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I recently joined up with ClassicFlix, because they seem to have thousands of movies Netflix doesn't. Here's the problem: The mail service here deteriorated badly about six months ago. I was watching a movie from Netflix) each Friday (with friends), returning the movie immediately, and nearly always getting the next movie by Tuesday. Suddenly, the movies were taking longer in transit, so I wasn't getting the next movie by Friday. Netflix handled the problem by sending the next movie in my queue before the previous movie had returned to them. If I had two movies "at home" they did not...

Microsoft's decision to push out Windows 10 upgrades as automatic Windows Update downloads is one of those ideas that sounded great in a Redmond meeting room, but will cause more problems than it solves. Right from the get-go Microsoft has made it clear that it is looking for a very fast rollout of Windows 10. The new operating system was offered as a free upgrade for some users – a first for Microsoft – and ever since the launch, Microsoft has been hustling people to upgrade, by fair means or foul. Earlier this month El Reg's tips inbox hit overload...

If you own a pirated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you'll have the chance to come clean. If you pirated Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, Microsoft wants to welcome you back—all is forgiven. Microsoft said Thursday that it will run an “experiment” to offer a path for those users who have either pirated or purchased an unlicensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to download a licensed copy from Microsoft itself, or to use a code from a third-party reseller. Either way, the licensed Windows 10 software will be used to update the PC with a valid...

After Benjamin Franklin, my favorite 'American Eccentric' has always been Tasha Tudor (1915-2008). At a certain point, Tasha appears to have decided that she should have lived - and should always live - in the early 19th Century. She proceeded to build a long lifetime in accord with that ideal, wearing the clothing of that era, cooking and house-holding as a woman would have done then, even learning to roast a turkey in a 'tin oven' before a fire; and devoting herself to country life, art, hand-crafts, gardening, and animals. She is famous for her artwork and illustrated books for...

Redmond confirms display spasm fix coming People who bought the first batch of Microsoft's Surface Book slab-tops are furious that a glitch causes the screens to flicker. Microsoft's support forums and the Surface subreddit are filled with folks claiming their displays erratically wink completely on and off. This happens, we're told, whether the tablet is running on its own or when it's docked in its base station. Microsoft has confirmed a fix is on the way. "A small number of customers have flagged some issues with their Surface Book," a Redmond spokesperson told The Register. "We are working hard to...

This article was originally posted by cnn.com: (CNN)–You can see Donald Trump’s face almost everywhere this campaign season. Here’s proof. Jeanette Paras painted a caricature of the GOP presidential candidate onto a larger-than-life pumpkin. The giant “Trumpkin,” as she calls him, weighs in at 374 pounds and took 10 hours to create.

Microsoft is opening its first-ever flagship store in New York City on Monday, with a vibrant retail space that showcases the best of Microsoft products and services. An opening six years in the making, the Microsoft Flagship Store blends the world-famous retail experience of Fifth Avenue with innovative technology that is part of Microsoft’s DNA. “One of our goals, since we started the stores in 2009, was to have a real marquee location where we could bring an expanded retail presence,” said Kelly Soligon, general manager, Worldwide Marketing, Microsoft Retail and Online Stores. The flagship store, at 677 Fifth Ave.,...

Taurus USA http://www.taurususa.com/ When you think about it, we wear our guns a lot more than we shoot them, yet they are designed primarily for shooting. The new Taurus Curve fixes that. The grip on the gun is curved, so that when you wear it on your hip or carry it in your pocket, the gun hugs the contour of your body. The Curve is a 6+1 .380 ACP semi-automatic pistol with a consistent trigger pull for each shot. The MSRP for the introductory model is $392, and it will come with an integral LaserLyte light and laser combo built...

How crop artist Stan Herd made an acre-wide ode to "Olive Trees" If you're flying through Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport this fall, keep an eye out for Vincent van Gogh's "Olive Trees" from your airplane window. It won't be hard to miss — this aerial crop art covers more than an acre of land. The unique ode to van Gogh is the work of landscape artist Stan Herd, reports Mary Abbe for the Star Tribune. It was commissioned to honor two milestones: the Minneapolis Institute of Art's centennial and the 125th anniversary of van Gogh's death. "It's an iteration of...

I need some help. I’m a private investigator. I’m trying to build a self-contained, 12-volt surveillance camera rig that I can set up in a vehicle. I want to be able to either run it off of the vehicle’s power or off of a battery pack. [I’ve already got the battery pack set up].

Hello all.. I was hoping someone in FR land might have run across this problem I am having with my Grand Cherokee. First, the vehicle. 2010 Grand Cherokee Laredo 10400 miles on it No major issues since I have had the vehicle, no accidents on report for the vehicle. Last week I got off work, hopped in and the vehicle started right up. Got home and decided to double back out. Got to my destination no problem. Come out and the vehicle wont start. I get dash lights, all the power windows, AC/Heater; everything seems to work fine but it...

I wonder if we have on FR someone familiar enough with aerodynamic design to roughly estimate the upward force ("lift"*) on a pop-up camper being towed at 60 mph if the camper is tilted, front up...

The first cookbook that I ever bought with my own earned-money was a copy of the Culinary Arts Institute's 'Encyclopedic Cookbook'. I had a newspaper route throughout Junior High and High School and - money always burning a hole in my pocket then, exactly as now - I knew every month what I would buy with my little profits; and I had seen and coveted this book at the local drugstore. The odd thing is that I was not particularly interested in cooking at the time; but I was - and had always been - intensely interested in BOOKS. And...

Of course we had to pit the Surface Book vs. the MacBook Pro. It’s like Ford vs. Chevy, or Coke vs. Pepsi. Each side has its diehard fans, plus others who just want to know which is better. Microsoft claims its new Surface Book is “twice” as fast as its equivalent MacBook Pro. Well, we ran some benchmarks, and hate to say it, but Microsoft lied. The Surface Book isn’t twice as fast. It’s three times as fast. Read on for the details. What Microsoft meant First, let’s clarify what Microsoft meant when it said the Surface Book would smoke...

Yes, really. While everyone else is pushing gun control, I'm giving away an AR15 just to make a point. Wanted to give my fellow Freepers a chance to win. Thanks again for being awesome.

An Oklahoma woman from Woodward just posted the rescue video to YouTube. Watch her interview with KFOR below Watch as a maroon vehicle crosses the road – suddenly, a kitten drops from the undercarriage onto the street. It takes the female biker a few seconds to notice the kitten, which was nearly crushed when a truck seemingly drove right over the top of the little guy. When she sees him, the woman’s helmet cam was rolling as she decides to jump into action. She jumps off of her motorcycle and rescues the kitten, right after a second truck’s tires barely...

There’s something truly special about opening up the doors to an old barn and revealing a trove of vintage cars that haven’t seen the light of day in years. Known colloquially as the “barn find,” it’s an experience that most classic car fans can only dream about having. But that’s exactly what happened recently on the island of Zealand in Denmark when 26 classic cars were pulled from a private barn, according to the Online Post, most having sat undisturbed for the better part of three decades.

Video on how to make your own M-4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4n6S6M_M-w

Microsoft has published early source code for its OpenSSH-for-Windows port for developers to pick apart and improve. In a blog post on Monday, Steve Lee – the PowerShell team's principal software engineer manager – said Redmond has finished early work on a Windows port of OpenSSH 7.1, built in a joint-effort with remote-access developer NoMachine. "We will continue to partner with NoMachine on development in this public repository," Lee said. "Please note that this code is still very early and should be treated as a developer preview and is not supported for use in production." Microsoft said back in June...