Miscellaneous
This material is not 'polished'!!
As I surf the net, I come across various things that I wish someone had told me about.
In theory, one day it will all be available in the polished sections of my
website. In the meantime, if you're willing to 'dig' through some disorganized
material, you may be rewarded with 'gems'!
In some cases, the text is snipped from other sources. Therefore, among other things, the
personal pronoun may not refer to the editor of this page. If, on the
other hand something is identified as coming from 'TKB', he IS the pages's editor!
Ad from page's editor: Yes.. I do enjoy compiling these things for you...
hope they are helpful. However.. this doesn't pay my bills!!! If you
find this stuff useful, (and you run an MS-DOS or Windows PC) please visit my freeware and shareware page,
download something, and circulate it for me? Links on your page to
this page would also be appreciated!
Click here to visit editor's freeware, shareware page.
Not really "Desk Pile" material....
I purchased a "toy" digital camera via eBay in October 2004 and had a little trouble getting started using it... and the web let me down! It seemed that no one else on the planet had one! (Well, there was one page, in Korean, in Goggle, but that turned out to be a different camera.) So here's what I discovered, so that when you search for information on the KD-1301, you won't come up with nothing!
First: What camera am I speaking of? It is 3cm x 3cm x 9cm. It has two buttons, one small LCD panel for text communication (not image viewing), takes 2 AAA batteries. Besides the KD-1301 designation, it also has "bola" in the text around the lens. The interface for downloads, control, and for use as a web cam is USB. It has a max resolution of 640x800. Running as a web cam, I get good results. When I use the device as a camera, I get quite blurry images. Good colors, though. I think the "blur" is due to excessive JPEG compression. The camera can be set to a lower resolution... maybe the image would be compressed less, giving a sharper net result? For what I paid for it, it is a bit of fun, and "works". It also makes a perfectly satisfactory (image-only, no audio) USB webcam.
It came with a CD which auto-ran to offer the choice of setting up the driver, a choice I opted for without regrets, and a chance to set up applications. I think doing that was a waste of time, and, as with any install, had the potential of adding things that would unsettle things which were working properly previously. Exploring the CD just now, to try to get some more definitive ID for you, I find that the driver (which works on Win98SE, at least, by the way) is buried within a file called merely "setup.exe", but I also discovered the CD has folders for some things called PhotoImpression and Panorama Maker. For each there is a "E" folder and a "CS" folder. They might be Arcsoft products from some investigating I did. I did not try installing them.
The person who sold me the camera (eBay, second hand), kindly sent me a note warning me to install the software before plugging the camera in. I did this, installing just the drivers, as I said.
When I plugged the camera in, it let out a pretty little chirp. Pressing the button on the top caused a dialog box to open on my PC, asking me which app should receive the image, AMCap (more on this later), or "Imaging". The former didn't work (yet), the latter was the Kodak photo editor bundled with Win98. Selecting that caused a window to open, with what the camera was seeing at the moment displayed. Click "Snapshot", and you get the current camera view in Imaging, and the interface to the camera closes!
This isn't a camera!! It's a scanner, in "camera clothing"!!! Think of it that way, if you are familiar with scanner use, and you are half way there!
That isn't to say that it can't be used as a camera. It's just that the designers took a "scanner" viewpoint. YOU CANNOT (as far as I was able to determine) ACCESS THE MEMORY INSIDE THE CAMERA AS IF IT WERE A DISK DRIVE, as is usual in my limited experience of "real" digital cameras. BUT....
When the camera is not connected to the computer, you turn it on/ off with the button on the back. When it is on, you take pictures by clicking the button on the top. This IS an idiot friendly device, even if it doesn't threaten the "real" digital cameras.
When you connect it to the computer, and press the button on the top, you get the choice I mentioned before. If you installed AMCap and opt for that, you get a live view of what the camera sees, and can use it as a "tethered, one-shot" snapshooter, or to record video clips. (Point the camera at the screen of your PC for an entertaining "hall of mirrors" effect.)
Better, though: Select "Imaging". At the right of the "scanner" interface window, there is a "filmstrip". Click the "camera-to-PC" icon (lower right), and the pictures inside the camera will be downloaded to the filmstrip. You can then select ONE, and click the "Transfer" button, and that picture is fed into the Imaging app. This is not the way to get more than one or two photos out of the camera, as the "scanner" interface shuts each time.
