along with the fact that there's nothing revolutionary as far as new features (to me, anyway) keeps me away from even trying.So far, nothing requires SP3 to run. I don't think anything WILL require SP3 to run, as developers will probably glaze over Windows XP altogether to jump onto the failing Vista train... only to be bombarded by Microsoft's upcoming promotions for Windows 7.

Can we beat a dead horse any more? I'm sure at this point that the comparison is rather dead in the water... subject only to fanboy arguments. Both consoles have been out long enough for game library development. As I've mentioned before, both consoles are comparable with hardware specifications. The only thing that leaves one to be better than the other is the exclusive content to each console. Sony has Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, and whatever else going for it; Microsoft has Halo 3, Gears of War, and whatever else going for it. In all reality, I'm just waiting for an emulator for both consoles so I don't have to buy a stinkin' $400-$600 PS3 to enjoy MGS4. I'm almost ready to sell my 360... the ONLY game I have for it is Halo 3, and I've been out of the console gaming niche for a while now. (Now, if I had my Wii back, I might be content with just that...)

I thought it was rather funny to hear that XP actually having a service pack release AFTER Vista has been out for over a year now. It almost seems detrimental to see how Microsoft still has a stake in XP users when trying to get everyone to go over to their newer operating system.Note: I am not a fan of Vista. I wonder if this update will actually change much of anything, if at all, on the normal, everyday user. Windows Update is always full of hotfixes and patches that covers exploits, bugs, and what-have-you that most people don't even encounter on a daily basis. I am actually an XP user that, after installing SP2, have not found the need and consequently disabled Windows Update and the service itself to prevent any unnecessary (and un-acknowledged) downloads from the Microsoft server. (I also keep Windows Update disabled for other, less legal reasons. ) So far, I have no reason to update anything past SP2 as everything I've done or wanted to accomplish has gone without too much hassle.Looking at the overview and description of what SP3 adds to the table, it seems like something that I can skip. I'm already hearing stories about not having much of an impact on system performance... and really, there can't be much since it's an upgrade to an existing platform and not a redesign on the code base (which is probably why Vista, although pushing forward with new code, is failing with so many existing holes and whatnot). I know that personally I can live without NAP, extended descriptions of functions, enhanced cryptography, group policy updates, and ESPECIALLY Windows Product Activation. As always, I will continue to recommend Windows XP SP2. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it.)

It's all marketing hype.Everything that claims to be fat-free and low-fat probably is, but the advertisements and the labeling can induce a false sense of security when it comes to dieting. As much as yogurt may be hyped up to be THE food to eat for a healthy lifestyle, it shouldn't have that much of an impact on how you should include it in your dieting regimen BECAUSE it has the claim to be healthy.Calorie count and leading an active lifestyle is the only way to actually diet, if you're aiming for weight loss. If you eat fat-free yogurt (or any kind of food, for that matter) high in sugars, what happens is that you would be consuming simple carbohydrates (the sugars), and if that energy isn't burned off in a prompt-enough manner, your body stores those simple sugars and turns them into fats for future energy storage. In all reality, fat-free foods high in sugars should be labeled as fat-free-now.

Obviously, your video card works.Can you get into the BIOS?Does your computer beep in a sequence when you try to start it, or does it simply freeze?Does it even go through POST?Have you checked your processor to see if you bent any pins?

You can actually upgrade a laptop's graphic chipset IF you have a newer graphic chipset handy to swap the older one with.I know because I've done it with a Dell Inspiron 8600 and a Dell Latitude D800.The only specific thing with this case is that I had two laptops with similar internal layouts handy. No one sells or offers video chipsets separately, and there are no aftermarket ones that I know of.So unless you have, let's say, a dead laptop with a better video solution than a working one and they share the same internal structure, there really isn't any other way to upgrade a laptop's graphics "card" that I know of.

Have you seen Oakley's demonstrations on ballistic protection? It's much better than nothin', I tell ya. (For shrapnel, I mean.) So far I've been issued Wiley X's... the XL-1, and that fogs like crazy, which, in turn, drives me crazy because I can't see anything. Army issue. Can't complain too much because it was free, but I would like something that works well...

Does anyone find it funny that Internet Explorer 8 is already in the works? And OS7 is on its way? I believe Vista has only been out for over a year (January 2007) and Internet Explorer 7 has been out for a little over the same (October 2006).Guess Microsoft is either on the ball with trying to develop something bigger and better already, or they've already given up on their own past projects.

