This is an update to my?? little script that converts MS DOS ASCII files, such as NFO’s?? or FILE_ID.DIZ text files (Code Page 437, USA) to ASCII files with HTML encoded Unicode characters and also to Unicode text for the use in MS Windows. The HTML encoded ASCII files can be used to display the ASCII art, specifically the “High ASCII” or block ASCII art on a web site. The script is written in VBScript, but the release package also includes a Windows executable, which is the VBScript converted via VBSEdit by Adersoft. I used the same script to prepare the ASCIIs in my text art galleries on my web site, such as: My ASCII Art Gallery My Early ASCII Art Gallery Various ASCII Art by Others or my FILE_ID.DIZ Collection just to name a few. You can download the script here: ?? ROY-BATCHCONVERT-ASCII2WEB2.ZIP (700KB) The Release NFO File ?????????????????? ??????????????? ??????????????? ?????? ?????????????????????????????????????????? ??? ?????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????? ???????????? ??????????????? ???????????? ?????????????????? ??????????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????? ????????????????????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ??????????????? ??????????????? ????????????????????? ????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ??????????????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????????? ?????????????????? ????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????? ??????????????? ???????????? ????????? ??????????????? ??????????????? ??? ??? ??? ???????????? ????????????????????? ??????????????? ????????????????????? ?????????????????? ??????????????? ??? ???????????????????????? ??????????????? ???????????? ?????????????????? ??? ?????? ??????????????????????????? ???????????? ??????????????????????????? ??????????????? ????????? ???????????????????????? ??????????????? ??????????????????????????? ???????????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????????????????????????????? ??????????????? ?????? ?????? ??????????????? ????????? ??????????????? ???????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????????????????????? ??????????????????????????? ?????? ??? ????????????????????? ??? ?????? ??????????????? ????????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????????????????????????? ?????????????????? ???????????????
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I posted the last update of my scene logos collection in August 2009. I thought that is time to actually release another one. There are several reasons for it. First, the last update included many logos that were not sorted away properly and simply dumped into the sub folder by first letter instead of the logo with the title of the group or production. I also de-duped several hundred logos using a modified version of my own De-Dupe script. The biggest change of all is the addition of some archive support scripts. More about those in a moment. I also stopped the assignment of version numbers or volumes to this collection. The last update was called volume 2, which would make this one volume 3. But this sucks and does not tell you anything about the release really, so I started using the Month+Year to indicate its age and last release update date. Your Contributions / Help is Wanted Also new is the addition of 20+ folders for groups where you can only find a text file, but no logos. Those are groups where I know about the group and are pretty sure that there exist logos for them out there somewhere, but wasn???t able to manage to get my hands on those. The text file includes a short note and a link to my contact page with the request to send me logos for those groups, if you happen to have any of them. The same invitation can be[…]
I drafted this blog post on January 13th already, but wanted Scour to review it first. He did not respond to my emails and I wasn???t able to catch him on IRC either. He got the text though. A chat with Barium on IRC on January 14th indicated that Scour got the draft. Communication is definitively something we need to improve on a lot, but then this post is about the lack of it anyway. Today is January 23, 2010 and I decided to publish the post and assume that Scours silence is to be understood as an approval of my write-up. It???s something positive after all. I was more concerned that I missed something from out long conversation, but I am now getting ahead of things. Let???s start from the beginning: Flashback The year 2009 finished good and bad. It saw the release of the first Superior Art Creations art package in over 2.5 years, show-casing high quality art by talented artists. Unfortunately this great event was overshadowed by things that happened in the background and dragged intro the open by writing things into the release NFO file of the pack that probably should never be written. Written words can all to easy be misinterpreted entirely. I know this very well from personal experience through my blogging. The things stated in the NFO were bad, but most of it was written under false or incomplete assumptions. I wasn???t innocent either, because I also assumed things that did not happen
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I am using McAfee Security Suite and are very unhappy with it. I was contacting support and also expressed my issues at their user support forums. I got responses back from other users and learned that there are currently no real solutions for the fundamental issues that I encountered. See my McAfee Support Forum Posts: ??White Listing False Positives ??Sending Files to McAfee I could not believe this and started to get really frustrated. I am looking for a long time for proper Anti virus and anti spyware solutions for my personal and professional use in my home network, but got disappointed with everything I tried so far. That the anti-virus software industry is in such a bad shape, which got only worse over the last years, I refused to believe at first. But then people contacted me privately and we exchanged some tips and experiences and it seemed that there was no other way around than facing reality. Last years final issue of the German computer magazine CT (Magazin Computer Technik Issue 26/2009) by publisher Heise included a review of the 2010 versions of the Anti-Virus software solutions AVG Anti-Virus Professional 9.0, Bitdefender Antivirus 2010, Bullguard Internet Security 8.7, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2010, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010, McAfee AntiVirus plus 2010, Microsoft Security Essentials, Norton AntiVirus 2010 and PC Tools Spyware Doctor with Antivirus and ThreadFire. I am still a subscriber to the magazine (the print version), even here in California, because nothing I have seen here in English comes
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The recent unfortunate events surrounding SAC were not only a surprise for me and a disappointment, but also caused me to stand back for a little and reflect on what happened over the past 16 years when a friend of mine and me started the group 16+ years ago. I did not plan to write as much in detail about stuff as I ended up eventually, but what is new? Hehe. Yes, this tale is written in a personal narrative and describes things the way I experienced them and remember today. This means that it is probably full of errors and bias??? that I might or might not was aware of. I already wrote about how I got started with creating art. You can read all about it here. How it Started I co-founded SAC in December 1994 together with Hetero, whom I had just met in person for the first time a couple weeks earlier. I discussed with him the lack of a German art group and also the lack of an art group that has closer ties to the Warez scene. At that time the requests that I received just for NFO file logos and designs increased significantly. Instead of sitting around and just whining about those facts, we decided to start something. He and I knew some other local artists who were ???independent??? at the time. We asked them if they would join a local art group and that???s how it all started. The name for the
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