Re: Tutorial for setting up a well-organized consistent efficient Windows menu system

Arlen Holder

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Jun 12, 2018, 3:57:57 PM6/12/18

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Shadow

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Jun 13, 2018, 12:06:46 PM6/13/18

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+1 on cascade menu. I complement it with an older version of
Toolbar (new ones are Tarma and Armadillo packed crap).

https://www.gregorybraun.com/ToolBar.html

File
<https://web.archive.org/web/20030608140348if_/http://www.gregorybraun.com:80/TBAR32.ZIP>

Once you get the hang of it, you can get to any launcher with
a whirl of your mouse and a click. Don't expect any feedback from the
author.
[]'s

Dunno if it works on win 7 and up, so removed newsgroups
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012

Arlen Holder

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Jun 16, 2018, 1:55:30 AM6/16/18

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On Tue, 12 Jun 2018 19:57:55 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> The efficiencies are tremendous as you always know where everything is, and
> everything is exactly where you put it, even if you put it a decade ago.

Moving forward to the next step in customizing Windows the way you like it,
here is a quick tutorial for instantly removing any one or all of the 7
extraneous Microsoft pollution in the File Explorer "Folders" section.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess01.jpg>

Folders (7)
- 3D Objects
- Desktop
- Documents
- Downloads
- Music
- Pictures
- Videos

All you do is modify this registry key:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\

For example, on 64bit Windows to remove the useless "3D Objects" entry in
the "Folders" view, just run this registry file from
<https://www.howtogeek.com/331361/how-to-remove-the-3d-objects-folder-from-this-pc-on-windows-10/>
============ cut here for "remove_3d_objects.reg" ============
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}]
============ cut here for "remove_3d_objects.reg" ============

To add the useless "3D Objects" back, on 64bit Windows 10, run this
registry file from the same source above.
============ cut here for "restore_3d_objects.reg" ============
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}]
============ cut here for "restore_3d_objects.reg" ============

To remove any or all of the rest of the useless 7 folders, just run the
separate (or combined) registry files located at
<https://www.howtogeek.com/222057/how-to-remove-the-folders-from-%E2%80%9Cthis-pc%E2%80%9D-on-windows-10/>

After removing those folders (and setting up the Quick access folders you
use most, the system will look something like this:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess05.jpg>

Arlen Holder

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Jun 16, 2018, 2:18:13 AM6/16/18

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On Sat, 16 Jun 2018 05:55:27 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> After removing those folders (and setting up the Quick access folders you

> use most), the system will look something like this:
> <http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess05.jpg>

After removing the extraneous Microsoft folders in the File Explorer...
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess01.jpg>

The next step in the menu-system customization is to define the 8 Quick
access folders you want in your Quick access pane of the Windows file
explorer window. Make sure you order them in the order of most-often used
to least-often used.

For example:
a. tmp
b. config
c. data
d. software
e. app
f. user
g. post
h. win10
NOTE: These specific 8 folders & sequence are simply examples of my setup.
Use whatever 8 most-used folders & sequence you prefer on your system.

Once you've defined your 8 most-often-used folders, it's time to remove the
Microsoft-provided garbage folders from the Quick access section of the
File Explorer window.

By way of example, my system, after a few days of use, contained the
following 8 Quick access folders:
1. Desktop (Microsoft default)
2. Downloads (Microsoft default)
3. Documents (Microsoft default)
4. Pictures (Microsoft default)
5. done (based on recent use)
6. finance (based on recent use)
8. menu (based on recent use)
8. menu (based on recent use)

To remove them, I simply right clicked on each entry to select:
"Unpin from Quick access"
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess02.jpg>

Then I selected the 8 previously organized folders I wanted in the Quick
access pane by rightclicking on them, in the order I wanted them to be, and
selecting "Pin to Quick Access" one by one (in the most-often used to
least-often used order).

NOTE: I happened to organize my 8 most-often-used folders on the desktop
during the past few days of setup, but you can put your 8 most-often-used
folders anywhere you like. The point is to *know* which 8 folders you use
most, and in what order you use them most...

For example:
a. tmp > Pin to Quick Access
b. config > Pin to Quick Access
c. data > Pin to Quick Access
d. software > Pin to Quick Access
e. app > Pin to Quick Access
f. user > Pin to Quick Access
g. post > Pin to Quick Access
h. win10 > Pin to Quick Access

Now your Quick Access pane is configured how you like it.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess03.jpg>

By way of example, rightclick on the quick-access folder pinned to the
taskbar which will also show those 8 quick-access folders.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess04.jpg>

Now the File Explorer windows no longer has the Microsoft garbage folders,
and the Quick access folders in both the File Explorer and Taskbar are the
8 folders you use most, in the order you use them in:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_quickaccess05.jpg>

--
Note: Remove & keep & change whatever folders make sense to you; this is
just an example of how to customize the File Explorer panes to have the
folders you use most, in the order you use them most.

Arlen Holder

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Jun 22, 2018, 10:00:38 AM6/22/18

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On Tue, 12 Jun 2018 08:52:36 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> Tutorial for setting up a well-organized consistent efficient menu system

I'm not sure why this tutorial doesn't show up in the tribal archives at
http://tinyurl.com/alt-comp-os-windows-10
but here are some more screenshots showing that the native Windows 10
Cascade Menu is essentially the same functionality as the native Windows XP
Cascade Menu.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_my_win10_cascade_menu.jpg>

You just have to learn a few tricks to deal with the Win10 Cascade Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_win10menu808.jpg>

Bill Bradshaw

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Jun 22, 2018, 1:05:11 PM6/22/18

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I use Classic Shell but I have saved your tutorial for cascading menus in
case the next upgrade breaks it. I have downloaded shotcut. Why do I need
shotcut?
--
<Bill>

Brought to you from Anchorage, Alaska

Bill Bradshaw

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Jun 22, 2018, 1:57:36 PM6/22/18

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I see shotcut was the example and I do not really need it.

<Bill>

Arlen Holder

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Jun 22, 2018, 3:06:46 PM6/22/18

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On Fri, 22 Jun 2018 09:57:30 -0800, Bill Bradshaw wrote:

> I see shotcut was the example and I do not really need it.

Thanks Bill for asking the question, as it's not intuitive that the
tutorials I write are tested to work with the exact tools, versions, and
sequence of software that I used.

Hence, the only reason for Shotcut was that it was a sample of freeware
that I assumed almost nobody had already, and it happens to be the *best*
(bar none, IMHO), Windows freeware for video editing nowadays, so it's a
perfect real-world example where you can follow the tuturial.

As you can see in this extremely detailed thread from just a couple of days
ago, most tutorials suck because they don't work in the real world because
they skip steps. My tutorials don't skip any steps (except by accident, of
course, since everyone who writes tutorials makes mistakes, including me).
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.os.linux/D7E7FQ1NLNk/vKYj6PF0BwAJ>

I'm going to augment this thread with my entire set of Windows XP menus
(which, by the way, have been honed over the past decade to be the same on
Windows 7, 8, and 10). I had already posted it but for some reason, it
didn't make it into the archive, so if you saw the posts a month or so ago
and you see it again, it's only becuase I'm trying to ensure the tribal
knowledge archives contain them so others can use the info in the future:
http://tinyurl.com/alt-os-linux
http://tinyurl.com/comp-sys-mac-system
http://tinyurl.com/microsoft-public-windowsxp-gen <--30 char limit!
http://tinyurl.com/alt-windows7-general
http://tinyurl.com/alt-comp-os-windows-8
http://tinyurl.com/alt-comp-os-windows-10
http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-android
http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-ipad
http://tinyurl.com/misc-phone-mobile-iphone
etc

Let me know if you have any questions when you follow the step-by-step
tutorial, as there's no reason the EXACT Windows XP Cascade Menu can't be
used on Windows 10 native (sans any need for Classic Shell, which, as you
may know, has apparently been broken by Microsoft according to this thread
yesterday).
Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview version 17692.1000 Breaks ClassicShell
<http://www.pcbanter.net/showthread.php?t=1104468>

Arlen Holder

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Jun 22, 2018, 3:13:59 PM6/22/18

to

On Fri, 22 Jun 2018 19:06:43 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> I'm going to augment this thread with my entire set of Windows XP menus
> (which, by the way, have been honed over the past decade to be the same on
> Windows 7, 8, and 10). I had already posted it but for some reason, it
> didn't make it into the archive, so if you saw the posts a month or so ago
> and you see it again, it's only becuase I'm trying to ensure the tribal
> knowledge archives contain them so others can use the info in the future:

Here is a repeat of the earlier sequence of posts which, for whatever
reason, never made it into the tribal archives... (maybe they were too long
& too detailed - but every step has been tested by me to work given the
versions of software used, all the latest to date).

****************************************************************************

Tutorial for setting up a well-organized consistent efficient menu system

(As always, please improve so that everyone benefits from your actions.)
****************************************************************************
Step-by-step example for a well organized menu system:

The strategy is to organize by a task-based system:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu01.jpg>
You start by downloading the application into that organized hierarchy:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu02.jpg>
In this case, we download to C:\software\editor\vid\shotcut\.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu03.jpg>
We install into the same well-organized structure:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu04.jpg>
From the heterodox Start Menu, you can populate the orthodox Start Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu05.jpg>
From the heterodox Start Menu, you can populate the Taskbar:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu06.jpg>
From the heterodox Start Menu, you can further access the app shortcut:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu07.jpg>
Once we access an app shortcut, we can then add the rest of the menus:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu08.jpg>
From the app shortcut, we can often send the shortcut to the orthodox menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu09.jpg>
From the app shortcut, we can often select the "Pin to taskbar" item:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu10.jpg>
From the app shortcut, we can send the shortcut to the Cascade Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu11.jpg>
From the app shortcut, we can send the shortcut to the heterodox menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu12.jpg>
Once the app shortcut is in the top level Cascade Menu, we can drag & drop:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu13.jpg>
In this case, we drag & drop to the "menu > editor > vid > shotcut"
location:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu14.jpg>
This simple action populates the cascade menu exactly like WinXP did!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu15.jpg>
Likewise, we can drag & drop in the similarly organized orthodox Start
Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu16.jpg>
The result is that all the menus are consistently organized!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu17.jpg>
You can also drag and drop the app shortcut to the desired taskbar
location:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu18.jpg>
Often you can run the application simply by typing its name in Cortana:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu19.jpg>
And you can always run the application by using the RMB-Start > Run box!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu20.jpg>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The assumption is that the reader has one or more of the following needs:
- They have a well-organized software DVD that they use for setup
- They have a well-organized software installation hierarchy on the HDD
- They have a well-organized installed-app hierarchy
- They have a well-organized heterodox & orthodox Start Menu
- They have a well-organized Windows10-native Cascade Menu
- They have a well-organized Taskbar Menu
- They wish to efficiently consistently populate the well-organized menus!

