IT Thread

[stonehenge]

Rofl fidil then.

So W8 actually boots faster and uses less resources than W7. Been using it on the laptop with ClassicShell and its working pretty well.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[shootermcgavin003]

how fast is it boot time btw?

[stonehenge]

It will depend on your hardware but mine feels faster booting and I've seen others say the same thing.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[shootermcgavin003]

need very fast boot for car pc project

[MikeH]

it boots pretty quick for me too, with a ssd I imagine it would be quite a bit quicker even.

---------- Post added at 05:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:05 PM ----------

should just use one of those little android boxes, unless you plan on running specific programs

[shootermcgavin003]

i cant use the sirius tuner, ipod and theres a issue with the phone bluetooth with a android based unit. so i need a windows based unit.

[chevyrado14]

i downloaded a win 8 iso havent tried it yet. whats the best way to dual boot with 7?

[stonehenge]

resize your main partition before you install, then install to the new section and windows will take care of the dualbooting part, it even gives you a decent menu at boot to choose between w7 and w8. It isn't the old text-only menu, it actually has some prettiness to it :jester:

here: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-dual-boot-windows-7-and-windows-8/

[chevyrado14]

:shake: gonna give it a shot maybe tonight lol

[stonehenge]

did it on the lappy, worked well but then i told it to default to W7 and it worked normally for a while, then it refused to boot ever again. No safe mode, no regular mode, would just give me a blinking dot in the corner rofl. Probably could have fixed it but the laptop has nothing important so I wiped it.

This lappy would always have problems waking up from hibernate/sleep and whatnot though, so it didn't surprise me much. However, still be careful :jester:

[chevyrado14]

yea ill be doing it on my toshiba laptop. its not too old so hopefully it will act right

[theholycow]

resize your main partition before you install, then install to the new section and windows will take care of the dualbooting part, it even gives you a decent menu at boot to choose between w7 and w8. It isn't the old text-only menu, it actually has some prettiness to it :jester:

here: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-dual-boot-windows-7-and-windows-8/

Ratard. Text menu ain't broke, don't fix it. Shit worked great and looked fine.

[stonehenge]

Yeah there was nothing wrong with the old one but this new one is fine too. It has prettiness to it but is still simple and useful. Can choose which is the default, how much time it waits before booting, and a couple other settings.

[theholycow]

Could also choose default, timeout, etc...only difference is eye candy.

[stonehenge]

i know, i just meant at least they didn't remove functionality :jester: (which wouldn't have surprised me)

[MikeH]

Any of you have a raspberry pi?

[stonehenge]

no but I may have some punkin pi in a few weeks

[shootermcgavin003]

i got some hair pi the other day

[JayBo]

Just got everything set up for the server deployment of Office 2010

Lets hope it works!
I just got the product key from the state... :fp:

[stonehenge]

bish ass jawja taking its sweet time

[JayBo]

And... it didnt... :hmm:

[stonehenge]

yaybo takin his sweet ass time?

:ayfkm:

[JayBo]

I set it up as soon as I got the Product Key

[MikeH]

Juan, is it possible to change the color of the metro skin on classic shell?

[stonehenge]

idk, i haven't played with the laptop much since installing classic shell :/

[MikeH]

fgt

[stonehenge]

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7fiugEzda1qhr01io1_400.gif

[MikeH]

:rofl:

[JayBo]

And today I get the dreded

NTLDR missing
Ctrl alt del to restart.

boot from XP cd, and get BSOD.
Tried lenovo recovery, and it loads a backup, and then fucks up again.
I now have a Ubuntu cd, an XP quick boot, and my flash drive full of tricks...

Fuck you Windows.

[stonehenge]

fts

[theholycow]

And today I get the dreded

NTLDR missing
Ctrl alt del to restart.

boot from XP cd, and get BSOD.
Tried lenovo recovery, and it loads a backup, and then fucks up again.
I now have a Ubuntu cd, an XP quick boot, and my flash drive full of tricks...

Fuck you Windows.

Problem solved...install Ubuntu.

But seriously, sounds like a hardware problem.

[Cez★]

can anyone tell me why I cant the following part? it tells me that operator "+" is not defined for types 'System.Windows.Forms.Groupbox' and 'System.Windows.Forms.Groupbox'
the code is
decServicesLabor = Gboil() + GbFlushes() + GbMisc() + GbOther()
the part in underlined is where i get the error. the other half doesnt have that problem

[theholycow]

Sounds like you need the values of those objects, not the objects themselves. Maybe something like
Gboil.value() + GbFlushes.value()
or
Gboil.text() + GbFlushes.text()

[Cez★]

why would those two need values and the others wouldnt?

---------- Post added at 06:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:14 PM ----------

http://www.classworksolutions.com/images/joes.jpg

[theholycow]

Useful question.

[Cez★]

:imo :animehmm:

[theholycow]

Just realized: Windows 8 looks like Desqview. Desqview was a shell on top of DOS in the 1980s and early 1990s.
http://toastytech.com/guis/dvxappmgr.gif

[stonehenge]

:jester:

[JayBo]

Holy throwback!!

Kinda DFW to install Ubuntu along with W7 on my computer. Can you boot linux IN Windows? I should google that shit.

[theholycow]

Well, you can boot linux in a VM in pretty much any OS.

There have been various forms of linux-in-Windows in the past, either as slick VMs, linux emulation layers, linux-like packages, etc. I use CygWin for linux-like stuff that I want to do in Windows. I experimented with AndLinux but didn't care for it.

http://www.cygwin.com
http://www.andlinux.org

[JayBo]

I rarely do anything in Linux.
Just want it for play purposes I guess lol

[stonehenge]

play purposes = o hai virtualbox

[JayBo]

lol :sneaky:


How about I signed up for ATT high speed DSL at Jen's house. Got all the stuff in, hooked up. Did speed test.. .5mbps TOPS.

yes. half of a mb... what the fuckkkkkkkkkkk

[stonehenge]

:scared:

[JayBo]

I hope its not the phone line going in the house. That'll piss me off

[theholycow]

Just spent 2 minutes at a Windows 8 box and found out that there is the old-school desktop with a taskbar, just the Start menu is gone. That's not so bad. I added a toolbar to the taskbar, specifying C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Window s\Start Menu\Programs as the location, and another for C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. Could consolidate them, too. Lame substitute for a Start menu, but it's a substitute nonetheless.

[MikeH]

You can install ubuntu using wubi, installs just like a regular app essentially.

