How do I send email in plain text rather than HTML in my email client?

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

How do I send email in plain text rather than HTML in my email client?
Opera Mail

  • By default, while Opera can handle and does display HTML in emails, all emails sent using Opera default to plain text.

Thunderbird

  • Per Message Shift-clicking the Write, Reply or Reply All button opens the message editor window using the opposite of the current setting, i.e. HTML if set to plain text, and vice versa.
  • Go to Tools -> Account Settings, and under your account choose Composition and Addressing. Uncheck Compose messages in HTML format.
    Repeat for all accounts you have, then click OK.

Windows Live Mail

  • Go to Tools > Options and click on the Send tab. Under the Mail Sending Format section, select Plain Text. Click OK.

Outlook
For Outlook, you can set to have all new emails be written by default in plain text format, or just that one email.

  • To have all new emails be sent in plain text format: go to Tools > Options > Mail Format tab, and check the option that says \”Create all new email messages in plain text format\”.
  • To write a new email message or reply to one using the plain text format:
    If you use MS Word as your editor when writing emails (you will see this if you have the buttons for Bold/Italic/Underlined text in a bar above the message field), look for the drop down that has HTML/Rich Text/Plain Text as choices. Select \”Plain Text,\” and if you get a message saying choosing it will make the email lose all its current formatting, click Yes.
    If you\’re not using MS Word as your editor, click on Format, where you can choose between Plain Text and either Rich Text or HTML (this is usually determined by what is set by default – see my answer above).

Evolution

  • Evolution has an option to select plain text or HTML on each email, as shown in the new mail message window in the Evolution user guide. There is also a configuration option (under Edit -> Prefences -> Composer Preferences) to set the default format to HTML. The same location has a setting for default character set.

Mac OS X Mail
To change every mail to plain text,

  1. Open Mail.
  2. Go to Mail > Preferences…
  3. Click on the Composing tab.
  4. Modify the Message Format drop-down box. Choices are Rich Text and Plain Text.

To change a single message to plain text:

  1. Choose from the Format menu, Make Plain text

This works for Mail version 2.1.3 (753.1) on OS X 10.4 (Tiger), and probably most other versions of Mail.
via How do I send email in plain text rather than HTML in my email client? – Super User.

Does HDMI cable \”quality\” actually affect transmission?

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

I guess I could call this, are Monster Cables better than these other cables question:

I really don\’t want to pay a ridiculous price for a \”name brand\” HDMI cable if it doesn\’t really do anything for me. I\’m just curious: now that most transmission is digital (packetized) is there such a thing as a \”quality\” cable?

I suspect that if the cable works at all, I\’m safe saying I have a quality connection. I just want to double check. Some of these reviewers complain that generic cables \”create noise, lack bandwidth, can\’t handle X, etc\”. I\’m skeptical of these reviews