Note all the directory locations & menus have the *same* hierarchy!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
USE MODEL:
When installing a new program, a desktop shortcut often results.
(If not, they're easy to create manually - although caveats apply.)

In a single right-click, you can...
1. Add that shortcut to the right spot in the heterodox Start Menu.
2. Add that shortcut to the right spot in the orthodox Start Menu.
3. Add that shortcut to the same spot in the native Win10 Cascade Menu.
4. Optionally, add that shortcut to the Taskbar Menu.
5. Optionally, run that shortcut from the Run Box or Cortana search box.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The assumption is that you've long ago determined your app hierarchy.
For example, the archival DVD might be already orgnanized by:
archiver
browser
cleaner
database
editor
finance
game
hardware
network
os
util

Likewise, all your installations and menus use the same organization.

In this example, we'll install the Shotcut video editing freeware:
https://www.shotcut.org/download/

Where we will place shotcut in a half-dozen easy-access locations.
0) DVD: \software\editor\vid\shotcut\.
1) Archive: C:\software\editor\vid\shotcut\.
2) Install: C:\app\editor\vid\shotcut\.
3) Heterodox Start Menu: Start > [S] > shotcut.lnk
4) Orthodox Start Menu: Start > editor > vid > shotcut.lnk
5) Cascade Menu: taskbar\menu\editor\vid\shotcut.lnk
6) Taskbar: shotcut.lnk

Note the specific hierarchy used in this document is simply an example.
(Please use whatever task-based organization makes sense to you.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
First check to see if the shortcut wasn't added already by the installer
to the left-side (alphabetical) heterodox Start Menu.

Check the global heterodox Start Menu:
a. RMB-Start > Run > shell:Common Programs <[Enter]>
b. Cortana > %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\
<[Enter]>

Check the user heterodox Start Menu:
a. RMB-Start > Run > shell:Programs <[Enter]>
b. Cortana > %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ <[Enter]>

In the case of shotcut, a shortcut was placed in "common programs".
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Right click to add the shortcut to your left-side heterodox Start Menu.

RMB on shortcut > Send to > Add to heterodox Start Menu

Note1: See one-time setup below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Right click to add the shortcut to your right-side orthodox Start Menu.

RMB on shortcut > Pin to Start

NOTE2(a,b,c): See workarounds below if this choice is not yet available.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Right click to add the shortcut to your Cascade Start Menu.

RMB on shortcut > Send to > Add to Cascade Menu

Then use your LMB to move the shortcut from the top level of the cascade
menu to the desired location (e.g.,
taskbar\menu\editor\vid\shotcut.lnk).

Note3: See one-time setup below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Right click to add the shortcut to your Taskbar.

RMB on shortcut > Pin to taskbar

NOTE4: If the shortcut won't pin to the taskbar, see the workaround
below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Add a "RMB Start > Run" command to run your executable.

Cortana > shotcut <[Enter]>
RMB Start > Run > shotcut <ENTER>

Note5: See one-time setup below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note1: This adds a "send to" item for the Win10 native heterodox menu:

A. The user-level heterodox Start Menu is located in...
Cortana > %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\ <[Enter]>
B. Right click on the folder named "Programs" and select...
Send to > Desktop (create shortcut)
C. On the desktop, change the name of "Programs.lnk" to something like:
Add to heterodox Start Menu
D. Put the resulting shortcut into the SendTo location:
RMB-Start > Run > shell:SendTo <[Enter]>
Cortana > %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo <[Enter]>
E. Now you can right click on any shortcut to send to the heterodox menu.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note2a: Adding the ability to "Pin to Start" when it's not already there.

If there is no "Pin to Start" option when you right click on the shortcut,
there are multiple methods to easily add the shortcut to the orthodox Start
menu.

It's easiest to simply put the shortcut into the heterodox Start Menu
(as shown above). Once you put the shortcut into the heterodox Start Menu,
the option to "Pin to Start" shows up when you right click on the shortcut.

Global heterodox Start Menu:
a. RMB-Start > Run > shell:Common Programs <[Enter]>
b. Cortana > %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ <[Enter]>

User heterodox Start Menu:
a. RMB-Start > Run > shell:Programs <[Enter]>
b. Cortana > %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ <[Enter]>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note2b: Adding the ability to "Pin to Start" when it's not already there.

If you don't have the "Pin to Start" option when you rightclick on the
shortcut, you can add that otpion simply by modifying the Target line
as shown below.

a. RMB on the shortcut > Properties

b. Change the shortcut-target command...
From Target = c:\whatever\executable.exe
To Target = cmd.exe /c "c:\whatever\executable.exe"
(if you wish to "c" close the command window)

Or change to Target = cmd.exe /k "c:\whatever\executable.exe"
(if you wish to "k" keep the command window)

c. This will add both the "Pin to Start" & "Pin to taskbar" entries
to your menu when you right click on the newly edited shortcut.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 2c: Bear in mind the right-side orthodox Start Menu is a binary
database.

The orthodox Start Menu database is located at:
%HOMEPATH%\AppData\Local\TileDataLayer\Database\
Left side (alphabetical app names):
Global: %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\
User: %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\
The orthodox (right side tiles) of the Win10 startmenu is the binary hive
at:
Orthodox: %HOMEPATH%\AppData\Local\TileDataLayer\Database\vedatamodel.edb

Note that this orthodox tile-menu hive is of fixed 1024KB size (which
likely explains the reputed group limit of 500 entries) and fixed date
(which likely indicates the purported secret things going on inside of
Win10 that I can't myself explain but maybe others can explain).

As proof of concept, (as admin or another user) you can COPY the entire
binary orthodox "Database" hive, and then change your Windows 10 orthodox
menus, and then copy back your archived orthodox hive, and you'd get your
old menus back.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note3: Add the "send to" for the Win10 native Cascade Menu:

A. Create a folder named "menu" in the cascade-menu location below:
RMB-Start > Run > shell:Common Start Menu <[Enter]>
Cortana > %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\ <[Enter]>
B. Right click on that folder named "menu" and select...
Send to > Desktop (create shortcut)
C. On the desktop, change the name of "menu.lnk" to something like:
Add to Cascade Menu
D. Put the resulting shortcut into the SendTo location:
RMB-Start > Run > shell:SendTo <[Enter]>
Cortana > %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo <[Enter]>
E. Now you can right click on any shortcut to send to the cascade menu.
F. Add that cascade menu to the task bar (see below).
Right click on the taskbar > Toolbars > New toolbar... > Select Folder
>
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\menu\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note4: Adding the ability to "Pin to taskbar" when it's not already there.

If you don't have "Pin to taskbar" options when you rightclick on the
shortcut, you can add that option simply by modifying the Target line
as shown below.

a. RMB on the shortcut > Properties

b. Change the shortcut-target command...
From Target = c:\app\editor\vid\shotcut\shotcut.exe
To Target = cmd.exe /c "c:\app\editor\vid\shotcut\shotcut.exe"
(if you wish to "c" close the command window)

To Target = cmd.exe /k "c:\app\editor\vid\shotcut\shotcut.exe"
(if you wish to "k" keep the command window)

c. This will add both the "Pin to Start" & "Pin to taskbar" entries
to your menu when you right click on the newly edited shortcut.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note5: Add a new "App Paths" key to your system registry for efficiency.

a. Start the registry editor using "regedit".
b. Navigate to and right click on the "App Paths" key:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\
c. Add a new subkey named "shotcut.exe"
d. Change the "Default" from: (value not set)
Change the "Default" to: C:\app\editor\vid\shotcut\shotcut.exe
e. Test the efficiency by running the following two commands:
RMB-Start > Run > shotcut <[Enter]>
Cortana > shotcut <[Enter]>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voila!

You now can run your executable in a half dozen quick and easy ways:
RMB-Start > Run > shotcut <[Enter]>
Cortana > shotcut <[Enter]>
Start > [S] > shotcut.lnk
Start > editor > vid > shotcut.lnk
Taskbar > Cascade Menu > editor > vid > shotcut.lnk
Taskbar > shotcut.lnk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(As always, please improve so that everyone benefits from your actions.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Tue, 12 Jun 2018 08:52:36 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> Tutorial for setting up a well-organized consistent efficient menu system

After removing those folders (and setting up the Quick access folders you

use most, the system will look something like this:

nospam

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Jun 22, 2018, 3:15:34 PM6/22/18

to

In article <pgjhpj$a5n$1...@news.mixmin.net>, Arlen Holder

<arlen...@nospam.net> wrote:

> Here is a repeat of the earlier sequence of posts which, for whatever
> reason, never made it into the tribal archives... (maybe they were too long
> & too detailed - but every step has been tested by me to work given the
> versions of software used, all the latest to date).

maybe the tribunal doesn't want your shit.

Arlen Holder

unread,

Jun 23, 2018, 1:29:37 AM6/23/18

to

On Fri, 22 Jun 2018 15:15:31 -0400, nospam wrote:

> maybe the tribunal doesn't want ...

As always, nospam, you prove in every post that you are not only always
purposefully unhelpful and a bully troll, but you always also prove that
you are utterly incapable of adding any on-topic technical value whatsoever
to any thread. All you "can" do is poop on the public potluck picnic.

Moving forward, the official Win10 tribal archives aren't archiving the
unique detailed technical tutorial containing tricks almost nobody knows
about (otherwise nobody would be using Classic Shell if they knew how
Windows works), for both WinXP and for Win10, probably because it's lengthy
and contains many links to many detailed annotated screenshots.

To help others find this in the future, all I can do is point you to the
Message-ID so that you can look it up by that unique reference.
<http://al.howardknight.net/>
However, even Howard Knight truncated the helpful tutorial.