Happily, there is a solution. Install the free "Irfan Viewer" in your machine. Launch it. Plug in camera. In Irfan: File|Select Source... you should see "Dual Mode Camera", select that. Still in Irfan: File|Batch Scanning. You can use the default values (as long as you don't mind that you may over-write things you did earlier, if you've batch scanned before.) The batch scanning setup dialog does allow you to make you life easy, though. I'd change at least the "Output file name". This is the BASE name... if you make it "Fred" (and leave Starting Index at "1"), then the images will be saved as Fred1, Fred2, Fred3...
Click OK to go on from the Irfan batch scanning setup. After a little delay, the "scanner" interface window comes up. Don't click "Transfer All" yet. You have to click on the "Camera-to-filmstrip" icon first. (You should see a "Downloading..." progress indicator.) THEN click "Transfer All". The images flicker through the system. It may see that "nothing" has happened, by if you look in the folder you specified, you should find files with the pictures! I'm glad I knew about Irfan!! I suspect that other TWAIN capable applications will be able to access the camera in similar ways. Enjoy! Hope this helped? Comments welcome.
While to scanner interface is open, there is a button called "Settings" which allow you to change some of the cameras settings. The most tempting, though I haven't played with it, is the resolution setting. (640x800 max.)
If you opted to install the "applications" from the CD, you got AMCap and VideoCap. ("Cap" for "capture") AMCap a little utility, (c) Microsoft, which can capture video clips from the camera while it is connected via the USB cable. VideoCap appears to be an enhanced version of AMCap, adding more control over the process, and the capacity to capture single frames. I suspect any reasonable webcam-via-TWAIN supporting program would be as good or better, and would suggest installing only the driver, at least until you've explored what other programs you may have will do for you.
I went looking for software which might be useful. I didn't have much luck... it seems that the free apps that come bundled with webcams blight the market for similar freeware.
I tried to get the current (16 Oct 04) Yahoo Messenger working on my Win98SE machine. I've used YM in the past. Counldn't, at first, so, with misgivings, installed NetMeeting to see how that would fare. With just a little messing about, I did get the NetMeeting window to display what the KD-1301 was seeing!! Hurrah! While I don't like MS and it's ways, I can't deny that it's software does have advantages sometimes! Remember: Yahoo were the first to bring us video with a Messaging service.
Susequently overcame problems ("invalid page... flash.ocx") installing Yahoo Messenger. Camera works with that too! (But only while you are online.) Yahoo's uninstaller seems to do a good job. It installs quite agressively, but after you install it, and log on to the service, you can un-tick the box selecting "load on computer boot", and it will remove the item in the bowels of the system that only shows (Win98) if you know how to use msconfig.
The flash.ocx problem arose and was fixed as follows...
I had a version 6 flash.ocx. I uninstalled that. Uninstalled Yahoo Messenger. Reinstalled YM. Installed an upgraded flash.ocx on one machine, an upgraded showckwave player on another.
Gory details:
To check your flash.ocx version: Find the file. Right click. Properties. Version.
To remove it...click this link to the relevant page at Macromedia for a little program to save and run.
Reinstalling it gets a little more "interesting". I used this link to Macromedia on one machine, and, I think, just replaced the flash player, BUT: the link only allows a "blind" install... you don't get to download a file, use it as you see fit.
On a second machine, I went, I think, to this Macromedia page, and from there to what it seemed I needed. Again, a blind install, but this time of a 2 meg upgrade of my whole shockwave player.
Ah, the "joys" of computing! :-)
=====
NOT useful/ useable (afaik) with the "toy" webcam which prompted this article, but maybe interesting:
Yahoo Messenger: "Should" have worked... couldn't get it to install on a Win98SE system with file from Yahoo d/l'd 16 Oct 04
Video Site Monitor from www.fgeng.com. Wanted a video feed from a "MS WDM Image Capture" driver. At www.fgeng.com/drivers there was something that suggested that a Logitec USB webcam could be used, with a driver from Logitec, but I couldn't face the quest. Installed to folders of IT'S choice, no way for me to over-ride, but UNinstalled well.
CatSpy: A freeware video surveillance app. Takes feed from any DirectX9 source. Has software motion detection built in. For Win2k, Me, XP. www.catspy.de
Intrance: Shareware, $17 to register. Seemed a sophisticated video surveillance (with motion sensing) app at a very reasonable cost. Free trial of 14 days. www.intrancesoftworks.com
"Desk Pile" material begins...
LW mm/yy means that the link was working in Oct 04
Old/ LW mm/yy means that the link is one I had here a long time ago which is STILL working at mm/yy.
The description of WHAT is at the site may be dated, but it still seemed to have similar stuff when visited.
