Topics

26

Living Room / syncdocs: combining the convenience of google docs with offline access

« on: September 25, 2011, 05:39 AM »

http://www.syncdocs.com/

This is very appealing to many people: combining the convenience of google docs with offline access.
I guess it's just patchwork till gdrive shows up:

http://techcrunch.co...gle-drive-is-coming/

If the docs are encrypted, I would consider it over dropbox/wuala because it offers easy real-time collaboration.

27

General Software Discussion / notetaker that uses the filesystem and has powerful search?

« on: September 22, 2011, 07:43 AM »

The one notetaker that I know where each note is a file is aignes' AM-notebook (http://aignes.com/notebook.htm). However the search function is poor.

Does anyone know any notetaker/PIM that uses the filesystem and has powerful search?
It must show a list of hits as I type, with the matches in the text highlighted (like evernote does).
File format doesn't matter, rtf, html is fine.

I want to use the filesystem because, together with wuala, this should be useful for collaboration. A shared wuala folder, with notifications when someone adds or edits a file, is a very nice way to work together.

NOTE: I asked also in the outliners forum.

28

General Software Discussion / On app stores, general suckage of 'cloud' apps, and the desktop dying

« on: September 22, 2011, 04:07 AM »

Key post

Let's face facts: the Web will never be the dominant platform. There will forever be other important platforms competing for users' time. To thrive, HTML and company need what those other platforms have: a single source repository and a good owner to drive it. A standards body is not suited to perform this role. Browser vendors are innovating in some areas, but they are stalled by the standards process in so many areas that is impossible to create a platform with a coherent, unified vision the way Apple has with Cocoa or the way Python has with Guido.

This is a very lucid analysis on app stores, general suckage of 'cloud' apps, and the desktop dying. And it agrees with the overall sentiment of many DC'ers: webapps do not match desktop apps or native phone apps, no matter how hard they try. But people writing desktop apps are being asphyxiated, they are hard to monetize, and they are perceived as dinosaurs.

29

General Software Discussion / insightful post on gui design, and why it can be faster than the command line

« on: September 06, 2011, 08:30 AM »

http://blog.garlicsi...guis-kick-clis-asses



Really, this is spot on.
Might be a good read for people here, who have to deal with GUIs and sometimes make their own.

30

General Software Discussion / evernote can actually work offline. Time to reconsider it, as it's damn powerful

« on: August 28, 2011, 09:30 AM »

Many people here abandoned evernote when it went 'cloud'.
Well, I don't know how long this feature has been there, but evernote can actually work offline.

Just use 'add notebook' (or press insert on the leftmost panel), and check the box that says 'offline'.

You cannot make offline notebooks the default notebook, which is a pity.

And if you need to sync different computers, you can always put the evernote files on dropbox, wuala, etc. This removes part of the need for paying for evernote, although not all. From a review:


"I found that as a paid user the OCR process usually occurred in less than a minute or two. If I instead logged in using a non-Premium account, the OCR usually took no more than five minutes."

"Paying users also gain the ability to enable other people to both see and edit their notes on the web, making Evernote a powerful collaboration tool for groups to work together (that’s another article all by itself)."

For me this beats rightnote in features and convenience. If you add the rich ecosystem around evernote, we have a real winner. For example, this tool lets you use it as a todo/calendar that matches MLO for my usage.

Compared to rightnote:

• tags actually are useful
  
• good search that highlights the matches
  
• keeps indentation
  
• android support for little things
  
• can geo tag notes
  
• encryption
  
• notes can be detached as windows
  
• does ocr (!)
  
• note previews
  
• doodle note type
  

bad

• ads (but can be hidden)
  
• clipping in opera not as good
  
• cannot do the virtual notes (versioning?) by exporting
  
• no headings, no tree, not good for outlining
  

31

General Software Discussion / a light notetaker/word processor that autohides to the side of the screen

« on: August 27, 2011, 06:00 AM »

I know this exists. I installed it once, but cannot find it anymore.
Does anyone know of a a light notetaker/word processor that autohides to the side of the screen? It pops up if the mouse reaches the area where it hides.

It's not quicknote. It has rtf support, and it had something like 10 tabs at the bottom for quick notes. Not Jarte, polyedit, etc either.