[stonehenge]

wait until that user opens IE from a tile, opens a page, then reopens IE from the Desktop and wonders why the page isn't open

[MikeH]

wait until that user opens IE from a tile, opens a page, then reopens IE from the Desktop and wonders why the page isn't open
most stupid thing ever

[stonehenge]

if it was only IE, I wouldn't gaf. But Chrome does it too. So I'm sure plenty more will follow. Fgtry.

[MFB]

http://startisback.com/

is what I use

Its EXTREMELY well coded and keep explore8 fully intact. I have 4 more keys btw.

[stonehenge]

Will try that out on the lappy later. ClassicShell works but that one sounds even better. I'm cheap tho so will use the trial then probably uninstall :roflpow:

---------- Post added at 09:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 AM ----------

Anyone here ever deal with compacting Access databases? A group of users work on a database daily and want it to be compacted every week. They'd do it themselves but the database has to be on the local machine for Access to compact it. So they want me to install it on the server and setup a scheduled task.

Just wondering if there is a simple exe or tool I can install that will compact it without having to install Office itself. :chin:

[JayBo]

Well, got everything set up for that office 2k10 install ..

just can't get the machines to run the setup file upon logging in.

[VmaxEngage]

Looking to get an SSD for booting and OS use only.

How can I go about transferring the OS on my HDD to the SSD? I think I made a separate partition for it. Should I just use my install disc again? Would I be able to use my CD key again?

[stonehenge]

You want to move it to the other HD and keep using the same installation? I'd just do a fresh install :imo

[VmaxEngage]

Can I use the activation key again?

[stonehenge]

Yeah

[theholycow]

I finally found the answer to a question that has bugged me for years: How do you make Windows forget cached credentials for a SMB share without having to restart the computer? Restart the "Workstation" service! :fp:

[VmaxEngage]

:fp:

[BillyJeanKing]

http://i.imgur.com/AsXB6.jpg

[theholycow]

They forgot the "power user" who only makes everything worse by trying to fix it.

[stonehenge]

Wiping and reinstalling winders on moms POS 10 yr old HP mini tower

:korkahdnw:

http://startisback.com/

is what I use

Its EXTREMELY well coded and keep explore8 fully intact. I have 4 more keys btw.

my install of this on the craptop ran out of trial time today, i completely forgot about it :pow:

[theholycow]

"To help protect your sobriety, your couch has blocked your wife from receiving beers to your hand. Click here for more options...."

"To help protect your security, Internet Explorer blocked this site from downloading files to your computer. Click here for more options...."

1. Fuck you IE, if instead of opening everything you always prompted the user for a location to save the file you wouldn't need to block file transfers. Then the users also might have some idea where their fucking files are and might not save changes to a temp file that's about to be deleted.

2. Fuck you IE, the site is trying to upload to your computer, probably because you are trying to download a file.

[chevyrado14]

Chrome FTW!

[theholycow]

:jester: I don't usually use IE but on servers I use it just because I don't feel like installing a browser on dozens of servers where I rarely browse.

---------- Post added at 09:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 AM ----------

And the "download" rant applies pretty universally these days. That's what got me started. "Download" now means download, upload, copy, transfer, and even install.

[stonehenge]

After Chrome finished installing this webpage I read the comments and decided to download one of my own to add to the discussion. :)



(that sounds like spammer speak O_o)

[theholycow]

Yeah, that's pretty much a normal sentence these days.

[stonehenge]

I hate when watching tv, the "tech person" on the show will "download data" from a hard drive. That's called copying bitch. Also, while copying said data, there are all sorts of pretty things flying around the screen.

The other day some dude spilled water on a keyboard to confuse the IT guy. It worked because who would have guessed water on a keyboard would cause the monitor to flicker/distort, show artifacts, etc!? I HAD NO IDEA

[theholycow]

:roflfp:

[JayBo]

I had a lady come up to me and say "Hey, whenever you get a chance I need you to come fix the sound on my 2 student computers. No sound from either of them.."

I told her "Well, we will need some headphones... blah blah"

"OH, I have those already, so just come fix it whenever.."

me :blah: BISH to fkn lazy to plug in headphones ftl

[theholycow]

:picardpalm:

[stonehenge]

:lol:

[JayBo]

Question. I remember having this at the bank.

On my desktop there was a shortcut to change ppls password on the server.
Instead of remoting in or logging in to the server to service the account, there was some kind of shortcut on my workstation desktop. I can't remember what it was called. A snap in? Widget? Something!!
Ring a bell?
Googling it as we speak with not so great results

[theholycow]

You need the Active Directory Users & Computers snap-in for MMC.

Start -> Run
mmc
File -> Add/Remove Snap-In (this process differs slightly for XP vs. Vista/7)
Active Directory Users & Computers
File -> Save if you want

Or,
Start -> Run
dsa.msc

[JayBo]

sEEMS FOR windows 7 you need this?

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7887

[theholycow]

Yeah, probably...I doubt desktop Windows of any version comes with that stuff pre-installed.

[stonehenge]

[insert jelly since I run a Mac as my desktop]

I have several remote sessions open at all times :roflpow:

[JayBo]

did not get it to connect to server. Prob just keep using RDP lulz

[theholycow]

Gotta run as a user who has appropriate permissions, generally a domain admin.

[JayBo]

I are domain admin

[stonehenge]

don't act like you're all that mister, so are we :crossarms:

[theholycow]

Is it running as domain admin, though? UAC and such...

[JayBo]

another random question.
I was given an iPad today to retrieve the video's off of and make a DVD. Problem being the video clips are all turned 180* to the left. How can I straighten them up before burning them?

I know jack shit about apple products.

[stonehenge]

make a 180* dvd and tell them not to record their shit the wrong way

[JayBo]

LOL!

Sounds legit. I actually think that's my only option.

I'm using Convert X to DVD to make the disc.

[stonehenge]

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/rotate-video-files-mac-pc/

[theholycow]

Move video to PC. Use VirtualDubPortable.

[JayBo]

:shake:
Gonna try it

[stonehenge]

Hmm... so there is this guy in town who wants me to reset passwords on 3 computers that belonged to his brother who passed away. He says that he and his mother are the only living family of the passed away guy. My coworker passed on the jerb because he doesn't want to risk losing his business license if this guy ends up being a liar bish and he isn't supposed to get into the computers.

