Messages

251

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: The Humble Indie Bundle #3

« on: July 28, 2011, 03:53 PM »

Warning to linux users: I bought this pack and three of the five games won't work (out of the box) on my 64-bit distro.  Crayon Physics especially is encumbered with out-of-date 32-bit-only libraries. I've seen posts by people who got these to work, but it seems to involve a bit of work, and possibly replacing video drivers with 32-bit versions.

They may still release 64-bit builds for some of these, so I'd check before buying if you intend to only use linux 64-bit. The sale is open for several more days still.

"VVVVV" and "And Yet It Moves" worked fine for me but I was really after Crayon Physics and Hammerfight when I payed.

Eric

252

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: rule-based browser chooser

« on: November 03, 2010, 06:09 PM »

I've been kicking around an idea for a rule-based browser chooser. The idea is, it becomes the default browser, and when it receives a link it launches the "real" browser you wish based on a set of rules which you define.

If it launched quick enough it wouldn't even have to stay resident - it could open, fire the link to the right browser, and then close.

Here's some thoughts:

should be able to define arbitrarily many commands and arguments (e.g. chrome, firefox, chrome privacy, chrome full-screen, etc.)
should work on arbitrarily many rules
should be able to prioritize rules
should be able to set itself up as the default browser even in windows 7
   corollary: should be able to unset itself too!

rules
should be able to detect (and act on) which (if any) browser is already running
should be able to identify (and act on) what program called it
should be able to identify (and act on) the url or portion thereof

I think rules should be in a text format. For some reason I'm picturing something like a procmail recipe.
They'd probably be easier to use, though, if they were creatable in a outlook-like manner.

some example rules

[Select]

//three low-priority rules for default cases
//use the already-open browser if there is one
//(if I'm working in Chrome, use it!), preferring firefox, otherwise run firefox.
If firefox is running
open url in firefox
priority 100
if chrome is running
open url in chrome
priority 105
if no browser is running
open url in firefox
priority 110

//override default case for specific urls
if url contains "gmail"
open url in chrome
priority 1
if url contains "windowsupdate"
open url in IE
priority 1
if calling program equals feedreader
open url in firefox-new-window-in-background
priority 10
if calling program equals farr
open url in opera
priority 10

   

There's a similar program "BrowserChooser" that sets itself as default, which asks what you want to do every time you click a link. http://browserchooser.codeplex.com/
All the other solutions I found on DC also seem to be based on letting you pick which browser when you click the link through various mechanisms. I bet a rule set could cover almost all cases without user interaction.
I actually use gnu/linux most of the time, and I bet this could be done with a simple bash or perl script, but I don't actually think I'd use it on linux - I use firefox for everything. I use single-purpose browsers more in Windows.
It would sure be nice if it could even intercept links clicked in a browser, but this would probably require an extension for each browser?

Does anyone else think this would be handy? Certainly not worth coding just because I want google voice to open in chrome.

Eric

253

General Software Discussion / Re: Putting a Classic Menu on Windows 7 - Redux

« on: March 09, 2010, 08:54 PM »

I've been thinking I'd get used to losing the up button in explorer since installing windows 7. I never have. Thank so much for finding and sharing this.

Eric

254

FARR Plugins and Aliases / Re: FARR Plugin: TinyEV (Everything integration) - 0.9.5 - 12 June 2009 (updated)

« on: February 05, 2010, 09:55 AM »

I'm having a weird problem with this plugin. Everything is running and it is searching OK. However, it's searching for "ev" in addition to whatever word I type. If I type ev test I get a status bar that reads Everything: 14 results for 'ev test'. Then my results include items like test_eventhub.js which have the string 'ev' in them. What did I do wrong?


Never mind, updated FARR and it fixed it.

255

Living Room / Re: Recommend to me the BEST USB stick to get

« on: February 01, 2010, 09:42 AM »

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about your experience, but I would also agree that it is rare.  I didn't like the idea of yanking that chain to remove the drive also, especially since the fit is tight.  So I make sure to grab the drive itself when i remove it, just to be safe.  It's similar to what my dad used to get on my case about when I was a kid: he'd tell me to not yank cords out of the electrical socket, and always make sure to grab it by the head.

