Topics

76

Html and CSS School / HTML editor for beginners

« on: April 08, 2015, 04:44 AM »

[edit] just to be clear: I'm *not* looking for WYSIWYG 'editors' (see TaoPhoenix's post below for why) [/edit]
Any tips will be gratefully received!

• (1) as a beginner, I want to be easily able to find everything.
• (2) using a non-standard keyboard (qwertz) I would like customisable shortcuts (bonus for exportable list of same)
• (3) would love to be able to compare files side by side (e.g. my version and someone elses - but this may be another category of software?)

My experience so far:


Web Architect:
50 euro/ free version (some limitations I think)

It is very beginner friendly:

• everything is easily accessible via ribbon UI

I didnt find it very user friendly:

• it is mouse intensive, and keyboard unfriendly (no shortcuts for very basic things)
• no customisable shortcuts that I could find, at any rate

NetBeans IDE:
recommended by gizmo - all I can say is: as a beginner, dont go there


HTML-Kit / HTML-Kit Tools:
free / paid version ($39 upwards)

• Free version had nice wizards to help when creating new files
• Paid version is newer version of same with ribbon interface but with lots of keyboard shortcuts
  wizards didnt work out-of-the-box

I preferred the free version interface.
Not sure why I gave up on this one, I think I simply preferred the next one...


WeBuilder:
($50/$80 home/commercial)

• everything easy to find so far
• customisable shortcuts (dont see any way to export a list of same)
• cant find shortcut for preview current file (but it surely is there - or customisable)
• unable to compare two files side by side (but as said above, maybe I just need to look at different type software for this capability)

77

General Software Discussion / Looking for a very flexible timer

« on: April 07, 2015, 11:29 AM »

I know there's loads of timers out there, so maybe this exists already:

looking for a timer where I can add subtract from the time shown e.g.
say it's showing 1:30:25 - I can change that time (via slider or numerically) to, say, 1:15:00.
Using a slider could be a bit like an mp3 player UI - here based on Trout:



Bonus points if I can use it to keep track of what I'm actually doing during this time i.e. make notes within the app itself.
Even more points if that's exportable ;-)

78

Found Deals and Discounts / Backup4all discount on Upgrades [until 2015-03-01]

« on: February 18, 2015, 12:47 PM »

Backup4all are offering discounts on upgrades from all older versions - it's not clear how much the discounts are, and you have to give them your key to get a quote as it's version dependent.

My copy was bought in 2007. I was offered:

Upgrade from Backup4all Professional 3 to
Backup4all Professional 5

   Quantity:1
   Price: $21.00
Total: $21.00

the full price for the pro version is currently ~$50 so that seems like a reasonable offer.

https://secure.backu...p/upgrade/step1.html

79

Screenshot Captor / Unusual behaviour with Copy/Paste [in SC]

« on: January 28, 2015, 06:52 AM »

I select part of an image, copy, and paste it elsewhere in the same image (png):

a)
#1. the quality is not as sharp as originally - it's quite blurry actually.
#2. I do notice that, if I click and drag over an area including the pasted bit, that it momentarily shows as sharp as the original.
#3. if I view the image elsewhere (viewer/photoshop), the pasted part is not sharp
-
#2 above makes me think that the quality of the paste could possibly be made as good as the original image (?)

b)
There is unusual behaviour when cropping the image cuts part of the pasted clip - *all* of the pasted clip continues to show in SC. The thumbnail correctly shows this pasted part cropped, and it also shows correctly in other viewers I tried.
Which seems okay, but if something is being cropped e.g. for privacy reasons, I presume that if I can see it in SC, then others would be able to see it in SC or possibly elsewhere (?)

80

Living Room / Space Travel ... sort of:

« on: January 08, 2015, 04:32 PM »

Travel posters - "Exoplanet Travel Series" from JPL/NASA
Available from source as *very* high resolution images:





If you want to read a bit more about Keppler 186f, try this g+ post:

Kepler-186f, the one pictured below, is my favorite because it captures some interesting physics. It orbits a red dwarf about 500 light-years from Earth, and it was the first planet discovered which is potentially suitable (in terms of things like temperature) for life as we know it. But life would be different in some interesting ways.

