There was a backup system at work, that I swapped disks on the
server every morning, that was the routine. Now they are doing
online backup (a good thing). That drive was dual layer. We were
out, and I bought some dual layer disks. They didn't work. They were
dual layer, and the proper ones (for $45 per 25 discs). They just
didn't work in that drive. I have since gotten a DL drive for my
work station, just so I could use the expensive disks, or anything
else I may throw at it. If you get one of those drives, you can
pretty much burn anything in it. Including lightscribe. The internal
version was about $90.
I have the lightscribe in the laptop. I have only burned one,
although I have a small spindle (10 maybe) and it works pretty cool.
You flip the CD when you are ready and it burns it on the top side.
Never got around to making a template for the discs though. I need
to do that (when there is nothing else on my plate........ Are there
lightscribe drives in heaven?/hell?)
I am off to hunt down a proportioning valve for the Monte. It's a 45
min drive away, and I may not get it in the car today, unless it's
late, and I finish all the Diamond setting, and CAD designs I have
to get done before Monday. An elf's work is never done!
JC
---
John Christensen
Saint Charles, IL
On Sat, Nov 28, 2009 at 7:24 PM, Ray Buck
<<mailto:rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx>rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I might be ok. After sifting through a stack of CDs, I found one
that contained a legal copy of Elements 3. I installed it and it
appears to work. It was included in something else I bought but I
don't remember what it was. We'll see how the upgrade goes when the
CS2 gets here.
As long as I'm here, I'll relate a bit of a story (I'm trying to eat
some crackers in hopes that they chase the nausea away.) A couple
of weeks ago, I found a pretty good deal on a Toshiba DVD read/write
and VCR combo. I also picked up a spindle what appeared to be
compatible Verbatim DVD+R disks. Well, one thing happened and then
another and I only got around to trying to record to it a couple of
days ago. I wanted (and still do) to save a couple of races that I
have on my DVR. So I did what seemed like the right thing to do:
opened the package of disks and slipped one into the
reader/recorder. I got a message that told me the disk could not be
read. Well, that's probably true, I thought....it's brand-new and
doesn't have anything on it. How could it be read?
I went to the manual (that novel about a Spanish guy) and read about
having to format a disk before recording and finalizing it
afterward. Ok. I'll format it. No, since it can't be read, it
can't be formatted. This confused me and still does. I've only
been working with disk-based computer systems since the 1970s, so I
might have missed something, but in every instance I've run into,
one has to initialize (that's what it used to be called) or format a
disk before one could use it, the only exception being 3.5"
diskettes which at one point came pre-formatted (they didn't when
they first came into use...you had to format them.)
So I tried several other disks and they all came up with the same
error. I noticed a pattern here. Nothing was working. I looked at
the wrapper of the spindle of 20 DVD-R disks and the "rw" symbol was
there, just as it was in the manual. I chased my tail for a while,
then searched on the web for some information and all I came up with
was ads for disks and recorders. Eventually, I found Toshiba's
website and sent an email describing my problem. One of the first
questions the tech support person asked in response was, "Are these
dual-layer disks?" Huh? I had no idea. But eventually I found out
that yes, they are DL or double-layer disks. There is no mention of
this in the manual at all, although on the cover there are 8
different symbols, apparently representing the type of read/write
methods/media that the recorder could use. Two of those 8 were
similar to the "rw" symbol on the spindle of disks I'd been trying
to use. Finally, after getting out a magnifying glass (I know my
eyesight isn't that great and the problems of excessive tearing
which is still with me affect it...btw, it's switched eyes
now. It's in the left eye...leaving my right suitable for peering
into the viewfinder)...anyway I looked at 'em under a magnifying
glass and found that the 2 symbols on the manual had very small
print under the "rw" which said DVD-ReWritable and DVD-R. The
nearly identical symbol on the spindle of disks said, "DVD+R
DL" Oh. DL. Maybe that means double layer. Yep. That's what it
means, alright.
