After many, many years of knowing about this function, I have finally used it successfully.
I have to say that I have not used Windows as my primary or secondary system for more than ten years, but I have it installed on many of the old laptops in my collection, and I also have a virtualised installation on my main PC for those rare times when I want to spend some time playing GTA V (the only "modern" game I play).
But back to my topic. I have had an old PocketBook e-reader for a long time and I really like it. However, it is sometimes a bit buggy, especially when the battery level drops to somewhere around 10%. Then it is a bit tricky to switch it on, and usually I have to charge it and then open the covers, short the battery for a very short time and then it can be switched on.
However, about a month ago I discovered that I could no longer boot it. It displayed some information about a damaged drive. So after some more research, I discovered that the 'memory' was a microSD card soldered to the main circuit board. Amazing...
And the microSD card ...
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While going through the box of DVDs I found another interesting piece. It is a preview package of Microsoft products from 2007.
The most interesting is probably the Windows Server RC1. It has an expiration date, but I guess it would work with time shifted in the BIOS, and I bet there is already a hack to get around this limit permanently. However, I have not tried to install it yet.
Also, Windows Server 2008 is based on Windows Vista, which was not really the pinnacle of quality, so I guess it would be fun to give it a try and see what it does in the RC version.
The envelope also contains trial version of Visual studio 2008 Professional, which would be quite interesting, and i must have a look to archive, if it is already there, and if not, make a copy and upload it there.
And the last piece of SQ given is a MS SQL server trial version, which is least interesting on.
Also there are two more DVDs with some content, but the 64bit versions of OS and SQL server, so they have divided them.
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I have been looking for a dot matrix printer for many years and have not been able to find one. I would even like to have an old one with a parallel interface and at least the ability to print generic text. But none were available, and when they were, they were incredibly expensive, or the seller was unable to ship them.
And then my friend Tom texted me that he had an opportunity to get one for me. It was extremely cheap and relatively modern. Olivetti PR2 PLUS. He also warned me that there were some problems with the drivers, so I took up the challenge and today it arrived.
It was well packed, as usual when I get something for Tom, but even so, the hardware came a bit disassembled. I just made a few small fixings, put the tape holder back in place, clicked some covers back on and was ready to go.
So I went down to the basement to get some cables. I found both power and USB-B cables in white to match the printer and took them home. Plugged everything in and switched the printer on. And, ...
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I received 10 boxes of EPROMS, each containing 11 of them. They were supposed to be thrown away, but I thought it was a shame to lose them. So I took them and I have to store them somewhere and wait for some enthusiast who needs them to give them to him.
I have absolutely no use for them as I got rid of all my old PMD85 and SAPI computers due to lack of spare EPROMs. As usual, you can have the machine with the missing parts, or the missing parts... never both.
So if you need some 128kB EPROMS, feel free to contact me. I do not know what to do with them, but I do not want to throw them away.
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Yesterday I received a large box full of old CDs. Some operating systems, devkits, drivers etc. It came from some company's warehouse. And it is full of interesting stuff. I just had a quick look and discovered some interesting ones.
Perhaps the most interesting I have found so far is Compaq TRU64 UNIX. It is a pack of 5 CDs, and after some quick research I found that similar boxes of this system are selling on eBay for between $450 - $600. So I would definitely have to do some more searching if it is really that rare.
I was also told that there was a developer preview version of some Windows server (maybe 2008?) and other stuff in the box, so I will have to go through it later and find out what I have.
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According to my git history, it was a few months ago that I added the April Fool's page to my website hryprodva.cz. It was a day when I discovered some "interesting" filters in CSS, which are able to invert colours in whole document, just in one line of code. So I created a CSS class for HTML document, which applies this CSS rule, and set my program to assign this class to all main pages. I tested it with the current date, it worked, so I set the 1st of April as the day when the class would be applied to the page, committed to master and after some time I forgot about it.
So today it was a bit of a surprise for me too, when I saw the inverted colours on the main page. However, nobody complained about the "broken" design. So I wonder if everyone counts it as the first of April, or if all my players are colour blind and do not care. We shall see, there is still time until midnight when the filter disappears.
However... I am still thinking about what can be usefull on this CSS property, instead of april fool. Still cannot find a ...
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Buggy mouse wheels are really weird. I think all we know is when you scroll down and the document jumps one step down, two steps up. It can get really annoying.
But the weird thing is that sometimes it is just a matter of cleaning. You remove a couple of screws, open the mouse, blow on the wheel a couple of times and put it back together again. But sometimes this procedure really does not change anything. And then I have absolutely no idea what is happening. And it happens with the optical sensor for the wheel, just like with the mechanical rotating 'counter', and I really am not able to find a way to fix it. So I would appreciate any opinion on what causes this behaviour, because especially with the optical sensor I cannot imagine any material fatigue.
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I have recently found an interesting game - Prince of Prussia.
It is a small project, themed like 8bit Prince of Persia, but with a story like Wolfenstein. Wonderful combination.
Anyway, it is really nice to play and I enjoyed it. The feel of the game is a bit like a turn-based platformer, due to the specific movement of the hero.
The game should have 15 levels, and during the time I played it I went through 4 of them. They consist of level design like the original Prince of Persia, with the jumping, climbing and crawling through spikes, only the enemies are static and you have to sneak up to them and then let your knife do the work.
It is almost a standard platformer, with a little bit of logic, but it is absolutely addictive, and I am going to try to beat the whole game. And you should try it too :)
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My latest idea for a little app that lets you record your important events and then reminds you of special anniversaries. But not just boring annual reminders. It has many different settings as it can handle hundreds of day anniversaries, binary day anniversaries and many more.
It is still in alpha, and I am having some problems with Android security policies, but I am able to store events, even with pictures, and then be notified when an interesting anniversary is coming up. The user can also set which types of anniversaries they want to be notified about.
The design is still a work in progress, but is now quite usable.
If I had a stable version without significant problems and bugs, I would put it on GooglePlay for a symbolic price. Also, there are a couple of testers who are already testing the feel of the app and I am waiting for the feedback for the alpha version.
The working name for the app is Dailies, but I'm not sure it's the best I can come up with, so I'll see.
P.S - yes, I know I have a typo in ...
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I really hate the process of publishing and managing apps on Google Play.
If you are able to fill in dozens of forms and agreements when starting a new app, go through many rounds of updating the forms to meet the guidelines and updating stupid little things in the app to meet the criteria, and feel really good when you finally push the app into production, it does not mean you have won.
Funny is also the "support" and the process of solving the problems with terms and forms. Especially the "appeal process" is a lot of fun.
If you fill in something wrong in one of hundreds of entries on dozens of forms, you get a notice, usually within a week, with some paragraph number and letter that you missed. It does not tell you what is wrong, just that you have not met the requirements. If you have absolutely no idea what is wrong, because it is a generic notice, you try to appeal, asking kindly for help and advice on what should be changed. You will usually hear back within a week or two. It looks like someone "alive" has replied to you, but in fact you get almost ...
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