Messages

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N.A.N.Y. 2013 / Re: N.A.N.Y 2013 Submission - Super Simple Photo Resizer

« on: December 03, 2012, 04:39 PM »

I was looking for something like this, but with two additions:
- I would like to do this in batch, handling all jpg's in a single folder
- I would like to make the colored square picture and greyscale square picture

So whenever I shoot a series of 10 pictures, my aim would be run something like this and have 30 pictures at the end. I would be OK with automated cropping, but I would not mind cropping each one myself. The process of savind the copies in specific names would help me A LOT (something like Image001.jpg -> Image001c.jpg & Image001bw.jpg).

Would you be willing to add this? That would be great!

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Living Room / Re: In search of ... external video support

« on: September 26, 2011, 03:01 AM »

I have a Dell Latitude laptop (E6410) and docking station (Port Replicator : EURO2 Advanced E-Port with 130W AC Adaptor) and that enables me to work with 2 22" monitors that each have 1680x1050 pixels. it works fine. Besides the two DVI connectors the docking station also has one VGA connector, but when I used one DVI and one VGA the VGA was blurred. Could be my cable, but I am happy just using two DVI monitors. Also the docking works fine, you can leave the laptop powered on when putting the laptop in the docking station or taking it out and it switches fine, between internal and 2x external. I am a happy user!

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

« on: January 02, 2010, 01:39 PM »

Hello all,

Just to complete my posting a while ago, about possibly contributing to NANY, doing a complete make-over on my Much2Do program. Because a complete make-over would have left me without any vacation/holiday days... I decided for an update instead. And yes, I know that doesn't qualify for NANY but that wasn't my objective. My objective was to transdform the program into freeware so that is what I did.

So for those of you interested, there is a new version, completely free of nag-screens, no regitration fee or donation required... just take a lool and maybe this tool will help you get organized. The tool does not require you to use a particular GTD philosphy (in fact I don't like GTD all that much), it will enable you to work in a way that you like. I added checkboxes and auto-numbering, so it is a flexible tool that can be used in many ways.

Happy coding in 2010!

http://www.much2do.nl

http://www.building....l/much2do/index.html

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

« on: December 15, 2009, 06:58 AM »

Maybe I should rephrase/replace my question whether checkboxes are necessary, to the question whether people want to set due dates for items. Persdonally, I do not really use due dates that much. The main reason being that if you work in multi-level lists, you tend to insert items for projects for which a due data exists for a project and not for an item specifically. Assigning due dates for a project or group of items can be done by dragging the node of the treeview to the listview (in the desktop application). That 'assigns' that group of items to that particular day. Hence, I - personally - do not need due dates.

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

« on: December 15, 2009, 06:14 AM »

In case the domain URL does not work, this is the underlying URL:
http://www.building....l/much2do/index.html

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

« on: December 15, 2009, 06:12 AM »

I am a person that spends a lot of time planning, since I have quite a lot of activities and ideas. Being a coder, I wrote a program for myself called "Much2Do". I found out that a lot of people are looking for a nice ToDo program but were not able to find one that fullfills their needs. For that reason, I decided to publish that ToDo program, on the website http://www.much2do.nl. This is a ToDo program that enables you to keep track of todo's and ideas in a multi-level list, planning both work and private life.

In the past year lots of people have downloaded my program. Although it was not a success, I have learned quite a lot from my efforts. I have learned that although a lot of people want to have a good ToDo application, and although a good list can save you a lot of time (= money) people are not willing to spend any money on it. Because I can make money from creating other software, so I decided to make this Much2Do program freeware. I haven't gotten around to stipping the registration part from the current version and writing a user manual.

After a busy year I have promised to take one or two weeks off in the second half of december 2009, but knowing myself I will not be able to stop coding entirely. So when reading about the NANY 2010 I figured: this might be a good chance to make a totally new version of Much2Do. I am posting this message to ask all of you whether you would like to have a new ToDo program, simular to the old Much2Do program, and what changes you would like to see to the current program. If I get positive feedback, I will create a new version.

At the website http://www.much2do.nl you can see a few screenshots. There are two programs: one for PocketPC and one for PC, both offline Windows applications. I use both and they synchronise well. The main thing that sets it apart from other ToDo applications is that it uses a treeview to present items. If you have a lot of items in your list, this seems the best way to include all items and still retain a good overview. The desktop application also has a listview in which you can plan nodes from any of the treeviews, to specific days.

I am particularly interested in feedback concerning these questions:
- Most ToDo programs have checkboxes, do you really need them in a ToDolist?
  (I feel that if the item is done it should be removed, so why a checkbox)
- How could the planning part of my desktop application be improved?
- Would you like to have the day planning available in the mobile app as well?
- I plan 100% digital but I stil prefer to print the items for Today on paper,
  but being green means you should not print anything. Any suggestions?

PS I am aware that updates of existing programs are not allowed in NANY 2010, but entering the NANY is not my aim. My aim WAS to provide a lowpriced ToDo tool and see what happened. My aim IS NOW to re-cycle my efforts and create a FREE ToDo application and see how many people would like to use it, if it is freeware. My guess is that it may very well turn out to be a newly written program (which could be allowed to the NANY) but I will leave that decision to DonationCoder. But at the very least, the program could become a freeware program.

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Living Room / Re: DonationCoder.com - Complaints, Problems, and Rooms for Improvement

« on: January 29, 2009, 04:08 AM »

I have a non-technical, but more strategic point (which I made elsewhere): I would like to see more emphasis on discussion of the donation/freeware/micopayments system. Don't get me wrong, I really like the system and I have made compliments in the article about it.

The points that were made in this topic concern small features to accomodate existing users. The community would benefit if it would attract more new users. I realise not everybody is interested in strategy discussions, but the donation system and strategy is what sets you apart from other forums and other communities.

