Messages

1

General Software Discussion / Re: Slash your windows boot time

« on: November 16, 2010, 08:59 AM »

Hey, haha. It was a mixture of the indexing service and a few other updating programs.

On the contrary i think that if you have the knowledge to use Autoruns it becomes a brilliant tool for the deeper stuff but for services/startup applications soluto gives you the information you need quickly.

2

Developer's Corner / Re: Are You Doing Mobile Development?

« on: November 15, 2010, 11:01 AM »

Hey, yeah i just bought my first "smart" phone (android 2.1)... I've quickly taken to Android development (i found it easier than any other mobile platform to get started with). And in many respects it mimics web development (using XML for layout, a compiled language for functionality, etc).

I too won't be developing anything quickly enough for NANY but i do have some ideas for the future.

good luck =]

3

General Software Discussion / Re: Slash your windows boot time

« on: November 15, 2010, 10:59 AM »

Hey all. I'd agree that removing all un-necessary services and applications from running on boot makes a significant difference. Not only on the boot time but the cpu usage when your computer's running.

The only benefit i see in soluto is that it tells you what the applications do.

It doesn't cover everything. If you wanted something to do that i'd suggest Autoruns (SysInternals). And then using google to work out what they do.

I like soluto but only after having disabled it starting up and annoying me itself.
Personally on a daily basis i will use; Firefox, some heavy IDE (Netbeans), and various graphic design programs. Before disabling startup apps i'd notice that from boot it would take FF about 20 seconds to load. After it takes an un-noticeable amount of time. When running the graphics programs i'd notice a lag.
If you're a heavy user it's definately worth cutting down on programs running that don't need to be. Services especially, i had a svchost that was running about 80% cpu between boot and actual computer use.

4

General Software Discussion / Re: Slash your windows boot time

« on: November 12, 2010, 07:47 AM »

Okay the one annoying thing about this piece of software is that it starts up on windows boot. Whilst i love the program it seems like installing an un-necessary start-up app to speed up the boot process is a little counterproductive. My way of disabling this was to use Autoruns to kill all the start-up instances of soluto. Of course you could also just take note of what you'd disabled in Soluto and then disable them the old-fashioned way.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Slash your windows boot time

« on: November 12, 2010, 07:12 AM »

Hey, i can't help but call this the bootup app i've always been looking for. More than anything because i had way too many services starting up that i couldn't find out whether i could disable or not. Essentially i managed to cut my boot time from a frustrating 3:32 to 1:49. The only thing that aggrivates me is that it doesn't like being disabled itself. Still it's a good program. I like the splash screen aswell, it's inspired a new idea for a splash of my own.

6

Developer's Corner / Re: What path to take for learning Web Development?

« on: November 09, 2010, 10:45 AM »

I'd agree with what everyone here has said. I'd like to add an emphasis to javascript. I learned javascript soon after XHTML and i find it a brilliant tool for mocking up website designs from layouts/working out kinks in my sites. My favourite development tool becomes Firefox with the JSShell and TestStyles bookmarklets (available here) and the popular WebDeveloper add-on.

Since you're a visual designer i'd suggest giving my method a go, i prefer to program using a text editor (Notepad++) than a visual IDE because of the greater control over the page i'm writing. So i mockup a basic layout and then use the afforementionned bookmarklets in firefox to modify my design in a visual way until i'm happy.

Of course this is all to do with after you've gotten started with web programming =]

Good luck.

7

General Software Discussion / Re: In search of JavaScript book(s) for a kinda novice ...

« on: July 15, 2010, 04:13 PM »

Hi, i know this seems a little late but i came accross the thread in the newsletter and it's a topic that was an absolute nightmare in my past.

The ONE book to read on Javascript is "Javascript: The definitive guide" by David Flanagan (As posted above by mouser)... I came accross the book through another person's blog on exactly this subject (sorry i don't remember where). But essentially i read 5/6 other books including the "for dummies" and Sams "learn * in 24 hours" books and they all felt lacking; i could write the functional code to swap images, do everything that these basic books teach you to do... But i couldn't tell you a thing about cross-browser compatibility and i couldn't fix my own issues in the base code that i'd written. They left no real standard for coding, and no real advanced use of Javascript.

