Messages

9826

General Software Discussion / Re: eBook Reader alternate to Acrobat?

« on: March 06, 2009, 08:38 AM »

Now that I have an iPhone, I use Stanza and Kindle for iPhone.

With Stanza, you can also get eReader format books from Fictionwise.  They have a really good rewards program too!

9827

Living Room / Re: The Greatest Graphic Novel of All Time: Watchmen

« on: March 04, 2009, 09:56 AM »

A few off the top of my head include Transmetropolitan, Planetary, Nextwave, Hard Boiled, and Shaolin Cowboy.

9828

Living Room / Re: Surfulater 3 - huge price hike (166%) + where is the Firefox add-on?

« on: March 04, 2009, 09:12 AM »

Have you been to their forum? Or the outlinersoftware.com forum? The developer removed his Roadmap post and replaced it with a statement that Ultra Recall would no longer be actively developed due to the poor economy. After a large outcry by users along with a lot of posts at various forums, he replaced that statement with a much smaller Roadmap - with most of the significant future improvements missing. Since then he has released three minor bug-fix updates.

I still use it - Kyle says that he won't abandon UR and that he will definitely support it through Windows 7 compatibility. But probably no innovative changes to it.

-J-Mac (March 04, 2009, 01:54 AM)

Ah, I found it.  Probably completely overlooked it, as I purchased it years ago, and still only have a few items in it.  I recently uninstalled it.  Tried surfulater also, and promptly forgot about it.  Evernote has been the best for me, as it syncs across platforms.  I'll probably try a few others I saw in the forums also (Zoot and Knowledgeware looked promising), but that's just because I'm a software addict 

9829

Living Room / Re: The Greatest Graphic Novel of All Time: Watchmen

« on: March 04, 2009, 08:45 AM »

While I will agree that Watchmen was very revolutionary in its day, and has held up well, and am looking forward to the movie, I would say that it has been surpassed since then by a few efforts.  My favorite recently was Black Summer.

9830

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini-Review of myPhotoFrame

« on: February 26, 2009, 06:24 PM »

In cases where you can't install the whole google desktop (like when the firewall blocks it ) or it's against IT policy, this is a viable alternative.

9831

Living Room / Re: Surfulater 3 - huge price hike (166%) + where is the Firefox add-on?

« on: February 26, 2009, 11:24 AM »

Don’t feel bad...  I purchased Ultra Recall only a few months ago and the developer just posted last week that it is basically being abandoned.

-J-Mac (November 13, 2008, 10:29 PM)

Where did you see that?  He's still releasing versions as of 2/24/2009, so it doesn't seem to be abandoned...

9832

Mini-Reviews by Members / Mini-Review of myPhotoFrame

« on: February 25, 2009, 03:39 PM »

Basic Info

App Name	myPhotoFrame
App URL	myPhotoFrame
App Version Reviewed	1.1
Test System Specs	Windows XP SP2 Pentium D 3.4MHz, 2048MB RAM
Supported OSes	Windows XP, Windows Vista
Support Methods	e-mail ([email protected])
Upgrade Policy	From Website As a registered customer, you are entitled to a fully functional, unrestricted copy of the software, free technical support, and free updates that will be released within 1 major version (if you are user of version 4, then all 4.xx versions are free for you).
Trial Version Available?	You can download myPhotoFrame 14 Days Free Trial Version.  There are no limitations within that time limit.
Pricing Scheme	At the time of my purchase, it was $14.95, with special bundle prices.  The price appears to have dropped to $9.95, and there is a DonationCoder discount available.  Not sure if they stack.

Intro:

One of the things I loved about Vista was the desktop gadgets, especially the photo frame one.  I really missed it when working on Windows XP, and so was very happy to find myPhotoFrame on Bits Du Jour.  myPhotoFrame is a very small application that does one thing, and does it well in a small memory footprint- displaying photos in an overlay on the desktop.  The frame can be changed, and the size of the window and photo scaled, along with mouse over transparency changes to allow you to see your desktop through the window.



Who is this app designed for:

In this digital age with small cubicle sizes, sometimes it's not feasible to have photos plastered around your workspace.  myPhotoFrame can display a folder of family photos on your desktop discretely to always keep those memories with you.


