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61
General Software Discussion / file-by file set backups to the cloud - good tools needed
« on: February 15, 2015, 07:17 PM »
Continuing from:
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=40144.0

Rather than the image backup, the question here is the simpler backup, the data and config files and documents and stuff like that.  A backup that you independently design and it may be a small quantity of data. (If you have huge volume, like with email or video or iso, it may get its own special time and method attention.)

There are two main backup places:

a) local drive - Mybook, USB, local server etc.
b) cloud drive - (gazillion spots)

For the local drives, you have inexpensive hardware and solid software easily available, such as:

Personal Backup
Backup Maker - Ascomp
Cobian
Comodo
FBackup (free) or Backup4All (paid)
Syncback
FreeFileSync
Areca

Best Free File-Based Backup Program - Aug 2014
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-hard-drive-backup-program.htm

[Windows] Best free file backup, drive backup (aka imaging), and system backup software - Feb, 2013
http://dottech.org/95071/windows-best-free-file-drive-system-image-sector-backup-programs-review/

And many others.  This allows flexibility (Preference, I would like one allows flexibility in the drive assignment of the target drive, to be overridden at the time of backup.)  Since the quantity of data here is often small you have lots of flexibility in timing, target folder, multiple sets, etc.  In many cases, you can even bypass incremental and simply do full backups of this volatile data.

=================

What about the cloud?  In earlier days we talked a lot about drive mapping, WebDav and tools like ExpanDrive and similar tools.  Now I want to ferget about all those.  Services don't see mapped drives anyway, some of the drive mapping tools are quirky, some are $$ for multiple puters, etc.  Today, with the cloud sophistication, those could be more pain than gain for the home user.

Let's just find the best tool for user-defined backup to the cloud that has:

a) Good file-by-file backup software design (like Cobian, Backup4All, etc) with include/omits, specified files, folders, scheduling (can be triggered externally) etc.
b) Total Commander style file manager for looking at the target location and the home base.

DriveHQ definitely has (b).  
Question: what web backup has the strongest combination of (a) and (b)?  A is more critical, since it actually gets the data there.

Does not have to be free.  Especially since this is being used for smaller volumes of data.
Does not have to synch in any way, but it can be a synch tool used in backup mode.

In the basic iteration of this question, you are including all Windows Desktop programs. e.g. DriveHQ's excellent file manager is
a Windows download and install.

In another iteration of this question, you wonder if there are any cloud-based tools that can do even a decent job.  

The main purpose of mapping would be allow the desktop tools to be used to the external cloud.  The question here is,
what is the next best way, without the mapping complexities and costs and another set of problems.

Steven

62
General Software Discussion / publishing notes to the net
« on: February 10, 2015, 05:30 AM »
Hi,

Does a note system == web publishing system?
Why or why not?

Take an example.  I have a client where I would like to make it reasonably clear what I have done for them,  what are our contacts, how and why we do backup, what are the projects and a number of other items.  I've worked for them many years and if I am away, or less available than the current 20-minute-drive dropin, they have a good body of information.

I want them to be able to print out a page and keep it handy and then get to it very easily a year or 3 years later.    A while back I thought about Ubernote.  Not visual enough. Today I am working with the Notezilla memoboard paradigm.  Not bad.  At least for personal ad hoc note use, excellent. Not, however, for a professional sharing approach.

However, what if you have a Rightnote style tree-note that publishes to the web?  Then (allowing a suitable parking space) you can really make it easy for them to find and read and study. They don't have to pass around a manuel, or a data file, they can read and print and see screen shots right from the web. You might get some nice advantages over the memoboard, like an indexed tree.  And you do an update or addition, you simply republish.

That is simply one example. Dozens of others can be added.  I have Bible textual studies that might do well on this type of publishing, more user-reader effective than blog or forum writing, more time effective than special book-outliner preparation.  (Scrivener, Citavi, Outline4D and many friends.)  Hybrid-city.

===============================================

This thread hopes to build on some of the discussions in the following three threads, with special kudos to DC Peter and remote Paul, if I have identities right.

Some outliners and the features Unicode, search in the tree, website publishing
http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/5203

stickies Notezilla memoboard as full-blown personal note system
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=40122.0

Paul J. Miller - I used to be undecided, but now I'm not so sure.
https://pauljmiller.wordpress.com/category/software/note-taking/

===============================================

Here are some that are noted for publishing to the web.  Some give examples of finished websites.
Others are said to be somewhat quirky in actual publishing.  Apparently this is a specialty area.
Some have been mentioned extensively on DC, some very little.

TreePad - http://www.treepad.com/webgenerator/ - many sample sites
"comfortable feature to create a website... no Unicode support" - Peter

Memobook http://www.memo-book.net/en/overview-en.html
" possibility to export as a website with better results than MyInfo concerning the line spacing...  silly and unnecessary zoom..  Memo Book gave me the impression that the web version corresponds exactly with the “original” version." - Peter
Any comments on the zoom?

