Messages

1

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: CompGator.com - new computer related website

« on: September 25, 2012, 09:52 AM »

Just took a very quick look at your site.  I'll definitely return for a closer look, but I thought I'd offer one comment now.  I see that "Helps for the computer novice" is in large letters on your site's home page.  Like 40hz, I'm a bit bothered by "Helps."  Why not just change that to "Help"?  I like "Help for the computer novice"; I don't think you need 40hz's longer suggestion, but I agree with him about "helps."

Good luck with the site!

-cyberdiva (September 25, 2012, 09:46 AM)

I agree with both of you and I thank you for the suggestion. I will make this change when I am able to get to the computer on which the image file resides. Unfortunately, that probably will not be for a few hours.

Mark

2

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: CompGator.com - new computer related website

« on: September 25, 2012, 08:52 AM »

I noticed one very minor thing that catches my attention every time I go to your site.

It's in the flash video and on the "About" page. It's the phrase: "helps for the more novice user."

Maybe it's just me, but I think it should read "a variety of help for the more novice computer users."

Help+s (i.e. helps) is always a verb. 'Help' without an 's' can be a noun. And when used as a noun, its plural form is the same as its singular (i.e. no 's').

And since I'm on a niggle (feel free to ignore all of this BTW) I'd probably rephrase it either to read:

"a variety of help for more novice computer users." (drop the 'the' before "more novice")

  -or-

"a variety of help for the more novice computer user."  (make 'users' singular)

Just my   

-40hz (September 25, 2012, 08:28 AM)

Thanks for that suggestion. I am a bit of a stickler for proper grammar, so I appreciate your pointing out to me how I have erred in that area. As is the case with most of us, I am usually a poor proofreader of my own writing, so it is very helpful to have someone else to look these things over.

Mark

3

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: CompGator.com - new computer related website

« on: September 25, 2012, 07:05 AM »

Thanks for the comments. I knew that I could count on some helpful feedback.

Best of luck  There is a missing image beside the search on top of the page
 
Also why Joomla  ............. just kidding hehe

-rgdot (September 24, 2012, 08:34 PM)

The "Search..." is some sort of goofy template issue. I had the problem with a previous template as well, but I cannot seem to remember how I fixed it. I have removed the search feature until I can get this fixed. Thanks for the input. By the way, I choose Joomla because I am familiar with it, having used it for about 8 years now. I had given some thought to using WordPress for the site, but I know Joomla a bit better. I may transition at some point, however.

The white on white mouseover menu item thing is a bit disconcerting, but good luck with the project.

-Stoic Joker (September 25, 2012, 06:55 AM)

Thanks Stoic, I had not even noticed that. I removed that module and moved the link to the main menu.

Again, I appreciate all of the feedback. You guys are great.

Mark

4

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / CompGator.com - new computer related website

« on: September 24, 2012, 08:21 PM »

I have been a DC member for almost 7 years now and am a daily visitor, although I have not been one to post very much. I am posting now to let you know that I have launched a new website offering a variety of helps for the more novice computer users. I have posted a number of tips, tutorials, and software reviews and will adding content daily. I would certainly appreciate any constructive feedback.

I launched the website for two reason. First, I enjoy almost all things related to the computer and feel that I can share some insights with others. Second, I also launched the site in the hope that it would generate some supplemental income for my family. I have a full-time job, but I find that I need to supplement my income a bit. To that end, the site includes advertising. Some of the advertising is in the form of banner ads from vendors with whom I have established an affiliate relationship. There are also some Google AdSense ads. My hope is that this sort of thing is not self-serving and offensive to potential visitors to my site. This is my first attempt at monetizing a website. If those of you who have more experience at this sort of thing have any suggestions, I would be glad to hear from you. Let me also add that the potential to earn a bit of income from a vendor whose product I review in no way impacts the review given. I seek to be as objective as possible. If I like program and find it useful, I will state that fact even if I gain nothing monetarily by so doing. Likewise, if I find a product to be lacking in some way, I will not hesitate to let my readers know that even if I have an affiliate relationship with that vendor. I do not believe in the practice of paying someone to give a product a positive review.

