The only site I'll ever need...

[TDubbs]

shut up paul you're a douche

I don't get it. Why is that funny?

Keep an eye on this dude, he's asking the right questions.  "Shut up Paul you're a douche" hasn't been funny in years.  It's one of those things that we keep doing now because it's been done for some time.  Sort of a tradition.  But not a good one.

I don't know what it is about the SUPYAD that never gets old for me, but I think it's the odd chance that somebody will get offended and snap back. Instead of piling on, perhaps someone will post a Paul Anthology again and someone will read it for the first time. And I'll read it for the elevnty bajillionth time and laugh as hard as I did the first. A magnificent bastard that Paul. When he's off his meds, beyond his depths and balls deep in every hatchet wound in Lake County Indiana.

Intrepid Reader: TDubbs
Why would he put his wienis in her armpit?

I kind of see what you did there, but i'm still confused on the placement of his finger.

[Philberto]

shut up paul you're a douche

I don't get it. Why is that funny?

Keep an eye on this dude, he's asking the right questions.  "Shut up Paul you're a douche" hasn't been funny in years.  It's one of those things that we keep doing now because it's been done for some time.  Sort of a tradition.  But not a good one.

I don't know what it is about the SUPYAD that never gets old for me, but I think it's the odd chance that somebody will get offended and snap back. Instead of piling on, perhaps someone will post a Paul Anthology again and someone will read it for the first time. And I'll read it for the elevnty bajillionth time and laugh as hard as I did the first. A magnificent bastard that Paul. When he's off his meds, beyond his depths and balls deep in every hatchet wound in Lake County Indiana.

Intrepid Reader: TDubbs
Why would he put his wienis in her armpit?

I kind of see what you did there, but i'm still confused on the placement of his finger.

I was kind of thinking that TDubbs would be thinking, "Why wouldn't he put his wienis in her armpit?"

[RD]

The wireless signal I'm inadvertently pirating is quickly deteriorating.  I was told it could be because of NFL football sunday, with people and their damned satellites.  I was also told it could be the cold weather.

Q:  How do I keep my wireless signal consistent and non-shitty?  How do I keep from disconnecting?  Also, does the cold actually play a role in any of this?

(The easy answer would be to "get your own gotdamned wired connection" but I'm looking for a quick stopgap fix)

This is a longshot, but if you have any idea of what brand the router is, you can enter the router setup page and jack up the signal strength.  For example, if it's a Linksys, go to http://192.168.1.1 and that should be the setup page.  With my router, you can do things like change the strength without entering a password, I think. 

Also, if you get in and get asked for a password, check http://www.routerpasswords.com/index.asp for the default password for the router, which you should be able to identify once you're in the setup page.

[Wheezer]

This is a longshot, but if you have any idea of what brand the router is, you can enter the router setup page and jack up the signal strength.  For example, if it's a Linksys, go to http://192.168.1.1 and that should be the setup page.  With my router, you can do things like change the strength without entering a password, I think. 

Also, if you get in and get asked for a password, check http://www.routerpasswords.com/index.asp for the default password for the router, which you should be able to identify once you're in the setup page.

You're recommending that one reconfigure someone else's unsecured WAP?

[powen01]

This is a longshot, but if you have any idea of what brand the router is, you can enter the router setup page and jack up the signal strength.  For example, if it's a Linksys, go to http://192.168.1.1 and that should be the setup page.  With my router, you can do things like change the strength without entering a password, I think. 

Also, if you get in and get asked for a password, check http://www.routerpasswords.com/index.asp for the default password for the router, which you should be able to identify once you're in the setup page.

You're recommending that one reconfigure someone else's unsecured WAP?

I would recommend not getting caught.

[RD]

This is a longshot, but if you have any idea of what brand the router is, you can enter the router setup page and jack up the signal strength.  For example, if it's a Linksys, go to http://192.168.1.1 and that should be the setup page.  With my router, you can do things like change the strength without entering a password, I think. 

Also, if you get in and get asked for a password, check http://www.routerpasswords.com/index.asp for the default password for the router, which you should be able to identify once you're in the setup page.

You're recommending that one reconfigure someone else's unsecured WAP?

Perhaps they should have secured it. 

Also, a note to everyone, WAP security has been cracked, and while the average person probably isn't going to hack into your router, WPA2 is a better choice. 

Also, SD - Use my previous advice at your own risk.

[Quality Start Machine]

This is a longshot, but if you have any idea of what brand the router is, you can enter the router setup page and jack up the signal strength.  For example, if it's a Linksys, go to http://192.168.1.1 and that should be the setup page.  With my router, you can do things like change the strength without entering a password, I think. 

Also, if you get in and get asked for a password, check http://www.routerpasswords.com/index.asp for the default password for the router, which you should be able to identify once you're in the setup page.

You're recommending that one reconfigure someone else's unsecured WAP?

I would recommend not getting caught.

I recommend moving into a townhouse community where at any time you can hit a good 20 different routers.

[Andre Dawson's Creek]

This is a longshot, but if you have any idea of what brand the router is, you can enter the router setup page and jack up the signal strength.  For example, if it's a Linksys, go to http://192.168.1.1 and that should be the setup page.  With my router, you can do things like change the strength without entering a password, I think. 

Also, if you get in and get asked for a password, check http://www.routerpasswords.com/index.asp for the default password for the router, which you should be able to identify once you're in the setup page.

You're recommending that one reconfigure someone else's unsecured WAP?

Perhaps they should have secured it. 

Also, a note to everyone, WAP security has been cracked, and while the average person probably isn't going to hack into your router, WPA2 is a better choice. 

