Messages

5651

Developer's Corner / Re: web-based logo design companies

« on: June 01, 2006, 05:30 AM »

There are a number of very talented artists that are willing to do freelance work if approached and asked over at Renderosity.

You'd have to get a free account and wade through the gazillion artists and view a lot of their work, but once someone catches your eye just send them a private message and see how they respond.

I have also seen people post logo design jobs over at rent-a-coder. So that might be a good place to find people to do a logo at a good price, too.

5652

Living Room / Re: Structured Procrastination - hahaha

« on: May 31, 2006, 04:41 AM »

  You just supported even more my reasons not to study! 

-jgpaiva (May 31, 2006, 04:12 AM)

I wasn't referring to studying...I was referring to projects.

The best studying is daily.

If on day 1 you read over what was covered on day 1, and on day 2 read over what was covered on day 1 and day 2, and so on...by the time you take that test you know it by heart. And if not you can close your eyes and practically read it from the images burned into your memory, knowing where the info you need is, what 'page', and even down to the color of the text. (good note takers use multiple colors).

Cramming for a test at last minute is an ineffective way to study. Procrastination works against you in this case.

5653

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?

« on: May 31, 2006, 01:11 AM »

My suggestion is for schools to use open source/freeware alternatives to help students avoid the lure of pirated software. If "industry standard" software is needed for a vocational course, so be it, else don't use it and students would then have compatabilty as an incentive to use open source / freeware at home, as well as having their consciousness raised on this issue.

-tsaint (May 29, 2006, 09:30 PM)

Maybe it might raise the cost of their schooling a bit, but why not make it a policy to give every student a legal copy of the software they will be learning how to use? If this was done, schools would most likely move to open source & freeware when they can to avoid the cost of giving out expensive software.

But it's corporate use of software that dictates what they will learn to use in school. Why give students Open Office and then turn them loose in a world where they will be expected to use MS Office and know all the details of how that software works?

And imagine if schools made students learn by using Paintshop Pro rather than Photoshop? Paintshop Pro can do just about everything Photoshop can. But once you graduate, you will be expected to use Photoshop.

And why is this? Because that is what the businesses will purchase. Why do they purchase something more expensive when they can save tons by using something else? Because schools keep churning out people that only know how to use the expensive crap. It has become a vicious cycle that there seems to be no way out.

5654

Living Room / Re: Structured Procrastination - hahaha

« on: May 31, 2006, 12:50 AM »

Site designed by the author's granddaughter, who did the work while avoiding the far more weighty assignment of her literature test

I see it runs in the family 

It all comes down to things you have to do vs things you want to do. Even if the things you have to do are things you want to do, if they are work you are not going to want to do them. You will put them off till the last minute.

The best procrastinators can do in 6 hours what it would take a normal person 6 months to do. And it will look as if they took 12 months to do it rather than 6 hours. And they know this. And they work better under pressure...so they put it off and do other things in order to create that pressure on themselves that brings out the best in them.

But there is a need for a firm deadline for this to work. If something is due "sometime" it will never get done. If it's due tomorrow, it will get done tonight.

The greatest procrastinators are efficiency experts. They know just how & where to cut corners without compromising quality..and often times they increase quality with their corner cutting.

And my comment about it running in the family...it's true. Effective procrastination is a learned behavior, passed down from generation to generation...or it could be a genetic trait...I am not sure...but I do know it runs in families. I come from a long line of them myself....and my daughter is even better at it than I am. 

5655

Living Room / Re: World's worst pop-up dialogs

« on: May 29, 2006, 07:32 PM »

And finally, the new and all-improved Paint Shop Pro X as a new Corel product:

I really appreciate the option to not have them asking this anymore! 

/IrmaIsfot

-IrmaIsfot (May 20, 2006, 05:31 PM)

eww...that's what Corel did to my beloved PSP? I guess PSP 7 will be the last version I ever use. 

5656

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: disable all taskbar button flashing

« on: May 29, 2006, 05:14 PM »

The problem is the taskbar still flies out across my screen no matter what settings I use with that...and TweakUI was the tweaking program I tried first.

And as far as using an all-in-one client to handle all the protocols, the reason why I don't is because of the features some of the clients I use, have...most of the all-in-one clients don't support the extras, like XM Radio or desktop buttons for my favorite people (I can't live without this especially)...and other little perks.

And even if I used an all-in-one, I'd still have the problem. The only client I don't have the problem with is MSN because the plugin I installed took care of it for that client only.

5657

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: disable all taskbar button flashing

« on: May 29, 2006, 04:30 PM »

I like to keep my taskbar hidden...and it is quite large.

When I want to access it, I just move the cursor to the right side of my screen and it pops out.

The problem is flashing taskbar buttons also make it pop out. And it won't go back till I click that button of the program that causes it and make it the active window. I find this one of the most annoying 'features' with XP. I didn't have this problem with 9x.

Messenger clients are the most serious offenders. Someone sends you a message and you get both an audio cue and a flashing taskbar button. I have to stop whatever I am doing, because the taskbar is sticking out halfway across my screen covering everything, and click the button...then 2 seconds later I get another message and this repeats. People that type a series of short 2 word messages make me want to rip my hair out.