So he said I could go do it for $75. Just reset two windows passwords and a linux password. But it sounds kinda shady to me. :jester:

NSIW

[chevyrado14]

ask for death certs, obit, paper from funeral. gotta cover your ass.

[stonehenge]

could do that

or maybe print up a paper that says something like

I passed away guys bro have the authority to access all files and information contained within the three computers belonging to passed away guy. I hereby give Juan! permission to reset the access passwords to said computers.

passed away guys bro

I wonder if that would cover my ass :chin:

or I could just not deal with it all, it's only $75

[chevyrado14]

yea a signed letter might be ok

[stonehenge]

meh, he can just take it to Geek Squad or something where they probably have a way to handle it already

[JayBo]

Project for today..

I have one of my file servers also running DNS right now.

I think I want my firewall to do the DNS b/c it's more reliable. Server always wants to restart for updates, etc. DNS goes down for a bit.
Firewall never needs restarting.

So, I'm going to try and swap the DNS over to my Firewall, and disable it on server to keep for backup.

[theholycow]

Any reason you shouldn't just leave server alone, enable DNS on firewall, then set firewall as primary and server as secondary on all computers?

[JayBo]

The Firewall does the DHCP already. Sounds like a better idea Cao. Thx.
That was a duhh huh moment. That'll give me the redundancy I was wanting.

[stonehenge]

Rick & Yaybo, do you guys use any sort of backup software or do you just use NTBackup, Windows Backup, and robocopy?

Trying to figure out the best way to do this shit. I have a 2008 R2 fileserver in one location and a second one in another location. I want to backup all the files from server A to server B. I'd prefer one initial backup and then incrementals from that point forward.

I currently have it setup to use robocopy and it works but I'd much prefer something that's easier to setup/modify/etc. On 2003 I can use NTBackup which works fine but the new Windows Backup is full of asshattery. You can't name backups when you are sending them to a network location, it just overwrites the entire backup every time it runs. The only way around it is to create folders on the network drive and create a separate backup job for each day that points to each folder. That's just ratard. You also can't backup a space larger than 2TB using Windows Backup, so it won't work on some of our stuff. I'd have to do multiple backups for some drives and then if they grow in size, those backups will break. Also, the new GUI only lets you setup ONE backup job. You can't setup a system backup on mondays, incrementals daily, and a full backup every sunday or something. To do that you need to do it all manually and create your own scheduled tasks.

So do any of you use a third party backup program that is worth a damn or should I keep robocopying up in this bish?

[theholycow]

I used Windows Server Backup for our big file server until one of its little idiocies failed me. Still use it for individual servers backing up over network, but big file server...not anymore. Don't forget you can use command line to do whatever the fuck you want, the GUI is very limited but command line is better for some stuff.

I (approximately) inherited BackupExec. I fucking hate it, but I've kinda resigned myself to using it. It constantly breaks and its error messages are worthless.

I really want something like BackupExec that is less overcooked, more robust, and not owned by Symantec.

[stonehenge]

Yeah, I was hoping you already had something like that lol we used to use backupexec for some old tape libraries. Shit sucks.

Guess I'll stick with RoboCopy for now :emo:

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[stonehenge]

http://imgur.com/a/dlEAa?gallery

[Cez★]

:eekdoor:

[theholycow]

:blah: BTDT.

[JayBo]

Sorry Wan. I just saw your post about backing up.

Honestly, I'm switching over to cloud based stuffs. Making other ppl host it. It seems more cost effective with my non existant budget that keeps getting cut each year. They have to maintain backups, upgrades, etc.

The few things I DO have to back up, I use windows backup, or do a little win zip backup file

[stonehenge]

ah our stuff would be $$$$$$ if we had to pay for outside storage and bandwidth would suck in comparison to hosting it ourselves

too mash datas ftl

[theholycow]

Honestly, I'm switching over to cloud based stuffs. Making other ppl host it. It seems more cost effective with my non existant budget that keeps getting cut each year. They have to maintain backups, upgrades, etc.
Plus, they can't cut that budget. ;)

ah our stuff would be $$$$$$ if we had to pay for outside storage and bandwidth would suck in comparison to hosting it ourselves

too mash datas ftl

:word: With a terabyte here and a terabyte there, here a terabyte there a terabyte everywhere a bunch of terabytes, old mcJuanold had a server farm, EBCDIC.

[JayBo]

I have $190,000 worth of new network stuffs sitting here in boxes I can't touch.
Doing a total refresh. New Alcatel Gig switches, new UPS's for each closet, a new firewall, content filter, and V-Brick video distribution system.

Reason I can't touch is b/c it was bought with gov't monies. All is contracted out so all I can do is look at it until it's installed.

[theholycow]

:lol:

That's not so bad, let the contractor do the work, then you only have to fix whatever they didn't do right.

[JayBo]

I also have a maintenance contract w them if I ever need help. Or am off work or something and need soemthing done. 40 hours a year I believe.

[stonehenge]

Alcatel? Those the foos that make caos phone?

[JayBo]

:shrug:
I dunno. Thats what I got though. Was in the bid that we picked up.

[theholycow]

Alcatel? Those the foos that make caos phone?

:jesteryes:

[JayBo]

Have installed SysAid on one of my unused servers. Installed the Remote Client on the workstations at the BOE down the road. Saved me TONS of time already. Being able to remotely control their workstation and them show me exactly what's going on instead of using RDP.

I love this helpdesk software.

[theholycow]

We've been using VNC and Lync.

[stonehenge]

dude in charge of the techs is trying to get Lync to be used more since its "free"

[JayBo]

SysAid is free too. If you use the free version lol

[theholycow]

I hate how long Lync takes to load the first screen, I hate how difficult it is for the user to find the dialog box for the phone call where they can tell it to share the screen with me, but once we get started I find it to be damn near perfect to use.

[JayBo]

I have to install a small remote client on the workstations but all I do is click on remote control and a dialouge box pops up for them to share screen w me. It automatically swaps to win 7basic mode when I'm remoted in and back to user selected graphic properties once I'm done .
Pretty legit

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[stonehenge]

free version works for up to 100 users

cant haz

they want all my infos to tell me how much pro is so fts :jester:

[JayBo]

I'm only using it on admin machines. Well admin, and teacher workstations. Not ever machine in the skool

[stonehenge]

ah ok, makes senses then

[theholycow]

Working on this Dell Inspiron 1521 for my in-laws. 1GB RAM, AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core TK-55, Windows Vista.

