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PayPal: Is It Right for You?

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List of ComputorEdge Sponsors

Digital Dave

by Digital Dave

Digital Dave answers your tech questions.

Configuring a Secondary Hard Disk; Internet "Off-On" Desktop Toggle; Using Photo File Metadata

PayPal for Buying on the Web

by Jack Dunning

PayPal Can Hide Financial Information from Web Vendors

Many people are nervous about buying from Web sites. PayPal may offer the protection needed while hiding personal information such as name, address, phone, and credit card numbers.

More AutoHotkey RegEx Insights

by Jack Dunning

Jack Learns More about Using Regular Expressions in AutoHotkey

After a short AutoHotkey intro for beginners, Jack finds a better RegEx expression for "extracting" numbers.

Wally Wang's Apple Farm

by Wally Wang

Why Technical Specifications Don't Matter

Why Technical Specifications Don't Matter; Looking Back on Windows 8; The iPhone 6 vs. the iPhone 6 Plus; Microsoft's Always Changing Smartphone Strategy; The Finder Window

Editor's Letters: Tips and Thoughts from Readers

by ComputorEdge Staff

Computer and Internet tips, plus comments on the articles and columns.

"Love Dropbox and Selective Folders, BitTorrent Sync," "Comment on Multiple Firewalls," "Microsoft Updates," "XPS vs PDF," "VLC Codecs?"

Send mail to ceeditor@computoredge.com with questions about editorial content.

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Digital Dave

“Digital Dave answers your tech questions.”
by Digital Dave

Configuring a Secondary Hard Disk; Internet "Off-On" Desktop Toggle; Using Photo File Metadata

Configuring a Secondary Hard Disk

Dear Digital Dave,

Long time reader, enjoy your helpful column.

I have Dell PC that I have managed to fill up the 250GB drive. I also recently got into the GoPro world, so, as you can imagine, I have a problem!

I purchased a 3TB SATA drive, successfully installed it, but now what?

How do I tell the OS to utilize all that storage on the new hard disk? Other than manually storing files there, how can I tell the GoPro editing software to do its work on the new larger drive? When I open the editor and try to add files, it gives me a "not enough space" error message…as the editing software resides on the original drive.

Help!

Thank so much!

Mike Reese

El Cajon, CA

Dear Mike,

It seems that there should be a way to set the default drive in GoPro editing so it will save to the new hard drive. Sometimes it's just a matter of using "Save as…" in the File menu when saving a project. I'm not familiar with how the GoPro editing software works, but there must be a way to change the default New/Save location.

Be sure you are selecting the right drive letter. Although this is not likely to be your problem, I've seen cases where drive D: (a partition on the main drive) is a system restore drive, but it has been set up as the default for saving certain types of files or backups. The drive will quickly give "not enough space" errors. Depending upon your OS, the new storage is likely to be the E: drive.

Depending upon your version of Windows and the computer BIOS, there are special problems with using 3TB drives in Windows computers. Often the drives are limited to using only 2.2TBs of the space. To get full usage of the drive space, you will need to reformat the drive in GUID Partition Tables (GPT). As long as you're only using the drive as secondary storage—not a bootable drive—then this should be no problem. GPT system drives will only boot on computers with the most current BIOS.

Most 3TB drives ship in Microsoft's NTFS format, but just in case check your format in Windows Explorer by right-clicking on the drive and selecting properties. (I'm assuming that you're using Windows.) If it says FAT32, then you will need to reformat the drive NTFS using GPT mentioned above.

Due to the Windows problems with 3TB drives, most manufacturers have special instructions for setting up the drive depending upon the version of your operating system. You didn't say what type of drive you bought, but if it happened to be a Seagate 3TB drive then this link will give you steps and some software to help. You should be able to find similar pages on other manufacturer's sites.

There are tons of pages and videos on the Web about the 3TB drive problem. All you need to do is Google "3TB SATA drive problem." You should be able to find information which closely matches your situation.

Digital Dave

Internet "Off-On" Desktop Toggle

Dear Digital Dave,

This may be a silly question—but let me explain: I run a four PC LAN hooked to a router, then to the ISP Modem. Whenever I want to work on a PC, but not have Internet exposure (to unnecessarily reduce exposure risk—as I believe in being connected to the Internet only when I want to be), the only way I can think of is to crawl around and unplug the cable from that PC to the router (or shut down the whole ISP modem), or stop everything and go into Comodo's software settings and "Block all Traffic"; but, then, later I have to undo whatever I did. A bother, to say the least.

So here's the possibly stupid question: Has any enterprising programmer come up with a Desktop icon that switches the Internet 'on' and 'off' for the individual PC that it is on?

AJ Dalton

Bonsall, CA

Dear AJ,

Assuming that you still want to communicate between the four PCs, anything that you do to disable the Internet at the PC level could also block the other machines on the network. If you want to maintain those connections, then break the circuit between the router and the modem. It isn't necessary to turn anything off. Just unplug the connection between the two—at either the router or modem. That will stop the Internet while leaving the LAN intact. To make it easier, you can build your own Internet Kill Switch.

I did find an app on Download.com called InternetOff, but it didn't have great reviews, plus it may install other infestations. (It originates in Russia.) Needless to say, I can't recommend it.

You can disable both wired and wireless connections through the Network and Sharing Center. Wi-Fi is fairly easy to turn off. On many computers you can just put it into "Airplane mode" or turn off Wi-Fi. A wired connection requires unplugging the cable or disabling the network card. I vote for unplugging the cable because it's quicker and easier than disabling the network card (also done through the network tools). In both these situations you lose all of your network connections including shared network drives and network printers.

Quite frankly, I'm not a fan of disabling the Internet. There are too many apps that regularly need the Internet for various purposes and it doesn't make you much safer unless your computer already has a Trojan Horse malware infection. (Breaking the Internet connection would prevent data being sent into cyberspace by a Trojan Horse.) The vast majority of problems come from user error—downloading and running infected files or opening bad e-mail attachments. If you use a properly installed router and firewalls on each computer, then being connected to the Internet is very low risk. But nothing will make you 100% safe. Even disconnecting when you don't need the Internet. The problems occur when you want to be connected.

