Topics

26

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Prizes

« on: December 22, 2009, 03:31 AM »

STOP PRESS: The NANY 2010 Store Opens

We've added this year's prizes to the

nudone has produced some really wonderful graphics for this year's NANY Prizes   And there are going to be some very proud owners parading up and down the street or sitting prominently in the tea room at work places around the world.

Getting Your Prize
Each Entrant that fulfills their NANY 2010 Pledge will receive one of our unique NANY Mugs delivered to your door. When redeeming their item there are other items there that can be purchased in conjunction with, or instead of the mug that has been allowed for in the voucher that they will receive (a monetary addition may be required). Please note that the NANY 2010 Store prices are currently in their inflated state with a hefty markup; these will be adjusted when Entrants are redeeming their vouchers.

Interested in joining the fun?
If you still have not Pledged your entry into this year's NANY Event, there's still time to get in on the fun! Read the NANY Instructions then head on over to the Pledge Thread and start coding! If you're looking for an idea we've been collecting some in the Suggestion Thread.

Current NANY 2010 Items (liable to change: we're working on some other nifty ideas as we speak  )

• Large Mug
  
• Mousepad
  
• Women's Fitted T-Shirt (Dark)
  
• Women's Polo
  
• Organic Women's Fitted T-Shirt (Dark)
  
• Women's Scoop Neck T-Shirt (Dark)
  
• Men's Fitted T-Shirt (Dark)
  
• Men's Polo
  
• Organic Men's Fitted T-Shirt (Dark)
  

Modified Graphics
The opportunity exists again this year for any Entrant to modify the graphic used on their prize. If you would like to use a modified graphic please note:

• You are responsible for the modified graphic
• Email me for further details

27

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Press

« on: December 13, 2009, 06:30 AM »

This thread is to keep track of places where NANY 2010 is mentioned.

To quote mouser's comment from last year (it's still relevant):

I feel like i should make a post mentioning why i think it's relevant and fun to have a thread about any "press" or mentions of the NANY 2009 programs, because if i was a new person to the site i might feel like it was a bit annoying or self-promoting to see a post like this.

Unlike a big company with advertising and marketing money -- the only way people find out about DC and the stuff that goes on here is when other sites notice or when friends tell friends about us.

As a programmer participant in the NANY event, part of the fun is the enjoyment that one receives from other people trying and liking your software.

I always feel nervous when we do something like this that it will be like a tree falling in the woods and no one noticing.. and while programming is it's own reward -- i think it's so nice when everyone involved can also get the enjoyment that comes when new people and new personalities discover the programs and enjoy them.  (it's also very nice and fun for the site in general to have new people discovering the site, especially when there introduction to the site is something as purely a celebration of software as an event like this is).

So anyway, that's why i think it's so cool when i see a program that was part of the NANY event written up, i think to myself how cool it is that someone took notice of the work that this coder put into their program, and how much more rewarding it may be to the coder to see their good work acknowledged.

Please add a link when you find it!

28

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Update

« on: December 13, 2009, 04:53 AM »

NANY 2010 Update

This year marks the 4th annual NANY Challenge: The NANY 2010 Challenge!

The aim of the NANY Challenge is to release a new programme, utility, game, etc on January 1st; you first have to have pledged your commitment to release the application in the Pledge Thread: Read the full instructions if you're interested in participating: we're always happy to meet like-minded coders who are keen to celebrate and have fun with new Freeware / Donationware. There's also an Idea Thread and Offers of Assistance to help you with your entry.

The NANY event is a community celebration, not a competition and therefore there can be no winner; apart from the obvious rewards for the software using community, everyone who participates in NANY, either as a software author or volunteer, will receive a stunning DonationCoder mug or T-Shirt with a brand new and very collectible NANY 2010 image designed by the artist Nick Pearson (See NANY 2010 Prize Graphics).

Look for Web Badges that'll be appearing across the internet that mark applications as Pledges or Entries in this Year's NANY:


This thread will include regular updates that will focus on the various entries (in no particular order), but first some interesting details about this year's Challenge.

NANY 2010 Challenge Details (as of December 31^th)

• 27 Pledges
• 7 Teasers
• 15 Entries

One of the wonderful surprises of each NANY is the wide variety of entries, and this year is no different, though there is (understandably) a strong bias towards Windows:

• 16 Windows Based
• 2 Interpreted (Python, Java)
• 3 Web Based

Teasers / Releases

• The Garden Social Club
• DupFind 0.9
• DocMerger
• Crush MCP
• Leap of Faith 0.01.2009.12.10
• fenixContacts
• FARR Plugin ProcessInfo 1.0.0
• Artwinauto BlitzType 0.9
• What's My Share?
• Create Dummy File 1.001
• UQ
• Countdown 0.0.25
• Reimbursement Tracker 0.3.0
• FarrWebMetaSearch
• SubDiv 0.0
• Traitor 0.01
• Anuran 1.0.12
• ClipTrap 1.0.0
• Piggy Banks 1.0.1
• Multiboot ISO Maker Alpha 7
• Page Countster
• Twigatelle 0.0.0.0.0.0.0.1
• LittleRunner 1.0

Congratulations to all our Coders!

29

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Mini NANY Submissions

« on: December 10, 2009, 09:16 PM »

This Thread can be used to submit your Mini NANY. Mini NANYs were announced here: https://www.donation....msg187366#msg187366 You can also submit your Mini NANY in it's own thread if you like  

A Mini NANY does not come under the same stringent rules that a normal NANY does, and could include:

• A Pledge / Release that the developer thinks is not substantial enough to be a Normal NANY (It might be a very simple script that's incredibly useful).
• A Pledge / Release that will not be completed (Maybe a partner could be found?).
• A Pledge / Release that does not quite fit a Normal NANY.

The main aim of the Mini NANY is to enable everyone to participate... so now there is no excuse (even if you are time poor) not to get involved and join the fun!  

To submit a Mini NANY in this Thread, simply:

• Add a new reply and change the title to your Mini NANY (eg Mini NANY 2010: Working Title)
• Attach the file or link to your reply

Mini NANY Submissions

• Gobbledegook: Mix up your sentences and keep readability.
• Gamers Alarm Clock: GAC is a simple alarm clock, albeit with a slight twist.
• Miranda Alias pack for FARR: Let's you control Miranda with FARR.
• DisablePortableAppSplashScreen: Disables the splash screen of Portable Apps
• BigTimer: A small timer app with big top left corner digits

30

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Web Badges

« on: December 06, 2009, 11:49 PM »

hamradio has just produced some great graphics   that be used on websites, forum posts and the like.

There are three variants (Transparent background, White background and Bordered background) of two ribbons (Pledge and Participant).

You are encouraged to use these ribbons on your website with a link back to the NANY Page.

Using the Images

• Download a zip file containing all versions of the graphics, Zip File, and host them on your site, or
• Use the links below to download the individual images you want and include them normally, or
• Link directly to the images hosted here.
• Link back to either your Pledge or Entry. For example the following code would be used to link to SkyIDE's Multiboot ISO Maker:

Code: HTML [Select]

1. <a href="https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=20465.0">
2.    <img src="https://www.donationcoder.com/codyclub/nany2010/nanyrib_2010_t.png">
3. </a><br />
4. <a href="https://www.donationcoder.com/nany2010/">NANY 2010</a>

should produce something like:

NANY 2010

Pledge Ribbon
This ribbon can be used as soon as you've pledged your entry for this year.