One of the reasons is that photosynthesis would be a bit different. Plants on Earth are green because their leaves contain chlorophyll, a chemical which absorbs sunlight and turns that energy [explains why plant green here and red there]

Further afield (I dont honestly have a clue if it's further or nearer :p) there's been a new picture of the "Pillars of Creation" released by Hubble.





Article here:
http://www.thisiscol...s-of-creation-photo/

Download high-res version here:
http://www.spacetele...rg/images/heic1501a/

Some interesting info about how the colours in the image are mapped:

For those wanting technical details, the picture below was taken in visible light, using a "false-color" technique to make it more visible. It was photographed through three filters: an Sii filter (673nm, a fairly dark red color which is characteristically emitted by Sulfur), a H-? filter (657nm, a brighter red which characterizes Hydrogen), and an Oiii filter (502nm, a blue-green characteristic of Oxygen). Those three colors are then mapped to red, green, and blue (respectively) to form an image that clearly highlights the gas distribution to the human eye. This particular combination of light filters is the one most commonly used when photographing astronomical gas clouds.

via:
https://plus.google....50/posts/DN2FhnpJSqX

81

General Software Discussion / Tips for dial-up Internet Speeds?

« on: December 01, 2014, 11:44 AM »

I'm looking for any tips for how to cope with dial-up internet speeds
(Connection has been bad for a while but took a dive on Friday, was gone completely this afternoon, is at a snails pace this evening.)

Firefox doesnt even seem to have a stop-page-loading buttons any more...

1) I remember someone here talking here (I think not too long ago) about a text based browser i.e. it just showed text  - any ideas there?

2) or something that stopped images from loading -- but allowed you to choose to load an image -- that would probably be ideal.

FWIW, Gmail in the browser often works with the basic html interface, even when no other sites load properly.

TIA

82

Screenshot Captor / Right-click tray icon displays SC and taskbar menu

« on: October 08, 2014, 04:16 PM »

I actually noticed this before I updated SC on my laptop (Window 8.1 x64). Problem remained after update.

When I right-click the SC tray icon, the SC context-menu shows *behind* the taskbar, and the taskbar context-menu simultaneously displays on top.
Taskbar is on auto-hide.
No problem with other tray icons (CHS, FARR, CintaNotes, Dopus, Listary).

Previous version (I *think* it was 4.8.x):




latest version, 4.9.0:



the SC menu shifted a bit between versions but otherwise no difference.

83

General Software Discussion / Easy way to mark file as done?

« on: August 21, 2014, 07:20 AM »

[edit] Note: I found a solution for this case (post#2 simply marking files as read-only), but very interested in any other suggestions - also those that will only work in one file manager! [/edit]

I'm looking for a simple way to mark files as "done".

I would like to use a method that is part of the file and visible in various file managers, so I guess changing one of the file attributes would be the way to go (e.g. archive it - is that the same as making it read only? that would be fine).
The attribute could be easily displayed in detail mode in any file manager.

So I reckon using a file manager would probably be the easiest route (?)
I currently have XYplorer and Dopus installed, so could use either of them, (or windows explorer).

I did do a search online, and in both help files, but my search-fu isnt very good, so didnt come up with anything helpful. (Note: I'm a fairly basic user.)

TIA for any suggestions

84

Find And Run Robot / FARR's launch history cleared on full shutdown (win8.1)

« on: August 05, 2014, 11:13 AM »

FARR's launch history cleared on full shutdown Windows 8.1 / x64

I've noticed that FARR's launch history gets cleared when I do a full shutdown** (had to do a couple today) - a 'normal' shutdown doesnt seem to have any effect on it.

** Full shutdown done via desktop shortcut:
C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /s /t 0

I dont think I've changed any history options - let me know if you want any details (I couldnt find any that would do this but may well have missed something).

85

Living Room / "Russia enacts 'draconian' law for bloggers"

« on: August 01, 2014, 12:41 PM »

From the BBC:
Russia enacts 'draconian' law for bloggers and online media

If you get over 3,000 visits per day in Russia:

• you will have to register (you cannot remain anonymous)
• you must "conform to the regulations that govern the country's larger media outlets" (not sure what exactly they are)

On the radio here they were saying that you will also be held responsible for comments made on your site (not sure what consequences involved) - I dont see this mentioned in the BBC article, but maybe that's covered by the "regulations that govern the country's larger media outlets".

