Messages

2951

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 20, 2006, 08:16 AM »

End of thread?  Why?  How could you summarize?

-kfitting (March 20, 2006, 07:29 AM)

Perhaps you can't summarize it, after all.  Going back to Superboyac's original post, it looks like this thread is in place of a review because the field is too large.  But anyone coming here from cold is going to have a lot of reading to do.

2952

Living Room / Re: the first 20000 users - well done, mouser!

« on: March 20, 2006, 08:03 AM »

At this moment, 20240 members, 19224 posts.  Does anyone but me find it sad that total number of members has consistently been running at about 1,000 higher than the total number of posts?

2953

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 20, 2006, 04:16 AM »

once Zoot can use the typical rtf stuff (outlines, bullets, changing fonts, font sizes, colored text, etc)

-superboyac (March 18, 2006, 03:07 AM)

Black Hole Organizer has had RTF for ages, and seems to have a good deal of "mind share."  It looks more like a database for text scraps than an outliner.

We've been discussing these notetaking software for a while now, and this thread has become quite lengthy.

Maybe it's time for an executive summary and <END OF THREAD> ??

2954

Finished Programs / Re: DONE: Eject!

« on: March 20, 2006, 03:56 AM »

I'm using AbsoluteControl for that task

-brotherS (March 20, 2006, 02:44 AM)

People might like to know about Wizmo from Steve Gibson  http://www.grc.com / http://www.grc.com/s...egibson.htm#projects

Features:

• blackout
blackout monitors(s) while leaving them on.

• desktop
blank monitors(s) to the desktop color.

• blank
Activate system's screen blanker.

• autoblank=
Enable/Disable timed blanking.

• monoff
Power off system monitor(s).

• standby
Place the computer in standby mode.

• hibernate
Cause the computer to hibernate.

• logoff
Logs off the current user.

• exit
Exits from Windows.

• reboot
Exits then restarts Windows.

• open
Opens/ejects system's CDROM.

• open=
Open/eject specific drive.

• close
Closes system's CDROM.

• close=
Closes specific drive.

• volume=
Set system's audio volume (0-100).

• mute=
Enable or disable the system's audio.

• play=
Play the specified wave file.

• wave=
Set the wave volume only (0-100).

• shake=
Specify mouse sensitivity.

• quiet
Suppress Wizmo's action sound.

• graviton
Activate the built-in screen saver.

2955

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 17, 2006, 04:14 AM »

I've toyed with the idea of getting InfoSelect over the years, but I can never quite get past how breathtakingly expensive it is. However, it has a lot of features that I think are pretty useful and unique. Many of these are PIM features like ticklers and reminders, and so are probably not germaine to this discussion.

-Jimdoria (March 16, 2006, 04:04 PM)

jimdoria,

I had (still have) both Memory Mate for DOS and Info Select for DOS.  I came to prefer the more basic-seeming Memory Mate for its clean simple interface, even though Info Select even then had more features.  Windows IS has vastly more features than I understand, let alone want, and I'd be perfectly happy to leave reminders and such to separate free or cheap applications.  But I'd certainly be interested to see a cut-down notekeeping-only version of Info Select at a much lower price.

2956

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 17, 2006, 03:59 AM »

Right, but dont forget outlines!  I did my college papers in Keynote...

-kfitting (March 16, 2006, 10:57 AM)

kfitting,

The truth is, I discovered outliners too late to have an impact on the way I work, and I think I've come to view notekeeping as a separate activity from the "creative" writing  (making use of said notes?) aspect I associate with outliners.  Also I like WordStar-style editors for bashing out text, and am just too unwilling to change.  Just my mental blocks, I suppose.  They say middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist change places...

2957

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 16, 2006, 10:50 AM »

- You know what you want but not where to find it (search)

-kfitting (March 16, 2006, 08:48 AM)

That's where I usually am.  Much of the text is short items, a few paragraphs.  It can be anonymous, or have up to several authors and corporate affiliations, and one or several journal references (e.g. when the same news item is printed in several magazines).  So I need a database, but one that's much more freeform than usual.

I rarely need structure 

2958

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 16, 2006, 04:09 AM »

I really feel we gotta get out of the whole tree-heirarchy thing. 

-superboyac (March 15, 2006, 10:36 AM)

Don't forget that originally, Mouser wanted this thread to concentrate specifically on tree-hierarchy programs...
https://www.donation...62.msg16164#msg16164

Subtle distinction between Zoot for text and AskSam for documents.  I usually deal with short pieces of text, just a few paragraphs.

