welo

Read this first.

Thanks for the warning. I wonder though whether the reported problems still apply, you still find this 'trick' all over the internet, even relating to Windows 7.

However, I found an even better (or beginner friendly) solution..

Enter FileMenu Tools: http://download.cnet.com/FileMenu-Tools/3000-2094_4-10810545.html?tag=mncol

This one allows adding a bunch of more or less useful options to the context menu, one of them is Copy To.. and Move To.. with a rather feature complete and nice folder selection dialog. With history, Favorites, and more.

There is a list of about 20 preconfigured actions available, among them:

Copy Path

Change Time

Delete Locked File

Create New Folder

I'm sure there is many tools similar to this, but this one is nice enough - seems to work on Windows 7 as well.

Tools like TeraCopy go a bit further and do not only add a Copy/Move entry but offer a more versatile (and faster) copy routine and progress dialog as well. Used in on Windows XP, but on Windows 7 I stick with the onboard method which is pretty fast.

welo

It is not THAT common because most desktop PC enclosures have a dedicated drive bay for 3.5" hard drives. I'd say rather go to one of the smaller Thai shops that do the PC assembling themselves than try to find it at more fancy end-user stores such as IT-City.

But if you go to Pantip or alike it can't take too long to find it. And should be cheap as well.

An even more fail-safe photo

One point well worth knowing when dealing with video is the difference between

file (or container) format and video/audio codec

a file/container format is usually identified by the file extension (e.g. .avi, .mp4, .mov) and can contain video streams encoded with various video (and audio) codecs, e.g. divx, H264, MPEG-2 etc for video, mp3, AC3 for audio.

There are exceptions where container and codec are more closely related.

.wmv files usually use versions of the Microsoft codecs, while

.mpeg usually implies the MPEG-2 video codec (the 'official' DVD codec)

Quicktime usually describes the container format (.MOV), whereas H264 is the used video codec. .MP4 is very similar to Quicktime (and also a container format), and can contain video encoded with H264 as well.

GSpot is a handy tool that identifies the codecs used inside a specific video file: http://download.cnet.com/GSpot/3000-2248_4-10381198.html?tag=mncol

HTH

welo

Good advise so far. I would use the USB-to-VGA adapter as last resort, USB is not really fit to handle all the data from a video signal and stresses the CPU AFAIK.

Modern desktop graphics cards often come with two outlets, see here

The white connector is called DVI (digital, more modern), and the blue one is a classic VGA connector.

Your monitors will also come with one of those connectors (or maybe even offer both).

There are adapters to convert between these two connectors

HTH

welo

I guess any shop that assembles desktop PCs should have hard drive mounting brackets, don't expect a nicely packaged end-consumer product though.

The simplest versions look like this:

^ nice one!

SendTo is of only limited use because it will put everything in the top level (aka root) folder of the target drive.

Try to make yourself comfortable with Windows Explorer and copy/paste or drag and drop - you can open two explorer windows (one for the source folder, one for the target folder) to accomplish things faster.

Another solution is to add Copy To Folder... and Move To Folder... entries to the context menu, but this requires editing the registry, see here: http://dotnetwizard.net/tutorials/copy-to-folder-and-move-to-folder/.

Does anybody know of a more beginner-friendly method?

TeraCopy will do the same and much more: http://download.cnet.com/TeraCopy/3000-2248_4-10671835.html?tag=mncol

Remember: don't move system files or applications like this, you will run into problems.

welo

Welo, quick question please... in the download manager it asks me to select connection type [options-optimization manager]... it has defaulted to 10/100 Lan.. whatever that means. there are lots of choices... is this the correct setting for my bluetooth setup via mobile or should i change it?

sorry, I missed your question back then. You should set it to the speed of your Internet Connection, which is EDGE/GPRS so probably below 100 kbps in Thailand. But it's not that important, the program allows you to have different 'traffic' modes to limit the download when you want to do other stuff in parallel, the speed settings are used to 'rate' the 3 traffic modes. For now you always downloaded 'full throttle'

If you want to try to fix your USB problems with an updated driver, you can download this small tool to check which drivers you need. Your laptop might have the Intel ICH7 or ICH8 southbridge. Tell me what the program reports on your PC (see screenshot) and I'll give you a link to the driver.

If the USB mouse problem is not so important for you, that's fine too

welo

And I thought I was one of the privileged few running on older hardware. Speaking of which, I've got 2x20GB ide laying around here somewhere...

I suggest building them into a RAID-0 NAS box... awesome!

