Zxian

@DigeratiPrime Wow... I really like the RoyalFour! I've got it on my desktop right now...

No, I don't think that it's too complex. I've probably learned more regarding computers in general in the past 8 months or so, since I found MSFN, than everything I knew before. I've also become a lot more comfortable with writing code, either for scripts like RunOnceEx commands, or any C/C++ programs that I've needed for my classes. I've also started writing up a webpage for myself in HTML. When it's finished, I'll put the link in my sig. So no, I'm not worried, just hoping that the knowledge will fall into place. One thing that I'm wondering about... Is there any advantage to using XPlode over RunOnceEx other than the GUI? Since I'm usually not sitting at my computer when the UA-CD is running, I don't really care that much as to what the progress of installing programs/hotfixes is. Just a (XPlode) n00b asking a simple question.

Hey there, When I first got onto this forum and found out about even being able to make a UA CD, I was amazed. I was a bit headstrong and tried to get XPlode working, but I had no clue what I was doing. For the first part, without the screenshots and images regarding $OEM$ folders, I would probably still have no clue what was going on there. After a bit of time learning about the built-in methods of UA installs, I finally got really comfortable with RunOnceEx. Example code and screenshots definately helped there as well. I'm hoping that when X5 is released, I'll be able to figure out how that works and I'll be able to start using it to finish off my UA CDs. For the time being, I'll sit and wait patiently. Cheers!

Just a note about AveDesk... I don't know about you SimonSays, but for me, all those resources are lying in pagefile. I've only got about 1MB of RAM taken up by AveDesk. As for CPU usage, that only goes up if you use the Virtual Console Desklet (look at my latest screenie...)

Some of the really nice features that I actually make use of: Wand (Password manager) Sidebar (activated by F4) Completely customizable screen (I hide my menu bar, no File, Edit, etc) Lots of Skins Built in Google search Nicknames - type in the nickname into the address bar, and the corresponding bookmark will be opened Stupidly fast engine. Soulin, your best bet is to install Opera8 and give it a try for a week. Make it your only browser that you use. That's the only way that you can really get to know whether or not you like the features. I used to use Maxthon, but there were too many little bugs that I just couldnt' get over (like the Find function freezing up...)

All this mumbo jumbo about Microsoft trying to steal your personal information is just that... a lot of talk. My friend and I set up a small network to test this out where all the packets that were being sent back and forth to a Windows XP Pro computer were logged by a Linux machine. Over the course of a week, nothing random was going to Microsoft, and all that was sent to Windows Update was the current version of WU installed, the product key, and the current updates installed. That's it. Period. I've also never been able to find any files on my hard drive using Knoppix that I couldn't find with Windows Explorer or command line. I used to believe this stuff... but not any more. Unless someone can give me some definitive proof that this is true now (please note, definitive), I don't believe it.

Or you can get POP + 2GB (and rising) with GMail... for free. Stupid MSN...I use my hotmail acct for crap signup sheets... It's probably got so much pr0n in there...

Lol... it's really a small world out there.... I've got an interview for a co-op position with Faronics on Monday... lol. Maybe I'll find out what the problem that people were having with the software was...

Wow... very well done I must say. I haven't watched AMVs in a while, but I always remember one of my favorites being a DragonBall Z video done to "The Kids Aren't Alright" by the OffSpring. Keep up the good work.

Umm... Diggity... I'd change my avatar back to the old one if I were you... that's over the line I think...

What VS is that Maverick? Looks really slick!

Nuts... It seems like for the Excel method to work, I need to manually update the data... There's a plugin for Rainlendar that reads this data, but that's written in C++. Maybe I'll look into the plugin and the link you provided and try to combine the two to get what I'm after... Thanks for the info.

Hey everyone, I'm not sure if this should go here or in the Software Discussion section. If it's in the wrong place, Mods, please move it. I'm trying to create a script that will allow me to read an Outlook data file and read the calendar data from it. Does anyone know how this can be done? I need the script written in VBS and not bat/cmd since I'll be using it with AveDesk (which only accepts VBS scripts) to read my Outlook calendar data and display it on my desktop. Thanks in advance.

