Entries for ManipUni

Plug in Car Speaker? [Plug in Car Speaker?]

ManipUni — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:57:43 GMT

So I have a car which sits in a technology black hole lacking both a cassett player and an AUX jack. The car sterio is also non-standard (small) and thus you cannot simply buy a generic replacement with an audio jack. Currently I am using one of those radio transmitter but as anyone who has ever used one will attest - it is terrible. It rarely works and when it does the sound quality is worse than a cassett tape.

So my question is -- Has anyone ever seen for sale a speaker that supports being plugged into the "cigarette lighter" (12v?) and obviously has supports a standard audio jack?

in reply to Plug in Car Speaker?

Good .Net 2.0 tutorial for SQL Compact (C#) [Good .Net 2.0 tutorial for SQL Compact (C#)]

ManipUni — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:28:08 GMT

Hey,

Has anyone got a link to a fairly good Microsoft SQL Compact - ASP.net / 2.0 tutorial (hint: cannot use Linq or other new 3-3.5 tech). It doesn't need to be a ground breaking tutorial, just need to get a lot of the back-end pipes hooked up rather than SQL/call logic.

PS - I did google it but found there is at least half a dozen ways to hook into SQL Compact and a lot of information either .Net 1.0 or 3.5, little around the 2.0 mark.

in reply to Good .Net 2.0 tutorial for SQL Compact (C#)

Directory.GetFiles(string) is lame... [Directory.GetFiles(string) is lame... ]

ManipUni — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:52:25 GMT

This what what happens when you call: Directory.GetFiles(path)
Directory.GetFiles(path, "*")
Directory.GetFiles(path, "*", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly)
InternalGetFileDirectoryNames(path, path, "*", true, false, SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly);

Which within its own right isn't horrible. But then InternalGetFileDirectoryNames() spends 50% of its processing time doing this: Path.CheckSearchPattern("*");

So I didn't request a search pattern and yet I'm spending 51% of the call checking one for validity. That is a poor design if you ask me. All they needed to do was add this:

if(searchPattern.Length != 1 || searchPattern[0] != '*')
Path.CheckSearchPattern(searchPattern);

in reply to Directory.GetFiles(string) is lame...

Why does unencrypted WiFi even exist? [Why does unencrypted WiFi even exist? ]

ManipUni — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:18:50 GMT

I understand that sometimes you have no way of agreeing either the encryption standard or key with the other party but why for all that is good and holy did they decide that the best solution to that was just to drop encryption entirely?

Here are two more secure suggestions without breaking the concept of "public wifi" (or "open wifi"):
- A default key and protocol that rotates constantly. So unless someone has been watching every second of contact they cannot break in later.
- When you sign on to the network you get a unique public key. If you ever return to the network in the future you can then re-use that same public key in order to turn an insecure wireless hotspot into a secure one.

Both of these depend on nobody listening when you first connect but frankly in the real world that adds a massive amount more security than the existing "no security" solution.

You might suggest very small speed and cost drawbacks but yet for the huge benefit would be well worth it.

Currently the only working security measure you can take is VPN (which requires an end-point that you trust, and 3rd party software) or using HTTPS and hoping that they're an idiot.

in reply to Why does unencrypted WiFi even exist?

Windows 7 - Multi-Monitor Management, even harder... [Windows 7 - Multi-Monitor Management, even harder...]

ManipUni — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:25:53 GMT

In Vista multi-monitor management was horrible. You had to right click->move then use the arrow keys to get it started. You also had to fiddle around making sure the window was in the right state to be moved (i.e. "normal," not maximized nor minimized). Not to mention bad programs like Skype and iTunes that just don't like to be moved.

Windows 7 has actually made it worse. Now if you have more than one window open you have to click up into the subgroup and then right click on the window (and if you "miss" it will close). If you only have one window open then you have to use the secret shirt+right click (which a lot of people won't know exists).

So here are my questions:

- Why does subgroup->Right Click on a window and right click have inconsistent behaviour?

- When will we get a button to bring a window front and centre?

- When will you "fix" the move button so you don't have to use the arrow keys?

- When will you "fix" the move button so you can drag a maximized window from one monitor to another?