SATA / PATA

two different types of connector for hard-disks, PATA (sometimes also called 'IDE') being the older standard. Your laptop model requires a harddrive with the 'old' connector type which is now more rare and therefore more expensive.

external enclosure

long answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_enclosure, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_hard_disk

short answer: something like this; it will allow you to connect your old hard drive to your laptop via usb, and use it for data storage, backup, etc.

JIB

JIB - one of the many online stores in Thailand, check this list

If you actually plan to purchase a hard drive larger than 137 GB, there might be an issue with your model, see this discussion or google '48bit LBA'. Chances are good that everything is fine, but you should probably bring your laptop along when doing the purchase and just check at the shop if your laptop is OK with a bigger drive.

The new harddrive might actually give your system a nice performance boost! If you find some cheap RAM for a memory upgrade you will probably not recognize your laptop afterwards It will still be an old system, but surely a lot faster than now! I guess your system has 512MB RAM now? You can download this tool to check your current memory configuration and if there is a free slot to easily upgrade the memory.

welo

With my old Mazda (rather high usage, benzin 95, not gasohol, not LPG) takes about 1500 THB for this distance (270km), tollway not included. 1000 THB for the Jazz sounds reasonable if gasohol, on LPG maybe even cheaper.

You can park for free on the market area close to the border (look for Kasikorn and SCB). Paid parking also available for 100 THB/day (no hourly rate).

I recommend to read a view posts here on Thaivisa about the Poipet border to make your border experience more smooth and avoid the touts. Even more if you are student and the budget is tight Search for 'Poipet' (search box on the right top)

The new visa-on-arrival office has opened, check out this topic. eVisa is a good option as well (25 USD, credit card, http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/evisa/), last week I received my visa within minutes, before it used to take 4-5 hrs.

There are casino buses leaving Bangkok in the early morning for 300 THB roundtrip I think (search casino bus), one leaving from front of Lumphini Park. That is probably the cheapest means of transport, but less flexible compared to your own car. They go straight to the border. Public buses only go to Aranya Prathet (add 60-80 THB x 2 for the Tuktuk).

Good luck!

welo

Ouch, and I complained about my 140 GB drive just recently

320GB laptop drives start at about 1400 THB, however, this is with SATA 'connector', you might still have a laptop with PATA (aka 'IDE') connector - I see a 160 GB for 1600 THB listed at JIB. Get a cheap external enclosure for your old drive (500 THB), makes the transition more smooth and you can use for backup later!

And of course somebody has to swap it (5 minutes) and 'move' or reinstall your system and data (hours..).

A convenient way to find subtitles is Oscar Subtitle Downloader - it will find subtitles on opensubtitle.org to match your movie version, avoiding timing problems.

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/04/easily-search-for-correct-subtitle-that-sync-with-avi-movie/

Good advise so far.

Just for completeness

> ATI Control Panel 13.91 MB (What the hel_l is that?)

additional configuration options for your video card, usually come with the ATI drivers. My recommendation: keep it

> Compatibility Pack For The 2007 Office System 129 MB (Sounds important but i have Microsoft Office Enterprise installed and that's already 623 MB!)

"Open, edit, and save documents, workbooks, and presentations in the Open XML file formats which were introduced to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint beginning with Office 2007." You probably have Office 2003 installed. My recommendation: keep it

> Java™ 6 Updates 3,4,5 & 20 Total 511 MB (Do i need all that on my computer?)

> J2SE Runtime Enviroment 5.0 Update 10 120 MB (This is another Java application i know but another 120 MB??)

You can remove older updates, just keep the latest version (Java 6 Update 20).

> Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable x86 9.0. 30729.17 10 MB (What the *&%# is that?)

This is a software library required by many programs. My recommendation: keep it

> Synaptics Pointing Device Driver 25 MB (Do really need this?)

The drivers for your Touchpad. They offer additional features, some of it very useful, e.g. 'Disable Touchpad while Typing'. My recommendation: keep it

For all other applications: google the name or search for it on download.com. If you don't use those applications, get rid of them.

welo

^^^

That is my strategy as well.

I had a discussion here once a while back on the same subject. The guy came up with a view good points against partitioning, but didn't convince me completely.

