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HalcyonSpirit

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Posts posted by HalcyonSpirit

    Google Chrome

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Well, now that I've finally had a chance to use Chrome without something big running in the background, I can say two things:

    1) It generally runs faster than Firefox for me.

    2) It runs WAY FASTER than Firefox for me when there's Javascript and/or Flash loading on the page being opened. Like OH WOW I CAN DO STUFF NOW faster.

    Moguta, I think the issue with OCR loading slower isn't because of Chrome. The site itself right now is being slow at times. It'll be fine one second, and then really damn slow the next, regardless of whether I'm using Chrome or Firefox.

    Google Chrome

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Technically speaking, when you hit 3 or 4gb on a 32-bit OS.

    ... It was a rhetorical question. The very fact that :-P was at the end of it should've clued you in.

    :-P

    Yes, in all seriousness I'm aware of the limitations of how much RAM one can actually utilize. But right now, I don't think having more RAM is going to be worth it for this laptop; it's 3 years old and no longer under warranty. It'd probably be more cost-effective to just wait until I need a new laptop to get something more powerful.

    Schwaltzvald: Yeah, each tab is supposed to have its own process identity. It might seem like this is a bad thing, but it really isn't, because on average, each tab uses less memory than a tab in Firefox. So even though it looks like a lot when using a lot of Chrome tabs, doing the same thing in Firefox is so much worse, at least for my computer.

    By the way, Bleck, you need to actually open a webpage in each tab in order for the process to show up. Are you doing that?

    Google Chrome

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    First big problem for me:

    TabsOnTop.png

    This "tabs on top" thing they have going? Yeah, that's gonna have to be made optional before I start using this browser consistently. The fact that the mini-MMD3 Winamp fit perfectly into the bar on top without obstructing anything (so I can keep it set to "Always on top") is the very reason I use that skin, and I really like it that way.

    An extra gig of memory could help your laptop,

    When can you not use more memory? :-P

    but also do the usual gauntlet of viral/malware checking, finding funky processes on the task manager. Heck if you haven't done so, try shutting off particular services/processes permenantly so long as you nor the lappy needs them. Make searches on processes you do not recognize to see if they're a threat and may be hogging your resources.

    Already did so, nothing's wrong on that end. Mind you, I have virtually no issues with the computer normally, but when I go to open Firefox... yeesh. Let me put it this way: When I'm not doing really anything, CPU load is typically between 5-12% (I've got my antivirus, firewall, AIM and Winamp using most of that). When I just open Firefox, though, CPU load jumps to 100%, stays there for a few seconds, and then finally opens the window. And then, because of the javascript/Flash stuff on my homepage (Yahoo), I can't open any menus like the Bookmarks list for a second or two because everything is still loading up. There's similar waiting when opening up a page with lots of javascript/Flash; even the main page of OCR causes a small pause.

    My RAM usage is a bit higher than I would like when not doing anything (about 60-65% usage), so I need to check on that.

    Also the usual defragging/disk error checking wouldn't hurt.

    Did that last week. No change.

    edit: About how many browser windows/tabs do you utilize?

    I typically don't have more than one window open at any time, usually with fewer than 5 tabs open at any point.

    Google Chrome

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    @ GA

    What's your system specs?

    Pentium M 2.00GHz

    1.0 GB RAM (with 1536 MB of virtual memory available)

    NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800

    111 GB Hard Drive (with 279 GB external)

    Windows XP SP3

    This laptop's a little over 3 years old now. It's been running fairly smoothly for the most part (though come to think of it, Windows Explorer has been running slower than usual lately... I'll have to look into that later).

    Google Chrome

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Mine eats memory as well, but it also eats the CPU whenever I want to open the browser or open a new page (particularly if it has javascript or Flash in it). My whole computer pauses for a few seconds while it loads. Once it loads, it's usually fine, but during loading.... daaamn. Almost as bad as IE.

    Fantastic Contraption

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Here's what I did for "Up the Stairs". It's a catapult, like yours, Nutritious, but a lot simpler. I had a design earlier that had a cleaner win than this one, but I accidentally hit "To Menu" before I saved it... Oh well. The design is exactly the same.

    As for exploding contraptions... yeah. Flash tends to do that. It's funny when it works out, but it annoys me to heck when it causes problems that shouldn't arise normally, like joints stretching apart. That problem specifically is the main reason I haven't beaten level 20 with a catapult yet; I did it with a triple kart the first time, and a ramp plus a kart the second time.

    Star Wars: The Clone Wars

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I went to see the first showing of it, naturally. "Different" is definitely the word I'd use for it, and I agree the target audience was a bit younger this time. The dialogue could've been executed better, though I've come to expect that from these movies now. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I agree with DarkeSword: this is better off as a TV show. The fact that it was only about an hour and a half long didn't help that perception.

    Fantastic Contraption

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Yeah, I'm stuck on that one now too. Same with the last one, though that's more of a "can't get my catapult to work properly" problem than anything else... I've done all the others, though. Pretty neat. I'm really tempted to buy the full version.

    WCT - The Writing Competition Thread [Short Story Results]

    in Competitions

    Posted

    Drat. Missed 2nd by two points.

    Oh well. 3rd place is better than I had expected myself to do. Many thanks to those that voted for me, many more thanks for those of you who voted at all. Incidentally, I really, really liked the entries this round. I'll try to put up some critique of them at some point in the near future. I'm interested in hearing what you people have to say about mine.

    Here's to another great competition, and congrats to everyone, especially the winners!

    WCT - The Writing Competition Thread [Short Story Results]

    in Competitions

    Posted

    (or less, for GAJK (yes, try pronouncing that! ... )

    Mmm...?