MyInfo - http://www.milenix.com/myinfo  - best on unicode
"easily and without problems but formatting is not fully retained in the web version" - Peter
Millenix has a forum, so here is a discussion about modifying .css either before or after export.
http://forums.milenix.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4556

MyBase, UltraRecall and Web Idea Trea are also in the mix, with nuance. "

I think it would be good to see which program is actually succeeding in helping people make production websites.

Treepad may be the leader.
"Examples of Websites created with TreePad"
http://www.treepad.com/webgenerator/

"WIT user's manual, which has entirely been designed and built with WIT."
http://www.webideatree.com/mu-en/text/index.html
"too complicated .. " Peter

===============================================

Mynoteskeeper - http://www.mynoteskeeper.com/

2/10/2015 correction -- this one does not belong

===============================================

Who else is solid in this mix?
Which one should I use (currently "none of the above" are in my toolkit.)
Is this the right way to go? Why or why not?

Anybody want to compare the finished products as well?
Which in some cases you might want to tweak.

===============================================

Steven

63
General Software Discussion / taskbar clutter - back to the virtual desktop GoScreen
« on: February 08, 2015, 03:52 AM »
Hi,

I like the taskbar, I leave two rows.  It still gets very cluttered. I don't like various solutions like restoring the QuickLaunch.
Also the window situation gets a little difficult.

Virtual Desktops were a big thing, some years ago, now they are more thought of in terms of multi-monitor.

And I noticed one mentioned the other day.

Multi-Tabber
http://multitabber.codeplex.com/

The description reminded me of GoScreen, the one I chose in 2006 and bought a license and they still have a yahoogroups forum.
Andrew Guranov, author.  I chose it partly because it was more native to Windows functions, no weird hooks, quite stable.

The license is lifetime, still good for the latest release (WinSnap is another utility with an excellent lifetime license.)

Loaded it back, and it it seems quite good for my needs.  

The primary desktop is browsers, email, chat skype.
I set up an auxiliary one for documents, PDFs, viewers, etc. (That was really cluttering the taskbar.)
One for utilities.
One for notes programs.
Stuff like that.  
You are not limited, if I am in the primary and need Notezilla or Total Commander, I simply use the start menu.
Probably I can put a program in multiple virtuals.  Lots could be checked out.

GoScreen
http://www.goscreen.info/
Note the good online documentation, how-to-guide.

FYI: Ok, it knocked away my wallpaper at first, took a minute to put it back.
It moved around icons, I put them back with DesktopOK.  I'm not sure if that is an inherent problem.
No mini-problems after the initial install and some playing around.  It might have had something to do with the
drag-and-drop capability you have with their set-up that starts on the left.

The longevity and ongoing support makes GoScreen a bit of a sleeper program.  Maybe Dexpot and
some others are more sophisticated.  GoScreen has some solid utility functions, it is rather a neat program.

Steven

64
General Software Discussion / stickies Notezilla memoboard as full-blown personal note system
« on: January 30, 2015, 02:42 AM »
This thread and idea comes out of a couple of recent discussions.
    
editor with built-in column or tiling facility - (Listhings comes close)
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=39951.0

The (stickies) memoboard as a column-based editor, flexible size rectangles, has turned out to be my fav, as in the pic below.

Also I want to look at some of the benefits, and some of the needs, with Notezilla if you use it this way.  Other sticky programs can be considered if they have a memoboard implementation.  This thread may double as my Notezilla discussion thread.  One reason I am ready for this is that I have some of the elements nicely laid out on my Notezilla memoboard dedicated to Stickies programs! Notezilla helps me keep track of Notezilla weaknesses as well as strengths.

Web-based memoboard implementations (eg. Listhings, which only lacks the RTF, having tabs rather than a tree structure) can also be compared.  My requirements will differ from others, so by going over the major feature set, it might help with the idea.

===========================================================

Goal

1) tree and/or tabbed note system

2) free-form structure that allows column-based and tile-based representations.  
   a) avoid massive white-space common to desktop note programs
   b) match the fact that different types of thinking have different length and style notes appropriate

3) RTF - (also background colors) (also take pics from the clipboard)

4) ease of use on editing, sizing, searching, moving from one topic to another.
    stability & support
    pleasant to navigate and use

===========================================================

Major Auxiliary Elements

multi-user collaboration, network, sync and/or export-import capbabilities

webpage annotation system (Internote stickies and Diigo-style workspaces, where Notezilla is at least in the mix)

publish to web (e.g. Menomic) - (FYI: Notezilla may have some utility here per memoboard by things like HTML export)

tablet capable

multi-OS

===========================================================

Overlap areas. They will not be the prime decision areas. Why?  Because I am in my note program 20-50 times in a day.  It really wants to be pleasant and quick.  If the note program I like the most is only used with USB or Dropbox style sharing, that is fine by me. For this function, I don't want a less happy program just for the "use easily anywhere" experience. I also like the fact that Notezilla and Vueminder will be happy Taskbar companions, always one click away, never lost in the Tab Maze.