Transparent Background	White Background	Bordered Background
nanyrib_pledge_2010_t.png	nanyrib_pledge_2010_w.png	nanyrib_pledge_2010_b.png

Participant Ribbon
This ribbon can be used as soon as you've released your entry (see the NANY 2010 instructions).

Transparent Background	White Background	Bordered Background
nanyrib_2010_t.png	nanyrib_2010_w.png	nanyrib_2010_b.png

Supporter Ribbon
This ribbon can be used by anyone who has a website and wants to support the NANY effort on DonationCoder.

Transparent Background	White Background	Bordered Background
nanyrib_supporter_2010_t.png	nanyrib_supporter_2010_w.png	nanyrib_supporter_2010_b.png

31

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Prize Graphics

« on: December 02, 2009, 09:05 PM »

Huge thanks to nudone for creating this year's NANY Prize Graphics.

This year he's, how should I say, pieced or chopped together, a wonderful NANY graphic based on his Cody Frankenstein image.

The Mug Graphic

Viewed on a mug

The T-Shirt Graphic

Viewed on a T-Shirt

Custom Alterations
This year we can again accommodate Entrants that want to alter the graphic on their reward. If you are wanting to alter the graphic we will make the raw image available for you to edit.

If you are a graphic artist you may like to offer your services in the Volunteer Thread to alter the graphics for Entrants.

32

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Instructions

« on: December 02, 2009, 04:51 AM »

N.A.N.Y. stands for "New Apps for the New Year", and is an event where we try to get all the coders who hang out at DonationCoder.com to release a brand new FREEWARE/DONATIONWARE application to celebrate the coming of the new year. The NANY event is a celebration of software - it's not a competition and there is no winner.  

Who can believe that the 2009 Challenge was 12 months ago already? It only seems like yesterday we were celebrating the enormous success of NANY 2009... and now it's time to get down and make NANY 2010 an even bigger success!

The Challenge

• Pledge that you are participating well before the New Year (you shouldn't just wait until Dec 31 to reveal whether you decided to participate or not); DECEMBER 18 is a good date to shoot for to pledge to participate.
• Release the application on or before 31^st December 2009.
• Any type of application can be included: Windows, Linux, Mac, Web, iPhone, Android, Script, Plugin, etc., but it needs to be a new program that hasn't been released publicly before November 2009 (updates to existing programs don't qualify unless they are complete rewrites).
• You don't have to be affiliated with DonationCoder.com - you still get to announce it as part of the N.A.N.Y. Challenge: you keep all the rights to your software, this is just an event to encourage coders to release new free tools.
• It must be free (or donationware) for personal use.

The Process
1. Make a pledge in NANY 2010 Pledge to Participate Here thread. NANY's come in two variations:

• Normal NANY
• Mini NANY: for projects that the developer thinks is not substantial enough for a Normal NANY; for example: small scripts.

2. Create a Thread when you're ready in the NANY 2010 board.

• The Thread Subject should contain the title of the project and it's status: eg: NANY 2010 TEASER: My Project or Mini NANY 2010 TEASER: My Mini Project
  
  • TEASER: Initial post with long description, screenshots, etc
  • PRE-RELEASE: Pre-release version is available for download and testing.
  • FINAL RELEASE: Final version of entry.
• Use the NANY Submission Template from the "Add Preset Text" dropdown and add as many details as you can. The details in the Initial Post can be developed over time if necessary

3. Maintain your Project. All Normal NANY Submissions will receive a RedMine DC Project where they can use RedMine's bug tracker, wiki, files and documents. This year you'll be able to track the downloads and manage issue tracking through RedMine.

• If you don't need a RedMine Project and you do not have a space to put your files DonationCoder will create a site for you.
• The idea behind using RedMine is that the Forum will hopefully stay easier to read.

4. Use the NANY Ribbons to link to your Pledge/Entry from your website, etc.


The Rules

• All submissions must be made in a new thread on the NANY 2010 board.
  
  • a Normal NANY Entry must contain:
    
    • at least one screen shot
    • the latest version information
    • a link to the download file. Attachments to your post should not be used for your submission.
    • a link to the programme website. The RedMine project page should be used in preference, or your own external site if you prefer.
    • a list of any volunteers that helped you on your project.
    Remember this is your pitch to users, and is used as the basis of blog updates and Newsletters.
  • a Mini NANY Entry should contain:
    
    • screen shots if appropriate (a script without output may not have a screen shot)
    • It may be more appropriate to attach the file to the post, as there probably wont be a programme website.
• Must be a previously unreleased application (updates to existing programs don't qualify unless they are complete rewrites).
• It must be free or donationware.

Volunteers
Another new innovation this year is volunteers, Volunteers will receive a NANY Prize as well. Volunteers can make themselves available in the Volunteer Thread. Volunteers can do anything to help the NANY authors, including:

• Create Icons
• Create SplashScreen
• Create DCUpdater File
• Create Sounds / Music
• Create / edit RedMine Page
• Beta Testers
• Text reviewer / editor
• Translations

The Rewards
The NANY event is a community celebration, not a competition and therefore there can be no winner; apart from the obvious rewards for the software using community, everyone who participates in NANY, either as a software author or volunteer, will receive a stunning DonationCoder mug or T-Shirt with a brand new and very collectible NANY 2010 image designed by the artist Nick Pearson (See NANY 2009 image).

So? What are you waiting for?
There's an Ideas Thread if you're stuck for an idea...

And there's the Volunteer Thread if you just want to help others out!

33

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / NANY 2010 - Offers of Assistance

« on: December 02, 2009, 04:47 AM »

NANY has been a great event here at DC for many years, and everyone gets into the fun: it's a real community effort.

It takes a lot of work to get the NANY Entries out the door by December 31; and it takes a lot of extra community effort to get a highly polished product done.

This year we've decided to formalize that process a little bit and extend the NANY Rewards to those volunteers that help our coders get their entries done.

So, What's a NANY Volunteer?
A NANY Volunteer is someone who formally offers specific skills and services to our coders and enters into a partnership with a NANY Entrant to perform a specific task.

How does it work?

• If you have a skill, or skills, to offer the NANY Entrants you can reply to this post and list what skills you'd like to offer.
• A NANY Entrant who can use your assistance will get in contact you (maybe PM is best?) and detail what they need.
• If you agree to help you will be listed as a volunteer on their project page.
• If accepting that request alters your offer of assistance you should edit your reply as required. It's pointless knocking back requests if you've had your available time taken!
• Offering and accepting NANY Volunteering services is a serious undertaking, you're entering into a type of partnership with the entrant, so it should not be taken lightly; though it doesn't need to be a huge task either.
• You can volunteer on as many entries as you like!