The name of my site is CompGator and it is located at www.compgator.com

5

General Software Discussion / Opinions on System Utilties Suites

« on: March 01, 2011, 07:42 AM »

I think that the DC forum is great. I do not post very much, but I do read a great many of the posts and I often make software purchase decisions on the basis of what I read here at DC. With that in mind, I would very much like to know the opinions of the some of the DCers about system utilities suites (I don't know what else to call these programs) for Windows 7. What I have in mind are programs such as:

Tune-Up Utilities 2011

System Mechanic by Iolo

Fix-It Utilities 11

Any others that may come to mind.

What I would like to know is how useful others find these utilities to be? Are they useful at all? Do they do more harm than good?

Your responses are greatly appreciated.

6

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« on: June 17, 2010, 12:44 PM »

Jim,

When I open Stat Trak I am greeted by the nag screen since I have not yet purchased the program. I do not keep the main window maximized; I make it small enough so that the Address Listings screen does not look like it is floating in a sea of nothingness. The screenshot below shows what I mean.



By doing so, I have found that I can live with the GUI. By the way, if you want to see a contacts manager/address book with a really ugly GUI take a look at this program, Address Book Plus.

Mark

7

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« on: June 17, 2010, 05:29 AM »

Jim,

I will be purchasing the Business edition of Stat Trak because I do not like the limitations of the personal edition. I agree that it is a bit silly to feature limit the personal edition so much in comparison with the business edition, especially when the personal edition is not free.

The two main reasons that I am drawn to Stat Trak are the ability to add individuals to a family and include information about those individuals such as birthday, e-mail address and so forth. I looked at many of these programs that would not allow me to do that. If anyone knows of other programs with this feature, I would like to give them a try before I make my purchase of Stat Trak. The other feature I like about Stat Trak is that it is already set-up to allow printing in a format that will fit in my DayTimer binder. One thing I do not like about printing in Stat Trak, however, is that it does not allow me to create my own custom reports.

Mark

8

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« on: June 16, 2010, 12:10 PM »

Jim,

Quite right on the fence sitting business! I do plan to purchase StatTrak, though and when I do, I will use it primarily to keep up with addresses and other information on church members as well as family members.

You are right on the personal versus business editions. When I do buy, it will be the business edition for the custom fields. Let me say that the one feature that really sold me on StatTrak is the ability to add individuals to a family along with personal information such as birthdays for that individual. If I remember correctly, this was one of the few relatively inexpensive programs that would allow me to do that.

Mark

9

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« on: June 16, 2010, 05:10 AM »

Jim,

I still have the trial version installed on my computer; I just have not gotten around to purchasing it yet. I do plan to do so and I will make use of it as I found it fits my needs quite nicely.

Mark

10

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« on: June 15, 2010, 05:08 AM »

J-Mac,

I have searched and searched for address book/contact management software that will allow you add details such as spouse, children, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. as you mentioned in your original post. I also wanted one that will provide some flexible printing options as I like to have a printed copy of my address book. One program that I found that seemed to work well, in fact for me, it worked better than anything else that I tried, was the program StatTrak Address Manager. They have a home version and a business version, but no free version. Like I said, this one worked well for me, but it may not be what you are after. It is work a look, however.

11

General Software Discussion / Re: Audio editor better than Audacity?

« on: June 09, 2010, 01:18 PM »

tranglos,

I use Total Recorder Pro for recording and editing audio files. They also have a free version, but I am not sure how stripped down the free version is in comparison to the professional offering. Perhaps that or a program such as GoldWave will work for you. I have tried out the trial version of GoldWave out of curiosity and was generally pleased with the feature set.

12

General Software Discussion / Re: Clipboard Manager with this feature

« on: June 02, 2010, 10:58 AM »

it's a neat idea..
though i'm guessing that you could instead use a clip merging function instead if your clipboard tool has that, to get nearly the same functionality; i.e. keep copying clips and then when you have many of them copied, go to the clipboard tool and merge them into one big clip and then paste into target application.

-mouser (June 02, 2010, 10:37 AM)

mouser,

I have been using the merge feature of ClipMate lately to do this. I was just looking for a way to accomplish this without the extra steps.

After I wrote my original post, I discovered that ClipCache Pro has this sort of capability. It is called Clipboard Routing and I am trying it out to see if it suits my desire.

-mwfuss (June 02, 2010, 08:08 AM)

I would be pleased if you will tell the result of your test. Clipboard Routing has been of the many features on my computer's programs that I haven't tried because I had no idea what those words meant. ;-)

click for large: (see attachment in previous post)

-Curt (June 02, 2010, 10:35 AM)

I have been trying this feature for an hour or so and it seems to work quite well, at least, so far.

