GoRedwings19's Computer Help Hotline

The default umask setting when I save anything on the unix system at work (via samba) is that everyone can read it. This is totally stupid and I have talked to the chair about this but nobody wants to change it. I know that one can change this setting for the whole system in the smb.conf file. Is there a way that I can change the default for me when I login. I have already changed the default setting when things are created when I am logged in via ssh but can't figure out how to do it when copying files from my computer. Most of the files I save are grades and letters of recommendations and things like that and I don't want to risk forgetting to change the umask…

I'm looking to hook up an HTPC for streaming from the NAS and watching youtube/streams. It must be able to decode 1080p and DTS/Dolby. Ideally, it would run something like XBMC or another linux based system to speed up boot time. Budget is $200. Maybe an Acer Revo? Apple TV 1?

I realize there've been a couple group buys/runs on deals/etc., but has anyone seriously shopped these around? I was looking at what Samsung had to offer since I was looking at a second battery for my phone, but they charge full retail, so ixNay that... Looks like I can get 20,000 mAh for ~$34 -- that's the only number that matters, innit? Well, other than getting a bunch of low ratings for exploding or setting things on fire or leaving scorch marks...

Last night while attempting to finish some final details on my son's science fair project we discovered that most of the MS Word documents from the past three weeks including ones saved two days ago seem to have disappeared. We performed a virus scan, search of the hard drive and can find no Word documents that have been saved in the past three weeks, whether saved to a folder or saved without designating a folder. Google queries for solutions haven't helped and this seems to be a random problem with no general solution. Has anyone here experienced this problem or is this just more example of my bad audio equipment luck migrating to my home computer?

Alright, so my sister had the brilliant idea of getting my mother a cheap tablet and a magnifying app to assist with reading and spontaneously reading things like medicine labels. So what's the best cheap tablet for this? Kindle Fire? Anyone know of a magnifying app that deshakes? My mother does, indeed, have the tremors.

Anyone have experience with the Drobo 5D--good or bad?

I have a cable modem that has the feature of a "land line" phone. I'm not using the phone and am tired of paying for it. I can cancel the feature but then have to supply my own cable modem. I plan on buying a modem that supports Docsis 3. Can anybody recommend for or against any particular brands or models? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Since it's possible this topic is helpful to someone else, I've decided to start a new thread, instead of posting the question at the venerable Mac thread. I'm about upgrading a mid 2010 13"MBP adding more memory (actually changing both chips for larger ones), replacing the optic drive for a 256 SSD one, and changing the stock HDD for a WD 1TB unit. This MB has become my main computer until I'm sure I really want/need a 27"iMac (mostly a 6 weeks delivery term sucks). Still I'm a OSX rookie and I can't find the folders which should be transferred from this old-to-be system HDD into the new system SSD drive. They're supposed to be in the root user directory but they…

So far its pretty straightforward. The apps are more like bookmarks. The Dragonfly DAC does not work but the Fiio is plug and play. I think the Pico DAC will work. I have the Acer 11.6 with Celeron and 320gb. Open box was too cheap to not bring home and try it.

Finally got fed up with my monster 17'' CRT + Pentium 4 setup. My thinking is to get a more or less future proof system with a i7 3770 cpu paired with a GTX660 ti gpu. One of the local guys recommend getting an Intel DH77EB board. Not to mention Intel announcing leaving the standard form factor mobo scene I initially found the board to be very erm... pedestrian? What's your take on Intel mobos? Sure, they lack the bling of other makers but supposedly they are very reliable. I'm not sure I'f I'll miss SLI/X-fire or extreme overclocking very much. Thank you!

I am looking to buy My wife a laptop for Christmas,I usually buy Dell but am thinking Mac this time. she just uses it to surf the net,email, facebook.She will be using it at home.

I am thinking of possibly getting my niece a budget laptop (that depends on whether I can find something cheap and decent enough to justify it). She basically goes to sites like barbie.com (flash based), plays the Sims, and types some homework for her classes. She is 10 years old but fairly mature for her age. My budget is optimally around $300. Is there any decent around that price? With Windows 8? I know there are a bunch of Android tablets and portable laptops and maybe this would be ok but she wouldn't be able to do barbie.com. Since I am basically an Apple person, I don't know where to begin. Also, I know there some differences between different Windows…

Recently, I acquired an Apple TV to serve music wirelessly to the ps audio dl 3 dac. When it works, I have no issues. Even the delay/lag problem I was having just stopped occurring after I restarted the macbook air. Perhaps there was a buffer issue. I didn't need to buy and 3rd party software. It works on any kind of audio/video file. However, every time I try to select the Apple TV in sound settings on my MBA, it kills the wireless router. The only way to fix it is to power cycle the router. I am using WPA2 encryption and the problem persists without any encryption schemes as well. Any thoughts on what could be causing this and how to fix it? It kills the internet ab…

With Windows 8 due to launch (what you've missed the glee style '8' advert showing no-one actually engaged in any productive activity) you may need this handy survival guide from el-reg. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/25/reg_kb_surviving_windows/ Beware Heisenfeature's

Hubby and I share an office and the pounding of the keyboard drives me crazy* (ok, technically it just makes me really upset, not crazy). Right now he has a USB Apple keyboard. The problem is that he uses two fingers to type and hence pounds on the keys. Please help my marriage by telling me there is a quietish keyboard solution out there. *This is probably related to my other noise issues like people eating, etc. So, if there is no such keyboard, I would appreciate the name of a good shrink or drugs.