^ This last bit ties in with Ren's recent post about the trial of Ross Ulbricht (the "Dread Pirate Roberts"):

tl;dr - This fight is about the transfer of intent, e.g. I post something potentially illegal on your site, then you get charged for it. Good discussion there though, and worth a listen.

-Renegade (July 24, 2014, 09:58 AM)

86

Living Room / [old news...] ebay hacked

« on: June 20, 2014, 07:02 AM »

If you have an eBay account, it's time to change your password. [...]
Attackers made off with names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and of course, encrypted passwords.

-Lifehacker

http://lifehacker.co...words-now-1579504977


Apparently it happened in Feb/March

87

Clipboard Help+Spell / Clips copied from CHS window dont show in QuickPaste list

« on: June 05, 2014, 07:11 AM »

hi mouser
occasionally I open the main CHS window and search for older clips which I copy to the clipboard. These do not show in the QuickPaste list at all, which makes it pretty awkward to actually use them, except on an individual basis.

Could this be changed?

88

Screenshot Captor / [SC] Minor Requests

« on: February 25, 2014, 04:58 AM »

hi mouser,
I had a couple of minor requests, so thought I'd throw them in together.


Hotkeys:
[1] request the ability to crop via shortcut -
this is usually all I do in SC, so would be great if I could just select my area and e.g. Ctrl+Enter to crop (or even just Enter?)
[edit] this exists Ctrl+R (thanks lanux128)[/edit]

[2] I've been using SC for years now, but I still struggle with the Ctrl+Q shortcut to delete a file:
Ctrl+Q is used by many apps to close the programme (I think it's origin is in graphics programmes, maybe from the mac world?).
(But I can understand reluctance to change a long standing shortcut - is customisation of menu shortcuts outside the realms of possibility?)


Pixelation error:
[3] [Very minor] confusion re pixelation:
a long time ago I got into using huge blocks for pixelation:



I had forgotten this, and lately got this error when trying to pixelate a line of text (which wasn't high enough to cover one "pixel"):
---------------------------
Screenshot Captor
---------------------------
Floating point division by zero.
---------------------------
OK  
---------------------------
took me a while to figure out what the problem was - would it be possible to make the error message more informative?
Or are my pixelation setting completely off? (Default is 5/50 for min/max)

btw here how that image above pixelates

89

General Software Discussion / SOLVED: One of these thing is not like the other - Finding Unique Numbers

« on: January 31, 2014, 03:48 AM »

First, I dont have excel - I use Softmaker Office/Planmaker and Libre Office. I can get access to Excel though if the solution lies there.

Summary:
I'm wondering if it's possible -- using any type of software --to find numbers in a spreadsheet that are NOT shown in the first column?



In the screenshot, '674', in cell C131, does not exist in the first column.

The first column should contain all the numbers shown elsewhere -- but I'm not 100% certain it does.
So, if there is a number elsewhere in the sheet which is not duplicated in column one, I need to know the number, and also to know which column it is in (FWIW, it's location within the column is not important). This is (possibly) complicated by the fact that a number could exist twice in one column -- but still not be in first column; or a number could be shown in multiple columns, except for first (the latter is unlikely and should not be the case).

I guess I could create a text file from each column, and compare somehow (dont have anything installed for that so if this the course to take, pleaase recommend something)

TIA, Tom

90

General Software Discussion / Simple Checklist for repeating actions (fast turnover)

« on: January 28, 2014, 05:52 AM »

Looking for a simple checklist (windows) app:

Background:
I have a very long list of entries/numbers - I have to double-check these with info from other sources.
Occasionally due to new info that also relates to other entries, I have lost track of what has been checked.
(Not good if I miss something )


I thought a simple checklist would be helpful:

• Once the list is done I would need to be able to clear the [ticks] easily
• Ideally I would be able to enter the entry/number I'm working on somewhere in the window
• Ideally I could have multiple instances

Did do a search but couldnt see anything that fitted my needs - but my search-fu aint so good...
any ideas?
TIA

91

General Software Discussion / Looking for iTunes alternative (WMP? or other?)

