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Messages - Ampa [ switch to compact view ]

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426
Hmm... somehow this feels weird. Downloading an archive of a website to improve the searchability doesn't strike me as the 'correct' approach. Surely we need to invest our effort into better searchability on the web?

427
IMHO Opera gets an awful lot right...

 I have been using it for at least 5 years, and during that time the download size has remained consistantly small (< 5MB), but it has seen the addition of...

  • a mail client
  • iRC chat
  • a widget engine
  • simple notes
  • a basic bittorrent client
  • user javascript (like GreaseMonkey)
Not only has the feature list improved, but the speed of the basic function, web browser, has also increased significantly.

Ampa

428
General Software Discussion / Re: What fonts do I actually need?
« on: April 28, 2007, 07:18 AM »
I think longrun is abbreviating 'original' to 'ori' as a mental note that the folder contains the original fonts installed by Windows.

'ori' is not denoting a particular filetype.

429
Aha!!

Major break through...

I found an option in Foxit Reader: Preferences > Page Display > Display texts optimized for LCD screen

Optimize for LCD.png
LCD optimization option

This makes a huge difference (though again I see no difference with or without the local copy of GDI+).

Foxit (LCD).png
Foxit with LCD optimization

Optimised for LCD the render quality is vastly improved - certainly middle of the field.

Foxit (LCD 400%).pngFoxit (Std 400%).png
@400% with LCD optimization@400% without LCD optimization

The option seems to enable XPs ClearType technology within Foxit, and is using coloured pixels to antialias the text, rather than greyscale. Interestingly none of the other viewers (Adobe included) use coloured pixels to antialias - I guess they just have a better greyscale algorithm.

Query: This raises an issue - how do the visual tests appear on CRT screens? It is quite possible that they appear quite differently to other users on other screen types?

Thoughts? Anyone?


430
Then I found the GDIplus Module on the Foxit website (Critical addons) and put it in the Foxit Reader folder. This dramatically improved the rendering quality...

I too found the 'critical addon' GDI+ module (and placed it in the Foxit install folder), but it seems to make no difference at all on the PDF that I am viewing.

Either I am doing something wrong, or the GDI+ module is hit and miss, or the crappy render quality I am seeing is with the GDI+ module.

I have attached the test PDF [286kb] to this post. If any one feels like testing it in Foxit with and without the GDI+ module I'd be interested in your finding.


I notice that I already have several versions of gdiplus.ddl residing on my disk...


system32   = v5.1.3102.2180
Foxit PDF  = v5.1.3102.1360
eXpert PDF = v6.0.3260.0



(So this is where I choose to delurk.)
-hjoerdis
Congratulations :) - now keep posting!

431
Found Deals and Discounts / Xara X1 for $19 (less than £10)
« on: April 27, 2007, 08:26 AM »
Xara are at it again... offering their exceptional software at knock down prices.

This time it is Xara X1 for only $19 (less than £10) - this is the predecessor to their flagship product Xara Xtreme. Check out the feature comparison for the details of differences.

At this price I consider it a must purchase, especially as you can then upgrade to Xara Xtreme (for $39) or Xara Xtreme Pro (for $120).

Note - perhaps hold off on the upgrade for a month or two, since Xara have also announced imminent new releases with some great new features.

Ampa
(DonationCoder's 2nd biggest Xara fan)

432
Site/Forum Features / Re: what is plus/minus sign for?
« on: April 27, 2007, 08:13 AM »
lol - I think that the PLUS button is far more useful!

For those who have yet to click it... it expands the textbox by a few lines (per click) to allow more space for composing your reply. A great addition for people with larger screens.

Ampa

433
I am considering extending my freeware PDF viewers review to cover features as well as render quality... IF there is the demand for it.

So far the thread has not garnered that much attention! But it is early days I guess!

Ampa

[edited to fix url link - mouser]

434
General Software Discussion / Re: CD Bank Cataloguer abandoned?
« on: April 26, 2007, 06:04 PM »
In the same boat.

I have a registered version of CD Bank 2.7.9 but as you say the site is dead, and has been for some considerable time now.

I have searched the web for any news, but all that comes up are posts like this one!

A real shame, since it is / was a great product.

435
Hmm - doesn't bode well... Brnad new install and already you've discovered a unique, undocumented bug.

I think I'll stick with XP for a while yet.

436
Background: I wanted to read a small PDF file that contained a comparison of Vista fonts with WinXP fonts - so fired up Foxit Reader and was appauled that the render quality was so poor I could not see the text correctly.

So... here is a quick comparison of the render quality of all the free  PDF viewers that I could find.

