Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by mentalhealth.my

Missed calls from European countries

mentalhealth.my — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 21:33:09 +0800

These two months, missed calls from European countries and New Zealand are increasing! I do not have friends and relatives in these continents. +45 is from Denmark, +44 is from UK, +64 is from New Zealand. Who were going to call me??? It freaks me out.

For example, this number from Denmark +4578725707 called me twice in a week. Is it from GoDaddy web hosting company? If not, then it must be strangers....

Who are the winners of Huawei Mobile App Contest?

mentalhealth.my — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 19:54:25 +0800

I know got a Malaysian among the 20 finalist with her/his Money Manager 365.

But I look at: https://developer.huawei.com/consumer/en/ac...gixappsupapacen

It is quite difficult to browse the website and find out the winners.
Can someone help?

I use Google and you can only find out "Huawei reveals Top 20 finalists of AppsUP 2020 contest" but not the final winner.

My simple online QR code generator

mentalhealth.my — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 16:55:11 +0800

Hey, this is an online QR code generator built by Malaysian (it's me). But it has limitation, it can support and show 21x21 small QR code only (14 chars max).

The code was initially written in Pascal as Win32 console app, but I convert it to JavaScript so that it can run online as well.

Can anyone help me to test? Because its mobile version and desktop version of QR code are different.

The output QR code is text (not image ), can be copied and pasted.

Which factor decides your coding preference?

mentalhealth.my — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:09:26 +0800

Let me sum up all the key factors:

Learn to do a project by creating it from scratch
- without any external library support
- with minimal external library support

Become a collaborator and contribute to an open-source project
- as a hobby project
- for the future generation (such as open standard like The Unicode Consortium)

Strengthen skill by participating in coding competition
- for fame
- for prize money, or both
- to pave way for interview

Generate sustainable income by delivering a business solution
- in the corporate world (e.g. SME)
- in the online community (from individuals to organizations)

Offer expertise and experience for beginners or younger generations
- as a mentor / tutor
- as a consultant

Practice lifelong learning

Which one (or more) best describes you?

Request for new topic tags

mentalhealth.my — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 21:39:58 +0800

On Codemasters subforum, the topic tag is as below at the moment:

It is not up-to-date, for example, the following popular programming languages are not added:

CODE

Python
C#

It is not necessary to add all programming languages onto the list, but at least with a few popular ones.

Reference: Top 20 Programming Language

Hopefully this can be considered. Thank you!

Compiler and Disassembler

mentalhealth.my — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 23:07:05 +0800

I was planning to do a simple back-end compiler for Win32 (i386), but Pascal enthusiasts said these to me:

QUOTE

Easiest would be to simply use an existing assembler and linker (for example GNU AS and LD, Clang (which can be used for sole assembling and linking as well) or Microsoft's MASM and LINK). This way you can concentrate on generating the correct assembly code without having to worry about the other details. Later on you can - if you want - create internal assemblers and linkers.

QUOTE

There's also the aspect that sooner operating systems are likely to start scrutinising programs and refusing to run anything that hasn't been generated by a known toolchain. I'm not necessarily saying that every program would have to be cryptographically signed, but it's likely that unknown linkers etc. would be unable to "bless" a program into an executable state.

Then I was also planning to do a simple i8086 disassembler, but I received this comments:

QUOTE

Also the generic GNU BFD stuff. Writing an opcode/operand decoder is fairly easy in the general case, but these days a disassembler such as IDA or Ghidra will also attempt to work through the control flow of a program and use that to decide which areas of the input are data and which are accessible code. Looking further back, something from the '90s like Sourcer had some of that control flow stuff, but also a lot of inbuilt intelligence which allowed it to decode and annotate e.g. accesses to known areas of the address or I/O space.

QUOTE

Indeed, without analyzing the code flow, a disassembler, even one that decodes every byte sequence correctly, will produce a result that leaves something to be desired.

Somehow my projects are being discouraged, although what they said to me are most relevant today.

These projects have been KIV since then, including the QR code generator (mentioned in separate topic of discussion, also on this subforum).

EDIT: Closing this topic and this thread is kept for future reference.

QR Code Generator (with working code)

mentalhealth.my — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 22:04:18 +0800

Has anyone done QR code generator before?

This is one of my KIV project, which I plan to implement in console window, making use of 80x25 or 80x50.

My project cannot cater for large QR code, but maybe Version 1 (21x21) to Version 4 (33x33) given this formula:

QUOTE

4 x version number + 17 dots on each side

The problem is QR codes use an error correction called Reed–Solomon. I fed up whenever I see an invention by Mat Salleh probably because of my inferiority complex. Hence, my project is being kept in view.

Doing a QR code generator is one thing, but doing a QR code reader is another.

I know I am reinventing the wheel, but I want to start from scratch, doing my simpler version of QR code generator (in console mode).

Maybe someone can help?

WTS Serial RS-232 Cable Adapter

mentalhealth.my — Sat, 07 Nov 2020 23:38:18 +0800

Item(s):Serial RS-232 Cable Adapter (9-Pin Male-to-Male)

Package includes:Serial RS-232 Cable Adapter (CHINGLUNG E238846)

(I help a friend of mine to sell these serial cables. We have a carton full of these new CHINGLUNG E238846 serial cable adapter)

Price: RM 3.50 each

Warranty: None.

