Sunday Times: Electric bike story

[flecc]

The national bias I've got partly from comments by the longer established e-bike suppliers, and particularly those who've traditionally supplied the larger quantities. The types of e-bikes ridden by the non-enthusiast great majority can be very different from those forum members generally ride, many of them "shopping bike" types, often moped like.

The suppliers of those aren't usually forum members of course, so won't contribute their views here. Our supplier membership tends to match the bikes forum members ride.

However, it's the "enthusiast" membership bias which makes the forum an unreliable source of information, as Frank Curran of Powabyke has observed. He has pointed out how different we are from the majority buyers, something that longest established supplier of all knows very well.
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[Xcytronex]

I'm impressed people of that age are aware of forums to be honest. Flecc you are possibly the oldest person i know that use's the internet properly. I know thats more of a back handed compliment but really to me thats impressive.

My parents don't even know how to use a pc and have only just worked out how to text on a mobile. You techie genius!

Its nice to see other generations using forums to share knowledge, experience.

More backhanded than you may think !!!
Flecc invented SPEEDOS --- not the trunks - but his own Windows based operating system --- without any of Windows annoying issues . If I could implement the system I would do . It's a fantastic idea which only someone with an inate grasp of computer 'mechanics' could possibly conceive - espesially from scratch. I'm amazed microsoft haven't been in contact [maybe they have !!!!].
Flecc is your SPEEDOS web site still runnining ????????

 

[flecc]

No it's no longer online Xcytronex. It incurred too much much work for me over time and that's why I deserted the PC Advisor forum long ago in my helper status there. Reaching over 300 emails in a day needing answering was the last straw!

I still use my SPEEDOS eXPress version operating system which I think is the fastest in existence, but since it uses various files originally used by Microsoft but greatly altered and much reduced sizes, I'm sailing too close to the legal wind for that to go public.

Example File Size Reductions

Shell32.dll 8.08 mb reduced to 6.60 mb (-18%)

Explorer.exe 1.08 mb reduced to 0.75 mb (-31%)

Msgina.dll 1.07 mb reduced to 0.52 mb (-51%)

My software reduction record isn't on Microsoft files though, it's on the Drive Image system backup utility. The original was 71 mb on the hard drive, but my version which does everything the original does but very much faster is just 1.6 mb, an 88% reduction.

 

[Biged]

Blimey, I'm impressed

 

[z0mb13e]

Wow - I'm impressed... I think your status should be changed to 'Legend'

Now whos going to say 'You could just use damn small linux'?

 

[fatts]

My name is Tom and I am an alcoholic........

A friend of Bill W then?

regards
Fatts

 

[flecc]

Now whos going to say 'You could just use damn small linux'?

As you see below, my eXPress version of Windows XP is well under 1 gb, a fraction of the size of the original, so no point in Linux, especially as eXPress is faster than anything else:

 

[Xcytronex]

Yes - and equally fascinating - I believe your system is unhackable - unlike any other. I seem to remember you have no need for a firewall / antivirus ---
although I may be wrong !!

 

[Scottyf]

Interesting stuff. Wouldn't mind my computer being more efficient! Don't purpose i could a copy lol.

 

[flecc]

I believe your system is unhackable - unlike any other. I seem to remember you have no need for a firewall / antivirus ---
although I may be wrong !!

Not the eXPress version though, it needs as much protection as the standard system.

It's the "Strewth" version of SPEEDOS that needed no protection. Based on the Windows 98se core, it was a two part system. One part booted up to just short of desktop stage, the second part taking over for the normal desktop and computing facilities.

The way it was constructed and appeared to the internet meant that online infections were attracted to the part-boot start-up system where they effectively threw themselves into jail, unable to do anything and unable to get out again!

Meanwhile the working second part of the system was invisible to the internet except for what I was inviting in, email and websites etc, so couldn't get infected ever, especially since the second part was virtual, being a new clean installation at every boot up.

That was ideal, but unfortunately the W.98 core gradually became too difficult or time consuming over time to alter for newer hardware and software as it came along, so the switch to the NT5 core of XP, Vista and Windows 7 became necessary. That cannot be run as I did with W.98, in a two part boot to desktop system.
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[flecc]

Interesting stuff. Wouldn't mind my computer being more efficient! Don't purpose i could a copy lol.

I did send out 150 installation CDs of the original W98 based SPEEDOS for trial purposes and some are still in use around the world, but that was risky since MS are notably litigious.

I wouldn't do that with the eXPress version since its core from which I built is proprietary and current. All I can do is point to where to carry out the work of conversion, but not how to alter the Windows code in the various items. Here's a small sample of that source info in the two systems, much of which cannot be found anywhere else since MS jealously guard their complete source code for Windows. I spent an entire winter hacking it!

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Explorer.exe Start button text in folders 37, 38. Pop up text in folder 34. See all bitmaps, dialogs and strings. Note string 44. For Taskbar Properties, bitmap 146, 147 taskbar left, bitmap 180 taskbar right, bitmap 171 desktop and start menu. Note: bitmaps 146,147,180 are 336 x 35 pixel @72 dpi. Bitmap171 is 300 x 180 pixels @ 96 dpi. DO NOT ALTER dialog 7, strings 32,33,34,44,54 as they are unscriptable afterwards.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Shell32.dll Bitmaps 146, 147, Home Edition Shutdown dialog, see all[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif] dialogs. AVIs are for doc transfer motion in dialogs, several types according to type of transfer. All bitmaps, 14351 and 14354 are dark blue triple panels. Dialog 1003 is Run, 1040 shortcut, 1071[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif] logoff, 1089 logoff, 1090 disconnect windows, 1091 windows, [/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1116 & 1117 search windows, 1118 onwards CD recording.[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif] 8226 shutdown windows (not main shutdown), 14352 about, [/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]14369 PIF, 29952 desktop shutdown colour. Most strings are[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif] miscellaneous, but a few mention Windows, e.g. 546, 566, 2003.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Rasdlg.dll Dial up connector dialog, bitmap 1678, 319 x 137 pixels @ 72 dpi and dialog 119 (116 to 119).[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Msgina.dll Logon and logoff/shutdown. See all items, note bitmaps 125, 128, 20140 to 20143 inclusive, logon/logoff/shutdown, dialogs 180, 2250, strings 501, 1259.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Sysdm.cpl System properties, bitmap 1 is computer icon with flag, strings[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] 12 and 13. See next item.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Cmprops.dll System Properties, bitmap 1, string 626.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Logonui.exe Log in screen.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Ntoskrnl.exe Boot screen, use utility like BootXP to make changes.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Logoos.exe Bitmap 5 winflag on black, also in Ntoskrnl.exe.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Registry string to lose login, settings and shutdown second box:-[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\System[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]enter Dword; DisableStatusMessages=1[/FONT]
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