It's running horrifically slow. I wouldn't expect Vista with 1GB to be a speed demon, but it might as well be Vista on a 486 with 4MB of RAM. Spends a lot of time just totally bogged down. It didn't used to be this way.

Don't know if I'm forgetting some basic step I should take or what, but I just can't find the fault. Freed up 25GB of hard drive space and defragged with 4 different programs to pack it nicely. Disabled most auto-running software. Ran memtest86+ to make sure RAM isn't wack. Cleaned up all temp files and such. Of course I've made totally sure there is no kind of virus/malware/crapware. Tried messing with BIOS settings, though if it ran fine before like this then it should run fine now...anyway, no better. Created a new user, logged off old user and logged on as new one, set "best performance" settings turning off all visual effects (reverting to windows 95 style widgets and what not), I guess it's improved but not like it should be.

I guess I'll try windows updates and updating all drivers, but is there anything I'm forgetting?

---------- Post added at 03:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:17 PM ----------

Also I'm running sfc /scannow now.

[stonehenge]

I can't think of anything that you didn't already list. :think: any processes high on the task manager list?

[theholycow]

Running a Dell performance diagnostic test right now, looks like it's gonna take a while and don't want to disturb it. However, I don't recall seeing anything serious in task mangler. In Vista they introduced a decent performance tab in task mangler and an enhanced performance monitor that you can access from there, and that performance monitor lets you sort processes by disk activity, memory usage, and network usage as well as CPU. There I saw svchost doing a lot more than anything else, but not enough detail to know which service to look at.

Actually, having typed that out, I should try disabling services while watching the performance monitor.

Thanks Juan! ;)

[stonehenge]

:thumbsup:

[theholycow]

I think Superfetch was partially at fault. I think AVG may also be partially at fault. Gonna remove AVG, see how it runs, and install Microsoft Security Essentials.

[stonehenge]

antivirus' can be real bitches when it comes to resources

[JayBo]

AVG gives me fits at work. I only use MSE.


on the other hand, today I'm getting my gig switches installed.
Then tomorrow, AT&T is coming to install another WAN curcuit and migrate the IP's from my old one over to the newer one. That circuit + windstream should give me around 120mb incoming bandwidth

[stonehenge]

WAN curcuit
:ohyou:

[theholycow]

:laughabove:

AVG used to be great, and before MS Security Essentials came around it was my usual recommendation. AVG has since learned to suck but I didn't imagine it sucked in that way.

I'll work on it more tonight but I think it might be ok. It's very slow but not unusable, just requires lots of patience.

[stonehenge]

I put Sophos on our stuff since can haz from work legally. It can be a memory hog sometimes but it isn't very intrusive or anything, which is nice.

[theholycow]

For future convenience, concatenating the steps I tried into one post by multi-quoting...
Working on this Dell Inspiron 1521 for my in-laws. 1GB RAM, AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core TK-55, Windows Vista.

It's running horrifically slow. I wouldn't expect Vista with 1GB to be a speed demon, but it might as well be Vista on a 486 with 4MB of RAM. Spends a lot of time just totally bogged down. It didn't used to be this way.

Don't know if I'm forgetting some basic step I should take or what, but I just can't find the fault. Freed up 25GB of hard drive space and defragged with 4 different programs to pack it nicely. Disabled most auto-running software. Ran memtest86+ to make sure RAM isn't wack. Cleaned up all temp files and such. Of course I've made totally sure there is no kind of virus/malware/crapware. Tried messing with BIOS settings, though if it ran fine before like this then it should run fine now...anyway, no better. Created a new user, logged off old user and logged on as new one, set "best performance" settings turning off all visual effects (reverting to windows 95 style widgets and what not), I guess it's improved but not like it should be.

I guess I'll try windows updates and updating all drivers, but is there anything I'm forgetting?

---------- Post added at 03:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:17 PM ----------

Also I'm running sfc /scannow now.

Running a Dell performance diagnostic test right now, looks like it's gonna take a while and don't want to disturb it. However, I don't recall seeing anything serious in task mangler. In Vista they introduced a decent performance tab in task mangler and an enhanced performance monitor that you can access from there, and that performance monitor lets you sort processes by disk activity, memory usage, and network usage as well as CPU. There I saw svchost doing a lot more than anything else, but not enough detail to know which service to look at.

Actually, having typed that out, I should try disabling services while watching the performance monitor.

Thanks Juan! ;)

I think Superfetch was partially at fault. I think AVG may also be partially at fault. Gonna remove AVG, see how it runs, and install Microsoft Security Essentials.

Also, found these:
http://superuser.com/questions/404617/what-is-the-proper-way-of-debugging-a-slow-windows-installation
http://superuser.com/questions/202254/how-do-i-get-to-the-root-cause-of-high-deferred-procedure-calls
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/140263-how-to-get-the-cause-of-high-cpu-usage-by-dpc-interrupt/

[stonehenge]

did it end up running better after all that?

[theholycow]

Dunno, didn't end up touching it at all yesterday. Immediately afterwards it seemed to be usable if still very slow.

---------- Post added at 10:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 AM ----------

Some thoughts:

Windows 8...

Classic Shell http://www.classicshell.net provides very configurable Start menu, better than making DIY one out of toolbars.

Speaking of toolbars, pinned programs are not the same as a toolbar so here's how to get a good old fashioned Quick Launch toolbar complete with small icons instead of a menu:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5069-quick-launch-add-taskbar-windows-8-a.html

Other Windows 8 tweaks to be more comfortable:
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/software-and-web-apps/how-to-make-windows-8-look-like-windows-7-50009546/
http://windowsphonehacker.com/articles/disabling_metro_completely_on_windows_8-12-09-12
http://windowsphonehacker.com/articles/clean_up_windows_8_desktop_styles_with_the_minimal _theme-11-01-12
http://atechguide.com/disable-metro-ui-windows-8/

Windows 8 Pro vs. Enterprise
http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithmayer/archive/2013/02/04/windows-8-pro-vs-enterprise-what-s-the-difference.aspx

Actually want to try "Apps"? Why doesn't Microsoft provide an obvious search box in their app store? Here's how to search:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_cp-windows_store/how-do-i-search-the-windows-8-store/caf5b20e-f747-4a1d-9afc-63f339ff99cb

General thought on Windows 8:
I skipped Vista and grudgingly accepted 7, hating it all the time, but 8 is actually decent with minor modifications -- and let's face it, I always do major modifications right from the get-go with any OS at all anyway.