    Anyway, good news and bad news. The bad news is, I had to cancel my vacation to Myrtle Beach this year because I have a final paper and final exam to do during my vacation week. The good news is, as a result of the previous news, I was able to come up with an entry for the competition! Woohoo!

    Such a great tradeoff. :roll:

    I literally wrote it in one go, flying by the seat of my pants. Practically stream-of-consciousness, but I did make a few changes as I went along. It probably isn't any good, being a 2-hour writing, but whatever. I need to get back in the writing groove, and a competition is a great way to jump-start the creativity.

    Rain on Twenty-Nine Shuffles

    Rain. Dr. Campbell couldn’t avoid the depression that settled into his gut whenever rain poured from the sky. From inside his small, dreary cabin, he could hear every drop slapping the roof. This area of the mountains was prone to rainstorms, a fact he wished he’d known before building his new home away from any town or city. Papers were spread across the many tables that filled the cabin. Shelves upon shelves of books lined the walls. The most important library in the world, or so he considered it. No one would ever know, of course.

    A single, old book slid out from among its brethren on the bookshelves. Dr. Campbell hurriedly flipped through the pages, searching for anything that might aid his goal. He needed something to lift his spirits. Anything at all. His life’s work would not be wasted. After his family was taken from him, he gave his life to his research. It had rained that day.

    He shuffled through the pages. The archaic writing would be dismissed by anyone else as indecipherable, but he put his life into his work. It was a second language to him. Twenty-nine. Twenty-nine. Twenty-nine. The symbols of that number jumped out at him after so many years of study. Wherever he looked, there was a reference to twenty-nine of something. Horses. Castles. People. Always twenty-nine of them. The significance was there, but what was the meaning?

    He threw the book onto a nearby table. Despair was weighing him down. In his old age, his temper would flare so easily. He didn’t have time for it. He couldn’t leave his work unfinished. The window to the outside world he had forsaken drew his eyes. It was still raining. He hoped it would stop.

    Another book opened before his scrutinizing eyes. It was the most promising book in his collection. Life beyond death. The ancient culture was obsessed with it. Dr. Campbell knew they found a way to achieve it. He wanted to follow their footsteps. The sounds of shuffling pages was drowned out by the storm outside. More twenty-nines. The number littered this book as well, even more than the others, but it wasn’t alone here. The symbols for rearranging and purity always seemed to accompany it. Purity, twenty-nine, movements, in that order.

    Movements. To where? It made no sense in the context. Purity. Surely it must be referring to life after death. If the rest was about how to achieve it, he only needed to understand. The cryptic words baffled him.

    A third book lay open on the table. Its contents read a hundred times over, Dr. Campbell still drew its pages to his eyes and relaxed. It read like a story, telling of the passing of years for a young man. For their ancient culture, the passing of a year was a shuffle of the lives, as if they lived the life of a new person each year.

    Shuffles. Dr. Campbell ran his fingers across the faded symbols upon the page. The symbol for shuffles stuck out in his mind. It was the same symbol in the other books for movements. The man tossed the book aside and picked up the other.

    Twenty-nine shuffles. Twenty-nine passing of the years. It was so simple. His spirits raised on the realization. The translation made no sense because the people used the same symbols for different words! How could he have missed that? Yet the other word remained. Purity. The life after death. Twenty-nine years for purity. He was more than twice the age of twenty-nine years.

    His eyes gazed out the window. Despair began to settle again at the sight of the rain still pouring from the heavens. It had rained the day his family died, all those years ago…

    All those years ago…

    All those twenty-nine years ago.

    The moment of the epiphany was experienced in silence. Twenty-nine years to the day. Purity in twenty-nine years. Rain that day. Rain this day. Purity. The symbol of purity was rain in their culture.

    Rain on twenty-nine shuffles.

    For the first time in twenty-nine years, Dr. Campbell opened the door on a rainy day and stepped outside. It felt so cool, so pure. The raindrops splashed against his skin. His senses were absorbed by the cool sensations running over his body. His body completely relaxed, he felt the moist grass touch his cheek. A long, deep sigh escaped his lips.

    Finally, he was at peace.

    Mac or PC Laptop for Possible Graphic Design Major?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1) She is going in as a "undecided", essentially. She says that graphic design is just one of the many things she's deciding between, so obviously she's not even sure she'll be going into the graphic design program.

    2) No idea. I told her to call up the college tomorrow, since I can't find anything at all in reference to computer requirements for any majors on the website. Maybe it's hidden in some obscure corner of the site, but considering the site design is far from great as it is, I think finding that information would literally take accidentally stumbling onto it.

    3) Yeah, she plays games on her PC right now. Outside of that, not much specifically. Again, because there's a lack of information on the college website, I don't know what programs she'd be using in any courses she might take. And... no, I don't think she'd be able to figure out how to run Windows software on a Mac OS. Not for a while, anyway. She's got intelligence, she just... doesn't use it all the time to figure things out for herself... :?

    4) I know nothing about Macs, but I can fix a PC in a heartbeat. I'm also going to be 500 miles away during the year, though, and the rest of my family is computer-illiterate, so it doesn't make much difference in the end.

    5) From what little information I can gather, the college actually uses PCs for their computer labs. They don't mention anything about computer requirements for individuals, though. Same goes for computer software for classes. Still, the fact that the college uses PCs makes me think a PC is the way to go.

    In addition... the college is really small. It's not even a state college, only a county one. I can't find any sort of campus computer store or shop or anything like that there. I don't think there is one, so I doubt there'd be any software discounts to be had from them. I'll keep looking, though.

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