1. Before reinstalling the OS one should backup the data to a different harddrive anyway
   
2. Defragging tools will take care of organizing the data on the disk to improve performance anyway
   
3. A second harddisk is better than partitioning anyway (in terms of safety and performance), costs are low nowadays anyway
   

And while the statements are basically true, here my list of counter arguments

1. (A) The D partition can retain data that is not worthy to backup e.g. mp3s, movies, etc ( and in most cases a reinstall just works, no need for a lengthy process of moving data back
   
2. Using two partitions to separate system and data is more effective and doesn't require an extra step (running defrag, rearranging data)
   
3. (A) not possible with laptops ( for low-budget systems the costs might be an issue as well © an external harddrive might be preferable to a 2nd internal © even if a second harddrive is used one probably doesn't want to waste the unused space on the first drive, maybe use it as data storage for less sensitive data
   

I couldn't file my counter arguments back then because the poster 'opted-out' of the discussion being worthless

welo

For what it's worth, the main reason why this is "not a problem" is because libraries are often licensed under the LGPL (Lesser GPL, previously known as the Library GPL). Basically, provided the closed source application is linking against libraries licensed with the LGPL (or other licenses which permit equivalent terms), the library's license does not "infect" the new software.

You're quite right that if it were not for this alternative licensing arrangement, closed source software would be just about impossible to develop or distribute for a platform employing the GPL (given that such fundamental elements such as the standard C library or equivalent are near-as-dammit mandatory for most software).

Thanks for the clarification!

I know about the LGPL and GPL with linking expcetion. I also read about the standard C library being LGPL. Having never developed desktop software for Linux, I wonder whether you run into situations where functionality that should be provided by the platform cannot be used because of programs/libraries being under GPL. And while I understand that as a closed-source developer you cannot expect to take advantage of other people's (free) work, a platform has to provide certain 'infrastructure' to prevent having a developer re-invent the wheel every time. With the Linux community being so eager to spread and encourage Free Software, and the common negative attitude towards commercial/closed-source applications, I see a certain risk.

I honestly don't know, and this is a question not a statement (admittingly from a critical standpoint), and I'm not trying to find something 'wrong'.

Interestingly, the usual suspects continue to strive to make all software free (as in freedom). My personal view is that this ideology is flawed for much the same reasons as its economic predecessor, and that if it were not for the good grace of multiple private and public institutions subsidising the effort, it would have less of a purchase than it does today. That's not to say that it does not have a place - it clearly does, however by the same token, I strongly believe other licensing models should and will persist.

That is probably my point of view as well. Martin's view and what I read during my research actually challenged me to think about a software market without commercial software products (or a lot less), and what this would mean

• for me as a software developer
  
• for the software market as a whole
  
• in terms of innovation and progress
  
• in terms of software quality for the end user
  
• etc
  

I've read an article a couple of days ago (can't find it anymore, used a different PC), where the author basically described the future employment, production and somewhat 'life' style of software developers to those of artists (a reference to artists was found on this thread as well). He basically suggested that only a view software developers will actually be paid to write code. A small number of ingenious software artists will make a living out of it, others will have a daytime job (not as coders) and write code in their free-time, out of pleasure.

I don't think that this is ever going to happen, but the discussion about software development as art is not an uncommon one. And while I always point out that software development can be a very creative process (one reason why I like it), it is more often a very technical and labor-intensive job. I don't think you can compare it to other arts like painting, where you have a creative aspect and a technical aspect (like handling the material, painting techniques, etc). Human resources required to produce a quality piece of software are enormous. Just because there are success stories of small pieces of software written by one or two ingenious coders with a brilliant idea doesn't mean the whole industry is like that.

Let's maybe look at the gaming industry again. There are technical rather simple yet ingenious games (Pacman style, nowadays coded in a view days), but who could come up with a full-blown real-time strategy or 3D shooter game with a team of just 2-3 people?

Of course this is one rather extreme view, and there are many other more realistic scenarios and business models. If I remember correctly Martin's point was that most software development will be done on a project bases and not as a 'product'. I hope I am not misinterpreting him here.

I find this discussion of 'business models' of course of great interest, because I'd like to do software coding as profession, not unpaid and (only) out of pleasure For the end user this is only of interest as far as the result, the availability, choice and quality of software is concerned.

My experience as a server-side Java developer taught me that a market with both open- as well as closed-source solutions might be the best future for all of us (users, developers, business men etc)

welo

Thanks for your comments, Pat and Thaimite.

For my part I am now very happy with Linux, although I will admit it is infuriating when I find something important I cannot do (edit Visio files or use Autocad) and I have to revert back to Windows for that one operation.

One might argue that the problem here are proprietary file formats, and rightly so to some extent. But the real problem is that the user should have the choice between closed and open source software on Linux. Inferior closed-source software will not hold a chance anyway. And by allowing and encouraging closed-source on Linux you will actually help desktop Linux succeed.

Of course there are downsides to it, and there are factions within the Linux community who actually don't care about the mainstream market at all, and rather want to uphold the principles of the Free Software movement. And principles are of course important, but this is the real world and life taught me that compromises have to be made, nothing is black or white.