The Good

It does what it sets out to do in a simple manner with little memory footprint.  There is a right click menu allowing you access to all of the functions, and one simple dialog for settings.





The needs improvement section

In the use of some skins, photos get cut off with no way to change that, though in the settings you can skip any photos that are out of proportion.



The ability to click through the photo would also be a welcome addition, along with the ability for users to create skins, though the author will take photos of frame ideas and make new personalized frames for you.


Why I think you should use this product

If you like the Vista app to display photos in a folder, this is a good replacement on XP.  It also is a good replacement in general since it can be displayed anywhere on the desktop.  It has a low memory usage, and does what it sets out to do well.


How does it compare to similar apps

Other than gadgets in the sidebar (google, vista, etc), I'm not aware of other apps that do the same thing.  The major improvement over the sidebar apps is that this can be moved, and the skin can be changed.  Balance that against running another app, however small the footprint.


Conclusions

In summary, I really like this app.  It allowed me to have my family photos on my desktop at work, without actually having the real estate to have them on the desktop.  This is an app that if you need it, you'll see the applications, and if you don't, you just don't have a use for it.  But if you do have a need for it, I can say that it does the simple task it sets out to do well, which is the highest praise I can give for something like this.


Links to other reviews of this application

Review at SoftSea.com

9833

Living Room / Re: eBook readers

« on: February 17, 2009, 02:51 PM »

Actually, you can download Mobipocket and eReader books as files and copy them just as you would any other- that's the way I generally download them.  In fact, I download them directly to my phone, then move them to my library folder to get them to show up in the library.

9834

Find And Run Robot / Re: Most basic usage doesn't work as described

« on: February 16, 2009, 10:44 AM »

The numbers refer to the numeric keypad.  If you press the number on the numeric keypad, then it will work.  The regular numbers dont.  You can also press enter if the first entry is the one you want.

9835

Living Room / Re: What are you getting for your Special Other for Valentines Day?

« on: February 16, 2009, 08:19 AM »

For my wife, I had roses delivered to the house on Thursday, then chocolate covered strawberries followed on Friday- pretty reasonable other than they make you pay for shipping...

I also gave her an outfit and a gift card to the store where the outfit came from on Valentine's.

9836

General Software Discussion / Re: Is there a desire to open a Pocket PC/Windows Mobile forum here on DC?

« on: February 13, 2009, 08:34 AM »

I was going to say yes- I have had a WM phone for years of one kind or another, and I had planned to get an HTC Fuze in the next month or so.  But I'm going over to the dark side and getting an iPhone. 

9837

Site/Forum Features / Re: Ignore Thread and Improved Bookmark Mod Coming V. soon

« on: February 08, 2009, 01:30 AM »

I've just now got things mostly working.. can you try again to find your bookmarks.

-mouser (February 07, 2009, 12:09 AM)

Yes... they work.  Thanks!

9838

Site/Forum Features / Re: Ignore Thread and Improved Bookmark Mod Coming V. soon

« on: February 06, 2009, 11:41 PM »

Apparently the current bookmarks are affected- at least I can't find mine... 

9839

Living Room / Re: eBook readers

« on: February 05, 2009, 12:14 PM »

I just use my WM phone with Mobipocket... I have too many books in the format to look at anything else, though since CyBook uses mobipocket format I might try it... been tempted to take the plunge more than once.

My current direction will involve another WM device most likely though.  I've been looking at the HTC Fuze.  For the same price as the cybook, I can get a device that has the capacity to hold more and that I can carry everywhere...

I tried the rocket ebook before when this tech was in its infancy, and the dedicated reader device just didn't work for me in the long run.

9840

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Acronis TrueImage 10 available for free

« on: February 05, 2009, 11:25 AM »

Thanks... worked like a charm. 

