Messages

76

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Final Release: SubDiv

« on: January 06, 2010, 07:03 PM »

M$

-dilligaff (January 06, 2010, 11:12 AM)

Using the format "2010_01_06" works fine for me. Actually, it's also the folder sorting technique my image organizing software employs.

The underscores seem to break up the name enough so that Windows sorts properly, and doesn't need any special date-smart x-ray vision. Those of us in the USA can deal with the communist-inspired y/m/d order. I submit it as the easiest way to go.

77

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Final Release: SubDiv

« on: January 04, 2010, 03:15 PM »

I was pretty tickled with how this program ripped through my cloudy downloads folder, until I realized that the way it names folders results in an out-of-chronological-order mess...



It's still a nice idea for Chronic Downloader's Remorse.

Suggestions:

1. Please use a folder naming convention that 'naturally' sorts by date, ie. 2009-03-15
2. Include an 'undo' feature.
3. Include a feature that optionally recursively sorts subfolders. In other words, it reaches into every folder, digs out everything and dumps it into the root folder, deletes all empty folders, then re-sorts based on file date. Definitely will want to include an "Are you really, really, really sure?" confirmation dialog for this.

78

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Release: Anuran

« on: January 04, 2010, 02:31 PM »

Cool, I just watched mouser's screencast of the proggie. Also, first mention in the Wrap Up!  High five

79

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Small App To Turn Background Windows Transparent Automatically

« on: December 24, 2009, 01:08 AM »

necrobump! I'm trying this app out more to explore how useful transparency is than anything else.

Skrommel, is there a way to exclude specific applications from being made transparent? I use bbLean/bb4win, and this app makes everything about it transparent, even the desktop background.

80

Living Room / Re: Infectious Greed: Dishwashers, and How Google Eats Its Own Tail

« on: December 20, 2009, 01:35 PM »

I'm glad some attention is being focused on this problem. I haven't been able to locate a useful review for any product, software, or game on Google for years. I'm forced to just select a few sites that I trust, or ask an internet community I trust what they think.

The same problem exists when using price search engines. I don't know how many times I've searched for a good price on something, only to be led to a sky-high shipping price recoup, a worthless ebay auction, or a product number that's off by a digit and is no longer in stock anywhere.

I'm back to being on my own in web searching.

Probably better that way, anyway. This decline in usefulness has mysteriously coincided with a similar decline in my own willingness to spend money on things.

81

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 - Mini NANY Submissions

« on: December 19, 2009, 02:34 AM »

GAC

-Target (December 12, 2009, 04:10 AM)

Nice idea. I'm using this now. I'm also grateful that the app will use ./GAC.ico rather than its own built-in icon, I've been looking for a way to use this tiny Game Boy icon.

82

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Program Idea Suggestion Thread

« on: December 06, 2009, 07:37 PM »

NANY Idea: Automatic Pidgin accounts.xml encryption (for Windows).

Not very sexy, I know. This will require implementation of an encryption library.

PROBLEM:

Pidgin currently saves all your account information in a single accounts.xml file, completely unencrypted. The Pidgin devs have explicitly stated that they will not encrypt this information, citing cross-platform implementation difficulties, and using the poor excuse that IM passwords aren't terribly secure anyway, and that encrypting this information gives a 'false sense of security.'

Bunk, I say. There's still a need for this feature. Any login information is useful to Folks With Bad Intentions, be it a login name or password. There's no reason not to encrypt the entire file if necessary, if only to keep casual snoopers such as kids or coworkers, out of your business.

PROPOSAL:

1. A simple, nearly transparent helper program for Pidgin that launches a user password prompt, encrypts/decrypts the accounts.xml, and launches Pidgin, then closes itself.
2. When run subsequently, the program checks to see if Pidgin is running, and if accounts.xml is in plaintext. If Pidgin is running, the program closes with no action.
3. If Pidgin is not running, and the accounts.xml is in plaintext, the program encrypts the file and closes itself.
4. When run the first time, the program asks for a (relative) path to Pidgin.exe, but accepts any other executable name (pidginportable.exe, for instance), and a password. It then encrypts accounts.xml. Subsequent runs of the program default to the behavior listed above.
5. When accounts.xml is encrypted, it should probably also be renamed, so that Pidgin does not overwrite it, if Pidgin is run 'normally.' Pidgin's behavior will then be to start a new accounts.xml, which this program will overwrite on next run.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- no reliance on external runtimes
- capable of running with relative paths for portable use
- AES 128-bit encryption, or better
- encryption of buddy lists (blist.xml) and pounces (pounce.xml)
- works with Pidgin official build or PortableApps.com version
- program does not run when it is not needed. Shouldn't be a need for this in the tray, for example.