- I know Microsoft gives most of its staff multiple monitors... Has nobody at the company ever switched one off or unplugged one?

in reply to Windows 7 - Multi-Monitor Management, even harder...

Mac Mini Server (KICK BUTT!) [Mac Mini Server (KICK BUTT!) ]

ManipUni — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:03:43 GMT

I know nobody reading this has ever used Mac OS X Server, maybe never even heard that the product exists. So you will have to take my word when I tell you - it is good, very good. It has this wonderful niche... It is one of the most straight forward server products I've ever used but yet has more power than Windows Standard Server (without Exchange and a host of other expensive addons).

I know "What about Linux?" This thing is SO easy to use that it doesn't compete with anyone else currently on the market. Linux is one of the most unfriendly servers on the market (worse than stuff from 10+ years ago) and Windows is designed for large businesses (and in fairness performs well in that setting).

I am extremely excited about this new cheap OS X server with Mac Mini bundle. It is a match made in heaven and I honestly believe it will take the hone and small business server market by storm (when people learn more about OS X Server).

I'm buying one next year.

http://www.apple.com/macmini/server/

http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/

PS - No, this will not see any play in the enterprise enviroment. That is an entirely fair criticism. Think smaller, Home and Small Business regardless of if they're running Linux, Windows, or OS X workstations, it is awesome.

in reply to Mac Mini Server (KICK BUTT!)

Dates/Times are circular... [Dates/Times are circular... ]

ManipUni — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:35:10 GMT

What is wrong with people? I keep running across people who entirely fail to fathom the fact that dates and times are a circular thing so for example January is both before AND after December, and 1300 is both before and after 1700.

I've just decided that people just shouldn't be allowed to write Time/Date code *at all.* It is, in fairness, very complex with a whole host of exceptions and small screwups can have big consequences.

JavaScript errors are anecdotally the MOST common. I'm guessing largely because JavaScript has no native DateTime object with comparisons, addition, and subtraction handled for you... So everyone attempts to write one themselves or worse to write just enough so it appears to work until the year rolls around or a leap day/hour happens.

Just today I was unable to buy a return train ticket because the outgoing date was in 2009 and the return date was in 2010 with no means for selecting a year and coding errors (both in JavaScript and the back-end software) that cannot understand that January can follow December.

in reply to Dates/Times are circular...

Building an Alarm Clock, Hardware? [Building an Alarm Clock, Hardware? ]

ManipUni — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:27:30 GMT

I want to build an alarm clock. My current one is breaking and I need a new hobbie.

Does anyone know some suitable, hackable, hardware? I would like at least four buttons (six would be ideal), an LCD screen with backlight, and a speaker or buzzer I can control.

in reply to Building an Alarm Clock, Hardware?

XML Convert... [XML Convert...]

ManipUni — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:11:03 GMT

When XML first hit the shelves I was skeptical (me, skeptical, I know... Shocking?) but I must admit I've really been sold on the concept and it really works extremely well day to day. When I first looked at XML my thought was simply that you could accomplish the same thing using an *.ini format with simple '\n' and '=' delimiters. But since then and with me and parsers having something between small and large fallouts I have learned to love it.

I just love that someone else can send me XML and I will guess most of what they're trying to do including relationships. *.ini just cannot do relationships. If you have one layer of XML below a single root node then the merits are debatable but as soon as you add additional tiers and children it gets powerful, and you more often than not wind up doing that.

Now the thing I hate most is what I like to call "XML abuse." I think my biggest pet peeve is "ordered XML." Why in the heck would the order of nodes within the same scope matter? Isn't that just anti-XML? Couldn't you accomplish the same with child nodes?

XSL is "ok." But the template system still confuses the heck out of me. I understand what they are trying to do with it but frankly if they re-designed it so X-Paths had to be explicity defined (I know, an XML sin) I might be happier. Plus as a programmer I miss the power of a real language. The variable system is "ok."

I really want to do stuff like - foreach(node) select(number * multiplier) instead of having to create variables that contain the multiplication already. Just messy. Plus finding errors and creating these things is hell even in Visual Studio which helps a lot.