Digital Dave

Using Photo File Metadata

Last week I showed a quick way to name picture folders for quickly locating sets of photos. It's a crude method, but it works pretty well. Yet, if you want to save more details with each photo and use them to sort your files, then each photo file can also save metadata. (The feature covered here may not work in Windows XP, but there is a free download of Microsoft Pro Photo Tools version 2 which should add many metadata editing tools.)

If you open a folder of images in Windows Explorer, a quick way to sort photo files by metadata is to right-click and select the "Sort by" you want (see Figure 1). If you don't see the sort you want, select "More…"

Figure 1. Right-click in Window Explorer to select how the files are sorted. Click "More…" for additional metadata options.

Selecting "More …" opens the Choose Details window (See Figure 2). Check the fields that you want available in a sort.

Figure 2. The Choose Detail window allows more metadata to be selected.

To add data to a file, right-click on the file a select Properties (see Figure 3). The fields can be directly edited.

Figure 3. Open the image Properties to add metadata to a file.

If you want to add the same data to a group of files, select the entire group, right-click on the selected group, and pick Properties. After entering the new data and clicking Apply, all the files will be updated. If you've added the fields to the sort, then you can arrange the photos by any of the checked items.

Digital Dave

PayPal for Buying on the Web

“PayPal Can Hide Financial Information from Web Vendors”
by Jack Dunning

Many people are nervous about buying from Web sites. PayPal may offer the protection needed while hiding personal information such as name, address, phone, and credit card numbers.

I was visiting my son and his family in Montana last week when I brought up the topic of Web security—specifically in relation to credit cards and people's reluctance to buy at small Web sites. With so any data breaches at major enterprises, people are leery of making purchases on the Web—particularly when they are unfamiliar with the business. This is the case for many visitors to ComputorEdge E-books who don't know ComputorEdge having discovered the site through Google. I understand their reluctance to share credit card information. As a Web buyer, you don't know how the information is handled or protected—even with assurances from the seller.

I discussed this problem of buyer reluctance on the Web with my son. He is a mechanic who often buys parts online from various sources. He suggested that I start taking PayPal on ComputorEdge E-Books. He claimed that it gives him better protection than the standard credit card, but he still has all the payment options available. With PayPal his financial information is stored only with PayPal and, if a vendor accepts it, he always prefers to use it.

I remember that a few years back I had declined to set up PayPal on the site due to the additional costs. I thought that PayPal was only for people who didn't have credit cards. But based upon the advice of my son, I decided to investigate it and determined if it would be worthwhile to get PayPal going at ComputorEdge E-Books. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are benefits to both the buyers and sellers when using and accepting PayPal—particularly when it comes to buyer security.

Due to competition in the credit card industry, things are changing fairly fast in the online financial transaction world. There are more offers for merchant accounts (systems for processing credit cards) with no monthly fee charges attracting the small seller, plus the percentage rates charged on each sale are becoming more affordable. Where the credit card processors previously relegated Web commerce to the bottom of the heap with high fees, they now actively seek their business. With this new accommodating atmosphere PayPal is not being left behind.

Using Credit Cards on the Web

Since I have firsthand experience into what a merchant normally sees when someone uses a credit card on a Web site, it's helpful to review what happens with the data when a product is bought with plastic. This will make it easier to compare credit cards with PayPal—giving insight into why PayPal may be safer for the buyer than just entering credit card information.

The normal procedure for making a credit card purchase is to enter your credit card number, name, address, phone number, and the security number on the card. (If you're new to a site, it's impossible to be sure how the data is handled. Even if you know the site, you still don't know what is going on behind the scenes.) On the ComputorEdge E-books site, the credit card information entered is sent directly to the processor and is never saved on the site. Only the last four digits of the number appear on the order processing page along with the name, address, and phone.

On some sites, the entire credit card number may be captured—although this is less and less common since vendors don't want the liability. But as the buyer you don't know which site is which and you're never sure how much information is saved. Plus, if the site is set up by unscrupulous people, they could be tricking you into directly divulging credit card data. There are ways to obtain a virtual credit card number which is easy to cancel, but even the temporary numbers have gaps if you run into someone intent on fraud. It is no wonder that people are wary of using credit cards on commercial Web sites.

Using PayPal on a Web Site

When using a credit card on ComputorEdge E-Books site, you never leave the site for processing. The data is sent via encrypted transmission to the processor who returns the authorization and the last four numbers of the card. It is seamless and appears as if the site is processing the data—it isn't. In our case, the Intuit Merchant Service Center (now called Intuit QuickBooks Payments) processes all the transactions at a secure location separate from the shopping cart. One of the advantages of this approach is it's easy to switch credit card processors—as long as it is supported by the GoDaddy Quick Shopping Cart. Just set up a new merchant credit card account then connect it to the GoDaddy Quick Shopping Cart.

When a buyer selects PayPal as a payment option, the buyer is sent to the PayPal site where he or she must log into his or her account or sign up for a new one. The user knows that the selling site is getting no extra information because any data entered is with PayPal. (Regular PayPal users don't need to enter very much information because PayPal already has everything needed. Just pick a payment option.) Once a PayPal payment option is selected and okayed, the customer is sent back to the seller's site and the order is immediately processed. (In our case, the download e-mail for the e-books is sent out.)

The protection for the buyer is beyond the transaction security provided PayPal. If using the PayPal payment button before entering the address input page of the checkout system, very little information is retained on the seller's Web site. In the case of ComputorEdge E-Books, no partial credit card number, no address, and no telephone number is saved. That means there will be no junk snail mail or harassing phone calls (see Figure 1). (Note: ComputorEdge E-Books would never use your information in that way, but there are plenty of people who would.)

Figure 1. This PayPal order processed on ComputorEdge E-Books contains no address or telephone number. The e-mail address supplied by PayPal is needed to deliver the download e-mail. (The e-mail address and customer name have been blurred out).

