ABXZone Computer Forums

STEC CellCare Technology Delivers Big Boost

Sir Skully — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:07:31 GMT

I want one... I tell you... :<

STEC CellCare Technology Delivers Big Boost in 24 nm MLC NAND Flash Memory Endurance | techPowerUp

If it ever gets to the consumer SSD's...

Lack of interest

yabbadoo — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:29:08 GMT

I have raised a number of intellectual threads posing very interesting and controversial topics, the response has been deplorable.

Yet on threads that are basically stupid and childish the response exceeds 3,000, 9,000 and 16,000.

This is not a Forum is it ? I am wasting my time here and from now on will depart the Forum until interest in serious subjects reaches the response rate of frivolous, utterly stupid and irrelevant subjects.

Who the hell wants to post "Good Morning", "Good Night", "What are you drinking now" or take part in some stupid word association game - I DON`T ! My GOD ! Whatever next ? That is Kindergarten stuff. I can get more satisfaction sucking my thumb.

Until there is a more adult attitude and commitment to serious subjects displayed on this Forum :-

I am saying Adi�s ABX, have a nice day.

How many sites are u a member of?

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:42:40 GMT

I'm curious to know how many forum sites we're all members of besides the 'zone.
This is nothing to do with marketing or such, just personally curious.
I'm a member of 3, but find that its a large drain of my time as it is and couldn't imagine being involved in more.

Doesn't have to be tech, any sites at all.
So, how many are you an active member at?

What do you pay for Petrol ?

yabbadoo — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:13:24 GMT

I hope there are enough active members to contribute to this, but we will give it a go.

UK, is the most abusively taxed petrol price country in the world. Here are the facts :-

March 2012 - 140.20 pence per litre = 4.546 x 140.20 pence per Imp.gallon = 637.35 pence per Imp.gallon = �6.3735 per Imp.gallon = $10.231 per Imp.gallon or 140.20 x 3.785 = $5.307 per US gallon.

To fill a 10 gallon tank in the UK would cost $100.231 Imp. gallons. 10 US gallons would only fill the tank 83%.
Base data :-
US gallon = 3.785 litres
Imperial gallon = 4.546 litres
a US gallon is 0.833 an Imp. gallon.
�1 = $1.6052 May 2012

What do you pay ?
State your country and use this link for exchange rates to USD, then we can compare on a fixed basis :-

USD, American Dollar Exchange Rates Table - x-rates

Coming soon: Planet Earth, live streamed

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:03:03 GMT

Wouldn�t it be amazing to sit aboard the International Space Station, watching Earth�s continents and oceans pass by as you orbit the planet?

...if a startup called Urthecast has its way, you�ll soon be able to replicate that experience from your computer...

Story here

Scientist helps design tiny super computer

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:56:25 GMT

... It has the potential to provide insights into how materials behave at the quantum level that none of today's conventional computers would be capable of calculating

The device, known as a quantum simulator, is just one atom thick.
...

Story here

Radical new 'focus later' camera launches

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:51:34 GMT

A radical new camera that lets you adjust the focus after you take a picture has begun shipping...

Clicking on a Lytro picture displayed on a computer screen allows a viewer to shift the focus from a subject in the foreground, for example, to a subject in the background.

Story here

This reminds me of that scene from Blade Runner when Decker is examining some photos with some type of computer and able to see around corners.
Amazing.

Apple strips '4G' claim from iPad marketing

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:43:21 GMT

Apple has succumbed to legal action and pressure from regulators in Australia and the UK and dropped the �4G� label from marketing material concerning the sale of its third generation iPad tablet...

Story here

Do you believe in Ghosts and the Supernatural ?

yabbadoo — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:45:13 GMT

I am trying to spark interesting and unique discussion, so here is another topic.

My views - by now you must know me - my answer is a BIG laugh and certainly NOT.

Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad.. cpu cooling

Sir Skully — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:18:04 GMT

This looks like a good replacement for thermal paste.
If ya don't change out your cpu any to often.

CoollaboratoryLiquid MetalPad - the innovation of cooling for High-End sytems

SSD RAID & Trim in Win 7

PeterT — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:57:40 GMT

I have a Corsair Force GT 120 as my boot drive and am considering getting another to set up a RAID 0 array for increased speed and space. But, what about trim in Win 7? I understand that it is not supported. Is there are 3rd party app that can be run manually, or scheduled, to clean up the drives?

Newegg has the drive for 120$ after MIR until 16 May...

Header bar "Quick"

yabbadoo — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:08:21 GMT

I miss this having the normal drop down panel giving Subscriptions, Profile, etc.You know, what we normally get on other vBulletin sites.

All the Quick does is extend the header bar.

To find my subscribed threads, I am having to use the Search and enter my name. This is quicker than going through the UserCP.

Otherwise, after playing around regularly since I joined, I find the site very easy and user friendly. Several features are much better than on some other sites. Well done !