13

General Software Discussion / Re: Clipboard Manager with this feature

« on: June 02, 2010, 08:08 AM »

Curt,

I know that most BW users would go into panic mode over the way that I use the program, but for me, I find it easier to make my notes in a program such as UR. It is just easier for me from an organizational point of view. I know that I am not making the best use of BW by doing it this way. I suppose I am a bit of a creature of habit.

I was actually using the BW & UR scenario as one example and it may be helpful for me to offer some clarification on what I am after here.

Since I have grown accustomed to using a clipboard manager [ClipMate] I was simply hoping that it would be possible to use such a program in this way:

I tell the clipboard manager to set a certain program as the past "target" program. This could be UltraRecall or Word or whatever other program is chosen. After setting the "target," everything that is copied to the clipboard is also automatically copied to the "target" program until I either change the target or turn off the feature.

After I wrote my original post, I discovered that ClipCache pro has this sort of capability. It is called Clipboard Routing and I am trying it out to see if it suits my desire.

As I stated in my original post, this feature is not an absolute necessity, but I would find it to be quite a time-saver. I hope all of that makes a little more sense than my first post.

Again, I am very thankful for everyone's input. Although I post very rarely, I find DC to be one of the most helpful sites I visit.

14

General Software Discussion / Re: Clipboard Manager with this feature

« on: June 02, 2010, 07:22 AM »

Thanks for the suggestions! I will take a look at these and see how they work for me.

By the way, skwire, I feel a bit silly that I have been using UR for a couple of years now and did not realize that such a feature existed  .

15

General Software Discussion / Clipboard Manager with this feature

« on: June 02, 2010, 06:40 AM »

I know that there are few threads on the DC forum related to clipboard manager software and from reading through some of those threads, it is apparent that some DCer's have tried out many of these programs. What that in mind, I am hoping that someone can answer a question for me relatively easily. I have been using ClipMate for about 6 years now and I really like the program. However, it is lacking one feature that I would find to be very, very helpful. I am a preacher and I spend a great deal of time studying. I use UltraRecall to store the notes that I take as I am studying for a sermon. I also make extensive use of the Bible program BibleWorks. I usually end up copying a great many Biblical texts from BibleWorks to UR. Up to this point I have been in the habit of copying the texts that I need and then using ClipMate to append them and copy them all at once to UR. What I would like to be able to do, but cannot do with ClipMate [as verified by this post], is to select the texts from BibleWorks [or any other application] and have the copied matter automatically pasted into UR [or any other application that I choose]. I hope that what I am describing makes sense. Again, ClipMate will not paste automatically from one application to a target application. Does anyone know of any clipboard manager that has this feature? This is not something that I MUST have, but for my purposes, it would be most handy.

16

General Software Discussion / Re: Someone MUST make a new PowerMarks program.

« on: January 15, 2010, 06:18 AM »

Yes, it's true.  Powermarks is one of the best little programs I've ever come across.  I'm using Linkman right now, but there are two small features that are still lacking:
--being able to place the toolbar buttons on the upper toolbar of Firefox.

-superboyac (January 11, 2010, 11:11 PM)

This will be possible in the next version (currently in Beta Test).

-Outertech Support (January 15, 2010, 01:14 AM)

Is it possible to get in on the beta testing of the next version of Linkman?

17

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone taken the plunge and upgraded to any of the latest Nuance offerings?

« on: October 30, 2009, 06:43 AM »

Until I read this thread I did not even know that Nuance had released new versions of any of these programs. I have a license for PDF Converter Pro 5 and I make use of the program quite often. I find it to be an excellent program. I would like to upgrade to 6, but not at the same price as buying the new version outright. I sent Nuance an e-mail about this and I am awaiting their answer.

18

General Software Discussion / Re: What is best program to create a DVD from any video file?

« on: June 19, 2009, 09:31 AM »

Ken,

To be honest, I only use Burning Studio for burning audio discs, I just know from the program and the documentation that it handles a wide range of video formats.

19

General Software Discussion / Re: What is best program to create a DVD from any video file?

« on: June 19, 2009, 09:00 AM »

Ken,

I have good success with Ashampoo Burning Studio 9. It supports a wide variety of video formats. It sells for $49.99 but if you click on the "Service Letter" option on the menu bar and scroll down a bit on the new page you will see an offer where you can purchase the program for $29.99.