===
Old/ LW 10/04
Homeschool Resource Page www.midnightbeach.com/HomeSchool.html
very eclectic collection, growing since June 1994!
===
Old/ LW 10/04
Someone liked pock5.1 (dated September 1997) from
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pocketware
I'm told.... PocketD Plus v5.1 is first and foremost a small command-line file manager, with a separate and optional menu-driven interface (new with v3.0). Its purpose is to provide the Windows/DOS user with a highly productive tool for day-to-day disk housekeeping. It may well be the tool you have been looking for. It has been designed to be small enough for any DOS or Windows users to want to use it on their PCs, even if using only 2% of its facilities. At the same time its comprehensive copy facilities and flexible programmable templates should make it indispensable for heavy-duty users such as network administrators & sysops.... and from same source: Crush is a compression tool that can work with your existing archiver to dramatically reduce the size of archives created.
===
Old/ LW 10/04
The following shareware is on offer at...
www.shetef.com
*Win-Secure-it (WSI95-20.ZIP) -Security Solution for Windows95
*Touch-Typing (TT95-21.EXE) -Touch Typing tutor for Windows 95
-with multimedia frills
*Win-eXpose-Registry (WXR95-10.ZIP)-Registry usage
Monitor/tracer/debugger for Win 95
*System-Security-API (SSAPI10.ZIP) -Security. Programmable
Interface for Win 95
*Win-eXpose-I/O 95 (WXI95-20.ZIP) -File I/O
Monitor/tracer/debugger for Win 95
*Win-eXpose-I/O (WXI101.ZIP) -File I/O
Monitor/tracer/debugger
for windows 3.x
*PrintOut (PRTOUT10.ZIP) -Flexible text printing
utility for windows
*FindRGB (FNDRGB20.ZIP) -Powerful RGB Matching Colors
for Win 95/NT
===
Old/ LW 10/04
The following site has many games, strategy type, and 'Everest' type I want to check out, etc, but came to my attention due to their announcement of....
WEBS,a simple solitaire game requiring both strategy and
cunning. You claim nodes on a web while trying to limit the nodes claimed to your computer opponent. Automatic display of potential moves, a variety of webs and difficulties. Web spinner feature included.
At 10/04, they were offering a compilation CD with strategy games for about $20.
http://cascoly.com/strategy.htm
===
Old/ LW 10/04
The E-Conflict World Encyclopedia site profiles the nations of the world. View maps and flags or listen to national anthems.
There are over 1,400 pages of written text on the nations. Test your
knowledge with the monthly quiz.
http://www.emulateme.com
===
Old/ LW 10/04
Online auction service... ((Note added 10/04: eBay is NOT the only one! (This listed more as a curiosity! I'd use eBay FOR AUCTIONS. Haggle has price comparisons, etc, too.))
http://www.haggle.com
===
Old/ LW 10/04
UK BORDER COLLIE & SHEEPDOG RESCUE
Online dialspace.dial.pipex.com/bcsr
Strange. It was here this morning, "not found" this afternoon. (10/04). Apparently, the society still exists, but have reduced their web-page to a "sorry, too busy" message with phone numbers for sheepdog re-homing services, and some links.
===
Old/ LW 10/04
www.bbc.co.uk/crimewatch
crime prevention, avoidance, too
===
Old/ LW 10/04
www.safekids.org
The (US) National SAFE KIDS Campaign is the first and only national organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury - the number one killer of children ages 14 and under.
While the murders which hit the headlines are no doubt horrific... maybe we ought to think about other deaths, too!
===
Old/ LW 10/04
There are hundreds of sites devoted to flight simulators. Good starting points...
http://www.flightsim.com
http://www.avsim.com
http://www.simflight.com
===
A web page called "Parenting Multiples" and it has bunches of resources and a free stuff listing.
http://pages.prodigy.net/twingles/twins.htm
===
Links to the best British websites, as judged by one of Britain's senior computer magazines.
http://www.vnu.co.uk/hc/pcw/bob.htm Best of British, pp PCW
===
http://www.democracy.org.uk/pol-forum/
This is a place for anyone to listen in on political discussions between UK politicians concerning any of the burning issues of the day.