What can a NANY Volunteer do?
In reality, they can do anything that's required. Some ideas are:

• Create Icons
• Create SplashScreen
• Create Screencast Video
• Create DCUpdater File
• Create Sounds / Music
• Create / edit RedMine Page
• Beta Testers
• Text reviewer / editor
• Translations

Why Have NANY Volunteers?
NANY Volunteers iis a recognition of the great array of talent we have here at DC (i.e. not just coding) and of what was already happening (in many respects). I always thought that the people who went out of their way to help the Entrants (by testing and ideas, etc) were part of the Event anyway: NANY Volunteers just formalizes the process a little.

It is also a way of ensuring that the NANY Entrants are well supported.

What Happens if there is not a Volunteer that's Offered the Skills I Need?
Make a request for one: no one will know unless you ask!

34

FARR Plugins and Aliases / FARR Plugin: AMPL [updated to version 0.6.2]

« on: September 21, 2009, 10:54 AM »

AMPL is a FARR2 Plugin that will generate, manage and run specialized AutoHotKey scripts: Built with the latest version of FScript [1.20]!!

Note: This is still a beta release as there are still (not too serious) rough edges and functions not implemented, but I thought it was at a point that others (apart from CleverCat) could have a bash at and offer feed back if so inclined.

What's changed with 0.6.2?
Updating? If updating from 0.6.1, dcUpDater files should work fine, otherwise delete existing AMPL directory (saving any scripts) and download: ampl_0.6.2.zip (2439.7 kB - downloaded 476 times.)

• Script Editor simple window wasn't saving scripts: fixed
• AMPL Recorder was not called correctly from the Plugin: fixed
• AMPL Settings didn't give a lot of feedback about unsaved settings: improved
• ScriptUpdater wasn't preselecting scripts: fixed
• dcUpDater files tested and working 

What's changed with 0.6.1?

• Fixed a bug in the plugin where double-clicking on the am menu did not doSearch the sub-alias
• Enabled script "Deletion" and "UnDeletion"
• Fixed a bug in Recorder that stopped the Toggle between Screen-based and Window-based mouse coordinates
• Help file or AMPL Recorder (albeit brief   )
• Fixed up the dcUpdater files

What changed with 0.6.0?

• This version includes a version of Recorder.ahk that's been modified to integrate with AMPL Script Editor. There is no Help for AMPL Recorder at this stage , but I hope it's pretty self explanitory.  Code from Recorder can be inserted into either the code Before or code After sections (no more copy & paste  )
• The use of Recorder also allows for a Record and Edit mode in AMPL. Typing amn into FARR will give the option to record a new script.
• There is also a new "Simple Script Editor" window. If your script can be loaded into the Simple Window if there is no command and only one Step (ie Recorded Scripts)
• Improved the integration of Plugins with Script Editor: See the updated MAT Plugin

Requirements: AutoHotKey must be installed (otherwise you wouldn't want this anyway, would you?   )

My initial aims in writing AMPL were to create a framework where scripts were easy to set up and run, especially for users who are not programmers. Although AHK is an easy and powerful scripting language, the amount of work to set up a simple script to run a couple of programmes put me off most of the time. So initially I wanted:

• Scripts runnable from FARR, with full searching
• Run multiple proprammes in one script
• Positioning and sizing of windows so that they are positioned independently of the programme's normal settings
• Run and leave functionality, that is, the script can shut down/log off/etc dependent on the success of the script

...and it's probably grown a little from those humble beginnings.

A is for AutoHotKey

• and is also for Another, because there is also a fair amount of overlap between these types or programmes.

M is for Multiple

• and is also for Manipulate because the windows can be manipulated through the scripts.
• It is also for Many because of the many script that can be written: FARR gives you a live search for easy launching.

P is for Programme

• and is also for Plugin because AMPL can be extended by plugins (A plugin for AMPL Variables is included).
• It is also for Powerful, because AMPL is build from the powerful AutoHotKey language.

L is for Launcher

• and is also for Layout because a different layout can be defined for each script

There are essentially three parts to AMPL:
1. The FARR AMPL plugin: doorway to create, run & edit scripts.
2. The AMPL Script Editor: the easy way to edit scripts.
3. The AMPL Recorder: an integrated way to record Screen activity.

AMPL Plugin
The default shortcut to initiate AMPL is am. Typing am in the FARR window will list the sub-commands:


Typing am <string> will list the scripts that match the <string> search. Selecting one will run the script.

AMPL Script Editor
The Script Editor enables the creation of the Script's steps, each step can run a programme and/or AHK code. AMPL Script Editor comes in two flavours:
Normal


Simple


AMPL Recorder
AMPL Recorder will record Screen activity: Keyboard, Mouse Clicks, Windows, Window Controls, Mouse Movement


AMPL Recorder has a recording window where what is recorded in the script can be changed on the fly:


AMPL Recorder can also be invoked in "Record and Edit" mode from FARR. When you stop recording (by clicking the button, or even better for your script: F12 hotkey), the script will be loaded into Script Editor.


Installation
Download AMPL package

• Unpack into your FARR/Plugins directory

Plugin Initialization

• AMPL Plugin will ask for the location of your AHK directory:
  .
  Click "..." and Set.
• AMPL Script Updater will run to update the included script:
  .
  Select and Process.

Usage
In FARR type am for a full list of options.

I've included HelloWorld that can be run, edited, etc.:

• To edit it type ame HelloWorld into FARR.
• To run it type amr HelloWorld into FARR.
• To install it type ami HelloWorld into FARR. (Installing means creating a shortcut in the start menu, desktop, etc)

The ScriptEditor help file that contains a lot of hopefully helpful information. The Help file can be downloaded in html format (separated because of the size), or the chm version can be accessed through the ScriptEditor. It contains a couple of "tutorials" on how to create AMPL Scripts:

• HelloWorld from AMPL: First simple script.
• NotePad by Three: Open three NotePad windows in different locations.

So there you go: caution - this is certainly not a finished product (but I am using it daily), so use with some caution and understanding.

All comments appreciated  

35

FARR Plugins and Aliases / FScript 1.19 Issues

« on: September 18, 2009, 06:12 AM »

I've been updating my plugins to the latest version of FScript (as requested in this thread).

First plugin went fine after I figured out what was going on.

So I headed onto #2 and it hasn't gone as smoothly as I'd hoped 

Plugin #2 uses vbScript, and worked fine in the previous versions of FScript that I was using. But after upgrading to 1.19 I think that FScript is not calling the onProcessTrigger function.

So I decided to start at the beginning, and I've converted the original javaScript examples to vbScript. I've attached them, if anybody else wants to check.

Note: I've left the signature for onProcessTrigger as was supplied with the original sample, but I've tried the other signature that works with my javaScript plugin without success.

36

General Software Discussion / TheBrain / Personal Brain

« on: July 12, 2009, 10:05 AM »

Hi All:

I'm talking to some people at work this week about other ways to map our information/knowledge, looking specifically at visual mapping.

Has anyone  used Personal Brain or the enterprise version BrainEKP?

...or even other suggestions for enterprise knowledge management?

37

Living Room / Keyxoard Layouts

« on: April 04, 2009, 08:44 AM »

After getting an ergonomic keyboard and mouse  , I thought that I'd go the whole hog and retrain my fingers from QWERTY to DVORAK.

I wondered how many others had done something similar?

