Veazer

One small problem with SP3... About 1 in 10 times after resuming from standby I must right-click and 'repair' the Wifi connection in order to restart the connection. Prior to SP3 it would always re-connect by itself. Anyone else have this problem?

My gf added my phone number to the guest list at a Smirnoff party ages ago and ever since I get sms ad messages advertising the latest parties in Chiang Mai. I don't want to receive them, they're just an annoying distraction. They have no number attached, so I can't even block them. My phone doesn't even display thai, so it's random characters or blank.

Any ideas?

What's the point of Microsoft still forcing XP users to activate anyway? All it does is check if the key could be legitimate and because of that it's rather easy to generate keys that activate properly. At this point all it does is annoy legitmate users.

As I understand it, it's only WGA that actually checks to see if the key has been assigned by MS...

That's if you actovate the first time. But with reactivation it's different.

You need to subbmit the Computer ID (a long number sentences, 6 number parts) and you'll get back a new ID which activate the computer again. If you already activated the same KEY several times, you need to talk to the Staff and explain them what's happen and they'll give you a new ID!

What they really doing is to compare your Computer ID with the existing Database to compare the used CD-Key and they will even ask you for a name which should macht the name from an activation before.

No big deal and I've never problems with even multi activated systems! And I never was used more than 5 min and yesterday I was counting 3 min. 20 sec. and that's ok for me. Even the call is free of charge if use the Toll Free Number!

Cheers.

My main point was that XP's product activation is ineffective as copy protection and only really gets in the way of legit users. Your explanation, and my experience with re-activation, just re-inforces what I said. Because I'm using a legit copy I need to phone home to MS and justify/explain why I'm re-installing my own OS. I've switched PCs many times and also went through a set of bad motherboards that required many installs. Now I need to activate by phone instead of internet and play the number game with phone support.

Someone who wasn't concerned with having a legit copy would simply change the WinXP product key, or use a patch to activate Windows instead, and go about their business. The whole activation process just doesn't do much of anything to prevent piracy at this point. Sure it's just a few minutes out of our day to call in our activation, but if it's not effective for its original purpose then it seems rather pointless.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii206/v...ger/baffled.jpg

This tiny window suddenly started appearing when I right click on any file on my desktop.

Has anyone here seen anything like this before?

I refuse to click on OK fearing it might install something on my computer so I just close it using the X on the upper right corner. For all I know, that close button could well be an extension of the OK button.

After closing the window, the right click menu appears as usual.

Could this be a sign of an infection?

A quick restart removes the problem but i keeps on coming back after a few minutes...

Any ideas?

My advice is to use ShellExView to disable suspicious shell extensions until you find which one is the culprit.

OTOH, if the problems goes away briefly after a reboot it might be something more...

Thanks Veazer. I found one called MP3Gain that does what I need. You are right, normalization is not the right word, it has something to do with file analysis --sounded kind of complicated but it does what I want. Make the volume of various unrelated MP3 files close to the same. If MP3Gain doesn't perform as promised I will be sure to give yours a shot!

MP3Gain will not help you, it just analyzes the MP3 and adds the replaygain metadata to the tags. Your burning program would need to use the replay gain data for this to be effective.

Burrrn can analyze the tracks and burn them all in one application.

EDIT: Ooops! I stand corrected. I thought MP3Gain was another app to add replaygain tags. It looks like MP3Gain actually modifies the mp3 data, so it would do what you want. Still, I'd rather use an app that doesn't mess with the actual audio data.

What's the point of Microsoft still forcing XP users to activate anyway? All it does is check if the key could be legitimate and because of that it's rather easy to generate keys that activate properly. At this point all it does is annoy legitmate users.

As I understand it, it's only WGA that actually checks to see if the key has been assigned by MS...

Burrrn with ReplayGain enabled can do this. ReplayGain is better than normalization anyway, imho.

It's a very simple app but it does the job well.

One thing from my experience that will cause you a lot of headaches is word wrapping in Firefox as Thai doesnt have spaces. Firefox will expand table cells to fit the content even when you specify fixed width cells - destroying your typical 2 or 3 column site layout.. If you use css for your layout it's a bit easier but still some headaches.