From: Arlen Holder <arlen...@nospam.net>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.os.windows-10,microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Subject: Re: Tutorial for setting up a well-organized consistent efficient Windows menu system
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2018 19:13:56 -0000 (UTC)
Message-ID: <pgjhpj$a5n$1...@news.mixmin.net>

Here are links to the tutorial that hopefully will help many others.
WINDOWS XP: (entirety)
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/eWU-jOkFRtU/N7S0Mw7yBgAJ>

WINDOWS 10: (severely truncated)
<http://al.howardknight.net/msgid.cgi?STYPE=msgid&A=0&MSGI=%3Cpgjhpj%24a5n%241%40news.mixmin.net%3E>

I'm going to give up trying to post this any further, so, I hope those of
you who are unaware of what WinXP can do and how easy it is to reproduce
your exact copy of the WinXP Cascade Menu onto Windows 10 native, can
benefit from the tricks listed in the tutorial (which are nowhere else on
Usenet documented, AFAIK).

Good luck!

Arlen Holder

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Jun 23, 2018, 1:47:33 AM6/23/18

to

On Fri, 22 Jun 2018 09:05:03 -0800, Bill Bradshaw wrote:

> I use Classic Shell but I have saved your tutorial for cascading menus in
> case the next upgrade breaks it. I have downloaded shotcut. Why do I need
> shotcut?

Hi Bill,

Note that you can literally *copy* your WinXP menus over to Windows 10 and
the WinXP Cascade Menu will work perfectly on Win10 - if you follow the
tricks in the tutorial.

There is absolutely no difference between your WinXP Cascade Menu and the
native Windows 10 Cascade Menu.

Literally, the exact files work on both systems (if you are strategic about
your organization, as I have been for decades).
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_my_win10_cascade_menu.jpg>

That's why I think the tutorial is helpful, because it contains tricks that
I don't know to be anywhere else on Usenet other than in that tutorial.

If all you want out of the Classic Shell is WinXP menus on Win10, then
there is absolutely no need for Classic Shell, since the WinXP cascade menu
literally works on Windows 10 if you just copy it to the correct location
on Windows 10 (and if you add the trick to keep the menu sliding to the
side).

Good luck! Hope the immense effort I put in that unique tutorial helps
others.

Char Jackson

unread,

Jun 23, 2018, 8:31:52 AM6/23/18

to

On Sat, 23 Jun 2018 05:29:34 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder
<arlen...@nospam.net> wrote:

>Moving forward, the official Win10 tribal archives

Umm, there aren't any official <fill-in-the-blank> tribal archives. In a
recent post, you confirmed that your so-called "tribal archives" are
simply the entire posting history of specific newsgroups. There are
numerous copies of that information scattered all over the Internet, but
none are official in any way.

>aren't archiving the
>unique detailed technical tutorial containing tricks almost nobody knows
>about (otherwise nobody would be using Classic Shell if they knew how
>Windows works), for both WinXP and for Win10, probably because it's lengthy
>and contains many links to many detailed annotated screenshots.

Nobody? How quickly you've forgotten that programs like Classic Shell do
much more than provide menu options. You acknowledged that yesterday,
but today that tidbit is apparently gone. Say, maybe you need a "tribal
knowledge" archive so you can remember these things?

>To help others find this in the future, all I can do is point you to the
>Message-ID so that you can look it up by that unique reference.

Hey, that would be a great idea.

> <http://al.howardknight.net/>

Oops, that wasn't a Message-ID. Here, I'll help you:
> Message-ID: <pgjhpj$a5n$1...@news.mixmin.net>

You're welcome.

Arlen Holder

unread,

Jun 23, 2018, 11:57:58 AM6/23/18

to

On Sat, 23 Jun 2018 07:32:25 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:

> Umm, there aren't any official <fill-in-the-blank> tribal archives. In a
> recent post, you confirmed that your so-called "tribal archives" are
> simply the entire posting history of specific newsgroups.

Duh.
That's the definition of a searchable tribal knowledge archives, silly.

Here's a searchable tribal knowledge archive for m.p.w.g, for example:
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general (not intuitive - but it works fine)
http://tinyurl.com/microsoft-public-windowsxp-gen (30-char limit)
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
etc.

> There are
> numerous copies of that information scattered all over the Internet, but
> none are official in any way.

Name one.

Specifically, bear in mind that the question was directly asked of this
newsgroup what the best tribal knowledge search archive is, and Frank
Slootweg answered the question.

Before we created the official tinyurl for this newsgroup, we asked
everyone on this newsgroup to comment whether they had a better tribal
knowledge archive.

You didn't come up with one then.
You haven't come up with one now.

So all you're doing is complaining that other people are trying to move us
forward, and you don't have any ideas on how to improve that - but yet -
you still complain.

You may as well complain about the weather.
Either improve our tribal knowledge search archives, or stop complaining.

A tribal knowledge search archive needs three things to be generally
useful.
1. It has to be instantly available to everyone (free is always good)
2. The search should be consisistently the same for all users
3. The result should be a single URL to the actual post (or thread)

I know what you suggest, since I know what everyone thinks, since I have
asked this question so many times that you're not the person who is going
to come up with something new.

Some people, like Paul, "can" come up with new ideas - but not you.

Other than your incessant complaints about what is, you provide zero
solutions that meet the stated goals. None. Zip. Nada.

All you do is complain.

If you want to make progress, instead of complaining, ask Google to archive
the Win10 newsgroup like they do the WinXP newsgroup:
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general (not intuitive - but it works fine)
http://tinyurl.com/microsoft-public-windowsxp-gen (30-char limit)
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
etc.

Until then, this is the best we've got.
(Name something better instead of incessantly repeating your complaints.)

> Nobody? How quickly you've forgotten that programs like Classic Shell do
> much more than provide menu options. You acknowledged that yesterday,
> but today that tidbit is apparently gone. Say, maybe you need a "tribal
> knowledge" archive so you can remember these things?

That sentence simply shows you're playing nospam's game of silly semantics.
You know that I know that Classic Shell does more than just Cascade Menus.
But then you claim I don't know that, even though you just said I did.

The fact is this is Usenet, where I don't have an editor looking over my
shoulder, or a lawyer, watching out that every single sentence on Classic
Shell contains a disclaimer in fine print that acknowledges all the other
things that Classic Shell can do.

You simply purchased too many arguments this week.
And by doing so, you're wasting all our time.

Instead of playing silly semantic games, why don't you work on getting
Google to archive the tribal knowledge for all the Windows newsgroups like
they already do for the Windows XP newsgroup?

>>To help others find this in the future, all I can do is point you to the
>>Message-ID so that you can look it up by that unique reference.
>
> Hey, that would be a great idea.
>
>> <http://al.howardknight.net/>
>
> Oops, that wasn't a Message-ID. Here, I'll help you:
>> Message-ID: <pgjhpj$a5n$1...@news.mixmin.net>
>
> You're welcome.

Again, Char Jackson, you fail to comprehend that the Howard Knight archives
*truncate* the tutorial, such that the Howard Knight archive turns out to
be useless for this purpose.

That you missed that obvious point, is a bit scary, because you then
complain and exclaim your genius with utter glee ... which is very Snit
like, where, if you've dealt with the many morons on Usenet like nospam and
Snit who think they're utter geniuses for finding a typo in a Usenet post,
then you are starting to scare me as being as mentally unstable as GoodGuy
(who is constantly accusing everyone of being a child molester and saying
he's reporting their posts to his local UK police).

That people exist on Usenet who think like you just proved you just did, is
reason enough to explain why I value my privacy.

Char Jackson

unread,

Jun 24, 2018, 10:58:38 AM6/24/18

to

On Sat, 23 Jun 2018 15:57:54 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder
<arlen...@nospam.net> wrote:

>On Sat, 23 Jun 2018 07:32:25 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:
>
>> Umm, there aren't any official <fill-in-the-blank> tribal archives. In a
>> recent post, you confirmed that your so-called "tribal archives" are
>> simply the entire posting history of specific newsgroups.
>
>Duh.
>That's the definition of a searchable tribal knowledge archives, silly.
>
>Here's a searchable tribal knowledge archive for m.p.w.g, for example:
> http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general (not intuitive - but it works fine)
> http://tinyurl.com/microsoft-public-windowsxp-gen (30-char limit)
> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
> etc.

You're fond of pointing out when I don't comprehend something, so this
will be one of those times.

You keep referring to something called a "tribal archive". By
definition, that would be something that's curated so that it provides
all of the good info, without any of the bad info and especially without
all of the chit-chat that doesn't rise to the level of being qualified
to be captured in a "tribal archive". For you, is a "tribal archive" the
same as an "archive"?

***
cu·rate
verb
past tense: curated; past participle: curated

select, organize, and look after the items in (a collection or
exhibition).
"both exhibitions are curated by the museum's director"
select the performers or performances that will feature in (an
arts event or program).
"in past years the festival has been curated by the likes of
David Bowie"
select, organize, and present (online content, merchandise,
information, etc.), typically using professional or expert knowledge.
"nearly every major news organization is using Twitter’s new
lists feature to curate tweets about the earthquake"
***

1. You keep referring to a full and complete archive of a Usenet
newsgroup as a "tribal archive". What's tribal about it when it's just
an archive?

2. You occasionally call the object of your desire an "official tribal
archive". What makes it official? Since it's just an archive of a Usenet
newsgroup, how is one archive more official than all of the other
archives of that same newsgroup?

3. But wait, it gets worse. You want that archive of a Usenet newsgroup
to be available on the web. Let that sink in for a bit. It's a Usenet
newsgroup and you have access to Usenet. With Usenet archives available
all over Usenet, why should your archive not be one of the many
available on Usenet?

>> There are
>> numerous copies of that information scattered all over the Internet, but
>> none are official in any way.
>
>Name one.

Every major NSP has an archive now. It's not like the old days when an
NSP expired posts in X number of days to keep things running smoothly.
For a long time now, virtually all of the major NSPs have stopped
expiring posts. As a result, each of them now has an archive. None are
official or tribal, they're just archives, but that seems to be all you
want.

Giganews claims to have over 15 years of text retention.
Newshosting claims to have over 3600 days of text retention.
Astraweb claims to have over 3000 days of text retention.

That's three. There are many more.

>Specifically, bear in mind that the question was directly asked of this
>newsgroup what the best tribal knowledge search archive is, and Frank
>Slootweg answered the question.
>
>Before we created the official tinyurl for this newsgroup, we asked

What's official about a tinyurl that points to a shady web-based scraped
version of a Usenet newsgroup?

>everyone on this newsgroup to comment whether they had a better tribal
>knowledge archive.
>
>You didn't come up with one then.
>You haven't come up with one now.

I offered the same solution then that I'm offering now.

>I know what you suggest, since I know what everyone thinks <snip>

Gag me. Whatever happened to "I only speak facts"?

