Curious

[NearertoGod]

Curious

I was a little curious about something.

On an old forum, I remember that the server allowed moderators/administrators to view private messages.

I forget what software it was; it was like phpBB or something with an L.

Is it the same here with the new upgrades? I don't remember vBulletin having this kind of software before but who knows.

 

[Jeffin]

I don't know which one has that.
vbulletin had a hack for its older versions which allowed that. We don't have it here.

 

[NearertoGod]

Ugh...I know which forum software it is but I cannot get the name out of my head. I am quite sure it starts with an 'L'. I'll look it up right now.

I don't know which one has that.
vbulletin had a hack for its older versions which allowed that. We don't have it here.

 

[NearertoGod]

I found it. It's actually IP Board that has this software.

 

[Jeffin]

phpbb, smf, invision, mybb are some of the popular ones.

 

[Jeffin]

I found it. It's actually IP Board that has this software.

Ah. Invision board.

 

[NearertoGod]

I tried both phpBB and Invision when I was experimenting with forum management some time back.

phpBB was a little chinsy IMO; it really did not have what I was looking for so I left it alone after some time.

Invision was the most powerful forum software I have used and/or experimented with. I was really impressed at the control you had over the forums. It's really the type of forum for people who need a lot of control over their boards or like a lot of customizations. I'm not sure if vB is like this.

phpbb, smf, invision, mybb are some of the popular ones.

 

[Jeffin]

vb is very powerful too in terms of control. Invision progressed with their design recently so imo their design's are well done. vb (leaders once upon a time) is now trying to catch up with them. I still like vb because of how they progressed in the last few months.

 

[NearertoGod]

Yeah, Invision has some really nice designs. Very professional and modern. I was not able to use vB because of a lot of downloads (I didn't want to slow my computer up, lol), so I tried Invision.

But, I always liked vB in terms of style and management. It was always the easiest to use (IMO). Invision, while powerful, was a little complicated at times.

vb is very powerful too in terms of control. Invision progressed with their design recently so imo their design's are well done. vb (leaders once upon a time) is now trying to catch up with them. I still like vb because of how they progressed in the last few months.

 

[Bondman]

If I've understood correctly vB put out this new version we've been using in a such an unbelievably dreadful state that it was barely useable. Even Microsoft have never done that badly - which is saying a lot!

So vB will remain on my list for quite some time as the company in all regular areas on the Net who put out the worst upgrade ever seen (I hope they didn't charge you for such a mess, Jeff!!)

- BM

EDIT: I started in computers in 1983, have run small businesses with them, written monthly columns in a Magazine on both DOS and Windows, been Webmaster of two Christian websites in the early days of the Internet (in the 1990's), run my own successful Computer Business which I started from scratch, and a smallish Christian Forum. Just thought I may as well give my 'credentials' *grin!*

 

[NearertoGod]

Couldn't agree with you more, B.

Remember when Microsoft first came out with Vista? It was beyond bad - it was just plain screwed up, chopped up, and spit out. Nothing worked with Vista (believe me - I have a computer with it), Vista wouldn't work, a bunch of bugs and everything else. Now it's gotten better, but I've never had so much pain with a computer system in my life. For example, I had to use certain web browsers (usually Firefox) or if I tried to an internet search on Google and click a link, I was redirected not to the website but pornographic sites. Gross.

If I've understood correctly vB put out this new version we've been using in a such an unbelievably dreadful state that it was barely useable. Even Microsoft have never done that badly - which is saying a lot!

So vB will remain on my list for quite some time as the company in all regular areas on the Net who put out the worst upgrade ever seen (I hope they didn't charge you for such a mess, Jeff!!)

- BM

EDIT: I started in computers in 1983, have run small businesses with them, written monthly columns in a Magazine on both DOS and Windows, been Webmaster of two Christian websites in the early days of the Internet (in the 1990's), run my own successful Computer Business which I started from scratch, and a smallish Christian Forum. Just thought I may as well give my 'credentials' *grin!*

 

[Bondman]

Yes, MS bombed out with Vista - AGAIN!!