38

General Software Discussion / Odd results with Google Translate

« on: March 19, 2009, 09:36 PM »

Whilst sorting out an issue with the Norwegian translation of weekdays for TucknDar (see TimeZone post), I discovered that Google Translate was dropping the first day in the list of days in a week when translating to Norwegian (and only Norwegian).

This is the Norwegian Translation: http://tinyurl.com/d3jtqw

This is a German Translation: http://tinyurl.com/dmyxvn

It seems that when you translate a list, Google can make some unwelcome grammatical adjustments when commas are used. The problem is fixed by using periods: http://tinyurl.com/df52cb

39

FARR Plugins and Aliases / FARR Plugin: TimeZone [Update version 1.4.2]

« on: March 12, 2009, 06:23 AM »

FARR TimeZone

This plugin will display the current time of the major cities from different time zones and up to 50 of your personal favourites.

Thank you to everyone who didn't make fun of the name! (I was a little concerned, wasn't sure if it shortened very well at all  )

Update
2010 12 08 - Version 1.4.2 - Fixes the path bug that became apparent in Win7
2010 07 29 - Version 1.4.1 - Fixes bugs I introduced in version 1.4.0  
2010 04 09 - Version 1.4.0 - Option to check Favourites, interface fixes, future proofing for TimeAndDate.com changes  
2010 04 06 - Version 1.3.3 - Small fix because of TimeAndDate.com's change in their site.
2010 02 08 - Version 1.3.2 - Now supports all TimeAndDate.com languages and up to 50 Favourites!!
2010 01 28 - Version 1.2.2 - Finally realised that TimeAndDate.com dished up time formats based on user's location: Downloader updated.
2009 09 21 - Version 1.2.1 - Fixed the bug that kept the FARR window open for other searches.
2009 09 17 - Version 1.2.0 - Updated to use latest version of FScript.dll (See Here)
2009 09 08 - Version 1.1.0 - Added Custom URL's for "Hidden Locations"
2009 08 06 - Version 1.0.1 - Fixed Chris's AM/PM bug (finally)
2009 05 08 - Version 1.0.0 - Added logging for download problems, but apart from that
2009 04 29 - Version 0.9.6 - Got rid of some silly rubbish I forgot to put out last time  
2009 04 24 - Version 0.9.5 - Added Load Each Launch, fixed width of settings window
2009 04 21 - Version 0.9.4 - Fixed bug with Favourites not setting correctly
2009.03.19 - Version 0.9.3 - Added locale strings, extended Favourites: See Post for details

Key Features

• Display current world times as you type.
• Display up to 50 favourites
• Summer / Daylight Saving Time aware
• Automatic Favourite checking
• Dynamic linking to TimeAndDate.com's webpage
• TimeAndDate carry many more Time and Date features on their website, and is well worth a visit.

Settings


Default View


Search Results


Installation
Download the zip file and extract it into FARR's Plugin directory.

Updating
TimeZone uses dcUpdater, which is pretty straight forward; or unzip the update file over the top of your current installation (the update should keep your current settings)

Version 1.4.2: timezone.zip (731.69 kB - downloaded 1054 times.)

Also available at My Site

Notes
A full readme is included, but it's pretty simple: just type tz to get going...

I had real issues grabbing the data from TimeAndDate.com using xmlhttpRequest: I couldn't get the javascript to cope with the unicode characters. I now use a separate programme to download and parse the data: I think it ended up better anyway, as the data file is stored on disk so startup is quicker.

I've not been able to get this to work with the newer versions of FScript.dll, so stay with the provided version (1.8)  

All comments appreciated, I'm still feeling my way around FARR a little and not sure I'm doing things correctly?

Hope you enjoy it!

40

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / NANY 2009 Rewards and Prizes

« on: January 19, 2009, 06:53 AM »

I can't think about NANY Rewards without thinking about the explosion of interest and activity that this year's NANY has become: what a wonderful reward for DonationCoder and its members!! 

NANY Rewards
We had 31 successful entrants this year that produced 35 new, exciting and varied applications: and they all will receive a wonderful NANY 2009 mug (or similar) with their choice of NANY Graphic:





NANY Extra Prizes
During the Challenge, NANY 2009 also received some extra prizes to give away. Some were posted on the forum, but another one almost materialized out of nowhere! I originally wrote a Review of the Synology DS207+ and had discussions with Synology about providing a unit for one of DonationCoder's Give-Aways. The Give-Away never eventuated, but something better has: Synology have very kindly offered a brand spanking new DS209+ to one of the successful entrants.

Selecting which of the 31 coders to give what extra prizes to was, to be honest, a horrid job. Mouser and I both agreed that it was not possible to rank the entries in any quantifiable order, so in the end it came down to selecting them on a random basis (with just a little tweaking to ensure a good spread of prizes).

So here are the extra winners:
Backup4All

• CWuestefeld
• deviantopian
• theo geer
• NinJA999
• NahtanoJ88
• Blaster

Synology DS209+

• justice

USB2 Sata Enclosure

• skwire

Sata Racks (2)

• Crush

TV Tuner

• kwack1

Congratulations all winners and extra winners!!

41

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / NANY 2009 Wrap Up

« on: January 02, 2009, 04:21 AM »

The NANY Challenge 2009 :: Wrap Up



2009 has set a new standard for the DonationCoder NANY Challenge, both in quality and quantity of Released Applications. High quality applications from games to journals, clocks to media players, and everything in-between, have been released are now available for download and use.

The Challenge is not an easy task to complete: 6 weeks to write, test and release a new application! All our entrants have other responsibilities apart from the annual NANY Challenge. This year we had 44 coders of varying degrees of experience Pledge to release a New Application for the New Year and by January 1st we had a whopping 35 New Applications posted on the NANY 2009 Forum.

Now the real fun begins: all the Applications are free to use, and the forum is a great place to offer feature requests or report issues. Many of the Applications are just the start of something bigger and will be developed further, so it is also a good place to keep up with their development.

Congratulations to all the NANY 2009 Challenge Entrants! You've helped to make the NANY 2009 a great success.

The 35 Successful NANY EntriesAuto Cursor Move 1.0.0.0
Auto Cursor Mover is a program that lets you set up a loop of actions for the cursor to go through and enter text if necessary.


Features

• Left Click, Right Click, Middle Click, each with Double Click option, or No Click
• Customizable wait times between cursor actions
• Text box for text to be type after a click event
• Customizable wait times between each key press
• Test button to test settings for a specific cursor action
• Viewable list of cursor actions
• Emergency Stop Key - Scroll Lock
• Cursor Jump or Slide option (globally for all cursor actions)
• Save and Load for lists of cursor actions
• Tray Icon Support

BibleQuiz 2.4
Multi player Bible Quiz which started out as a "something to do" project when learning HTML. Could never figure out a way to keep score with HTML, so rewrote it in Visual Basic 6.0.


Features

• Over 1000 questions
• multiple choice answers in random order.
• Choice of New Testament or Old Testament question at any time.
• Can play by yourself or with up to 6 players competitively.
• Can get a hint at any time or read the verse if desired.

Comparer 1.0.0.0
Many times when I was updating my software (or files) I needed an application for quick properties comparison. All of the existing file compare applications offer viewing files content but not some files types properties. So I wrote a tool where the main feature is Total Commander's content plugins usage. This application takes two files (or only one) and views their properties: ID3 tags, resolutions or EXE headers. The only effort to take is to find nice plug in and add to application.