And stepping away from Windows...for linux, VNC the way we are used to using it on Windows, that actually works: x11vnc. Install it and run this or add it to /etc/init.d/rc.local:
nohup x11vnc -auth guess -display :0.0 -forever -o /var/log/x11vnc.log -loop > /var/log/nohupx11vnc.log 2>&1 &
Then your existing display gets shared via VNC. Left your programs open? No problem, you'll see them. Etc.

Creating VMs using KVM:
http://www.howtoforge.com/virtualization-with-kvm-on-a-debian-squeeze-server
Note that when not using separate server and workstation, minor changes are necessary. Also you may want to add a user to the recommended group rather than just adding root.
My command for creating a Windows XP VM guest:
virt-install --connect qemu:///system -n xp2 -r 512 --vcpus=2 --disk path=/home/thc/VMs/xp2.img,size=12 -c /home/thc/Downloads/SW_CD_Windows_XP_Professional_32BIT_English_ISO_ML F_X15-05160.ISO --vnc --noautoconsole --os-type Windows --os-variant winxp --accelerate --network=bridge:br0 --hvm
Also, can't use DHCP with bridging ethernet. Just gotta copypaste the /etc/network/interfaces he used and adjust it.

[stonehenge]

So you like 8 better than 7? Interesting.

Pretty sure I'm going to install 8 next time I wipe my desktop. MBP hates it, he can't wait to go back to 7. :jester:

[theholycow]

Yeah. I'm the only one who sees it, but 7 is just Vista R2 with a new name so they can sell it again. It suffers from almost every Vista malady and brings some of its own new suck. The only useful thing it does that XP doesn't is have an improved Task Mangler and Resource Monitor. I used 7 instead of XP because it was necessary, not because it was worthwhile.

8 is built on some of the same crud, with some additional crud making the interface suck more, but it's got real improvements. The killer improvement for me is the Windows Explorer file mangler that actually runs well. In Vista/7, it was horrible...slow, unresponsive, half the time it failed to even list the contents of a folder, etc. In 8 it's snappy fast, even more than XP, and works properly. Also they brought back the Up button, though Classic Shell did that for Vista/7.

As a whole, everything is snappy. It seems to manage resources better; the same old stuff actually runs better. This is an unprecedented accomplishment for Microsoft. Despite the talking heads saying every new Microsoft OS runs faster than the old one, it's never been true until now.

Not pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete to get the login is nice. Any old click or keypress does the job. Then the Metro tiles crap comes up and I whack the Esc key and never see it again (and one of the links I provided links to a free program to prevent it).

After adjusting themes, installing Classic Shell, etc, one major complaint that remains is the flattened interface. This is more an issue with Office 2013 (which I installed at the same time) than a Windows 8 thing but it exists in Windows 8 also. Controls that have been 3D since Windows 3.0 have been flattened, lists have been ambiguified (can't see at a glance where one item ends and another begins).

Another complaint: It's been locking up on me, freezing like Windows 95. :wtf: Maybe some drivers will fix it or something...

[stonehenge]

I likes 7, don't share your hatred :jester: but I do want to try W8 for its speed improvements.

I like the flatness/minimalism that they used in the menus/theme/etc. and I noticed the up button when I was playing with wifeys lappy the other day. Up ftw.



/relevant


unrelated:

I want a laptop to use for testing stuffs but my options are as follows:

- Decent macbook pro with backlit keyboard and larger screen. Sexy, fast enough, but its a Mac. I want to use it for OBDII and any other random shit, so I prefer windows. Guess I could bootcamp the bish.

- Old Gateway W322 (has a Celeron M). This one is the lightest/smallest, which is nice since I want to use it in the car and whatnot but its slow as shit and I couldn't get everything working in W7, drivers are non-existent and old drivers don't work right. So this one would be stuck on XP. I think the battery on this one is also taking a shit and doesn't last very long.

- Dell Inspiron E1505. Core Duo, designed for Vista so it has no problems with W7 and would probably be okay with W8 also. But it randomly bluescreens with a generic error, no memory dump or anything. I've taken it apart and cleaned it, swapped the ram, swapped the HD, etc. I'm pretty sure I've tracked it down to a non-working fan but I don't want to spend money to buy this odd shaped fan and then it still bluescreens. Also, can't find any other fans that are the same voltage and can be crammed in there.

:chin:

I'm thinking the Mac with bootcamp is my best bet. :hmm: dnw slow turd that won't let me play with W8, dnw fast turd that bluescreens for fun.

Might try putting W8 on the Mac at home later

[theholycow]

W8's flatness (and, if you can call it this, minimalism) looks great but just isn't as efficient to use. You have to actually look at what you're doing, stop to read it and think about it and identify which nearly identical thing you want to click and then stare at it to know if it worked or not.

Sounds like that Mac is the only decent hardware available. If it can haz Winders and will work with your stuff, should be a win. How mash is the fan for the Dell on eBay?

[stonehenge]

its not too much but i dont feel like spending money on it at all :jester: I'm definitely not trashing that lappy though because while its running its decently snappy, it just bluescreens after a while.

i'm not even 100% that its heat causing the bluescreens though, I turned it on with no fan and ran prime95 to try to make it bluescreen. watched the temps rise and rise until the mobo cut the power to protect it, it never bluescreened. So idk if even want to spend the $10-15 for a used ebay fan if it may not even be heat that caused the screens.

google says many old dells are prone to the bluescreen that i was getting and others fixed it by replacing the video card and shit. definitely don't want to spend that much on it.

will use mac :jester:

[theholycow]

Forgot to mention, there's advice here for partially mitigating the Office 2013 excessive flatness issue:
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/2013/changing-office-2013s-color-scheme/
The darkest grey scheme offered is a slight improvement, as is setting solid line separators.

[theholycow]

Ok, another win for Windows 8: Ejecting USB hard drives works right. It's never worked right, not even in XP.

[stonehenge]

i never had issues in w7, what was wrong with it?

[chevyrado14]

eject usb drive?

:sweetbrown:

[theholycow]

...and file management. I've already mentioned navigating in Explorer, but messing around with a lot of files is so much better than ever. Deleting a crapload of files happens fast. Moving or copying files is fast and has a cool speed graph and shit.

