Tech/Computer advice from me

[tshile]

Technically speaking yes.
I do it all the time though. Never had a problem. Most manufactures have made it more reliable to handle it, but you could corrupt it. It does happen.

 

[SkinnedAussie]

If you are 100% certain that nothing is being written to the drive, or if the drive isn't being used by a program, then you can be 10% sure that nothing untoward will happen if you do nt remove the drive correctly. My neighbour used to just pull the drives out of the USB slot, then bring them to me when he couln't get them to work again. I thought it was just the no-name drives he was using until I saw his process one day. I explained to him what was going on, and how to remove the drive, and since them, he's not had a problem. Coincidence?

I was 'losing' drives not so long ago, so I went the external HDD route. I also have a portable HDD that I use with my tablet. 32GB max RAM! Try 1TB!

 

[Fear The Spear]

Another thing I would recommend is getting an antilogger program. The one I like is Zemana.

How good is this program ? And is something like this considered a must-have ?

 

[Burgundy Burner]

It's a good program and I like having it on my system. If you use and store a lot of passwords, do your finances, pay bills, etc., I would recommend using it.

 

[tshile]

If anyone is looking for a cheap android phone I've been reading tons of good stuff about the Motorola Moto G. It's $179 off contract (which is super cheap, if you look at what phones that cost $0 out of pocket on contract actually wind up costing you.) The reviews are awesome. It's supposedly the best non-top-of-the-line phone on the market.

I'm thinking about picking one up cause my Galaxy S3 screen is busted.

 

[Fear The Spear]

I seem to recall reading someone's post, and I can't remember where, but I think they said that the Firefox plug-ins were harmful, either for security or for some other reasons. Am I remembering that correctly ?

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Any good recommendations on headsets for my PC?

 

[tshile]

I seem to recall reading someone's post, and I can't remember where, but I think they said that the Firefox plug-ins were harmful, either for security or for some other reasons. Am I remembering that correctly ?

Yeah, that was me. Plug-ins in general make the browser's security weaker because of the way plug-ins work. A lot of people attack computers by going after their browsers. In addition to that there's a lot of malware that masquerade as plug-ins.

All that said - if you like the plug-in and you trust the creators of it then by all means, use and enjoy it. Just don't install any old plug-in that comes about promising to make your life better

Any good recommendations on headsets for my PC?

I'm partial to Sennheiser. Every company I've worked with has provided different models and I've never had one I didn't like. I even jacked a pair of noise cancelling ones and I use them when cutting grass and they're awesome (despite being covered in drywall and grass now.)

If sound quality is your preference then go with them. But I also don't know much about other brands, so if someone has advice on other brands by all means it may be more informed than mine.

 

[SkinnedAussie]

I seem to recall reading someone's post, and I can't remember where, but I think they said that the Firefox plug-ins were harmful, either for security or for some other reasons. Am I remembering that correctly ?

Do you mean plug-ins or add-ons? I have a list of trusted add-ons that I always use, and always install when I'm asked to change a computer from Exploder to Firefox. Any others and it's up to the user to find what best suits their needs.

 

[SkinnedAussie]

Any good recommendations on headsets for my PC?

Headphone output quality is only as good as the source. I tried to source a set of surround cans so as to make full use of my HDTV (w/ hdmi connected 7.2 sound system), but I wasn't prepared to pay the $500+ for what was available locally. They also proved to be the cheapest available within a 200KM radius of where I live.

However, for high quality in the cheap scale, I also agree that you can't go past Sennheiser.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Do you mean plug-ins or add-ons?

I believe I'm thinking of plug-ins.

My understanding of it (though it could be false), is that add-ons are designed by Firefox, and therefore considered to be generally safe, where-as plug-ins are from a 3rd party vendor, and therefore not necessarily safe.

Is that accurate ?

 

[SkinnedAussie]

Add-ons are designed by third parties, but specifically for Firefox. Plug-ins are also designed by third parties, but designed so as to enable Exploder specific formats to run in Firefox.

For example, Silverlight is IE specific, but the plug-in is required so as to use it in Firefox. So, what happens is that Firefox picks up on the security vulnerabilities and highlights them, which IE does NOT do. This is what makes Firefox a much safer browser.

 

[tshile]

internet explorer 11 is really screwing up my month.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Thanks for the suggestions on headsets. Narrowed it down to your recommendation, Plantronics, and Logitech.