>If you want to make progress, instead of complaining, ask Google to archive
>the Win10 newsgroup like they do the WinXP newsgroup

I can't think of a single reason why Google should be part of the
discussion. You claim that you want an archive of a Usenet newsgroup.
Every major NSP already has that and makes it available to its
customers. Google isn't an NSP. Thus, they play no role in this.

>>>To help others find this in the future, all I can do is point you to the
>>>Message-ID so that you can look it up by that unique reference.
>>
>> Hey, that would be a great idea.
>>
>>> <http://al.howardknight.net/>
>>
>> Oops, that wasn't a Message-ID. Here, I'll help you:
>>> Message-ID: <pgjhpj$a5n$1...@news.mixmin.net>
>>
>> You're welcome.
>
>Again, Char Jackson, you fail to comprehend that the Howard Knight archives
>*truncate* the tutorial, such that the Howard Knight archive turns out to
>be useless for this purpose.

*Whoosh!* Try again. Above, you offered to point everyone to a
Message-ID and then you provided a (truncated) URL. MIDs and URLs are
two separate things, not directly related to one another. I simply fixed
your mistake. I don't care that the URL was truncated. That's completely
irrelevant.

Arlen Holder

unread,

Jun 24, 2018, 2:11:48 PM6/24/18

to

On Sun, 24 Jun 2018 09:59:14 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:

> You're fond of pointing out when I don't comprehend something, so this
> will be one of those times.

Hi Char Jackson,
Like Frank Slootweg, you project too much of your own foibles upon others.
But unlike Frank Slootweg, all you can suggest is what everyone already
knows.

I surmise that you need to comprehend that not everyone thinks like you do.

Neither of the two of you seem to comprehend that I don't care one whit
about what facts I think about today if... IF ... notice the IF ... if you
can show my facts to be wrong.

To wit: If you have a *better* "tribal archive" than the one Frank Slootweg
proposed (and which I made into a tinyurl), then propose it for heaven's
sake.

I'd LOVE to be wrong that, for example, that Google doesn't archive the
Win10 ng like it does the WinXP ng.

If you pointed out to me that this fact is wrong, then I'd be perfectly
ECSTATIC that you found a better tribal archive.

People like you (and Frank Slootweg) don't seem to think the way I do,
where, you must know, I have multiple higher degrees from the best schools
in this country - which is to say I've learned many thousands of "facts"
which were not intuitive and I've been wrong many times on exams, where I
don't think all my ideas are correct.

I think it could be that both you and Frank Slootweg aren't as well
educated as some of us are, so you don't have as much experience with facts
as those of us who are well educated are.

We, who are well educated, have no compunction about being right or wrong
about facts.

> You keep referring to something called a "tribal archive". By
> definition, that would be something that's curated so that it provides
> all of the good info, without any of the bad info and especially without
> all of the chit-chat that doesn't rise to the level of being qualified
> to be captured in a "tribal archive". For you, is a "tribal archive" the
> same as an "archive"?

The tribal archive is *everything* collectively that happens on this
newsgroup. Even this conversation is a component of the tribal archive.

What's odd about you, Char Jackson, is that you don't seem to comprehend
that http://tinyurl.com/alt-os-linux is a tribal archive, and that
http://tinyurl.com/microsoft-public-windowsxp-gen is a tribal archive.

Both are everything, collectively, that is on this newsgroup.
You seem to want some other definition.

That's fine.
Go create it.

I'm not going to create whatever it is that you want to have created.
If you want it - you're going to have to create it.

Stop complaining about the weather without doing something about it.

> ***
> cu·rate
> verb
> past tense: curated; past participle: curated
>
> select, organize, and look after the items in (a collection or
> exhibition).
> "both exhibitions are curated by the museum's director"
> select the performers or performances that will feature in (an
> arts event or program).
> "in past years the festival has been curated by the likes of
> David Bowie"
> select, organize, and present (online content, merchandise,
> information, etc.), typically using professional or expert knowledge.
> "nearly every major news organization is using Twitter’s new
> lists feature to curate tweets about the earthquake"
> ***

Again, you don't seem to comprehend the weather.
All you want to do is complain about it.

If you want a curated assemblage of knowledge, then *create* it for heavens
sake. Don't just incessantly complain about what exists.

Do something about it.
Like I do by adding to the knowledge level and by creating easy-to-use
links.

> 1. You keep referring to a full and complete archive of a Usenet
> newsgroup as a "tribal archive". What's tribal about it when it's just
> an archive?

When will you ever stop complaining about the weather?

> 2. You occasionally call the object of your desire an "official tribal
> archive". What makes it official? Since it's just an archive of a Usenet
> newsgroup, how is one archive more official than all of the other
> archives of that same newsgroup?

What's official is the Usenet newsgroup.
Any mirror of that Usenet newsgroup is just as official, to me.

You just seem to want to complain about silly semantics.

> 3. But wait, it gets worse. You want that archive of a Usenet newsgroup
> to be available on the web. Let that sink in for a bit. It's a Usenet
> newsgroup and you have access to Usenet. With Usenet archives available
> all over Usenet, why should your archive not be one of the many
> available on Usenet?

What is amazing about you, Char Jackson, is that you miss the point.
Every time.

How you can be so consistent in missing the point boggles my mind.

The point is that it has to be accessible to everyone now.
Without hurdles.

You like to play your silly semantic games so you latch on to meaningless
"problems" just so that you can play your silly semantic games (much like
Frank Slootweg latches on to the fact that some headers are hard to change
as proof of his utter genius).

Both of you only want to play your silly semantic games.
And both of you completely miss the entire point.

Every time.
That's just sad.

>>Name one.
>
> Every major NSP has an archive now. It's not like the old days when an
> NSP expired posts in X number of days to keep things running smoothly.
> For a long time now, virtually all of the major NSPs have stopped
> expiring posts. As a result, each of them now has an archive. None are
> official or tribal, they're just archives, but that seems to be all you
> want.

All you seem to want to do is extol the virtues of a solution that is not
accessible to everyone sans hurdles.

That's fine that you have a solution that fits your needs.
Nobody is complaining about your solution.

You're never going to teach any of us anything, simply because EVERONE
already knows any solution that you can possibly come up with.

Do you really think we're all utterly stupid that we all don't KNOW that
our NSP keeps an archive of Usenet articles.

Really?
You think we're all that stupid?

What amazes me about you is that you have no solution but the one solution
that everyone already knows about. You can't add anything new.

How many zillions of times has Paul, for example, added something new to
the tribal knowledge. Plenty, right?

How many times have I added something new to the tribal knowledge?
Plenty, right? (Not as much as Paul - but still plenty.)

How many times have you added something new to the tribal knowledge?
HINT: Telling us to search our NSP is hardly a new idea.

If your proposed solution actually solved the stated problem, then there
would be no need for Google Groups to archive
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general for heaven's sake.

> Giganews claims to have over 15 years of text retention.
> Newshosting claims to have over 3600 days of text retention.
> Astraweb claims to have over 3000 days of text retention.
>
> That's three. There are many more.

Char Jackson,
I realize you may think you're an utter genius for coming up with three
payware NSPs that archive Usenet articles, where I can come up with a
half-dozen more freeware ones that don't even have the hurdle of paying, a
couple of which don't even have the hurdle of asking for a free
registration for heaven's sake.

It's frustrating discussing adult topics with you because you seem to latch
onto things like a child does.

To wit ... do you think there is a single person on Usenet ... out of God
knows how many people there are nowadays ... who doesn't know what you just
said?

There isn't one, Char Jackson, who doesn't know what you said.
Not a single one.

Let that sink in please.
You're not proposing anything new.

You're not proposing anything we all don't inherently know already.

If what you proposed actually solved the stated problem set, then there
would be absolutely no need for Google to bother with archiving the
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general tribal knowledge archives, now would
there be?

What's amazing about you, Char Jackson, is that you propose a 'solution'
that everyone knows doesn't meet the stated requirements.

Only you seem to not comprehend that if what you proposed even came close
to meeting the stated requirements, then archives like
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general wouldn't need to exist.

The sad fact is that I can't teach you what you fail to comprehend, but
which everyone else on Usenet already knows.

I just don't have the skills to explain the obvious to you.

> What's official about a tinyurl that points to a shady web-based scraped
> version of a Usenet newsgroup?

Again, you fail to comprehend even the simplest of topics, such that
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general does a good job and that
http://tinyurl.com/alt-comp-os-windows-10 does a bad job but that your
proposed NSP solution doesn't do any better (and in many ways, is far
worse).

Everyone has the option of the NSP.
That you seem to think you're an utter genius for proposing what everyone
already knows, is amazing.

If the NSP met the stated goals, then there would be no need for
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general in the first place.

I don't have the language skills to explain the obvious to you any better
than stating it outright.

> I offered the same solution then that I'm offering now.

There's nothing in your "solution" that didn't exist twenty years ago.
Everyone knows what your "solution" is.

Tell us something we don't all already know.

> I can't think of a single reason why Google should be part of the
> discussion. You claim that you want an archive of a Usenet newsgroup.
> Every major NSP already has that and makes it available to its
> customers. Google isn't an NSP. Thus, they play no role in this.

You don't comprehend the stated goals.
Everyone already has an NSP.
There isn't a single person on Usenet who doesn't.

(Although there are remailers, and web-based interfaces, so don't pull the
silly semantic crap on that general statement.)

> *Whoosh!* Try again. Above, you offered to point everyone to a
> Message-ID and then you provided a (truncated) URL. MIDs and URLs are
> two separate things, not directly related to one another. I simply fixed
> your mistake. I don't care that the URL was truncated. That's completely
> irrelevant.

Thanks for fixing my mistake.
Silly semantic arguments seem to be your forte.

I'm not at all like you Char Jackson.
I'm trying to move us forward.
I'm trying to break new ground.
I'm trying to provide universal solutions, available to everyone, using the
same interface, the same search engine, the same search terms, the same
results, etc.

You're not.
All you can propose is what everyone already knows.

Tell us something new, Char Jackson.
Something that moves us forward in our capabilities.

What we both should do is stop wasting time telling everyone what they
already know - and try to get a *better* searchable archive that fits the
stated goals (e.g., getting Google to archive the Win10 group would be an
accomplishment that helps everyone).

Let's work together toward *that* goal.
How's that for a proposed solution to the stated problem set?

Frank Slootweg

unread,

Jun 24, 2018, 4:09:09 PM6/24/18

to

Arlen Holder <arlen...@nospam.net> aka The Lying Liar lied:

> (much like
> Frank Slootweg latches on to the fact that some headers are hard to change
> as proof of his utter genius).