---------- Post added at 03:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:52 PM ----------

Ejecting USB hard drives in XP:
1. Click eject tray icon
2. Guess device and click
3. Wait forever
4. Never allowed to unplug

Ejecting USB hard drives in VistaSeven:
1. Click eject tray icon
2. Wait forever
3. Guess and click
4. Wait forever
5. Never allowed to unplug

Ejecting USB hard drive in 8:
1. Click eject tray icon
2. Click device
3. Device can be safely removed

[stonehenge]

dont really care about the usb thing, doesn't sound much different to me, but the copying and speed graph i noticed on wifeys, is definitely an improvement

[theholycow]

Another Windows 8 feature I like: Built-in ISO loop mount. Double click a .ISO file and it gets mounted as a drive letter.

Also has built in PDF viewer metro app, which seems quicker and lighter than most PDF viewers. Unfortunately it's a metro app, so full-screen only. Not terrible with dual screens but I still prefer to be able to size my PDF window.

[stonehenge]

yeah i don't like the apps, the fullscreen only, no access to desktop shit doesn't make sense for a desktop operating system

the ISO mounting sounds bamf

[theholycow]

It is. In XP I used MS's unsupported VCDControl tool, which worked well but took a minor effort. In Vista/7 I had to download a third party program, though it was pretty casual after that. In 8 it's just SO casual...double click and it's mounted and it even opens a window. Right-click and you get the option to dismount.

[stonehenge]

very nice

would probably still need to install a 3rd party at some point since some of the images I use require DRM emulation stuffs :secret:

[theholycow]

:secretjest:

[stonehenge]

W8 R2: http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/25/4144618/windows-blue-video-preview-screenshots

[theholycow]

Just found another Windows 8 improvement. When you have multiple file copy operations running, you don't get multiple dialogboxen for them, they get displayed concurrently in one supersized box. Could get confusing, but at the same time definitely beats having a bunch of little ones open that you can't keep track of...

[stonehenge]

:notbad:

[stonehenge]

It would appear that my nVidia tray settings shortcut thingamajig is being a real bitch:

http://i.imgur.com/dPQ4kNm.png

:roflpow:

Killed it and it restarted itself but is currently using <5mb. Methinks it has a bad leak.

[chevyrado14]

User Name : Dolan

:bogzno:

[stonehenge]

:jester: I reinstalled windows around the time we discovered dolan and his shenanigans and idgaf what username i use, is different every time i install

will be doing a fresh install of w8 soon so no more dolan :emobye:

[theholycow]

It would appear that my nVidia tray settings shortcut thingamajig is being a real bitch:

http://i.imgur.com/dPQ4kNm.png

:roflpow:

Killed it and it restarted itself but is currently using <5mb. Methinks it has a bad leak.

Why restart it? Why not kill it and disable it from auto-running?

Fewer processes = better.

[stonehenge]

i didn't restart it, it did it on its own and i had to get ready for work. i'll get rid of it later

[stonehenge]

installing server 2012 on a new server :uhoh:

[theholycow]

Nice. I think I'm going to go ahead and use Server 2012 on the next server I do.

[stonehenge]

flatness and metro start menu annoying me already :fp:

[theholycow]

Fix Metro with these two.
http://winaero.com/comment.php?comment.news.103
http://www.classicshell.net

[stonehenge]

may or may not do that. this is a little desktop-shaped server that won't really do much, we just didn't want this dudes crap on our other servers :jester: i'll probably leave it alone

[theholycow]

Sounds like a server that should have been linux.

[stonehenge]

Yeah we wanted Linux or even a Mac Mini but he needed some POS software installed that is windows only and he wanted quicker backups so shadow copy works well.

[race2c]

So IT folks need a modem suggestion.

I currently have Comcast business class, and currently renting their modem. What are my options for buying my own modem, if its even possible?

Current modem is a SMC Networks Model: SMCD3G

[stonehenge]

i just bought motorola one from Hellmart :jester:

[race2c]

Will that support business class or does it really matter it comes to the modems?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[stonehenge]

Not sure :/

[stonehenge]

Got all my files copied to the 2tb mirrored drives last night. After work I'll disconnect the current boot drive, plug in the SSD, and install W8. Gonna use this method to relocate Users folder:

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4275-user-profiles-relocate-another-partition-disk.html

Audit Mode sounds interesting :chin:

---------- Post added at 07:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 AM ----------

also a couple things in here I may do, although a lot of it is common stuff or unneeded: http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

---------- Post added at 08:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:12 AM ----------

POS Mac Mini doesn't have an optical drive so I pulled a dvd writer out of this trash computer I have scavenged. Went to borrow the IDE/SATA to USB adapter from the tech manager and he handed me a different one than they usually use.

J: "Oh nice, you got a new one?"
TM: "Yeah... the other started to smell like burning plastic... while the hard drive plugged into it smelled like burnt plastic... and the usb port it was connected to stopped working and also smelled like burnt plastic... so we thought it might be a good idea to just throw that one away..."
J: "Yeah, probably a good idea :eek2:"

:lol:

[Jellyrolls]

Apple > Windows and Linux

[stonehenge]

I think you mean OSX.

[Jellyrolls]

No, I mean Apple because they are the best

[stonehenge]

apple == ghey

[chevyrado14]

yea you mean Crapple! :cheeky:

[Jellyrolls]

steve jobs = god

[stonehenge]

Jellytrolls

[JayBo]

My fucking new firewall wont let me reply to threads... we'd? I can create and read but not reply

Sent from my SCH-I535

[Cez★]

u just did

[JayBo]

From mobile network .... :fp:

Sent from my SCH-I535

[Cez★]

:derp:

[stonehenge]

so you're on your work wifiz?

does your firewall keep logs? try to reply a few times and watch/check the logs and see why its blocked. tapatalk is probably using a different port or going through their server or some shenanigans like that

[Jellyrolls]

just buy a mac

[Cez★]

agreed

[theholycow]

My complaint about Windows 8 and Office 2013? Let me amend it to include everyfuckingthing. Must be the new trend. I've been on a cloud storage binge (mega-post coming up in the dropbox thread soon) and a lot of these sites have light grey text on a white background. For fuck's sake, man...

[stonehenge]

yeah i've noticed a few weird things with the theme. Like if you choose a dark color for your theme, the title bar on windows can be hard to read because it has black text. But if you pick a really light color, the taskbar can be hard to read because it has white text. :fp: So that limits color choices. Also, they got rid of the transparency slider even though the taskbar still has transparency. I used to make it transparent black but now black is opaque unless i make it grey.

minor things but kinda annoying

otherwise im liking 8, already used to start menu nonsense because I rarely need it lol

[theholycow]

Y u no use classic shell to bring back start menu?

