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Messages - oblivion [ switch to compact view ]

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76
Living Room / Re: Do you use a Portrait mode monitor?
« on: January 31, 2017, 12:00 PM »
I'm still using a landscape+portrait configuration. Landscape still works best for many things but email and anything involving text generation where A4 / letter is conceptually or actually the output target tends to get done on my portrait monitor.

Where I've got just one screen to work on, it's always landscape. But -- particularly with widescreen monitors -- I often find the lack of vertical realestate annoying.

I do try to arrange screens and chairs so that I'm looking down -- if only slightly -- rather than up. The top of my portrait screen is about at eye level.

I would say -- probably an irrelevance to many -- that I had to recalibrate the colour of the portrait screen as a direct result of rotating it. I can't say I ever really understood why, but the whites are more yellow when the screen's portrait...

Don't know if this is in any way helpful... I think this really is one of those things where what works for one person won't necessarily work for another!

77
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 30, 2016, 07:02 AM »
 :-[

I've just realised that I wasn't paying attention to the dimensions of the last couple of uploads -- so I'll sort that out with these two -- one black, one dark grey. (Software remembers last used values, not last used values for a given document, so the last few went out at 200dpi instead of 96 as a result of something else I've done recently. Oops!)

Black: keyboard3_black.png

Dark grey (80%): keyboard3_darkgrey.png


78
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 29, 2016, 02:33 PM »
This design is really looking good.
Thank you, kind sir ☺

79
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 29, 2016, 11:40 AM »
Stephens eyes are now happy!  :D
Excellent!

Now: while taking the point about multiple colours on board, would it be worth maybe considering a couple more versions of the text colour -- or shall I just leave it that if someone wants the mug design with different coloured text they can ask me and I shall reproduce it to order?

80
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 29, 2016, 11:32 AM »
I think what seems to be missing, is the "bit" (can't remember wtf it is called) from the end of the antenna on the controller - soft of like the round bit from the top of the antenna on the dudes head - the antenna right now looks like it's had it snap off (hopefully that makes sense)
Aha.

Is it like the bit at the back of your knee, that there's no proper name for? 'Cause I have no idea either. Still, a small ellipse with a tiny 3d effect that you might need a magnifier to see... :)
keyboard3_black_03.png

81
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 29, 2016, 11:18 AM »
From what I recall, the Cody I used here was brazenly stolen from an image somewhere on the site. I think (I really should keep notes!) I used an image extractor to pull him from the original background and, as often happens, some of the edges got a bit blatted. I did a rough cleanup and then I probably forgot to go back and do it properly.

Because I've used a vector editor to produce this and some of the things I might have done in a raster editor aren't available, and my artistic skills aren't particularly high (what do you mean, you'd noticed!?) I've done my tidying with a paintbrush and a colour picker. So if you look closely enough, it's probably still not going to be beautiful right now -- so here's the current version and if you still think it could use more work before it'll look good on a mug, please let me know and I'll push the whole lot into a raster editor and see if I can make it better still.
keyboard3_black_02.png

82
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 29, 2016, 10:46 AM »
Some slight "annoyances" in the image:

1. Right "hand" looks a little strange with the white - not sure what's happening there
2. Random yellow bit under the left "hand"
3. Missing shadow on the left "hand"
4. Random Grey line connecting the controller to the wing
5. (Not Circled - Just noticed) - to the right of the above random gray line (following on the controller) the outline of the controller goes missing for a moment almost like a chunk has been removed from it
Hm. I last played with that part of the design ages ago, and I hadn't noticed. Sorry -- I'll clean up.

83
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 29, 2016, 10:37 AM »
Now the DC ad text should be less blurry and we're happy.
Doesn't look blurry to me -- it's a direct, non-resized, export of actual text. Can you refresh (since I removed the version with transparency) and see if it looks any better, please?

84
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 29, 2016, 10:26 AM »
I think a version with black text for both would be better.
While I often try to avoid the starkness of black, who am I to argue?  :D

Your wish, therefore, is my command!
keyboard3_black.png

85
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 27, 2016, 02:12 PM »
I'm hopeful that it'll be ready for release on the same timescale
It was, too.
In case anyone cares... there's a maternity application in use in the UK that has a few issues I decided I'd try to remedy.

First, a message of the day at login to remind midwives (in a reasonably cheerful way) that some of the shortcuts they often take with the application are a Really Bad Idea.

Second, assign an F1 key to a .CHM file that's pretty much an FAQ for the application. (The supplier's documentation is all but nonexistent, and entirely nonexistent within the program itself.)

