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Computer advice thread ("What's the best way to do this?")

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  • Someone asks for homework help on the internet. Hilarity ensues.
    Make a text file using notepad/vim/sublime/emacs/whatever containing:-
    Smile!Smile!Smile!
    Smile!Smile!
    Smile!

    Now defining your function in python,

    def printSmiles():
    text = open("pathToFile.txt", "w").readlines()
    for line in text:
    print line
    This is going to be my new go-to.
  • There are some pretty thorough answers in there lol.
    Personal favourite is the recursive dynamic programming version.
  • I remember a while ago I saw a program that would still run with any 1 character in the program changed.

    I think it might have been ruby. Anyone remember that too? It's resisting my efforts to google it.
  • Found it! Not just a program, a quine that runs with any 1 character deleted.

    https://github.com/mame/radiation-hardened-quine
  • My desktop, which I haven't been using as much recently, has begun to have problems with just freezing. It's so old school like back in the Windows 3.1 days. No blue screen. Nothing in the error logs. The mouse and keyboard just stop working. The screen looks normal, you just can't do anything. Only option is to reboot with the power switch.

    I think I might unplug all the storage drives other than C: and do a clean install. The HTPC which started from a completely fresh install is somehow slightly, but noticeably, different even though they are both Windows 10. Maybe it's a home vs. pro thing?
  • Error logs? In windows? Have I been using windows wrong my entire life? Where's /var/log/messages?
  • Naoza said:

    Error logs? In windows? Have I been using windows wrong my entire life? Where's /var/log/messages?

    I think it just depends on the application but sometimes they're in /ProgramData
  • Naoza said:

    Error logs? In windows? Have I been using windows wrong my entire life? Where's /var/log/messages?

    They're in a GUI like everything else in WIndows. Press the Window key, then type "Event Viewer", then press Enter.
  • Oh, I'm mildly disappointed, I know what event viewer is, I just never referred to it as logs.
  • Naoza said:

    Oh, I'm mildly disappointed, I know what event viewer is, I just never referred to it as logs.

    How is that not logs?
  • Apreche said:

    Naoza said:

    Oh, I'm mildly disappointed, I know what event viewer is, I just never referred to it as logs.

    How is that not logs?
    I guess it's a matter of branding, whenever referring to stuff in event viewer, it's events not logs. I didn't begin to think of it as logs the way I think of /var/log until just now.
  • Sanity check: what are the valid use cases in 2016 to write a new web application in PHP?
  • Want an app that is easy to deploy at any cost to the writer?
  • Starfox said:

    Sanity check: what are the valid use cases in 2016 to write a new web application in PHP?

    It works. It's easy to deploy. It can have better performance than you think. Depending on the app, it could be the fastest and easiest way to get it done.
  • I don't know PHP and have no intention of learning it, but this article about taking PHP seriously convinced me to not immediately discount it.
  • PHP is like the underhanded free throw shot in basketball. It's not proper form. It's ugly. It's not stylish. It has problems. You will get mocked for using it. But hey, it scores points. WordPress is made with PHP and so is this forum.
  • PHP 7 was legitimately faster than 5 by a fair bit. Honestly I still roll a lamp stack for quick things I want to test, like when I made my own pokemon go map before they made that more difficult.
  • I'm looking into getting a tablet. I'm going to use it primarily for media consumption on the go and at home, in particular e-books, audio-books, news, comics, and anime (if the screen is good enough). I liked the iPads well enough when I messed around with them, especially the mini 2 and 4, but if someone has a suggestion on a less expensive option that's just as good or better, I'm all ears.
  • When my previous PC started freezing occasionally, it was electrical faults in the USB controllers, one in particular.

    When my current PC freezes (it has on occasion), it always happens under heavy load playing a game. Rare, but it has happened a few times in the last six months.

    I suspect you broke your PC on purpose to have an excuse to buy a new one.
  • Banta said:

    I'm looking into getting a tablet. I'm going to use it primarily for media consumption on the go and at home, in particular e-books, audio-books, news, comics, and anime (if the screen is good enough). I liked the iPads well enough when I messed around with them, especially the mini 2 and 4, but if someone has a suggestion on a less expensive option that's just as good or better, I'm all ears.

    Amazon Fire next time they're on sale for like $35-$40 and root it/sideload Google Play?
  • Rym said:

    When my previous PC started freezing occasionally, it was electrical faults in the USB controllers, one in particular.