Back for some more great information

nukem — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:58:43 GMT

Hey all I joined this forum in 04 trying to learn how to build a computer! I (with your help) successfully built a tower with a Pentium 4 and the ever so reliable D875PBZLK (still runs strong by the way). Well I'm back to see about a new build. Will be looking for some expert advise on components!:fishing:

Nukem

Is Death Final ?

yabbadoo — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:47:57 GMT

Now here is one you can all tear to pieces. It covers every aspect of human belief, suspicion, intelligence, Mythology, Religion and just about everything the human brain can conceive.

Well, I`ll leave it to you and will enjoy your comments.

Before I go, I must obviously give my opinion as the perpetrator of this obsessive human question. I will not return on this issue as that would only promote argument and that is not the purpose of this thread.

YES ! Death is final. We are naturally born through the evolutionary process and we die, not always naturally. No before - no after. Ashes to ashes. This is the situation with every living thing on Earth, from microscopic bacteria, to single cell organisms, to vegetation, to animals, to humans. ENDGAME.

So enjoy it while it lasts. If you see it coming, drink up that backlog of booze and puff away at those cigars, you cannot take them with you.

Health Care

yabbadoo — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:14:56 GMT

This is a thread for non-UK members. Reason ? I have been around since the free Health Service was introduced decades ago, there is nothing to be gained by any UK contributions.

In the UK everybody gets free health care except people who work hard for a living and are not on any kind of benefits who have to pay $12.33 per prescribed item. It is an amount that many just cannot afford. People on any kind of benefits or about 50% of the population are exempt from this charge. Old people over 60 also get all services free including prescriptions.

Yes, the public do abuse free health care - you get a surgery crowded with Mum`s who are taking little Fred to the Doctor just because he coughed twice and some person who has an itch on their butt wasting time and money, but when you offer a free service, that is what you get.

Foreign immigrants and asylum seekers - you know those scumbag parasites who infest every Western nation, get their health care free, whereas the British people have had to pay weekly subscriptions out of their pay packets all their working lives.

I would like to know how other countries provide Health Care for their people. I have heard for instance that in the USA, many thousands of people have lost their homes by having to pay health costs.

My attitude is that the population of a country IS the country and the Government are morally obligated to provide free health care for their people.

Having said that, to provide free health care for the population is an astronomic cost, but rather pay that through taxes than squander Billions on armaments or some hair-brained activities that are nothing but scandalous.

World Debt.

yabbadoo — Fri, 11 May 2012 06:14:44 GMT

I do not wish to adopt the mantle of being Dr.Death after my thread on the Oil Armageddon, but we obviously have yet another threat to the Earthly survival of Homo Sapiens. It is more of a self inflicted wound really and concerns the fact that all the World`s financial institutions have over the years progressively disregarded the most elementary principles of banking.

The World debt. is so astronomic that it will never be paid off in the lifetime of this planet. What is more, the debt is growing by the minute. The major debtors will have a financial disaster for decades to come, imposing a legacy of doom, misery and possible collapse of civilized existence on our future generations.

The World debt is shown by :-
World debt comparison: The global debt clock | The Economist

The top 100 countries debt is shown by :-
Debt - external - Country Comparison - TOP 100

The United States, glibly described as the richest country on earth has a staggering debt of over $14,000 Billion, whilst tiny little UK comes in at second place with a monumental debt of $9,000 Billion. Germany @ $4,700 Billion, France @ $4,700 Billion and the Netherlands @ $3,700 Billion.

How can a country be rated as the richest country on Earth with a debt of $14 Trillion !!! It is ludicrous.

The richest countries are shown in :-
http://www.aneki.com/richest.html

Do I understand all this - absolutely NOT ! Do the economists and Governments understand all this - absolutely NOT. It is a very sick joke that will engulf us all in financial Apocalypse within the two decades with total financial and economic collapse. It is a recipe for World economic disaster and the end of civilization as we know it.

My words ? Certainly not, the World`s top financial "experts" forecast exactly this. If their forecasts are as good as their banking expertise, then from their current track record, we have nothing to fear.

Who is lending this gigantic fortune to these squandering so called "rich" nations with such reckless incompetence, when they know without any doubt that they will never get it back !

Ireland, Greece, Portugal have had to be bailed out by the EU and IMF for financial mismanagement and now Spain is at the begging bowl - how many more lame ducks are in the pipeline to kill the Goose that lays the Golden Egg?

The reason why these nations are so heavily in debt ? Elementary - they are behaving like any misguided and greedy individual, by engaging in extravagant activities and lifestyles that they cannot afford and lending vast amounts to other countries by borrowing themselves to do it.

