Robbie

The album is heading for number one in the new UK album chart, which will be unveiled on Sunday. It is number one in the latest sales flash (midweek) chart, which is based on sales from Sunday to Tuesday night.

probably a bit GARISH but I like to use this for a while once autumn kicks in...

same here, the calculation I've always used is based on the fact that 1GB as used by vendors is calculated as being 1,000,000,000 bytes when in fact it is 1,073,741,824 bytes (as seen by Windows and exactly how it should be calculated). So the actual size is 80GB divided by 1.073741824 = 74.50580596923828125GB! The calculation is derived from 1kb actually being 1024 bytes, 1MB being 1024*1024 bytes (= 1,048,576 bytes) and 1GB being 1024*1024*1024 bytes (or 1,073,741,824 bytes, as above).

I once read that unless there was a problem with the BIOS it was better to leave it alone rather than flash the BIOS and create potential problems. Many upgrades are normally to address a specific problem (so I read) so if those problems don't exist it's best to leave alone. To be honest, I'd feel uncomfortable flashing the BIOS, I'm convinced I'd make a mess of it and my computer would be unworkable. There is an update to my BIOS (in fact I think there may be 3 revisions from the version I have), which is about 2 years out of date now (the date showing is 10 October 2005, the last revision is from a few months ago) but my computer is stable and I don't feel comfortable upgrading.

have you got your laptops to go into standby when you close the lid or is it a default setting?

Cheers Dennis and Anthony I only use standby once in a while and I've never had this problem before - I just hope it isn't a bad sign...

I've never had this happen before... last night when I went to bed I put my computer into Stand By rather than closing it down. When I powered on the computer this morning it started up then I got the Windows screen that said "Logging Off" and the computer closed down. I had to restart it and it's been fine since then (I checked and put it into stand by once more and it restarted properly with no problem). Does anyone have an idea what may have caused this behaviour? It's never happened before. I hope my computer isn't on the way out...

I've just done some testing and it is the value that I posted that controls whether the sessionstore file is created. Changing the value to False while also displaying the Firefox profile folder in Windows Explorer immediately sees the file vanish, reverting back to True and the file appears again. I checked with MozillaZine and the preference you mention, browser.sessionstore.enabled has to be enabled (set to True) for the other value, browser.sessionstore.resume_session_once, to function but from my test, disabling just browser.sessionstore.enabled alone will not prevent the sessionstorefile from being created. The other preference must be set to the value False. In the end I've changed the value for both preferences to False. see also http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.sessions...sume_from_crash http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.sessionstore.enabled

perhaps flaw was the wrong word. I was more thinking along the lines that CCleaner and similar programs are there to enhance privacy when Firefox itself has a feature which somewhat undermines it. I agree it's a feature, some people will welcome it, but it has privacy implications that some people would not welcome, but may be unaware of.

I'm not sure if someone has posted something about this before... This compromising of privacy has only taken me about 11 months to realise, since Firefox 2.0 was launched last October... and it's thanks to CCleaner's companion, Recuva that I actually did. Anyone familiar with Firefox will probably know that if there is a computer crash etc, and Firefox is open at the time and as a result closes, the next time you run Firefox you will be told that "Firefox closed unexpectedly" and given the option to "restore the last Firefox session" or start a new session. Choosing "restore" will reload all the tabs you had running and the websites that you were visiting at the time of the crash. For a long time I've tried to work out how FF can possibly remember this as I've never been able to find a file that has this information when I go to the default FF folder in USER NAME / Application Data / Mozilla/ Firefox / Profiles / user FF folder name. I've looked several times. Sometimes using Recuva I've been able to recover a file called sessionstore.js.moztmp, which it is apparent is the file that stores all this information - and recovering that file and opening it in note pad reveals a list of the urls I was visiting when I closed Firefox. I've just found out that this is a temporary file (hence the .moztmp extension) that is created when FF is opened and is automatically deleted when FF is closed - which explains why I could never find it. Presumably, in the event of a crash the file is not deleted but kept until the next session. The main point, however, is that this file contains a list of all the URLs and additional information (cookies included, it seems) about the sites you have been visiting, and seemingly not just the sites you were visiting at the time FF closed but quite a few sites you visited in your FF session before the crash, plus the headings of threads in forums and more. When the file is deleted is is just deleted to free space, it would appear, meaning that it renders the idea of using CCleaner, or any other privacy tool, to wipe the Firefox cache and cookies etc somewhat redundant, as Firefox is busy making a secondary backup of all the sites you have visited as well! Fortunately, I've just discovered that the option to allow Firefox to recover from a crash from restoring the last session can be turned off - in about:config - and by doing so, Firefox doesn't create this temporary sessionstore file, thereby enhancing privacy. The fix in about:config is to locate browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash and to alter the value from True to False. You'll not be able to restore the previous Firefox session after a crash - but nor will Firefox be undermining your privacy by keeping a file on the sites you visit and then dumping this file to the hard drive where it can be recovered.

same here, I already thought Andavari was a mod! Congrats, Andavari

I'm still using 3.8, works for me. I only downloaded it - as a then-current version of the program - at the end of April. I can't believe it has been revised 18 times since then!

