3 Cheers for KYV

[K9ACT]

I have no idea what thread this came up on but Don's heads up on MVPS hosts is the greatest improvement in surfing  I have ever seen.

The instructions and setup are absolute giberish to me but I plowed ahead and downloaded something, unzipped it and clicked on something called mvps.bat.

I totally ignored the notice that all sorts of special stuff has to be done to make it work on Vista because I hadn't a clue what they were talking about.

It looked like it updated something serious so I then clicked on  Drudge and the page was displayed by the time I look up from the keyboard.  No bloody ad nausiam doubleclicks, adgardner, harvester etc.

What was really bugging me was the fact that the banner at the top of the page had recently become a quarter page right in the middle of the text so you could read nothing till it went away.  Now there is nothing there.. not even the little banner.

I then went to all my other favorite news sites with exactly the same results nearly instant display and no garbage at all.

In case you missed it, here is the url  http://www.mvps.org

Thank you Don.

Jack Schmidling

[Opcom]

I installed this manually in XP because I wanted to see what it does. Now I need to go find an annoying site. all the annoying jiggling ads on QRZ are still there.. I went to drudge.com and there was only a palce hold er for an ad. The click yould have been to http://harvest.adgardener.com/noscript.aspx?s=1&w=728&h=90&c=F39CBA59-BB6E-488D-B579-215CF4BBEB9B. Odly that was with noscript on. When I turned it off, only a size 1 text string was there begging me to visit the adertisers' sites. It apparently works.

[kb3ouk]

Now that I went back and installd it the right way for windows vista (I just did the run as administrator  part) i went to drudge.com before and fte i reinstalled it ad now allt says where the ad should have been is that it cant find the server.

[W1RKW]

The 2 batch files below I created to turn the host file on and off.  This comes in handy for those few rare times a site won't load when the host file is active and the site you know is safe and may be of some interest.

The first batch file is named Unblock:
copy c:\i386\hostfile\hosts2 c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc
del c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
ren c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts2 hosts

The second is named Block:
copy c:\i386\hostfile\hosts1 c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc
del c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
ren c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts1  hosts

You will need make 2 hosts files in the appropriate directory.  Name one hosts1 and the other hosts2.  Hosts1 will have the MVPS.org file in it.  Host2 will be blank (default).

I run both from the  Desktop in XP.  The directory structures can be modified to work with other Windows OSs.

Copy each into separate Notepad files. Save as Block.bat and Unblock.bat. If you can't save them with the .bat extension save as default .txt then rename them. You may have to do this from a DOS prompt.  Put them on the Desktop.  They can be run from other areas in Windows like the task bar as well. They're not location specific.

[ka3zlr]

Nice....

73
Jack.

[W2PFY]

I looked at some of the sites listed on the first post and some come up with a bad reputation. I have WOT installed on Firefox which is an ad on. It's available for IE too but be careful where you download it from. 

The WOT systems is rated by individual users, not some big corporation.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Don't use IE!

Firefox has had "Adblock Plus" for years.

I like Macs, but Apple makes sure that you can't roll your own and I've built my own computers since the 486DX2-66 that followed my IBM AT 286.

[K9ACT]

If you just by a new Mac all of those problems go away along with many more.

Will it run PwSdr-IQ?

Or my Starlight Xpress Cooled astro camera?

Everytime I get mad enough to buy a Mac, all the things it won't do chill me out.

js

[k4kyv]

I have no idea what thread this came up on but Don's heads up on MVPS hosts is the greatest improvement in surfing  I have ever seen.

The instructions and setup are absolute giberish to me but I plowed ahead and downloaded something, unzipped it and clicked on something called mvps.bat.

I totally ignored the notice that all sorts of special stuff has to be done to make it work on Vista because I hadn't a clue what they were talking about.

It looked like it updated something serious so I then clicked on  Drudge and the page was displayed by the time I look up from the keyboard.  No bloody ad nausiam doubleclicks, adgardner, harvester etc.

What was really bugging me was the fact that the banner at the top of the page had recently become a quarter page right in the middle of the text so you could read nothing till it went away.  Now there is nothing there.. not even the little banner.

I then went to all my other favorite news sites with exactly the same results nearly instant display and no garbage at all.

In case you missed it, here is the url  http://www.mvps.org

Thank you Don.