-superboyac (January 31, 2010, 09:37 PM)

That's the trouble. The thing is so ridiculously small, there's hardly anything to grip if it's in there tight. And I'd rather break the chain (again) than grab my leatherman and pull it out with pliers. If I get another one some day, first thing I'll do is buy one of these - though I'm not sure if the smaller end would fit through the hole!

Eric

256

Living Room / Re: Recommend to me the BEST USB stick to get

« on: January 29, 2010, 03:55 PM »

Also, about the tight fit of the pico-c...I have had no problems with it and I've plugged it into over 10 computers by now.  yes, some were pretty tight.  but nothing happened.  You have to understand that some people just are obsessed with certain things and just harp on them forever when it's really not that big a deal.  So what if it's tight?  Big deal.  Nothing gets damaged so whatever.

-superboyac (November 29, 2009, 12:22 AM)

It comes with a little chain for putting on your keyring. I broke the chain multiple times while removing it from USB ports. Further, I now have an intermittent USB port on my laptop which I blame on damage caused by the PICO-C bending the "tongue" inside the USB socket. I don't think this was a small problem, though it may be a rare problem. Other than that I loved the thing. However, I've moved on; I bought a mini-attaché and it's doing the job for now.

/obsessive harping
Eric

257

Unfinished Requests / Re: IDEA: Addressbook software (simple, yet powerful)

« on: January 07, 2010, 11:51 AM »

I've been looking for an address book program with similar criteria to yours. I believe I found it today, and it's not a windows program but rather a PHP application. I've got some space on a webhost so I was able to install it.

It has a pretty crude relationship system (You have to enter the database ID# for the spouse/children, but it shows the ID on each screen so this isn't so bad. Also, you can duplicate a record with a new name so you only have to type information once. Once done, though, nothing keeps the duplicate records in sync.)
It has search-as-you-type via AJAX.
It is in PHP so it'd be potentially reasonable to customize it.
It has pictures.

It's got a multi-user feature that I don't need, and it requires captcha for all logins, which is annoying. And, of course, it requires some sort of webserver. This may be an advantage, since it's accessible to me from anywhere with the internet.

The orignal program is at http://sourceforge.n...cts/php-addressbook/
And the fork that has most of the features you want is at http://www.jonathanp...qSGpiYRpTCRrPCpjtkus
There is a demo of the latter at http://www.jonathanp...om/address/index.php - login with admin/admin.

The original program doesn't require any login but it doesn't have relationships or pictures, and the print options are fewer.

258

General Software Discussion / Re: Top Greasemonkey userscripts that you use

« on: November 24, 2009, 09:46 PM »

@ayryq
I tried that "Autocomplete On" Greasmonkey script you referred to. It works a treat - thankyou for the pointer! Nice find.   

-IainB (May 13, 2009, 10:37 PM)

FYI, websites with ajax autocomplete scripts (like google suggest) conflict with this... they disable autocomplete, this script re-enables it, and you get two simultaneous drop-down boxes. I was searching all over the mozilla forums trying to figure out what bug caused this... and it turned out to be the "Autocomplete On" script. Adding an exception for google took care of it for me.

259

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you use ac'tivAid? Which extensions?

« on: October 25, 2009, 05:42 AM »

Well, here is the ReadMe file, from the version I've got installed (1.3.1), which has descriptions (in English) of the extensions:

http://ericandchar.com/activAidReadMe.txt

260

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you use ac'tivAid? Which extensions?

« on: October 24, 2009, 11:02 AM »

I have one-at-a-time turned off the extensions I was using until I'm down to two:
RemapKeys (turn CapsLock into Shift) and
DriveIcons (dynamically add shortcut icons to currently-available drives to an arbitrary folder)

I just found a AHK script at lifehacker which will let me disable the RemapKeys. At this point it seems weird to run the whole ac'tivAid application for the one drive-icons script. Has anyone written an AHK script to do this? Ac'tivAid is all AHK so it may be possible to reverse-engineer one from the script included (which seems to have a lot of code supporting the ac'tivAid interface and options). The important thing to me is support of an arbitrary folder... several tray apps exist which stick icons on the desktop like a Mac, but I put them in a custom "toolbar" folder for the windows task bar.

Eric

261

Find And Run Robot / Re: Feature request: searching terms both with and without diacriticals

« on: October 23, 2009, 07:34 AM »

I'd like to second this request. I don't run into it very often but my mom's name is Renée and I occasionally need to run μtorrent (mu-torrent or micro-torrent). I'd like to just type renee and utorrent.