Repeating the same lie over and over again doesn't make it any less a
lie.

Apparently you are not as "well educated" as you claim you are and the
"multiple higher degrees from the best schools in this country" are
apparently not worth the paper they're photocopied on, otherwise you
would be aware of this trivial fact.

BTW, how *is* your AS doing? Your behaving like an ostrich clearly
isn't working, so what's next?

[...]

Char Jackson

unread,

Jun 24, 2018, 8:56:49 PM6/24/18

to

On Sun, 24 Jun 2018 18:11:44 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder
<arlen...@nospam.net> wrote:

>On Sun, 24 Jun 2018 09:59:14 -0500, Char Jackson wrote:
>
>To wit: If you have a *better* "tribal archive" than the one Frank Slootweg
>proposed (and which I made into a tinyurl), then propose it for heaven's
>sake.

I did, but you found fault with it. It was artificial fault, contained
entirely within your own mind, but fault nonetheless.

>I'd LOVE to be wrong that, for example, that Google doesn't archive the
>Win10 ng like it does the WinXP ng.

Google doesn't do Usenet. You're going to tell me that you knew that,
but obviously not. This is at least the second time you've mentioned
Google in the context of an archive. Usenet archives are on Usenet, as
I've explained. Why would you look elsewhere?

>The tribal archive is *everything* collectively that happens on this
>newsgroup. Even this conversation is a component of the tribal archive.

Thanks for confirming. So, by your definition, a tribal archive is
worthless. I thought we'd get here, but I didn't think it would be this
fast or this easy.

>What's odd about you, Char Jackson, is that you don't seem to comprehend
>that http://tinyurl.com/alt-os-linux is a tribal archive, and that
>http://tinyurl.com/microsoft-public-windowsxp-gen is a tribal archive.

What's odd is that I didn't know that you had your own definition of
'tribal'. I suspected it, but I didn't know for sure until you confirmed
it. Tribal means it has to be accessible via a "URL". Very odd, but
there it is.

>I'm not going to create whatever it is that you want to have created.
>If you want it - you're going to have to create it.

Hello, I already have an archive of every group that I subscribe to. In
case you forgot, it's you who's been rambling incoherently about a
'tribal archive'. I shouldn't have to remind you of things like this.

>> 1. You keep referring to a full and complete archive of a Usenet
>> newsgroup as a "tribal archive". What's tribal about it when it's just
>> an archive?
>
>When will you ever stop complaining about the weather?

I see that you avoided the simple question.

>> 2. You occasionally call the object of your desire an "official tribal
>> archive". What makes it official? Since it's just an archive of a Usenet
>> newsgroup, how is one archive more official than all of the other
>> archives of that same newsgroup?
>
>What's official is the Usenet newsgroup.
>Any mirror of that Usenet newsgroup is just as official, to me.

You complained that the latest object of your desire, www.pcbanter.net,
was missing something, making it less than a mirror. I pointed out the
stupidity of your premise, where you take a scraped copy of a Usenet
archive and bestow upon it "official tribal archive" status, and rather
than work together to move forward you'd rather attack me for pointing
out the obvious. Are you OK? Is everything good with you?

>> 3. But wait, it gets worse. You want that archive of a Usenet newsgroup
>> to be available on the web. Let that sink in for a bit. It's a Usenet
>> newsgroup and you have access to Usenet. With Usenet archives available
>> all over Usenet, why should your archive not be one of the many
>> available on Usenet?
>

>The point is that it has to be accessible to everyone now.
>Without hurdles.

Everyone 'here' is already on Usenet. Which hurdle have you conjured up?
How is Usenet content a hurdle to people who are already on Usenet?

>You're never going to teach any of us anything, simply because EVERONE
>already knows any solution that you can possibly come up with.
>
>Do you really think we're all utterly stupid that we all don't KNOW that
>our NSP keeps an archive of Usenet articles.
>
>Really?
>You think we're all that stupid?

Who is this "we" you keep referring to? Must I address my response to
each of the voices in your head, or can you speak for all of them?

To answer your question, yes. Yes, I do think all of the people in your
head are that stupid. That's just my opinion, only offered because you
asked. You've come up, all on your own and completely arbitrarily, with
a requirement that your Usenet archive must be available on the web.
When you vomit random requirements like that, you severely limit your
options. Now you're in a box and you can't find your way out.

>What amazes me about you is that you have no solution but the one solution
>that everyone already knows about. You can't add anything new.

If everyone knows, how come you don't know? Are you always that slow?

>If your proposed solution actually solved the stated problem, then there
>would be no need for Google Groups to archive

Now you're catching on. There is no need for Google to archive anything,
not to mention the fact that they've made a royal mess of things with
their GG experiment.

>To wit ... do you think there is a single person on Usenet ... out of God
>knows how many people there are nowadays ... who doesn't know what you just
>said?

I submit into evidence, as Exhibit 1, you. You had no idea that every
major NSP now has their own archive. You've been under a rock since 1984
and didn't know that things have changed. You also didn't know that you
can access almost any of those archives at no cost, but let's not go
there. I don't want to blow (the rest of) your mind.

>If what you proposed actually solved the stated problem set, then there
>would be absolutely no need for Google to bother with archiving the
>http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general tribal knowledge archives, now would
>there be?

So true. I agree with you, there is "absolutely no need for Google to
bother with archiving" Usenet newsgroups. There used to be value in
that, but that ended many years ago. These days, GG is for spammers and
trolls.

>What's amazing about you, Char Jackson, is that you propose a 'solution'
>that everyone knows doesn't meet the stated requirements.

That's because *YOU* stated the requirements, and you didn't know what
you were doing. You understand that, right?

You're the crank who says you want to go to the moon strapped to a lawn
chair, and when someone comes along to suggest that there are better
ways to do it, you attack them and scream "LAWN CHAIR!".

>I just don't have the skills to explain the obvious to you.

That's OK. I don't expect anyone to explain what they don't themselves
know.

>What we both should do is stop wasting time telling everyone what they
>already know - and try to get a *better* searchable archive that fits the
>stated goals (e.g., getting Google to archive the Win10 group would be an
>accomplishment that helps everyone).
>
>Let's work together toward *that* goal.
>How's that for a proposed solution to the stated problem set?

Awful. If your "solution" involves Google or the web, you can count me
out. I can't get you from where you are to where you need to be. It's a
bridge too far. Good luck in your endeavor.

ghyrpejsekieddrjiljhy

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Jun 24, 2018, 11:01:11 PM6/24/18

to

On 6/24/2018 5:57 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Jun 2018 18:11:44 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder

>> Google doesn't archive the Win10 ng like it does the WinXP ng.
>
> Google doesn't do Usenet.

Google Groups does Usenet. Some groups like this one are missing though.

> This is at least the second time you've mentioned Google in the
> context of an archive.

Their Usenet records (archive) go back many years.

> Usenet archives are on Usenet, as I've explained. Why would you look
> elsewhere?

Google Groups are very easy to search.

Here's an example of another Usenet group I follow on aioe but is
also available for reading and posting on Google Groups.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/comp.mobile.android

Arlen Holder

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Jun 25, 2018, 3:05:01 AM6/25/18

to

On Sat, 23 Jun 2018 05:47:31 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> Note that you can literally *copy* your WinXP menus over to Windows 10 and
> the WinXP Cascade Menu will work perfectly on Win10 - if you follow the
> tricks in the tutorial.

Here are more screenshots...

1. Win10 Cascade Menu (same as WinXP Cascade Menu)
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu1.png>
2. Win10 Orthodox Start Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu2.png>
3. Win10 Heterodox Start Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu3.png>

Tutorial:
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/eWU-jOkFRtU>

Arlen Holder

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Jun 25, 2018, 3:13:46 AM6/25/18

to

On Sun, 24 Jun 2018 20:01:17 -0700, ghyrpejsekieddrjiljhy wrote:

> Here's an example of another Usenet group I follow on aioe but is
> also available for reading and posting on Google Groups.
>
> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/comp.mobile.android

This url is easier to remember...

http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-android

Likewise:
http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-ipad

This one is a harder group name 'cuz it should have been comp-mobile-iphone
http://tinyurl.com/misc-phone-mobile-iphone

ghyrpejsekieddrjiljhy

unread,

Jun 25, 2018, 8:10:08 AM6/25/18

to

On 6/25/2018 12:13 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Jun 2018 20:01:17 -0700, ghyrpejsekieddrjiljhy wrote:
>
>> Here's an example of another Usenet group I follow on aioe but is
>> also available for reading and posting on Google Groups.
>>
>> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/comp.mobile.android
>
> This url is easier to remember...
> http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-android

Actually there's no need to REMEMBER any link. Just put
"comp.mobile.android" in the Google Groups search box. Easy Peasy.

> Likewise: http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-ipad
>
> This one is a harder group name 'cuz it should have been
> comp-mobile-iphone http://tinyurl.com/misc-phone-mobile-iphone

If you're signed in it's even easier. One click on the GG
icon in your browser bookmarks bar and on page left you'll find links to
all your "Favorites" Groups listed. If you don't want to bother
setting up Favorites, Google also conveniently lists links to all your
"Recently viewed" groups and to all your "Recent searches".

Many here on Usenet snub their noses at GG. But in reality Usenet these
days is MOSTLY empty groups and garbage groups. My above example
comp.mobile.android is now dead days at a time. It was once a vibrant
group. Same with most of the Usenet groups I followed through the
years. YMMV.

Arlen Holder

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Jun 25, 2018, 10:13:40 AM6/25/18

to

On Mon, 25 Jun 2018 05:10:03 -0700, ghyrpejsekieddrjiljhy wrote:

> Actually there's no need to REMEMBER any link. Just put
> "comp.mobile.android" in the Google Groups search box. Easy Peasy.

Since I was the one who *created* the tinyurl for the Android newsgroup
(and for the Windows XP newsgroup, and for the iOS newsgroup, etc.), I tend
to remember them, and I tend to advertise them so others can benefit.

However, your point that there are other ways to skin the cat is apropos.

The point is that nobody should bother to try to remember this URL:
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/comp.mobile.android>

By way of example, here is a snippet I posted yesterday, adding value to
the menu-customization tribal knowledge, which referenced the tutorial by
single URL so that everyone benefits, even years from now, from the effort:

BEGIN SNIPPET:

1. Win10 Cascade Menu

<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu1.png>
2. Win10 Orthodox Start Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu2.png>
3. Win10 Heterodox Start Menu:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu3.png>

Tutorial:
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/eWU-jOkFRtU>

END SNIPPET:

> If you're signed in it's even easier. One click on the GG
> icon in your browser bookmarks bar and on page left you'll find links to
> all your "Favorites" Groups listed. If you don't want to bother
> setting up Favorites, Google also conveniently lists links to all your
> "Recently viewed" groups and to all your "Recent searches".