Do you think Norton Ghost will suit your needs? (I haven't actually used any backup programs or anything of the sort, so I'm not sure.)I know this won't exactly answer your question, but this is what I am doing right now:I have a laptop and use an external hard drive with a USB 2.0 enclosure. (I would jump to eSATA but for some reason, haven't yet. If you're iffy about an external because of the slow bottleneck problem that USB 2.0 will present, I suggest an eSATA PC card. eSATA seems to be more than twice as fast as the maximum speeds of USB 2.0 from what I've read.) I set My Documents to go to the external and install all my programs onto the hard drive, but I don't update anything since most updates are superfluous and even harmful as far as bloating up programs and adding new features that don't even matter to most people.*glares at Windows Update*Whenever I have to wipe the hard drive, it's a simple matter of wiping, reinstalling Windows XP and whatever programs I have, turning updates off for everything, and I'm good to go.For all of my personal data, I have a separate backup drive to backup what's on the external that's always connected to the laptop. I do this once per month. When it's not being used, I leave it off.This way, I don't have to back up my personal stuff every time I have a drive wipe (which takes forever), but I do have to go through the hassle of installing everything again.

In regards to SxS:I looked at this feature in-depth and see the application for it; however, this doesn't exactly discourage broken or actually fixing the source of the problem (that I see, anyway). Dynamic Link Libraries should be programmed to be backwards-compatible and not so that a new version of XYZ.dll will break functionality in programs that rely on a previous version, much like how Microsoft did with DirectX. Maybe I'm just being another just-want-it-to-work user and not taking into effect the difficulty of engineering DLLs in this way, but wouldn't it make sense?(For those of you who don't know what SxS is, it stands for Side-By-Side, a Microsoft "innovation" where installations of programs can have their own DLL files as opposed to sharing them. The great thing about it is that you avoid losing program functionality when installing and overwriting old DLL versions with new ones - because either your previous programs can't use the new DLL for some reason or is only programmed to work with an older version. The bad thing is that Vista will allow redundant installing of multiple instances of the same DLL - different versions to accomodate different programs - and this apparently will eat up hard drive space like crazy as more and more programs are installed on the Vista machine. This feature is also available to XP and other platforms through virtualization software... although I'm wondering why the heck anyone would WANT this. Anyone who wants to correct me on this, please do so... I don't even have Vista and I'm talking smack about it. )Just because we have the technology and hard drive space is becoming cheaper doesn't mean that we can go crazy with lazy coding and lazy techniques to temporarily fix problems...

Like GrinningKittie points out, there IS no easy way. Staying active is the best way to stay physically healthy and have an attempt at staying physically fit. If you can create a routine and stick to the routine, you can maintain a healthy lifestyle. The army has a decent program at staying fit, but if you want to actually take a stab at becoming fit, you'll have to push yourself more. Mon, Wed, Fri: Cardiovascular training Tue, Thu: Muscle failure training Back in my active duty unit, on our cardiovascular training days, we would start with rotations, stretching (flexibility), then do a combination of 5+ mile running, fartlek runs (where you jog for a few minutes, then sprint for a few minutes, then repeat until you're ready to fall on your face, then run some more), last-man up (very much like fartlek, but when running in a 2-column formation, the last person on signal sprints up to the front... this being repeated until you're ready to fall on your face, but of course, you don't stop), etc., then do a cool-down, more stretching, and release. On our muscle failure days, we would do rotations, stretching, then a combination of exercises focused on upper body or lower body (a combination of different kinds of pushups, resistance exercises using a partner, utilizing weights - our rifles, and other varied exercises, or a combination of different kinds of situps, leg raises, and other varied exercises). This would KEEP us in shape and tone if we weren't exactly athletic to begin with, but we were expected to go to the gym or do extra physical training of some sort to keep us from the "fatboy" program. Eating right also plays an important role, and GrinningKittie has a point with eating more frequent, but smaller portion meals. You want to keep that metabolism on its toes! Contrary to popular belief, healthy foods ARE good to eat. I lke to use Italian dressing and salsa a lot to add flavor to any soups and salads, and some of that weird stuff you've been avoiding might actually be pretty tasty. ("Weird" stuff like tofu is essentially flavor-less, so you can throw that into just about anything to add some protein and avoid other, less-healthy fillers.) I can't part with my meat though... I still find most veggie burgers pretty nasty. But take a look into eating healthy foods and figuring out what you like and what you can use to substitute for your less-healthy cravings (i.e. sorbet/sherbert/frozen yogurt for ice cream, fruit for sweets, more water and salad instead of eating a larger meal, etc.)