[theholycow]

Turns out Opera has a feature that automatically applies inline fixes to sites that don't work right in Opera.
http://www.opera.com/docs/browserjs/
Don't know if it's enabled by default, but it wasn't in my profile...granted, my profile has been in service for many years and major Opera versions and is pretty mangled.

[JayBo]

Fuck yes. I figured the firewall out.
Man this thing has some extensive filtering shit.

[stonehenge]

so one downside to having my user profile on the secondary disk is chrome installs there. So everything I do in chrome makes the secondary drives churn. Both since mirrored.

Might uninstall it and find a portable one or just reinstall it to C:.

[theholycow]

Windows 8 tip:
I was happy that the PDF reader app was there as soon as I installed the OS, but other than that I'm not fond of the Metro Apps. Run Powershell as administrator and give it this command:
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
Remove ALL the apps!
:allthethings:

[stonehenge]

:lol: will do later, not a fan of apps on w8.

[M.B Co]

I'll give this a shot here. Hit a wall little bit.

What someone in the office wants to do

In an Excel (or any MS Office Doc) File. Save & Send. Send as Attachment.

Want to default to Google Gmail (via Chrome Browser) Not Outlook to send the email with the doc already attached.

Is that possible?

I've already got Google App Sync via Outlook and Gmail. I default to Chrome/Gmail for work purposes. I've read it may take some API work to do this?

Edit: Doesn't seem like it's possible.

You can change any default program to choose another default to use. But cannot default to a web url ie: chrome+ gmail

[theholycow]

What OS? Might be possible in Windows 8 if Chrome is set as the default browser; newer OSes seem to support webmail through a browser as an email handler. Otherwise you'll need to add gmail to an email program like Outlook or Thunderbird and set it as default.

[stonehenge]

Win 3.1

[fatkidkustomz]

Not really IT... and not sure if it's just me or if everyone is having this problem. So I'm asking for ideas.

Problem: YouTube for me is an extra kind of super shitty laggy lately. Takes FOREVER to load and buffer even less than 5 minute long videos in 480p. I'm using Chrome, so you would think that it would be getting along with that ok. I also know it's not my internet connection, because every other video site loads perfectly fine, no buffering, no lagging.

I've cleared cache, temp files, cookies, all that shit. No dice. Any ideas?

[stonehenge]

I thought I saw something somewhere about certain ISPs doing something weird with YouTube. I don't have the issue so I ignored it. Let me see if I can find it.

[fatkidkustomz]

I has FiOs... usually I have no issues, but if VZ is up to faggotry, I will call them and bitch.

[theholycow]

Youtube's been teh suck for me lately too.

[fatkidkustomz]

Did some Googling... Seems that it's a combo problem. Poor routing/packet handling/caching between big name ISP and Google. Guess they finally got too big for themselves.

[M.B Co]

What OS? Might be possible in Windows 8 if Chrome is set as the default browser; newer OSes seem to support webmail through a browser as an email handler. Otherwise you'll need to add gmail to an email program like Outlook or Thunderbird and set it as default.

W7.

Our Marketing Manager has a new laptop with 8 and she said she got it to work. But she is one of the 3 people who has 8.

[theholycow]

Remember I posted about how happy I am with File Explorer in Windows 8? Well, the first half of this blog post helps explain it:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/08/29/improvements-in-windows-explorer.aspx
They really did their homework.

The second half is an attempt to rationalize that stupid ribbon and the removal of the classic menu bar. To that, I say:
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/c0.0.318.318/p403x403/69624_10151300949958386_1445052755_n.jpg

[theholycow]

http://i.qkme.me/3u5khf.jpg

[stonehenge]

:lol:

[theholycow]

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7384181248/h393F9BE0/

[stonehenge]

we are google (masters|experts|pros)

[Cez★]

:turborofl:

[2005_Silverado]

our IT guys need good google powers....fgts got me new lappy, nice and all....but now I cant open excel/word files when im not on network.

I have files in my flash drives i need while out doing auditor shit...cant open them cuz says "file in use..blah blah blah" I can open pdfs and mp3s :secret: but not excel/werd shit....any ideas? :help:

[theholycow]

Can you run Excel/Word without opening a file?

Try OpenOffice Portable or LibreOffice Portable and see if it can open your files, too. No installation required so no administrative privileges required.

[2005_Silverado]

yesh i can open excel/werd and create shit....i just cant open my file in my flashdrive. Imma get those 2 and put in my drive :shake:

[theholycow]

What happens if you try to copy the document to the hard drive?

What is the file size of the document?

[stonehenge]

EDIT: never mind, you're opening from a flashdrive... I thought it was a network drive... the info below doesn't matter if your having trouble with a flashdrive. fak.

:gooby:

Old shit:

I've had similar issues when non-domain people (which laptops tend to be) access files on network drives. It seems like Vista/7/8 are worse and it usually only happens with Office products. As far as we can tell, when you first click the file, hover over it, etc, Windows starts reading the details of the file. Then you try to open it and Windows is already "using" the file. Something like that...

Try opening your network drive and then on the top of the window, click Organize > Layout > Details Pane. That removes the Details pane from the bottom of the window and has fixed the problem for some people here. This assumes your problem is the same as the one I've run into. Worth a try.

[2005_Silverado]

What happens if you try to copy the document to the hard drive?

What is the file size of the document?

C: is locked...cant save shit on it...gotta save to a flashdrive. File is 5mb

[stonehenge]

cant even save to desktawp or my documents? :eek2:

[2005_Silverado]

not if im off the netwerk...if im on its fine, I can save to my P: drive (netwerk drive...C: is always locked).

[stonehenge]

not a bad thing in general to keep all work backed up on P drive pero not being able to save to a laptop is kinda a pain in the ass. All data is on a small thing thats easier to lose than the laptop.

When your laptop is connected to the network can you open files on the flash drive?

[2005_Silverado]

yeah, no problem ever opening/saving to flash drive...its when Im not on the network that Ive got issues with it....fgt IT guy couldnt figure it out...Im off on friday so I told him to just take it with him then :nono: Last IT ticket I opened took 45 days to close :crossarms:

[stonehenge]

normally the flash drive shouldn't behave differently on/off network. I wonder if they have some sort of weird group policy thing that is supposed to make things more secure when you leave work. idk

[theholycow]

Can you copy the file to another flash drive? I want to find out what happens when Windows tries to read the file without opening it in any kind of application.