Features

• info can be copied using Ctrl+C or Shift+C keys;
• generated info can be exported;
• thumbnails visible in simple list;
• automatic info refresh after Options change;
• configurable default plugins path with Scan for plugins feature;
• visible plugins fields can be specified;
• possibility to use different configuration files,
• possibility to specify external comparing applications on separate tab,
• thumbnails support for various file types (thanks to WLX plugins),
• view modes: either all details view or differences only,
• debug mode (view empty) - allows to see plugins' names for which information cannot be extracted;
• drag'n'drop support for adding new plugins - drop WDX file into proper area and you will get files extensions suggestion (if plugins supports it);

cpfindex 1.0.0.1
This application is a indexer which is based on wdx-plugins (big thanks to fenixproductions, on which api this program based.

Features

• Index
• Search

CrazyLittleFingers 1.0.0.0
Bub's are curious, bub's like to imitate.  You're always amazed at the way bub copies the things that you do, and laugh when you see her with one hand on the keyboard and on on the mouse like a true fps'er, but at the same time getting quickly frustrated because 'nothing' is happening.  And then she hits the magic combination to hack into the fbi, delete some important files and shutdown your computer.

The solution, CrazyLittleFingers.  I don't want to deny my bub the simple pleasure of tapping away at the keyboard mindlessly, she may well write the next great OS, or simply become a DC member like her dad (and then write a revolutionary new program, that's donationware, of course).

The aim of CrazyLittleFingers is simple, lock out all the keys on the keyboard, except for one that lets you exit the program, and remap each key to provide a reward for bubs exploration. For example, pressing 'g' will display a goat and bleat, while pressing 'c' will moo at you and display a cow.


Features

• Add your own images
• Automatically Scales Images to fit screen
• Supports bmp, gif, jpg, mov (quicktime), mp3, wav

Crush Cryptonizer 1.1
Crypt/decrypt in an extremely high-secure way short files. I´d say there´s currently no harder encryption existing. It´s not based on standard crypting routines like AES, Serpent or Twofish and hashes like RipeMD, SHA or others. The program has exclusive in-built cruelty-cryptonite that makes it unusable for realtime-encryption/decryption!


Technical information: A number, password or file can be used as input salt. Even if you take the same settings for encryption your encrypted file will be everytime totally different. During the whole process a shuffle-index is recalculated constantly from the results and the actual salt/key. The datas are eored and shuffled with the complete salt. Shuffling means the bytes are changed in the destination datas and the salt itself and so change the next following encryption pass. If the salt is longer than the datas to encrypt it starts at the beginning with this procedure - so the start position of the encryption can change every loop. While shuffling it calculates from the actual salt a new shuffle-index in a ping-pong way. This index shuffles the salt itself. It´s because of the nature of the calculation impossible to shorten the encryption in any way. You need to calculate the whole way back with all iterations to get to the original datas and to decrypt all you also need the position where to start in the salt. It´s not even the most imaginable secure way to crypt datas. Additionally it fully supports One-time pads. That is till now with right usage an uncrackable way of encryption (Wikipedia cit.: The one-time-pad is the only cryptosystem with perfect secrecy... OTP can be used, along with a more standard cryptosystem, in a superencryption scheme).

Features
The strength is its combination of iteration calculations, salt generation, code-shuffle algorithm that gives you the power to decide how long someone will take to decrypt it properly. This means: You can crypt a 4-byte text as example so hard that the decryption with the key could take several years on a Cray XT5 supercomputer if you like - the only problem is: You also need the same time to encrypt

CrushLinx 1.2
You can use this prog to view or download content from numbered URLs (pictures/videos/attachments/Forum-entries).


Features

• automatically opens results in your favourite browser

CrushPad 1.0
Organize texts in Categories (Ticket-System - Multi-User possible with net drives). I use it to make notices during coding.


Features

• Create categories and subcategory tickets
• Ticket States
• Search through all entries
• Started over a network-drive several users can work in parallel and get all changes with signals

CZB Package 0.6
This package contains all FARR plugins which I have ever released. So those will be my last year's work. Moreover I have added JScalc plugin, which is quite useful calculator and plugin management system, where you can de/activate plugins, control their settings and see their html/txt files. To make the plugins work you must download latest fsubscript plugin. I recommend to download the one from this page as it has some minor changes.


Features

• All in one package.
• Easy maintaining.
• Global updating
• Completely re-writen Fsubscript plugin.

Dad's Around 1.1
A bosskey application.


Features

• Silence Wave audio
• Minimize All Windows
• Forcefully Terminate Foreground Process (Gamers!)
• Configurable Hotkey
• Ugly GUI.

DecClock 1.4.3.0
DecClock is a Tool to save time when you calculate with Time. Decimal Time is 100 seconds per minute/100 minutes per hour/100 hours per day (a second in decimal is 0.0864 seconds in normal time).


Features

• GUI
• Normal Clock
• Decimal Clock
• compare Time
• Time Conversion
• Binary Clock
• Hex Clock
• notes Window

DropCommand 1.0
Enables drag and drop of files to a command window in Vista.


Features

• Drop multiple files

f0dder's Notepad++ Plugins 1.0
I've used a small set of small Notepad++ plugins for a while, to make my programming life a bit easier. Since mouser kept nagging me to do a NANY 2009 submission, I decided to clean up the plugins and package them so they're suitable for general use. The plugins are mainly biased towards C++ development.

Features

• GuidGen - generate header-file inclusion guards, GUID style.
• Switcher - switch between header and source file (.h[].cpp , .asm[].inc, etc.)
• RegRexPlace - regular regular expression replacer (process files with preset regex templates)

Feedr 1.0
Simple RSS Feedreader application: Enter the RSS URL into the address bar and then read the feeds by selecting title.


Features

• Reads RSS Feeds

File Replicator 1.0.0
File Replicator is a program that searches for a specified file within a specified root folder and replaces it with another copy of the file.  This is useful for updating a file that is located in multiple folders to a newer version.  This is a GUI based replacement for the File Propagator script.


Fractal Explorers
Viewing Mandelbrot set and Julia sets. The applications are written just for fun, as an étude of Ruby and OpenGL Shading Language.


JuliaExplorer - Fractal Evolution
JuliaExplorer allows you to explore Julia sets of quadratic polynomials of the form z^2+c. It allows you to zoom into any part of the generated set, but the even more exciting feature is the ability to change smoothly the value of the complex parameter c, and see the fractal evolve slowly from one form to another.

MandelbrotExplorer - Into The Fractal
MandelbrotExplorer allows you to explore the Mandelbrot set. It allows you to zoom into any part of the set.

Fried Bablefish 1.0.7
When you are using online translators in your web browser, it's not that convenient to have to keep switching the languages back & forth to translate an ongoing conversation between 2 people. It is also kind of clunky to have a full browser window with toolbars and extensions getting in your way. And most browsers lack a feature to keep the window on top of all others.

Originally, Fried Babelfish was powered by Babelfish and served as mini ad-free version if their translator. But with this release, it might still carry a bit of the old Babelfish look, but it has been completely rewritten and is now powered by Google's translator.