I thought it was very funny that someone actually sat down and figured this out. Of course, it made me smirk... which is half of my facial workout for the day. - On another note, there was a special on 20/20 (I think) that featured a "club" where people in the immediate neighborhood got together to laugh. That's all they do. It's a laughing club, so to speak... and as we've noted in this topic, facial expressions as well as laughter is healthy, psychologically and physically. Not a bad idea to spread this sort of strangeness, if you'd ask me. But hey, the idea of a laughing club is funny in itself.

I sent an e-mail about the availability of Asian fit eyewear on their Standard Issue military sales program, and they replied that what they have there is what they have. (I have a feeling that the military sales program is either very, VERY vanilla, or that the program receives refurbished or overstocked models.) Sent an e-mail asking for the possibility of them throwing Asian fit into the program at any point in the future, and I'm still waiting for an answer back. I want to snag a pair of Oakleys but don't feel like forking over $200 for a pair when I don't have to. Essentially, I want a good pair of durable sunglasses that can take a beating, provide ballistic protection, NOT FOG, and be casual enough to wear with my civilian clothing. (Hence, my choice of the Oakley Half-Jackets.) My experience with Wiley X XL-1's kind of turn me off from giving them a second glance until I get a feel for Oakleys (for fair judgment).I'm not even going to try my supply chain as we are hard-pressed on the budget, not to mention that the supply sergeant is rather stingy.

Welcome, StrawberryShortcake. As Bluebear mentioned, there's a ton of computer junkies here at Xisto, so if you have a question, feel free to ask! If you want to jump right into the Internet, hosting is a good way of almost forcing yourself to learn the workings behind the websites you browse every day... including this one. (For instance, from my understanding, Xisto heavily utilizes PHP, but also uses JavaScript, HTML, and CSS... four must-learn languages of the Web.) Just by looking at the source code of pages, you can learn a bit more about the Internet and how it works.As for hosting, contribute informative posts, work on the English a bit (I know it's hard), and as long as you stay somewhat active, you can earn enough hosting credits rather quickly to try your hand at designing your own website.

Sorry, but your hardware choices makes no sense. This is what I figured from what you posted: - Choice 1: 250GB prefabricated HD + 2 1GB USB sticks (one has fingerprint protection and the other is a GPS locator) - Choice 2: the latest NVIDIA GEForce card with a 120GB HD internal hard drive with enclosure If all you will be doing is homework, image manipulation, and occasional gaming, I would go with the first choice, just because you can always use the space, especially if you will be doing a lot of image manipulation. (Photoshop requires quite a bit of scratch disk space.) However, if you want to be playing games like COD4, you might need to upgrade that video card, and 120GB is not much compared to what you can get nowadays, but it's still an ample amount. You need to actually figure out what games you can play well on your computer before even upgrading. Also, links to the hardware would be nice so we know what exactly you are talking about. I can play COD4 at a decent frame rate on my laptop with an ATI Mobility Radeon X600 w/ 256MB VRAM with all options turned off, so even if you do have an older video card, you may still be able to play the game. For newer games with poorly-designed graphic engines or heavy use of light/blooming effects, etc., you may want to look at that video card. From my standpoint, the video card + 120GB HD is hands-down the best choice. Then again, I can afford to buy another HD if I need one. Addendum: As a reference, this is the latest GEForce video card. If that's the case, GET THE VIDEO CARD.

I thought it was interesting how we reacted to this. So if the sex offender was attractive, she's good to go? We're accepting of that behavior? Let's try another sex offender... Would the crime of sexual misconduct between a minor and an adult be acceptable in this case? Yeah... I didn't think so. It's funny too how male sex offenders get the worse perspective as opposed to their female counterparts. And we are fighting SO hard for equality and fairness when dealing with genders... I think that this whole case is rather moot simply because it was going on for some time before it was brought up publicly. There probably was a reason why the boy wanted to blow the whistle then... otherwise, I don't even see why he would spontaneously have the conscious to think, "Hey, wait... this is wrong. I shouldn't be doing this..." AFTER having participated in sexual activity multiple times. (And FYI, I'm not trying to be high and mighty on the soapbox of fair and equal judgment... I'm with a lot of you on finding that teacher attractive. )

I would like the power of persuasion.That way I can tell all you guys what I want you to do for me. I think I'll stick with my own name for now, but if I want to change it in the future, I'll let you know to call me by that name.