Saying that, I will acknowledge that  Listhings, a free web-memoboard, able to be used anywhere, is quite fine overall for many note uses. I simply like my notes in RTF, which is not available, and there is no active development. Backing up and persistence up is also less clear. If a webboard did have all the basics, it might surpass using Notezilla.

My other related tools ?

Xerpi - VueMinder Calendar - Linkman - Firefox with extensions and bookmarks - Lastpass
Hmmm... I mention this because there is a type of data relatedness that makes these programs central. The first step on the net is Xerpi, as a startpage.

Other browsers are used, Facebook has its place, document programs are utilized. At work, there is a CRM / project and task manager, yet the group above make my daily personal net navigation experience. Contacts can be in Linkman, often with the keyword "addy", so this bypasses the PIM. (VueMinder can do structured contacts with custom fields, if needed also there are free web CRMs). At the moment Listpro and Todolist and Task Coach and Swift Todo and database and others are mostly on vacation. Rightnote is curtailed, on a diet.

Overall, I want to put as much as possible into the Notezilla and Linkman quasi-freeform structure. Many databases are de facto in Linkman, like software registrations with keyword SN#.  Screenshots and file managers and utilities and  DriveHQ and backup are a separate region. Documents and writing and research are a separate region.

===========================================================

Next, I want to go into where Notezila shines, and improvements desired.

Steven

65
General Software Discussion / developing a collaboration suite
« on: January 28, 2015, 02:38 AM »
Hi,

Circumstances, largely biz-related, have led me to look at the best tools for ongoing long-distance web collaboration on projects. Small team of 2-3 people, frequently meeting with another individual or small team from outside.

Some things are simple.

=========================

Teamviewer is used for helping directly. Or watching something in process. It is not normally on, but when used, works superbly.

Skype is used for the ongoing calling (as if in the same office) and the actual conference calling. (I use some other VOIP as well, but company-wide .. Skype really does the job pretty nicely. I even try to hot-link the telephone numbers in the browser using Firefox extension Telify or the aggressive Skype add-on.)

Google docs and sheets has a place of helping with Google drive and they are used in a mild sharing manner. (Smartsheet is an interesting program that might enhance some of that experience).  In the long run, this might be changed, but it does work.

=========================

I find Skype to be poor on the chat portion though. e.g. Conversations get fractured into various ad hoc team groups that are created on-the-fly by adding people to Skype calls.

For me, the choice right now is Hipchat.  A little private biz chat room.  They are a leader in that niche  (businesses do not want to even try to use Facebook or Paltalk for chat, due to the distraction level.) There are alternatives, Kato, Slack, Svyft, Flowdock are examples.  One big thing about HipChat is  that they have a desktop app, and it is hard to consider chat alternatives while they are only browser based.  Granted .. theoretically I could put them on one of the lesser used browsers like Pale Moon and Vivaldi, so that is not an absolute requirement.

=========================

We needed a CRM.  Sales and contacts is central. If it had project, task and calendar capabilities, that was even better. Light, friendly.  Three got a lot of consideration, Workbooks from UK, Nimble and Insightly from USA.  Insightly is being used, although I am still playing with the others, with personal accounts.  Each has advantages, Nimble is heavily social media savvy.  Workbooks is more in the style of a multi-faceted biz product and its notes are really RTF!  Insightly has a good balance and solid google integration.

Anyway, thus we bypass the Asana, Basecamp, Codebase types of programs internally.  Although we do get Basecamp and Codebase stuff from two outside companies that are involved.
 
email, webhosting and ecommerce are all involved.  I will say that Nexcess does an incredibly good support job on web hosting.

=========================

What about ad hoc quick screen sharing notes and pics?  So far, dunno. Too light a need to load up Teamviewer.  Google docs and Insightly and email attachments are for more formal use.  Maybe Hipchat but not for short documents, it really is talk and url and a couple of pics.  It is not meant for pretty. Or annotations and notes.

Sharex (formerly ZScreen) and Ybex Clipboard and a dozen more represent one way to handle that. My NoteZilla (also Stickies and PNote) experiments could be considered, since the have a type of networking capability. (e.g. "Send via Network" - PNote.)  See the Memonic thread. On the stickies I would have to compare the implementation.

What is light, easy and acceptable to a couple of people who have not worked with those tools?  

Hmmm...

Your thoughts on any of the above welcome.  Granted, it touches on a wide range of software.

Would it be good for Donationcoder get more "social" .. using Facebook or chat or collaboration?  hmmm...

Steven

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