Also, SD - Use my previous advice at your own risk.

Both WEP and WPA have been cracked.  It's just easier to crack WEP (I think you can even find a how to on youtube).  First thing I'd do is get NetStumbler to see how many networks are open and what kinds of security the others are running.

But most likely the login id and password haven't been changed.  If you can't boost the signal power (not all routers do this without installing DD-WRT) you can change the broadcast channel (hopefully to a channel with less electrical clutter).

[Philberto]

Alright, on Monday I am heading out to Arizona and I hope to buy a camera before the trip. I'm looking for something that's less than $100 because I don't try to take pictures too often. Any suggestions on a brand that is best? I prefer it to be compatible with SD Cards because I have a 4gb microSD card for my phone along with the appropriate adapter. That compatibility is not necessarily required because I'm sure a 1gb card is cheap these days.

[Tank]

Alright, on Monday I am heading out to Arizona and I hope to buy a camera before the trip. I'm looking for something that's less than $100 because I don't try to take pictures too often. Any suggestions on a brand that is best? I prefer it to be compatible with SD Cards because I have a 4gb microSD card for my phone along with the appropriate adapter. That compatibility is not necessarily required because I'm sure a 1gb card is cheap these days.

You can't go wrong with Canon. The compact PowerShot Digital Elphs you see hawked by Sharapova are sweet. Price-wise, older models seem to bottom out in the low $100 range.

Generally speaking, as a rule of thumb, restrict yourself to cameras made by camera or photo equipment makers (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Kodak, Olympus) and avoid those from computer companies (avoid HP like the plague). One exception to this is Sony, who do make some well-regarded cameras.

Check out older models and don't get too terribly hung up on resolution. Try to find something offering at least 3 or 4 megapixels. Anything above and beyond 6 is more or less a waste, though. The optics in these tiny devices are such that, not only are compact cameras not able to take advantage of much more real detail than this, they actually see image quality decline inverse to the pixel count due to the an increase in noise. (More on this phenomenon here.)

As far as card formats go, SD is probably what you will end up with if you don't go with Sony (Memory Stick—proprietary), or Olympus or Fuji (xD). The latter two are less common and tend to be more expensive.

[Wheezer]

Alright, on Monday I am heading out to Arizona and I hope to buy a camera before the trip. I'm looking for something that's less than $100 because I don't try to take pictures too often. Any suggestions on a brand that is best? I prefer it to be compatible with SD Cards because I have a 4gb microSD card for my phone along with the appropriate adapter. That compatibility is not necessarily required because I'm sure a 1gb card is cheap these days.

I've been rather pleased with the Canon PowerShot A590 IS that I picked up by virtue of the new kitten.  They seem to be similar up and down the line (the slimmer ones are less expensive), with the caveat that the Canon's menu structure can be somewhat perplexing.

Being able to run on regular AA's seems a plus in general.  The CHDK folks add some charm.

[Edit.--I don't mean to push any particular camera or vendor at all, but for the Canon models at least, Dell offers discounts sans the "gray market" complication.]

[Tonker]

Whilst we're on the subject, although we already have three (count 'em) digital cameras I just bought Mrs. Tonk a Nikon D60 digital SLR with the new (packaged) VR 18-55mm lens.  And it is really, really fucking sweet.  It set me back a little over five hundred of your American dollars, but it was worth every penny.  Makes our other cameras (all three of which are Canon, but not SLR) look like disposables.

If you're even moderately serious about photography, it's the way forward.

[RD]

I would recommend Canon as well.  In fact, for a cheap, relatively high powered camera (if you are willing to do a firmware upgrade), check this out:
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Supercharge_Your_Camera_with_Open-Source_CHDK_Firmware

The CHDK folks add some charm.

Edit: What Wheezer said.

[Quality Start Machine]

I just picked up a Casio Exilim for $149 at Costco. 9.1 Mpx, and it had a 1GB card included.

Since I picked  it up for LFork, I was able to get a pink one.

The video on it is decent, although I need to convert the .mov files to .avi before I can edit them.

[TDubbs]

Alright, on Monday I am heading out to Arizona and I hope to buy a camera before the trip. I'm looking for something that's less than $100 because I don't try to take pictures too often. Any suggestions on a brand that is best? I prefer it to be compatible with SD Cards because I have a 4gb microSD card for my phone along with the appropriate adapter. That compatibility is not necessarily required because I'm sure a 1gb card is cheap these days.

You can't go wrong with Canon. The compact PowerShot Digital Elphs you see hawked by Sharapova are sweet. Price-wise, older models seem to bottom out in the low $100 range.

Generally speaking, as a rule of thumb, restrict yourself to cameras made by camera or photo equipment makers (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Kodak, Olympus) and avoid those from computer companies (avoid HP like the plague). One exception to this is Sony, who do make some well-regarded cameras.

Check out older models and don't get too terribly hung up on resolution. Try to find something offering at least 3 or 4 megapixels. Anything above and beyond 6 is more or less a waste, though. The optics in these tiny devices are such that, not only are compact cameras not able to take advantage of much more real detail than this, they actually see image quality decline inverse to the pixel count due to the an increase in noise. (More on this phenomenon here.)

As far as card formats go, SD is probably what you will end up with if you don't go with Sony (Memory Stick—proprietary), or Olympus or Fuji (xD). The latter two are less common and tend to be more expensive.

Disposable ones are available at Walgreen's for like 2 bucks.  You take all your pictures, THEN YOU JUST THROW THE CAMERA AWAY!
What an age we live in.