Been a Firefox fan since the first release, and funny enough, I remember the slow and gradual migration over to FF2 after trying out the beta.I recently snagged FF3B5 and so far, it's all right. I miss the history arrow for both the back and forward buttons, but everything else seems to be an improvement. Apparently it's completely rebuilt onto a different development platform (Gecko or something like that), so I hope that it fixes some common issues with FF, especially the memory leak issue. Right now, with 10 tabs open at the moment, FF is sucking 164MB. Hasn't crashed on me though, and I didn't really notice if it actually loads any quicker yet. StumbleUpon is my only extension... since nothing else works yet.Just keep in mind that this is still Beta 5. Nothing revolutionary that I've noticed, which kind of makes me want to give other browsers like Safari and Opera a try to give them a fair chance before proclaiming browser superiority. (Internet Explorer 7, on the other hand, needs no try-out... hehe. I wonder what IE8 has to bring to the table?)

I?ve been looking at both brands, and both of them get great testimonials (of course). It?s kind of hard for me, or as I?m sure anyone else, to take a stab at which would be better. I?ve owned a pair of Wiley X XL-1 goggles and they love to fog, which drives me bat-sh*t insane. I was taking a look at the WX Spear Goggle, but I?m wondering if that $90 includes fog-free performance, not to mention that I want to be able to sight a weapon with one of these on. I?ve never owned a pair of Oakley sunglasses, but I?m wondering if it would be the better choice, as they seem to pride themselves on optical clarity in a big way. (Yes, I?m buying the hype and I think they would be better.) I?m looking at a Half Jacket right now, but of course their military sales program doesn?t offer it in what they call Asian Fit, not to mention that they don?t seem to have the lovely military-approved fashion of straight black. What do you guys have or prefer, as far as tactical application? Heck, how about just sharing your experiences with either brand, any model? Wiley X Spear Goggle Oakley Half Jacket

First of all, get off your high horses and don't even bother saying how one company copied another and how Firefox sucks because it's not what you want it to be like and yada. If you don't like it, stick to FF2.I tried FF3b and I wasn't too keen on it because I wasn't used to it. I thought it was pretty cool with what they did with the address bar, along with the other additions, and I thought some features were retarded, like being able to search through your downloads.A lot of people are probably not going to even notice the amount of features FF3 will have, since they tailor to different audiences: web developers, code testers, and then Joe Schmoe.I'll have to look at FF3 some more and then put out more of an informative opinion, as I'm using FF2 right now.

It's information like this that keeps me away from Vista and even advise against it even though I haven't even tried it myself.Windows XP SP2, what I hail as the most stable, most encompassing, and probably best version of the Windows platform, has it's own problems, but I don't think it's as bad as Vista's growing number of problems and inconveniences. And to think that it's supposed to replace XP...