Jack Schmidling

Jack,

Make sure you update the HOSTS file every couple of weeks or so.  Just click on the site, download the zipped file to desktop, unzip it, then copy to the "etc" file located in Windows\system32\drivers.  It will tell you the file already exists, do you want to replace it.  Click yes.  Once you get the hang of it, you can update the file in less than a minute.  One thing that will make it easier is to create a shortcut to "etc" on your desktop.  Then, just click on the icon and "etc" opens right up, ready to accept the replacement file.

I downloaded the batchfile that allows me to rename the HOSTS file to NOHOSTS, and disable the file with one click, and then re-enable it with one click.  On very rare occasions I have had to use that to view a site I wanted to visit.

MVPS used to provide a service you could subscribe to that would notify you by e-mail whenever an updated file was posted on the site, and provide a link.  But they were so overwhelmed with subscribers that they discontinued that  service, but you can subscribe to their blog and still get the reminder.  The only thing is, you get other all the other postings on the blog on subjects not pertaining to the updated file, but so far that hasn't created any problem. 

If you don't want to get on the blog mailing list, just remember to check the site once or twice a month to see when they release the newest update.

[K9ACT]

Don't use IE!

Firefox has had "Adblock Plus" for years.

I have been using only FireFox for years and have never seen anything called "Adblock Plus".   Where is it and how do I use it?

The built in pop up stopper is no better that the free one I have been running for even more years.

As mentioned previously, the only hint of an ad left on Drudge is that tiny little "Support our advertisers" at the top but there are no advertisers to support and it is about a #6 font and barely readable with out a hand lens.

What do you see on Firefox with the AdBlocker plus when you go to Drudge?

js

[Pete, WA2CWA]

In case you missed it, here is the url  http://www.mvps.org

Thank you Don.

Jack Schmidling

Ok, I go to the web site and find several pages worth of offerings on all sorts of things. Where do I go from here??

[W1UJR]

If you just by a new Mac all of those problems go away along with many more.

Below is one of the menus from the Safari browser that it comes with. Notice all of the "Block" selections like Block Ad/Banners, etc.





It sounds like a lot of work and confusion to make Windows and IE do something the Macs have already been doing for years.

What version of Safari are you running OM, I don't have all of those options under the "File" menu.
4.03 here.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Don't use IE!

Firefox has had "Adblock Plus" for years.

I have been using only FireFox for years and have never seen anything called "Adblock Plus".   Where is it and how do I use it?

The built in pop up stopper is no better that the free one I have been running for even more years.

As mentioned previously, the only hint of an ad left on Drudge is that tiny little "Support our advertisers" at the top but there are no advertisers to support and it is about a #6 font and barely readable with out a hand lens.

What do you see on Firefox with the AdBlocker plus when you go to Drudge?

js

Adblock plus for Firefox is here:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865

You'll find a URL for help there as well.

If you don't find it useful, you can uninstall it.

On the Drudge page, I see the one ad at the top, but i could block it if I want to. It blocks most sites ads and pop-ups.

[Jim, W5JO]

  http://www.mvps.org

I went over there and found a driver checker and updater program that I liked so I read through it and found nothing out of the ordinary.  So I downloaded and installed it.  After a scan it said I needed three drivers so I clicked Download and install. 

Then the good news.  Just 29.95 to do this.  Crap they didn't mention anything about that in the hype.  And even Billy Mays knew that 19.95 is the magic number.  So that program is no longer resident on my drive.  Just tell me up front.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Saft is pretty sweet. I've also used Pith Helmet in the past. It is quite good.

What version of Safari are you running OM, I don't have all of those options under the "File" menu.
4.03 here.

Yeah thats right I forgot, you won't have some. I use the Saft input-manager add-on. Most the selections too are just hidden within Safari. They are there you just have to unlock them manually or with an add-on.

[K9ACT]

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865[/url]



On the Drudge page, I see the one ad at the top, but i could block it if I want to. It blocks most sites ads and pop-ups.

I loaded ADbloock into my other laptop and I suppose it could be made to work but seems to require a lot of training.

I got rid of the ad at the top of Drudge but when I refreshed, a different one popped and that was the end of the good news.  All the other ads on this and orther pages do not bring up the adblock option.

If you want to exercise ad blocking go to jpost.com and have at it.

You really get into the maddening ads only if you click on one of the stories.

They all vanish with mvps and do not seem to respond at all to ad block.