I feel that the community is largly built on long time members and it is my belief that an ongoing discussion would benefit the community and attract and keep new people.

Also I have posted on more feedback in my postings in the article topic. Maybe a good test for you is to try and find them ;-)

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Older Newsletters / Re: DonationCoder.com Article - One Year Report on our Experiments with Donationware

« on: January 14, 2009, 08:36 AM »

I am missing an argument... I gave an argument for moving it: more feedback.

Instead of moving I would be happy if a new topic would be started in Reviews and recommendations with a less specific title like "The best approach for asking donations/registering - the difficult balance" or a simular title.

I could start this topic I know, but I think such a general topic should be started and monitored by Mouser. The topic could start with the strategies mentioned in the article and in this topic. Then, forum members could all post their personal preferences regarding to the subject.

More discussion on this topic could lead to new ideas and experiments regarding Donationware and micropayments. I am partially a big fan of the current strategy, but I think it could be refined. A new discussion and/or experiment could help all members that contribute to this site.

Thanks

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Older Newsletters / Re: DonationCoder.com Article - One Year Report on our Experiments with Donationware

« on: January 14, 2009, 06:08 AM »

I eventually got the notices (two) but after sendin an email Mouser replied he manually validated my entry. Not sure where the emails got hold up, but that's not a big problem.

 When someone want to join a forum, he is generally on board. The bigger issue remains finding the balance concerning the donations issue. So I think the registration procedure is more important that easy of forum access.

BTW I hope this article / discussion goes on, would be a shame if it would go into hybernation. Maybe it is an idea to move it to a more prominent location? It is now 4 levels deep in the forum. I got here throiugh the article, but a discussion like this could generate more response if placed on level 1 or 2.

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Older Newsletters / Re: DonationCoder.com Article - One Year Report on our Experiments with Donationware

« on: January 14, 2009, 04:34 AM »

reading my last two posts above, you should be able to conclude that I do not have the perfect solution for DOnationware either. I am struggling myself, being a developer AND a user. But here is my third and last post for today (I think): my two cents for mouser/this community.

1. Make the registration rules as SIMPLE as can be, as few options, etc. KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid

2. In case of freeware, small programs, low risk of loss if income: don't ask for any donation before the user is a REGULAR user (6 months or so)

3. The website: the more professional the website looks (I know, mine is not perfect either, updates planned) the higher the chance people will be willing to give their email address and to donate.

The third option may be new to this discussion. It is not my intention to bash at this website, it is meant as a genaral statement. For this website I feel the software could be presented a bit better, a more solid standard (per program three screenshots, etc)

ALl the best to DonationWare, I will keep reading this topic and the site!

Marcel

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Older Newsletters / Re: DonationCoder.com Article - One Year Report on our Experiments with Donationware

« on: January 14, 2009, 04:29 AM »

Now a second post regarding my personal experiences on this website. I got here because I was searching for a Freeware Capture program. I read the 'rules' regarding registration and... like other people have said: it is too dawn confusing. Different registration options... if you don't agree you can click to another page and there is another option... temporary license...

This lead to me trying another freeware program first FSCapture and it suits my needs very well. One major point is that I want to capture window screenshots with rounded corners. FSCapture does it perfectly (adding white in the corners) and when browsing throuigh this forum I found out your Capture program might not be capable of rounded corners (one topic states someone couldn't get it to work, Mousers reply was maybe the feature was removed accidentally). No reason for me to look further it seems.

But because I find the DOnationware principe and the communicty interesting, I did sign up for this forum with the intention of complimenting the article and give feedback in this particular topic. Unfortunately, gettin on the forum took me multiple registraion attempts, because I did not receive a validation email (only after 30+ min). But here I am, haning in there just to give my feedback!

My opinion is this: everyubody knows people do not want to register for simple small programs. So for thos things, do not ask for registration in the first 6 months. When I am using the program regularly and I see a donation request after 6 months, I will definitelty donate. This are different when it concerns bigger, more expensive or more specific software.

I develop software between 80 and 880 euro per license (Much2Do is the only exception) and for those I really want people to give me their email address before downloading. This is for two reasons (may not be very valid but still): 1. I want to be able to ask them for feedback a few weeks later, 2. I 'd like to think - I know it's not true - I can keep track of who is using the software in case someone 'hacks' my software.

Writing this, I know I can NEVER be sure my software will not be hacked/cracked. But if it would be possible - theoretically - to develop 'unhackable' software I would be happy to return to my former download method: people could decide themselves whether they give me an email address or not. This is not a big step back because frankly: people can leave me a temp hotmail address now (although very few do)

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Older Newsletters / Re: DonationCoder.com Article - One Year Report on our Experiments with Donationware

« on: January 14, 2009, 04:14 AM »

Hello,

First of all, let me compliment the author on this article. It found it very interesting for different reasons. I am a developer of both small and big software solutions. The smaller ones could be good candidates for freeware of donationware.

Because I have a lot of projects, I made a "ToDo" program for myself. When published on a single page for beta testing, the program got attention from a lifehacking site and that article generated so many requests I decided to make a product out of it: Much2Do

Although 200+ people downloaded the software, none of them bothered to register for 25 EUR. Although I knew it before I read the article, your article proved it was not a good idea to state on my website and in my download emails that I intended to continue development only when some of them registered. Major error!

Don't feel sorryt for me, this project was a very small project and since I made it for personal use, I did not loose time or sleep over it. But the article made some strong points and I will re-read it again I am sure. Also, the article might help me when I need to make decisions on how to market my commercial software. Some of the same issues apply, like the fact that people do not like to register before the use the software.

But my first post is simply to compliment you on the article (I'll start a new post in a minute for the second part of my message)