Seems to me that ECCO doesn't have a lot of spiritual descendants, in that there aren't very many single-pane outliners around.  Nearly everyone seems to have gone for the two- or occasionally three-pane look, which is a pity.  It would be nice to have a little more choice.

2959

General Software Discussion / Re: Must-have apps in the System tray?

« on: March 16, 2006, 03:46 AM »

i'm still learning to *harness* the powers of AHK... ;-) so I'm keeping AllChars as a backup...

-lanux128 (March 15, 2006, 06:17 PM)

Ah, yes    I wonder how long before someone writes a GUI interface for hotstrings in AHK, after the "Instant Text" text expander idea?

Katmouse is a mouse-wheel enhancer.

OK, thanks.

The computer I use most is at work.  It has three Altiris icons (corporate snoopware), WinZip (I prefer to use Total Commander), McAfee antivirus (I'd prefer something else, but OK), then ClipCache, Magic Notes (sticky notes), PTFB (Press That Freakin' Button), Qsel (program launcher) and Stickies (sticky notes from Zhornsoft, under trial).  That is, half the programs I don't want, but have no choice...

2960

Site/Forum Features / Re: new forum feature - spoiler tag

« on: March 15, 2006, 04:35 AM »

done.

-mouser (March 15, 2006, 04:13 AM)

Hmmm.  Gives the lie to this, then 

How many C programmers does it take to change a lightbulb?

Spoiler

Only one.  But nobody else can ever change it again afterwards...

2961

General Software Discussion / Re: Must-have apps in the System tray?

« on: March 15, 2006, 04:26 AM »

AllChars, F&RR, WinWarden, AHK, CLCL (clipboard manager), Windows Security Alert (i'd like to get rid of this, but can't...), KatMouse,

-lanux128 (March 14, 2006, 08:50 PM)

I was interested to see both AllChars and AHK.  I'd have thought that AHK would have removed the need for AllChars?

What's KatMouse?

2962

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 15, 2006, 04:17 AM »

Zoot:

PS (what's with the 16-bit look?  and that price tag?  eesh!)

-superboyac (March 14, 2006, 05:01 PM)

I seem to remember hearing that Zoot looks 16-bit because it is 16-bit, and this is one of the issues even long-term users have with it.  That is, it's still waiting to be updated to 32-bit.  I agree it's expensive, but it's competing in the same kind of commercial class as things like AskSam, InfoSelect and UltraRecall.

More on Zoot, AskSam and InfoSelect on John Buckman's outliners page (sadly out of date, but still the best summary I've seen)

2963

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 15, 2006, 04:07 AM »

EverNote not only tags all past notes you ever created with that keyword; it also tags any future notes with that keyword you might create.

-EverMike (March 14, 2006, 01:03 PM)

Thanks!  I still wish the download wasn't so enormous, but it sounds worth looking at.

2964

General Software Discussion / Re: Tame - a program for those running DOS applications

« on: March 14, 2006, 08:16 AM »

I've run Tame 4.5d for quite some time, but have to confess I've never looked hard at it.  I find that using old PKZIP 2.04g for DOS seems extremely slow, despite using Tame.  But, I suppose I should really look into it and do some tweaking.

<later>  Hmmm...  my version is rather old, I see it's now 5.0...

2965

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 14, 2006, 03:34 AM »

if that keyword is anywhere in the note, that note will automatically be placed in that category.

-superboyac (March 13, 2006, 10:54 AM)

OK, thanks; I think I see and that could be quite useful.  But, do you have to know in advance what your keywords are going to be?  Or can you decide at some later date that you need new/different ones and have EverNote build new categories?

2966

General Software Discussion / Re: E-mail clients review

« on: March 14, 2006, 03:27 AM »

Do you really want to put all your eggs in the Google basket?

2967

General Software Discussion / E-mail clients review

« on: March 13, 2006, 09:24 AM »

The May 2006 edition of the UK magazine Computer Shopper has a review of e-mail clients.  They scored them as follows:

Microsoft Outlook 2003                  - 2
Microsoft Outlook Express 6            - 2
Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5                   - 4
Qualcomm Eudora Sponsored Edition - 3
Opera 8.51                                   - 3
Ritlabs The Bat! 3.65 Home Edition    - 5
Pegasus Mail 4.31                          - 3

So DC are not the only place that favours The Bat! 

2968

General Software Discussion / Re: Auto click windows dialog

« on: March 13, 2006, 09:14 AM »

I am looking for a freeware which can automatically kill/close/push a button on a windows dialog

-zeemar (March 13, 2006, 09:04 AM)

I use the last free version of Press that Freakin' Button (PTFB)
http://www.priceless...TOP.php#ButtonPusher
Later versions have turned into a shareware macro program.