Enjoy ;)



Product
Version
Size
Install?
Load time
(App/File)
RAM
Screenshot
Adobe Reader865MB 1Yes1s 2 / < 1s38.5MBAdobe Reader.png
1 The install is actually 106MB but the Reader sub directory is only 65MB (the rest is junk, such as a copy of the install files)
2 Adobe Reader loads a speed loader (and an auto updater) at system startup which remains resident in memory.
Adobe Digital EditionsBeta6.6MBYes 32s / < 1s 441.5MBAdobe Digital Editions Beta.png
3 The Adobe website does not allow a conventional download of Digital Editions, instead it uses a Flash 'widget' to install the file on your machine, with no choice about where it goes! (Location = C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\www.macromedia.com\bin\ )
4 Digital Editions includes a library into which all files are loaded prior to viewing. This happens even if you drag and drop, or open the file with the application. Library entries must be removed by hand or are retained.
Visagesoft eXpert PDF1.5.99014MBYes3s / 1s28.7MBeXpert PDF Reader.png
Foxit Reader
See HERE for important update
2.0.16063.8MBNo2s / > 1s 511.6MBFoxit Reader v2.0.png
5 After the initial load, rendering takes an additional second.
CAD-KAS PDF Reader2.411.7MBYes 6> 4s / > 2s 722.4MBCAD-KAS PDF Reader v2.4.png
6 The CAS-KAD installer can be unzipped manually and the program run without install.
7 CAS-KAD has an internal file browser. Once the file is selected
Sumatra0.5< 1MBNo1s / 1s 15.8MBSumatra (100%).png 8

Sumatra (Normalized).png
8 For some reason Sumatra rendered the text much smaller than other viewers @ 100%. In the second screenshot I tried to normalize the results by zooming the page to the same size as the other viewers.
PDF-XChange Viewer1.0.00165MB 9Yes2s / 1s 14.6MBPDF-XChange Viewer.png
9 PDF-XChange also includes a hefty help file (5.5MB) which is included in the download, but need not be installed.
Cool PDF Reader1.0.0.64< 1MB 10No< 1s / 1s 1119.3MB 12CoolPDFReader.png
10 Cool PDF can be downloaded as a single exe file, which is only 655kb - nice.
11 The initial load of the PDF file was about 1 second, but changing zoom level, or scrolling the page would max out my CPU for up to 5 seconds before the screen was redrawn.
12 Memory usage jumps up during zooming and scrolling, often as high as 30MB.
[/table]

Notes
1. Times are all very short since the test file was very small - 1 page, 285.5kB
2. Memory usage is taken from the Mem Usage column of WinXP Task Manager
3. This quality review does not take the faeture set of each app into consideration.

CONCLUSION...
Adobe Reader 8 has the nicest quality of text, it is beautifully crisp; but even with the speed increase of version 8, the program is still something of a monster.

Foxit is very well known as the freeware alternative, it is not the smallest application of those tested, but it does use the least memory; however, the quality of its output is by far the worst!

Adobe's new comer Digital Edition is still in beta, and has some annoyances (no custom install, all files added to library) but it is a fraction of the size of its big brother. Sadly the render quality does suffer; though not as poor as Foxit all the other applications tested produced more legible text.

My vote for the best of the (non Adobe) rest goes with PDF-XChange Viewer; I found the text to be dark and clear.

IF there is a good response to this post I MIGHT be persuaded to do a full review including a feature comparison.

And if you have any other PDF viewers that you would like added to the comparison... let me know :)

Ampa

437
Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: --> PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST <--
« on: April 26, 2007, 02:05 PM »
The personal area is only half useful at the moment... great for preparing your long reviews etc, but when it comes time to go public, you can't simply copy and paste the source, since that would loose all your lovely screenshots and attachments.

Can the board permissions be altered in such a way that me are admins for our own area and have the power to move a finished post to the public area of the board?

438
I have to agree that the response to email is... erm... non-existant!

I wrote to them asking whether they would consider a discount for the good folk at DonationCoder, and had no reply.

As for the trial period, I used the automated system...

RequestCertificate.png

This continues to work even after the 2 month trial is up, but only extends your certificate for one day at a time!

439
General Software Discussion / Re: What fonts do I actually need?
« on: April 24, 2007, 06:24 PM »

FontFrenzy link should be THIS



Quick update: I noticed that Office 2007 was using WebDings 2 & 3 to create some of the fancy borders in its default styles, so I have reinstalled those two fonts.

Current total = 80 installed fonts

All others loaded as required using HighLogic's MainType - discount HERE

440
Tada! And the prize goes to RoadRunner2525 (along with a small donation of course).

Imagelys is a good find. I have toyed with it briefly this afternoon at it does meet all my criteria.