When it comes to your protection, the withholding of personal data is no small thing when compared to entering a credit card. There is almost no way for a vendor to identify where you live or call you. Your name may be visible, but only the IP address is available for locating you. The primary time ComputorEdge needs a telephone number is when an e-mail address is accidentally entered wrong, but PayPal provides the e-mail from their records. (Of course, if something is being shipped from a Web business, then an address will be required.)

PayPal Checkout is Quicker for PayPal Users

One of the most tedious aspects of shopping cart checkout is adding name, addresses, phone number, and credit card information. In many shopping carts, there is a PayPal button (seen on left) which will completely skip the address page and the payment options page and take the buyer directly to PayPal. It should appear with the items in the cart on the first page of the shopping cart. To skip the checkout sequence, click the "Check out with PayPal" button. This saves the re-entering of data already stored at PayPal.

If you decide to continue through the shopping cart process (Checkout) your name, address, and phone number will be required and appear on the final order. This data then is saved at by the shopping cart. The PayPal option appears again on the Payment page (see Figure 2). All credit card transactions outside of PayPal do require address and telephone information.

Figure 2. If the complete checkout process is used, the PayPal option appears again on the payment options page.

If you want to make sure that the vendor does not have access to your personal information, then using the first PayPal button you encounter will skip the "provide more information" steps. (This may not be consistent on all Web sites, but it is at ComputorEdge E-Books.)

PayPal allows you to link your credit cards or bank account for payment. These can be the same credit cards that you might use on any Web site only you won't need to expose the number to every site you patronize.

PayPal Security

I did a search for any breaches of the PayPal security systems. All I found were some examples of where both the PayPal account and associated eBay account had passwords compromised, although this appeared to be limited to individual computers being hacked. Even in that case, both passwords were needed before any damage was done. I didn't find a major security breakdown such as those at Target and Home Depot. That doesn't mean there won't be one in the future. There is no 100% safe system, but PayPal has been in the Web business for so long that they know as much about protecting financial data as anyone.

PayPal does include buyer protection the same as you would get from a credit card company. In fact, if you use a credit card then you have both the card company and PayPal saying you'll be protected. If a product is not delivered or someone else tries to use your account, then there is recourse, although this is one of the biggest sources of complaints.

PayPal certainly has its detractors (see PayPalSucks.com). If you're not sure whether PayPal is right for you, then you should check those pages out for yourself. Most of the complaints seem to be related to accounts being frozen as a precaution due to suspicious activity. In any case, when you have 150 million accounts, there are bound to be complaints along with the inevitable bureaucratic red tape that comes with big business. When I talked to PayPal representatives they were all very helpful, but that may be because I was opening a new merchant account.

PayPal Micropayments for Merchants

If you're setting up a Web site with low priced products (such as the e-books from ComputorEdge), the credit card fees can be a killer. Most processors charge between 25 to 30 cents per transaction, plus about three percent of the price. That's costly if you're selling a 99¢ digital download. Plus, if you process a credit card order on its own, there is another 30¢ batch processing fee. That's leaves 33¢ which is 2¢ worse than the 35¢ that Amazon will pay in royalties for a 99¢ book sale.

PayPal offers Micropayment Discounts for businesses which operate in a low price range (see Figure 3). The transaction fee is only a nickel (5¢) with a five percent charge. That's 10¢ on the 99¢ sales, plus there are no batch credit card processing fees. That leaves 89¢ gross profit. It's not until a sales transaction reaches about $20 that it's more economical to pay the 30¢ transaction fee and 3%. Plus, there is no monthly fee for any PayPal Express Checkout for Web sites, but to be fair many credit card processors are now offering merchant accounts with no monthly fee with merely a slightly higher percentage.

Figure 3. With PayPal Micropayments businesses with low-priced goods can keep more of each transaction.

I don't know if there are other credit card processors who offer a similar deal, but PayPal Micropayments is certainly a boon to many Web businesses. At this point, I would prefer that people use PayPal rather than a credit card.

From both the perspective of buyers and sellers, PayPal looks like a more secure way to do business, but I don't have enough experience to make a solid recommendation. I'm sure that there are a number of ComputorEdge readers who are PayPal users and I would like to hear their experiences and recommendations.

Jack is the publisher of ComputorEdge Magazine. He's been with the magazine since first issue on May 16, 1983. Back then, it was called The Byte Buyer. His Web site is www.computoredge.com. He can be reached at ceeditor@computoredge.com. Jack is now in the process of updating and compiling his hundreds of articles and columns into e-books. Currently available:

Recently released is Jack's FREE AutoHotkey book, AutoHotkey Tricks You Ought to Do with Window, available exclusively at ComputorEdge E-Books in the EPUB for e-readers and tablets, MOBI for Kindle, and PDF for printing formats.

ComputorEdge E-books offering is his AutoHotkey Applications, an idea-generating intermediate level e-book about using the AutoHotkey Graphical User Interface (GUI) command to write practical pop-up apps for your Windows computer. (It's not as hard as it sounds.)

Hidden Windows Tools for Protecting, Problem Solving and Troubleshooting Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Computers.

Jack's A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey, Absolutely the Best Free Windows Utility Software Ever!: Create Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Digging Deeper Into AutoHotkey.

Our second compilation of stupid ComputorEdge cartoons from 2011 and 2012 is now available at Amazon! That Does Not Compute, Too! ComputorEdge Cartoons, Volume II: "Do You Like Windows 8 or Would You Prefer an Apple?"

Special Free Offer at ComputorEdge E-Books! Jack's Favorite Free Windows Programs: What They Are, What They Do, and How to Get Started!.

Misunderstanding Windows 8: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Windows 8 (Seventh Edition)!

Windows 7 Secrets Four-in-One E-Book Bundle,

Getting Started with Windows 7: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Using Windows 7,

Sticking with Windows XP—or Not? Why You Should or Why You Should Not Upgrade to Windows 7,

and That Does Not Compute!, brilliantly drawn cartoons by Jim Whiting for really stupid gags by Jack about computers and the people who use them.

More AutoHotkey RegEx Insights

“Jack Learns More about Using Regular Expressions in AutoHotkey”
by Jack Dunning

After a short AutoHotkey intro for beginners, Jack finds a better RegEx expression for "extracting" numbers.