There's also (not tried by me) ClickOff, also freeware
http://www.johannesh...com/en/clickoff.html

I believe you can also do this with the freeware macro programs AutoHotKey (very popular on DonationCoder), AutoIt, and PowerPro.  All can do lots of other things as well, but if automatic button-pressing is all you want, PTFB is effective and easy to use.

2969

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 13, 2006, 03:57 AM »

whether or not a note contains specific keywords.

-EverMike (March 11, 2006, 05:17 PM)

EverMike,

Do you really mean "keywords," i.e. specially assigned words, or do you mean searching full text for particular words?

2970

Living Room / Re: Planet Earth starts tonight

« on: March 13, 2006, 03:35 AM »

The photography is AWESOME.  Snow leopards, even!  Only thing I didn't like was the background music, which I found obtrusive, like where the beats get faster as the hunting dogs close in for the kill.  That's emotionally manipulative.  But the rest is  terrific.

2971

General Software Discussion / Re: Free (and opensource) Hotkey Tool - Tip!

« on: March 09, 2006, 11:02 AM »

I love the concept of assigning Hotkeys to the [win]+X Button.

-crono (March 09, 2006, 08:21 AM)

None of the keyboards I use even has a Win key 

2972

General Software Discussion / Re: Filenotes for Downloading Amnesiacs

« on: March 09, 2006, 10:55 AM »

I'm also wondering if anyone knows of another way to annotate files with filenotes easliy

-patteo (March 09, 2006, 08:54 AM)

Total Commander.  Ctrl-Z gives you a box to type in that's compatible with 4DOS-style DESCRIPT.ION files ( I suspect that's where your 257 character limit comes from, but could be wrong).  I try to remember to capture a short-form description from the file's Web site to use.  If you enable it in Options, TC will copy the description when it copies the file to anothr location.  Pressing Shift-Control-F2 on a directory listing shows you file name and comment. 

An old DOS program, DEDIT, part of the INKUTILS, INK153.EXE available from the Free Software for DOS Web site is another non-4DOS way of maintaining DESCRIPT.IONs.

2973

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 09, 2006, 04:16 AM »

I don't understand what Dialog does...I'm on their page right now.

-superboyac (March 08, 2006, 09:58 AM)

Superboyac,

Dialog is a large collection of large databases, mostly of peer-reviewed journals and the like.  It includes, for example, about 16 databases on patents alone; plus equivalent and generally large classes of journal databases on chemistry, pharmaceuticals, financial, business intelligence, marketing, general news, agriculture, products, brands and trademarks, aerospace, and I could go on.  For quality of information, it knocks the Internet into a cocked hat, but depending on what you want it can be very expensive.  The company I work for spends about $7,000 per year on Dialog, the great majority of it on patent searches.

One of the good things about Dialog  is a command language that gives you precise searching.  You can build up the search bit by bit, e.g. something like this:

s1  (toner? or developer?)
s2  (acrylic or acrylated or acrylate)(2n)bead?
s3  s1 and s2     #  combine first two searches
s4  s3/eng         # limit to English language only

So that's where I'm coming from, and perhaps you can see why I'm interested in powerful database systems rather than hierarchical trees.  There are few such systems available at low cost.  The only one I can think of is the DOS program Inmagic, which was declared freeware when Inmagic Corp. launched their Windows version, DB/TextWorks.  And if you have to ask the price of that, you can't afford it...

Inmagic links:
Third-party view of Inmagic  for DOS
Inmagic Corp. DB/TextWorks

2974

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 09, 2006, 03:47 AM »

And, rjbull, as far as fully indexed searching, well...YES!  Why?  Because fully indexed searching will allow the program to have the search-as-you-type filter

-superboyac (March 08, 2006, 09:47 AM)

It's the key to FAST and PRECISE text retrieval, including Boolean searches.  It should help with things like proximity searches too, e.g. ACRYL?(2N)BEAD? = find the stem "acryl" (acrylic, acrylate, acrylated etc.) within two words of the stem "bead."

2975

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: March 09, 2006, 03:42 AM »

Another product in this category is AskSam.

-dajo (March 08, 2006, 09:33 AM)

Back in the DOS days, I had a demo disk of the DOS version of AskSam.  There were no instructions.  It was one of the few programs I couldn't even get started with    So I've been wary every since.  But, I heard it was used to organise and search the texts used in the Watergate hearings, so it must be powerful.