They also left no direction in where to go after the book. Someone suggested Javascript: The definitive guide and i read it, from start to finish, it was honestly the definitive guide. It goes through everything from basic syntax and semantics to using Javascript in some obscure ways that the other books had just not touched (e.g. Using Javascript as an Object Oriented language, and data encapsulation).

So yeah, i've always suggested that book to anyone asking where to learn Javascript(No matter what skill level). If you wish to branch into jQuery and Ajax it's worth buying something else afterwards (There's material on Ajax in The definitive guide, and a guide on where to go next but Ajax seems more readily developed and changing)... But this book was my true introduction to C-Style languages and without it i don't think i'd be where i am today as a programmer.

8

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for recommendations of RAW photo processor

« on: November 28, 2009, 08:19 AM »

I see no mention of UFRaw in this thread, i used to use UFRaw all the time to work with my Raw photos. I love it, freeware, easy to use, simple... etc.

9

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« on: August 27, 2009, 05:40 PM »

Ahh i can't wait for NANY, it will be great coding practice =]

10

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« on: June 25, 2009, 04:57 PM »

Haha thanks for the luck =] I'm really looking forward to uni, all dependant on the grades though.

11

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« on: June 25, 2009, 03:29 PM »

Hey all, i'm Jamey, 18, a student in the UK, between high-school and uni (waiting to find out my exam results). I started my programming life with web-progamming(HTML, CSS, JS, PHP) back in 03[ish]... Since i've dabbled with loads of languages, love programming, write small utilities for personal use and some bespoke software for a few people.

I also ride BMX. Love Music(Electro/Indie/Rock/DubStep/Acoustic). I am a photographer, that kind of goes with my web-design background.

I've been helping people out at TechSupportForum.com, and started using AutoHotkey for small scripts to speed up repetetive tasks that users needed to perform to fix their pc/etc. And through AHK's script bank i found DC. Have been here a few days, not yet very active, but hope to become more active soon.

Feel free to chat =] Info on my profile.

12

General Software Discussion / Re: Any software that magniies circular region around the cursor?

« on: June 23, 2009, 04:54 PM »

Same feature here:
http://www.imgpresen....com/magnify/mag.htm

Though i haven't yet found a freeware/OS alternative.

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Developer's Corner / Re: What (programming) languages are represented?

« on: June 23, 2009, 04:12 PM »

Need to learn java seriously, but I'm afraid it'd be a huge effort for a language that people critisize so much and, quite honestly, looks like crap and needs humongous IDEs.

-urlwolf (June 23, 2009, 04:02 PM)

People overcomplicate Java. I thought it was a lot more complicated than it is, my advice is this; Sun's tutorials aren't that good. Especially if you're not a first-time programmer. I bought Java in a Nutshell by O'Reilly and the depth to which it covers Java is brilliant. The lack of a "an object is like a real life object" sort of childish talk is also a big plus (i found Sun's tutorials to be very condescending).

Also, doesn't need an IDE, IDEs just speed up basic tasks... With java all you need is JDK, JRE and a text editor. As for the lexical style, it's got a C-Style syntax, but is based around OO.

The Universities i've applied to all teach Java throughout the course so i decided to learn it before hand to make things go more smoothly, so i saw it as something that HAD to happen at some point anyway.

14

Developer's Corner / Re: What (programming) languages are represented?

« on: June 23, 2009, 08:42 AM »

I get my kicks leaning new languages, so I tend to dabble a lot.

-Ehtyar (June 23, 2009, 06:21 AM)

Same there haha =]

15

Developer's Corner / Re: What (programming) languages are represented?

« on: June 22, 2009, 06:45 PM »

Personally, i use a load of different languages for a load of different situations...

Web: PHP, HTML, CSS & Javascript(I use Javascript a lot in website modding[GreaseMonkey, etc]).
Console Apps: Java. Have used Pascal&Delphi(7), but hated it(was a school project).
GUI Apps: Java for long-term, larger projects, AutoHotkey for throwaways/smaller things.