Delphi Starter Edition sucks

So we went and got Delphi XE starter edition.

The feature matrix is confusing, to say the least... but if you look at the sales page, it makes it very clear that the difference between the Starter and Pro editions is in the licensing of applications. Check the link above, or read the description yourself (retrieved May 11, 2011):

Delphi XE Starter is a great way to get started building high-performance applications for Windows. Delphi Starter includes a streamlined IDE, code editor, ultra fast compiler, integrated debugger, two-way visual designers to speed development, hundreds of visual components, InterBase Express for connectivity with the InterBase database, and a limited commercial deployment license.
If you’re an individual you may use the Starter Edition to create apps for your own use and apps that you can sell until your revenues reach $1,000 per year. If you’re a small company or organization without revenue (or up to $1,000 per year in revenue), you can also use the Starter Edition. Once your company's total revenue reaches US $1,000, or your team expands to more than 5 developers, move up to the Professional edition with an unrestricted commercial license.

The REAL difference is in functionality, not licensing... the refactoring and other reasons for upgrading from Delphi 7 are MISSING in the "starter" edition.  This is NOT mentioned here... and definitely should be. I suspect this omission is deliberate. Starter edition should instead be renamed "bait".

Oh well... can't get a refund... don't want to pay $500 to see if the next level up is more crap.

Delphi XE sucks.

Toshiba DVD Player - Win7 and Aero theme

It started with this message. I turned off the Aero theme for performance reasons when setting up a machine for someone. Then I tried to run the Toshiba DVD Player and got this error message:


After some investigation I've determined that for some reason (IMHO probably related to slush funds and kickbacks) you must have an Aero theme running in order for the DVD player to function.

However, I've taken the time to figure out the bare minimum features necessary to still have everything work, inspite of the insipid insistence on an Aero theme. I'm sharing this with you so you too can work around this as best as possible.

First right-click on "computer" and select "properties"



Then click on Advanced system settings on the left:



Then click on Performance Settings:



The ONLY options you need to have checked are as shown:

• Enable desktop composition
• Use visual styles on windows and buttons

One you have this, and an Aero theme, you should be ready to go.

My HP DV5030US woes continue

LaptopJenny is still waiting for the repair... despite being promised back to me by December 6, 2006. It's the third display failure, exact same symptoms:

• Vertical stripe on the left edge which makes it look like the sync isn't quite right
• Position and pressure sensitivty in the upper left corner of the frame outside the display
• Total loss of video... resulting in vertical striped wallpaper.

I've had this laptop for a little less than a year... a fact which HP insists on pointing out everytime they try to "upsell" me extended warranty coverage (which won't cover the display if (when!) it breaks again).

I've found out that the reason for the delay is a shortage of the part required for the repair. I'm assuming its a mechanical design problem causing the LCD module to break from stress... but I'm no mechanical engineer... so I might be wrong.

I spent about $1500... got about 3 months real use out of it... before losing everything... twice! (HP says that my data is safe... but reformats it every time).

I'm going to save my pennies and get an Acer... they used to be shit in the 80s... but seem to deliver good bang for the bucks these days.

More HP crap

I've previously offered up the remains of my old laptop for anyone who personally needs them. Derrick wrote seeking out a power connector... which doesn't suprise me... they put the connector in the corner of the motherboard... a poor choice because its weaker, and the cord is more likely to be stressed laterally as well.

Here's my suggestion back to him....

Hi Derrick,

No... the motherboard was the root of the evil... and was the main thing pitched...

You should be able to buy the connector, fairly cheap at any major supply house... have you tried Digikey? http://www.digikey.com/

This page of their catalog might be what you need.... not sure of the exact connector dimensions, as I no longer have the adapter. http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T063/0337-0340.pdf

Section 12 on that page (right-angle PCB connectors)... may be it.

The dimensions are critical on those plugs... the wrong size just won't work.

Also... we've had some success re-soldering then EPOXYING the connector in place to relieve strain on my wife's laptop... it lasted at least 6 months... and now I need to repeat the process.

Good luck!

--Mike--

HP Pavilion DV5030US - Dead for the 3rd time!

Ugh... just as I was getting back into the swing of things, LaptopJenny (an HP Pavilion DV5030US notebook) died again!
I shipped it for repair on the 20th of last month... looks like I get to do it again...

Here's what the my Windows desktop looks like right now.... not very useful:





Here's what it's supposed to look like (if you push in the upper left corner, it works until you let go)



I'm hoping I get some other option than repair again!

Getting things in order

I noticed today that I couldn't drag and drop things on LaptopJenny... I investigated all sorts of things until deciding it was a device driver issue. I used Device Manager to remove the trackpad driver, and after two reboots, all was well.

I only realized after I was done that it had disabled both mouse buttons while the mouse moved... a supremely frustrating thing when you're used to them.