Third, make a facility where a Consultant of the Week could be chosen from a menu by a select few and would appear to anyone needing to be reminded of who it was, at login or when desired at a press of the F2 key.

And for everything to look like it's an integral part of the application itself.

As I said, it's of relatively limited use: however, the techniques I used to achieve everything could probably be adapted to a variety of other (networked) applications and if anyone's interested I'd be willing to share lumps of code.

86
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 15, 2016, 01:31 PM »
Some potential designs here. I've spent a little longer on choice of font than I think I expected to need and (naturally) I can continue to modify anything here as required.

Main font: Stencil Stencil.png
Main font: Newform newform.png
Main font: Quartz quartz.png
Main font: Keyboard keyboard3.png
Ditto (alternate design) keyboard2.png

I dropped the quality settings down slightly to keep the filesize down but can also produce higher quality output if required.

87
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 09, 2016, 12:22 PM »
For what it's worth, the main DonationCoder.com font is Arial Black.
Thanks -- I'll plug that in too :)

88
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 09, 2016, 12:20 PM »
Wouldn't a monospaced ("coding",  as weirdos call it) font make more sense?
Probably. :)

I was just trying not to be too obvious, when I put the first draft together. Maybe there's an argument that says we should keep what works!  8)

89
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 09, 2016, 12:18 PM »
^ this all just personal taste, others will vary!
Of course :)

But finding something that appeals to your personal taste probably means -- unless you're very unusual indeed -- that it'll work for others too. Design is about both form and function, after all!

I dont like the 'plasticky' feel of it, and I dont like the way the numbers are done in the font.
Afraid I'm not good at creative suggestions, just able to say what I dont like :-/

Okay, that's probably more helpful than you think! As far as the number style is concerned, I don't disagree. The 3D style is just one more option amongst many -- I applied that style to the font, it didn't start out that way!

I've done some work to consolidate my font collections in one place since I designed this initially, which makes browsing options quicker and easier; I'll go away and play.

90
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 09, 2016, 11:50 AM »
me, I love the right-hand-side, but not the font used for the big 'NANY 2017' text -
any chance you could do a couple different versions with different fonts?

Sure. I was trying to do something decorative but not flamboyant (the fixed-pitch meme to represent coding has been done to death, I feel, but maybe that's just me!) and I pretty much grabbed the first thing I didn't hate, if memory serves. But I have hundreds if not thousands of fonts available and no particularly strong views. [Some, though. I'm not going to do it in Comic Sans. However much you plead.  ;)]

Just to help me choose things you might like better, what do you dislike about this one? (Berlin Sans, for what it's worth.)

91
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 09, 2016, 11:26 AM »
Okay... I think I still need to tweak this a bit -- there's at least one major error! -- but just to be going on with -- and any suggestions for less obvious modifications or changes will be welcome, naturally :)
MugDesign2017a.png

92
N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2017 Announcement
« on: December 09, 2016, 04:02 AM »
perhaps with a nice alternative mug design and maybe some other "rewards".
While I'm currently occupying a lot of my time writing a program in Autohotkey that's completely useless for anyone who doesn't use a particular piece of software at my workplace -- no NANY possibilities there although I'm hopeful that it'll be ready for release on the same timescale :) I got at least some of the way to making a new graphic for the legendary NANY mug a couple of years back -- is it too late to offer to update it?

93
Living Room / Re: Be prepared against ransomware viruses..
« on: October 07, 2016, 01:42 AM »
I do not find any information on dealing with ransomware once it is installed.
-terribleterryc (October 06, 2016, 09:58 PM)
TechSupportAlert recently suggested https://www.nomoreransom.org/ but I personally don't have any helpful experience.

94
Not trying to be an apologist here but I remember when the first H-P Deskjet appeared. I went to a launch, in fact (why, where and how are now lost in the mists of time.) At the time, laser printers were priced well into four figures and the Deskjet was (still nearly into four figures) the only other way to get (nearly) laser-quality output.

So now the machines cost -- at the low end -- nearly nothing, often still include scanners and enough onboard smarts to be able to function as a standalone copier and all sorts of other stuff and, barring the sudden realignment of the manufacturers into the charity sector, apparently it's unreasonable of them to try to make money from their customers.

The right way to handle the costs of this stuff is to factor everything in then assess the cost per page for your printed output over the life of the printer. If it's now the case, particularly at the consumer end, that the majority of the cost is in the ink cartridges then that just makes the calculation easier, surely?

[Devil's Advocate Mode OFF] :)

Disclaimer: I also own an HP printer, and also complain bitterly about the cost of the ink cartridges, particularly as I print little enough that the blasted things dry out before they empty...