Features

• 2 tabs - one for your language and one for a second language
• a button to set the window to stay on top
• Full source is included.

HexCards 1.08.2008.12.30
HexCards is a card game in which two players strategically place hexagonal cards on a playing field to capture the other's cards. Each of the six sides of each card is assigned a numeric value ranging from 1 to 10 (10 is displayed as an A). When you place a card on the playing field, you can capture cards in adjacent tiles if the value for that specific side is larger than the value on the adjacent card's side. Watch the video tutorial for a demonstration with instructions for more information.


Features

• Highlights the winner
• Automatically starts a new game

I don't want to be homeless 1.0
So I've heard about people who have been homeless, or had nothing to start with. And they've gone from having nothing to getting their lives in order in 6 or 12 months. Well, I'm bad with money, always have been, but I've realized that I don't want to be homeless. So instead of letting myself hit rock bottom, I'm trying to not be so stupid now.

So I'm making a little website that will let me track how much money I spend every day (not details at this point), on unessential items. When I eat out for lunch, or buy things that I don't need during the day etc. I'll also add goal-setting and targets in short time, as well as savings goals etc. For fun, I'll add some minor social features, like a user-ranking (logic to be determined).

JustCloseSomeTasks 1.12
JustCloseSomeTasks is an utility to let you easily close inactive tasks. It saves taskbar space by offering you to close the stuff you've not used for a while. Tasks are automatically marked for closing when they're not used for a certain time period (expiry time). The program will learn your behaviour and adjust this expiry time.

I use a lot of programs, and many at the same time. Because of this when a lot of windows are open the taskbar becomes cluttered  and I lose the overview required. JustCloseSomeTasks knows which programs I've not used and helps me manage the others.


Features

• Exclude Process this session - excludes until JCST quits - process never gets checked
• Exclude Process permanently - see above but saved across sessions
• Exclude by Title (session and permanent): this allows you to exclude for example Floating Toolbar the roboform addin that uses the firefox.exe process.
• Show/Hide excluded processes from the list
• Bring Window to front / back
• Run at startup preference (disabled by default - current user)

keyDB 1.0
Securely store web passwords.


Features

• Small, fast and portable
• 256 Bit Encrypted password files
• Filter and sort for instant retrieval
• Copy user names and passwords to clipboard
• Launch URL's from KeyDb
• Random password generator
• Archive seldom used entries

Keyser 1.0.1.7
The initial motivation for this plugin was to enable FARR to reuse the searches already available in one's local installation of Firefox -- those available via its Search Bar / Search Box.  Firefox makes use of OpenSearch plugins to provide this functionality.  OpenSearch plugins are used by Firefox, IE 7, and other apps to allow one to search various sites more conveniently and quickly.


Features
Supports:

• Firefox 3 (2 might work, but I didn't test)
• IE7 (8 may end up working, but who knows?)
• K-Meleon (not as customizable as the other two)

Lacuna Launcher 1.0.0
Have you ever wished you had more control over the way applications are launched? Maybe setting a delay for launching applications at startup? How about spacing out the launching with a pause in between each one? Or control the order in which applications are opened? Or perhaps you just want to launch many applications with a single shortcut?


Features

• Lacuna Launcher will allow you to set a group of files to be opened with a single shortcut by creating a text file with the paths to all the files you wish to open.
• You can include:
  
  • applications (.exe),
  • shortcuts (.lnk),
  • internet shortcuts (.url),
  • images,
  • music,
  • movies,
  • anything that is a file on your system that you wish to open.
• You can also set an initial delay time that it will wait before opening files, as well as a pause time that it will wait between files it launches.

LifeSaver 1.03.3288
At the surface, it's Yet Another Diary/Journal Application. But as I've complained here, as recently as last month, a fundamental problem with all Diary software I've found is that the data is locked into a proprietary datastore and format. This is absolutely antithetical to the purpose of a diary: long-term tracking of thoughts. At some point in the future, our current applications and the format in which they store the data will be obsolete; it's imperative that something like this be easily extractable, in a way that can be imported into future systems.


Features

• Entries formatted in rich text (HTML to facilitate export)
• Password-protected datastore (not cryptographically strong, but should be enough to keep out your little brother)
• Multiple entries allowed per day
• Browse next/previous entry
• Export to XML

MGTD 1.0
With MGTD (do not ask what it means)  you can easily generate a document (.html) containing information about all ( selected ) tables and constraints for a selected user, in Oracle.

Every table is described (what columns it contains, what data type (and size of it), nullable? information and a comment) and there is also a list of all constraints for that table (Primary keys, Checks, Foreign keys and Unique keys).

You can select what you want this app to generate, and you can also filter or exclude tables, change colors for rows containig these data, etc.

MiniBrowseIE 0.2
A basic internet browser utilizing the Internet Explorer rendering engine. I have been attempting to create a fully functional browser that is so good, I will use it personally, however I have yet to achieve that goal - this app aims to change that (for the 3rd time encounting, again from the ground up).


Features

• History (complete)
• LinkView (complete)
• Favorites (complete)
• Website security notification (complete)
• RSS (in-progress, will be released in an update)
• Printing (w/ previews)
• Privacy options (complete)
• General options (will be released in an update)
• Keyboard shortcuts (will be released in an update)

Multi Photo Quotes 1.10.01
This is a screensaver.  It will let you show your own photos and combine them with random quotes (supports quote book files from my Popup Wisdom program and you can add your own).

The most important aspect of this program is that it is being designed mainly for multimonitor systems -- so you will be able to choose how different monitors are treated (photo can span monitors, or show dif photos on different monitors, etc.)


Features

• Support showing date+time fields in customizable ways across dif monitors.
• Auto panning and zooming of images.
• Nice effects for fading in and fading out multiple images in sequence.
• I may include a tool to let people build their own customized screensavers to give to friends
• Support for single monitors by dividing a monitor up into quadrants

PESplash 1.7.0.11
Executable code steganography. I have submitted a rather unusual app that takes a different approach in steganography.  I (with the help of friends and Oleh Yuschuk's disassembly engine) developed this application way back in 2003-2004. The app is called PESplash.  It embeds text into windows exe files using interchangeable assembly opcodes.

With this app you can create your own 'keys' (ops.dat file) that will be able to embed/read hidden text via a binary stream based on the interchangeable codes you have in your ops.dat file.  So, it embeds this data into the CODE section of your executable file and will run just as originally compiled without error and yet contains hidden data.  Now, be warned, if you decide on interchangeable opcodes and you are wrong, then your application will most likely not run correctly. the default ops.dat file contains most zero flag, interchangeable codes that should not be a problem to swap (but it's not perfect).

So to summarize, it embeds text into your executable files.  This could be used in nefarious ways (and is the reason i never released it to the public).  Use with restraint, but it's a pretty cool way of tracking who is downloading your files (if released in the wild), send messages, etc.

Also, please note that this is free and without protection, however, if you plan on using this in a corporate/commercial product, then you must contact me for proper compensation.


PopQuotes 1.0
The main point of this FARR plugin is to let you search many thousands of quotes to find ones that mention certain words, so you can past them in emails or whatever.  You could also use it with your own custom text files (one item per line). It can read the same data files as my Popup Wisdom program (including standard unix fortune files).


