At least one person in your office has some intelligence then ;)

Le@rner, It's clear that English is not your first language, and your question has very little information on your machine's hardware, so many of the posts here are just playing with you to see if they can get you to do something stupid. Don't listen to them. I hate to spoil everyone's fun, but please leave your BOFH hats at the door. I thought this was CodeProject, not 4Chan. Le@rner, without more details about your computer, we can't really offer much assistance. We know you started with 256Mb of RAM, but that's not the only component to a solid machine. At minimum, we also need to know which CPU you're using. The unfortunate answer is that Visual Studio requires significantly more resources than the minimum required to run Windows XP if you want any hope of "speedy" computing. There's no magic software you can install to make your computer run faster. You're likely going to need to upgrade your computer's hardware if you want an increase in speed, and while adding more RAM is certainly a good first step, it may not be sufficient, especially if you're running on a slow hard drive (e.g., 5400 RPM or slower) or an old CPU. Tweaking your Services as recommended by the Black Viper guide posted above me is definitely a "Power User" option, and realistically you won't gain any significant bonuses. That level of tweaking is for the hardcore user who really wants to squeeze every clock cycle from their CPU and they're not afraid of breaking their Windows installation and starting over if they fail to do so correctly. At most, you might see a 5% increase in general computing and a few seconds shorter boot time, but beyond that, the services don't use a whole lot of resources, especially on any modern computer. If you're still following this, please provide us with more details about the computer's hardware and what you're intending to use the computer for and we can more correctly point you in the right direction.

Are you sure that's not a motherboard issue and not ATI? I've never setup CrossFire or SLI so I'm shooting in the dark here.

No, you're not the only one. I've never had an issue with ATI (AMD?) drivers, but I've seen way too many issues with nVidia, so I stick with ATI even if nVidia is the current market leader of the year (as others have said, they leap frog so it really depends on when you buy and how much you want to spend). That said, I also find ATI's models easier to track for the most part, though they're both guilty of renaming their model lines so frequently that it's hard to remember what's newer than what sometimes. And if you're looking to upgrade from one brand to the other, good luck finding a definitive performance comparison chart to really tell you where you are in the "other guy's" product line so you know where to go next. But I digress.

Web hosting is ridiculously cheap these days if you know where to look and don't care about tons of advanced features (e.g., Cornerhost[^] [no affiliation] has a $10/mo "script" plan that would probably work for your needs).

Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:

Why would people use crappy iTunes otherwise?

Same reason why the majority of users stick with old versions of IE, or even purchase an iPod in the first place. They don't know any better. I've always used Winamp and, although I don't have a portable media player (I have yet to come across one which satisfies me in terms of audio quality, price, storage size, lack of proprietary-ness, and also does my laundry), it always prompts me to sync with my USB drives and such. Winamp has gotten bloated as of late (what hasn't?), but it's still a great program; much better than iTunes and WMP anyway.

That's because open-sourcers rarely know much about UI. ;) (Kidding... it had to be said. It was too easy.)

NickHighIQ wrote:

It drives me nuts, but most people couldn't care less.

While we're on the subject, it frustrates me when people use the phrase "[I] could care less". Now wait a minute here - if you CAN care less, that means you have at least a little care for the subject at hand, so doesn't that completely invalidate the intent of the statement?

Thank you! That finally resolved the issue. I knew it had to be lingering around somewhere.

Perhaps I'm totally misunderstanding your needs, but the other reply to this post noting a cost of $650 for a Tivo unit is a little extreme. That's reasonable only if it includes the lifetime service plan. Take a look at TiVo's web specials[^] for a much better deal. I can't say that I'd recommend the Series2 anymore since a lot of providers are eliminating analog service (and thus you wouldn't be able to use the second tuner), but a Series3 (a.k.a. TiVo HD) should suit most people's needs for $200 + service plan (unless you truly desire THX certified quality, which is $450 + service plan) (prices are for refurbs). Of course, TiVo is SO much more than just a DVR. In addition to its recommendation algorithm, it's rapidly becoming an entire entertainment platform for all things video - you can interface directly with Amazon, Blockbuster, Youtube, etc., and though I'm just hoping, probably the likes of Hulu within the near future too. Not to mention the networking capabilities with your other computers in the house for media sharing and the plethora of warranty-voiding hacks out there that greatly increase TiVo's capabilities. No, I don't work for TiVo, and they've never sent me a dime, but I'm one hell of a satisfied customer. TiVo literally changed my life. I've reclaimed countless hours of my life not having to sit through commercials while still having the ability to come and go as I please with the Pause button.

