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Topics - Nick29

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 ... 26
1
Technical Help / Androids and Flash - some info if you get one for Christmas !
« on: Saturday 22 December 12 11:53 GMT (UK)  »
I've just got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, and I was dismayed that it would not display Flash graphics in web pages (the BBC News site use Flash for their embedded web page video).

When I tried to load the latest version of Adobe Flash as an app, I was informed that there was no compatible Flash version for my Android version.  I found this a bit odd, because my Tab has Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 and my phone has the same version, and this does display embedded Flash.

The answer wasn't too hard to find - apparently Adobe has very quietly been withdrawing support for Flash on Android devices since Android 3.0, so there's no Flash apps for anything with Android 4 on it (and that includes all new Android devices).

The solution is just as simple - go into the general settings of your Android device, and under Security you'll see 'Unknown Sources' - "Allow installation of non-Market apps" - tick this box

Then go to http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html

Scroll down the page and find Flash Player 11.1 for Android 4 (the top one).  Download and run.  This will install Flash on your Android device.  If you wish, you can untick the box in the security settings, but it doesn't matter much if you don't.

The reason why my mobile phone supports Flash is because it was originally shipped with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), so Flash was installed and updated when the phone was updated to later Android versions (it now has Ice Cream Sandwich too).

Enjoy !  :)


2
Technical Help / Upgrade to Windows 8 for £24.99 (offer ends 31/01/2013)
« on: Friday 21 December 12 14:26 GMT (UK)  »
Anyone in the UK brave enough to upgrade to Windows 8 can download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for £24.99 - offer ends 31/1/2013.

See  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/buy for full details.

Note that this price is for the download version - you will need a fairly fast broadband connection to download it.


3
Technical Help / How to set your browser defaults - for various browsers (see below)
« on: Friday 21 December 12 14:01 GMT (UK)  »
Since the launch of the new version of the RootsChat forum, some people have commented about the fonts and font sizes on this new version.  Users of the forum can make their own changes to a certain extent, using the settings for their choice of web browser.  Web pages are not received by your computer as pictures - they are a mess of computer code, and it is the job of your web browser to interpret this code to produce a web page.  Some parts of web pages cannot be changed, because changing them would have detrimental effects on other parts of the page.  The following posts will take you through how to change the font settings on the main 'brands' of browser.

Note: I'd advise people to make a note of their existing default settings, so they can revert to them if they make unsuitable choices.






4
The Lighter Side / 50 Free FindMyPast credits (no signup required)
« on: Tuesday 18 December 12 16:40 GMT (UK)  »
Just follow this link ......

http://mail.findmypast.co.uk/cgi-bin11/DM/t/nBcXj0TR1zD0MRx0CokB10EY

I'm not breaking any FindMyPast Terms and Conditions, in the email they sent me, they said, "Forward this to all your friends"  :D

The code on the page expires on 2nd January, so be quick  8)

No signup required for credit card, but you  do need a login account.


5
Technical Help / Slow computers
« on: Wednesday 28 November 12 14:10 GMT (UK)  »
If you were given a £150 gift voucher to spend on your computer to make it faster (and nothing else), what would you spend it on ?

I think many of us would maybe dash out and buy a more powerful processor, or maybe some faster memory, but how many would spend money on the real 'bottleneck creator' ?  The hard drive.

I'd forgotten just how much a hard drive can slow a computer down until recently.  Some time ago I installed a Solid State Hard Drive as my C: drive so that my computer would boot up faster, but until recently I'd forgotten just how much it was speeding things up.  When I originally installed the SSD, the prices were still quite high, and I could only afford a 64GB drive.  Despite my best efforts to keep stuff off the C: drive, it eventually filled up, and not being in the position to find the money for a bigger SSD, I re-installed a conventional hard drive.  Only then did I realise just how SLOW this would make my PC become !

After a couple of days of 'plodding programs' which were driving me to distraction, I could stand it no more, and I have invested in a 256GB SSD.  It wasn't just the initial bootup of Windows that was being speeded up - it was the loading of programs like Thunderbird, Google Chrome, even individual web pages were taking longer to load with a mechanical drive.

Of course the  downside of SSDs is that they tend to fail more catastrophically than conventional drives, but I keep regular backups, so hopefully I won't be too inconvenienced when it happens  ;)


6
The Common Room / Do you ever go back over your work ?
« on: Wednesday 17 October 12 14:07 BST (UK)  »
Do you ever go back over your work ?

I did today, and found a whole branch that was wrong !  How I managed to get wrong parents names when they were on two censuses, I'll never know.  It took me ages to eradicate 4 generations.  Knowing my luck, I'll probably spend another 4 hours, and find out that I was right to start with  :D


7
I'm trying to trace the death of a ********************** in Seattle Washington area sometime after 1995.  Can someone please tell me where to look ?

She was born 1st April 1962.

Edited to conform to RC rules (person could still be alive).

8
Fife / Can someone help with bride's maiden name ?
« on: Monday 01 October 12 11:30 BST (UK)  »
Henry James Stead married a Grace (?) probably in Wemyss, Fife, around 1873. James came from Blackheath/Greenwich, Kent.  Can someone find the bride's maiden name for me ?  I'm assuming they married in Scotland, because I can find no trace of an English marriage.

I'm afraid I'm a complete novice when it comes to Scottish genealogy, so if I need to subscribe to a PAYG site, please tell me  :)



9
Technical Help / AOL, Yahoo - why your emails may not get through !
« on: Thursday 16 August 12 11:04 BST (UK)  »
If you have an email account with AOL or Yahoo, your emails may never reach the intended recipient.

Why ?   Because of AOL's and BT's spam policies.

I (in common with lots of other people) routinely forward SPAM sent to and from abusers of the major ISP's, so that these fraudulent accounts can be closed and blocked.  However, whenever anyone tries to do this with AOL or BT Yahoo!, the mail is bounced, and it becomes very clear that both AOL and BT Yahoo! have no interest whatsoever in trying to stop fraudulent email activity. AOL specifically tell people to report SPAM to abuse@aol.com - but try sending to this address - it is bounced back to you !  ::)

So, what other things can someone do to prevent their mailboxes being deluged with SPAM from AOL and Yahoo accounts?   Well, in the case of AOL and Yahoo!, one's only choice seems to be to block the entire domains, so any mail sent to my mailbox from an AOL or BT Yahoo! account is automatically trashed.  Many of my friends apply the same technique.

So, if you have an AOL or BT Yahoo! email account, and you find that many of your emails are ignored, you may now have the reason  :o


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