Features

• Search as you type

PowerCircle 1.0
I needed a battery monitor that fit into my desktop.  While I use RainMeter and like some of those meters, I figured I'd make my own.


Features

• Transparent Background
• Different Sizes
• Color Customization

Puppy Toes Dog Records 4.0.210
Allows dog breeders to keep breeding and medical records along with other important information on their dogs.


Features

• Keeps Basic Dog Information, Parents Information, Additional Information, Breeding Records, Medical Records, and Extra Notes.
• Can add, edit, and/or delete breeding and medical record rows when needed.
• Ability to customize the extra notes styles for each dog record individually.
• Ability to customize the breeding and medical listview row colors. (Useful when not using gridlines.)
• Ability to customize the looks (in advance of exporting) of the exported data to a certain extent with style files.
• Create combo box data files that allow you to quickly select certain information. (Not available for every combo box.)
• Easily convert v3 program records format to the completely rewrote v4 program records format.

SuperSearch 1.0.0
Easily search websites with this tiny, but useful, android application.  Inspired by Genius for the Palm.


Tree List
Tree List is a minimalistic application for easily creating hierarchical (tree-like) lists. I find it's a good idea to break down tasks into manageable steps and sometimes break those steps down further. I wanted a quick and easy way to do this on my computer. Tree List is what I came up with.


Features

• Create multiple lists.
• Quickly and easily access each list.
• Add items and sub-items to a list. Delete items.
• Plenty of Keyboard shortcuts.
• Tree List will always remember:
  
  • The text of all items.
  • The status (to do/done) of all items.
  • The expanded/collapsed state of all items.
  • The last selected item.

Trout 1.0.1.17
My main audio player for many years has been, and will remain, foobar but there are some times when I just want a simple load'n'play type of player.  An application that comes very close is Billy.  It's a FANTASTIC little app that fits in with my preference in software...standard controls, no skins, etc.  However, it only supports MP3, WAV, OGG, & FLAC and it also doesn't display tags.  My audio collection comprises many more formats than that and I tag files religiously.  So, with that in mind, I've always wanted to write my own simple player.  A good friend and I have wrapped the BASS audio engine in AutoHotkey and I've written a player (in AutoHotkey as well) called Trout.


Features

• Supported audio formats (standard): AIFF, AIF, AIFC, MP1, MP2, MP3, OGA, OGG, WAV, MO3, XM, MOD, S3M, IT, MTM.
• Supported audio formats (w/ plugins): FLAC, WMA, WMP, WMV, ASF, MID, MIDI, RMI, KAR, WV, WVC, AAC, MP4, M4A, M4B, M4P, APE, AC3, SPX, TTA, OFR, MPC, ALAC.
• Basic freeDB support for audio CD track titles.
• Support for internet radio streams.
• Supported tag formats:
  ID3v1, ID3v2.2/3/4
  OGG/FLAC comments
  WMA
  APE, OFR, MPC, AAC (APE tags)
  MP4/ALAC/AAC
• WinampAPI support for external control and display.
• Commandline parameters for external control (/play, /stop, /prev, /next, /mute).
• Extremely customizable hotkey system.
• Basic custom string formatting (see Options screenshot).
• Basic album art support (folder.jpg)
• Horizontal/vertical minibar controls (see main screenshot).
• Toaster style popup.
• Play modes (Play file, play list, repeat file, repeat list, random, shuffle).

WishList 1.2
Manage your WishList's with ease!


Features

• WishList  checks and sets File Associations for .wlp files
• Users can edit entries.
• Users have the ability to check things off (which simulates "buying" an item)
• "Notes" column can store any notes they would like for this item here.
• 5 priority levels
• Users can save/load wishlists.
• Users can search their wishlists for generic text.
• Users can switch to saved wishlists "On-the-go."

Edit 2/2/2009: Removed incorrect Feature from HexCards
Edit 3/2/2009: Added erroneously forgotten WishList

42

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / NANY 2009: The Challenge Graphic

« on: December 20, 2008, 12:00 AM »

The graphic that will be put on all the Mugs (and other Rewards) has just been released!

Thanks to nudone we have a fantastic and unique image for this year's Challenge.

43

Living Room / Childhood Memory

« on: December 16, 2008, 06:32 AM »

During discussions on iphigenie's wonderful NANY 2009 Teaser he mentioned that she still remembered his childhood phone number, at which point I realised that I could still remember mine (424470).

It made me wonder how common this is?

I'm not sure if it's dependant on how many decades the gap is (closer is easier), or if the greater the number of decades makes it easier to remember (further away is easier)??

44

Living Room / I had the strangest dream last night...

« on: December 07, 2008, 06:42 AM »

As often happens with dreams, the beginnings started before retiring for the night. I was explaining to my wife about things Web 2.0 and of Mash Ups and of making sense of the ever growing Internet.

But I woke this morning after a most realistic dream: I was sitting at my computer, though it wasn't the Windows box I have today. In fact, as it often happens in dreams, I was not aware of my computer at all: just that I was using it.

I knew that I was using an application called Google Office (though I don't know how I knew), and I'm not sure how I was controlling it, as I was not aware of a monitor, mice or keyboards; but the 3-D space that was Google Office stretched out in front of me, much larger and less defined than how I think of a monitor interface.

Google Office was a 3-D application in the form of a room, an office in fact, with desk, reading lounge and from memory, a corridor running past the room, in which I could see people passing. In some ways, not dissimilar to some 3-D Desktops that are available today (not that I've seen or used any of those 3-D Desktops).

On my desk was all manner of the usual objects: clock, digital photo-frame, books, etc. I was able to produce some writing paper and begin a document (using MicroSoft Word of all things), I filed it in the cabinet under the desk, and could see many other documents that I'd written or saved (must have been in a different dream, because I didn't remember doing any of it). A diary was there, which I opened and I could see the suspected applications. These existed in 3-D space, I could pick them up, move them and open them. They could be used on the desk or expanded to work on them at a greater zoom. There were even Post-It notes!

In my dream, I was aware of the "newness" of the application (no bugs thankfully and no crashes: it must have been a dream!). The separation between the application and myself was minimal, meaning, I seemed to be in the application (as players are in the action games I see my boys playing). I could see my 3-D representation, but I was not aware of using any input devices.

I retired to the reading couch, moving through 3-D space, and opened the newspaper. I started to read an article about someone I knew (not that I actually knew the person in reality, but I knew that I knew him in the dream). I focused the newspaper and read the article. In the article was a picture of the person I knew, with someone else, whom was included in the article (but I did not know).

I was able to activate the picture and it became a video, which started to play (much like what happens on youTube). Then I was able to reach out and touch the person whom I knew in the video. He became a 3-D entity that emerged from the video and started reacting to me. It was like what happens in a chat programme or a video chat, except it was in 3-D space. At the time in my dream I thought that the contact details for this person had to be included in the image and video somehow: and I thought how wonderful that was, that the ease of connectivity was just like it was when we used to talk to people at the shops next to the tomatoes.