The short answer:  Not significantly
Here\’s my viewpoint on this, Purchase a cable that is backed by the vendor.  If reasonably priced a name brand cable is better simply because the manufacturer is backing it with their reputation.  But, that doesn\’t mean that the cable is any better, just that the vendor is willing to risk their reputation on the cable.  (I have had too many Radio Shack cables fall apart on me to ever consider buying their cables again).
Overall, don\’t buy the cheapest cable, but that doesn\’t mean to go out and buy a $400 monster cable.  Check online and see what the costs are online…  You\’ll be significantly surprised at how much of a mark up their are on cables, sometimes up to a 1000% or more…
After all, a Monster M1000 HD-8 Ultimate High-Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (8 feet)\"\" is $129 from Amazon…  I\’m sorry that\’s $16+ per foot!!!!  The HDMI (2 meter) 6 foot cable HQ 1080P 1.3b\"\" doesn\’t quite match, after all, it\’s only a 6 foot cable… But, it\’s also only $3.06 currently from Amazon…  But of course, that\’s one of the cheaper brands… Fine what about Amazon\’s house brand cable?
AmazonBasics Ultra-High-Speed HDMI Cable Braided (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]\"\" It\’s only $27.99, and it\’s their \”frustration\” free packaging…  Oh, wait a second… AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]\"\" It\’s only $6.50… And also with Frustration free packaging…
I won\’t even mention the Meritline Two 6 Feet Cables, one HDMI v1.3 Male to Male Digital A/V Cable(193-350) & one HDMI To DVI Cable (193-168) bundle, that includes a HDMI cable, and a DVI to HDMI cable for $10.99…
The long answer
There are a couple main differences between $4 HDMI cables and the more expensive ones.
Connectors
 More expensive cables usually have more heavy-duty connectors. This is obviously important as you want to be able to reuse the cable once you buy it. Some cheap HDMI cables will break after plugging/unplugging a couple times. The actual connector, on the inside, might have bad connections to the wires and could become disconnected, therefore rendering the cable useless.
HDMI Specification Certified
 The cheap cables are not usually officially HDMI Certified. The specification exists for a reason. It takes time and a lot of testing for the specification to become official. Many variables are weighed out and complexity versus quality tradeoffs are made. When a manufacturer makes a cable loosely made on a specification you might have issues with the cable. On the other hand, for a manufacturer to become certified they only have to pass the certification once. Only one cable or batch of cables might be tested. Everything else that is produced might not even go through quality control and yet still be branded certified.
Gauge
 Part of the certification (and HDMI spec) is a cable minimum gauge. If you are using a certified cable, everything should be ok. Companies like Monster tend to put way too much emphasis on the gauge though. Just because your HDMI cable can lift a Hummer off the ground does not mean your signal is going to be any different than a cable that uses the certified minimum gauge. A cable that is so thin that you can break it by bending it, on the other hand, will probably either stop working over time or create transmission problems.
Length
 It is commonly stated that all HDMI cables are created equal because it is a digital signal. While this is close to the truth when the spec is followed, it\’s not always true. The one major thing that can really destroy your signal quality is the length of the HDMI cable. It\’s true that HDMI signals are digital, and digital signals are 1\’s and 0\’s. The problem is that there is no such thing as a 1 or a 0 in digital electronics. It is represented in various ways. Lack/Presence of a signal, a positively magnetically charged or negatively magnetically charged medium, voltage at a certain value, etc… For instance a hard drive stores data using magnetism. The signal stored is read against an expected value range. For instance a 1 can be stored at a signal strength of 10 (while a zero is -10). A signal strength of 9.6 will also be read as 1. This is how overwritten data can be recovered. While a hard drive will read something as a definite 1 or 0. The signal strength can be used (with the help of sensitive equipment) to approximate what the previously written value was.
Here is a chart from wikipedia detailing the phenomenon:

Analog signal:        +11.1  -8.9  +9.1 -11.1 +10.9  -9.1
Ideal Digital signal: +10.0 -10.0 +10.0 -10.0 +10.0 -10.0
Difference:            +1.1  +1.1  -0.9  -1.1  +0.9  +0.9
Previous signal:      +11    +11   -9   -11    +9    +9

How does this relate to your HDMI cable? As the length of the cable increases, not only does the signal strength decrease but so does the differentiation between each subsequent bit. If the signal quality is so bad that the machine at the other end cannot tell where one bit starts and another ends, it can guess (based on the signal strength) an incorrect value. The resulting signal is still digital, is it not? And yet it is incorrect. A poorly constructed cable’s signal degradation is affected by this problem, while high-quality cables often have active boosters. Thanks to this the signal strength stays at values that can be properly read (as a 1 and a 0) and will not blend with their neighboring bits.
I am in no way saying that you should spend $100 on an HDMI cable. I\’m saying that there indeed is a difference between very cheap cables and ones that are made properly. You can definitely find HDMI cables that have reasonable prices (sometimes under $20), and are not affected by the problems I stated above. Definitely do not listen to the junk that Monster feeds it\’s prospective customers. Poor HDMI cables do not threaten your HDTV equipment. The cable will just not work, or work and you\’ll have a mosaic of boxes instead of an HD picture (like when your satellite or cable TV loses signal temporarily).
There are tons of other myths out there, like oxygen free cables. If your HDMI cable has a 1% stronger signal because of being oxygen free, how does this help you? The properly made, oxygen contaminated, HDMI spec compliant cable will still send a strong enough signal to be read as a 1 or a 0. Lets say your expected value for a 1 is 10 again. Your oxygen free cable gives you a 9.7, the other cable gives you a 9.6. Either way it\’s a 1.
What\’s the conclusion from all this? If you buy an HDMI cable, keep some things in mind. If the cable is $4 after shipping and taxes, it is probably made from the cheapest stuff the manufacturer could find. Try to buy cables that are HDMI certified or at least, knowing what you read here, guess at the quality of wires, the connectors, etc. If you are buying a long cable (over 25 feet), make sure the signal strength is kept somewhat constant between the two end points.

