Computer General Discussion Thread

[Lechites]

Just when you thought that you have cleaned up the mess left by Lockdown Browser, I found another small but irritating problem:

Start Menu can't add or delete new programs... It's a quick fix from regedit, but wow, how far did you lock my computer?

Sounds like it would've been easier to only use it on a separate account not tied to your main one so it wouldn't mess with day-to-day stuff.

[Cekoviu]

Just when you thought that you have cleaned up the mess left by Lockdown Browser, I found another small but irritating problem:

Start Menu can't add or delete new programs... It's a quick fix from regedit, but wow, how far did you lock my computer?

Sounds like it would've been easier to only use it on a separate account not tied to your main one so it wouldn't mess with day-to-day stuff.

Iirc it operates at the system level, but it has been a while since I had to use it.

[Lechites]

Sounds like it would've been easier to only use it on a separate account not tied to your main one so it wouldn't mess with day-to-day stuff.

Iirc it operates at the system level, but it has been a while since I had to use it.

Well that's just malware, sucks it can't be run on something like a burner Chromebook.

[Valentine Z]

Just when you thought that you have cleaned up the mess left by Lockdown Browser, I found another small but irritating problem:

Start Menu can't add or delete new programs... It's a quick fix from regedit, but wow, how far did you lock my computer?

Sounds like it would've been easier to only use it on a separate account not tied to your main one so it wouldn't mess with day-to-day stuff.

I might try that one day, thanks!

I do have a separate account, and it should be able to do that, since the logging in part is done with the school webportal itself.

Sounds like it would've been easier to only use it on a separate account not tied to your main one so it wouldn't mess with day-to-day stuff.

Iirc it operates at the system level, but it has been a while since I had to use it.

I'll probably give it a try (using another Windows account) to use the browser when I have that kind of test.

[Minoa]

Iirc it operates at the system level, but it has been a while since I had to use it.

Well that's just malware, sucks it can't be run on something like a burner Chromebook.

Malware can target any operating system, but it is true that the dominance of Windows in the consumer market is why there is so much malware for said platform. For everything else there is the danger of phishing and database breaches, which depends on winning the trust of the victim or exploiting software security flaws.

[Imperializt Russia]

Hi guys, I'm wondering if anyone can provide a bit of Excel help.

I have an Excel stock sheet. There is a recommended number of each part, and the user inputs how many we have. There is conditional formatting that if it drops below the recommended quantity, then it will flash up.

What I want to try and do is to have a separate worksheet in the book automatically populate - so you set up a button, it will trawl the stock sheet, and if it is below the required quantity it will recall ordering information, but only for parts that are low.

I know how to create a button, and recall information from other sheets, but recalling specific lines for specific reasons is way beyond my ability or comprehension at the moment. The problem is that it's fundamentally arbitrary.

Any help?

[Salandriagado]

Hi guys, I'm wondering if anyone can provide a bit of Excel help.

I have an Excel stock sheet. There is a recommended number of each part, and the user inputs how many we have. There is conditional formatting that if it drops below the recommended quantity, then it will flash up.

What I want to try and do is to have a separate worksheet in the book automatically populate - so you set up a button, it will trawl the stock sheet, and if it is below the required quantity it will recall ordering information, but only for parts that are low.

I know how to create a button, and recall information from other sheets, but recalling specific lines for specific reasons is way beyond my ability or comprehension at the moment. The problem is that it's fundamentally arbitrary.

Any help?

As with anything non-trivial in Excel, VBA is gong to be the correct way to do it.

[Imperializt Russia]

Hi guys, I'm wondering if anyone can provide a bit of Excel help.

I have an Excel stock sheet. There is a recommended number of each part, and the user inputs how many we have. There is conditional formatting that if it drops below the recommended quantity, then it will flash up.

What I want to try and do is to have a separate worksheet in the book automatically populate - so you set up a button, it will trawl the stock sheet, and if it is below the required quantity it will recall ordering information, but only for parts that are low.