The trick of course is to NEVER buy new software. The upgrade here was probably much too soon. Wait till they get the bugs out. By or before then you'll KNOW if it's a lemon and not touch it at all.

Anyway NTG my first experience with Windows was with the famed Windows 3. It was a DOOZIE!! So bad they brought out Win 3.1 to fix it. But it didn't - was almost as bad. Eventually we got Windows 95, a bit better, then 98, each one improving on the last but in truth until we got Windows XP (with two more in between), you couldn't truly say that they'd FINALLY put out a decent Windows. Amazing that the world's richest man became that way by flogging off this sort of stuff to all us suckers!!

Back in the much simpler DOS (Disk Operating System) days DOS 3 was good. But the new DOS 4 was appalling. They quickly put out 4.01 to fix it - FAILED!! Finally DOS 5 came which was also great. Then a couple more others after that before DOS was phased out and Windows took over completely.

Back then you had CONTROL of your own computer. Windows took this completely away. Bill Gates was in charge now. He would run it FOR you, no probs. You know nothing, so you needed his expertise.

I miss the old days!!!

So my question: why do we pay for then sit here and use these mostly awful programs?? Absolutely beats me...

- BM

 

[HisManySongs]

Back in the much simpler DOS (Disk Operating System) days DOS 3 was good. But the new DOS 4 was appalling. They quickly put out 4.01 to fix it - FAILED!! Finally DOS 5 came which was also great. Then a couple more others after that before DOS was phased out and Windows took over completely.

Back then you had CONTROL of your own computer. Windows took this completely away. Bill Gates was in charge now. He would run it FOR you, no probs. You know nothing, so you needed his expertise.

I miss the old days!!!

Ah, DOS.
I miss them, too.

 

[Bondman]

On XP Pro I'm still running a wonderful old program in DOS, Online Bible, as a quick and easy KJV search engine (with great wildcards), and Strongs. But that's it - everything else has gone! *sob!!*

- BM

 

[car54]

Having switched all 3 of my PCs to Windows 7 from either XP Pro, or Vista, I have no regrets, so far so good. As some have put it, Windows 7 is Vista that works.
eSword has allot of very nice features in their free software including KJV search/Strongs etc. that so far has worked on all the Windows OS that I've used.

Bondman, I would have loved to have gotten into PCs when you did from the ground level, and all your PC experience and understanding, including and understanding DOS, very cool.

I know a vet like you has seen and known about eSword for awhile, but just in case someone passing by might like to see an example:
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/car5454/esword2.png
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff297/car5454/esword.png

 

[Bondman]

Hi car54, that's all very interesting, thankyou!

Great to hear about Win 7. Are you saying you did XP Pro across to it? - don't you have to take everything off then back on when 7 is installed, or some such nonsense? (Maybe I dreamt that! *lol* - but would appreciate any info about it!)

I've been on the Sword site and thought it great. I've stuck with the DOS based searcher purely cos everything done in DOS is like greased lightning because of about zero overhead!! And secondly I guess cos I had no reason to want anything else.

Loved your comments about wishing you'd been in computers back then! Fact is, and I reckon HisManySongs will back me up, we actually ENJOYED our computers back then!! If they went bung - as all systems do - we fixed 'em ourselves because we understood it all. It was fun, and very satisfying.

The day I found Windows hiding all of that stuff in this new-fangled "Registry" that I couldn't even SEE, I was mad as a meat-ant. And said so in my Magazine Column. How dare they! But it was the beginning of the end.

I now certainly appreciate what I can DO with computers, but don't love 'em any more, and when they go wrong, well......................

Very best wishes, my friend!!

- BM

EDIT: Oh, I keep forgetting the very best fun with DOS was writing "batchfiles". My Beloved reckons I made the computer sing back then with batchfiles you could write to do just about anything you wanted to - with the help of a few shareware programs. In Windows I can't (easily) write anything for MY needs! Pook!!