« on: January 26, 2014, 03:28 PM »

Summary:
what's WMP like as an iTunes replacement, for someone who isnt overly fussy -- but likes ease of use?

~~~~
Looking for a friend of mine - who is a long time computer user but, eh, doesnt tweak things (why I'm asking, and not her).
Disillusioned with iPod hardware and iTunes DRM, she's looking for an alternative. (Only allowed one more hardware transfer of music bought through iTunes - she's burned this music to cd.)

I used use JRiver Media Jukebox on windows xp - liked that a lot - nice user friendly interface. But it doesnt seem to have been updated since then. It's fueled by advertising which might not be so bad, the lack of updates would bother me more. The paid version is overkill.

Wondering what people think of WMP?
I've used it about twice in my life and both times it started chewing my hd and hogging cpu afterwards, which I found offensive. But I guess that if I actually used it and allowed it to import my music (or whatever it does), it might not be so bad after. Any experiences there?


If the WMP verdict is unfavourable, I'll probably go with Music Bee as recommended as techsupportalert
http://www.techsuppo...Selection_Guide_Full
Have installed it, requires a bit of initial tweaking (lame codec; manually setting My Music folder for ripped music). Seems good

92

Site/Forum Features / Approach to Spam threads

« on: December 19, 2013, 04:08 AM »

Partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master

EaseUS Partition Master is a best partition manager for both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows systems. It can perform basic and advanced partition operations on your hard drive without data loss, including: resize and move partitions, copy partition, copy disk, copy dynamic volume, convert partition, split partition, merge partitions, etc. Moreover, EaseUS Partition Master can extend NTFS system partition without reboot and be booted from USB drive to manage your hard drive partitions.

-jclrita (December 19, 2013, 12:52 AM)

(link removed)

It's sort of okay (even if it creates a bad impression due to the spammy style) posting something like this in the Announce Your Own Software board (which jclrita already did).

I'm suprised EaseUS has resorted to this type of advertising...
I know something like this would normally be removed (not 100% sure in this case?), but I'd nearly suggest leaving it, and marking it as SPAM. Would it not then be negative advertising for EaseUS? (or is there no such thing as bad press...?)

93

Living Room / Best Cameras 2013

« on: December 16, 2013, 11:04 AM »

Imaging Resource's Best Camera of the Year is actually the starting point for a whole series of articles.
At the bottom of that page, there's a bunch of links:



Some interesting reading (also at that link above) about about technological advances in video focusing and anti-aliasing (used to prevent moiré patterns).

A lot of the camera choices are expensive - but if you're looking for something with interchangeable lenses, their Best Value Cameras has a couple of interesting options for $300 to $500.

94

General Software Discussion / Looking for a Foto Resizer that follows (multiple) shortcuts

« on: December 13, 2013, 05:29 PM »

I'm looking for a photo resizer that follows shortcuts:
ideally one that will follow multiple shortcuts - also supporting drag and drop.

I have a folder with lots of shortcuts to images in various locations (this may have been a bad idea, but I dont want to have to do it again!).
I'd like to be able to drag/drop these shortcuts onto a software that'll resize the images.

I've only tried a couple:

• Vlastimil's Picture Resizer (dc link) - I get an error with shortcuts
• Resize ('Created by Peter Bone') - site no longer online, I've used it for years, it's a great portable app - but it cant handle drap n drop nor shortcuts.
• Ren's Photo Resizer (dc link again - only supports individual files)

thought I'd ask for advice at this stage,
TIA!

95

PopUp Wisdom / PopUp Wisdom Love

« on: November 30, 2013, 11:46 AM »

hi mouser,
I see you're on a roll with updates lately so I'll ask for at least a minor update here

But first,
popup wisdom is a great little app - it has a lot of potential too imo. I see you started a FARR plugin at one stage for searching 'quote' contents via FARR.
If it were easier to add or modify text/quotes, or simply add comments to existing quotes, it could be used in a much broader manner e.g.

• as a long term todo list
• for ideas/topics that are rattling around the back of your mind - get them down here, and get occasionally prompted to think about them
• add your thoughts to quotes
• simply easily easily add new quotes/text

I had plans to write a mini-review and expand on those ideas above, but dont seem to get around to it

But in the short term, what makes it almost unusable for me, is that it momentarily steals focus when a popup shows.