XML Schemas (XSD) are the WORST THING IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. I'm sorry but not fit for purpose doesn't even begin to discribe how terrible these things are. The damn language doesn't even understand XML for a start... Memo to creators: Redudant nodes in XML does not break stuff. Ordered XML is moronic. And most people want to do a positive match not a negative matching -
e.g.
This - "Does this XML support all the nodes *I* support?"
NOT this -"Does this XML *only* support what I support and nothing more, in exactly the same node order for no obvious reason?"

Just terrible. Worst still if you think that this is their second attempt at creating a Schema language.

in reply to XML Convert...

New Generation Interface? [New Generation Interface?]

ManipUni — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:52:59 GMT

I found this video interesting. It needs some refinement from what they propose but in general I think they really might have something here. I would be very interested to try their computer and really think it might be "better" than the traditional mouse/keyboard design we use today (particularly if they modified their design so it wasn't flat like a keyboard but instead angled like a natural keyboard, wrists actually take a LOT of damage using a flat keyboard).

http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/10/13/10_gui/

Their window manager would slow me down a LOT. But as I said it has a lot of great elements and making it as fast as traditional window managers would only be a little tweaking here and there.

in reply to New Generation Interface?

CTRL-C, CTRL-V never work... [CTRL-C, CTRL-V never work...]

ManipUni — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:17:58 GMT

Has anyone else found a big problem with these hotkeys in Windows? They often seem to get ignored to the point that you have to tap them at least three times just to have a chance of them working.

This isn't on one keyboard or one computer either. I have found the same thing on wired and wireless keyboards.

in reply to CTRL-C, CTRL-V never work...

Windows Update needs some work... [Windows Update needs some work...]

ManipUni — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:31:11 GMT

Why does Windows Update still download tons of patches before a service pack that fixes the previously downloaded updates? It is annoying as heck to download sometimes dozens of patches to find they they're listed as being superseded by SP2.

in reply to Windows Update needs some work...

Visual Studio - Replace Box [Visual Studio - Replace Box]

ManipUni — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:18:58 GMT

Anyone else want a "smart" replace box?

Namely, it lacks:

- The ability to resolve \n \t \r etc
- Inability to match wildcards with the search box

- Inability to understand RegEx at all

Come on Microsoft, step up... At absolute least you should resolve escape characters...

PS - Although in fairness to the VS team, Visual Studio is a better "Windows Search" than anything the Windows Search team has released since Windows 98 SE.

in reply to Visual Studio - Replace Box

D Link DIR 655 Scheduler Fix [D Link DIR 655 Scheduler Fix]

ManipUni — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:53:39 GMT

D-Link's DIR 655 has a bug in the fireware and since it is impossible to contact anyone at the company (and their "contact us" system claims i don't own my own router) I am going to post the fix here in the hopes that people googling this issue come across it.

The router allows you to disable and enable functions (e.g. Wifi) based on a set time schedule. But due to a really lame Java Script bug it is impossible to submit otherwise valid times to the router. For example, I want my WiFi on all day but off between the hours of 1 and 6 in the morning. So I set the WiFi "Start Time" to 6 (AM) and "End Time" to 1 (AM).

Unfortunately because nobody at D-Link knew that time is circular they assume that if the End Time < Start Time it was invalid, WRONG. Luckily they decided to do all their validation in Java Script so we can bypass their ineptitude.

The fix is very simple... Go to the scheduler page (e.g. http://192.168.0.1/Tools/Schedules.shtml) and enter the times that you want. Hit submit. If you see the "Invalid Time" alert, then enter this into the browser's URL bar (all one line).

javascript: function edit_form_submit(idx){ var schedule_name = mf.sched_name.value; if (schedule_name.toUpperCase() == "ALWAYS" || schedule_name.toUpperCase() == "NEVER") { alert("The schedule name can not be 'Always' or 'Never'."); mf.sched_name.select(); mf.sched_name.focus(); return; } if (!is_sched_valid()) { alert("The schedule is not valid."); return; } if (!mf.all_day.checked) { mf.start_time.value = sched_time_to_sec(mf.start_time_hour.value, mf.start_time_min.value, mf.start_time_ampm.value); mf.end_time.value = sched_time_to_sec(mf.end_time_hour.value, mf.end_time_min.value, mf.end_time_ampm.value); } if (schedule_check() != -1) { alert("The schedule of Guest Zone must be within the schedule of main WLAN."); return; } mf.used.name = "config.sched_table[" + idx + "].used"; mf.used.value = "1"; mf.enabled.name = "config.sched_table[" + idx + "].enabled"; mf.enabled.value = (mf.used.value == "1") ? true : false; mf.sched_name.name = "config.sched_table[" + idx + "].sched_name"; mf.weekdays.name = "config.sched_table[" + idx + "].weekdays"; mf.start_time.name = "config.sched_table[" + idx + "].start_time"; mf.end_time.name = "config.sched_table[" + idx + "].end_time";mf.submit(); deselect_ae_row();}