I think this is why a lot of Thai sites - even major ones - only look correct in IE.

What do you think about putting a link to this Firefox plugin here on Thai websites? Asking Firefox users to download an extension is not a perfect solution, but it helps the browser work better with most Thai sites.

I'm in a similar situation. I'm about to do a Drupal based site entirely in Burmese script and I can't read any Burmese either.

My plans are to do as much as possible in english and then swap the language files towards the end. I'm hoping the owner will let me keep the admin side in english, but i need to confirm this.

I've noticed that some translations for various CMS apps are incomplete, so you might want to download Thai language files for other blog-based CMS systems similar to Wordpress and see if they fill in the gaps. Then again, if you've got a translator you might not need it.

You're going to do all the CSS and commenting in thai for future thai web masters, right? Joking....

Anyway, if I find any handy shortcuts I'll pass them your way. Regarding the beer, I'm in Chiang Mai as well but I haven't even earned a sip of Chang yet.

Good luck to you.

Regards,

Veazer

Any idea if this is safe for streamline installation CDs? I remember that SP2 required SP2 Beta to be uninstalled first, and this meant all WinXP SP2beta streamlined installations could never be updated.

I know using a beta service pack on an install CD is not the greatest idea, but there was an assumption by some that final release of SP2 would simply overwrite the beta files. It didn't.

Default feature??? I can't imagine that was a popular request... I wonder if it simply 're-enforces' the options chosen during install (ie Desktop icon, startup menu entries, etc.) Quite the intuitive file name choice on the part of Cyberlink, btw.

Anyway, glad you were able to get the issue solved.

I vaguely remember something about this with powerdvd. I think it is caused by languages.exe or language.exe. Try renaming that file and see if the problem still exists.

You could always give the offending startup folder hidden & system attributes to remove the clutter, but if you're at all like me you have a strange need to know what is causing the problem.

His site sdeems pretty well informed vis a vis quality: http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

Very good site fisherd3, thanks for that. It would be interesting to go through the stacks at a local shop and do some testing.

Not my problem and from my site the "private" arena is ok! But how to do if the other party just startup something but NOT finishing? And again: I don't like lie's and I would go against them at all times!

Reimar-

I don't like lies either, but I think you might be misunderstanding how things happended. Let me see if I can clear things up a bit:

1. Firefoxx privately contacted you regarding your posts.
   
2. You didn't agree with eachother and he chose to ignore you
   
3. You then inappropriately made the situation public in this post HERE.
   
4. Thinking that Firefoxx had seen what you wrote, I told him how I felt about that.
   
5. Firefoxx then knew that you were using his name and discussing his private messages and added his comment here.
   

Thus, when he made the comment "I don't know where he "published" my name, and since I have him on "ignore", I'll probably never know." he was speaking the truth.

No lying, no deceit. And no need to start spreading accusations about other TV members

EDIT: Rice-King already covered point #1 while i was writing...

1) How was the poll against you? Rice King did not phrase the questions against you in any way. Whether or not it is against you depends on the results, and no one voted against you before the poll was closed.

2) It isn't an "anonymous" poll, it's an anonymous poll.

3) You shouldn't declare that Firefoxx is a liar because he can reply to your posts. If he's ignored you, then he will just see:

You have chosen to ignore all posts from: Reimar.

· View this post

· Un-ignore Reimar

It just means that he doesn't see what you wrote unless he chooses to do so.

Why don't we just take Opalhart's suggestion and split the forum into 2 sections: IT News & Help/Support

Bought one 3 weeks ago Pantip BKK, pearl white, 4G, cam, 512MB, including VAT = 12700Baht. Upgraded to full desktop.

Only one word: fantastic!

I thought it might be an interesting device to use as a media center PC. Have you tried any movies on it, especially if connected to an external monitor? Speed issues, etc. All my movies are on an external USB drive and connected to a full size PC which I would prefer to free up for other uses. Also, would be easy to disconnect it and carry it with me when I need a travel computer.

Some of the multimedia enclosures like this would be good for that too.

You might give DeskSpace a try. I bought TopDesk from this company and i've been pretty happy with it.

EDIT: oops, forgot a link.