Dealing method: COD.

Location: Selangor.

Contact method/details: PM or reply below.

Item(s) conditions: New

Picture:

Reason for sale: Stock Clearance.

External Link: https://www.lazada.com.my/products/chinglun...4ee65CJ7LM&mp=1

How do you prefer to name every people globally?

mentalhealth.my — Sat, 07 Nov 2020 21:26:40 +0800

Take this as a fun challenge. How do you prefer to name all the inhabitants in the world. It is a massive number, think about it, 7.8 billion people as of Nov 2020.

Technique A:
Use three characters to name 7.8 billion people?

Technique B:
Use eight characters to name 7.8 billion people?

Technique C:
Just use 64-bit integer.

But hey, technique B or even A is still possible. Please explain how.

Did forum just change the font?

mentalhealth.my — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 06:09:12 +0800

I was using Chromium OS to visit this forum but last two days I reinstalled with Windows 10 and all of a sudden the font on this forum looks different, much bolder.
Did forum just change it, or was it because of the OS I use?

Also, the last time I reply to my own message, I still get notification. Could this feature be revised so that "no notification" when one is replying to his/her own message.

USB programming

mentalhealth.my — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 22:18:22 +0800

HW includes the circuit diagram, SW includes the device driver.
Have to get a Vendor ID for the USB device for several thousands of USD from usb.org

AFAIK, the USB device is not easy to be a certified one, not the one you see in night market like USB lights.
From my initial findings, the USB has 4 pins (+5, D-， D+, Gnd), connects the +5 and Gnd will make USB lights work WITHOUT being recognized by PC.... To be recognized by PC, must use at least D- and D+ to 3.3V.

Anyway, long story short, here's the USB LED I built:
(Two resistors, two LED -each 80 cents, and USB female jack RM 3)

What would happen if the Internet is down one day?

mentalhealth.my — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 18:54:30 +0800

Did anyone read "The Machine Stops"?

QUOTE

"The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in The Oxford and Cambridge Review (November 1909), the story was republished in Forster's The Eternal Moment and Other Stories in 1928.....The story, set in a world where humanity lives underground and relies on a giant machine to provide its needs, predicted technologies such as instant messaging and the Internet.

QUOTE

The story describes a world in which most of the human population has lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual now lives in isolation below ground in a standard room, with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Travel is permitted, but is unpopular and rarely necessary. Communication is made via a kind of instant messaging/video conferencing machine with which people conduct their only activity: the sharing of ideas and what passes for knowledge......Finally, the Machine apocalyptically collapses, bringing 'civilization' down with it......Before they perish, they realise that humanity and its connection to the natural world are what truly matter.

Have you ever imagined what would happen if the Internet is down one day?

Facebook thanked me for reporting a problem

mentalhealth.my — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 02:57:59 +0800

I received a message in Support Inbox titled "Thanks for reporting: ......... CLOSED" after I submitted a feedback nearly 10 days ago.

QUOTE

We received your report and appreciate your patience as we work to fix technical problems on Facebook. Though we can't update everyone who submits a report, we're using your feedback to improve the Facebook experience for everyone.

The problem which I reported was related to Facebook privacy. Does anyone get this message as well?

Facebook has registered more than one domain name

mentalhealth.my — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 17:39:10 +0800

To my finding, all below are actually redirecting to Facebook.
Amazing, huh?

facebok.com
fscebook.com
facbook.com
faceboo.com
fb.com
fqcebook.com
fadebook.com
facrbook.com
faceboook.com (an extra 'o')
ffacebook.com (an extra 'f')
faccebook.com (an extra 'c')
dacebook.com
gacebook.com
facebool.com
fcebook.com

---

I suggest webmasters to register lookalike domain name for their sites to prevent typosquatting (or URL hijacking).
Let say you have hiree.com, I suggest it is best you register hireee.com (an extra 'e') redirects to the former URL.

Lookalike URL

mentalhealth.my — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 13:32:26 +0800

I mistyped fscebook.com ("s" for "a") and gooogle.com (with an extra "o"), but the Facebook and Google are so clever that they might have parked several other lookalike and soundalike domain name as well.

Have you found any well known URL with similar clever approach?

UPDATE:
facebok.com
fscebook.com
facbook.com
faceboo.com
fb.com
fqcebook.com
fadebook.com
facrbook.com
faceboook.com (an extra 'o')
ffacebook.com (an extra 'f')
faccebook.com (an extra 'c')
dacebook.com
gacebook.com
facebool.com
fcebook.com, etc all redirect to Facebook.

