alt.comp.freeware information 06 September 2004

[Mark Carter]

alt.comp.freeware (ACF, acf) is one of three groups dedicated to freeware. The other groups are:
alt.comp.freeware.games (ACFG)
alt.comp.freeware.discussion

Search alt.comp.freeware
http://groups.google.com/advanced_g...=1&group=alt.comp.freeware&safe=off&scoring=d

Pricelessware information
http://www.pricelessware.org
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org

acf information
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/acf/Index.php

acf Members Sites
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/acf/Members.php
http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/linksacf.htm

acf FAQ
http://clients.net2000.com.au/~johnf/faq.html

acfWiki
http://www.markcarter.me.uk/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AcfWiki

 

[omega]

Suggestion for a tiny revision to the weekly posting ...

[...]

Search alt.comp.freeware
http://groups.google.com/advanced_g...=1&group=alt.comp.freeware&safe=off&scoring=d

I view a brief URL to be better in place of the above.

http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?&group=alt.comp.freeware

.. . .
(Probably superfluous to expound, but what the heck... The settings in that
other URL, they are just as well left up to the individual. Such as # hits
per page, and new window, and language restrictions. One will either have
their own prefs set in their Google cookie, or also can choose such things
from the search page.)

 

[Mark Carter]

Suggestion for a tiny revision to the weekly posting ...

[...]

Search alt.comp.freeware
http://groups.google.com/advanced_g...=1&group=alt.comp.freeware&safe=off&scoring=d

I view a brief URL to be better in place of the above.

http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?&group=alt.comp.freeware

Actually, the problem with both links is that they don't restrict the
search to alt.comp.freeware.

 

[omega]

Actually, the problem with both links is that they don't restrict the
search to alt.comp.freeware.

!!!

Well, I'll be damned. I totally overlooked the heart of it. Now that you point
it out, there I see it. Despite the group given in the URL, one ends with the
same result of only having entered <groups.google.com/advanced_group_search>.

I can't think offhand how there could be any alternate route at our end.
Strikes me that the need is for Google to make some change, ideally, at
their end.

 

[Bjorn Simonsen]

Actually, the problem with both links is that they don't restrict the
search to alt.comp.freeware.

How about
<http://google.com/advanced_group_search?&group=&as_ugroup=alt.comp.freeware>

All the best,
Bjorn Simonsen

 

[omega]

Actually, the problem with both links is that they don't restrict the
search to alt.comp.freeware.

Mark, how about this one?

http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?q=+group:alt.comp.freeware

 

[omega]

How about
<http://google.com/advanced_group_search?&group=&as_ugroup=alt.comp.freeware>

Heh. Check out my nearly concurrent posting. Not only were we literally on
the same page, but our post was almost identical. Have we just mutated from
two creatures into a single Borg?

 

[Bjorn Simonsen]

Heh. Check out my nearly concurrent posting. Not only were we literally on
the same page, but our post was almost identical. Have we just mutated from
two creatures into a single Borg?

Btw your suggestion is shorter than mine, so I prefer that one. Can
make it even shorter as follows:
<http://google.com/advanced_group_search?q=+group:alt.comp.freeware>
- as long as it takes you there

All the best,
Bjorn Simonsen

 

[Roger Johansson]

How about
<http://google.com/advanced_group_search?&group=&as_ugroup=alt.comp.free
ware>

Both your expression and Karen's seem to work fine when I test with
searching for "testing". I get the same results.

Note that some links have names of other newsgroups, but those messages
are crossposted and acf is one of the groups.
Only the first newsgroup is shown under the link.

 

[Mark Carter]

How about

<http://google.com/advanced_group_search?&group=&as_ugroup=alt.comp.freeware>

Nice one. I'll update the message. It wont be included in next Monday's
posting, because I'm not at work, so the server wont be informed of the
new information.

Come to think of it, I think that Monday's post wont even be made. I
reformatted the hard drive, and there's apparently something that's not
been set up right, because this newsgroup hasn't received any SOUL postings.

Maybe I shouldn't be reformatting my hard drive all the time, innit.

 

[Mark Carter]

Can
make it even shorter as follows:
<http://google.com/advanced_group_search?q=+group:alt.comp.freeware>

Done.

 

[Bjorn Simonsen]

Note that some links have names of other newsgroups, but those messages
are crossposted and acf is one of the groups.
Only the first newsgroup is shown under the link.

Good observation, didn't think about that.

All the best,
Bjorn Simonsen

 

[omega]

Btw your suggestion is shorter than mine, so I prefer that one.

Hey, Bjorn, check the headers of our posts:; nearly indistinguishable,
with same reader, and same server. I hope folks will have faith that we
are separate people. If not, I don't know what would look weirder right
now: if we were agreeing or if we were arguing.

Can make it even shorter as follows:
<http://google.com/advanced_group_search?q=+group:alt.comp.freeware>

Voila. Shortest is best.