Steve Jobs Flash rant put to the test

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

The register is discussing a study that claims that Steve Jobs was wrong, when he stated:

  • Adobe Flash is Buggy
  • Littered with Security Holes
  • and is a CPU Hog

According to tests from the Streaming Learning Center – an online media consultancy that conducts public seminars on the delivery of net video – Flash is no more of a CPU drain than the HTML5 setup favored by Steve Jobs. The issue is not whether you use Flash or HTML5, says Jan Ozer, who conducted the tests, but whether you back them with hardware acceleration.

Overall, even when using HTML 5 with H.264 Safari, and Chrome were both pulling roughly the same load as the Flash player when tested on the Macintosh….  So why bother, is effectively what the study is claiming.  Use Flash, it\’s fine, just let Flash access the GPU directly…
Right….  Adobe has for years ignored the Macintosh, and put out sub-par versions of Flash, just significant enough to say that they support Flash on the Macintosh.  Now Apple is suppose to expose the GPU directly to Adobe?
Let Adobe do this right…  Access the Graphics drivers like any other developer, and stop looking for a Magic bullet so that you can instantly leap across your lack of R&D.
Yes, on Windows you were able to directly access the video hardware, that\’s why windows can be so fragile.  People accessing hardware and drivers that are either buggy, fragile, or ripe with bugs…
On the Macintosh, the tools already exist to speed your software up.  Yes, part of the problem is that your drawing inside another applications video space (eg the Web browser).  But you have already worked with Apple to attempt to solve this problem, and you have partially.  I examined your posting discussing the new webkit foundation, where you have significantly decreased the CPU load when parred with 10.1 Flash, and the latest web kit.
Stop making excuses and work like any other developer.  Just because your Adobe, doesn\’t mean that you are correct.  Apple owns the OS, and they are not wrong in asking you to follow the rules.
Steve Jobs Flash rant put to the test • The Register.

Mass Effect 2 DLC – Kasumi\’s Stolen Memory

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

As expected, the Mass Effect 2 universe will continue to expand beyond free downloadable missions. Earlier this afternoon I watched game project director Casey Hudson plow through the game’s first chunk of paid DLC, “Kasumi’s Stolen Memory,” that looks to incorporate a new character, a new SMG, and even a unique way to play this April 6th.
The content, which can be launched at any point during the narrative, can be divided into two themed swathes. The first half is exploration-based. The space Rogue Kasumi is seeking an item of value that is tucked deep in a bent rare-item collector’s vault. To get access, Shepard must travel to the collector’s house party, mingle, and discover where exactly that vault actually is. The second half is an escalating series of battles against mechs and soldiers after discovering the object.

More details at Destroid…

Indigo 4.17 has been released.

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Indigo 4.1.7 Released
4.1.7 is now available for download.

In addition to the major 4.0 improvements and 4.1 features, this update includes:

  • Added support for 1000W SwitchLinc firmware version 35 and higher to enable remote default brightness and ramp rate UI.
  • Improved CM15 support to not show communication error with newer firmware version.
  • Modified CM15 processing to ignore incoming X10 RF commands if the W800RF32 interface is also being used (avoids duplicate processing).
  • Modified (again) support for ToggleLinc firmware version 35 and higher to enable remote default brightness and ramp rate UI

Study Shows TV Makes Kids Fat, Computers Don\’t

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Slashdot!
Xemu writes \’Computer\’s don\’t make children fat, but watching TV for the same length of time does. This is shown by a recent Swedish study of all school children in Lund\’s county conducted by RN Pernilla Garmy. The results were clear: The child\’s obesity was directly affected by placing a TV in the child\’s room, but placing a computer in the room had no effect at all. One theory is that it\’s common to have a snack in front of the TV, while a computer requires a more active user, for example when chatting or playing games.\’

(View the rest of the article at Study Shows TV Makes Kids Fat, Computers Don\’t)
(See Ma, I was right!)

Fact or fiction? 8 HDTV claims demystified

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

If you’re buying your first HDTV or an upgrade from a starter set, your new television may deliver a better picture than the one you’re used to. But picking the right HDTV can be confusing, especially when your favorite blue-shirted salesperson may be steering you in a certain direction in hopes of a bigger commission. Or maybe the rep is just misinformed. Whatever the reasons, the environment has encouraged a cavalcade of claims about HDTVs—some of which were true for first-generation sets but have little relevance to today’s buyers, some of remain valid, and some of which were never true.
via Fact or fiction? 8 HDTV claims demystified | HDTV | Playlist – Page 1 | Macworld.