Thanks

32

General Software Discussion / Implement features that are known to be loved in other programs, on your own

« on: August 15, 2011, 05:07 PM »

Something that puzzles me is why programmer do not copy each other more often.
Implement features that are known to be loved in other programs, on your own. Why not?
For example:

1- Live search. That is, you get hits as you type, with context. A good example is cintanotes. When I see other programs implementing search as if it was 1990, I cringe. There's no reason inferior search results display is inflicted on us by mostly all other programs.

2- highlight all matches in search. All browsers do this well. Many text editors (!) don't. Not even word did it before word 2010

3- Have redefinable shortcuts. For all your functions. Very few programs do this consistently.

4- breadcrumbs in file managers. Still some don't have it.

5- rapid entry of tasks, by parsing some simple natural language instead of having to go through a long form. Example: google calendar, MLO rapid task entry

6- Smooth scroll. This is a big one. Really. Get out of browserland, and all other tools scroll like they were running in BASIC on a ZX spectrum. Even text editors. We have incredible GPUs, but your text must jump around the screen. Macs are superior here, scroll is smooth by default in all apps in cocoa.

In this day an age, I do not understand why good ideas do not spread faster. It's not that there are copyright issues. In case of breadcrumbs and XYplorer, DonL said he was too proud to copy this feature. While it may sound noble, is this justifiable? ignoring clearly superior design in the name of... what? honor? lazyness? innovation -my sucky feature may be better if I tweak it long enough-?

33

Living Room / Opera wand. Does it work well? Enough to abandon lastpass?

« on: August 08, 2011, 11:20 AM »

Recently I moved to Opera.
The lastpass addon sucks, fails on 50% of the sites I use.
Noone at lastpass cares, no easy way to report bugs, etc.
So my options are quitting opera yet again, or use Opera wand.
Does it work well? Well enough to abandon lastpass?
This is only a contender since opera link syncs passwords across computers. But, tbh, opera link kind of sucks. Fantastically slow, hard to use.

Anyone sharing these experiences?

34

Finished Programs / SOLVED: add a global shortcut to cherrytomato (C#), best pomodoro app around

« on: July 30, 2011, 05:10 PM »

The pomodoro technique is something worth testing.
Unfortunately, most apps are ... lacking. Many adobe air apps ('nuff said!), many abandoned ones... It's such a simple thing to implement, that many have tried their hand, bust most have failed Sort of like todo list apps

The best tool I know is cherrytomato, but it's lacking two important things:
1- a global shortcut to start/stop
2- a floating window with the time left (so we don't have to use the tray).

The dev. switched to OSX so won't update it much.
The code is on google code.

For a C# coder, this should be an easy task.
Any takers? I'll chip in some DC credits.
 

35

Living Room / When to add features, and when an apps feel bloated.

« on: July 18, 2011, 01:03 PM »

I found some thoughts from the cintanotes developer very inspiring:

features should be organic, effective, discoverable and convenient".

"Organic" means that the feature shouldn’t stick out of the program like an alien body. A non-organic feature IMO is the one that while coming in handy sometimes, still isn’t really connected with the product’s main goal and functionality. (Example of non-organic features: HTML authoring in MS Word, wave editing in Nero Burning ROM)

"Effective" means – should be lightweight and not hurt performance and memory footprint, or be optional to use.

"Discoverable" means – a new user should be able to discover that this feature exists without reading help.

"Convenient" means that a feature is easy to use correctly and hard to misuse, and that a significant number of users will use this feature on a regular basis.

So if the suggested implementation of a third frame will seem to satisfy all these criteria, off we go.

Wrote a bit more Here.

36

General Software Discussion / a calendar program that can sync to gcal and shortcut-friendly?

« on: July 15, 2011, 07:20 AM »

Anyone knows a calendar program that can sync to gcal and where mostly everything can be done with shortcuts?

37

General Software Discussion / windows file manager with single-click navigation?

« on: May 22, 2011, 11:15 AM »

Win 7 explorer offers single-click navigation, but other aspects of it are quite horrendous.
And of course it won't work in XF. Is there a windows file manager with single-click navigation?

Bonus points if it does lynx navigation (arrow right enters a folder, left goes up).

38

General Software Discussion / Wuala. Anyone here using it?