The limit of old-time programmer

mentalhealth.my — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 23:29:37 +0800

---------------------------------------------------

WTS Old YTL yes modems

mentalhealth.my — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 16:52:51 +0800

Item(s): YTL yes 4G modem

Package includes: black Zoom and white Huddle XS (excluded power adapter) -- no slot for SIM card

Price: 60

Warranty:No

Dealing method:COD

Location:Klang Valley

Contact method/details:WhatsApp 011-3314 0285
---

Item(s) conditions: Used

Picture:

Reason for sale: Signed up new contract with YTL for another package (modem with SIM card)

What to do with old Yes modems?

mentalhealth.my — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 16:32:05 +0800

Now they use SIM card for new modem, these two old modems are unused, I bought the Zoom modem separately for RM500 back in 2013.
What can I do with these YTL modems? Can they be recycled?

Old Windows icon conversion source code

mentalhealth.my — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 01:09:28 +0800

I had revised my code before millennium and found none except the ICO unit (written in Turbo Pascal) might still be useful to some, especially the color depth processing part (which was self-invented). The rest of the code like ICO header definition was from the WWW at that time.

I have no plan to submit this to Github, just thought I will paste it here, along an My Computer icon file borrowed from Windows 98?
The code only works with 256- and 16-color Windows icon, multiple icons (in a single .ICO) are supported.

CODE

CODE

function SimplifyColorComponent(Value:byte):byte;
begin
if Value>=52 then
SimplifyColorComponent:=63
else
if Value>=32 then
SimplifyColorComponent:=42
else
if Value>=12 then
SimplifyColorComponent:=21
else
SimplifyColorComponent:=0;
end;

function DecreaseColor256(Red,Green,Blue:byte):byte;
const
Palette16:array [0..15,1..3] of byte=((0,0,0),(0,0,42),(0,42,0),(0,42,42),
(42,0,0),(42,0,42),(42,42,0),(42,42,42),
(0,0,21),(0,0,63),(0,42,21),(0,42,63),
(42,0,21),(42,0,63),(42,42,21),(42,42,63));
var
Color,Component,Value:byte;
NewRed,NewGreen,NewBlue:byte;

begin
DecreaseColor256:=0;
Component:=1;

repeat
case Component of
1:Value:=SimplifyColorComponent(Red div 4);
2:Value:=SimplifyColorComponent(Green div 4);
3:Value:=SimplifyColorComponent(Blue div 4);
end;

Color:=0;

while Value<>Palette16[Color,Component] do
begin
Inc(Color);

if Color>15 then
begin
Dec(Value,21);
Color:=0;
end;
end;

case Component of
1:NewRed:=Value;
2:NewGreen:=Value;
3:NewBlue:=Value;
end;

Inc(Component);

until Component>3;

for Color:=0 to 15 do
if (Palette16[Color,1]=NewRed) and (Palette16[Color,2]=NewGreen)
and (Palette16[Color,3]=NewBlue) then
begin
DecreaseColor256:=Color;
Exit;
end;
end;

And the header definition:

CODE

Interface

const
MaxWidth=48;
MaxHeight=48;

type
IconBitmapType=array [0..MaxWidth-1,0..MaxHeight-1] of byte;

Implementation

type
HeaderType=record
idReserved:word; { Default to 0 }
idType:word; { Default to 1 }
idCount:word; { Number of icon images }
end;

DirEntryType=record
bWidth:byte; { Width }
bHeight:byte; { Height }
bColorCount:byte; { Number of colors }
bReserved:byte; { Default to 0 }
wPlanes:word; { Default to 0 }
wBitCount:word; { Default to 0 }
dwBytesInRes:longint; { Size of icon images }
dwImageOffset:longint; { Location of image from the beginning of file }
end;

BitmapInfoHeaderType=record
biSize:longint; { Size of bitmap information header }
biWidth:longint;
biHeight:longint;
biPlanes:word; { Default to 1 }
biBitCount:word; { Number of color bits }
biCompression:longint; { Default to 0 }
biSizeImage:longint; { Size of icon image }
biXPelsPerMeter:longint; { Default to 0 }
biYPerlsPerMeter:longint; { Default to 0 }
biColorUsed:longint; { Default to 0 }
biImportantColor:longint; { Default to 0 }
end;

PaletteType=record
Blue,Green,Red:byte; { RGB color components (in reversed way) }
Reserved:byte; { Default to 0 }
end;
{
IconType=record
Header:HeaderType;
DirEntry:DirEntryType;
BitmapInfoHeader:BitmapInfoHeaderType;
end;
}
var
{ Icon:IconType;}
Header:HeaderType;
DirEntry:DirEntryType;
BitmapInfoHeader:BitmapInfoHeaderType;
IconFile:file;
Palette16:array [0..15] of PaletteType;
Palette256:array [0..255] of PaletteType;
Image16:array [0..(MaxWidth*MaxHeight div 2)-1] of byte;
Image256:array [0..(MaxWidth*MaxHeight)-1] of byte;

I shall release this free of copyright. No credit is required, only if someone still find it useful.

Ah, and yes, the old stylish My Computer icon.
[attachmentid=10159386]

Post with illegal content

mentalhealth.my — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 15:57:16 +0800

https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=91430445

It is not good to see this kind of illegal stuff. I actually clicked on the link to find out their fake passport sample.
No action taken by moderator for many days.

UPDATE: Thank you for removing the post. Topic closed.