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  1. Mercutio

    Got my OG Samsung GTab on ICS!

    Honestly in a lot of cases your best bet for Android is to either stick with whatever the release OS was or move to Cyanogen. I've had a few devices move from Gingerbread to Honeycomb or ICS and normally there's some trade-off in terms of functionality for something-or-other. The only device...
  2. Mercutio

    Happy Holidays (2013)

    I just can't find anyone who is filled weigh the joy of this Kwanzaa season. Knoxville must be more of a Tet kind of town.
  3. Mercutio

    Merc's Useful Tools of the day

    I only tried an XP/IE6 VM, but it looks fully functional to me.
  4. Mercutio

    Merc's Useful Tools of the day

    If you are lazy and need a Windows VM, Microsoft makes these available free and legally. For non-Windows platforms and non-Microsoft Hypervisors, even.
  5. Mercutio

    problem My AVG FREE 2014 doesn't post the end time of a scan?

    Interesting link regarding security product efficacy that was posted on Slashdot today. Note that the linked document only seems to discuss malware prevention; I can't seem to find any verbiage that suggests the author is drawing a distinction between viruses and malware.
  6. Mercutio

    problem My AVG FREE 2014 doesn't post the end time of a scan?

    I haven't USED it recently, but I certainly have removed 2013 and 2014 from quite a few machines. AVG has really followed the same pattern as other heavyweight AV products in terms of performance impedance, and for all of that it certainly doesn't provide any better protection than any other...
  7. Mercutio

    Opinions wanted: Keep or return?

    It's probably more of a hassle to find a responsible party to return it, and it has already been given to you. I'd say you're in the clear for passing that stuff on to someone who needs it more than you do.
  8. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Flash Exploit is my my best guess. These users were using up to date Chrome, which suggests up to date Flash. The game seems to have been the point of intersection. They don't have Acrobat and they didn't have Java. These are users with Admin rights on their own machines (they're laptops and...
  9. Mercutio

    Something Random

    I've just encountered a malware application that appears to use a Flash exploit to 1. Install new user accounts on an infected Windows machines. The accounts are hidden from the Windows login screen but visible from User Management. So far I've seen "app", "user" and "db." 2. It seems to...
  10. Mercutio

    Best movie you've seen

    The quick answer is "Doing stuff that Tolkien didn't write about." I don't think having extra elves really hurt anything but I would have liked the first meeting with Smaug to have been closer to the book. All in all though I thought this movie was more like "The most awesome D&D adventure...
  11. Mercutio

    Cold

    45F temperature swings are hilarious but at least I got the frozen wiper fluid out.
  12. Mercutio

    problem My AVG FREE 2014 doesn't post the end time of a scan?

    You appear to have some fundamental misconceptions about what security software can or should be doing. Here's the thing: Anti-virus applications are supposed to prevent VIRUSES. Malware, regardless of its specific function, fails to meet the crucial definition of "virus" since it does not...
  13. Mercutio

    question Which Tablets

    Amazon is offering an interest-free quarterly payment plan for Fire HDX models, now until the 24th.
  14. Mercutio

    problem My AVG FREE 2014 doesn't post the end time of a scan?

    Don't use AVG. It's a lead balloon on your system's performance in the first place. Consider Avast Free instead. Or Avira. Or MSE. Or absolutely nothing. Because all of those things are better options.
  15. Mercutio

    Something Random

    I don't understand why people pay that for them. I don't think they're any more comfortable than any other chair. I do want a mesh back and seat though because I think it'll age better.
  16. Mercutio

    Fastest feasible system for Windows 98se?

    I have a Windows 98 machine running on an LGA775 Pentium 4 with an Intel 915 chipset and a Radeon 9700 graphics card. I built it to be a retro-gaming machine and yes it can talk to the internet, albeit not very well. Just to gainsay Coug, Windows 98 is ironically not as insecure as using 2000 or...
  17. Mercutio

    Your first computer?

    I didn't know anyone who had a Commodore until I went to college. By that time the Amiga was already kind of a dinosaur, but some people were still using them. My high school used Macs for the newspaper class, but mostly what I remember about that was how annoying it was trying to interchange...
  18. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Of course, she's inquiring about BUSINESS service to her home, which is probably regulated differently. Also, this is Indiana, a state that's right up there with Texas and Kansas in terms of commitment to building a regulation-free Objectivist utopia.
  19. Mercutio

    Something Random

    The Aeron Side Chair can actually be had for under $300, but they don't look that comfortable to me and I've never liked full size Aerons anyway.
  20. Mercutio

    Something Random

    They need to go the extra 7000' down because of course Comcast's internets come from the fiery pits of hell. Duh.
  21. Mercutio

    Your first computer?

    I'm only oversimplifying a little to say that laptop graphics are never upgradeable. A few boutique notebooks support doing so, but the upgrades themselves are very expensive and in my experience also have dubious compatibility and even worse reliability. I know it might be nice to game on a...
  22. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Anyone know where to buy an all-mesh type chair with a sled base and low back? That isn't a $500 Aeron?
  23. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Nits was one of my students. She has a house that's just a tad too far from actual civilization. Which, in my estimation, is that place where one can't get cable internet.
  24. Mercutio

    Cold

    Usually just the one but sometimes two bedrooms and up to three strippers so now that I think of it this is apropos.
  25. Mercutio

    Something Random

    Speaking of the joys of home ownership, Ms. Nitsirk has delightfully crappy DSL and consumer cable isn't an option in her area. She finally convinced Comcast's Business unit to come survey the area and she's been telling me for something like six weeks that she's going to get cable internet any...
  26. Mercutio

    Cold

    I like my apartment. I have lots of nice trees and a spare bedroom full of stripper, and if I don't have a garage and can't have a grill, at least I don't have to take care of a lawn or deal with an HOA, And on the day I need to leave I just have to pay a little bit of money to break my lease...
  27. Mercutio

    Your first computer?