Hi IT Folks,

Looking for shareware or free software for small hotel. I’m asking this on behalf of a Thai friend who is going to computerize his small hotel operation, the software that he require is being able to work on reservation, check in/out, guest input and accounting etc ,etc. If there isn’t any shareware or freeware, which software would you kind folk recommend?

Your recommendation are much appreciated.

I would checkout sourceforge (sf.net), they've got a few apps there. Everything is open source, so it could be converted to Thai if your friend is ambitious....

http://sourceforge.net/projects/solunas/

http://sourceforge.net/projects/cultbooking/

http://sourceforge.net/projects/hotelmis/

http://sourceforge.net/projects/otshotel/

...so if I have my user name and password and find someone who knows about computers there shouldn't be any problem, right? I did get an email from dotmaniac.com saying renewal was due but I tried on there and had no joy, anyone heared of this company or 2dollarsaday.com?

Was it possibly these guys? http://www.only2dollars.com

The DNS servers for your site are the same as the dns servers used by the above company.

Your WHOIS info

Only2Dollars setup info

So long as you don't mind deviating from the 'mac look', any decent usb mouse & keyboard should work in terms of compatibility. Just check the package for Mac info. OTOH, If I were a mac user i wouldn't want a windows keyboard layout (Windows key, no Mac command key, etc.)

I recently upgraded to a laser mouse from an old MS optical mouse. It's really nice to finally have a mouse that tracks really well on any surface, i couldn't use the optical mouse on my desktop.

the thing is I want to be able to send emails from the email address from my new domain name not from the hotmail or gmail address. Its a business site so i want it to look professional.

any ideas?

If you used gmail, depending on the email client they would either see:

FROM: '[email protected]' on behalf of '[email protected]' (outlook would show this)

or

FROM: '[email protected]'

Obviously the latter is more desirable, but you can't control it. Gmail is simply playing by the rules and making it known that the mail came from their servers and not the address of the sender.

The best solution imho would be changing to a host that actually has an smtp server. I can recommend some good hosts at affordable prices if you're interested. If you'd rather stick with the current provider, i can help you with the gmail configuration as well.

@Tywais & Reimar-

Don't you find ClamWin to be painfully slow? I use it only in situations when absolutely necessary, like portable applications.

If your server if just a home server and not used in the workplace, you can often just use Orca to modify the .msi installer file for the AV app and remove the 'must be workstation' restriction. I wouldn't agree with doing this on a business/production server, but asking a user to pay server anti virus prices for use on a home server is a bit much. I wonder if the software pricing schemes will be modified to accommodate Windows Home Server.

Before you tell me I have a dodgy copy of Windows, let me explain when I brought my computer the Thai IT engineer from Tescos installed a version of Windows that has done my brain in! When I check what version it is, it says Windows XP pro service pack 2, but when I start up it says my version of windows is not genuinne, but says its Windows Vista, i've tried many WGA removers to no avail, so i'm thinking it has something to do with being confused what operating system i'm using! I would get the engineer back but I'm afraid he'll install more illeagal <deleted> on my computer! Can someone help me please, I really dont want to reinstall Windows! Has anyone got any ideas for me??? Please bare in mind this was installed without me knowing and I trusted the engineer as he was from Tescos were I brought the PC!

If they're is anything that can be done please PM with details.

Many Thanks

Chris

Based on the brief description, it sounds like WinXP with login and bootup screens replaced to look like Vista.

Did you buy a PC that included windows XP as part of the price? If so, you deserve a fresh install that is fully validated and recognized as a legitimate installation as well as the official product key stickers. If not....

If you're using a laptop and use the internet in various locations this will be problematic for you. You would need to know the smtp server and login info for every cafe you use.

If this is the case, you might consider routing your mail through another provider that does provide an smtp server, such as gmail. If you need this, let me know and i can help out if you like.

IIRC, there have been some posts in this forum concerning the reliability of smtp servers from local ISPs.

Thanks for the review Drake.

Just curious, what version of Win2K3 was used and what service pack? Also, was Win2K3 'optimized' for use as a workstation at all? (Hardware accelleration for video, CPU priority for programs, etc.)