Ah well, there is a solution to it all and here it is :-

Clearing the Pagefile on Shutdown

yabbadoo — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:43:52 GMT

Go to :-
How to Clear the Windows Paging File at Shutdown

Basically it is :-

Some third-party programs can temporarily store unencrypted (plain-text) passwords or other sensitive information in memory. Because of the Windows virtual memory architecture, this information can be present in the paging file.

Although clearing the paging file is not a suitable substitute for physical security of a computer, you might want to do this to increase the security of data on a computer while Windows is not running.

There is a tiny automatic program as described in the link, but to do this yourself :-

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Change the data value of the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value in the following registry key to a value of 1:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
If the value does not exist, add the following value:
Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Value Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

This change does not take effect until you restart the computer.

It works perfectly and there is no problem stepping down the Registry Editor listing to find the keyword and insert "1".

Although the Pagefile size is the same, it is an empty box with nothing in it.

Network Lights

yabbadoo — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:43:32 GMT

I have found that animated tray icons showing traffic in some Firewalls is very useful indeed. The new ZA version has replaced this icon with a static one, so the traffic feature is now gone. ZA are not going to re-introduce the traffic icon, they call it "fluff" and autocratically have dispensed with it.

Well ZA there are a lot of users who liked this feature and "fluff" it certainly is not. As far as I am aware, Comodo still have this animated traffic tray icon and so have other Firewall vendors.

To compensate for this loss, those who wish to see simple traffic activity can go to Network Lights - IT Samples and install this tiny program which converts the Windows keyboard NUM, CAPS and SCROLL Led lights into traffic activity. It is only suitable for Windows and even includes Windows 7.

The program only takes a few minutes to install and poses no trouble whatsoever. Right clicking the tray icon you can adjust your own settings and see a stats list if you wish. I have chosen to set NUM for incoming traffic and SCROLL for outgoing. I find it brilliant. If it does no good, it does no harm.

It is a standalone program and a panel comes up on startup to Run or Not Run. You have the choice.

Armageddon - The end of civilisation

yabbadoo — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:17:09 GMT

Global Warming a threat ? Not a chance, it takes hundreds or thousands of years to become a threat.

Economic, Geological and Ecological experts throughout the world forecast that the Earth`s oil reserves will run out around 2050.

When this happens, all modern civilization will stop. Our cities, towns, villages and all form of life will grind to a halt. No power, electricity or any kind of modern convenience, everything will become stagnant, inactive and fossilized for ever. The planet`s human population will suffer massive starvation and semi-extinction.

There is no point in suggesting any alternative form of energy, whatever it may be, it will never meet the demands of modern civilization which is totally dependant on oil and fossil fuels. It all comes to a catastrophic collapse and finite end - gradually, but the result is a guaranteed certainty.

The entire planet will become no more than a gigantic fossilised artifact of some previous civilization, just like the Inca`s, Aztec`s or other ancient but long extinct inhabitants of Mother Earth.

A step back in time of 200-300 years and the horse and cart is not an option. For modern civilization to even contemplate survival, a direct substitute for oil and fossil fuels has to be found - and this is an impossibility.

The good news is - I will not be here to see it.

Shutdown/Standby/Hibernate Desktop Icons

yabbadoo — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:14:05 GMT

I have recently discovered a simple means of adding desktop icons to cover Shutdown and Hibernate/Standby. It is extremely useful in avoiding the click Start standard procedure.

You go to your desktop, right click and then click new shortcut, you get a Wizard, then paste in the command for the location type in one of the below commands (in your case, %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState ). Then click Next. You are asked to give it a title - Standby, Hibernate or Shutdown, then click Finish.

These are the choices :-

Shutdown: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s
Reboot: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -r
Logoff: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -l
Standby: %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState
Hibernate: %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState

Use CNTRL+C to copy and CNTRL+V to paste.

The Hibernate is automatic if the Hibernate box is checked in the Power Options properties panel. If the box is not checked, then Standby is automatic. You have to select this box to give you the option you want. I use Standby when frequently leaving and returning to my machine and Hibernate when leaving for long periods. The difference between power usage is so low it does not really matter and Standby is a faster return.

Hibernate practically shuts the machine down whilst Standby leaves it on a power trickle. You can leave it on Hibernate for as long as you wish. You have to keep changing the Power Options Hibernate to obtain what you want.

The Hibernate checkbox is found by Control Panel>Power Options>Hibernate. But it is easier to click the Task Bar Links and select the On AC Power icon - rt click it and click Adjust Power Properties. The Power Options panel comes up. Then click Hibernate.

The On AC Power icon can be found by rt clicking the Task Bar>Properties>Customise, then use the vertical slider to find it.
Set to Always Hide, or Always Show if you wish.

The two desktop icons can be changed by Right clicking the icon then Properties>Change Icon>Browse>Windows 32>shell32dll>select icon>OK>Apply>OK

Then you have two brand new icons on your desktop for Shutdown and Standby/Hibernate. It works a treat.

Screen shot :-