Author Topic: A random thread for small computing things that don't really warrant a thread of their own (Read 299060 times)

andrew_s · « **Reply #875 on:** 23 June, 2017, 12:09:56 pm »

No google doodle for today - it's still showing yesterday's (Oskar Fischinger's 117th birthday, on 22nd)

SoreTween · « **Reply #876 on:** 24 June, 2017, 06:27:11 pm »

RJ45 cables - how do you tell the males from the females? I know they must be males & females despite looking the same to me as that's the only reasonable explanation for the number of the damn things I have now.

Ham · « **Reply #877 on:** 29 June, 2017, 06:22:03 am »

More a "what I have learned", that the Google Now assistant (Siri-like thingy) can actually be useful, eg is able to send SMS/WhatsApp chats hands free.

"OK Google, Send a WhatsApp to Mrs Ham"
...."You want to chat with Mrs Ham, OK, What's the message?"
"I'm on my way back, should be about 2 hours, etc etc"
...."Do you want to send or cancel?"
"OK google, read my message back to me" (hint: This is one step too far)
...."Duh?" (or the equivalent)
Cue a very one sided conversation at this point
"OK Google you stupid bitch"
...."Here's a matching video"

BrianI · « **Reply #878 on:** 29 June, 2017, 09:32:29 pm »

Oh, what a lovely find.

A great remake of The Sentinel Returns!

https://nexus23.org/warfare2/zenith-sentinel-remake/

Runs on my ubuntu box on wine!

woollypigs · « **Reply #879 on:** 29 June, 2017, 10:14:22 pm »

Quote from: woollypigs on 02 March, 2017, 08:09:47 am

Google cast how does it work? My phone keeps showing the option to cast whatever I'm doing on YouTube and chrome. But I don't own a Google Cast item, so it must be a neighbour.

Remember this? I was playing around with the windows laptop today and went into the network settings. And lo and behold in there win10 could see a Samsung TV. We don't own a TV or anything that is Samsung, ok I do have a hard-disks that is not plugged in that is Samsung but that is it. But this still don't explains how they talk together. As there is now't to see on the router and on the android bluetooth.

Kim · « **Reply #880 on:** 29 June, 2017, 10:47:26 pm »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast#Device_discovery_protocols Suggests it's network based.

Ham · « **Reply #881 on:** 30 June, 2017, 07:43:36 am »

It's one of the reasons I always move windows/any wireless kit off the default 192.168.x.x network onto 10.x.x.x network, avoiding overlap. (Note: this was non-trivial with my latest Virgin hub Mk III)

Biggsy · « **Reply #882 on:** 07 August, 2017, 01:50:21 pm »

Following my grumble about (some) Android apps not supporting landscape mode - I've found an app that can force it:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.fameit.rotate

It seems to work with everything, albeit via rather confusing settings for the auto modes.

Kim · « **Reply #883 on:** 07 August, 2017, 02:13:48 pm »

Quote from: Biggsy on 07 August, 2017, 01:50:21 pm

Following my grumble about (some) Android apps not supporting landscape mode - I've found an app that can force it:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.fameit.rotate

It seems to work with everything, albeit via rather confusing settings for the auto modes.

Ooh, I'll have a play with that later.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #884 on:** 17 August, 2017, 06:08:31 pm »

Discovered how to create multi-line text files from the Windows command line. You may call me slow on the uptake if you wish, but this made the creation of several hundred small files an awful lot easier. I imagine the same effect could be had from a database, but first I'd have to remember how to drive one after twenty-mumble years.

Kim · « **Reply #885 on:** 17 August, 2017, 06:11:14 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 07 August, 2017, 02:13:48 pm

Quote from: Biggsy on 07 August, 2017, 01:50:21 pm
Following my grumble about (some) Android apps not supporting landscape mode - I've found an app that can force it:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.fameit.rotate

It seems to work with everything, albeit via rather confusing settings for the auto modes.

Ooh, I'll have a play with that later.

I had a play with that later. It solved all my rotation problems. My neck is eternally grateful.

Kim · « **Reply #886 on:** 20 August, 2017, 06:50:10 pm »

Has Bing maps stopped doing OS maps? That was the only reason to use Bing...