20

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 7 evaluation

« on: May 29, 2009, 08:52 AM »

I have been using Windows 7, Build 7100 for two weeks now and I am very impressed and pleased. It feels faster than XP and is much, much more stable than Vista. I found Vista unusable because of constant crashes, but I have not had a single crash with Windows 7. It does have a bit of a learning curve, especially when going from XP, and some of things that have changed since XP are a bit quirky, but all in all, I think it is most definitely a step in the right direction for Microsoft.

My one and only complaint with Windows 7 really has nothing to do with the performance, features, and stability of the OS: UltraRecall is not fully compatible with Win 7 and I have had to go back to using OneNote for the time being while Kinook gets UR in shape to run on the new OS. An e-mail from the developers said that they would have this fixed within the next three months.

In spite of the issue with UR [and the fact that DirectoryOpus cannot yet be used as a replacement for Windows Explorer in Win 7], I do think that Microsoft is getting things right with this OS. I certainly look forward to its final release, although I do not look forward to the high price tag [$$$] that MS is sure to attach to Win 7.

21

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: AntispamSniper For The Bat!

« on: May 28, 2009, 09:56 AM »

Excellent review. I have used AntispamSniper for TheBat! [pad version] for several years now and I am fully satisfied with the job that it does of keeping my inbox spam free.

22

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Outpost 2009 – A lifetime license for 3 PCs for the price of a 1-year!

« on: December 29, 2008, 09:40 AM »

According to the Outpost site, this offer is now good until January 31, 2009.

The website has the following note regarding this offer:

Note! On purchasing these lifetime licenses you'll be able to use the same key for ALL future versions of Outpost Firewall Pro and Outpost Security Suite.

I would like to know what Outpost users think of the program. I remember reading that many longtime users were not pleased with recent versions. Does that still hold true? I am giving serious consideration to making this purchase, so existing user input would be greatly appreciated.

23

General Software Discussion / Re: Collectorz.com Book Collector 6

« on: December 11, 2008, 07:25 AM »

I use the program Readerware and I am very satisfied with it. If I remember correctly from a brief trial of Book Collector a few years ago, Readerware may not be as visually appealing, but it does what it is supposed to do and it does it very well. You simply input an ISBN or a group of ISBN,s, tell the program which databases to search, and it will find your book and the necessary information. You can also use a bar coder to input your books, but I have no experience with that feature.

Readerware

Edit: I just noticed from the Readerware site that they are offering all of their products at a 15% discount until December 31, 2008.

24

General Software Discussion / Re: Kinook pulls the plug on Ultra Recall

« on: November 01, 2008, 08:14 AM »

After reading about the break or freeze in the development of Ultra Recall I contacted the developers to see if the product would still be offered for sale and if so, if it would offered for sale at a discounted price. They very quickly and graciously responded to my inquiry by informing me that they would continue to fully support Ultra Recall and that they would continue to sell the program on their website at full price. I was hoping against hope that they would offer some sort of discount on the program. Although the situation is different, when Kaylon announced that they would no longer be developing either Powermarks or Mp3Rat I contacted them and they gave me a free licence for Mp3Rat [I had already purchased a license for PM]. Just to be clear, I did not expect Kinook to give away UR, I was just hoping that, in light of the development freeze, they would offer it at a discount.

Even in the absence of a discount, I still find the program to be intriguing and I would interested in knowing what others think of it. Are any DCers hardcore UR uses? If so, how do you use the program? How do you find it helpful? Is it worth the $99 to purchase the Pro version?

25

General Software Discussion / Re: FinePrint vs. priPrinter

« on: September 29, 2008, 12:30 PM »

I have used FinePrint as my default printer for the past six years and I have been very pleased with the program. Having said that, however, I heard of priPrinter on the FileForum site and decided to take a look at it. I have used priPrinter as my default printer for the past two weeks and although I have certainly not explored all of its features, I am very impressed with this program. I am so impressed, in fact, that I took the plunge and purchased a license. One thing that sold me on this decision was the fact that I was having trouble printing a MS Publisher document and a MS Word document. In both instances the document contained graphics that were showing up in priPrinter either upside down or reversed. I contacted the developer about this. He promptly replied to my e-mail and in a few short hours the problem was resolved. That sort of attention to a consumer concern is quite impressive.