It doesn't affect me as often as the poster above, I'm sure, as I use a predominately diacritical-free language.

262

Find And Run Robot / Useful firefox extension for FARR users

« on: October 23, 2009, 07:23 AM »

Since I started using FARR I'm used to hitting "enter" when the first option is the one I want. Problem is, I do the same thing in Firefox: In the newer versions, you can type part of the middle of a URL or part of the title of a page you've been to (or bookmarked) and it will give a drop-down list of matches. Then you hit enter (like in FARR) and you get a search for the term you typed instead of the first option in the list. I don't use search from the address bar (or as it's now called, the "AWESOME bar") so this extension is perfect.

It tries to detect if you've typed a URL and if so it moves the focus back to the bar itself rather than the first list item. A few times I've found that if I typed too fast it selected the first result rather than the URL, though.

This extension disables a few uses of the AWESOME bar that I didn't use such as quicksearches and bookmark keywords

By the way, I searched the forum and found a mention of this extension buried in a list of favorite firefox extensions, but I thought I'd bring it to the attention of FARR users like myself.

Enter Selects

There is a snippit of AHK code in one of the comments for achieving the same thing, by the way.

Eric

263

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: CrazyLittleFingers

« on: August 11, 2009, 08:16 AM »

I wanted to share my experience with this program - I downloaded (with your media pack) last night and let my 9 month old at it. He truly has "crazy little fingers." Anyhow, the first time he hit "d" (daddy) he saw the default picture and started screaming his head off. He's a happy baby, too--doesn't usually cry at all. He wouldn't go near the computer for the rest of the night.

Thanks for the program,
Eric

Edit: Tried it again today and he didn't seem to be bothered by the "d" key as much. Must have just been his mood last night. I'm still going to switch it for a picture of me Also, it's weird - when I'm using my computer he'll go crazy trying to press every button (he is right now!) but when this program is running he slows down and looks at each picture when it comes up. It's nice not to always have to say "No!" when he goes for the keyboard.



Edit again: His favorite picture is the xylophone one. Maybe I should pictures of other babies in... actually I keep thinking of other things I could do with this. Musical instruments! Spanish words! The periodic table! If in a five years you hear about this six year old from Western Michigan graduating from college, you'll know why.

264

Living Room / Re: Recommend to me the BEST USB stick to get

« on: May 31, 2009, 03:38 PM »

Well, my 8Gb Pico-C (the one I mentioned above, that doesn't fit in most slots) just failed. I've got an RMA and will be sending it back to SuperTalent. I've replaced it with a PNY Mini Attaché. Physically it seems fine, but Windows now asks to format it, and then can't. Reminds me of when floppy disks used to fail, back in the day.

Maybe they'll send me a new one that fits, since most people seem to be very happy with them.

265

General Software Discussion / Re: Space Management : there is a new competitor - SpaceSniffer

« on: May 08, 2009, 11:41 AM »

I guess I subscribe to a "looser" definition of portable. I should have said, "it runs fine from a flash drive." Thanks for the correction.

Eric

266

General Software Discussion / Re: Space Management : there is a new competitor - SpaceSniffer

« on: May 08, 2009, 10:51 AM »

I've always liked "scanner" by Steffen Gerlach. Its biggest problem is that it's impossible to find when you have to, for example, set up a new system. Try searching google for "scanner." Good luck. Anyway, it uses a pie chart and it's a single, portable file. Hold your mouse over any particular box and it will tell you what it is and how big, click anywhere and that becomes the new center.

http://www.steffengerlach.de/freeware/

267

General Software Discussion / Re: Confessions of a Freeware Junkie updates their list of recommended freeware

« on: May 08, 2009, 10:30 AM »

I use several tools on this list, but I disagree with several as well. I've always installed CutePDF rather than PDFCreator, for example, and I find VLC terrible for watching physical DVDs. I've posted my preferences for CD Burning in another thread (ImgBurn and Burrrrn). I don't think I would say that "every baseline installation" requires Remote Control, VPN, screenshot, GIMP... And, I'm curious what addons his "baseline installation" of firefox would include.

Mostly, I'm posting to remind everyone of Softpedia's recent removal of Comodo software (which I use):
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Comodo-Software-Removed-From-Softpedia-110169.shtml

Eric

268

General Software Discussion / Do you use ac'tivAid? Which extensions?