JonBuoy · « **Reply #887 on:** 20 August, 2017, 07:29:59 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 20 August, 2017, 06:50:10 pm

Has Bing maps stopped doing OS maps? That was the only reason to use Bing...

Still doing them for me.

Biggsy · « **Reply #888 on:** 20 August, 2017, 07:59:38 pm »

I too couldn't see the OS option when trying on my tablet a moment a go, but it's appeared after some random tapping and refreshing.

I've just coughed up for some OS maps through Viewranger, coincidentally - and immediately noticed some info that's out of date by fifty years (a certain church marked as having a tower).

Kim · « **Reply #889 on:** 20 August, 2017, 08:12:57 pm »

Quote from: Biggsy on 20 August, 2017, 07:59:38 pm

I too couldn't see the OS option when trying on my tablet a moment a go, but it's appeared after some random tapping and refreshing.

I seem to have brought it back by clearing all the bing-related cookies. Odd.

woollypigs · « **Reply #890 on:** 26 August, 2017, 07:25:51 pm »

Peli's mum couldn't for some reason open a file she received. It showed up in her Google Drive, but it just didn't want open. So I asked her to share it with me, just to check, and I could open it. So I printed it out on her computer via cloud printing onto her printer. This just makes me laugh

T42 · « **Reply #891 on:** 06 September, 2017, 01:12:39 pm »

We've got cloud raining onto our bloody everywhere.

T42 · « **Reply #892 on:** 15 September, 2017, 03:50:20 pm »

Drat. I replaced a D-link 100 Mbit switch with a Netgear gigabit ditto. Before the switch, streamed video was pretty smooth, but now I get a more-or-less regular lag-&-catch-up effect. Looks like the D-Link was prioritizing according to need and the NG is giving the same priority to everyone.

What you get for buying cheap kit, I suppose.

Kim · « **Reply #893 on:** 15 September, 2017, 04:35:27 pm »

Is it actually running at gigabit speed? Sometimes dodgy cabling that was fine for 100M makes things fall back to 100M half-duplex or something daft.

woollypigs · « **Reply #894 on:** 15 September, 2017, 05:27:41 pm »

Quite chuffed. Managed firstly to pull my fingers out. Then set up a Raspberry with WiFi and a usb disk, that I have been talking about for yonks. Gave it to mum of Peli to take home and plug in.

And lo and behold it booted up, logged onto WiFi and opened a VPN as I had set up. So now I got a remote backup I can rsync to.

Only limited by my upload as mother of Peli got a nice fast line to the world.

Next step is to automate it all.

hellymedic · « **Reply #895 on:** 30 September, 2017, 10:06:22 am »

Wording captions on Google Maps seem to appear upside-down and/or back-to-front from time to time.
Sometimes they disappear completely from sections of a map.

Most disorientating!

(I know I can refresh but sometimes I lack patience!)

David Martin · « **Reply #896 on:** 03 October, 2017, 10:26:38 pm »

Went to one of our web transformation meetings today. Uni is about to rebuild the web from the ground up with lots of stakeholder investment. Good news: accessibility is an absolute given - the frameworks and implementations will be as good as can be by design, with considerable input from our accessibility experts.

Lots of write once, reuse everywhere ideas floating about.

T42 · « **Reply #897 on:** 06 October, 2017, 08:08:27 am »

So Firefox allegedly got faster. We'll see.

hellymedic · « **Reply #898 on:** 08 October, 2017, 04:10:40 pm »

Two of David's tech problems today seem to have the same 'clean the contacts' solution.
1) Canon EOS camera 'Error 01'
2) Random LOUD notes on Clavinova CLP-585
Back to basics...

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #899 on:** 13 October, 2017, 05:03:25 am »

You know how your NAS is supposed to talk to an ntp server to make sure it knows what date and time it is? And you know when you shut down said NAS, because you're away for a month, and you switch it back on, and the said NAS, whether by accident or design, forgets it's supposed to talk to the ntp server and assumes the date and time are the same as they were when you turned it off?

Yes, exactly like that. On two devices $:-\$