This is a good point for the many others who actually remain "signed in" to
a web site to benefit from.

For privacy reasons, I use a different browser for each task (i.e., any one
browser only goes to one site) and those browsers are always set up to wipe
out everything upon closing, and, by design, I only log in when I
absolutely must log in to use the service - and then I'm out of there - and
I'm on VPN 100% of the time (using any one of six thousand random VPN
config files), so your model wouldn't work for me.

But it will work for most people, I agree with you - so it's a great
suggestion you made for the others to benefit from (which is what we're all
about here).

> Many here on Usenet snub their noses at GG. But in reality Usenet these
> days is MOSTLY empty groups and garbage groups. My above example
> comp.mobile.android is now dead days at a time. It was once a vibrant
> group. Same with most of the Usenet groups I followed through the
> years. YMMV.

Yup. We've all been at this for decades. I was with c.m.a soon after it
started, and also c.m.i, and, before that, we were all on alt.cellular with
all the different incarnations for each carrier (remember them?).

The strategic goal for me is always twofold...
1. To help each other and
2. To contribute to the overall tribal knowledge of the group

For both goals, having a universal URL to any particular thread or post is
extremely useful.

NOTE: While my Usenet model is that of the Q&A model, there are many here
who use the chit-chat model, where they are here for their own amusement
(and hence, almost 100% of their posts are utterly worthless, IMHO). The
point is that the sheer *number* of posts, is meaningless - what matters is
the quality of the *information* they contain.

For example, I just created this screenshot for Frank Slootweg moments ago:
Strategy and tactics of a well-organized software hierarchy:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu0.jpg>

Arlen Holder

unread,

Jun 25, 2018, 11:10:48 AM6/25/18

to

On Mon, 25 Jun 2018 14:13:36 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> NOTE: While my Usenet model is that of the Q&A model, there are many here
> who use the chit-chat model, where they are here for their own amusement
> (and hence, almost 100% of their posts are utterly worthless, IMHO). The
> point is that the sheer *number* of posts, is meaningless - what matters is
> the quality of the *information* they contain.
>
> For example, I just created this screenshot for Frank Slootweg moments ago:
> Strategy and tactics of a well-organized software hierarchy:
> <http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_menu0.jpg>

See also this screenshot, made to enhance our overall tribal knowledge:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_programfiles.jpg>

By way of adding additional value to the tribal knowledge, I just moments
ago created that screenshot for Wolf K., which illustrates my decades of
experience from Windows XP to Windows 10 placing programs where they belong
(as defined by me), where I estimate only 2 out of 100 programs are badly
behaved.

By badly behaved, I mean they don't *ask* where to go.

You'll notice, out of about 50 installed programs (I didn't count, I'm just
guessing roughtly at how many I've installed to date on this new system
setup) only 1 (Belarc Advisor) is so badly written that it doesn't even ask
where to go.

All others, including TurboTax and gVIM (which left crud that was simply
empty folder trees in the morass that is the Microsoft Program Files'
cesspool) were well behaved, as defined by the simple fact that they asked
where to go.

There are many reasons for putting programs where they belong, where just
one of those reasons is *consistency* across the decades, from machine to
machine, and from menu to menu.

Putting programs where they belong is a tactical decision that comes out of
the strategic decision to have menus make sense to the user.

It's the same reason that the US government forces car makers to put the
OBD port within so many inches of the cockpit in a vehicle, and why lights
in front are white while those in back are red, etc.

The good news is that I report, after decades of installing programs where
they belong, that only about 1 out of 50 programs (such as Belarc Advisor
is) are so badly written that they don't even ask the user where the user
wishes to install them.

Experimental results are here for all to benefit from the knowledge:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_programfiles.jpg>

Arlen Holder

unread,

Jun 25, 2018, 11:32:10 AM6/25/18

to

On Mon, 25 Jun 2018 15:10:45 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> Experimental results are here for all to benefit from the knowledge:
> <http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_programfiles.jpg>

Errata!

Here's an updated screenshot for the tribal knowledge archives:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_programfiles11.jpg>

In the interest of accuracy, I just compared the Program Files' morass with
a brand new Windows 10 installation and realized, belatedly, that the
OpenVPN installer is also half dumb (just like the iTunes installer is) in
that the main software goes where it belongs, but the dumb installer adds
ancillary programs that the poorly written installer doesn't ask where to
put.

In this case, the OpenVPN main files went where they belonged, but the
OpenVPN-related TAP files went into the morass that is the
Microsoft-provided Program Files' cesspool and septic tank pair.

The Belarc Advisor installer was "fully dumb" in that it never even asked
the user where to go.

And the TurboTax and VIM installers were only "slightly dumb" in that they
didn't clean up their assumptions after they were told to install
elsewhere, so what is left are simply empty folder hierarchies in the
Microsoft Program Files' cesspool and septic tank dual tanks.

Hence, here's an updated screenshot for the tribal knowledge archives:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_programfiles11.jpg>

ghyrpejsekieddrjiljhy

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Jun 25, 2018, 1:13:43 PM6/25/18

to

On 6/25/2018 7:13 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> Since I was the one who *created* the tinyurl for the Android
> newsgroup

Wikipedia says Kevin Gilbertson launched the TinyURL service. That's
you? Oops sorry to out you "Arlen"... 8-O

> The point is that nobody should bother to try to remember this URL:
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/comp.mobile.android>

I never try to remember Usenet posted URLs. I either just click them or
if they're broken by a CR, cut and paste. And if I need them for
later I just save them in my browser.

> This is a good point for the many others who actually remain "signed
> in" to a web site to benefit from.

For my web groups and forums I use a fake name and throwaway email
address so why not remain signed in?

> I use a different browser for each task... I'm on VPN 100% of the

> time (using any one of six thousand random VPN config files), so your
> model wouldn't work for me.

Whoa. Big time paranoia eh? I have a pretty good VPN available too. My
neighbor leaves his WiFi unlocked. But so far my internet privacy
anxiety hasn't quite reached that level...yet. ;)

Arlen Holder

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Jun 25, 2018, 2:35:42 PM6/25/18

to

On Mon, 25 Jun 2018 10:13:34 -0700, ghyrpejsekieddrjiljhy wrote:

>> Since I was the one who *created* the tinyurl for the Android
>> newsgroup
>
> Wikipedia says Kevin Gilbertson launched the TinyURL service. That's
> you? Oops sorry to out you "Arlen"... 8-O

Silly semantic games you seem to enjoy playing (that I don't play).

> I never try to remember Usenet posted URLs. I either just click them or
> if they're broken by a CR, cut and paste. And if I need them for
> later I just save them in my browser.

I think you missed the entire point of a *search engine*.

The tiny URL is to the *search engine* for this newsgroup, e.g.,
http://tinyurl.com/windowsxp-general

> For my web groups and forums I use a fake name and throwaway email
> address so why not remain signed in?

Tracking.

> Whoa. Big time paranoia eh?

If you think simply privacy is paranoia, then you need to learn a lot.

I suspect you're not anywhere near as naive as what you write makes you
sound.

For example:
You probably do lock your car doors when you park in the mall parking lot.
You probably do lock your front and side doors at home at night.
You probably do close your bedroom window blinds when you retire for sleep.
etc.

> I have a pretty good VPN available too. My
> neighbor leaves his WiFi unlocked. But so far my internet privacy
> anxiety hasn't quite reached that level...yet. ;)

Heh heh heh ... you have no idea whom you're speaking with, do you?
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_wifi.jpg>

This isn't my first rodeo with Wi-Fi and Internet privacy, so, rest
assured, I probably own more WiFi access points than almost anyone on the
planet who is reading this newsgroup does (there may be commercial owners
who own more APs than I do, of course).

It's well known I have *plenty* of rooftop antennas in my home (more than a
dozen), where I can easily get my WiFi signal from *miles* away, where, if
I wanted to, I could use a different open access point every day for the
rest of my life if that's what I want to do, given I am on a hill
overlooking the tenth largest city in the USA - so rest assured I'm
perfectly familiar with how WiFi security works.

Here's just some pictures of the many quite powerful (they go for miles!)
WiFi access points inside my house alone, just because I don't feel like
climbing on the roof to snap a shot of all the antennas I have up there.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_wifi.jpg>

Each of these transceivers can easily send/receive signal from half a dozen
miles away (depending on the other antenna, of course), where that paints
well over a million people in the extensive valley below.

Arlen Holder

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Jul 13, 2018, 2:37:02 PM7/13/18

to

Note that this philosophy of mirroring your file system and menus
transcends all common consumer operating systems (excepting iOS).

And it has the same benefits:
a. It makes organization a breeze, and,
b. It makes backup a breeze (e.g., no need to ever use Google Play!)

The proof of concept screenshots below, for example, are on Android, where
Windows was intimately used to create the file-system hierarchy (since
Windows and Linux are both very good at organizing Android file systems).

The point of this example below is that the concept of mirroring your
tasks-based menus to your file system is easy to accomplish, and it pays
vast dividends in that ...
a. The software installer hierarchy (i.e., APKs for Android)
b. Mirrors the software data hierarchy (e.g., sdcard\0data in this example)
c. Which mirrors the menu hierarchy (i.e., the single homescreen below).

Here is a work-in-progress Android homescreen organized into a dozen tasks:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_android_apk022.jpg>

Here are the filesystem folders for the appdata for those dozen tasks:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_android_apk023.jpg>

Each task has a folder hierarchy to store the app data & readme logs:
1. time (e.g., calendars, clocks, timers, tasks, stopwatches, etc.)
2. talk (e.g., phone, mail, voip, contacts, sms, etc.)
3. file (e.g., file editors, file browsers, folder shortcuts, etc.)
4. buy (e.g., barcode scanners, calculators, shopping lists, etc.)
5. map (e.g., roadmaps, topomaps, logers, compasses, starmaps, etc.)
6. dock (e.g., phone, sms, contact, mic, dashcam, & camera)
7. audio (e.g., recorders, call recorders, ringtone generators, etc.)
8. pic (e.g., gallery, camera)
9. vid (e.g., youtube clones, youtube, players, etc.)
10. network (e.g., wifi scanners, cell scanners, servers, vpn, etc.)
11. browse (e.g., tor browsers, firefox browsers, chromium browsers, etc.)
12. sys (e.g., app drawer, settings, backup ops, repositories, etc.}

Note that Windows is used to create all these folders, where, just as in
Windows itself, each task-based folder contains a directory for each of the
hundred freeware applications above, which contains whatever you want to
put in that folder for each application.