« on: September 18, 2010, 02:59 PM »

I'm torn about Wuala.

Anyone here using it?
Great idea, one can get space on the cloud in exchange for space on your HD.
They recently introduced sync, so it's a direct competitor to Dropbox.
However, for the life of me I don't understand how sync works (if it does). I never see what's going on, why things are not parallel when they should, why some folder have the red cross instead of the green 'ok' sign... basically, what it does is obscure to me.

If anyone could explain it here, I'd be grateful. I asked in their forums, but nothing came out after 2 days.

39

General Software Discussion / Win 8 design documents leaked, plus Icaza comments on them

« on: June 29, 2010, 01:53 AM »

http://msftkitchen.c...etails-revealed.html

http://tirania.org/b...ive/2010/Jun-28.html

I'm surprised nobody posted this already...

40

General Software Discussion / The Odds Are Increasing That Microsoft's Business Will Collapse

« on: June 22, 2010, 08:05 AM »

The world has changed radically in the past few years.  The Internet has continued to free app-makers from dependency on Windows or any other desktop platform (and, thus, from dependency on Microsoft).  Apple's iPhone has revolutionized the mobile business, unleashing a whole new wave of personal computing devices.  Apple's iPad seems on its way to supplanting the low-end PC business.
Importantly, none of these trends depend in any way on Microsoft's original monopoly and cash cow, Windows.  None of these trends generate so much as a dollar of revenue or profit for Microsoft.  (Microsoft is nowhere in mobile.  Or tablets.  And it is reasonable to think that, in these two huge growth businesses, nowhere is where Microsoft will always be).
Google, meanwhile, is trying to do the same thing to Apple that Microsoft did to Apple 15 years ago: Separate software and hardware and create a ubiquitous software platform for the world's developers to build on.  This is a smart strategy, and it's resonating in the developer and consumer communities: Google's Android and Chrome started slow, but they're gaining momentum rapidly.  What's more, Google is not just undercutting the alternatives on price--it's giving away its products for free.
Once again, the Chrome/Android momentum has nothing to do with Windows.  Once again, it doesn't benefit Microsoft in any way.
Now take a look at what Microsoft's biggest Windows customers--Dell, HP, and the other big PC manufacturers--are up to. Dell is in talks with Google to begin developing devices designed to run Chrome (and who can blame it--if it doesn't do this, it will be left behind in the next wave of consumer devices). And HP just bought the wreckage of Palm so that it would have a better mobile operating system with which to compete against Apple.  From Microsoft's perspective, these last two developments are disasters.

read more.

They make good points. Thoughts?

41

Living Room / one a/b test shows that downloadable apps are less profitable than webapps

« on: June 05, 2010, 12:39 PM »

http:// www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/04/the-most-radical-ab-test-ive-ever-done/

The last year has taught me quite a bit about the difference between web applications and downloadable applications.  To whit: don’t write desktop apps.  The support burden is worse, the conversion rates are lower, the time through the experimental loop is higher, and they retard experimentation in a million and one ways.

You have to admire the determination of the developer. I know people in this forum have a contrarian view on webapps, but in this case (simple app, bingo cards!) it really makes sense to have an online version.

42

Living Room / stackoverflow-like site for DC. Would it work? Now free

« on: April 15, 2010, 06:13 AM »

We discussed before whether a stackoverflow-like site would work for DC. To summarize the thread, it seemed that (1) some people were against any score of any kind and (2) it's not clear what makes SO work, and how to import it to DC without killing the 'around the water cooler' conversation. But mostly everyone agreed that there's something working there that beats forum software.

Would it work here? Well, now is the best time to try since they just made SO's software free (and hosted to boot! I know that mouser pays quite a lot for the servers that run this forum)

Basically, they make it free (but with some hoops). This is good news  in that they see the model extending to other communities. For a contrarian vision see most comments here:
http://news.ycombina....com/item?id=1263083

Note that if we wanted a self-hosted solution, there are FOSS clones out there, see http://shapado.com/

What do you think?

43

Living Room / now we have nettops... but portable monitors?

« on: April 13, 2010, 01:14 PM »

http://www.kdsusa.com/KS-19mws.asp

not really portable, at 4.5 Kilo....
I wonder why we cannot get a good laptop monitor, say 1920 x 1200 17", on a stand that is portable and that doesn't weight a ton. Definitely more ergonomic than a laptop...