So I do understand the idealists within the Free Software movement (and I guess I would consider Martin one of them ), but at the same time I love to challenge them with a 'reality check'. I am still confident that Martin will forgive me my nagging and provoking one day, at the same time I promise that I will not let him off the hook easily

However Welo, I do find your statement about not being in a position to try Linux again a bit of a cop out. Large hard drives for laptops are now very cheap and using something llke Acronis it only takes a few minutes to clone the old drive, and even if for some reason you do not want to go down that route you can install Linux on a portable USB hard disk, or even a Thumb drive with full functionality very easily

Well, that's obviously.... right. JIB lists a 320 GB drive with 1430 THB!!! TBH time is not the constraining factor, money is But prices are definitely lower than I thought.

I have enough experience with Linux as a server OS and from my peeks at Desktop Linux that I know what awaits me. So it is either a complete switch (at least for a view weeks) or nothing at all. Booting from USB is not an option for the very same reason, and its slow.

But it's not a 'cop out' for sure, on a Desktop PC I would have given it another shot long time ago.

welo

The feature was introduced with Windows Vista, so it's not new.

Most users don't like it, because they find it annoying, which it probably is. The problem is that as a user you HAVE TO deal with security, and you HAVE TO have some awareness of what is going on on your PC security-wise. There are similar techniques (albeit technically different more effective) in place on other operating systems (OSX, Linux, etc) - on those systems your user account basically NEVER has full administrator (root) privileges by default.

My take on that matter is the following:

I don't recommend disabling that feature, on the contrary, set it to the highest security level (otherwise it is basically useless because malware can easily find ways around it)

Deal with the prompts, they are annoying, but that's the way it is, and honestly, it is not THAT bad - just remember that one of the major security flaws of Windows (especially XP) was/is that the standard user usually works with full administrator privileges. So while Windows XP was of course so much more convenient, it was also so much more flawed security wise.

Only older software that has not been adapted to work with UAC will give you troubles and require to be 'run as administrator'. Current installer packages will allow Windows to handle elevation prompts correctly.

Many applications still go the easy way and require elevation upon program start. This is considered bad practice for security reasons. For instance file operations executed by this program (either programmatically or by user interaction) might 'harm' the system because they have full access to the whole system including important system files. And any vulnerability in the program might be used by an attacker (e.g. malware) to attack and infect the system.

The better way is to ask for elevation only when the program actually executes the action that requires elevation. The better a software / application distinguishes between 'normal' actions and 'administrator' actions (that require elevation), the better. Have a look at the Task Manager (CTRL-SHIFT-ESC) - it will not prompt for elevation upon start, but if you hit the 'show all processes' button, it will do.

Most applications should run without elevation, and if you are using a mundane application that requires elevation for no good reason, you might actually try to avoid it.

So I guess Microsoft's plan is to educate users as well as software developers in regards to account privileges and security. My personal opinion is that Microsoft will further tighten and strengthen Windows security in future versions of Windows, and this is just an intermediate step.

welo

I have a follow on question about where phone numbers are stored. I want my numbers to go to the phone and to the card, so that in case one fails, I will still have the number in the other. Do you know how to do that on a Nokia?

I'm not a phone junkie, so others might be more knowledgeable about this. I will give it a try nevertheless.

I have my wife's Nokia N73 at hand now, this is a rather old phone though, it works like this

On the phone, go to contacts, find the entry you want to copy, 'open' it so you see its details. Then goto 'Options' and choose 'Copy to SIM direct.'.

This is to copy individual entries to the SIM card. I remember that on some phones you can make the SIM card the default storage for phone numbers. Didn't find that option on the N73.

I guess because the numbers of possible entries on the SIM card are limited, some phones don't offer that option anymore. Most phones nowadays can store much more information per contact than just name and number (detailed name, pic, email, ring tone, etc). AFAIK this information cannot be transferred to the SIM card.

You might consider to use the Nokia Suite Contact Manager to backup your entire contacts and/or transfer to a different phone.

welo

Firefox has a built-in spell checker, that allows adding additional languages and switching between them easily (via context menu).

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20spell%20checker

If you can't swap the Belkin for a different model, remember that you can create a setup where you use the Billion as modem and the Belkin as router. You will need to switch the Billion to 'brige mode' (wording might differ), that is disabling the router part to avoid double NAT. You might have to google how to do this on the Billion (which is a rebranded Zyxel, is it?) Otherwise the setup is pretty straight forward.

Only real downside is that you have 2 devices drawing power.

welo

What is the point of discussing this anyway, we are off topic I get tired and we waste time.