This week I continue my discussion of Regular Expressions in AutoHotkey. It can be a pretty confusing topic—even for experienced programmers. I don't recommend it for people new to AutoHotkey because it may discourage you from venturing forward. There are many things that can be done with AutoHotkey—often only requiring one line of text to create powerful hotkeys or replacements that work in any Windows program. If you're curious, but not sure if it's for you, then you should check out the AutoHotkey Scripts and Apps page to see many features that can be tailored for your Windows computer. (Scroll down the page for ideas.) If you want to know where to start, see our Introduction to AutoHotkey which offers a number of one-line apps. It's not as hard as it looks and it's good for your brain.

*                    *                    *

If you're new to using Regular Expressions in AutoHotkey, then you may want to review this short introduction.

A few weeks back in my wanderings through Regular Expressions (RegEx) I used the AutoHotkey RegEx functions (RegExMatch() and RegExReplace()) to control the formatting of the number of servings field in the CalorieCount.ahk script. As I worked with the expressions and tried to clean up the problems, the snippet of code became more and more involved. (Sometimes the light comes on slowly. The more I work with RegEx, the more insight I gain.) I finally came across a sample RegEx expression for validating numbers. It was simple and allowed me to eliminate a number of lines of code. An explanation of the new code and how it eliminated the need for the old lines may help you get a better understanding of how to use RegEx in AutoHotkey. It did me.

The following is the AutoHotkey code from the old method used to validate the Number Servings field:

TotalCalCalc:        ;Calculate total calories

Gui, Submit, NoHide

StringReplace, Food5, Food5,`,,.,all                 ; turn commas into decimals

NewValue := RegExReplace(Food5, "[a-zA-Z]", "")      ; remove letters

NewStr := RegExMatch(NewValue, "[\d.]+", NewValue)  ; match all numbers and decimals

SetFormat, float, 5.2                                ; set number format to two decimal places

NewValue += 0                                        ; forces the variable to be a number

NewStr := RegExMatch(NewValue, "\.00$")              ; detect double zeros after decimal

If NewStr                                            ; remove double zeros after decimal

NewValue := SubStr(NewValue, 1 , NewStr)

NewStr := RegExMatch(NewValue, "\..0$")              ; detect single zero at end

If NewStr                                            ; remove single zero

NewValue := SubStr(NewValue, 1 , NewStr+1)

GuiControl, ,Food5, %newvalue%                       ; update value of Number Servings

SendInput, {End}                                     ; place cursor at the end of the field

TotalCalVal := Round(Food4 * Food5)

GuiControl, ,Food6, %TotalCalVal%

Return

This subroutine uses both the RegExMatch() and RegExReplace() functions. There are a number of conditionals included to clean up the data. Plus, a mathematical operation was used to convert the variable to a number—if only temporarily.

The new snippet of AutoHotkey code is as follows:

TotalCalCalc:        ;Calculate total calories

Gui, Submit, NoHide

StringReplace, Food5, Food5,`,,.,all  ;turn commas into decimals

NewStr := RegExMatch(Food5, "[0-9]+\.?[\d]?[\d]?" , NewValue)  ;extract number

If NewStr = 0

NewValue := "0."

NewStr := RegExMatch(NewValue, "^0\d")   ;detect single zero at beginning

If NewStr                  ;remove single zero

NewValue := SubStr(NewValue, 2)

GuiControl, ,Food5, %newvalue%   ;update value of Number Servings

SendInput, {End}                    ;place cursor at the end of the field

TotalCalVal := Round(Food4 * Food5)

GuiControl, ,Food6, %TotalCalVal%

Return

This new subroutine eliminates the need to use the RegExReplace() function at all and only uses RegExMatch() twice. There are a number of code lines eliminated or replaced. The math operation is no longer used and overall the RegEx does a better job of delivering a satisfactory result.

The New RegEx

Remember that the goal was to prevent the entering of non-numeric digits and in particular the comma (which sits right next to the decimal point on the main keyboard) into the Number Servings editing field. If the variable does not evaluate as a number, then the total Calories calculation will return 0. I was using a number of tricks which included removing all non-digits and non-decimal points with:

NewValue := RegExReplace(Food5, "[a-zA-Z]", "")

This function scripts all letters (lowercase and uppercase) from the variable Food5. As it turns out, I never really needed this line. (Yes, I'm still learning.)

In the next function:

NewStr := RegExMatch(NewValue, "[\d.]+", NewValue)

the first set of numbers encountered (plus any decimal) is extracted from the remaining string. The key word is extracted. I should have been thinking in terms of extracting the desired number from the string when using the RegExMatch() function rather than merely matching, but with my lack of experience with AutoHotkey RegEx I was caught up in doing everything one step at a time. When I saw the new expression ([0-9]+\.?[\d]?[\d]?), a light came on:

NewStr := RegExMatch(Food5, "[0-9]+\.?[\d]?[\d]?" , newvalue)

The RegEx in this one line of code does almost all the work needed.

If we breakdown this new expression and understand that any matched string will be extracted from the target string and placed in the variable NewValue, we see why it is no longer necessary to use the RegExReplace() function to remove any extra letters or characters. They are merely left behind by the extraction.

The first part of the RegEx ([0-9]+) is a range that includes and digits between 0 and 9. When a number is encountered, the match begins. In this part of the expression the plus sign (+) is added to the range telling RegEx to continue matching as long as the next character is a digit. If not, stop. While this is very similar to my original expression ([\d.]+) which matched digits with \d and any decimal point (.), the remaining portions of the expression make it much more elegant for finding a number with one decimal point and up to two decimal places. (Remember that \d and [0-9] are interchangeable per the AutoHotkey RegEx Quick Reference. In fact, the new expression could just as easily be stated as \d+\.?\d?\d? without any square brackets.)

Whenever a question mark (?) follows a letter or class that designates an optional match. If, after the RegEx runs out of the first set of numbers, the next character happens to be a decimal point (\. the escaped dot), then it will be included in the match. But that's optional as expressed by the following question mark (?). If there is no decimal point following the numeric matches, then the matching stops and returns the initial digits as a group.