83

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: December 04, 2009, 12:44 PM »

Still very happy with this project. I use it every day. Notes:

anuran notes 1.0.12
anuran:
- Request: Sound when toggling anuran pause (can use existing sound)
- Request: Include some sample sounds with Anuran and pre-select a default (previously provided)
- Bug: the "Tray icon click type" stays as Single-click, even when changed

anuvu:
- Request (nice-to-have): ability to determine create and archive dates from the logfiles and place these in columns in AnuVu.

84

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Program Idea Suggestion Thread

« on: December 04, 2009, 03:18 AM »

EXPOSITION
I really envy my friend's Mac for only one thing: the talking clock. It's such a pleasant and slightly wooden voice, piping up every half hour to calmly state the time.

Every now and then, I look around for a Window equivalent. They're all terrible. Or require money. Or are written in MS Basic '95. Or use scratchy samples of annoying sounds.

I'm not sure why, it being nearly 2010, Microsoft doesn't have voice synthesis worth a damn. Apple has more pleasant synth voices emanating from tiny iPods. The last thing I want is a talking clock that makes any use of Microsoft voices.

I guess what that leaves me is a talking clock that intelligently uses wav samples. Fortunately, there is a fairly decent voice synthesis engine available online. It generates wav files which can be used as fodder for this program (see my caveat below, however):

http://www2.research...~ttsweb/tts/demo.php

A TALKING CLOCK, YOU SAY
So, what I'm suggesting is:
- a talking clock
- that uses a small assortment of wav files to announce the time
     - example: "It's one p.m."
     - clock seamlessly plays:
          - its.wav, one.wav, pm.wav (three wavs, played one after the other, smoothly to form a single sentence)
- user-configurable announce intervals (:15, :30, :60, never)
- clock is itself extremely small and efficient, using next to no resources
- clock has an icon that can show in the tray, or not show in the tray, depending on what the user wants.
- clock no dependence on external runtimes.

BONUS:
- hotkey/double-click announces current time
- configurable countdown timer
- alarm clock with, say, three alarms

CAVEAT:
- the att voice demo does not allow redistribution of generated files. users will have to create their own from the demo or other sources. The developer of this project will have to supply his/her own wav files with the install package. Still not a bad idea, people could record their kids saying the numbers and have the clock regurgitate them back at them, or some other irritating usage.

85

Living Room / Re: TheGameCrafter: Cool new site to help you make and sell indie board/card games

« on: November 29, 2009, 11:05 PM »

Nice motivation. I'm no gamemaker, but then, I've never tried, have I?

At the very least, it would be nice to see how rabidly the folks at BoardGameGeek leap on this.

86

Living Room / Re: TheGameCrafter: Cool new site to help you make and sell indie board/card games

« on: November 27, 2009, 01:47 PM »

This is a really great idea. I wonder why the guys at Cheapass Games didn't think of this? Only problem is, how do I know which games are actually good? I guess I can wait around a while, and see what their best sellers turn out to be, or if some of the games turn up in discussions on boardgame geek.

Mostly though, boardgames cost too much (for me), and it's good to see a print-on-demand company show up to potentially drive the prices down.

87

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 20, 2009, 06:07 PM »

No issues with this build. I'm a pretty happy camper.

88

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 18, 2009, 05:35 PM »

MINOR BUG: When using the 'pause' feature, initiating a manual popup with the appropriate hotkey fails (sound event only). When Anuran is paused, I should still be able to call up the popup on my own without disabling the pause.

89

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 18, 2009, 01:45 AM »

I'd prefer a "Pause" option on the tray icon's right-click menu.

Ideally there would also be a hotkey to toggle pause on and off.

-Ransom (November 17, 2009, 10:31 PM)

I've been thinking of requesting this feature myself. I like the idea of shading the icon to indicate Anuran is suspended. There is the issue of remembering to turn it back on, and I think an auto-resume option is a bit much. How about this:

Request: Even if Anuran's popup is temporarily "paused," Anuran still makes the event sound (ribbit) at the appropriate times, just without the popup. This is a toggleable option, in case the user doesn't want to be bothered at all. Hope that isn't too much work, Skwire.