You will never have the same opinion as I do anyway.

We are both much happier trying to help other people instead of messing around this subject....

Well, what is the point of ANY discussion then?

Is the goal of a discussion only to convince the other of your own opinion? I guess that attitude is the reason why many discussions ultimately fail.

Another goal could be to get a better understanding of the discussed topic, to clarify misassumptions, misunderstandings, and adopt my own opinion where it turns out to be wrong.

I personally learned quite a bit during our discussion, surely a lot from your statements, but also from my own research that was encouraged by our discussion. My understanding of the subject is much better now than before, and whereas I still don't agree with everything you said (and probably what you will say in the future), I surely adopted my opinion in quite a view points.

What about you? If you continue to present yourself as an advocate of Free Software I find it hard to understand why you consider this discussion wasted time. If it helps, please consider that you convinced a Windows user to think more positively about Free Software and increased my urge to give Linux as a desktop OS another try (even though I can't at the moment due to hardware restrictions). I even keep reflecting about business models around Free Software, and how Free Software might affect my role as software developer (positively) in the future, and TBH this is of course still a major concern of mine.

I apologize for bringing up non-fact aspects into the discussion in my previous post - the reason why I did this is because said attitude is one (other) major reason why I still eye the Linux community suspiciously. The longing for tolerance and openness is one of my major character traits. The Linux community's embrace of the words 'freedom' and 'openness', however, does in my opinion not reflect the intolerant attitude of some of its members

However, I do understand that these in-depth discussions take up a lot of time, it definitely did on my side. So I can accept that there has to be an end to it at one point... for now

over and out!

welo

I still don't know what actions you have taken so far.

If you feel uncomfortable with the steps I have outlined, then you better find somebody who can assist you in person. Your problem is not trivial, so it makes sense to bring it to a technician.

Whatever you do, make a backup of your data! You can probably ask the IT shop to do it for you, but make sure they backup all the files if you have spread them in different directories. Some IT shops will probably not bother with troubleshooting and just re-install Windows.

If you don't have anybody at hand, or you want to keep trying on your own, the only other possibility I see is to walk you through some of the steps to further track down the problem.

For instance stating Windows in Safe Mode is not too complicated. You restart your PC, the screen goes blank, and just before the Windows Start Logo appears you push F8 (you can basically press F8 repeatedly around that time). A text menu appears and you choose 'Safe Mode' with the arrow keys, then press ENTER.

Here is a more detailed description: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial61.html#winxo

The Windows start process will look a bit different and take longer, a popup will ask you if you really want to run Safe Mode, answer yes.

Then run some tests with Skype or Media Player and your Touchpad to see if the problem persists. Report your findings.

You are running Windows XP, right?

welo

Are you sure you don't have to select the title to start the playback - like pushing the 1 button or ENTER. Sorry if this sounds ridiculous, but I've seen a problem like this before. Check the contents of the DVD in the File Explorer, namely the size of the VOB files. Depending on your movie length there should be at least one VOB file of considerable size (several hundred megabytes or more)

You could also try DVD Styler (freeware) or Ulead DVD MovieFactory (free 30 day trial without limitations or watermark).

One more advise: have the DVD Authoring software create an ISO file that you can mount with any virtual CD software - this way you can experiment before wasting a DVD.

Indeed, I have been using the eVisa service myself many times and can recommend it!

http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/evisa/

You need an internet connection, a digital photo of yours, a credit card and a printer and there you go to http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/evisa/. Have done it many times now (and so have others on this forum), the billing process is done by a company in Singapore. This time the visa has been issued within minutes, before it used to take maybe 4-5 hours. Best to apply 2-3 days before embarking on your visa run just to make sure. Costs are 20 USD plus 5 USD fee - you take a printout of the evisa and go straight to the Cambodian immigration, no need to deal with the visa-on-arrival guys. This will avoid the full page sticker for the Cambodian visa, basically you'll just show the eVisa printout (like an eTicket) and get only the exit and entry stamps (2x Thai, 2x Cambodia).

Disclaimer: some people are not comfortable obtaining the eVisa since it requires a credit card. I use it all the time and didn't have any fraudulent withdrawals (so far )

Check the topic about the read stamps in Vientiane. It seems that getting a fresh passport solves the problem.

However, I've obtained information that this might have changed recently and embassies are encouraged to check a person's immigration record on the computer, not only the passport. The source is said to be 'an immigration officer working in Bangkok', and was passed to me by a Thai friend (not involved in visa business), still, the information was way to undetailed to be considered reliable.

Didn't here anything yet from the admins and more knowledgeable people in this forum.