« on: May 07, 2009, 10:50 AM »

I'm been playing with ac'tivAid, from (http://www.heise.de/ct/activaid/default_en.shtml), which is a set of very useful ahk scripts. I'm curious if others use this set (it's hardly been mentioned on this forum) and if so, what extensions you find useful.
I currently have enabled:

• ComfortDrag (When dragging a file, right click hides a window without letting go of left mouse button)
• ComfortResize (Right+left click+drag anywhere on a window causes resize (e.g. chordclickdrag in the top left quadrant resizes as if you had clickdragged from the top left window border)
• DriveIcons (adds an icon for any drive with media to your desktop like linux/mac. I actually have it add to a quick launch-type toolbar on my windows taskbar. This makes disabling autorun quite feasible.)
• NewFolder (use a hotkey to create a new folder in Windows Explorer. I've got this mapped to F7, same as WinSCP.)
• PastePlain (Win+V pastes without formatting)
• RemapKeys (Turns CapsLock into an extra shift key)
• Surrounder (Highlight some text and hit a quote, parenthesis, bracket, etc. and it will enclose the selection rather than replacing it.)

Eric

269

Living Room / Re: Recommend to me the BEST USB stick to get

« on: May 05, 2009, 07:31 AM »

Maybe I need to grind mine down or something. It's good to know it's not all of them.

Eric

270

General Software Discussion / Re: Top Greasemonkey userscripts that you use

« on: April 26, 2009, 07:37 PM »

• RetroLinks (http://www.mattcutts.com/retrolinks/) Adds links to other search engines to google.
• Autocomplete On (http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/7347) Lets you save your password on sites that don't normally let you.

271

Living Room / Re: Recommend to me the BEST USB stick to get

« on: April 20, 2009, 09:57 AM »

Looks like you've already ordered, but I need to report my negative experience with the supertalent pico. Mine is too big for most USB sockets. It requires lots of force to push it in, and sometimes pliers to pull it back out. I broke the chain trying to remove it from a computer at church. After using it in a port for a while, the port bends to fit it more easily, but then other devices experience intermittent connections on that port. I wound up buying a 2" USB M - USB F adapter that I keep it in, removing the size advantage completely.

Eric

272

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: move small dialog windows to cursor position

« on: April 13, 2009, 02:27 PM »

Is it possible to exclude the window that pops up when I press alt-tab (in Vista)? Hotkeys don't seem to be able to catch it.

Thanks,
Eric

273

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommend Vista CD Burner

« on: March 28, 2009, 08:20 PM »

I use two programs.
ImgBurn for data and Burrrn for music. Technically recent versions of ImgBurn will burn audio CD's, but it's complicated; you have to build a CUE sheet first. Burrrn ONLY makes audio CD's, which I think is nice: no accidentally burning data cds full of random audio files.

Burrrn is a little tool for creating audio CDs with CD-Text from various audio files.
Supported formats are: wav, mp3, mpc, ogg, aac, mp4, ape, flac, ofr, wv, tta, m3u, pls and fpl playlists and cue sheets. You can also burn EAC’s noncompliant image + cue sheets! Burrrn can read all types of tags from all these formats (including ape tags in mp3). Burrrn uses cdrdao.exe for burning.

Cheers,
Eric

274

General Software Discussion / Re: MIDI data and screensaver

« on: March 27, 2009, 01:00 PM »

MIDIzzy works perfectly. Jabberwock's comment made me think about key emulation - if MIDIzzy were to press a normally-unused key (say, Scroll Lock), the program could run all the time without interfering with the mouse. As it is, if I'm using the keyboard to enter music into the computer (and using the mouse at the same time), I have to disable MIDIzzy and remember to restart it when I'm done.

I feel bad, since I have really no idea what was involved in coding this, and I appreciate it greatly, but I would have the following feature requests if you decide to follow up.
1. My MIDI ports are longer than the control size. I have three that appear identical when truncated. E.g. "1:Roland SC-8850 MIDI IN 1"
2. It would be nice to minimize to tray.

Again, thanks so much - it's very usable and useful as is.

Cheers,
Eric

275

Site/Forum Features / Re: RSS Feeds for DonationCoder.com and this Forum

« on: March 26, 2009, 04:47 PM »

I turned off "Synchronize this folder with NewsGator" under edit/folder properties

bob99, that did the trick. Weird. Thanks.

Eric