Either directly, or using links, you might put in each application folder
the application data (e.g., maps or tracks), and a readme file describing
what you've learned about those applications (e.g., tricks, tips, settings,
etc.).

In summary, the philosophy of mirroring your data, installer, and menu
hierarchies pays dividends on most consumer OS platforms (excepting the
Orwellian iOS platform) - where Windows is used efficiently to create the
desired hierarchy, in this case, on Android.

Arlen Holder

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Jul 16, 2018, 2:00:07 PM7/16/18

to

As an aside, there are issues with the taskbar that I haven't resolved yet.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_taskbar01.jpg>

That is:
- Some batch-file shortcuts won't properly pin to the taskbar
- While others will pin to the taskbar
Where the ones that won't, can be made to pin to the taskbar ... but ...
- They won't have the icon that is assigned to them when on the taskbar

These easily pin to the taskbar with the correct icon
- shutdown.lnk & cmd-as-admin.bat
These only pin to the tasbar sans the correct icon
- curlme.bat & kill-gateway.bat

Taskbar-pinning methods attempted are:
a. Rightclick "Pin to taskbar"
b. Leftclick slide onto taskbar (with taskbar unlocked, of course)
c. Pin to heterodox Start Menu & then rightclick More > Pin to taskbar
d. Pin to heterodox Start Menu & Pin to rightclick More > Pin to taskbar
e. Cortana > {name of batch file} > Pin to taskbar
f. Populate %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\
g. Run the given command (which puts a cmd-window icon in the taskbar)
and then rightclick on the taskbar running icon > Pin to taskbar

For two of the four homebrew commands, only that last method (g)
works, but it results in a command-window icon instead of the given icon.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_taskbar01.jpg>

Arlen Holder

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Jul 16, 2018, 2:59:15 PM7/16/18

to

On 16 Jul 2018 18:00:03 GMT, Arlen Holder wrote:

> These easily pin to the taskbar with the correct icon
> - shutdown.lnk & cmd-as-admin.bat
> These only pin to the tasbar sans the correct icon
> - curlme.bat & kill-gateway.bat

For the tribal record, these are the above commands
with the location of the associated icons.
===============================================
shutdown.lnk
Target=%windir%\System32\SlideToShutDown.exe
ICONFROM: %SystemRoot%\System32\SHELL32.dll
KEYBOARD: Shortcut Properties > Shortcut key > (just press "s")
which will make the keyboard key Ctrl + Alt + S
NOTE: There are lots of ways to shut down; this is only one.
===============================================
reboot.lnk
Target=C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /r /f /t 5 /c "Reboot in 5 seconds!"
ICON: %SystemRoot%\System32\cmmon32.exe
KEYBOARD: Shortcut Properties > Shortcut key > (just press "r")
which will make the keyboard key Ctrl + Alt + R
===============================================
abortshutdown.lnk
Target=%Windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -a
ICON: C:\Windows\System32\Dxpserver.exe
KEYBOARD: Shortcut Properties > Shortcut key > (just press "a")
which will make the keyboard key Ctrl + Alt + Del
NOTE: There are lots of ways to abort; this is only one.
===============================================
cmd-as-admin.bat
ICONFROM: %SystemRoot%\System32\SHELL32.dll
KEYBOARD: Shortcut Properties > Shortcut key > (just press "c")
which will make the keyboard key Ctrl + Alt + C
- file below -
@ECHO OFF

REM Open a new shell "Run As Administrator"
REM Based on script by foxidrive on alt.msdos.batch

SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS

IF NOT "%~1"=="" goto :START

SET LogFile=%TEMP%\cmda.vbs"
Echo Set UAC = CreateObject("Shell.Application") >"%LogFile%"
Echo UAC.ShellExecute "%~f0", "%cd%", "", "runas", 1 >>"%LogFile%"
Start "" /MIN "%LogFile%"
goto :EOF

:START
Cmd /k "CD /D "%*" & Echo Administrator: & color 4F"
:EOF
===============================================
curlme.bat
ICONFROM: %SystemRoot%\System32\SHELL32.dll
- file below -
@echo off
set pingit=www.google.com
:curlme
REM: C:\app\browser\cmd\curl\bin\curl.exe icanhazip.com
C:\Windows\System32\curl.exe icanhazip.com
timeout 1 /nobreak>nul
ping %pingit%
pause
goto curlme
:stop
exit
===============================================
killgw.bat
ICONFROM: %SystemRoot%\System32\SHELL32.dll
- file below -
@echo off
REM From https://www.liquidvpn.com/vpn-kill-switches/
REM Specifically: https://www.liquidvpn.com/billing/dl.php?type=d&id=49
:: GetAdmin
:-------------------------------------
:: Verify permissions
>nul 2>&1 "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\cacls.exe" "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\config\system"

:: On Error No Admin
if '%errorlevel%' NEQ '0' (
echo Getting administrative privileges...
goto DoUAC
) else ( goto getAdmin )

:DoUAC
echo Set UAC = CreateObject^("Shell.Application"^) >
"%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
set params = %*:"=""
echo UAC.ShellExecute "cmd.exe", "/c %~s0 %params%", "", "runas", 1 >>
"%temp%\getadmin.vbs"

"%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
del "%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
exit /B

:getAdmin
pushd "%CD%"
CD /D "%~dp0"
:--------------------------------------

@echo off
:: CHANGE DEFAULT GW IP BELOW
set defgw=192.168.0.1

@For /f "tokens=3" %%1 in (
'route.exe print 0.0.0.0 ^|findstr "\<0.0.0.0.*0.0.0.0\>"') Do set
defgw=%%1
cls
:start
cls
echo.
color 0C
echo LiquidVPN's killswitch, ver. 0.1 - by LiquidVPN
echo This disables your LAN gateway to minimize IP leaks when vpn drops out
echo.
echo.
echo Your router gateway is probably "%defgw%"
echo -If nothing appears or it's incorrect, add it manually (Press '3')
echo.
echo USAGE:
echo -Press "1" to enable the killswitch (which blocks IP "%defgw%")
echo -Press "2" to disable the killswitch (which unblocks IP "%defgw%")
echo.
echo -Press "3" to manually set the default gateway (if it's not detected).
echo -Press "x" to exit (without setting or resetting the gateway).
echo.
echo -Press "h" for help
echo.
set /p option=Your option:
if '%option%'=='1' goto :option1
if '%option%'=='2' goto :option2
if '%option%'=='3' goto :option3
if '%option%'=='x' goto :exit
if '%option%'=='h' goto :help
echo Insert 1, 2, x or h
timeout 3
goto start
:option1
route delete 0.0.0.0 %defgw%
echo Default gateway "%defgw%" removed
timeout 3
goto start
:option2
route add 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 %defgw%
echo Defaulte gateway "%defgw%" restored
timeout 3
goto start
:option3
echo
set /p defgw=your gw IP (e.g. 192.168.0.1):
goto start
:help
cls
echo.
echo.
echo ======================
echo This simple killswitch removes your default gateway
echo and hence blocks traffic from reaching the internet when
echo your VPN gets disconnected.
echo.
echo Here is how you use it.
echo.
echo Step 1: Connect to any OpenVPN service
echo Step 2: Enable this killswitch (option "1")
echo.
echo Now Any internet traffic will pass through your VPN only.
echo.
echo - If your VPN gets disconnected so will your internet.
echo - Disable the this killswitch and reconnect to your ISP.
echo.
echo.
echo When you disconnect from your VPN follow these steps
echo to reconnect or to browse the internet normally.
echo.
echo Step 1: Close any software that may leak your real IP
echo Step 2: Disable this killswitch (Option "2")
echo Step 3: Reconnect to your VPN and enable the killswitch (Option "1")
echo.
timeout /T -1
goto start
:exit
exit
===============================================
===============================================

Arlen Holder

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Jul 16, 2018, 3:38:22 PM7/16/18

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> For the tribal record, these are the above commands
> with the location of the associated icons.

I'll solve the enigma eventually, but I put the *exact same* icons from one
machine to another, and the same problem occurred (I copied the shortcuts
verbatim, since all my machines are set up the same, hence shortcuts copy
over easily).
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_taskbar02.jpg>

These easily pin to the taskbar with their associated icon:
- slideshut.lnk
- reboot.lnk
- abourtshut.lnk
- cmda.lnk

These do not easily pin to the taskbar with their associated icon:
- killgw.lnk
- curlme.lnk

Anyone on Usenet who *understands* why that would be the case, would be
someone I would say understands Windows well.
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_taskbar02.jpg>

arlen

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Oct 23, 2020, 11:45:54 AM10/23/20

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On Fri, 23 Oct 2020 07:55:26 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

> A suggestion: Move the taskbar from the bottom of the screen to the left
> or right side. Not only does that make better use of screen real estate
> on today's wide-screen monitors, but it also provides room for many more
> shortcuts. I have 26 shortcuts there now (I use small task bar buttons
> and my resolution is 1920 x 1080), and there's room for another 6 or 7.
> It's not crowded nor hard to read.
>
> To me, this is a combination of the task bar and quick launch bar and I
> like it much better than having separate bars.

Regarding helpful hints in:
From: micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.os.windows-10
Subject: Search box versus Run box
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2020 20:35:06 -0400
Message-ID: <fdk1pfpa7cjppj29m...@4ax.com>

For the tutorial:
o Tutorial for setting up a well-organized consistent efficient Windows menu system
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/eWU-jOkFRtU/lkVU8yolBQAJ>

A similar suggestion, particularly for dual screens, is to move the right
screen taskbar to the left (i.e., to the middle of the dueling screens) and
to move the left screen taskbar to the right (i.e., to the middle of the
two screens).
o <left screen> <taskbar> space <taskbar> <right screen>
Yes, I know you can eliminate one taskbar but having two has advantages.

Also, to get more space on your taskbar you can do a ton of stuff
o You can eliminate the search icon
o You can eliminate the notifications icon
o You can make the date/time area custom
etc.

In addition, you can set up your "Send To" menu to populate a menu folder
with all the shortcuts that get put onto your desktop, such that you can
add that folder to your taskbar as a winxp style accordion pull out menu.