I know how to create a button, and recall information from other sheets, but recalling specific lines for specific reasons is way beyond my ability or comprehension at the moment. The problem is that it's fundamentally arbitrary.

Any help?

As with anything non-trivial in Excel, VBA is gong to be the correct way to do it.

I worried as much. It turned out my colleague did have some VBA code that we're going to adapt to the purpose - the closest workaround I found was to conditionally format on the stock sheet, then just copy-paste the entire list into the 'autopopulated' tab, conditionally format that to the same criteria, and then filter by colour to only be left with the products that are low.

[Corrian]

Well it seems like Imgur shit itself. Any other image sharing sites I can use?

[Lechites]

Well it seems like Imgur shit itself. Any other image sharing sites I can use?

How did it shit itself?

[Corrian]

Well it seems like Imgur shit itself. Any other image sharing sites I can use?

How did it shit itself?

They fucked up the albums feature to the point where a bunch of the albums I have currently don't function, and I have a lot that I want to access. Like a lot. All I use it for is albums for RP reasons.

[Saiwania]

See, you need to understand that the average computer user is an absolute fucking moron. And every year the average user gets more and more incompetent while simultaneously believing they are more and more technologically savvy. And Microsoft Windows is designed specifically to cater to that specific type of person.... because, unfortunately... they are the future no matter how that makes those of us in IT feel.

This is also, incidentally one of the reason why all this slapped on integrated crap and lack of control in the home versions of Windows is not present in say versions designed for servers.... because competent people are generally the ones managing those.

It is no excuse for what Microsoft is doing with Windows 10 as of late, and Apple is supposedly worse than Windows so far as minimalist software goes. The situation with Windows 10 is crazy and will get worse before it gets better in my view.

Some cons of Windows 10 that I've heard is the following: Windows 10 invades user privacy more so than previous iterations of Windows, offers almost no control over updates, has a less customizable interface than Windows 7, doesn't run some older programs that Windows 7 could, and is potentially the start of "Windows as a service" in the long run- where people will basically need to pay a fee on a yearly basis to use the OS.

I think that last rumor is false, but if that does eventually come to pass; I'd need to switch over to Linux by default even if I prefer Windows. If Microsoft really did that, I do wonder if that'd be enough to get Linux to take over the OS market. People obviously won't want to pay every year, but then again- most people are awfully wedded to Windows based software.

The 3 viable options for people after 2020 when Windows 7 is end of life is basically the following:

1. Keep using Windows 7 without security updates.
2. Disconnect any Windows 7 machine from the internet. Use it for local tasks only.
3. Migrate from Windows 7 to another OS. If not Windows 10, it'd probably have to be Linux. But which distro to pick?

I plan to get Windows 10 (reluctantly) and will be using Linux Mint as my secondary that might become my main if I got used to it enough. I know I'm going to miss Windows 7. Windows 10 has some advantages but it also could be so much better if it didn't screw up certain fundamentals.

The user applied settings shouldn't be flipped back to defaults every single time there is an update. Certain things that're removed or disabled shouldn't be reinstalled without permission. There should be the ability to disable certain updates for at least a month, so that if there is a bad/glitchy patch, that ideally next month's patch will make it so that you get that one instead and can avoid the bad patch entirely in the first place.

[Cekoviu]

See, you need to understand that the average computer user is an absolute fucking moron. And every year the average user gets more and more incompetent while simultaneously believing they are more and more technologically savvy. And Microsoft Windows is designed specifically to cater to that specific type of person.... because, unfortunately... they are the future no matter how that makes those of us in IT feel.

This is also, incidentally one of the reason why all this slapped on integrated crap and lack of control in the home versions of Windows is not present in say versions designed for servers.... because competent people are generally the ones managing those.

It is no excuse for what Microsoft is doing with Windows 10 as of late, and Apple is supposedly worse than Windows so far as minimalist software goes. The situation with Windows 10 is crazy and will get worse before it gets better in my view.