Other than turning on and off and updating which I have not done yet, mvps required nothing but starting the program.  It is completely automatic.

js

[N3DRB The Derb]

Will it run PwSdr-IQ?

Or my Starlight Xpress Cooled astro camera?

Everytime I get mad enough to buy a Mac, all the things it won't do chill me out.

Since Intel macs run windows better than most PC's thats really no longer a issue. Boot Camp into windows n run yer stuff,

then back out into OSX when your done. or use parallels desktop and run windows and OSX at the same time.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Minimal research shows tons of astro programs are available, including,

AstroPlanner 1.5.2  scope control

DSLR Shutter 1.2   camera control

EquinoX 6.11.0  scope and camera control

Nebulosity 1.4.9  camera control

PHD Guiding 1.4   scope control

ScopeDriver 3.1.2   uuuh, scope control


and tons of other orbital calculators, and computer generated planetarium programs.


For SDR there is Java SDR. It will work with the SDR 1000, the SoftRocks, and HPSDR - Ozy/Mercuty/Penelope.

If you just by a new Mac all of those problems go away along with many more.

Will it run PwSdr-IQ?

Or my Starlight Xpress Cooled astro camera?

Everytime I get mad enough to buy a Mac, all the things it won't do chill me out.

js

[k4kyv]

The HOSTS file does more than just block ads.  It also blocks websites they have determined to contain malware.  Sometimes it blocks sites you really do want to visit, so that's why it is a good idea to download the batchfile that allows you to toggle it on or off.

It makes my Hotmail account look almost identical to my ISP e-mail.

[K9ACT]

Minimal research shows tons of astro programs are available, including,

and tons of other orbital calculators, and computer generated planetarium programs.

but not including Starlight Xpress cameras or The Sky which is the planetarium/control program used by most serious astro imagers.


>For SDR there is Java SDR. It will work with the SDR 1000, the SoftRocks, and HPSDR - Ozy/Mercuty/Penelope.

But not PwSdr-iq which is what SoftRock v9 runs on and the program I prefer.

You could spend all day listing programs that Mac will run but if they are not the ones I want to run, I am back to Windows.

js

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Uh, no you're not.

http://www.iccd.us/


Further, since as Derb already posted, you can run Windows program on the Mac. You have at least three different options to do this. Further, you have access to tons of Unix stuff under X-Windows on the Mac too.

Minimal research shows tons of astro programs are available, including,

and tons of other orbital calculators, and computer generated planetarium programs.

but not including Starlight Xpress cameras or The Sky which is the planetarium/control program used by most serious astro imagers.


>For SDR there is Java SDR. It will work with the SDR 1000, the SoftRocks, and HPSDR - Ozy/Mercuty/Penelope.

But not PwSdr-iq which is what SoftRock v9 runs on and the program I prefer.

You could spend all day listing programs that Mac will run but if they are not the ones I want to run, I am back to Windows.

js

[N3DRB The Derb]

not only can you run windows programs on todays mac's, but they run windows as an operating system itself. no emulation.

because Apple has such tight control over their hardware, macs make better windows machines than PC's do. No dealing with
12 different boards from 9 different makers and the driver issues that presents.

I highly suspect that Apple will soon ( by the end of 2010) unlock OSX to Apple approved clone makers and give Microsoft the final shove. has anyone noticed that they dont appear to be going after Psystar with their usual gusto???  There's a reason.

They have to be working on the doomsday scenario, where Apple tells M$ to kiss their ass and take Office with them, combined with a few hundred mac clone makers and a open OS X.

With the non computer products at apple making huge money and untouchable by M$ in any form, Apple will very shortly be in a position to do this. They might even just become a design hub for the clone makers and give up manufacturing macs entirely.

[K9ACT]

Uh, no you're not.

http://www.iccd.us/

Not sure what I am not but you got me there.

But, it's sort of like saying there are lots of nice women out there so why are you so hung up on your wife.

I guess it's a comfort thing.  So I can buy a Mac and run a Starlight camera but I have to take on faith that this software is as good and easy to use as what I have in addition to learning how to use it.

But I am still stuck on the Pwrsdr-iq.

js

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

So didn't you make the same leap when you got your the current software, camera, telescope, car, wife, etc? I don't follow your reasoning.

[K9ACT]

So didn't you make the same leap when you got your the current software, camera, telescope, car, wife, etc? I don't follow your reasoning.

Try harder.  I am out of gas.

js