If the decimal point is matched directly after the first set of numbers, it is included in the match and RegEx moves on and checks the next character. If that next character happens to be a digit (\d?), then that digit is included. But that's optional as shown by the question mark. The same is true for the second digit as shown by the repeated expression (\d?). If you wanted to include more than two decimal places, then the same expression could be used the appropriate number of times.

Note: Another way to express 0 to 2 decimal places is with the {min,max} expression. For example, \d{0,2} has the same effect as \d?\d? in the same example. The 0 as minimum makes inclusion in the match optional. As can be seen, there are often multiple ways to express the same thing.

This new expression does almost everything that we want to validate a number up to two decimal places. It extracts any number and places it in the variable NewValue. There is no need to strip any letters or characters because they will not be extracted or included in NewValue. You could stop here and the validation of the Number Servings field would work fine, but for me there are a couple of issues to address.

No Number Found

If no number is found the RegExMatch() function will return 0 and the NewValue variable will be blank. This could happen if you highlighted the editing field and entered a decimal point to add a value of less than one. There is no provision in the RegEx to start a match with a decimal point—only digits. This could create an awkward situation where decimals could not be added unless a 0 is first inserted. Therefore the following trap is added to facilitate adding decimals and dealing with non-matches (no number found):

If NewStr = 0

NewValue := "0."

If no match is found (as would be the case for a sole decimal point, a blank field, or a letter), the function returns 0 to NewStr, then NewValue is set equal to 0. ready for the addition of decimal fractions. Whenever a decimal point is entered into a blank field, the leading zero is added making it a valid match.

Leading Zeros in the Match

Purely for cosmetic reasons, I don't want a number starting with the 0 digit unless it is a decimal fraction. But in its current form the RegEx allows any number of leading zeros. For example, 0087.34 would be an acceptable match. While it would have no impact on operation of the script, it looks bad.

I could return to the code I used originally which converted the variable to a number:

SetFormat, float, 5.2                                ; set number format to two decimal places

NewValue += 0                                        ; forces the variable to be a number

but then I would be dealing with unnecessary decimal places when none are needed (as shown in the original code). I decided to use RegExMatch() to look for leading zeros, then eliminate them:

NewStr := RegExMatch(NewValue, "^0\d")   ;detect single zero at beginning

If NewStr                  ;remove single zero

NewValue := SubStr(NewValue, 2)

The bit of code looks for a match of 0 plus a digit at the beginning of the NewValue string. By looking for a digit after the 0, zero with a decimal (0.) is eliminated as a match. If a match is found, NewValue is stripped of its leading zero by returning it to itself (SubStr(NewValue, 2)) starting at the second character.

Last time I obsessed over removing trailing zeros after the decimal point. This new expression has the same problem of leaving the zeros if they are added. Plus, it is possible to enter a decimal point with no fraction which looks odd. I don't know if there is a way to deal with this other than using the original code, but I'm going to leave it out for now. It works pretty well the way it is. I might later do reformatting when a food item is added to the list to eliminate hanging decimals and trailing zeros in the decimal places. For now the improved functionality of the expression and the new insights are enough for me.

Note: A second trailing zero is fairly easy to prevent by changing the last portion of the expression from [\d]? to [1-9]? which eliminates 0 from the range, thus preventing a 0 in the second decimal place ([0-9]+\.?[\d]?[1-9]?). However, this will not work for the first decimal place since fractions of a tenth would require the first 0 (i.e. 0.07, 0.08,…). This last variation is now include in the CalorieCount.ahk script available at ComputorEdge AutoHotkey download site.

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Free! AutoHotkey Tricks You Ought To Do With Windows! This e-book includes both those tips and the reference material (Table of Contents and indexes) from the other three AutoHotkey books. Pick up a copy free and share it with your friends.

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PayPal Is Now Accepted at ComputorEdge E-Books!

The second edition with more chapters and an index to the AutoHotkey commands found in the book is available in e-book format from Amazon (and other formats—EPUB and PDF— at the ComputorEdgeBooks Web site linked below). Jack's A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey, Absolutely the Best Free Windows Utility Software Ever!: Create Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 (preferred, EPUB format for iPad, Android, and computers; MOBI for Amazon Kindle; and PDF for printing) offers a gentle approach to learning AutoHotkey. (Also available from Amazon for the Kindle and Kindle software on other devices.)

Building Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, AutoHotkey is the most powerful, flexible, free Windows utility software available. Anyone can instantly add more of the functions that they want in all of their Windows programs, whether installed on their computer or while working on the Web. AutoHotkey has a universality not found in any other Windows utility—free or paid.

Based upon the series of articles in ComputorEdge, Jack takes you through his learning experience as he explores writing simple AutoHotkey scripts for adding repetitive text in any program or on the Web, running programs with special hotkeys or gadgets, manipulating the size and screen location of windows, making any window always-on-top, copying and moving files, and much more. Each chapter builds on the previous chapters.

For an EPUB (iPad, NOOK, etc.) version of A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey click here!

For a PDF version for printing on letter size paper for inclusion in a standard notebook of A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey click here!

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Jack's second AutoHotkey book, Digging Deeper Into AutoHotkey (preferred, EPUB format for iPad, Android, and computers; MOBI for Amazon Kindle; and PDF for printing) is comprised of updated, reorganized and indexed columns from ComputorEdge is now available. Since the columns were not all written in a linear fashion, the book has been reorganized and broken up into parts by topic. The book is not for the complete beginner since it builds on the information in A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey. However, if a person is reasonably computer literate, they could go directly to this book for ideas and techniques without the first book. (Also available from Amazon for the Kindle and Kindle software on other devices.)

For an EPUB (iPad, NOOK, etc.) version of Digging Deeper into AutoHotkey click here!

For a PDF version for printing on letter size paper for inclusion in a standard notebook of Digging Deeper into AutoHotkey click here!

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Jack's third AutoHotkey book AutoHotkey Applications (preferred, EPUB format for iPad, Android, and computers; MOBI for Amazon Kindle; and PDF for printing) is an intermediate level book of ideas and applications based primarily on the AutoHotkey GUI command. The book emphasizes practical applications. The book is not for the complete beginner since it builds on the information in the other two books. However, if a person is reasonably computer literate, they could go directly to this book for ideas and techniques without the other books. There is an extensive index to the ideas and techniques covered in the back of the book. (Also available from Amazon for the Kindle and Kindle software on other devices.)

