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Last post Author Topic: Perfect Software?  (Read 51251 times)

Ralf Maximus

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #50 on: November 20, 2007, 09:50 PM »
I reject the notion that "perfection is unattainable".  Yes, many open-source developers do fear creating an actual Version 1.0.  That may be because they don't live in a commercial world that obeys the Pareto Principle, aka the 80-20 rule: The first 80% of anything takes 20% of the time; consequently and conversely, the last 20% takes 80% of the time.

Bingo.  Ditto.  We Have A Winner.  Cue fireworks.

That's a wonderfully concise distillation of something I've tried to articulate before, and failed.  Thank you.

BTW, I don't remember seeing you round these parts before, Yahya.  Welcome aboard!

dlagesse1992

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #51 on: November 28, 2007, 02:05 PM »
I nominate Resource Hacker. It does what it needs to, is small, powerful, and not bloated. The author has stopped development as it is good where it is. Also very useful for messing with things...

Yahya

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #52 on: November 29, 2007, 09:54 AM »
Thanks for the kind words, Ralf!  :)

On rereading, I see that Nosh had implicitly given a similar definition of "perfection" to mine: "It does what I need".  Though with today's relative cheapness of computing power and storage, we can certainly go beyond needs and cater to many (strictly unnecessary) wants as well.  Besides, perfection in a tool cannot be constrained by real-world scarcity, only by the purposes of its users.

For many years, I ranked Blackbeard (a shareware DOS text editor with block copy capability, multiple concurrent edit windows, user-definable key bindings and an excellent macro facility) as a perfect app.  Then my needs AND wants changed: I needed less eyestrain (from DOS colour combinations) and wanted to routinely use various emphases, such as bold, italic and underline, for a more natural reflection of a speaking voice.  The nature of my wants ruled out ANY text editor; thus began my long search for a perfect word processor ...  These days, I'm more interested in "idea processor" tools than presentation aids.  So as long as we live, the search for perfection will continue; not because it is unattainable, but because it is a moving target.

Curt

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #53 on: January 26, 2008, 08:52 AM »
Task Killer is another "perfect" program.
Not updated since 2005, though, so not Vistable.

nosh

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #54 on: January 26, 2008, 09:00 AM »
I love Task Killer - it's really helpful.

Stoic Joker

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #55 on: January 28, 2008, 06:41 PM »
I only know of one such application...a silly little clock. (there are probably loads of small single purpose apps that are the same story)

Back before I learned any programming, a friend of mine made a small desktop clock for me. When I requested it, I was unaware just how much of a stubborn minimalist he really is.

I gave him an image to use as a guide.
 (see attachment in previous post)
This is what I got from him:
 (see attachment in previous post)
  • When I asked to be able to change the colors and the font, he said no...that would be bloat.
  • When I asked for a border on the clock, same answer.
  • I asked him to remove the X and put an exit option on a popup menu...nope, he wouldn't do that either.
  • How about remember position? nope.

Everything I asked for, I got that same answer....no, that would add bloat.

He says the clock is perfect the way it is and there will not be any adding of features to it or any 'beautifying' ever. (If one discovers a bug, he will fix that, but it does what it does and does it well, so there is no bug fixing needed.) He says it could only be more perfect only if he can find a way to remove more 'bloat' from it and make it even smaller.

This was the application that gave me the push to learn programming. My frustrations from dealing with him lead me to learn how to create my own version with all the bloat features I wanted. :D

We still argue about this clock, even today, with him still insisting that it is perfect.

For anybody that wants his clock, it's attached to this post. He gave me permission to distribute it. (earlier 'bloated' versions and source are available, bundled, on his site's files page)
(Also being a minimalist...) I would have to agree with your friend, the clock is indeed perfect! I'm adding it to my collection of TClock versions.

Thank You for sharing it!

zridling

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #56 on: January 30, 2008, 12:07 AM »
Windows calculator must be perfect, since it's remained unchanged across two centuries!!  :P

Curt

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #57 on: June 27, 2009, 09:07 AM »
... Also, Alexander Davidson's MetaPad 3.5

I was pleased to see that yesterday's CyberNet Technology News had MetaPad as the big headline:

MetaPad: Light Notepad Replacement

There are all kinds of Notepad replacements out there, and it makes perfect sense why. Notepad is one of those apps that people use because it starts fast, is lightweight, and for most purposes it does what you need it to. And then there are other solutions out there like Notepad++, Notepad2, and many others. For some people even those can be overkill though.

That’s where Metapad comes in. This app just celebrated it’s 10-year anniversary, which means it’s been around the block and back again. It’s withstood the test of time, and yet there are still all kinds of people who swear by this app… and rightfully so. Metapad isn’t meant to be some all-powerful Notepad replacement. Instead its focus remained on staying small in size, but adding features that could be incredibly useful in daily use. This includes things like:

    * Persistent window placement
    * Dirty file notification
    * Intelligent Find and Replace
    * External viewer support (e.g. web browser)
    * Usable accelerator keys (Ctrl+S, Ctrl+N, etc.)
    * Dual customizable font support
    * Optional Quick Exit (Esc key)
    * Configurable tab stop setting
    * Auto-indent mode
    * Go to Line/Column
    * Seamless UNIX text file support
    * Block indent and unindent (Tab, Shift+Tab)
    * Recent files list
    * No file size limit! (under Win9x)
    * Hyperlink support

So how small is this app? The executable weighs in under 100KB, which is pretty incredible. You have to keep in mind though that this app was developed before broadband had started to take off, and so it had to be quick to download over a modem. With that being said if you’re looking for a VERY light Notepad replacement you should definitely give this a shot.