It's a Windows app using the built-in ConfigurationManager .NET capabilities. I based it on this MSDN code sample[^]. Maybe it'll be easier to just show some code: Configuration classes:

public class SerialConfig : ConfigurationElement
{
/* *********************************** */
/* This is the field I want to remove! */
/* *********************************** */
// Fields
[ConfigurationProperty("valid",
DefaultValue = false,
IsRequired = false)]
//private int baud;
public bool Valid
{
get
{
return (bool)this["valid"];
}
set
{
this["valid"] = (bool)value;
}
}

    \[ConfigurationProperty("baud",
        DefaultValue = 115200,
        IsRequired = true)\]
    //private int baud;
    public int Baud
    {
        get
        {
            return (int)this\["baud"\];
        }
        set
        {
            if((value == 115200) || (value == 9600))
            {
                this\["baud"\] = value;
            }
            else
            {
            }
        }
    }

    \[ConfigurationProperty("name",
        DefaultValue = "",
        IsRequired = true)\]
    //private String name;
    public String Name
    {
        get
        {
            return (string)this\["name"\];
        }
        set
        {
            if (value.Contains("COM"))
            {
                this\["name"\] = value;
            }
            else
            {
                this\["name"\] = "INVALID";
            }
        }
    }
    
    // Constructors
    public SerialConfig(String name, int baud)
    {
        this\["baud"\] = baud;
        this\["name"\] = name;            
    }

    public SerialConfig(string name)
    {
        new SerialConfig(name, 115200);
    }

    public SerialConfig()
    {
        new SerialConfig("INVALID", 115200);
    }
}

// Define a c

Yes, that's more or less the problem, but since it's using the ConfigurationManager, the actual config file operations are completely hidden (as far as I know), or at least I don't know where to find it.

Ditto.[^]

The company I presently work for is working on a new product line - SkyView (we're an avionics firm). But wait, it gets better. We have multiple types of devices, and they all need to communicate to each other through our own proprietary network protocol: SkyView Network. Of course, this is a little long to verbalize, so (if you haven't figured it out already), we lovingly refer to it as... SkyNet. Unfortunately Summer Glau has yet to return our calls referring to our job offer.

Exception message: "Unrecognized attribute 'valid'. Note that attribute names are case-sensitive. I used to have a field called "valid" in one of my configuration elements, but through the course of development it's now obsolete, so I'd like to remove it. I removed it from the ConfigurationElement subclass, and now when I try to read the config section (via config.GetSection), I get the above exception, which then makes my config section variable null, blah blah blah, no saved config = program effectively unusable from session to session. Google fails me. MSDN fails me. Internet fails me. I'm new to the ConfigurationManager, having only ever done equivalent functionality through .ini files before, so I'm sure there's probably just some "cleanup" command I can do that I'm just not aware of.

modified on Friday, October 23, 2009 2:41 PM

I disagree. Various "autospell" (a.k.a. prediction typing) features eliminate the need for the abhorrent, incessant, moronic, idiotic, asinine, brainless, mindless, dim-witted, senseless, dumb, imbecilic, absurd, pointless unintelligent "language" of text speak (I refuse to "abbreviate" it on principle). It takes a little training, but it's worth it to spell properly via SMS to convey you have an intelligence greater than that of moss growing on the underside of a slimy rock by the river. Text speak is a language invented by "tweens" and their ilk; and let's admit it here: when was the last time tweens knew what was best for society? Why do we let them dictate our mobile text language? It's grown to such popularity that when I receive automatic texts relating to some of my favorite TV shows (trivia, fun facts, etc.), THEY use "text speak" and it's all done by a computer! There's no need! :mad: This new "language" has contributed to the declining intelligence of today's youth; over-stimulation from the media, ready access to just about any information in the world at one's hands, available for lookup and never committed to memory, and now we don't even require them to spell properly! A fine grasp on one's native language, both spoken and written, is a fundamental component to any other advanced knowledge/intelligence in any subject manner. I expect that in 30 years time, the English language will officially dispose of multiple forms of "their"/"they're"/"there" (and similar words) in favor of the easiest to spell, sometimes sans a letter or two, simply because nobody knows which form is linguistically correct anymore. Don't even get me started on full QWERTY keyboards on mobile devices... It's an input device designed to be used by two hands, utilizing all 10 fingers, and it's all crammed onto a small device using - at most - 2 fingers? How can anyone have ever expected 100% equivalent efficiency with only 20% of the usability interface? Someone failed at math. But I digress on this; it's neither here nor there. I discovered this banner online a long time ago. I forget the original source, but I copied it to ImageShack and use it as a signature on many fora I visit: http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9958/antitxtbanner3roia4.gif[^]. I advise (encourage?) any and all of you to join the movement and stand up AGAINST inten