When typing, it disrupts normally to the extent that one letter is missing - I'm a look at the keyboard typist so this is particularly challenging.
Also,
with YT videos at any rate, it breaks full-screen view. Not sure if that the same with other full screen apps.

Dunno does that all happen everyone, I only use it on my Win7 machine btw.

Another thing, but a minor one:
when I click on a popup, it disappears on the down-click. Default in Windows is that something works on the up-click, which allows one to have second thoughts

96

General Software Discussion / Table/S'sheet: cells can be dragged up down w/out moving rows (Exist?)

« on: November 29, 2013, 07:22 AM »

Does something like this exist ? (or would it make a good NANY idea?)

a spreasheet or table, where I can move the individual cells up or down *without* moving the row the cell is in.
e.g.

John	Football
Mary	Baking
Pierre	Ice skating

I'm not happy with that, so I want to drag the cell Baking up.

John	Baking
Mary	Football
Pierre	Ice skating

When I drag a cell upwards, it will displace the cells above it - in this example, it was dragged above [Football] - so that one moved down one cell.

Export would be nice - simply the ability to copy & paste in a spreadsheet app would cover that though.

97

Living Room / YouTube finally forces creation of google+ A/C to comment

« on: November 07, 2013, 12:49 PM »

YouTube have been annoying me for a long time with trying to persuade me to use my real name. The other option was to continue with my YT name - but *both* options led to the creation of a google+ account. So, I always 'X'd out of it, as I didnt want a google+ account.

Finally today, I was given the choice: create a google+ account or do not comment!
So I created a google plus account with my youtube name.

Immediately after, I got this banner:
___________________________________


___________________________________

Already having regrets, I clicked on the undo option.
Got this option:
___________________________________


___________________________________

so I tried the "Temporarily disconnect..." and got this:
___________________________________


___________________________________

- all blurred out names there are the same - which is a little confusing. I didnt go through with it though because
1) it said "Temporarily disconnect..." (my emphasis)
2) I reckon the G+ account is already created so wont make a whole lot of difference
3) it would disconnect the two but then I would probably be back where I started - unable to comment in YT

98

General Software Discussion / How to avoid creating/using a Microsoft Account when upgrading to Win 8.1

« on: October 21, 2013, 04:08 PM »

It seems MS wants us all to use a Microsoft account to upgrade to windows 8.1

Took me a while to find a workaround, so I thought it worth a new thread:

After you install Windows 8.1, you will be asked to sign in to a Microsoft Live account. There will be no apparent way to move past that screen if your intention is to only have a local account. Here is the trick: Click the Create New Account link and then at the bottom of that next screen you will see a link that will let you cancel the process. You will then login using your local account. Now what Many users got caught by this poorly implemented log in process and ended up creating and / or using a Microsoft account to log in to their new Windows 8.1 operating system. Since that time, I have had several questions from readers asking if there was a way to reverse the process. There is and it is fairly straightforward.

(techrepublic.com)
http://www.techrepub...count-in-windows-81/

99

Living Room / Adobe admits 2.9 million customer accounts compromised

« on: October 07, 2013, 01:41 PM »

This from Znet last week (October 3rd), not much info in the article; and some contradictory statements re what exactly they got.
Not good publicity for Adobe's 'Creative Cloud' at any rate.

Adobe admits 2.9M customer accounts have been compromised Summary: Unfortunately, the attack on Adobe also compromised customer names, encrypted credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates, and other information relating to customer orders.

link:
http://www.zdnet.com...promised-7000021546/

100

General Software Discussion / Syncovery/SFFS open to suggestions for support for various cloud services

« on: October 07, 2013, 08:39 AM »

Difficult (for me) to summarize in the title - try this instead:

In the following days and weeks, we will release support for many new cloud services, including Rackspace, Box.net, Dropbox, Google Drive, and SkyDrive. If you would like support for additional storage services or Internet Protocols, please let us know! We now have one developer working exclusively in this area. ... Tobias Giesen

[from email]
-
it's not clear where to send suggestions - you could try contact via the site or the forum, links below:
-
http://www.syncovery.com/
-
http://www.backupcreations.com/forum/


PS I thought this worth a separate thread, but, if you prefer mouser, merge it with another SFFS thread.