Metapad Homepage (free; Windows only)

Now, there was one thing that CyberNet didn't mention, and that is, that Metapad hasn't been updated since year 2002, except for a minor bug-fix in 2005!!! And yet it is said to be working flawlessly on Vista:

clickable thumb:

metapad-2.jpgPerfect Software?


 :up:
http://cybernetnews....notepad-replacement/
http://liquidninja.com/metapad/

Innuendo

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #58 on: June 27, 2009, 11:54 AM »
Windows calculator must be perfect, since it's remained unchanged across two centuries!!  :P
-zridling

So NOW I know why Microsoft is updating the calculator app in Windows 7!  :)

Darwin

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #59 on: June 27, 2009, 05:01 PM »
Curt - I'm using Metapad under Vista 64 bit with no problems! I've been using it since I was on Win 98SE and love it. There are editing and search/replace features that are awesome in such a little package  :Thmbsup:

Curt

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #60 on: May 19, 2011, 08:51 AM »
"Perfect Software?":
Axialis IconWorkshop Professional ? At least I think it was last updated a year ago...


Why the heck is the normal price listed at Bits du Jour as being $100 ???
edited: http://www.bitsdujou...xialis-iconworkshop/

I trust IconWorkshop will be updated for Win 8, but otherwise; is anything happening?
Or is it really perfect ?
« Last Edit: May 19, 2011, 08:56 AM by Curt »

Curt

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #61 on: May 20, 2011, 06:16 PM »
... Metapad hasn't been updated since year 2002, except for a minor bug-fix in 2005!!! And yet it is said to be working flawlessly on Vista:
http://liquidninja.com/metapad/
Curt - I'm using Metapad under Vista 64 bit with no problems!...

-that was as of June 2009. Since then, the author has revived Metapad:


March 26, 2011   ~   Posted beta 5 which contains a minor refresh to the toolbar. See the change list.

March 12, 2011   ~   Posted beta 4 for Metapad 3.6 which fixes a couple bugs. See the change list.

March 9, 2011   ~   The third beta for Metapad 3.6 adds a simple but powerful new feature. See the change list.

February 26, 2011   ~   A second beta is out for Metapad 3.6. Here's the list of changes.

December 23, 2010   ~   Just in time for the holidays and after many years, I am happy to announce a new version of Metapad: 3.6. It's currently a beta release so there may still be an issue or two. Find out more details on this Metapad 3.6 post on my blog.

http://twitter.com/metapad
-Metapad

Read the full story at his blog: http://liquidninja.c...ouncing-metapad-3-6/


It should be stated that Metapad now supports UTF-8 files
-and even has become GNU Open Source:

Grab the source here:
http://github.com/alexd/metapad
2011-05-23_201614.gif


There are still two versions of Metapad. I have never tried the LE (Lite Edition), because the Full Version is already so fast, that it doesn't make sense to go for the even faster but feature-less Lite Edition, unless you often have to open extremely large text files:


Q:  What is the difference between Full version and LE?

A:  Technically, the full version utilizes a RichEdit control whereas LE (Light Edition) uses the older but slightly speedier Edit control (as does metapad 1.x). LE may be slightly faster when loading very large files but it does not have the following features:

    Multiple undo/redo
    Show hyperlinks option
    Drag & drop text editing
    Insert/overwrite mode switching
    No file size limit on Win9X

Those features are enough for me to strongly recommend the full version over LE. On a modern computer you probably won't notice any speed difference between the two.
metapad-icon-150p.png.pagespeed.ce.FCTaezBbgX.png
Latest Release: Mar 26, 2011
Version 3.6 Beta 5    Version 3.6 LE Beta 5
metapad36beta5.zip    metapad36LEbeta5.zip

http://liquidninja.c...etapad/download.html
http://liquidninja.com/metapad/
« Last Edit: May 23, 2011, 01:17 PM by Curt »

Curt

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #62 on: March 11, 2012, 07:47 AM »
Resource Hacker is no longer being developed:

Last Updated: 16 September 2011
Version: 3.6.0

I have been overwhelmed by the interest in Resource HackerTM, the emails of thanks, encouragement and suggestions. It's been downloaded many millions of times. However, I've moved on to other things and have no plans to continue its development. Please don't ask for the source code, I'm not releasing it, nor is it for sale. Colin Wilson has written an open source Resource Editor which may interest those looking for source code. Otherwise, Anders Melander has also created another excellent Resource Editor which is still being developed.
-Resource Hacker

Tuxman

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Re: Perfect Software?
« Reply #63 on: March 18, 2012, 08:39 PM »
So discontinuation means perfection?

Good, old, perfect DOS...