I located a plugin for Messenger Plus that took care of the problem in MSN... but GTalk, Yahoo, and AIM are still a problem, as well as any other messenger client I may try in the future.

There is no tweaking program that I have found that can totally disable the flashing. At best you can either make it flash a specified number of times or keep flashing till you click it. The minimum flashing count is 1, setting it to 0 just makes it flash till you click it. Setting it at 1 still makes me have to click the button to get the taskbar to go away.

I was wondering if someone could code something that would intercept the messages that trigger the button flashing for all buttons of all programs and tosses them out, in order to effectively disable the flashing so my taskbar will stop flying out when I don't want to see it.

5658

Dr.Windows / Re: Icon Site

« on: May 29, 2006, 03:40 PM »

The problem with icons from The Icon Factory is they are only for personal desktop use. You are not allowed to use any on your website or in any applications you make.

To do that you have to buy them.

5659

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?

« on: May 29, 2006, 10:26 AM »

But really, even if "super expensive CAD program" or "very obscure and expensive medical imaging application" are released on the warez scene, how many people are going to use those applications? Does it mean an actual loss? I think the BSA and friends are way off when they estimate losses due to piracy...

-f0dder (May 29, 2006, 09:32 AM)

The makers of Autocad believed, at one time, that piracy = profit!

Their product is too expensive for the typical home user and is targeted at businesses. The home user that pirates it does so to learn how to use it, most of the time. People that wouldn't ever pay for it, and therefore never learn how to use it, become people that know how ...and eventually become employees of companies that pay for Autocad software.  The more people that know how to use it, the more companies have the incentive to keep buying the product.

They used to factor this into the whole equation and not even mind piracy at one time...it resulted in increased profits for them and was good for the economy because it lead to lower unemployment.

But then businesses started doing it too and that cut into their profits, so now their attitudes have changed about piracy.

5660

Living Room / Re: Breaking News: Symantec AntiVirus Worm Hole Puts Millions at Risk - fixed may 27

« on: May 29, 2006, 04:56 AM »

The screenshot for that page is a definite keeper...added it to my comedy collection. 

5661

Developer's Corner / Re: open source flash as a game development platform

« on: May 29, 2006, 04:26 AM »

Flash is not just for games.
I came across this unusual little gem around the same time I found the DC site:

http://www.pocketmod.com

5662

Living Room / Re: Codie - all style, no substance ...

« on: May 29, 2006, 03:59 AM »

Codey DressUp!

5663

Living Room / Re: Codie - all style, no substance ...

« on: May 28, 2006, 07:06 PM »

it is DC branded

5664

Official Announcements / Re: Contest - Make a new Banner for Website

« on: May 28, 2006, 03:32 PM »

one other advantage of nudone's balloon speaking logo banner is that we can pop in new symbols in the balloons on special occasions.

-mouser (May 28, 2006, 03:24 PM)

I like that idea! 

5665

Official Announcements / Re: Contest - Make a new Banner for Website

« on: May 28, 2006, 12:54 PM »

I wouldn't mind seeing a different great banner everytime I visited the site...at least on the forums.

Random rotation of the best ones, maybe?

5666

Living Room / What to do in case of a terrorist attack

« on: May 28, 2006, 11:03 AM »

The US government has a new website, http://www.ready.gov/. It's another attempt at scare mongering in the style of the old "duck and cover" advice after WWII.

The fun thing is that these pictures are so ambiguous they could mean anything! Here are a few interpretations.

  http://www.msxnet.or.../humour/terror_alert

5667

Living Room / Re: Thread for time-wasting flash games.

« on: May 28, 2006, 05:22 AM »

I am almost reluctant to post this set of links.
It's one of my 'guilty pleasures'. 

This site is also where I got started coding html & css...and that lead to other coding.

You don't need an account to play the flash games...you only need one to get neopoints which is the currency in their virtual world.

I am only going to list a few of my fav ones:

Advert Attack (first time I played this I couldn't stop laughing...I used to send people that got spyware infections to play this as 'training')
Carnival of Terror
Chemistry for Beginners
Deckswabber
Destruct-o-match II
Escape to Kreludor
Extreme Herder
Gadgadsgame

and my favorite:
Meepit Juice Break (those hamster-like creatures are just too cute when they die!)

There are tons more games on the site...and some are not flash but you need an account for those.

And some are ad sponsored games with a product theme, like popular American breakfast cereals.

This site used to be a HUGE time waster for me... at one time it was an obsession!

5668

Developer's Corner / Angry Fruit Salad

« on: May 28, 2006, 03:37 AM »

Here's a good one I came across on one of my 'click adventures'

http://foldoc.org/?angry+fruit+salad

 

5669

General Software Discussion / Re: The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time - PCWorld.com

« on: May 27, 2006, 02:48 AM »

4. Worst downloads section, housing old obsolete versions of software that could have been updated at least once during the last 25 years.