Although the method is a little different, another related "quirk" is when people pronounce acronyms like words, but the words they sound like mean something COMPLETELY different if you're just overhearing it from over the cube wall. Example (I hear variations of this all the time): "Did you finish the BOM?"

Any IT department who disallows Firefox for at least general-purpose usage has got to be - if I may be so bold - completely ignorant to the flaws within IE6. The size of the attack surfaces present on IE6 would require a digital equivalent of at least a zip code (U.S.), if not its own country code. For the legacy applications out there that only support IE6, use it for that purpose IF YOU MUST, but honestly, those applications rely on a broken browser and shouldn't be supported with an organization's money anyway. Ultimately, it's those applications and the IT departments supporting them who are holding the rest of the Web back; once that bottleneck is gone, we can move onto the Next Big Thing and let the progression of technology take its course. In many cases, making sure a site is IE6 compliant (and it very rarely is right out of the box, despite working in standards-compliant mode of EVERY OTHER MAJOR BROWSER) usually adds an extra 50% development/debugging time, and involves many hacks that aren't guaranteed long-term viability (IE6 could unlikely be patched, or other browsers might start recognizing IE6-specific tags, either by design or unintentionally) or otherwise drags down performance for other browsers via additional overhead processing time and/or filesize (CSS child selectors in IE6, anyone?). Yet we can't ignore the IE6 users - not yet, anyway - because they still make up a surprisingly large slice of the market pie. It's a vicious circle that few have attempted to break, and none successfully: do you denounce IE6 and eliminate or cripple that user base unless they upgrade, or do you support IE6 and give them no reason to upgrade? One scenario begets the other. I'm opposed to the removal of choice as well, but there is a limit - how long can the public expect a severely crippled browser to be supported? If you want to drive an old Studebaker around town, you're more than welcome to, but PLEASE don't expect us to lower freeway/highway speeds or carry antique parts in our auto parts shops to accommodate you when the rest of the world has long-since left your technology behind. At some point, you've got to let go. At least an old Studebaker has collector's value. IE6? Not so much. You may not embrace the ribbon (I'm indifferent), but that's why alternative (read: better) browsers with traditional interfaces exist. Or you could bite the bullet and get used to the new change or get ready to ditch all Microsoft software usage, because that seems to be the way all their applications are going. It h

Trying not to flame, but resistance to change like that is what breaks the web. IE6 needs to be *banned* from the internet. If you MUST insist on IE, at least use the latest version - or at *least* anything newer than IE6. Try doing web design/development with standards-compliant adherence and see how it fares in IE6... Argh.

Er, that's utter crap. Don't take it. I live about 45 minutes away from the Redmond campus and work about 20 minutes closer at a completely different engineering-centric company. $22/hr is laughable. Look at salary.com and fill in your appropriate data for the area -- according to those statistics, I'm currently underpaid by almost $10K salary (and HAVE benefits mind you - not the greatest, but they're sufficient since I'm no hypochondriac), and I'm only 1 year out of college with a Bachelor's in Computing and Software Systems from University of Washington (effectively a Software Engineering degree with a different name). Even in my underpaid status, not including that I have a full two years less experience than you and the company I work for is only about 50 people, I *still* make more than what that recruiter was offering you, plus benefits. Let's not even get into the tax hassles involved in being a private contractor -- you're responsible for SO much more (no employer contributions, and they generally contribute 50% IIRC) that the $22/hr is really probably more like $15-$17/hr. That's intern pay, so unless you're looking for an internship or haven't learned anything since you were an intern, tell them to shove it. However, I'm looking at your post again, and it's been my observation that positions in test are really mundane jobs and require no real innovation or creativity (I could be entirely wrong; I've never worked in a formal testing department and I'm basing my observation purely on job descriptions). They just need a monkey who can type and debug code (no offense to any test engineers with actual engineering skills). My guess is that if it was in a different department, the money would substantially increase. Yikes. I didn't realize I was so passionate about this...