9841

General Software Discussion / Re: Complaints about Direct Access Text Expander Taking Ideas from Others - Split Topic

« on: February 03, 2009, 03:53 PM »

Perhaps to let you know that I wasn't just ignoring you?  Just leaving the conversation?    *sigh*

9842

Living Room / Re: site:donationcoder.com [your username]

« on: February 03, 2009, 02:40 PM »

Pah.  about 1,510 from donationcoder.com for wraith808

9843

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: List of disc catalogers

« on: February 03, 2009, 10:45 AM »

iTrackMine is a new collection tracker that I've started using- purchased a barcode scanner, and now I'm in business!

http://www.iTrackMine.com

9844

General Software Discussion / Re: Complaints about Direct Access Text Expander Taking Ideas from Others - Split Topic

« on: February 03, 2009, 10:36 AM »

I respectfully agree to disagree and withdraw from the conversation, as it seems a lot like beating a dead horse on a mouse wheel.

9845

General Software Discussion / Re: Complaints about Direct Access Text Expander Taking Ideas from Others - Split Topic

« on: February 02, 2009, 11:45 AM »

@wraith808:

How can stealing be justified?  

-BartelsMedia (January 30, 2009, 01:01 AM)

I didn't say he was trying to justify anything- but that you were trying to justify your attacks.  When it comes down to it, unless a process is patented (which I think is stupid beyond reason- software patents stagnate the market), or he took your code and reverse engineered it to add to his product (which I don't think happened either), there was no theft involved.

leave me as a customer cold on PhraseExpress

I just wanted to make you aware that if you wear a fake Rolex and believe it is original, that it is not so original. If you continue to wear it with pride and don't care, well... no problem. In this particular case, we do not share the same opinion about the value of originality and authenticity.

-BartelsMedia (January 30, 2009, 01:01 AM)

That analogy is so wrong as to make me shake my head.  Trying to apply material concepts to ideas is what makes laws surrounding software and media so convoluted and wrong minded.  If he's copying you, make your case based on price and promotion- not based on attacks.  If he is truly copying you, you get what kind of lag time while he tries to replicate what you have done and make a release?  Without attacks on a third party forum, you had come close to convincing a person that had been using DirectAccess for quite a while (me).  How did this happen?  I became aware of PhraseExpress on Bits and on this Board (in a positive manner).  I also saw other reviews in places.  Just those things began to convince me- the attacks were unnecessary. 

It is those attacks that turn me off from the product in all truth...

9846

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows editors - do they have to be so bad?

« on: January 28, 2009, 09:39 AM »

I wonder why some people are so obsessed with SlickEdit... it basically falls flat between a text editor and an IDE, not really knowing what it wants to be. It's too bloated for a text editor, and lacks the functionality you'd expect of a decent IDE. The pricetag certainly can't be justified when there's freeware editors like Notepad++, IDEs like Eclipse, and the free Microsoft Visual Studio Express...

-f0dder (January 16, 2009, 06:50 PM)

I use it; I'm not obsessed with it- it is one tool in my toolbox.  But when I don't feel like waiting for Visual Studio to load, and want something lighter that I can just edit/compile/check-in/out projects in that supports multiple platforms in one project, I pull it out.  It also supports brief which most editors these days overlook, so that's a big plus for me.

9847

General Software Discussion / Re: Complaints about Direct Access Text Expander Taking Ideas from Others - Split Topic

« on: January 28, 2009, 09:34 AM »

Truthfully, reading this, I'd be less likely to even try PhraseExpress.  Because the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  The points may be salient, and the frustration understandable.  But the way in which this whole thing is being carried out- especially since Andrea seems to have backed out only to continue to be attacked, and the attacks justified, leave me as a customer cold on PhraseExpress- and I have been for a while thinking about trying it because of the price difference compared to DirectAccess for a similar feature set.

9848

General Software Discussion / Re: Direct Access 2.0 - Getting Too Pricey for Me!

« on: November 25, 2008, 03:16 PM »

Day-to-day I use a combination of FARR, DA, and NextStart/WorkShelf/Nexus.  Just depends on what I'm launching and how often I launch it- and whether my hand is on the keyboard or mouse at the point I want to launch something.

9849

General Software Discussion / Re: Direct Access 2.0 - Getting Too Pricey for Me!

« on: November 20, 2008, 12:31 PM »

I'll just keep using the current version- no problems with it.

9850

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Intro

« on: November 20, 2008, 12:27 PM »

I'm in.  Not sure which of my many uncompleted apps I'm going to try to get finished... but I'll get something done!