I emailed the support tech back and told him that seemed to be the
problem. He then wrote back and said that Toshiba doesn't make a
DVD player/recorder that supports double layer format. Ok. I've
run into things like this in the past, going WAY back to the 14"
Caelus type disk cartridges that could come in single or double
density with white plastic shells or quad density with black
shells. (I think they only made about 16 of the quad density disks
cuz nobody could keep them running for more than a few hours due to
thermal expansion/contraction of the baseplates.) Same with
720kb/1.4mb diskettes. The only difference was a 2nd hole in the
case opposite the write-protect tab.
But as I was looking for different media, I found myself overwhelmed
with hundreds, in not thousands of different types of recording
media. If you go to Amazon.com and search for DVD+R disks you'll
find that there are 59 different options for Verbatim disks
alone. To make things just a bit more confusing, the packaging of
the double layer disks was virtually identical to supposedly "single
layer" Lightscribe disks which (according to the ad blurb) are
supposed to support a new technology that allows for "professional,
silkscreen-quality labels on CDs and DVDs."
Here's the analogy I came up with:
A hungry person approaches a buffet with many different but similar
appearing foods and finds out after the fact that one of them was
incompatible with his body, resulting in food poisoning. I suppose
that might stretch the boundaries of imagination slightly, but there
are similarities in both situations where the "user" got something
that didn't work. I guess it could be like eating poisonous puffer
fish at a Japanese buffet and finding out that the incompatibility
with the body had fatal consequences. Fortunately I didn't try to
eat any of the disks. It's all I can do to eat crackers at the moment.
I think it's time for bass practice. At least I know the strings on
the bass are compatible with my fingers and the blues. Ohh...a
recommendation: Maria Muldaur's album called Richland Woman
Blues. It's very, very good in my opinion. I'd never thought of
her as a blues singer, but she's got it down right. Me and My
Chauffeur Blues is ossum.
RtR
At 04:47 PM 11/28/2009, you wrote:
I have Elements 5.0 on the 'puter, not sure where the disk is?
hwp
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx>Ray Buck
To: <mailto:ratpack@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>ratpack@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 1:17 PM
Subject: [ratpack] Re: Old version of PhotoShop?
The actions are fine and I'd appreciate 'em...but I don't have
PhotoShop. That's what I really need.
As I looked at the upgrade path on the web, it sorta seemed like
one could upgrade from Elements to CS2 (which is the version I'm
trying to help my friend with.)
Carl, didn't you say that you had a copy that you installed and
then immediately got rid of?
RtR
At 11:18 AM 11/28/2009, you wrote:
Ray,
I have a couple of actions that I picked up off the internet that
work pretty well for some standard workflow and shapening. They're
not very large (in size) so I can zip them up and send them off. I
can help him load them if needed. How's that sound?
Michael
On Sat, Nov 28, 2009 at 11:02 AM, Ray Buck
<<mailto:rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx>rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yanno, karma is an interesting thing. Not too long ago I made the
post "PhotoShop hates me." Today I have a friend in Washington
ask me questions about how to automate his photo post-processing
workflow. I suggested that he create an action script to do
this. Well, as good a friend as he is...well, he's not really all
that computer savvy. And he's on a Mac.
I did some googling and found how to record an action and tried to
explain it to him, buy it was sorta like the blind leading the
blind...or in this case, the dumb leading the deaf. But my friend
stopped me in the middle and told me that he has a brand-new,
never opened or installed update package with PhotoShop CS2...for
PC, rather than Mac, He's putting it into the mail today so that
I can install it on my Windoze XP machine and then guide him
through the steps as I do 'em.
Here's the problem. Being an upgrade, I need an older copy of PS
(with activation key) to use as the basis for the upgrade. I
ain't got one. So...does anyone have an older PS package that I
could install on my XP box and then upgrade? That would sure help
me help him.
See the karma in all this? I slam PS and then I need to install
it to help a friend. I prolly shoulda kept my yap shut. But
alas, I didn't so karma has once again bitten me on the ass.
I'd appreciate any help on this. Oh...I don't think PS Elements
will work as a base, but Adobe's website indicates that you can do
it (to CS4, anyway) if you pay the $600 ransom. I won't even
start a rant here.
Anyway if ya got one and aren't using it, I'd appreciate being
able to use it so I can help my friend out.
Thanks,
Ray
--
Michael Wells
MCWells Photography
<mailto:mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx>mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx
801-850-7279