 

[car54]

Your right, XP was a clean install, with Vista it was an ''upgrade"...good catch Obi-Wan Kenobi...I am still a Padawan learner..lol

So with the old DOS version you had more control. Is Linux Ubuntu along those lines, as they do not have a registry, or is it locked in some other ways as far as what you can do and not do editing, changing, adding etc. wise?

 

[NearertoGod]

Believe me, Bondman, it twas not I who bought Vista - my grandfather got the itchy-twitchies when he saw the computer, purchased it, and didn't really give any thought to the how Vista worked.

It's actually gotten way way WAY better than the first few months I had it. Now, pretty much everything works accordingly (or as it should, lol) and there are no longer those little annoying quirks and issues I had when we first got Vista. The internet is sane, DVDs work the way they should, games are not messed up, downloads do not disappear into mysterious unknown abysses within the computer...

Oh yeah, and I don't see this anymore -



Are you sure?

Yes, MS bombed out with Vista - AGAIN!!

The trick of course is to NEVER buy new software. The upgrade here was probably much too soon. Wait till they get the bugs out. By or before then you'll KNOW if it's a lemon and not touch it at all.

Anyway NTG my first experience with Windows was with the famed Windows 3. It was a DOOZIE!! So bad they brought out Win 3.1 to fix it. But it didn't - was almost as bad. Eventually we got Windows 95, a bit better, then 98, each one improving on the last but in truth until we got Windows XP (with two more in between), you couldn't truly say that they'd FINALLY put out a decent Windows. Amazing that the world's richest man became that way by flogging off this sort of stuff to all us suckers!!

Back in the much simpler DOS (Disk Operating System) days DOS 3 was good. But the new DOS 4 was appalling. They quickly put out 4.01 to fix it - FAILED!! Finally DOS 5 came which was also great. Then a couple more others after that before DOS was phased out and Windows took over completely.

Back then you had CONTROL of your own computer. Windows took this completely away. Bill Gates was in charge now. He would run it FOR you, no probs. You know nothing, so you needed his expertise.

I miss the old days!!!

So my question: why do we pay for then sit here and use these mostly awful programs?? Absolutely beats me...

- BM

 

[NearertoGod]

Oh, I would also like to muse on another computer brand that used to have similar issues, too.

Remember when Macintosh first came out? Barely anything worked with its operating system. I know, because we bought one of the first computers back in the day. I loved that computer, but it was like trying to catch fish in greasy water working with it outside of the usual. You had to (and still have to) buy CDs that are made specifically to run with Mac, many websites on the internet didn't run properly on Mac...the list just goes on.

I know a lot of people had dissed Macintosh for various reasons. If someone were to ask me which brand I would choose over the other, I would have to pick Mac. I'm saying this because, despite the various problems (but nothing serious), Mac always ran beautifully and there were very few bugs that I encountered. I also noticed that Mac was not as (all computers are mind you) susceptible to viruses/bugs as Microsoft was; in fact, I had less issues of my computer being infested with Trojan horses than with Microsoft. I know it is probably because these viruses are not made to attack Mac systems, but still, I've known about five Microsoft computers who have either -

A. Died on us completely.
B. Killed itself in some way
C. Was assassinated by some monster virus
D. Just wouldn't work

...and so far, none of my Mac computers (which have been...1...2...3...4. Four) have done the same thing. It's not the computer for everyone, and certainly some people need to have Microsoft for either work, etc. But, Mac is a great 'I wanted it so I bought it' kind of thing. They only exception to a Mac not working was AFTER my father dropped it on the subway...WITHOUT its protective casing. Great...

 

[car54]

Believe me, Bondman, it twas not I who bought Vista - my grandfather got the itchy-twitchies when he saw the computer, purchased it, and didn't really give any thought to the how Vista worked.

It's actually gotten way way WAY better than the first few months I had it. Now, pretty much everything works accordingly (or as it should, lol) and there are no longer those little annoying quirks and issues I had when we first got Vista. The internet is sane, DVDs work the way they should, games are not messed up, downloads do not disappear into mysterious unknown abysses within the computer...

lol, yes, and everybody couldn't wait for SP1 to come out to fix so many of those issues.