===
A wonderful place to shop for h/w, s/w, periferals, computer bits & pieces...
www.pcconnection.com
===
Some weird and wonderful things you can access via the net.. robots, etc.
http://www.yahoo.com/Computers
and_Internet/Internet/Entertainment/Interesting_Devices_Connected_to_the_Net/
===
Information on Nobel prize recipients... (heavy with graphics content)
http://www.nobelprizes.com
===
LW 10/04
Information on Darwin Award prize recipients... (heavy with humor)
http://www.darwinawards.com
===
Visit the Habitat for Humanity-Break the Cycle site--ties into many
curriculum areas--math, geography, poverty housing, social studies and
more. Enter contests,too!
http://boe.cabe.k12.wv.us/jefferso/habitat/breakthe.html
===
Strategy help for strategy games such as Civilization,
Civ II, Theme Park, and Sim City 2000. Also has a simulation strategy page, with Sim City 2000 codes. Civilization: Wonders of the World
was going be added when I saw the notice of the site. They were planning more.
If you know any codes or tips on any strategy games, particularly Theme Park or any Sim game, e-mail them.
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/2357/
===
Games Library. It has over 600 screen savers, 190 cheats... etc
http://www.njh-associates.demon.co.uk/gameslibrary/
===
Archive of the material broadcast in the US TV Evening News, since '68. With thanks to 'The Whole Internet Calendar 1997', by workman publishing, and my sister who gave it to me!
Give a friend a list of the stories current on the day of his/ her birth!
http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/abstracts.html
===
Information about life in the emergency services...
(Which, UK readers, I do not consider to include the AA.
I find their advertising slogan offensive, and would ask you to consider
whether you agree, and if you do, make your view known to the AA.
I saw police on their way to an emergency slip under descending
railway barriers. Would the AA put themselves at risk thus in
the course of their work? That isn't to ignore the fact that
they are at risk working on motorways... but they are not
in the same league as the real emergency services. 'IMHO'.)
http://www.merginet.com/tgp/index.htm
==
I first 'met' for Hale-Bopp info, but presume good stuff will continue to flow...
http://www.adsonthenet.com/halebopp.htm
http://www.drdale.com/comets/
===
Here is a bunch of links to news stories about the 'life' of the internet. It does not link to news about the 'real' world.
http://www.newslinx.com/
===
]]] not tested by tkb....
INTERNET SEARCH AND FIND
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/links.html
MARI'S PAGE OF CHILDREN'S LINKS
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/mari.html
LEAR'S LINKS FOR TEENS
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/lear.html
ANN'S LINKS TO WOMEN'S WEB RESOURCES
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/
REFERENCE AND RESEARCH TOOLS
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/research.html
SEARCH ENGINES AND MYRIAD COMBINATIONS THEREOF
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/search.html
My Art:
MAIDENCREEK: AMERICANA a la MEXICANA!
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/maiden.html
OBE'S HOME OF MEDITATION GONG AND RELATIVITY EXPOUNDED
http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/obe.html
===
Greetings Pilots-
I have compiled a glossary as a means to aid the in flight communications during dogfighting. As I am a terrible typist/spellar with dyslexia, I hope that these acronyms will help the likes of me to communicate with your opponent or wingy whilst trying to fly the darn plane. If you would like to contribute to this glossary please email me at: kahuna@tstonramp.com
The Sim Pilot Inflight Communications Glossary can be found here...
http://www.tstonramp.com/~kahuna/simgloss.html
===
Let's do something about software theft. Read all about it at....
Consumers Against Piracy
http://www.flnet.nl/~0verbaant01/cap.htm
http://www.page4life.nl/MultipleVisions/cap.htm
===
The following description is pretty dated at Oct 04!!! Left here for "historical" amusement. It was on the web at Jan '99, the oldest copy of the page in the Wayback Machine at Oct 04. Wireplay IS alive at 10/04, but working differently, of course. The service is now free, but they don't support Eurofighter... or any other jet fighter I could find. Lots of Quake type games, though.))
((For British readers... visit the following URL for information about a
new world of computer games. For 2.5pence per minute, you can log on
to a dedicated server. There you 'meet' other people to engage in
multi-player games. I had a little trouble with getting set up, but
it was worth it in the end! The game I've played is Eurofighter 2000.
You get a special version, capable only of playing in the multiplayer
mode over the phone line... but free!!))
http://www.wireplay.com/site/help/wireplay/
---------------
Site Map
What's New
Search
Please note: The search engine only looks for words, so entering "How many angels dance?" will not be understood, merely return pages with "how", "many", etc. Also the search button here searches only this site. The following will open my other sites in new windows....
Sheepdog Guides site
Sheepdog Software site
Sheepdog's Kennel at Compuserve
Link to 'My Desk Pile' main page
Here is how you can contact this page's editor.