For an EPUB (iPad, NOOK, etc.) version of AutoHotkey Applications click here!

For a PDF version for printing on letter size paper for inclusion in a standard notebook of AutoHotkey Applications click here!

Jack is the publisher of ComputorEdge Magazine. He's been with the magazine since first issue on May 16, 1983. Back then, it was called The Byte Buyer. His Web site is www.computoredge.com. He can be reached at ceeditor@computoredge.com. Jack is now in the process of updating and compiling his hundreds of articles and columns into e-books. Currently available:

Recently released is Jack's FREE AutoHotkey book, AutoHotkey Tricks You Ought to Do with Window, available exclusively at ComputorEdge E-Books in the EPUB for e-readers and tablets, MOBI for Kindle, and PDF for printing formats.

ComputorEdge E-books offering is his AutoHotkey Applications, an idea-generating intermediate level e-book about using the AutoHotkey Graphical User Interface (GUI) command to write practical pop-up apps for your Windows computer. (It's not as hard as it sounds.)

Hidden Windows Tools for Protecting, Problem Solving and Troubleshooting Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Computers.

Jack's A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey, Absolutely the Best Free Windows Utility Software Ever!: Create Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Digging Deeper Into AutoHotkey.

Our second compilation of stupid ComputorEdge cartoons from 2011 and 2012 is now available at Amazon! That Does Not Compute, Too! ComputorEdge Cartoons, Volume II: "Do You Like Windows 8 or Would You Prefer an Apple?"

Special Free Offer at ComputorEdge E-Books! Jack's Favorite Free Windows Programs: What They Are, What They Do, and How to Get Started!.

Misunderstanding Windows 8: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Windows 8 (Seventh Edition)!

Windows 7 Secrets Four-in-One E-Book Bundle,

Getting Started with Windows 7: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Using Windows 7,

Sticking with Windows XP—or Not? Why You Should or Why You Should Not Upgrade to Windows 7,

and That Does Not Compute!, brilliantly drawn cartoons by Jim Whiting for really stupid gags by Jack about computers and the people who use them.

Wally Wang's Apple Farm

“Why Technical Specifications Don't Matter”
by Wally Wang

Why Technical Specifications Don't Matter; Looking Back on Windows 8; The iPhone 6 vs. the iPhone 6 Plus; Microsoft's Always Changing Smartphone Strategy; The Finder Window

Ask most Windows enthusiasts why they love Windows PCs and they'll typically bombard you with their parade of technical specifications that they got at a lower price than a Macintosh. Of course, having the fastest graphics card won't do you any good if you have a cheap monitor, and having the fastest processor is pointless if you don't have memory or a hard drive fast enough to take advantage of it.

When you're doing video editing, a fast processor can be crucial. When you're doing word processing or browsing the Internet, a fast processor will be wasted on tasks that don't require a fast processor.

Even more puzzling is that many technical specifications sound good on paper but don't do anything useful in practical application. Many Android smartphones had NFC (Near Field Communication) at least two years ago, which would allow smartphone users to make payments with their Android phones just like Apple's iPhone 6 can now do.

The problem with NFC is that few retailers accept NFC payments through a smartphone, so Android's early advantage with NFC technology in smartphones two years ago was relatively pointless. What good is a feature if you can't use it?

Cramming ads with technical specifications only appeals to people who understand and care about technical specifications, which represents a small minority of potential customers. Anyone buy a car based on whether the engine can produce a maximum torque of 249Nm @ 4250 rpm? When was the last time you bought a refrigerator solely because it had a 406kWh energy consumption rating?

People obsessed with technical specifications often forget that technical specifications are meant to highlight what a product can do for the user. Technical specifications are not an end in themselves just like NFC was a pointless feature in Android smartphones in a world where most retailers didn't support payments through NFC terminals.

Windows enthusiasts often criticize Apple for emphasizing appearance over technical specifications. Then these same Windows enthusiasts eagerly embrace rival products that also emphasize appearances to the point where they almost look exactly like Apple products.

Look at the difference between early smartphones before the iPhone and current smartphones that all now closely resemble the iPhone. Look at the early Tablet PCs and notice that today's tablets all closely resemble the iPad. Even Microsoft's Surface tablet constantly gets mistaken for an iPad during NFL games.

Look at Hewlett-Packard's Envy all-in-one PC and see how it closely resembles Apple's iMac. If Windows enthusiasts want to criticize Apple for emphasizing appearances, they should also criticize Windows PC and Android smartphone manufacturers that do the exact same thing.

Figure 1. The HP Envy all-in-one PC closely resembles Apple's iMac.

Even more astounding is that when Apple's technical specifications surpass rivals, critics simply dismiss Apple's advanced technical specifications as a gimmick, such as the use of 64-bit processors in the iPhone. When rivals offer more advanced technical specifications, it's a feature. When Apple does the exact same thing, it's a gimmick. Does anyone else notice the double-standard of so many anti-Apple critics?

The reason Apple doesn't emphasize technical specifications in their products is because most people don't care. What people do care about is how the product looks, how it feels, and more importantly, what that product will do for them whether it's running a quad-core processor or a wind-up spring. If a product doesn't satisfy the customer, it's useless.

Give a Neanderthal man a Windows 8 PC with 128GB of RAM and it may be one of the most powerful PCs on the planet, but that Neanderthal man won't have a clue how it could help him in any way. Now give that same Neanderthal man a spear and even though a spear is far less sophisticated than a Windows 8 PC, it will be infinitely more useful to that particular person. If technical specifications alone were the only criteria for measuring a product's value, then a spear should lose to a Windows 8 PC every time with every person.

As much as tech-savvy people refuse to admit it, technical specifications are always secondary to the actual usefulness of a product to a person. One person can be perfectly happy with a pocket calculator even though it's far less sophisticated than a Windows 8 PC. Ultimately, technical specifications mean nothing if the product doesn't help the user in any way, which is a fact that tech-savvy people have trouble understanding.