Haha... there's really not much to playing the game. - Know the maps. Learn them. Breathe them. Be able to seek cover at any time. Discover vantage points. Find alternative ways into "bases." Know weapon spawn points. Discover sniper spots. Use the terrain to your advantage.- Know your weapons. Learn how to use them, when and when not to use them, what they work best with (secondary weapon), their ranges, their power, and their limitations. Practice with each one and get used to using any weapon at any time (since we all can't always get our favorite weapons. Keep a full magazine, but don't reload unless you're not expecting a firefight. (But always expect a firefight.) Learn how to use the Battle Rifle as it is inarguably one of the most versatile weapons you have available to you. (If you're playing Halo 2, learn to BXR and RRRX.) When using the Rocket Launcher, aim at the feet or try to use splash damage to your advantage (and counter jumping tactics with appropriately-timed launches). Use your grenades and know when to use a sticky or a frag. (In Halo 2, stickies explode after sticking in about 3 seconds, whereas frags explode a half second after they bounce.) Learn how to use the Brute Shot and bounce grenades. Soften the enemy with a frag grenade before going for a headshot (for a quick kill). Fire your SMGs in bursts rather than a full-auto discharge.- Practice your aiming. Utilize the auto-aim system. Practice shooting a sniper rifle without the scope. Don't focus on placing the reticle on your target, but moreso KNOWING that you're putting rounds into your target. AIM FOR THE HEAD. (After wiping out the shield, one shot to the head will suffice.)- Learn to move efficiently. Learn to use jumps to get up to places to gain a vantage point. Again, this goes back to learning the maps. Get into the habit of crouching while jumping. (This will create a smaller profile and help you get to higher platforms as you would be tucking your legs in.)- Practice with the vehicles and learn to use them ONLY when necessary. If you can get into a Scorpion or Wraith and win an entire match using those vehicles, feel free (although it's frowned upon). Use Ghosts to run over people (with boost) and to get to places much more quickly. Don't hog the 'Hog unless you're driving team members. Get used to being on the gun/turret and maintaining your aim while moving. In some vehicles, remember that the passenger can still shoot. Don't stick in a vehicle for too long as you will most likely be a rocket magnet. Learn to maneuver with a Banshee (and this includes the barrel rolls and flips). On the opposite end, practice hijacking vehicles and keep in mind to have that X button ready. (It's not very hard to hijack vehicles.)- If you are on a team, learn to communicate. Shouting "Oh he's over there" or "OMGI'MGONNADIE!!!" doesn't help anyone. Establish roles and responsibilities. If you're going to be a driver, tell people. Don't fight with your teammates. If you suck with a sniper rifle, let someone else snipe while you do something else that you're strong at. Be cooperative. Try not to team-kill... that's frowned upon too. - Learn to think. Don't rush in and rack up your deaths... you want to maintain a good kill-to-death ratio. Try to get a bunch of people in a tight spot for a couple of grenades or a rocket. If you're not ready to take on someone, don't. Know when to retreat, but don't be an easy running target.

One thing's for certain about this "war": it's still going on. Don't believe ANYTHING that anyone says about the "war" in Iraq. Notice that no one said anything about Afghanistan? Everyone (and I mean everyone official) that has something to say about the war is simply saying stuff to feed us "information" about what's going on down there, what our long-term goals are going to be, etc. It's POLITICS, and you are being informed or talked to about this issue by people that are politicians OR people that work for these politicians OR people that have a hand in the pot of a politician. Stop jumping to conclusions with Michael Moore and the Loose Change guy and whatever else is out there as far as conspiracy theory. We're so wrapped up on being spoonfed information that we don't even think for ourselves anymore. Now what the heck is up with that? Most people that I've talked to about reasons behind the war mention all the crap I've heard before: Bush's vendetta, oil, war on terrorism, WMDs, etc. Is that really YOUR opinion, YOUR investigation results, YOUR thoughts on the matter? Instead of treading behind trying to figure out what the heck happened and why, let's try to put out some change in taking care of our guys and ending the fiasco that is STILL GOING ON AS I TYPE THIS over there. I don't know how, personally, but it definitely isn't going to change with the voting in of a new president. (Everyone knows that we have to actually end what we began... and it will be a while before we are physically and logistically able to make a larger-scale pull out of Iraq.) It's not going to change with conspirators continually feeding alternative theories on what happened in the past. It's what we, as a nation, are willing and able to do NOW. We can analyze the history later during peace time. Look at it this way: we went in, we're trying to make a difference in a war-torn country (from my perspective, anyway), and we need to eventually shift our focus to bigger and better things. As citizens, we have to do whatever we have to do to make this time bearable for fellow Soldiers of the United States and not just ridicule, point fingers, and sit on our bums, rolling our eyes at the news and not even, for a chance, wondering why we don't even hear much about our guys down in the sandbox on the television anymore. (Notice that? It was a hot topic for the news then... apparently America prioritizes what our celebrities are doing over that, though.) If you want to promote change, do what you have to do to make it happen: write a letter, hold a rally, vote for someone that you KNOW (as far as one can know about a politician) would make a good leader and NOT what they spit out to the public to get voted into office, etc. Take what you've been fed about this war and throw it out the window. There are no facts to have straight unless you actually look into the matter yourself. Don't get me started into political parties... I already think that it's dumb that we as a nation are separated into groups according to how we think and now we have to band together to oppose one another? Within our own nation? (See why I hate politics?) It doesn't make any sense! Republicans and Democrats and liberals and independents and blah blah blah... it's all retarded.