5670

General Software Discussion / Re: The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time - PCWorld.com

« on: May 26, 2006, 01:44 PM »

To consider WinME worse than Sony's rootkit is insane...to consider WinME worse than MS Bob is insane.

To put AOL at the top of the list is also insane.

This list is rather insulting to me, almost personally.    

5671

Living Room / Re: End of 35mm film - long live digital - or is it?

« on: May 26, 2006, 05:29 AM »

I think it will be awhile before processing completely disappears being that having professional quality prints is still something people want even if all they have is a digital camera.

People still can't edit photos like a pro too, meaning if you want your pics looking their best you'd still have to let a pro handle them, digital or not.

And what parent wants to let their child take an expensive digital camera on a class trip when it would make more sense to hand them a disposable 35mm?

What about weddings where it has become kind of customary to put a disposable camera on each table at the reception and let your guests snap pics for you?

35mm isn't going anywhere till disposable digital replaces the disposable 35mm. (is there even such thing as disposable digital cameras yet?)


btw...I still own a 110 that is near impossible to buy film for these days, and that is a sad thing.

and mouser...where is the quick reply in this section of the forum? 

5672

Delphi and C++ Builder / Re: Something you should know about C++ Builder

« on: May 25, 2006, 10:37 AM »

delphi does have the same issue...but the default settings are different than C++ builder's settings...they are already set correctly

(thanks for the avatar compliment )

5673

Delphi and C++ Builder / Something you should know about C++ Builder

« on: May 25, 2006, 09:59 AM »

Not knowing much about anything, I translated & compiled a project I had written in Delphi 6, with C++ Builder 6.

This ran just fine on my PC and the file size was nice and small...I was impressed.

Then I gave the file to someone else and that was when the problems began....it started complaining of missing .dll's on their pc.

If you want to distribute your files and avoid the problem I had this is what you have to do:

• Under project/options/linker you need to uncheck "Use Dynamic RTL"
• and under project/options/packages you need to uncheck "Build with Runtime Libraries."

Unless you do this, others will have trouble running your apps.

Be prepared to see the file size grow enormously.

This applies to C++ Builder, not Delphi. The default settings in Delphi work just fine and you don't have to change them.

5674

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« on: May 25, 2006, 07:04 AM »

I don't normally post in these types of "who are you" forums as I never really liked tooting my own horn and I usually let people get to know me by interacting with me...but I feel it's about time I do so...so here goes:

I am a 40 yr old woman who at some point early on in life decided to become a programmer and ended up having to sweep those dreams under the rug for a bunch of reasons and never did become a programmer. But dreams have a way of coming back to haunt you, so it might be a bit late to be starting out and starting over, but better late than never.

Since I married a really 'old fashioned' Italian guy, I do not work outside of my home, and I spend most of my time on my computer.


Online pursuits:

• amateur crappy web design
• graphic art and photo restoration
• teaching myself programming
• participating in various programming communities aimed at self-education
• researching what programming ebooks are freely available and posting the links to my book site
• posting to my 11 blogs
• maintaining and improving my 7 websites and contributing graphics & coding to at least 3 others
• keeping up with 9 email accounts
• saving winmx from extinction
• chatting in no less than 11 chatrooms on 4 networks in both English and Italian (with a translator I made)
• providing volunteer pc tech support on aol to a list of about 200 people
• playing silly flash games at neopets.com
• tweaking my system to improve stability, minimize the chance of data loss, and make it more organized
• going on click adventures that lead me all over the web & learning all kinds of new things
• collecting & analyzing other people's art
• downloading & trying out all kinds of freeware
• letting other people pick my brain
• socializing in a few online 'mental institutions'
• /\/\artin watching (a brilliant young programmer from the UK and I think he's such a hottie )
• creating a personal recipe database from all those original creations I have made over the years and scribbled down on paper (which will be shared online some day or published in book form)

Offline pursuits:

• embroidery from original designs
• crochet from original designs
• hand painting artwork on my fingernails
• sewing clothing and home accessories
• various types of crafts
• cooking & baking

Education:

I never finished high school, never went to college...but I am a certified floral designer and received my certificate from Montclair State University (totally useless). Everything I know about computers, web design, digital art, and programming... I taught myself within the last 7 years.

I am from New Jersey, USA. My small town is the official Cherry Blossom Capital of America.

Required local photos:





and a pic of me (morphed & manipulated to resemble an Alphonse Mucha style painting):



Sorry to have made this so long but next time people want to know about me I can just send them here and share both my bio and Donation Coder with them at the same time.

5675

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: C++ Builder Contest Webpage is Live

« on: May 25, 2006, 05:10 AM »

Borland never offered a non-expiring free personal edition of C++ Builder 6 for download on their site. You had to find a magazine with a CD or buy a CD from them.

But they did allow it to be offered by Nokia as part of a free Symbian Series 60 SDK download.

Go grab a copy before it's gone!

Just click "I agree" and the download will begin and you will have a copy of C++ Builder 6 Personal Edition, that will never expire on you:

http://ncsp.forum.no...la;asset_id=206;ref=