That's why Apple rarely markets to the tech-savvy crowd because those are the wrong customers for Apple. Instead, Apple markets to people who want simple solutions to complex tasks, regardless of the technical specifications buried inside the product. On the other hand, tech-savvy people prefer complex solutions to simple tasks, regardless of the difficulty in achieving any useful result (Windows 8). Oftentimes, achieving a useful result can be omitted altogether just as long as the complexity of the device provides enough advanced technical specifications to gloat about (whether those advanced technical specifications do anything useful or not).

To promote the Apple Watch in China, Apple isn't parading a bunch of confusing technical jargon to potential customers. Instead, they're strapping the Apple Watch on the cover of Vogue and letting people see how an Apple Watch can be a fashion accessory as well as a useful device.

Figure 2. The Apple Watch appears subtly in the Chinese edition of Vogue magazine.

People buy emotionally, which is why technical specifications rarely sway anyone except for tech-savvy people who aren't interested in simple solutions anyway. Apple is promoting the Apple Watch for how it looks and what it can do. Nowhere will you find any emphasis on the speed of the RAM chips buried inside.

Given a choice between fashion and technical specifications, the majority of the world prefers fashion, especially if the fashionable device can still provide useful results that technically-ladened devices can never do.

Will a product make customers feel good about their purchase? Will a product do something useful for a customer? Those are the only two questions you really need to consider. Technical specifications are always a means to an end, but never an end in themselves.

Looking Back on Windows 8

Two years ago, Microsoft introduced Windows 8. Right away, Windows enthusiasts claimed that upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8 only made sense instead of sticking with Windows 7 or switching to Linux or the Macintosh. The big question is why are all those Windows 8 supporters suddenly silent now?

Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division, even admitted that with Windows 8, "The learning curve is real and needs to be addressed."

Microsoft's own CEO, Satya Nadella recently admitted, "Let's face it, we got some things wrong in Windows 8."

Why were so many Windows enthusiasts promoting Windows 8 when it first appeared but have gone strangely silent now that even Microsoft admits Windows 8 is a disappointment? Perhaps one reason might be because these Windows enthusiasts never looked at Windows 8 objectively and asked the simple question, "How will Windows 8 make life easier?"

When you fail to look at what a product can do for you and instead focus only on the company that made the product, you'll always miss the point. Products only exist to solve problems. A shovel makes it easier to dig a hole. A car makes it easier to travel from one place to another. A napkin makes it easy to wipe your mouth and hands. What does Windows 8 help people do easily that they couldn't do before?

The lack of a simple answer to this obvious question highlights the reason why Windows 8 failed. When you can't answer simple questions about your product, chances are good your product solves nothing that existing products can't already do faster, easier, or cheaper.

Microsoft's own Windows 8 development team reportedly calls Windows 8 the new Windows Vista. Paul Thurott said on Twitter, "Call it what you want. That's what they call it inside of Microsoft."

Given a choice between upgrading from Windows XP/7 to Windows 8, Linux, or OS X, which option looks better (and worse) now? Perhaps all those Windows enthusiasts who claimed Windows 8 was the only logical upgrade path for Windows XP/7 users can give us an answer, even if that answer is nothing more than stone-cold silence.

The iPhone 6 vs. the iPhone 6 Plus

At one time, the most compelling advantage of Android smartphones over the iPhone was a larger screen. Now Apple has wiped out that advantage with the introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Go to a store and try both of them and you can tell whether the iPhone 6 Plus is too big for you or not.

Within six hours in China, the three major Chinese carriers registered one million orders. Before official pre-ordering began, JingDong, a reservation site, registered nine million potential iPhone 6 buyers. Perhaps the most interesting statistic from these early orders is the split between the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus:

• iPhone 6: 4,542,448

• iPhone 6 Plus: 4,694,853

Some people prefer the much larger screen of the iPhone 6 Plus while others prefer the more manageable size of the iPhone 6. Either way, these early sales show that so many people prefer the iPhone over rivals like Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone.

Apple claims to have sold ten million iPhone 6 models in the first three days, although they didn't specify which model sold more. If the Chinese reservation system is any indication, there doesn't seem to be a clear winner. Just as long as you get an iPhone, chances are good you'll be happy with your purchase.

Microsoft's Always Changing Smartphone Strategy

Before Apple introduced the iPhone, Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system had roughly 20-30 percent of the mobile phone market. After Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, Steve Ballmer (Microsoft's CEO at the time) laughed at it. Within a few years, Microsoft killed Windows Mobile and created Windows Phone 7 while the iPhone went on to earn more money than every product Microsoft sells.

Shortly after creating Windows Phone 7, Microsoft created Windows Phone 8. Unfortunately, current Windows Phone 7 users couldn't upgrade to Windows Phone 8, even though that represented just one version beyond their current operating system.

Windows Phone 8 required newer hardware to run, so if you wanted to stay with Windows Phone, you had to dump your old Windows Phone 7 phone and buy a newer Windows Phone 8 phone.

To develop apps on Windows Phone 7, Microsoft initially told developers to rely on Silverlight, their Adobe Flash clone. When plug-ins like Flash didn't work on mobile devices, plug-ins like Silverlight also suffered. Microsoft quickly abandoned Silverlight (the main tool used to create Windows Phone 7 apps) and announced it will reach its end of life in 2021 although there's no reason to use Silverlight any more since it has no future.

If you learned Silverlight to create apps for Windows Phone 7, you had to learn new development tools to create Windows Phone 8 apps. After learning to create Windows Phone 8 apps, you'll now have to deal with Microsoft killing Windows Phone 8 in favor of the new Windows 10 running on smartphones instead.

So users of Windows Phone 7 couldn't upgrade to Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7 developers took the time to learn Silverlight only to be told that Silverlight will no longer be supported. Current Windows Phone 8 users will now have to switch to Windows 10 and developers will have to learn to create Windows 10 smartphone apps, abandoning everything they learned to create Windows Phone 8 apps using the Windows Phone 8 software development kit (SDK).