.. . .
Quick side meander. For various other configs, setting that URL up to then
take a search word as argument is just the +S thing at the end. I mean, for
example if send "duplicates" as argument -

http://google.com/advanced_group_search?q=+group:alt.comp.freeware+duplicates

 

[MLC]

_Mark Carter_, domenica 19/set/2004:

Suggestion for a tiny revision to the weekly posting ...

[...]

Search alt.comp.freeware
http://groups.google.com/advanced_g...=1&group=alt.comp.freeware&safe=off&scoring=d

I view a brief URL to be better in place of the above.

http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?&group=alt.comp.freeware

Actually, the problem with both links is that they don't restrict the
search to alt.comp.freeware.

Yes, the group alt.comp.freeware doesn't show in the newsgroup edit box.
Then the Susan's or omega's links can be cut down to
http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
since the result is the same.

Another approach could be the following, but you have to click on the radio
button for alt.comp.freeware.*, and there aren't anymore the search options
(Subject, Author, etc.):
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=alt.comp.freeware&nosubgroups=1

Another one, but restricted to those with JavaScript enabled, is the use of
a bookmarklet, which gives directly the result of your search in
alt.comp.freeware. I've called it acfGoogle.
If Susan wants it, the HTML/JavaScript code is:

for IE:
<a
href="javascript:Qr=document.selection.createRange().text;if(!Qr){void(Qr=prompt('Search
alt.comp.freeware
for:',''))}if(Qr)location.href='http://www.google.com/groups?as_q='....comp.freeware&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en'">acfGoogle
</a>

for Firefox, Netscape, Opera:
<a
href="javascript:Qr=document.getSelection();if(!Qr){void(Qr=prompt('Search
alt.comp.freeware
for:',''))};if(Qr)location.href='http://groups.google.com/groups?as_....comp.freeware&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en'">acfGoogle
</a>

 

[jo]

Maybe I shouldn't be reformatting my hard drive all the time, innit.

Yeah

So much easier to delete Windows in DOS, then reinstall from a folder on
your HD.

Does one gain much by formatting?

 

[MLC]

_MLC_, domenica 19/set/2004:

Forget the part about the bokmarklet: I thought you were talking about the
link on the Pricelesswarehome page...

I need another espresso!

 

[Mark Carter]

Mark Carter wrote:




Yeah

So much easier to delete Windows in DOS, then reinstall from a folder on
your HD.

Does one gain much by formatting?

What I generally do is save my personal data to a separate medium, and
then zap the hard drive. It means reinstalling all the apps, and setting
up other stuff manually. It flushes out all the old crud that tends to
accumulate on hard disks; but it also fairly easy to throw the baby out
with the bathwater. Reinstallation usually results in a leaner, more
stable, and faster system. Potentially it can transform a computer
bogged down in sludge into a system that's actually quite usable. I tend
to notice this more on other people's systems; mine, after all, don't
make it through the year without being zapped at least once.

 

[Roger Johansson]

Reinstallation usually results in a leaner, more
stable, and faster system. Potentially it can transform a computer
bogged down in sludge into a system that's actually quite usable.

You might want to consider using a partition saving utility, like Save
Partition.

Then you can save a clean and fast installation so it takes only a minute
or two to reinstall that instead of going through the whole installation
of windows again.

I have installed a lot of stuff over a few months, so it is time to roll
back to an early and lean saved partition image. But I will pack up the
current state too, before I roll back, in case I would like to return to
this rather big setup.

 

[jo]

What I generally do is save my personal data to a separate medium, and
then zap the hard drive. It means reinstalling all the apps, and setting
up other stuff manually. It flushes out all the old crud that tends to
accumulate on hard disks; but it also fairly easy to throw the baby out
with the bathwater. Reinstallation usually results in a leaner, more
stable, and faster system. Potentially it can transform a computer
bogged down in sludge into a system that's actually quite usable. I tend
to notice this more on other people's systems; mine, after all, don't
make it through the year without being zapped at least once.

But does one gain much over my method? My method has the advantage of
speed, and many of your innstalled apps still work afterwards. The crud
that does the bogging down of a system builds up in Win/System so if the
whole Windows folder is deleted then, as your way, one gets a much
faster system back.
I just don't any real benefit to formatting... this is partly down to
laziness, partly ignorance.

 

[Roger Johansson]

You might want to consider using a partition saving utility, like Save

Partition.

Then you can save a clean and fast installation so it takes only a
minute or two to reinstall that instead of going through the whole
installation of windows again.

Maybe I should clarify that I only save the C: partition. Many of my
favorite programs can run without being installed in windows, so I put
them on another partition.

On the C: drive is only the operating system and programs which need to
be installed in windows, and a lot of stuff I just wanted to try out.

It takes less time to restore an earlier saved image of the partition
than to try to remove all the installed programs.