95
N.A.N.Y. 2014 / Re: NANY 2014 Release - Wallpaper Welder
« on: September 23, 2016, 04:38 AM »
I lost the old wallpaper Wallpaper Welder made for me and can't now make it repeat the trick.

It looks fine (demoing with a couple of VladStudio images):
Screenshot - 00001.png

but the wallpaper it actually makes looks like this:
Screenshot - 00002.png
so when the image is tiled the left hand monitor is as it should be but the right has a truncated image and a lot of background!

I don't change wallpaper often on this machine and the last time I used it was probably a couple of years back, and Windows has been reinstalled at least once if not twice since then (Win 7 x64, before you ask, and the representation of monitor arrangement shown in the capture of the Wallpaper Welder window is accurate.)

Have I messed up the settings somehow?


96
Yes it's fun to see a burst of activity on the forum whenever a newsletter comes out  :Thmbsup:
Is there an emoticon for a guilty look? Ah. Possibly this.
Is anyone finding that the newsletter is being marked as spam by your email provider?
Not here either: neither gmail nor fastmail.

Particularly good newsletter, I should say. Thanks! :)

97
Android Apps / Re: Other app ideas based on WhenLast code
« on: September 20, 2016, 05:35 AM »
Looking at this thread for the first time as a result of following a link in the newsletter.

So When Last looks good, but I'm not necessarily always very good at inferring the underlying architecture of a program from my experience of it. So I'm going to say the first thing that came into my mind for a database-type Android app: something like CHS.

Having said which, I have no need of the "S". :) But I properly dislike the Android clipboard and I miss the history that CHS gives me on every PC I use. A configurable and searchable database of textual clipboard history would be good, particularly if it allowed editing of entries and similar scripted transformations to those offered by CHS.

I've looked at clipboard managers for Android before and generally found nothing better than disillusionment. :)

98
General Software Discussion / Re: The Outlook is disappointing
« on: September 01, 2016, 01:37 AM »
My webmail solution of choice, for quite a few years now, has been Fastmail. Their interface / design / ergonomics are lightweight, responsive, efficient and -- in my view -- Just Work. (They were owned by Opera for a while, largely I think because of their massive levels of expertise in making mail fast, simple and efficient, but are independent again now.)

So my various email addresses -- gmail, yahoo, outlook, so forth -- are all fetched from their providers into Fastmail (which also allows me to set aliases to the addresses I own so I don't have to interact with anything I don't enjoy interacting with!)

The downside: although there IS a free offering, you'll probably want one or other of their paid accounts.

The web end is good, they support several forms of 2FA if that's your thing (I have a yubico key but they have several other alternatives) there are mobile apps too... I don't evangelise them as much as I should but I've tried a lot of webmail solutions over the years and nothing else comes close.

And does it matter which browser you use? Apparently not. Fastmail lives up to its name, generally.

99
I haven't tried this, but our friends at gHacks have an article up describing how to disable Firefox's feature:

The following guide walks you through the steps of overriding the add-on signing enforcement in Firefox Stable and Beta. You will be able to install unsigned add-ons in Firefox versions in which this should not be possible.
I HAVE tried this, and it works. I don't use many unsigned addons but one that I do -- DownloadStudio -- I sort of rely on, now... and I've invested so much time and effort in getting Firefox "right" that jumping ship is more of a deal for me than just making a decision.

100
Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: GS-Base Mini-Review
« on: August 02, 2016, 09:21 AM »
I have mixed feelings about all this. On the one hand, I agree that forcing paid upgrades by stealth is, on the face of it, a sharp practice. However, expecting the supplier to keep downloadable copies of your specific version of the installation media for free, indefinitely, just in case you might have the need to reinstall (and bear in mind that GS-Base can be installed portably and therefore reinstalled just by copying it on from your backup, what do you mean you don't have a backup?  ;)) seems a touch unreasonable too.

And while it's certainly the case that a $10 / year "subscription" isn't exactly free, even ignoring the fact that you only have to pay it if you want new functionality after the first year or you didn't keep backups, for a piece of software that can do what this does for the price remains pretty remarkable. The developer is responsive to requests for new features and bugfixes, to a greater extent than most commercial software I've ever encountered.

I grant you might not see the appeal over -- say -- various spreadsheet programs that pretend some database functionality but this is the only (reasonably) affordable and user-friendly "proper" database program I've seen in a very long time. (I've used Lotus Approach for a long, long time but I can't make it run on a 64-bit PC -- there are things I miss about Approach but GS-Base ticks more boxes than anything else I've tried.) So I'm consequently inclined to be a little more forgiving than I might if it were operating in a more crowded arena :)


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