Given the headaches using, let alone developing for Windows Phone, with no clear upgrade path or direction whatsoever, guess how many people are still happy they chose a Windows Phone to use or develop for? There's actually nothing wrong with Windows Phone as an operating system. There's just something terribly wrong about any company that makes drastic changes so often that constantly frustrates both users and developers alike.

Back in 2010 during the introduction of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft staged a mock funeral for the iPhone and Blackberry. Anyone still feel confident about Microsoft's smartphone strategy for the future?

If developers had simply learned to create iOS apps, they would now be in a position to create iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch apps. For those developers who chose Windows Phone 7 instead, they had to dump what they know about Windows Phone 7 development to create Windows Phone 8 apps. Now they'll have to dump what they know about Windows Phone 8 development to create Windows 10 apps.

Even if they master creating Windows 10 apps, they'll still miss out on the wearable computing market (Apple Watch) while struggling with mediocre market share in the tablet (iPad) and smartphone (iPhone) markets. The next time you want a path that leads to simplicity and profitability, it's obvious which company you should follow.

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You can open multiple tabs in the Finder window by pressing Command+T. However, this always opens the "All Files" view, which lists all the files on your hard disk. In most cases, this won't be what you want, so you can specify which types of files you want each new tab to show such as the Documents or the Downloads folder contents.

To do this, click the Finder icon on the Dock. Then click the Finder menu and choose Preferences to open the Finder Preferences window. Click the General icon and now click the "New Finder window shows" pop-up menu to define the default folder view of each new tab you create in the Finder window.

Figure 3. Defining the default folder view when creating tabs in the Finder window.

In the early days, before Wally became an Internationally renowned comedian, computer book writer, and generally cool guy, Wally Wang used to hang around The Byte Buyer dangling participles with Jack Dunning and go to the gym to pump iron with Dan Gookin.

Wally is responsible for the following books:

Microsoft Office 2013 For Dummies

Beginning Programming for Dummies

Beginning Programming All-in-One Reference for Dummies

Breaking Into Acting for Dummies with Larry Garrison

Strategic Entrepreneurism with Jon and Gerald Fisher

How to Live with a Cat (When You Really Don't Want To)

The Secrets of the Wall Street Stock Traders

Mac Programming For Absolute Beginners

Republican Fairy Tales (Children's Stories the 1% Tell About the Rest of Us)

The Zen of Effortless Selling with Moe Abdou

The 15-Minute Movie Method

Erotophobia (A novel)

Math for the Zombie Apocalypse

How to Write a Great Script with Final Draft 9

How to Write a Great Script with Fade In

The Elements of a Great Script: Star Wars

The Elements of a Great Script: Die Hard

The Element of a Great Script: Back to the Future

The Elements of a Great Script: Rocky

The Elements of a Great Script: It's a Wonderful Life

In his spare time, Wally likes blogging about movies and writing screenplays at his site "The 15 Minute Movie Method," finding interesting news stories about cats at his site "Cat Daily News," giving advice to authors who want to self-publish e-books at his site "The Electronic Author," and providing the type of advice he wishes someone would have told him when he was much younger at his personal Web site. Wally can be reached at wally@computoredge.com or you can follow him on Twitter @wallacewang_com.

Editor's Letters: Tips and Thoughts from Readers

“Computer and Internet tips, plus comments on the articles and columns.”
by ComputorEdge Staff

"Love Dropbox and Selective Folders, BitTorrent Sync," "Comment on Multiple Firewalls," "Microsoft Updates," "XPS vs PDF," "VLC Codecs?"

Love Dropbox and Selective Folders, BitTorrent Sync

[Regarding Jack Dunning's September 26 article, "The Internet of Stuff (IoS) and Free Cloud Services":]

While I don't use Dropbox on my Android phone, so not positive if you have this option there, on the desktop version you can select which folder to sync on each computer so you don't need to sync your photos on one computer, perhaps, or all the ComputorEdge documents on another one.

Also, try BitTorrent Sync, from same BitTorrent folks, currently beta, I think, but I've been using it for about a year now with never any problem. It syncs between computers, only using the Cloud for transfers if you're not on local network. If on LAN, it syncs directly. Very slick. Also available for Android, not sure about iOS.

-Rich Ernst, San Diego, CA

Comment on Multiple Firewalls

[Regarding the September 12 Digital Dave column:]

Don, security is best achieved with a multi-layer approach. Enable and use all the layers that are available and that you can afford Home routers are notoriously non-secure, especially out of the box and often not configured by the homeowner and using a default password. Home Wi-Fi networks are often weak, and WPA is known to be a security hole. I suggest you never turn off one of the layers…it might actually be your last line of defense.

-Arch, San Diego, CA

It's WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) that has a security hole and should be avoided. WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is the standard encryption used with Wi-Fi to secure the over-the-air connection.

-Ron Cerrato, San Diego, CA

Microsoft Updates

[Regarding the September 19 Digital Dave column:]

Re: Don in San Diego I recently had an update problem and contacted Microsoft Support. Apparently, Microsoft will provide support for update problems even if otherwise out of warranty. They spent several hours helping me and resolved the update problem.

-John Carlson, Vista, CA

Dave,

Ref: My inquiry and your response about frozen icons in Win 8.1.

Microsoft proceeded to install 8.1 despite my attempts to delay it. Fortunately, it is working OK at this time. I noticed some refinements to 8.1 since my first install.

Thank you very much for your reply and assessment of the situation.

I read your column every week and derive much benefit from your responses to questions posed to you.

-Don, San Diego, CA

XPS vs PDF

[Regarding the September 12 Digital Dave column:]

I discovered something interesting about the XPS Document Writer that comes with Windows and is visible in the Windows print dialog. You can save a picture or other document, including Web pages, as an XPS document. Then change the extension to PDF and it becomes a PDF document.

-Ron Cerrato, San Diego, CA

VLC Codecs?

[Regarding the September 19 Editors Letters: Tips and Thoughts from Readers column:]

Re: The suggestion to go to VLC's Web site to download a codec. It looks like all they say about codecs is "Plays most codecs with no codec packs needed." There are no codecs available on their site: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

-Ron Cerrato, San Diego, CA

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