I'll agree that some technologies make us lazy... but for the most part it's for the better. Yes, yes indeed, we can talk abot other stuff... I'm very much looking forward to tonight, since it's the last day of classes, and UBC holds a big party called Arts County Fair where lots of people have fun and get... intoxicated. Big bands like Matthew Good and K-Os are playing tonight as well... it's gonna be a blast.

Here's a link to the desktop. Click

I think that the term technology is being improperly used here. Technology refers to all the new ideas, materials, and methods to solve problems. What I think this thread is asking is more over " Is digital technology ruining the world?". Technology in itself is what defines us as human, since we have developed technologies to help us survive and prosper. Think about the Spinning Jenny back during the Industrial Revolution. Without it, we would never have been able to provide clothing for everyone on this planet as easily. As for computers, I think that for the most part, we do rely on digital technology quite a bit. Whether or not this is too much, that is for each to decide on their own. In my opinion, digital technology is the only way to go. There is no way that we would be able to go about our current daily lives without computers. Every single car that is sold today started its existence as a CAD (Computer Aided Design) model. Classrooms at my university use computers to help teach students, since the PowerPoint slides used by my professors are easily available to the students (not to mention it's easier to see what's happening in PowerPoint compared to some of these profs' writing). Brian873, as for your phone number example, my parents still use an address book to store all of their friends' phone numbers. All that's changed there is the move from paper to circuits. One final thing that computer technology has provided us: a quick, easy, and cheap means of aquiring information. This has allowed people on either side of the planet to collaborate on information and create new and innovative designs. All in all, technology is a good thing, but I still know how to do long division.

I don't think MSN will let you do this, but Miranda will. Check it out here.

Here's a small update on my desktop... So so so very pretty... and I know the weather! Clickage!!!!

The audio player is JetAudio. And yes, it is a nice desktop. That skin is really nice and clean... can't go wrong.

@indianarchie Nope.... that would make the number even, and thereby divisible by 2... @rjz In the field of mathematics, there are some theories that link prime numbers (or sequences of prime numbers) to universal constants (something like pi or e). These universal constants may eventually be used for common day applications like pi and e are (pi = 3.14159.... e = 2.7182818.... both are irrational numbers).

Yeah, I've tried Mandrake on my desktop. I didn't really notice anything special on it that I couldn't find with Windows. The setup is straightforward enough. It guides you through everything. Although, as brian said, there's a lot of googling in the beginning. Be sure to give yourself a good while to learn.

It's a simple explorer.exe hack done with reshacker. There are guides all over the net on how to do this. Next time that you want to post a screenshot, upload it to a host like ImageShack and link to it instead of putting the picture directly in the thread.

Symantec makes a decent product. I used to feel the same way when I made the switch from Norton Internet Security 2004 to NOD32 and Sygate. I've gotta say, that after giving NIS2005 a try on my desktop, it's not necessarily a bad product, it's just not as fast or efficient as other security products. You hate Microsoft? When it comes to an operating system that the general public can use, they've got one of the best. Ever tried to go about your day with Linux? It takes a lot more knowledge to have things set up the way you want and to be able to use it as a general workstation. The big problem with Windows nowadays is that people don't understand the concept of computer maintenance. The big reason why viruses and spyware run rampant is because people buy a computer, connect it to the internet, and never clean it out (or schedule a cleaning program). I will agree with you on the fact that Norton products are not the best. They are probably the most well known though, since you can find their products on the shelves of any store that sells software.

I'd pick Longhorn over OSX if I had to go with just the basics. I still say that there's no replacement for AveDesk... the showcase function is just phenomenal! (See march desktops)

I'd also vote for the hardware firewall option. A simple router with built in firewall capabilities should fit the needs of most home users. I would recommend Linksys over other brand names, since I've never had a bad router, and the tech support is decent compared to other companies. If you want to be paranoid, you can also throw Zonealarm on there. It's a bit more work to get the computers talking to each other, but in the end, each will be even more secure than with the hardware firewall alone. Even better... use Sygate Personal Firewall. It's a much better firewall that takes up less system resources than ZA.