Hit Submit again. It should now submit and your schedule should function just fine. You will have to repeat this each time you want to change that schedule in the future.

in reply to D Link DIR 655 Scheduler Fix

Someone needs to be fired... [Someone needs to be fired...]

ManipUni — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:41:02 GMT

Whoever pushed Windows Desktop Search via Windows Update to Windows 2003 Server needs to be fired, poked in the eye, and taken out back for a "good o' kicking."

in reply to Someone needs to be fired...

... Explain car clamping... [... Explain car clamping... ]

ManipUni — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:50:33 GMT

Tickets I understand... If I park on someone else's land and cost them time/money because they cannot park then moving the cost onto me kind of seems justified in some cases.

Towing I understand... If I park on someone else's land and make that space unusuable for them then they have a right to remove my car and for me to pay for that removal and any storage.

But clamping... Wait, so I am on your land, blocking your access to it and your response to that is to lock my car in place so it is impossible for me to remove it? How does that help the situation for either party? And how do they justify charging you based on time it was on someone else's land when it was clamped in that location?

Plus they talk about removing a clamp as "criminal damage" but what if you have a key? Or can produce one (*cough*)? Since you never damaged the clamp and left it in the street exactly in the location you found it.

PS - No, I did not get clamped.

in reply to ... Explain car clamping...

New C# Syntax (methods) [New C# Syntax (methods) ]

ManipUni — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:00:01 GMT

This:

string something(string blah)

{

return blah + "blah!";

}

Becomes:

string something(string blah)

return blah + "blah!";

Why?

1) It is ALREADY the syntax for branches

2) C# doesn't support default values (thus forcing you to overload like crazy)

3) It would look cleaner

in reply to New C# Syntax (methods)

DataSet are horrible... [DataSet are horrible...]

ManipUni — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:04:20 GMT

God I hate ASP.Net and Database programming.

So ASP.net takes nice straightforward syntax like "select * from whatever" and hides the data into some kind of freaky data structure? Wouldn't a multi-dimensional array make more sense? You know, like line 40 position 1? No? The amount of time I'm wasting on this junk is just insane and there is absolutely no payoff at all...

Oh, right, I can hook a DataSet up to a few controls, woop-di-do... But as I've spent 400% longer getting the correct data into the damn structure it isn't really a time saver now is it?

By the way, downloading entire tables into a DataSet, updating it, and then re-submiting to the SQL database is a cute concept, unless you're writing a web-app with more than one user, then it is the worst idea ever... Grats, now my data goes missing due to concurrency issues.

ASP.Net can kiss my ass. I'm re-writing it in PHP. I'll be done in just a few hours. Plus PHP actually has support for MySQL one of the most popular databases around... How novel...

in reply to DataSet are horrible...

Dupe [Dupe]

ManipUni — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:03:31 GMT

in reply to Dupe

Databases... [Databases...]

ManipUni — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:18:40 GMT

I hate databases.

So I need to store 365 days of bool values. Which using traditional logic should be easy and small. I ask MySQL to create 365 Columns and the damn thing crashes on me (out of memory).

The end database would be X * 365, where X is >1 <1000. So I wind up with either 365 columns (with 1000 rows) or 1000 columns (with 365 rows). Either way the database complains and doesn't even really support the concept of a column being a "date" that you can sort and organise.

I just don't think about data in terms of "databases." I'm sure I'm doing this entirely wrong. Should I split by months?

PS - Relational Databases are the worst invention ever. If this was a flat file I would be done by now. Plus I wouldn't have to spend hours f*king around with poorly written interfaces.

in reply to Databases...