Any sightings?
EDIT: http://www.techchee....ortable-usb-monitor/ pretty good...

44

Living Room / building reputation: great o'reilly book and blog

« on: April 11, 2010, 08:58 AM »

The book:
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596159801

The blog:
http://buildingreputation.com/



Some quotes:

Karma is a reputation score for a user in a community, it may be comprised of many components, such as:

• How long has this person been a member of the community?
• What types of activities has she engaged in?
• How well has she performed at them?
• What do other people think about this person?

Having access to a person's reputation might help you make better informed judgments. Judgements like…

• Can I trust this person?
• Should I transact with this person?
• Is it worth my time to listen to this person?

It's gotten to a point in which most of what I do online depends on my bullshit detectors.
The interesting thing is that even highly educated people fall for dubious advice online. Basically noone check sources online. This can only lead to impoverished decision making.

What are your heuristics for detecting bullshit?

45

Living Room / two-monitors ergonomics

« on: April 11, 2010, 05:29 AM »

I know people here (mouser) rave about two-monitors.
I just started using them, and I think I have a problem with ergonomics.
My neck is getting a workout.
Side-to-side is too wide. one-on-top-of-another, too high...
Anyone has a solution? Websites about ergonomics on this?

46

General Software Discussion / on OS updates and breakage

« on: February 06, 2010, 06:42 PM »

When using windows, I never think twice about accepting updates.
Worst case, I have to reboot.

But on linux, I don't know anyone that doesn't pause before accepting suggested updates.
Linuxes break things with updates. Mind you not only kernel updates... minor, unrelated things.

I just lost ssh. Was it an update? Who knows... but, is Linux really a superior, more reliable tech? I cannot say this with a straight face. It's extremely fragile...

Thoughts?

47

General Software Discussion / is there any file manager that doesn't enforce sort order?

« on: February 06, 2010, 07:21 AM »

is there any file manager that doesn't enforce sort order? I mean, if I reorder files by hand, it remember that config the next time I open it. preferrably for linux also

48

General Review Discussion / similar to todoList, but open source and for win and linux?

« on: January 28, 2010, 03:20 PM »

I remember seeing here something similar to todoList, but open source and for win and linux?
I cannot remember the name.... can you?

49

General Software Discussion / ubuntu's worrying decline in quality

« on: January 18, 2010, 03:10 AM »

Is it just me or, There's been a sharp decline in ubuntu's quality?

For example:

http://www.mail-arch....com/msg1969132.html

Confirming, I was able to reproduce the issue by plugging in a brand new
Sandisk Cruzer 8G.

Also, I'm marking this one as Medium since it *will* affect a
substancial number of users, because most USB keys for sale at this
point are already formatted in FAT32 and will trigger this bug.

** Changed in: usb-creator (Ubuntu)
       Status: New => Confirmed

** Changed in: usb-creator (Ubuntu)
   Importance: Undecided => Medium

--
Error "Unable to mount #.#GB Filesystem. A job is pending on /dev/sd?#"
displayed when inserting fat32 drive while usb-creator is open
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/506577
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu.

That means, the OS cannot mount a new USB stick.
If that's not sucking as an OS, I dunno what is...

50

General Software Discussion / recommendation: sabayon linux

« on: January 07, 2010, 04:54 PM »

I moved to full-time linux (yet again) ~ 2 months ago, and of course went for ubuntu.
But somehow, ubuntu didn't like my lappy. It didn't unmount the filesystem right, and fsck stopped being able to fix it.

All cues pointed at faulty hardware.

However, another distro wouldn't hurt before buying a new HD.
I tried sabayon linux because I didn't want a debian derivative, which may carry the same error.
It's based on gentoo, but with binaries.

see:
http://sabayon.org
http://forum.sabayon.org/index.php

The sabayon linux live CD picked everything right, with latest version of nvidia drivers.
It operates fine on the supposedly faulty HD. My guess: ubuntu unmount scripts are not that good.

Main advantages over ubuntu:

• rolling release
• more up-to-date packages
• better settings by default
• equo package manager is way better than apt-get
• killer communuty of very advanced and helpful users