Entries for john259

Favourite Recreational Software [Favourite Recreational Software]

john259 — Sun, 27 Jun 2004 10:22:14 GMT

When you guys want to relax, what's your favourite recreational software? Just to get the ball going, I'd vote for puzzles (http://www.clickmazes.com is magnificent) adventure games (my personal favourite is Myst) and simulations (I've just purchased Trainz 2004, which looks superb). John

in reply to Favourite Recreational Software

Can Encarta 2000 auto-complete be disabled? [Can Encarta 2000 auto-complete be disabled?]

john259 — Sun, 27 Jun 2004 10:18:39 GMT

Apologies for posting a usage question in a developers' forum. If anyone knows of a better place, don't hesitate to tell me where to shove it (ho, ho). Encarta 2000 has an auto-complete feature for queries. Personally, I don't like it as it corrupts what I'm typing and almost always changes it to something I don't want. I can't find any way of disabling it in the user interface. Does anyone know of a registry hack? John

in reply to Can Encarta 2000 auto-complete be disabled?

Back To The Future? [Back To The Future?]

john259 — Sat, 26 Jun 2004 09:51:51 GMT

Please forgive me a few very naive ramblings here: The earliest home computers held their operating systems in ROM. As well as speeding access (before the days of hard disks), this had the wonderful advantage that it could not be corrupted. The computer could always be returned to a pristine state by switching off and on. Programs were loaded from cassette tapes and couldn't be corrupted (only destroyed!). Many of the problems with modern home computers stems from storing the operating system and programs on hard disk, where they can easily be corrupted, either through bugs, user accidents, hardware glitches, or malicious software. How much do normal home users really need the flexibility that being able to modify the operating system provides? Yes, I know this is all extremely naive technically. One program's data file is another program's executable file (the most obvious example being compilers) and users most defintely want to be able to purchase and use programs additional to the operating system. But the current fragile house of cards, with DLL hell and almost weekly security nightmares, viruses, trojans, adware, etc is increasingly inappropriate for home users. So, has anyone thought about producing a computer with an operating system and programs which cannot be changed? I think there might be a huge market for such a device. - John

in reply to Back To The Future?

Route Planners [Route Planners]

john259 — Tue, 18 May 2004 17:17:51 GMT

My apologies if this one is somewhat off topic. Can anyone point me to a web site which explains how route planner programs work? (You select a starting place and a destination from a map; the program works out the optimum route.) I realise that the details are probably commercial secrets. In any case, I'm just after a brief explanation of the fundamental approach so as to satisfy my curiosity. John

in reply to Route Planners

Computers: The Next Generation? [Computers: The Next Generation?]

john259 — Tue, 11 May 2004 14:12:17 GMT

1950's: Experimental computers.

1960's: Mainframes (IBM 360, etc).

1970's: Mini computers (DEC PDP-11, etc).

1980's: Micro computers ---> PC's.

1990's: The Internet.

2000's: ???

It wasn't until the mid 1990's that it became obvious to the general public that the major computer innovation of that decade was the Internet (ok, I know the 'net was actually invented many years before, but I'm talking about widespread use).

I haven't seen anything on that scale develop yet in this decade. There have been lots of obvious incremental improvements, but no huge generational change.

Would anyone like to suggest what it might be - or is everyone who knows keeping quiet, in the hope of making big money? [grin]

John (I'm still experimenting with how to get line breaks into posts, so sorry if the formatting is a mess)

in reply to Computers: The Next Generation?

Why is .Net Framework so large? [Why is .Net Framework so large?]

john259 — Mon, 10 May 2004 15:11:30 GMT

The download for .Net Framework is about 24MB (twenty-four megabytes). Please can anyone explain why it is so huge? As someone who remembers the Commodore PET, where the operating system and the BASIC interpreter together fitted in 4KB (four kilobytes), how can a mere extension to the operating system possibly be 24MB (and that's compressed)? I'm curious to learn the reason. John

in reply to Why is .Net Framework so large?

Folder Attributes Mystery [Folder Attributes Mystery]

john259 — Mon, 10 May 2004 15:06:57 GMT

I've noticed a very strange peculiarity: In Windows XP Home Ed SP1, fully up to date with patces, and with all hard disk partitions formatted as NTFS: Right-click on any folder on a hard disk and select the Properties option. Take a look at the Read-Only attribute. It's a green square. All attempts at changing it fail. Next time you look, the green square's back. I wasted a few days trying to understand this. Then I posted the question on a few other forums (Scott Finnie, Lockergnome). The general consensusm there was that it is bizarre, but normal behaviour. It doesn't affect the files in the folder at all, nor does it stop you renaming, moving or deleting the folder. Can anyone explain what is happening a bit more? John

in reply to Folder Attributes Mystery

Greyed Out Options [Greyed Out Options]

john259 — Sun, 09 May 2004 15:57:36 GMT

Many new users (and some experienced ones) find greyed out options very frustrating. They often spend a long time trying to figure out how to make the option operative (in some cases, by thumping the mouse harder and harder!). How about this idea? When a user clicks on a greyed out option (or maybe, when they drift the mouse over one), a message pops up telling them why the option is currently unavailable. John

in reply to Greyed Out Options

Maximise Options [Maximise Options]

john259 — Sun, 09 May 2004 07:59:54 GMT

Sorry to be so mundane, but as a normal user my biggest wish for Longhorn is that its versions of Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer will include configuration options to always open their windows maximised. Yes, I know there are plenty of third-party solutions (I'm using one right now), bit it would be good if Microsoft could build-in this capability. Any hope? John

in reply to Maximise Options