Positive Discrimination: Do the ends justify the means? [Positive Discrimination: Do the ends justify the means?]

ManipUni — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:05:53 GMT

Interesting topic...

So when it comes to positive discrimination, be it gender, race, disability, or even military service... Do the ends justify the means? Can you engineer society to be an even playing field using techniques that are just as bad as what you're trying to eliminate? Just like using violence to remove a violent dictator or radiation to kill cancer caused by smoking (radiation)?

This seems like one of those questions where people are very polorised, and excuse me for saying so, but they often support what benefits them the most (e.g. Women want positive discrimination for women, white males between 21-39 don't want any).

Right now, it is easy to find cases where groups are doing very badly but we often fail to ask "Why?" We then drive to push more of that group into that career without looking at the problems that were stopping them to begin with.

I think the entire question can be summed up using an article I read a few years ago (but cannot find the damn link for)... The police got critized for having few members of the local ethnic minorities within their organisation, so the police did a huge recruiting drive and biased recruiting to ethnic minorities. The result of all of this was that the police wound up with a greater proportion of this minority within the service than existed within the community at large. However, they never ended the positively discriminated.

in reply to Positive Discrimination: Do the ends justify the means?

Small Business Server? [Small Business Server?]

ManipUni — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:20:55 GMT

Since Microsoft is very vague (to say the least!) does anyone have any experience with Microsoft's Small Business Server?

Seems when you buy it you get one Server License and 5x CALs... But the CALs are what I struggle to understand. What exactly are those licensing? If we buy the server and want to hook up, for example, half a dozen machines locally to the DC with another dozen on top of those also having an Exchange MailBox, would we need six or twelve CALs? And is it one CAL per machine or one CAL per server per machine? What if someone wants to use their phone to get their mail, does that require a CAL too?

I think the CALs are required if you want to install the "Free Outlook" that comes with SBS but what if you are happy to use a third party client and only use it for mail?

in reply to Small Business Server?

Delay Windows 7 RTM! [Delay Windows 7 RTM! ]

ManipUni — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:19:03 GMT

Windows 7 needs to be delayed, it lacks two HUGE fixes that will make or break the OS...

1) Run doesn't support CTRL-Shift-Enter (for admin-ness)

2) Run cannot be pinned to the taskbar

Either Microsoft needs to stop the [DVD] presses or an emergancy hotfix needs to be pushed ready for launch day to address these!

in reply to Delay Windows 7 RTM!

XS "all other nodes." (XML Schema)? [XS "all other nodes." (XML Schema)?]

ManipUni — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:22:51 GMT

So I playing with XML Schemas. Imagine I had a document like this (tiny example):
[code language="xml"]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<someroot>
<list>
<nodeone>Something</nodeone>
<nodetwo>something</nodetwo>
</list>
</someroot>[/code]

And thus wanted to verify it using a schema like this:

[code language="xml"]<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <xs:schema attributeFormDefault="unqualified" elementFormDefault="qualified" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"> <xs:element name="someroot"> <xs:complexType> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name="list"> <xs:complexType> <xs:all> <xs:element name="nodeone" type="xs:string" /> <xs:element name="nodetwo" type="xs:string" /> </xs:all> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:schema>[/code]

That all works perfectly fine, until I add another unknown node. What I want is for the XML Schema to be a MINIMUM of the XML document's contents. So for example I could have this:

[code language="xml"][...] <list>
    <nodeone>Something</nodeone>
    <NEW>I AM AN EXTENSION OF THE ORIGINAL FORMAT!</NEW>
    <nodetwo>something</nodetwo>
</list>
[...][/code]

And it would still be valid as long as the spesific critiria were met. Then I can expand the format as far as I want while still checking it is valid against the original spec'.

in reply to XS "all other nodes." (XML Schema)?

Live Messenger's links issue... [Live Messenger's links issue... ]

ManipUni — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:18:25 GMT

Has anyone else noticed that Live Messenger takes a HUGE amount of time to open URLs when you click them within your conversation? But oddly enough when you click an ad at the bottom those open instantly.

Very buggy chat client, shame nobody else has cracked Video/Audio "calls" at as high a quality. Skype is getting close but still a little hit and miss.

in reply to Live Messenger's links issue...