djMot

Most browsers recognize Ctrl+F5 as the "refresh/reload" key that bypasses the cache and re-loads the page from scratch. Using Ctrl+F5 you can avoid dumping your whole cache and having to build up your browser's memory for your preferences again at all sites you visit. Deleting the cache can have really annoying consequences as websites you frequent revert to a state of not behaving like they usually do when you visit until you re-introduce yourself to them. A lot of stuff is handled by cookies, but not everything. On the matter of cookies, you didn't state what browser you're using, Boomer. That would have been helpful. In lieu of knowing which one you use, you could search whatever tools your browser provides for cookies associated with xtremeidiots.com and delete them. One of those is likely to get your shoutbox working again.

Thanks everyone! Clearly it's a big fat NO. I tried it back when it was a beta, and someone made a comment the other day that made me think it was out of beta. But I see it's still beta according to the Xfire website. Apparently the progress toward resolving many of the frustrations testers are having isn't moving along very well.

Xfire 2 - yes or no? Why?

The Division looks cool. Might just be that I was attracted to Megan's voice. Hot. Amazing graphics, though!

I felt your portrayal of Auschwitz was very respectful through the use of color, or lack thereof, and composition. I really felt something as they scrolled by. Great pics in the Warsaw and Krakow albums, too. And again, through color and composition you nicely accentuated many of the images. I really enjoy European architecture and culture. It's very different from that of North America, yet very beautiful.

Oh, and I almost forgot... Way to go Google!

Hey! I resemble that remark!

Hans, if I were you, I'd be running like hell right now! You Idiot!

Do all that naked and I might just explode like the dummy.

I get what you're saying Fist, but with the GFE, you're experimentation time is cut down to nothing. With all the settings games like Crysis 3 has, you could spend days goofing around trying to find thee optimal settings, and still not feel confident you really hit the magic combination. That's where GFE comes in. It's already aware of the capabilities of the hardware in question, the requirements of the game, and the subtle interplay of settings. I had my Crysis 3 set to what I thought was going to be correct, but GFE set it up quite a bit differently and the visuals really came alive for me! Not to mention the fps were totally playable with no noticeable lag, something I really fought with initially. I'm an Idiot, but I ain't no dummy when it comes to a PC. That said, I'm very happy to let the GPU manufacturer recommend and set the optimum game settings for me. I mean who better to know, right?

This actually makes the most sense to me. Somehow, driver stuff seems unlikely, but I wouldn't totally rule that out either. Crunch has good procedures for that, and installing the game again, but that's a LAST resort. Here's another suggestion -- Find your game icon and right-click it and "Run as Administrator." Accept any UAC prompts, then go in and check configuration of the mic. Then (IMPORTANT) play the game while elevated as Administrator. See if it's working. Report back to us. Rationale of this maneuver is that, sometimes a program is trying to write settings to a config file, move something, or whatever, and cannot because of insufficient privileges. If the program just thinks to itself, "oh well, whatever..." and doesn't bother to tell you it had a problem, you won't know what's wrong. Running elevated as Administrator can get you through that problem. Also, once run as Administrator and the situation is resolved, running as Administrator thereafter is typically unnecessary. Make sense?

What do you mean by "test in settings?" Windows or in the game? For COD5 WAW (and I think it's probably about the same in COD4,) go into Options & Controls / Multiplayer Options / Voice Chat -> Voice Chat: ON Then talk and verify that the bargraph below the ON/OFF setting is responding to your voice. If not, what version of Windows are we talking about here?

What? You all live at Fork Knox? Cherries cost a fortune and you're eating 'em like there were going out of style! Add insult to injury, then you shit them! *arrrrrgggghhhh* That RAM thing is only part true on an XP box. Much past 2GB, XP starts ignoring or misappropriating, so be careful, not wasteful - memory hurts like hell coming out the other end.

Me, too. Kingsoft Office, OpenOffice, and LibreOffice all create PDFs at this point. I think MSO does, too, but wouldn't swear by it. Of course there's always the doPDF or Bullzip PDF printer drivers for times when you can print, but can't otherwise create a PDF natively. And my print manager, priPrinter Professional, also has the ability to save to PDF. Pretty much evreything I need to to "print," I save to PDF instead to save the paper (and expensive ink) and to create an enduring format that I can use to access the document at any time in the future.