Like this:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/j5K0RL7H/taskbarmenu01.jpg>

Arlen Holder

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Oct 24, 2020, 9:32:20 PM10/24/20

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Here is an example of the types of things you may need to do )given the
quirks of some software) for an efficient and clean menu system.

Solved: <https://i.postimg.cc/zv5SSTwn/psp01.jpg>
(all three/four technical questions, pending persistence after reboot)

Based on information posted today in alt.comp.freeware...

1. The latest known-good version of PSP is, most likely, version 5.01
<http://www.oldversion.com/windows/download/paint-shop-pro-5-01>
Name: 5.01_psp501.exe
Size: 18241961 bytes (17 MiB)
SHA256: 7D3ED18F0A6CF25C8F09F5241CA73A6E40599569ABEBFA3F1DBCCED614B058EB

Name: psp.exe
Size: 3632128 bytes (3547 KiB)
SHA256: 42CAB30E7F657C8B8C686F7305CE5C61D111992C04CCA3BED98DDB14BD7DCBC8

2. I disabled the PSP errant Recycle Bin context menu
Using Nirsoft "Shell Menu View" freeware
[HKCR\Folder\shell\Browse with Paint Shop Pro\command]

3. I disabled the PSP errant "New" menu with Nirsoft "Shell Menu New"
[HKCR\.psp\ShellNew]

4. I created a new custom context menu for editing "psp" files using
Default Programs Editor <http://defaultprogramseditor.com/>

In summary, psp version 5.01 is apparently successfully installed:
a. INSTALLER === x:\app\editor\pic\psp\{5.01_psp501.exe,syslog.log}
b. INSTALLED === c:\app\editor\pic\psp\psp.exe
c. SHORTCUT === c:\menu\editor\pic\psp\psp.lnk
d. MENU === Taskbar > menu > editor > pic > psp
e. APPPATH === [HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths]
f. COMMAND === Win+R > psp
<https://i.postimg.cc/zv5SSTwn/psp01.jpg>
--
The high expense of freeware is learning how to deal with its quirks.

Arlen Holder

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Oct 25, 2020, 10:41:12 AM10/25/20

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PICTORIAL SUMMARY OF THE SOLUTION SO THAT ALL ALWAYS BENEFIT:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/zv5SSTwn/psp01.jpg>
o <https://i.postimg.cc/xC8Cmg9h/psp02.jpg>
o <https://i.postimg.cc/8kqR1fHN/psp03.jpg>

1. The last known good version of JascSoftware Paint Shop Pro
"appears" to be (based on alt.comp.freeware) version 5.01
<https://i.postimg.cc/zv5SSTwn/psp01.jpg>

2. One problem with this version is it adds unwanted menus:
<https://i.postimg.cc/xC8Cmg9h/psp02.jpg>

3. The solution is to use NirSoft utilities to disable those menus:
<https://i.postimg.cc/8kqR1fHN/psp03.jpg>

Please see the permanently archived thread for specific details:
o What is the latest known good version of JascSoftware PaintShopPro?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.photo.digital/tyAq2O15a4E>
--
There is almost always a solution for all issues using existing freeware.

gfre...@aol.com

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Oct 25, 2020, 11:58:55 AM10/25/20

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I have 3 versions on my machines, 3, 4 & 7. Each has it's own unique
things I like.

Arlen Holder

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Oct 26, 2020, 1:52:48 PM10/26/20

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UPDATE (Tutorial to set up any program using well-organized menus):
o <https://i.postimg.cc/L8w5Cxmr/memtest01.jpg>

INSTALLERS: x:\archive\hardware\ram\hcimemtest\MemTest.zip
INSTALLLED: c:\app\hardware\ram\hcimemtest\memtest.exe
MENULOCALE: c:\menu\hardware\ram\memtest.lnk
TASKBARMENU: menu > hardware > ram > memtest.lnk

o *How to Test RAM: Making Sure Bad Memory Isn't Crashing Your PC*
<https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/how-to-test-ram>
"One option preferred by us at Tom's Hardware is HCI Design's MemTest.
The good thing about this is you don't have to any pre-booting
and there are no directions. You just run it."

o Downloading MemTest (free)
<https://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html>
<https://hcidesign.com/memtest/MemTest.zip>
[X:\archive\hardware\ram\hcimemtest\MemTest.zip]
Name: MemTest.zip
Size: 17671 bytes (17 KiB)
SHA256: 08960F448F4514E7C2D388420560D7D03F5F0A54EC8F9663D66C887B8E4679E6

o Unzip & move MemTest c:\app\hardware\ram\hcimemtest\
c:\app\hardware\ram\hcimemtest\memtest.exe
Name: memtest.exe
Size: 40960 bytes (40 KiB)
SHA256: 5E2D1B0E56095D4D219F3A606E46CE5DE3220FDF3CF55A6E405D3946F25792A6

o Create a link & SendTo populate your Taskbar accordion cascade menu tree:
c:\menu\hardware\ram\memtest.lnk
TARGET: C:\app\hardware\ram\hcimemtest\memtest.exe
STARTIN: C:\app\hardware\ram\hcimemtest

o Run the program as many times as needed to simultaneously test RAM:
Taskbar > menu > hardware > ram > memtest.lnk
Enter megabytes of RAM to test === All unused RAM
[Start Testing]

Could not allocate 4095 MB
Windows limits the amount of contiguous RAM MemTest can allocate
to between 2 and 3.5GB. To test all your RAM, run more than one copy
of MemTest simultaneously and set each copy to test a portion of
available RAM. Running more than one copy of MemTest does not
lower the quality of the test (and can even improve it if you have
multiple cores or CPUs).

Enter megabytes of RAM to test === 2
[Start Testing]
(instance 1)

o Run Taskbar > menu > hardware > ram > memtest.lnk
Enter megabytes of RAM to test === 2
[Start Testing]
(instance 2)

Note that every installation goes 'where it belongs' (which you define):
o <https://i.postimg.cc/L8w5Cxmr/memtest01.jpg>
--
It's a shame most people don't realize how easy it is to maintain menus.
(Microsoft should have hired me decades ago to solve their menu issues.)

MikeS

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Oct 26, 2020, 3:00:17 PM10/26/20

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I hesitate to mention this in the presence of such exotic solutions but
since the days of Windows 98 I have used the same, simple, third party
menu program. As far as can tell it lets you do everything mentioned
here without any need to mess about with the Start Menu, Taskbar, or
Quick Launch Bar. It is also unobtrusive until you pop it open.

RUNit has not been updated for 20 years but runs perfectly in Windows 10
and can still be downloaded from the original website:
http://www.magister-lex.at/RUNit/
It requires no installation and stores its settings in a .ini file which
is easily copied between machines.

Arlen Holder

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Oct 31, 2020, 2:46:32 PM10/31/20

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Here's another trivially simple setup example created today.
o Thinking ahead makes organization & backup archival literally trivial

On Sat, 31 Oct 2020 13:59:44 +0100, Sjouke Burry wrote:
> I have been using DoubleKiller.exe for ages.
> From:> http://www.bigbangenterprises.de/en/doublekiller

Hi Sjouke Burry,

Thank you for being purposefully helpful in providing alternative freeware
solutions to the stated problem of finding good duplicate cleaner freeware.

Here's my ad hoc log file of the installation process, so that others can
always benefit from your advice, where links are provided to make it easy.

DoubleKiller version 1.6.2.82 for finding/removing duplicate files.

0. Set up a place for permanent archival of the DoubleKiller installation:
<http://www.bigbangenterprises.de/en/doublekiller/>
x:\software\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller\doublekiller.zip
c:\app\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller\doublekiller.exe
c:\menu\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller.lnk
Taskbar > menu > cleaner > duplicate > doublekiller
<https://i.postimg.cc/xjJvchg7/duplicate01.jpg>

1. Download DoubleKiller 1.6.2.82 2007-07-07 to your permanent archive:
<http://www.bigbangenterprises.de/en/doublekiller/>
<http://www.bigbangenterprises.de/en/doublekiller/download.htm>
<http://www.bigbangenterprises.de/downloads/doublekiller.zip>
Save to x:\software\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller\doublekiller.zip
Name: doublekiller.zip
Size: 400720 bytes (391 KiB)
SHA256: DD40EFD213F904C418024AE06AB9974DE188EDBE236F4AEF0CDA0F692D4F5AC5
Extracts to:
Name: DoubleKiller.exe
Size: 812544 bytes (793 KiB)
SHA256: 3034A3ECF90594EC2E58A9C882F17F12051551FA6DC85CB0B65B0875444ED15F

2. Move to the app hierarchy:
move doublekiller\ c:\app\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller\

3. Create a shortcut & populate the Windows taskbar pulleout menu:
c:\menu\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller.lnk
TARGET: c:\app\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller\doublekiller.exe
STARTIN: c:\app\cleaner\duplicate\doublekiller

4. Start doublekiller from the taskbar accordion pullout cascade menu:
Taskbar > menu > cleaner > duplicate > doublekiller

On every tab is a big [Run] button; press it; select a folder.
Press [Run] again.
<https://i.postimg.cc/xjJvchg7/duplicate01.jpg>
--
The main problem people have with menus is they don't think ahead.

Arlen Holder

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Oct 31, 2020, 5:53:45 PM10/31/20

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UPDATE:

I recently installed two duplicate cleaners and as I am wont to do, I added
them to where they belong in the default taskbar accordion cascade menu:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/QxzKgvdr/duplicate02.jpg>

I always knew the default Windows taskbar accordion cascade menu pullout
shows the filespec to the shortcut as shown below in this screenshot:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/cCwdrZsQ/taskbarmenu03.jpg>

But I only noticed today that if the "Comment" field is filled in, that it
is what shows up in the Windows default native Taskbar pullout menu tree:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/9FHWs4p1/taskbarmenu04.jpg>

In summary, organizing your Windows system is trivial if you think ahead
o <https://i.postimg.cc/xjJvchg7/duplicate01.jpg>

Where using the shortcut comment field is yet another way to help organize
your Windows native default Taskbar start menu pullout tree:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/j5K0RL7H/taskbarmenu01.jpg>
o <https://i.postimg.cc/qvJDMQcq/taskbarmenu02.jpg>

See also:
o Where can we find the last known good freeware version of Digital Volcano Duplicate Cleaner version 2.1.0?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.comp.microsoft.windows/AYUk-KWMV7Y>
--