Some cons of Windows 10 that I've heard is the following: Windows 10 invades user privacy more so than previous iterations of Windows, offers almost no control over updates, has a less customizable interface than Windows 7, doesn't run some older programs that Windows 7 could, and is potentially the start of "Windows as a service" in the long run- where people will basically need to pay a fee on a yearly basis to use the OS.

I think that last rumor is false, but if that does eventually come to pass; I'd need to switch over to Linux by default even if I prefer Windows. If Microsoft really did that, I do wonder if that'd be enough to get Linux to take over the OS market. People obviously won't want to pay every year, but then again- most people are awfully wedded to Windows based software.

As far as I know, the yearly fee idea is based entirely on misinterpreting what the term "Windows as a service" means and has been discredited by Microsoft.
But the amount of updates and the problems they cause for me on my Windows 10 laptop are insane. Even though I changed an internal policy, the computer still restarts after updates with no warning, which fucks up my Visual Studio code that's open.

[Minoa]

See, you need to understand that the average computer user is an absolute fucking moron. And every year the average user gets more and more incompetent while simultaneously believing they are more and more technologically savvy. And Microsoft Windows is designed specifically to cater to that specific type of person.... because, unfortunately... they are the future no matter how that makes those of us in IT feel.

This is also, incidentally one of the reason why all this slapped on integrated crap and lack of control in the home versions of Windows is not present in say versions designed for servers.... because competent people are generally the ones managing those.

It is no excuse for what Microsoft is doing with Windows 10 as of late, and Apple is supposedly worse than Windows so far as minimalist software goes. The situation with Windows 10 is crazy and will get worse before it gets better in my view.

Some cons of Windows 10 that I've heard is the following: Windows 10 invades user privacy more so than previous iterations of Windows, offers almost no control over updates, has a less customizable interface than Windows 7, doesn't run some older programs that Windows 7 could, and is potentially the start of "Windows as a service" in the long run- where people will basically need to pay a fee on a yearly basis to use the OS.

I think that last rumor is false, but if that does eventually come to pass; I'd need to switch over to Linux by default even if I prefer Windows. If Microsoft really did that, I do wonder if that'd be enough to get Linux to take over the OS market. People obviously won't want to pay every year, but then again- most people are awfully wedded to Windows based software.

The 3 viable options for people after 2020 when Windows 7 is end of life is basically the following:

1. Keep using Windows 7 without security updates.
2. Disconnect any Windows 7 machine from the internet. Use it for local tasks only.
3. Migrate from Windows 7 to another OS. If not Windows 10, it'd probably have to be Linux. But which distro to pick?

I plan to get Windows 10 (reluctantly) and will be using Linux Mint as my secondary that might become my main if I got used to it enough. I know I'm going to miss Windows 7. Windows 10 has some advantages but it also could be so much better if it didn't screw up certain fundamentals.

The user applied settings shouldn't be flipped back to defaults every single time there is an update. Certain things that're removed or disabled shouldn't be reinstalled without permission. There should be the ability to disable certain updates for at least a month, so that if there is a bad/glitchy patch, that ideally next month's patch will make it so that you get that one instead and can avoid the bad patch entirely in the first place.

I was thinking about Windows LTSC or Enterprise with Firewall settings modded to only allow select programs like Firefox or Steam. Then the updates are done through WSUS Offline.

[Corrian]

How did it shit itself?

They fucked up the albums feature to the point where a bunch of the albums I have currently don't function, and I have a lot that I want to access. Like a lot. All I use it for is albums for RP reasons.

Even if I semi get the albums to work, they're not in my ALPHABETICAL ORDER I PUT THEM into and they can't even BE chosen to be put into alphabetical order.

[Minoa]

They fucked up the albums feature to the point where a bunch of the albums I have currently don't function, and I have a lot that I want to access. Like a lot. All I use it for is albums for RP reasons.