Advanced System Care is a product of IOBit. I gave up on them quite some time ago for reasons I now do not recall. But when I walk away from a company/software, it's usually for good cause. I know there was something it was being really stupid about, and their tech support, although responsive enough, had no other suggestion other than wait on a new version. I see they have their "Razor Game Booster" available now, which is certainly new to me. However, the point of Game Booster is entirely different from the NVIDIA GeForce Experience. NGE looks at your system, looks at your games, and then actually adjusts the game to run as best it can, both for visual performance and gameplay performance. GB, on the other hand, looks to free resources not needed my the game and temporarily shuts them down. So for instance, GB might detect that you are running Skype in the system tray. Since you can't skype and play COD at the same time, it would suggest, and can be configured to shut Skype down before launching COD, or whatever game you're going to play. Once you exit the game, GB re-loads Skype for you so it's as if your system is as it was before you played the game. This is totally different from NGE which has absolutely nothing to do with optimizing your system for gameplay, but rather with optimizing the game to work as best it can with the hardware you are giving it to run on. Hope that distinction is clear.

im pc tech no i didnt do that i have nvidia 560 gtx....when i first installd it everything was ok....then whole pc was acting up after reboot....things loading slow...mouse cursor moved slow ...cursor kept changing itself... Weird. None of that going on here. Rebooted over niight. *fingers crossed* The only problems I've had with NVIDA drivers is when I decided to take a walk on the wild side and install one of their betas. Won't go there again. But even in that case, it wasn't as bad as you describe. More like browser crashes with video stuff, or unexpected (but fully recovered) graphics driver crashes and restarts.

What "went nuts" CB? I just installed it and it's working fine, although I haven't rebooted yet... *crosses fingers* You did do a "clean install" right?

Kingsoft Office has been discussed here before, but now they have just released the 2013 edition of the suite and it's way better than the previous free edition. Kingsoft Office, for thouse of you who don't know, is an alternative alternative MS Office suite. I say "alternative alternative" because the "alternative" office suite is often though as being OpenOffice or LibreOffice. Those are awesome, too, and they contain a few extra apps that are particularly good. Like the "Draw" program in OpenOffice or LibreOffice. A great, almost Visio-like application to take care of basic flow charting and other drawing needs. Kingsoft Office, on the other hand, only has the word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation programs. So in other words, alternatives to Word, Excel, and Power Point. But the Kingsoft Office versions are smaller (less bloated) than their Microsoft equivalents, and they are faster. They LOOK great, too. The previous free version of the Kingsoft suite only let you use the old Office 2000 interface style, but the new Kingsoft Office 2013 suite looks very much like the current edition of MS Office. It might be worth your investigation. I like it. I'm not ditching LibreOffice, but when it comes to word processing and spreadsheets, Kingsoft Office is what I like. Check out Kingsoft Office 2013 Free here: http://www.ksosoft.com/index.html There is a "Professional" version that carries price tag of about $69 or $29 annual, but I'm not sure I see the point in paying for it - other that you just like it and want to support the developers. It does give you a couple of extra bells and whistles that aren't anything to sneeze at, but I'm guessing most can do without.

If you are one of the many who are in the NVIDIA graphics card camp, you may like this GeForce utility. It analyzes your system, advises you of driver updates, and - most of all - it checks your installed games, and where possible, not only suggests the optimal game settings, but actually makes them for you. Crysis 3 comes to mind. It's a very GPU intensive game with LOTS of settings making tweaking it a crap-shoot at best if you don't know what you're doing. The NVIDIA GeForce Experience program takes the guess work out of knowing the impact of each of those cryptic settings. When it's done adjusting your settings, you can be pretty much assured you're seeing the best possible result - the one that pushes things to the limit, but doesn't lag out the game with crappy frame rates. You'll get the best of all worlds. My Crysis 3 benefited immensely using the GeForce Experience. Not all games are covered. COD5 WAW for instance - not covered - but these days, just about anything can run that game comfortably without a lot of settings tweaks. But for contemporary games - the ones coming out right now, the NVIDIA GeForce Experience should have you covered. And remember, whenever you do an NVIDIA driver update, always perform a "Custom" install and select to perform a "clean install." Get the NVIDIA GeForce Experience here: http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience Have Fun!

Try this one out - a deeper cut from the Love Life LP from Berlin. Most sensual music I can recall from the 80's, although there's plenty out there, I'm sure. But this album was totally stuck on my turntable for a long time back in the day...

lol - I know, right? I haven't played that Joan Jett song on Girls Rock Radio in a while. I better spin it up. BUT, and I don't know about MTV for this one, but see if you remember this band... One of the few albums I ever bought on Cassette, and I totally wore the thing out - I LOVED THIS BAND.

Jeana Tomasino - first out of the car in the red top, black leather skirt - was the Z-92 Girl in Omaha back in the very early 80's. I was stationed there in the Air Force at HQ SAC at the ground control center for the Defense Dept.'s weather satellites. Anyway, Gina would get on the radio, and on the TV (omg!) and say, "We've got a HOT radio station!" It was the closest thing to vocal porn I've ever heard. And the TV commercial was just pain orgasmic! She went on to do a little work in film. I saw her in some movie naked in a hot tub, and it was like, "my blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold, my angel is the centerfold..." lol. And with that... .

Great memories right there, Johnny! Thanks!

Barry Manilow turns 70 today. Happy Birthday, Barry! http://youtu.be/AM7SQzq3yHQ

Hope everything is going as best it can for you and your family, Dogs. Knew you were going to be a great Idiot from the moment you started coming around. I always enjoy your laughter and great sportsmanship. So feel free to lean on us if you need a place to let it all hang out, so to speak. Of course that means in your own good time, and when you feel like it.