As some may know, I recently have started a job that involves a good bit of travel, something like 2 weeks a month on average. I need a laptop, and think an ultrabook would really be the ticket. Does anyone have experience with any, not counting the mba? I have been looking mostly at the Gigabyte u2442n and asus nerdbook prime (err, zenbook). Any others people have had good experience with?

I expect to upgrade my iPhone 3g to a 5 in the next couple of months. I figure it would be best if I convert my 21.5 iMac 3.06 to the latest 10.8.2 operating system. However, I am worried the 10.8.2 may still have a few bugs and since 10.6.8 has been so stable that a change may not be for the better. Any converters out there which could shed some light? I am also reading Mac Forums and Mac rumors to educate myself.

I no longer feel comfortable traveling with my Logitech Trackman, as that is discontinued and sells for > US$100 on Amazon, much less eBay. And I don't seen an equivalent, although I'll be getting the Logitech wireless thingy to try. So...any recommendations on rugged mice? I want something I can throw in my bag that can endure the abuse I plan on giving it. Especially the buttons. Or should I get a hard clamshell or something to protect it? Not that that will save it from the abuse. I tend to press harder on the buttons or downright bang on them when the computer becomes unresponsive or starts doing something I don't want it to do. Optical or laser? Laser…

I'm looking for something in the 900p to 1080p range that I can carry with me in a hard clam shell or something. Anyone know of anything? This is perfect, except ( a ) DisplayPort, and ( b ) 21 inches. I can probably find a way to carry 21 inches, and I can probably get a DisplayPort converter, but I thought I'd ask, first. Is there anything like what I want? I realize there are a bunch of smaller 768p, and they're even USB-powered, but that's usually just a tad too small. I'm currently using a 17", 1280x1024 desktop monitor, and that's perfectly fine. Cheap laptop with a similar size and resolution screen screen? Cost prohibitive, but if I can utilize the extra h…

Usually (once every five years or so) when I upgrade my home machine/home office server I go over all the distribution options, try out candidates on virtual machines and generally make a considered affair of it. This time, since my machine has collapsed in a cloud of MCEs, I've got to just decide and go for it. I've used Mandriva and basically liked it ever since Fedora forked off from Red Hat. I like KDE and have never warmed to Gnome at all. Which is really why I moved to Mandrake at the end of consumer Red Hat. Red Hat and Fedora were anti-KDE back then. I understand that's changed since. My last upgrade was Mandriva 2007. System management tools and the like…

Ok... I've done it. I really did! I went ahead and bought the worse possible sound card ever with the Razer brand name smeared all over it instead of the Asus Xonar or the Azuretech Prelude, which are supposedly much better for their price and actually designed correctly. I mean... how bad could it be? Reason? Nothing really, it costs $199.99CAD here and jumped on it when saw it go for $89.99CAD in one of the Sunday special savings ad for my local computer shop. Impressions: I just installed this card into my computer less than an hour ago and I already have many complaints about it. The main reason I bought it, apart from the relatively cheap price, was…

So, I've been using MontyPics for years now... Crummy interface for uploading and organizing, but I'd been uploading and using those photos in forums for so long that changing hosting wasn't an option. Well, unknown to me until this morning, they had a complete meltdown over the weekend, had little redundancy and they lost about 99% of my photos going back about 6 years. So, if I have to start from scratch, re-uploading the critical stuff from before, plus continuing to upload going forward, I want things to be a little better this time around on pretty much all fronts. What I'm looking for: An improved interface for uploading and sharing Batch uploading/resi…

I am trying to simlify my life, and it is proving to be really complicated. Here's the story -- I would like to run a bunch of different software all on one computer. Most of it is not cross platform, or for one reason or another, I want to use various OSes for various tasks. Also, most of it is not goig to be in use all the time, but it would be nice if it was running when I needed it without a lot of configuration, and it would be nice to run much of it at the same time. Ideally, making this feel like a bunch of computers conected to a KVM would be perfect. So, for instance, I would like an automated cd ripper, a squeezebox server, and a music player. VortexBox will …

Guys -- I could use some help putting together a new living room computer. This started out as thinking a mac mini running win32 would be OK, then thinking that new Dell thing would work, and as always happens, has devolved into building a system myself. I am basically looking for small and silent -- totally fanless if possible. Probably a solid state drive, though the dvr already makes enough noise that this might be an unnecessary luxury. This will get used for watching Netflix and other downloadable TV, playing music, and RMAA testing. It will also be used as a headless workstation via remote desktop -- in order to avoid digging through and updating 100K lines…

I thought it would be great to have a thread that has new or cool tech products. I'll start off with the new touchscreen Sonos CR200 remote control. I've had a Sonos for many years and that music system just works and I've been very happy with it. Now they have a new touchscreen controller which looks very cool. Sonos CR200