Right, the "Export current view to file" ought to cover most things so, I'm curious, how did you want the mass export to work?

-skwire (November 17, 2009, 10:33 PM)

I just see it as stripping the markup from the individual text files, and saving as .txt. No more, no less. The more I think about it, though, the less I see the use in this, unless the logfiles start to become more complex. "Export view" does a pretty good job on its own.

Also, I'm fiddling with CamStudio now, I can try my hand at a feature tour screencast. I'm kind of a dork, though.

90

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 17, 2009, 06:18 PM »

I agree that as-is is fine. As for rewording the menu, the user already can make the text say whatever he wants from within AnuVu's option dialog, and Notepad is the default

Opening many files in notepad windows is an unlikely desire, IMO. I believe that mass export into plaintext is on the todo list anyway, which will reach the same end, with the added benefit that they'll also be a little bit easier to read. In the meantime, 'export current view to file' mostly fulfills that desire anyway.

Speaking of which:

- Feature request: AnuVu: select all/select none capability in logfile pane. This can be relegated to an Edit menu, or appended to the File menu.
- To Discuss: what are your thoughts on a buttoned toolbar in AnuVu? I personally don't need it, but do you think users will want it?

I'm really digging how AnuVu is shaping up overall. It's really becoming the face of the application.

91

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 17, 2009, 12:23 PM »

Maybe it's to do with the 'update'
I'll try it with a fresh install so-to-speak -

Fresh 'install'.
Attempted 'Open in Notepad' (with single files only selected)
unfortunately doesnt work here with archived files *or* current.

The install that was updated - that now suddenly opens everything

Okay, I've figured it out - I presumed it opened the currently ticked file(s) but it opens currently selected files

-tomos (November 17, 2009, 05:00 AM)

Suggestion - We can change the menu option to "Open selected with external editor."

EDIT: ... wait a sec, is it supposed to open checked files in an editor? I plumb forgot.

92

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 16, 2009, 05:59 PM »

anuran notes 1.0.7, 8, 9

Anuran:
- anuran and anuvu unpack some stuff in my temp folder. I'd like to keep this app portable and submit it to the portablefreeware.com directory, who are sticklers about apps leaving cruft behind. Frankly, I'm a stickler for this as well, since I'd like to use this app on host machines and want to be a good guest. Can we either have the app clean up after itself, or unpack this temporary matter to .\temp? Or have a user option to disable the behavior entirely?

AnuVu:
- Font controls are awesome, as is the 'open with external editor' control.
- Request: Are we  embedding metadata dates into the logfiles? If so, let's have AnuVu display those dates in columns in the log file pane, so they can be sorted accordingly. Columns: Created, Archived. Timestamp format can be arbitrary for easier parsing.
- Request: AnuVu remembers last sort settings in logfile pane. (if possible, still keeping current.anu on the top)

All in all, another great rev! Thanks, Skwire.

93

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 14, 2009, 01:14 PM »

Excellent. I'll be using this build through the weekend and will submit my comments Monday.

94

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 13, 2009, 12:33 PM »

Skwire, could you also note in the changelog when you alter the logging format? You don't have to be super-specific, just a heads-up.

-doctorfrog (November 13, 2009, 12:09 PM)

Absolutely.  However, I may not have to.  I was just throwing it out there that it may have to change since we're still very early in the development phase.

I've been working on the word-wrap feature but there is a snag.  In AHK, that property can't be toggled without re-creating the GUI.  So, would a settable option be acceptable?  I'm probably going to add an AnuVu tab to Anuran's option interface...it would go there.

-skwire (November 13, 2009, 12:17 PM)

That's fine. It's a little odd to the user, having to restart the viewer to toggle word-wrap, but as we discussed, it's the only way to implement the feature. I see this as a menu option, with an Ok/Cancel dialog that pops up, in case the user doesn't want to lose his current view. I haven't tried it yet, but hopefully word wrap won't be something used with great frequency.

95

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 13, 2009, 12:09 PM »

Thanks for sending the file and continuing to betatest, tomos.

The issue with AnuVu and maximization forgetfulness is something I've also seen happen in other apps, particularly browsers. I was able to replicate the issue, but it's pretty minor: just resize the window manually to resolve.

Skwire, could you also note in the changelog when you alter the logging format? You don't have to be super-specific, just a heads-up.