[stonehenge]

Yeah it wouldn't surprise me if Office is being a ratard. Especially since mp3/pdf are fine.

Maybe Office is trying to save temp files to the C drive somewhere and isn't allowed to :chin:

[2005_Silverado]

Can you copy the file to another flash drive? I want to find out what happens when Windows tries to read the file without opening it in any kind of application.

ill try this

[stonehenge]

I hate running chkdsk, I always have a feeling that it is going to fuck things up worse.

[Cez★]

there any way to make mah macbewk fast. kinda laags bootin up compared to when i got it

[2005_Silverado]

IT fgts ended up giving me rights to C:.....made me sign some stuped shet i wouldnt save to it and whatnot :fp: atleast i can open shit now

[stonehenge]

there any way to make mah macbewk fast. kinda laags bootin up compared to when i got it

Hmm its a Pro right?


IT fgts ended up giving me rights to C:.....made me sign some stuped shet i wouldnt save to it and whatnot :fp: atleast i can open shit now

:jester:

[theholycow]

there any way to make mah macbewk fast. kinda laags bootin up compared to when i got it

It's a Mac, you don't need to worry about that sort of thing.
:derp:

[stonehenge]

macs just work bro

[Cez★]

Hmm its a Pro right?




:jester:

yea

It's a Mac, you don't need to worry about that sort of thing.
:der:

:lol:

[Chevrolet Fanatic]

Guys what would be a good name for a PC/Laptop repair business? Thinking about actually getting a business license to become legit.

Nailz's PC Repair?...

:lol:

...no seriously though what would be a good name?

[stonehenge]

Cyberpunk PC Repair & Trophy Assistance

[theholycow]

Reesee's PCs.

---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 PM ----------

The Computer Rebooter.

---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:02 PM ----------

No name, just this:
:tardarno:

[stonehenge]

Nailz' Computer Solutions
Middle of nowhere computer fixer guy, inc.
Nailz, The Mobile IT Guy

[Chevrolet Fanatic]

Cyberpunk PC Repair & Trophy Assistance

:lol:

Need help getting that elusive platinum trophy?...Nailz is the guy for the job.

[stonehenge]

Need help finding the best anime tiddyz?...Nailz is the guy for the job.

[Chevrolet Fanatic]

:ohyou:

Yes, dat too...could probably compile an excel spreadsheet list by memory.

:lol:

[stonehenge]

:jester:

[Cez★]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexnaidus/insanely-useful-and-simple-hacks-for-google-chrome


:notbad:

[stonehenge]

"hacks"

[theholycow]

"hacks"

:word:

Anyway, dropping Chrome was the first and easiest thing to do to reduce my dependence on Google...

[theholycow]

Windows Server 2012 first impression:
:notbad:

People have been kvetching about Metro in it, but I've seen neither hide nor hair of Metro. It lacks the Start menu but lacks Metro also. Microsoft is really pushing the non-GUI server, 20 years too late. Hell, even I, a most stalwart fan of doing everything from the command line, have learned to appreciate the GUI. Anyway, Classic Shell takes care of that in short order.

Best default desktop background color ever. Dark grey. Perfect.

Seems to operate as one would expect from Windows. Only complaint is partitioning for install...I thought I made a 100GB partition for the OS when in the installer's partitioning dialog, but the installer ignored it and installed on the remaining terabyte meant for data. No problem. Convert to Dynamic, shrink partition, create new partition with all remaining space, notice the 100GB partition I originally made just sitting there, delete it, extend new 900GB partition onto that non-adjacent space, done.

[stonehenge]

I've used 2012 on the last couple servers we setup. One is just a simple file share, the other one runs a document sharing application and file storage. So far it hasn't given us any issues and just like W8, I've gotten used to the Metro stuff. I don't even use Classic Shell or anything anymore. It's easier to hit the Windows key and type the first few letters of what you want than it is to navigate a Programs menu anyway.

[theholycow]

Where'd you get Metro? I did a 2012 Standard install and Metro hasn't reared its ugly head.

[stonehenge]

I think we did standard but it has a Metro start menu.

[stonehenge]

Gonna give farfux another try because Chrome has been pissing me off. The issues from before have been resolved so it's usable now but on my wifes laptop, it will lock up and do nothing for like 5 minutes when first opened. On my Mac at work, it will take FOREVER to type what I want into the address bar (I type something in 2 seconds and it takes 5 minutes for it to show up). Googling these things comes up with threads full of people with similar issues and no fixes.

FarFux is second choice. Opera runs well but I can't get the hang of certain parts of it.

[theholycow]

Opera runs well but I can't get the hang of certain parts of it.

Like what?

Rendering issues should be gone with Opera 15, which has the same Webkit engine as Chrome instead of Opera's own.

[stonehenge]

I actually never ran into rendering issues or compatibility issues. It's little things. I can't remember the exact issues right now but they have to do with tabs and opening links in new ones and stuff like that.

Just little behaviors that Opera does a bit different than Chrome/FireFox.

[theholycow]

Yeah, there's definitely lots of stuff like that...although a lot of it can be adjusted.

[stonehenge]

Last time I tried Opera, I dug into the settings (including the hidden ones) and fixed a couple things but I know there was one or two things that kept bothering me. It's a nice browser, I just couldn't get used to those things.

Found an issue with any non-Chrome browser... Hangouts.

Me and my wifey use Hangouts (previously Google Talk) all the time to communicate during work-hours. I also occasionally use it to BS with my brother and parents. When it was still Google Talk, you could install a standalone GTalk app on Windows/OSX that let you chat, quickly get to your GMail inbox, receive gmail notifications, etc. It was nice. Now you can only access hangouts by installing a Chrome-only extension or by keeping Gmail or G+ open in a tab at all times. That is clunky because you don't get notifications or pop-ups or anything, you have to keep an eye on the tab.

That isn't any browsers fault though, that's Google's fault for releasing an "upgrade" that removed features. I like Hangouts better than Gtalk in a few ways but no standalone client (or at least browser extensions for all browsers) is shitty.

/rant

[theholycow]

[QUOTE=Juan!;498535] Chrome-only extension/QUOTE]

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-install-chome-extensions-in-opera-and-vice-versa-579083466

[stonehenge]

I'd have to use Opera for that to work. ;)

[stonehenge]

1. I had to remove 25 screws (9 different sizes) from this laptop just to pull the HD.
2. My primary monitor is showing everything with a magenta tint. This has happened before, I need to unplug all the things and plug it all back in.

Mac, it just works. :)