Could do with some minor improvements though that I shall take up with the author - the most notable being that there is no crop tool! I have to run a second app in parallel to crop my photo before taking it into the tile maker.

Thanks for the input DCers :)

441
Thank everyone for the input, however many of your suggestions are missing the point!

The background to the request...
I was reading the March installment of the Xara Workbook and came across this tutorial for creating a seamless texture. It looked like a lot of hard work! So I figured that there had to be a nice little too out there to do most of the work for me :)

The detail of the request...
This is not a request about generating textures from scratch using algorithms.
This request is about converting part of a photograph into a seamless tileable image.

The request is for a freeware tool, since it is a relatively simple task and I feel that there simply must be something out there that does the job.

I am well aware that there a numerous methods of doing this in PhotoShop (or any other painting tool) or via specialist commercial applications or plugins.

Thanks :)

442
I have noticed that the ShiftOff app doesn't have its own anchor to jump directly to the program on Skrommel's 1 hour software page. This should be fixed asap - especially as I've just sent loads of LifeHacker readers there!!!

443
OK I'll really try to get this right...

Keepass - the free, open-source, light-weight and easy-to-use password manager
Current version is 1.07 or 2.02 alpha

KeyPass - a shareware versatile password manager that types your passwords for you!
Is at version 4.5.4 and costs $29.95



Part of the confusion is that a Google search for Keypass brings up KeePass as result 1!



Also a Google for Keep Ass finds this useful "Hidden Camera Detector, which Helps Keep Your Naked Ass Off The Internet"

444
Post New Requests Here / Re: CAPSLOCK TIMER
« on: April 17, 2007, 05:29 PM »
See what I mean ;)

Updating now, thank you   :Thmbsup:

Ampa

445
Lanux: have already tried that. The issue is not with the MP3Gain installer, but with the general Windows installer which has got its wires crossed. I've read a bit more about this issue on Annoyances.org but have not actually found an elegant solution.

Most suggestions seem to involve deactivating the windows installer, blanket removal of installation records from the registry or mass reinstallation of various bits of software.

446
Post New Requests Here / Re: CAPSLOCK TIMER
« on: April 16, 2007, 07:06 AM »
This would make a nice addition to one of Skrommel's little tools, either CAPshift or ShiftOff.

447
I use MP3Gain along with its GUI to add replaygain information to my mp3 collection. Recently a peculiar bug has emerged that I really can't fathom...

When I launch MP3GainGUI the Windows installer appears (with the title Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007) and starts trying to install a component.

InstallerBar.png

This then tells me that the network component cant be found, and prompts me to search for the file 'EnterpriseWW.msi'

InstallerPrompt.png

If I cancel the dialog it simply reappears.

If I cancel the dialog 6 or 7 times in a row MP3GainGUI opens and functions correctly.

MP3GainGUI.png

It didn't do this last week!! What on earth is going on!!

I have googled briefly and discovered that other people have experienced similar issues, but none seem to have found a solution. Each case seems to be looking to configure / install some random piece of software  which is entirely unconnected with MP3Gain (not always Office, sometimes Adobe products or plugins).

I have reinstalled MP3Gain several times, using both the zip file and installer from the website - with no effect.

Some 'solutions' I've read are the usual guff... reinstall windows - reinstall office - use Linux! but none seems to get to the root of the problem.

So far as I can see MP3Gain is no longer updated - is there an equivalent active piece of freeware?

448
Living Room / Re: $2 Credit Bounty: Animation of Hamster on Wheel
« on: April 13, 2007, 03:43 AM »
It is well known that baby hamsters come from nuts that hang from the branches of great trees by a furry stalk, that becomes the tail.

I am sure that Wikipedia will confirm this.

449
Official Announcements / Re: The Gizmo Effect!
« on: April 13, 2007, 03:38 AM »
That is really good and encouraging news.

Hello to all our new users :)

I hope you find a home here.

Ampa

450
Living Room / Re: Keep your Back Healthy While you Work
« on: April 13, 2007, 03:31 AM »
I noticed that I was slouching at the keyboard more than ever last month so decided it was time to take action...

Step 1: I sawed a small section out of my desk and dropped it down by 6 inches so that my keyboard and mouse were at a more comfortable height (wrists slightly below elbows).

Step 2: Bought a large inflatable gym ball from eBay (£12 inc p&p) which I now sit on instead of a chair.

The combination of the two is definitely helping. I no longer sit with rounded shoulders or end up with stiff shoulders. The down side (?) is that it is hard work to sit with good posture, if your body is not used to it, so I am having to take more breaks.

I have kept my slouchy office chair for evenings, TV and games though :)

Ampa

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