 

[SkinnedAussie]

Microsoft has stopped offering upgrades from Windows 7 home to Pro since Oct 30th due to pushing Windows 8.

they KNOW 8 sucks and they are trying to force people to use and get used to it.

I thought support for XP had been extended until mid March, as Microsoft finally realised people where more likely to update existing equipment than purchase something new.

By updating, it was then expected that pc's would become W7 capable.

However, if support for W7 ceased on Oct 31, wasn't Vista released BEFORE W7?

During a later search, I came across this:
Microsoft Windows 7 support and sales cutoff dates worth knowing | ZDNet

This October 30 cut-off date doesn't mean that OEMs or retailers are no longer selling PCs with Windows 7 preloaded. I can verify after a trip earlier this week to the Datavision computer store in New York (as part of my ongoing hunt for a new Windows PC) that there are plenty of Windows 7 PCs still for sale. OEMs can continue to sell PCs preloaded with Windows 7 until October 30, 2014.

Update (December 10): Microsoft is now saying it goofed in publishing the end of preload date being October 30, 2014. Instead, that date has yet to be determined, the Softies claim.

Then there is this:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224434/Microsoft_doubles_support_lifespan_for_consumer_Windows_7_Vista

Microsoft has quietly extended support for the consumer versions of Windows 7 and Windows Vista by five years, syncing them with the lifespan of enterprise editions.

 

[tshile]

i just got a lenovo yoga 2 pro, win 8.1 touch screen where the keyboard folds around making it a tablet.

it's rather large for a tablet, though i'm not a tablet person so what do i know?

otherwise i love this thing. i love my setup at work now.

only crappy thing is the ultra books don't have physic network ports anymore, and a lot of them aren't truly dockable so i run everything through a usb3 dock.

 

[tshile]

i actually like windows 8. it's not polished, but other than that i'm enjoying it.

ie 11 on the other hand... i've been dealing with weird crap i can't even explain. it doesn't even make sense.

 

[SkinnedAussie]

I recently upgraded a laptop to a you-beaut Acer 5600U touch screen all-in-one, complete with W8. After the initial mind-f**k of going from Ubuntu back to Windows, things started to become familiar.

The first things I installed on my W8 machine were Firefox, Thunderbird, ooVoo, MailWasher, TeamViewer, HandBrake, Avast, CCleaner, Malwaresbytes, LibreOffice and Winamp. These are a given for any computer I own, or have to consistently work on (the wife's laptop, the S-I-L's (my old) laptop, etc,.). IE, Mail Live and Skype are then either removed or disabled.

I have since upgraded to W8.1, and anyone thinking of ding the same, it took me just under three hours, with most of that time appearing like nothing was happening. What it's doing is downloading a completely new operating system rather than just the relevant upgrades. This takes up most of the time, and a huge amount of your monthly download allowance. Do it early in your billing cycle, or the last couple of days when you know you have enough left.

One disappointing aspect is that I cannot dual boot with Ubuntu. I can install, WUBI like, but that messes with the boot loader, and is not as easy as previously. One redeeming feature is that it has an inbuilt Blu-Ray player, so when hooked up to my sound system via HDMI, it's like a compact movie theatre.

I'm starting to like Windows, but hopefully, the 14.04 release of Ubuntu will be W8 friendly.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Need your suggestion on what to do with this Java update, which has me confused.
My Avast "Software Updater" indicates I need to update to Java 7, however they say Java 6 is obsolete, so before I can install Java 7, I need to uninstall the old, obsolete Java 6. They say this is "Highly Recommended" and not doing so will put me at risk. But at the same time, it says that even if I DO upgrade that "However, you need to pay attention as possible bad side effects like corrupt programs may appear."

So, I'm confused about what to do, because if I'm understanding them correctly, serious crap can happen to my PC, whether I get rid of the old Java 6 and upgrade, or even if I don't.

So, what should I do ?

I'm getting the info from this page

Avast Support | FAQs - Avast : Software Updater continues to report Java software as outdated

 

[SkinnedAussie]

To avoid yu having to sit through any installation process and click 'No' whenever a pop-up dialog box appears, go to Ninite - Install or Update Multiple Apps at Once, tick any and all programs you have / want, then you will have to download the installer, preferably to your desktop.

Now you close all open programs, click on the ninite icn (big blue N), then sit back and let the magic happen. All the programs you wanted installed will be, without you having to intervene at any time, and when dne, you are free to return to whatever you where doing.

This also has the Java updates, so just tick the box and away you go.

If you go this way, let me know how the end result.