    I think there's a lot to be said from being able to send a video in real time to a person on another continent while you're standing in a national park, or being able to browse imgur while enjoying quiet 9AM porcelain vacation.
  28. Mercutio

    Cold

    No garage. I've decided that I just don't have enough interest in home ownership.
  29. Mercutio

    Cold

    Well I can't very well get it out NOW, can I?
  30. Mercutio

    Cold

    The best part for me is when the wiper fluid in my car freezes and I get stuck behind a salt truck going to work four days in a row.
  31. Mercutio

    Your first computer?

    My family always had computers around the house. I remember an Apollo workstation from back when I was a kid. The first computer that was absolutely meant to be a "family" computer rather than part of my father's studies or work was a 4.77MHz XT clone. It had a 10MB hard drive and dual 5.25"...
  32. Mercutio

    How to connect by RDP from a Linux box to a Windows Server 2012?

    I'm guessing that if a non-Windows client is having an issue, it's probably because the option to only allow connections using Network Level Authentication is turned on someplace. I'm definitely able to connect to vanilla Server 2012 machines with rdesktop and a variety of Android clients though.
  33. Mercutio

    PC Gaming = World of Suck

    The way the system Youtube has for identifying music works, it basically flags everything it can identify and report it to a content owner. If the content owner makes an issue, it's an issue for all matching content. It's a pretty lousy system but anything less would be a piracy holocaust as far...
  34. Mercutio

    PC Gaming = World of Suck

    From what I've read, it's apparently because some music licensing company that represents video game music composers is suing one of the major "Let's Play" video channels. Or something. The companies that actually make/own/publish the games themselves seem to be saying that they don't have a...
  35. Mercutio

    PC Gaming = World of Suck

    Youtube, apparently in an effort to suck even more, has decided to crack down on "Let's Play" videos as a violation of terms of service. The thing is, I actually LIKE Let's Play videos quite a bit. They're how I've been able to experience games like Portal and how I've learned about some other...
  36. Mercutio

    PC Gaming = World of Suck

    Youtube, apparently in an effort to suck even more, has decided to crack down on "Let's Play" videos as a violation of terms of service. The thing is, I actually LIKE Let's Play videos quite a bit. They're how I've been able to experience games like Portal and how I've learned about some other...
  37. Mercutio

    Quiet server build

    A machine like that will find a home regardless of how long dd borrows it for his own purpose. I run across places where I wish I had even a spare i3 or even a Core 2 Quad machine probably weekly, and I can think of at least a couple of my customers who probably should migrate off their old...
  38. Mercutio

    How Secure Is My Password?

    In theory, that means it's a client-side script that's just counting the number and range of characters you're using. That's pretty trivial as far as code goes.
  39. Mercutio

    Media Player Appliances

    Mega-improvements to Chromecast were launched yesterday, including Plex support.
  40. Mercutio

    Which OS Upgrade for old computer?

    OEM licenses (the kind I was referencing with "almost always" since as I understand it they're about 75% of the licenses sold) are tied to hardware with their Windows Activation Status, which monitors 10 hardware categories including a motherboard ID string and the MAC address of the NIC that's...
  41. Mercutio

    Which OS Upgrade for old computer?

    Sure. Whatever. "Some guy I know from the internet" is probably going to amount to the same thing though.
  42. Mercutio

    Which OS Upgrade for old computer?

    I was inspired to write this out just now, explaining to someone why I don't want to work on his 11 year old, 512MB RAM, Celeron-having Dimension 4600 with AVG 2013 installed: Quick, Counter-Intuitive Advice for People Still Using Older Computers 1. Internet Explorer is not now and never has...
  43. Mercutio

    How Secure Is My Password?

    I think the password I use for SF is the single stupidest password I use anywhere except the systems where I have to share an admin account with someone else. Some of those are actually dumber. Oh and my Netflix password, but that's only 'cause I let someone else use it for streaming.
  44. Mercutio

    This is the thread for the discussion of interesting apps.

    LM got a movie reference and dd admitted he hasn't seen the greatest comedy since "Ghostbusters." What is the world coming to?
  45. Mercutio

    How Secure Is My Password?

    You're still ultimately responsible for whatever is done with the credentials being used in authenticating.
  46. Mercutio

    Large 4K Tablets

    But think of how sweet those ultrawides will be if you buy three of them and arrange vertically! ;)
  47. Mercutio

    This is the thread for the discussion of interesting apps.

    I just noticed that if I use Swype to type the word "love", its predictive text says that the most common word for me to type next is "lamp." Also "tacos" is the fourth place word. And because Lunar won't get it: it's a quote from the movie Anchorman.
  48. Mercutio

    Large 4K Tablets

    They're not COMMON but they are available. You just have to put up with an oversized display and some compromises with regard to connectivity, color accuracy and refresh rate. And god help you if you wanted to game on one. I'd be happy to get 2560x1600 at 20 - 24" from a recognizable brand name...
  49. Mercutio

    Samsung 1TB mSATA SSD

    Hey the new USB port is reversible! That's true scientific progress right there!
  50. Mercutio

    Which OS Upgrade for old computer?

    I recall support for USB boot on AMD-based machines of that vintage as finicky. I wasn't able to move fully to using Flash drives for OS loading until I started deploying Core 2 Duo machines because of random compatibility weirdness. I don't know if this is the case here but I'm willing to...
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