I've been using Firefox for years and I can't recall any other time except the recent past where so many new versions are being released. Is there some sort of ongoing problem that isn't getting fixed?

but are they just simply deleted or actually wiped using the Secure Deletion feature (if that option has been chosen)? I have a feeling it is just the former (the file is simply deleted to free space and a new file created by Windows).

it won't do any harm... but you'll notice how remarkably similar both programs are, mainly as they use the same code and were developed by the same people. You can always install LimeWire and try it - some prefer it - but personally I've tried both (at the same time) and I always found that FrostWire was the more reliable and returned better searches. The way p2p works, even when you run both at the same time, you won't necessarily be connecting to the same people who are sharing the files you are searching for - you may find relatively few people or no-one sharing a file on one of the applications but a multitude of people sharing the file on the other. But my tests tended to show FrostWire as the application that was worth using. I ended up uninstalling LimeWire.

yeah, I noticed last year that LimeWire is in that folder - I guess FrostWire just installs LimeWire, then modifies it to the FrostWire program. It certainly seems strange, but it's been like that since FrostWire was first launched early last year... if you click on that actual file it goes to install LimeWire, if I remember.

^^ I would be wary of downloading from the above sites. The second link triggers popups and links to adult dating sites which include pictures of nudity as well as a gambling sites- popup and all this BEFORE the actual program has even been downloaded, indeed before you even get to the download page. The first link launches popups (or more exact pop alongs, it appeared from the left hand side of my screen, with an ad in German. I'd avoid both sites and stick to the official download sites.

I just stick to downloading music. A song normally takes about a minute or two to download and doesn't use much bandwidth.

I only ever use FrostWire (and previously LimeWire) to download music. When downloading music, always run a virus check BEFORE opening the file to check for viruses etc. Also, anyone installing LW / FW should be aware that: 1. the default setting is for LW / FW to share with the whole world certain media files on your computer - ensure this option gets unchecked. While the shared files are normally things like mp3s etc, Word and other types of text files can be shared - I once had to contact someone to tell them they had put up for sharing their CV which included their name, address, telephone number, email address and (US) Social Security number. 2. a further default setting is to share files as you download them - making them immediately available for upload - not a good idea. I have a separate folder for uploads and NOTHING gets shared unless I move the file to that folder. In fact I haven't used p2p for months so the folder is currently empty - it usually contains just a small handful of old songs. 3. a further, further default setting is (and this one is as important as 1. above), despite deciding not to share your media files at 1. above and disabling sharing partially downloaded files, there is a further default setting to share downloaded files even when you decide not to share the contents of your computer by unchecking the option at 1. above - some people don't realise that the program automatically enables sharing of anything you download by default regardless of any other options you chose. You have to search out the option to remove this feature - you won't be asked (or at least I wasn't asked) to either allow or cancel this feature. By disabling the three options above it means that you can safely download music without the song being available to upload without your express permission. p2p is relatively safe IF the user applies sensible precautions. Additionally, as Andavari has pointed out, the RIAA in the US (and its UK equivalent, the BPI) have taken legal action against file sharers. In the UK several people have been fined up to ?8,000, which is US$16,000. Most were adults in their 30s and 40s, but it is widely believed that the real culprits were their teenage sons and daughters. It was the internet account holder who was sent the warning letter and a demand for compensation and then taken to court if they refused to pay. Needles to say, the usual amount of files being shared was in the thousands.

I believe, though I may be wrong, that Frostwire was developed by the same team that developed the original Limewire. If I recall, there was talk in 2005/6 that Limewire (or the company that owns it) was going to remove the ability of users to download material that needed a licence (to help comply with a court case that had been brought in the US against another file sharing application in 2004 or 2005). Because of this, I'm almost sure the original developers of limewire then moved on to developing Frostwire as they wanted an application that would remain both open source and without any limitations. The limitation meant for Limewire was never ultimately introduced, other than the ability of the user to actively block material that needs a licence. I much prefer Frostwire, though I rarely use p2p anymore. It's quicker, easier to use and it has the added bonus of allowing connections to 4, rather than 3 (which is all the free version of LW allows), ultrapeers, which means better searches and more sources.

There's a similar one purporting to come from the UK equivalent of the IRS, HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) also doing the rounds, perhaps sent by the same people. This one seems to be targeted at people with .co.uk email addresses. And like above I received TWO within the space of minutes. While I would love a tax refund (I got one two years ago, a nice surprise!), I doubt they'd send notification to a throwaway email address! And then ask for all the information that THEY should already hold (ie our equivalent of the Social Security Number). It's all so obviously a fake, yet people get caught by it...

this isn't the fastest or the best way of doing things but it might just work. As you have access to the internet on your own computer, download and create a Live Linux Disk - I use Slax. This is ran at computer start (you need to manually change the BIOS settings to run the CD). You can then view all the files in Windows (XP or whatever) and - slowly it must be said - insert and email any documents that you need from the hard drive on your g/fs computer. Slax runs directly from RAM and doesn't touch the hard drive, except if you navigate through to system folders etc http://www.slax.org/download.php Someone might have a better way of getting back your g/fs documents but in the meantime this may just work... EDIT: I'm assuming you can still access the BIOS on your g/fs computer - if you can't then this won't work (if indeed it works at all anyway).

I only have Real Player as sometimes the BBC site doesn't always stream in WMP. Personally, I'd rather get rid of RP - it really is a pain, is far too bloated and I avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.

this might be of help: http://www.pcdailytips.com/2005/02/24/remo...emove-programs/

we had a total eclipse back in 1999, I don't know if you remember that. Though it was rather disappointing - the sky was cloudy to start with in the north east, so it just went a bit darker when the total eclipse happened. It was a bit of a disappointment, to be honest! I was expecting a total blackout, but it never happened.