    When my current PC freezes (it has on occasion), it always happens under heavy load playing a game. Rare, but it has happened a few times in the last six months.

    I suspect you broke your PC on purpose to have an excuse to buy a new one.

    I do think it could be electrical faults in the USB. The USB are quite flaky.
  • Some things I read online suggested that disable legacy USB support in the BIOS could help, so I am trying that. So far, so good?
  • I've had what might be similar USB issues before where one of my Linux boxes would appear to freeze randomly. The box was still ssh-able and running fine, except the USB stack was hosed so my mouse and keyboard stopped working. Was never able to find a way to recover it without a reboot. The cause in my case was actually a USB webcam thatvI assume had developed a fault. Once I removed it the machine never froze again.
  • I've had what might be similar USB issues before where one of my Linux boxes would appear to freeze randomly. The box was still ssh-able and running fine, except the USB stack was hosed so my mouse and keyboard stopped working. Was never able to find a way to recover it without a reboot. The cause in my case was actually a USB webcam thatvI assume had developed a fault. Once I removed it the machine never froze again.

    It's not any of my USB devices individually or any particular port. I've tested them all using process of elimination.

    I just got a cheapo PCIX card that adds 4 USB 3.0 ports. It's working nicely so far. Might alleviate the electrical load on the motherboard USB? I needed more ports anyway.
  • Alright! I definitely confirmed *something* is wrong with the USB 3.0 ports on my motherboard.

    I got the Avermedia LGX to replace the broken Elgato. When sending certain video sources to it at 1080p it would fail. When I connect it to the new PCIX USB 3.0 ports, it works absolutely perfectly.
  • So I researched what Legacy USB support actually is. Apparently it is a mode which allows you to use USB devices, mostly keyboards and mice. when you are running an OS that might not have drivers for those devices, or doesn't have them ready to go yet. For example, you load up DOS, and you need to do some typing, but your only keyboard is USB. This setting will tell the BIOS/motheboard to show the USB keyboard to DOS as if it were a PS/2 keyboard.

    I don't know why, but my computer has been crazy stable since disabling this setting (which isn't needed when using a modern OS like Windows 10) and putting in that extra PCIX USB card. We'll see how it goes tomorrow and the next day.
  • Since disabling the legacy USB support, adding the PCIX USB card, and dusting out the case (it was hardly dusty at all), this computer has been rock solid stable as any. It's been running fine now, sleeping and waking, for 3 days now. No freezing, no problems.
  • edited October 2016

    Banta said:

    I'm looking into getting a tablet. I'm going to use it primarily for media consumption on the go and at home, in particular e-books, audio-books, news, comics, and anime (if the screen is good enough). I liked the iPads well enough when I messed around with them, especially the mini 2 and 4, but if someone has a suggestion on a less expensive option that's just as good or better, I'm all ears.

    Amazon Fire next time they're on sale for like $35-$40 and root it/sideload Google Play?
    Most tablets are the very definition of "meh." They work fine, they get maybe a year of updates, and that's that. They're almost all 1200x800 and they're fine. Nothing more, nothing less. Up until now, I would tell you to look at a Warehouse Deals Nexus 7, but it looks like they're not going to bother updating it to Android 7. That's not a deal breaker, but it is at the end of its life cycle. The problem with iPad Minis is that they are 4:3 so most videos are severely letterboxed. The Amazon Fire tablet is the perfect kick around tablet, and it's got a micro SD card slot. It's extremely easy to sideload apps and even install the Play store on there. The resolution is, admittedly, not terrific, but we've come a long way on comic reading tech, so it's easy to zoom in when the text in a comic isn't clear. Anime looks good on it too. I think it would be ideal for your media consumption needs. It's also cheap unlike most of those meh tablets.
    http://i.imgur.com/MyqpqRl.jpg

    Post edited by Hitman Hart on
  • I got a cheapo used Nexus 7 just so I could use the LiveWedge app when my iPad is busy doing something else. It is slow as fuck.
  • I got a fairly large payout from a client recently and am considering an upgrade.
    Apart from my main computer which already has a GTX760, I have a comparably specced workbench computer that is currently running on Intel Intergrated graphics. I'm considering getting a better graphics card, installing it in my main computer, and moving the 760 to my workbench computer. This way I can offload the final rendering of videos to the workbench so my main computer isn't tied up and can do other stuff.

    I'm thinking the GTX1060 6GB. They're all around the $250-$270 price point which is really nice. Thoughts?
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