Even if I semi get the albums to work, they're not in my ALPHABETICAL ORDER I PUT THEM into and they can't even BE chosen to be put into alphabetical order.

Unlike Flickr, which I used to be part of until Yahoo’s big screw-up in 2016.

[Lechites]

They fucked up the albums feature to the point where a bunch of the albums I have currently don't function, and I have a lot that I want to access. Like a lot. All I use it for is albums for RP reasons.

Even if I semi get the albums to work, they're not in my ALPHABETICAL ORDER I PUT THEM into and they can't even BE chosen to be put into alphabetical order.

Hmm, maybe something like Google Photos with shared albums could work for you? Or do you mean RP reasons as in for something like this site that you need to be able to directly link to?

[Corrian]

Oh hey, they fixed one of the issues. Though my order is still fucked up and I can't even change them around myself. The only settings are organizing them by Newest or Oldest...Not alphabetical, or just letting me set them up how I want to set them up (The way it was before)

[Danternoust]

I have independently determined, that it would be best and easiest to have as my OS drive, a hybrid hard drive, and an SSD for games.
Because I would be too bothered by write wear, it would be the best of both worlds, ten second boot, and all the application settings and all the other aspects I can't change because no one cares to make their SSDs last a few years longer.
Would halve the price per GB for storage.

[Tekania]

I have independently determined, that it would be best and easiest to have as my OS drive, a hybrid hard drive, and an SSD for games.
Because I would be too bothered by write wear, it would be the best of both worlds, ten second boot, and all the application settings and all the other aspects I can't change because no one cares to make their SSDs last a few years longer.
Would halve the price per GB for storage.

Write wear is easily handled if (1) you do not keep any virtual memory file on your SSD and (2) pick a SSD that has about twice the capacity you plan on using.

[Lechites]

I have independently determined, that it would be best and easiest to have as my OS drive, a hybrid hard drive, and an SSD for games.
Because I would be too bothered by write wear, it would be the best of both worlds, ten second boot, and all the application settings and all the other aspects I can't change because no one cares to make their SSDs last a few years longer.
Would halve the price per GB for storage.

Write wear is easily handled if (1) you do not keep any virtual memory file on your SSD and (2) pick a SSD that has about twice the capacity you plan on using.

Also just get a high quality brand like Samsung's top-end and they have hidden capacity and the controller will handle this for you. Don't cheap out and you'll be good.

[Tekania]

Write wear is easily handled if (1) you do not keep any virtual memory file on your SSD and (2) pick a SSD that has about twice the capacity you plan on using.

Also just get a high quality brand like Samsung's top-end and they have hidden capacity and the controller will handle this for you. Don't cheap out and you'll be good.

It as well as others has spare space to pull from, but my strategy is basic regardless of type to maximize longevity. Regardless of the spare space it has, the closer you're operating to capacity of the drive the more the drive is going to require over-writes. Added over-provisioning on top of what (or any) the manufacturer did increases the lifetime of the SSD. But yes, I would recommend a reputable brand in general for ANY type of hard drive or SSD drive.

[Minoa]

I also went for the Samsung, but they also do 1 TB in M.2 physical format now, which means a bay to spare for the main documents drive or front-line backup.*

* Not a replacement for cold backups.

[Valentine Z]

So err... dual-booting failed on my new laptop, and I've been trying to use it for my school stuff.

Now I got two laptops - my newer Dell running Windows 10, and my laptop from 2012 (Sony VAIO S Series, 15.5") running Ubuntu. And ironically, Ubuntu is doing some things way faster than a newer laptop with Windows 10 inside.

I also did the "nuke Windows 8 and install" thing a little too quickly, so now my Sony laptop won't charge beyond 80%... because I activated some Battery Care function on W8, and W8 just got nuked.

[Corrian]

Is there actually any point in spending more on "Fancy" ram vs normal ram? My dad's basically said that there's been mixed feelings on that.