Next up, I just found SharePod, which will let me extract the music from the iPod Mini Noran gave me to replace the dead Shuffle, and I can use it without iTunes.

I hate iTunes... the stupid piece of shit always gets in the way, trying to connect to the iPod like a crazed Mother Bear protecting her young. Usually when I plug an iPod in, it's to charge it, or to transfer files in either direction.. NOT to put more overpriced crippled music in it.

iTunes is DefectiveByDesign!

I'm never going to fit the photos back in LaptopJenny... I've forgotten about music... I need my music!

Cest la vie

--Mike--

LaptopJenny is back!

Now returned from her SECOND display repair is LaptopJenny... my HP DV5030US.

Unlike last time, I made a FULL backup of everything this time. This helped me greatly when, like last time, HP reformatted the hard drive. I'm very pleased with the way that Backup and Restore actually worked with Windows XP Media center on this thing. I've got all of my programs, desktop icons, network connections (VPN to work, etc).

I specifically haven't restored all the photos yet, because I can't. They just won't fit. I've got 18 Gigabytes of photos (1997-2003), and 10 remaing gigabytes to put them in. I've got too many picture.

I carry around, on a daily basis, some 80,000 photos. The common wisdom of photographers everywhere is that you can instantly double the quality of your collection by throwing away half. I've already done this, I have about 160,000 photos in the archive. (144 Gb!)

I did it the first time by just tossing out things that were out of focus, badly framed, etc. I wasn't all the way through, either... but I lost my place in the first HP format, so now I get to figure it out again. Not only that... now the pictures are ones I've already decided to keep once.

It's overwhelming if you look at the math. Reviewing them and making a decision for each photo might take 10 seconds each....800,000 seconds == 13,333 minutes == 380 South Shore commutes... yikes! If I focus on this, and spend most of my train commutes, I'll be done next year.

When I give out the number of photos on my laptop (Ctrl-T in ThumbsPlus)... I typically get a reaction of disbelief, and dismissal, which lasts only long enough for the slide shows to begin. (F8 in ThumbsPlus)... then a pleasant tour through some days events.... then thanks and appreciation... it's an emotional ride I've learned to enjoy taking.

It's a hell of a lot of fun to be able to pull out the laptop, and start a slide show for bored kids on the way to Chicago.. I do it about once ever other month. Now I'm showing a lot of photos of Virginia as well. In this way, LaptopJenny is a social tool, and not just a toy for playing RT3. It helps me to share a bit of my world with my friends and acquaintances.

I've been lax putting things up here... and on my Flickr account... I'm working on getting my life organized a bit more, so I'll try to get this going as well.

So there I was, following a link from this story at BoingBoing, and instead of something interesting, I got a view of one of the most clueless ISPs on the planet.

It has to be one of the worst possible ways to handle the suspension of a web site account. Brought to you by provider vDeck. Instead of the web site I was surfing to, I got this:

account suspended

Your account has been suspended. We have sent you an email explaining why. This email should also contain information on how you can unsuspend your account.

Now, if that isn't unfriendly, I'm not sure what is.

In response to this, I wrote the following email:

Here's a gentle suggestion to help you future sales efforts. Your hosting operations folks are making your organization to be composed of rude arrogant assholes, I strongly suggest you modify their behavior.

The situation:
I followed a link to http://host117.ipowerweb.com/suspended.html

And I see this:

"account suspended


Your account has been suspended. We have sent you an email explaining why. This email should also contain information on how you can unsuspend your account."


#1. I don't have an account, in fact 99.99995% of the persons to see this message don't have an account. Wrong target audience
#2. Insufficient information: If they were over their bandwidth cap, just say so, otherwise act appropriately. You now force us to speculate as to why the account is suspended... were they Al-Queda members? Did the FBI say so? Or what!?!?!?!
#3. I won't get any email about this... you're routing the information that you didn't provide, to the wrong person
#4. No course of action left to the end user.
Can we assume that you're just being stupid, and its a temporary web site cap?
Should be keep hitting reload until it works?
Can we come back later and see the content?
Are your servers and networks down?


In summary, you're telling me (instead of your customer) that you don't care about the social norms of the internet. You're also telling me that you're rude to your customers.(as well as the public) Further, you put your logo behind this message. Bad idea!

I'd like to know what steps are being taken to rectify this behavior, and what steps you've made to compensate your customer.

Michael Warot


Of course, the email bounced!

It's my damned computer! How the fuck do I get this damned DRM crap off of Windows XP Home?

I want to be able to watch OUR footage from OUR wedding, and the fucking DRM in Windows Media Player 9 decides that I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT to take my favorite frame, and save it in Paint Shop Pro... this sucks, and I refuse to let it stand.

If I have to, I'll format this damned machine, and run Fedora Core on it!

Digital Rights Management is EVIL!