96

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 13, 2009, 12:37 AM »

Bug: AnuVu displays logfile entries with repeating dates (logfile itself is fine):

[Select]

========================================
current.anu
========================================
2009-11-12 @ 11:14:24 PM 2009-11-12 @ 11:14:24 PM (test) 
2009-11-12 @ 11:15:21 PM 2009-11-12 @ 11:15:21 PM (testy testy test test) 
2009-11-12 @ 11:15:24 PM 2009-11-12 @ 11:15:24 PM (test)   
2009-11-12 @ 11:15:28 PM 2009-11-12 @ 11:15:28 PM (testomattica)

I'll wait for the next rev before commenting on the style format.

Request (minor): Is it possible to keep current.anu always on top of the sorted list?
Request: User-configurable hotkey to launch AnuVu. (Options>Hotkeys tab)
Request: User option: Double-click on tray icon launches AnuVu, or Popup. (Popup by default.)

97

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 12, 2009, 01:41 PM »

My reply:

1-4. Awesome.

5. This would be fine. Possible wording: "Export current view"

6. Totally acceptable. I just had to pipe up about it.

7. Good question. The option I had in mind was something like "Export all selected logfiles to individual text files." Kinda wordy. Might need an intermediary dialog... ok, menu option: "Export all..." This leads to a dialog asking for an export location. We can have the full wording there, and a file/directory select widget.
People who only want to export the current view can do so via another menu option: "Export current view...", or simply copy and paste the contents of the view pane.

8. That works. Though I still think storing a creation date in each logfile has its uses, particularly for more accurate file sorting (that isn't based on filename or file properties, both of which can vary). Actually, why not pair that with an "archived on" datestamp that appears at the end of the logfile as well?

Other thoughts for myself:
- at some point, we'll need to document that .anu files are just text files. The .anu extension and the need for a viewer might lead to the impression that there's some wonky proprietary format at work here.
- I might want to write up a basic readme.txt. No need for a full-blown helpfile, though.

98

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 12, 2009, 11:43 AM »

anuran notes, 1.0.6

anuvu:
1. Request: add option to toggle wordwrap in log viewer pane

2. Request: add option to add 0,1, or 2 carriage returns between individual log entries. (readability) Option text: "Spaces between log entries: none, 1, 2"

3. Request: add option to add 0 or 1 carriage returns between timestamp and entry text. (readability) Option text: "Insert space between timestamp and log entry: Yes, No"

4. Request (maybe): If implementing 3, and user choice is "Yes," then indent log entry relative to timestamp (which is already indented). 2-3 spaces in should be sufficient. (readability)

5. Request (maybe): right click on logviewer pane = drop-down menu option: "Export to text." Result: saves everything currently in logviewer pane to a text file. (for really lazy users, or as a "discoverable" feature).

6. Concern: My one discomfort now is that, before we had text files being generated that could be human-read with ease. Now, because of the "SS" symbols in the logfile markup, using the viewer is every so slightly forced upon the user, since this is the prime location for a clean view of logs.
It's not too bad now, and may be unavoidable, but I suggest we remain cognizant of this, as one of my goals was to keep the logfiles human-readable through the ages, if the user forgets or loses Anuran, or the program itself becomes incompatible with future OS's. Thoughts?

7. Request (maybe maybe): With 6 in mind, offer an easy way to select all text files in the logfile pane and export as "pretty" text, as it would be displayed in the logviewer pane. Result: each individual logfile is translated into a pretty text file. (This is a fairly big maybe.)

8. Bug (keepin' this alive): Anuran only archives a logfile if the user-specified time increment passes while Anuran is running. Solution: base the archive increment on the creation time of current.anu.

Other:
- I like how the entries are indented slightly. This is a Good Thing.
- I like how AnuVu presents log files. We're moving in a very good direction. With Anuran, we have a means of generating scads of user data. A searchable viewer gives that data a lot more meaning and use. It's a more crucial element than I thought it would be at first, and I'm glad you're working on it.
- Your thoughts on my 'generic timestamp' suggestion above? (https://www.donation....msg184295#msg184295)

99

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 11, 2009, 06:54 PM »

I'm partial to earwax.wav myself.

I'll heap my notes upon the thread tonight/tomorrow.

100

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Idea: A 'polite' reminder/diary system

« on: November 11, 2009, 02:11 PM »

Submitting more sounds. Open to thoughts.