After I finished talking with this person, I released his 3-D image, which went back into the image and the animation stopped. I put the paper down on the reading table. There were people walking past the room, or at least, there were 3-D representations of people walking past the room; I knew that if I wanted I could stop and chat with them (much like we use chat programmes today, except I was visually aware of the people whom I could chat with).

And then I woke up and remembered it all. And now I don't know if I need a dream analyst or a coder?

45

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / NANY 2009 PROGRESS REPORT - The Volunteer Voice

« on: December 06, 2008, 04:05 AM »

The Volunteer Voice

December 6th marks the NANY 2009 Challenge as a little over three weeks old and we've seen an explosion of interest, pledges and teasers already! We've also had, in addition to the NANY Mug, some great rewards pledged by DonationCoder members for the coders that satisfy the Challenge requirements.

The aim of the NANY Challenge is to release a new programme, utility, game, etc on January 1st, which you have first pledged your commitment to produce in the NANY 2009 Intro thread; our aim was to have the pledges close on December 7th: so there's still time to join the fun! Read the instructions here if your interested: we're always happy to bend some aims to increase the fun. If you're in need of some inspiration you can check out the Communal Idea Thread.

This thread will include regular updates by your humble volunteer that will focus on the various entries (in no particular order), but first some interesting details about this year's Challenge.

NANY 2009 Challenge Details (updated Jan 1 2009)

• 39 Pledges
• 1 Teaser
• 35 Entries

One of the wonderful surprises of each NANY is the wide variety of entries, and this year is not different, though there is (understandably) a strong bias towards Windows:

• 30 Windows Based
• 3 Interpreted (Ruby, Java, AdobeAir)
• 1 Web Based
• 1 Android Based

So far the entries have focused on getting things done, with the main Categories:

• 31 Utilities
• 4 Entertainment based (including 1 addictive game)
• There's also been strong support for the development of our beloved FARR with 3 new Plugin releases.

Regular Updates

• December 6: 29 Pledges, 7 Entries
• December 10: 34 Pledges, 10 Entries
• December 14: 36 Pledges, 12 Entries
• December 18: 37 Pledges, 12 Entries
• December 22: 38 Pledges, 15 Entries
• December 28: 39 Pledges, 21 Entries
• January 1: 39 Pledges, 34 Entries

Congratulations to all our Coders!

6/12/2008: Added graph
10/12/2008: Updated figures, graph
12/12/2008: Corrected a typo, corrected grammar, added a link or two
14/12/2008: Updated figures, graph
18/12/2008: Updated figures, graph
22/12/2008: Updated figures, graph
28/12/2008: Updated figures, graph
1/1/2009: Updated figures, graph
3/1/2009: Updated figures, graph (WishList was erroneously left out: sorry

46

Living Room / Where does the power go when I save it?

« on: June 08, 2008, 06:24 AM »

I'd like to know where the power goes when I save it, say by using energy efficient light bulbs, or reducing my usage (e.g. Earth Hour)?

On March 31 2007, for one hour, Sydney made a powerful statement about the greatest contributor to global warming – coal-fired electricity – by turning off its lights. Over 2.2 million Sydney residents and over 2,100 businesses switched off, leading to a 10.2% energy reduction across the city. What began as one city taking a stand against global warming caught the attention of the world.

-Earth Hour

OK, assuming that the figures are right, what happened to that 10.2% of electricity?

I pretty sure that we don't have storage devices to cope with that amount of power (in New Zealand I think they use the excess power, say at night, to pump water up hill to produce hydro power later on), so I would have thought that the power is either wasted before it gets into the grid or it's wasted at the other end?

For power not to be wasted would mean that the power would have to not be produced in the first place. I'm not sure what sort of lead time they'd need to adjust the production on that scale??

Anybody got any clues?

47

General Software Discussion / WebSite Watcher Question

« on: May 28, 2008, 09:23 AM »

For those fanatical WebSite Watcher Users, I was chatting to a fellow at work today and realised that he needed WebSite Watcher! I think 

Question about feature: Monitor whole sites instead of single pages

He needs to be notified when changes happen on a particular part of a site. So for example, if the root site is divided into 50 major sections (pages), and he only needs to monitor a few of those major sections (and their sub-pages): is that what "Monitor whole sites instead of single pages" can do??

Although I've never used it myself, I am encouraged by the fanaticism displayed here, and based on that would have no hesitation recommending it to IT. As a matter of interest: Do people have opinions about any alternatives?

Thanks,
Perry

48

Mini-Reviews by Members / Synology DS207+ NAS

« on: May 23, 2008, 06:20 AM »

Basic Info

Product Name	Synology DS207+
Product URL	http://www.synology.com/enu/products/DS207+/index.php
Product Version Reviewed	Firmware: DSM 2.0-0590 (2008/03/12)
Test System Specs	Installed Hard Drives: 1TB Seagate Hard Drives [ST31000340AS] x 2 Home network consists of: Windows XP x2 Windows Vista x1 TP-Link Modem & Router NetGear Gigabit Switch NetComm NP3680 Print Server Grandstream VoIP Phone
Supported OSes	DS207+ is designed for Windows users and Mac users to share files seamlessly. Windows users can access DS207+ via Samba and FTP, and Mac users via Samba, FTP, and AFP. Unicode support allows sharing files smoothly in different languages.
Support Methods	Web: http://www.synology....nu/support/index.php Ticket: http://www.synology....enu/support/form.php Forum: http://www.synology.com/enu/forum/
Upgrade Policy	Firmware upgrades downloadable at: http://www.synology....support/download.php
Trial Version Available?	I'd loan you mine, but I've become very attached to it
Pricing Scheme	Just the price from a suitable supplier: Harddrives generally NOT included
Reviewer Donation Link	Donate to the Author
Screencast Video URL	Sharing Photos/Videos More to come...
Disclaimer	Just one happy user. There are no commercial relationships or kickbacks with any suppliers mentioned in the review.

General Introduction

Wikipedia's History of NAS: http://en.wikipedia....ork_Attached_Storage

About Synology

Synology Inc, founded in April of 2000, is an international company that produces network attached storage appliances for the SOHO and SMB/SME. Synology aims to provide people an innovative way of sharing and storing digital contents. Synology servers bear a small footprint, are designed to be energy conscious and are designed to be user-friendly. Synology target customer group are power users, small offices and businesses. The customer’s investment is further protected with free firmware updates, which often introduce new functions, along with an online support staff and a lively community forum, where Synology and advanced Synology users provide mutual support and share ideas relating to Synology products

Synology products are sold around the world, popular in Europe, Asian, and Japanese markets. For the North America, units can be found from popular online retailers, such as Newegg and Tigerdirect.

-WikiPedia

Other NAS devices

Hardware
Buffalo network-attached storage series	http://www.buffalotech.com/
Celerra	http://www.emc.com/p...ervers/nsx/index.jsp
D-Link	http://www.dlink-intl.com/
Exanet	http://www.exanet.com/
NETGEAR	http://www.netgear.com/
NSLU2	http://www.linksys.c...mon%2FVisitorWrapper
Open-E	http://www.open-e.com/
Snap Server	http://www.snapappliance.com/
Time Capsule (Apple)	http://www.apple.com/timecapsule
US Robotics	http://www.usr.com/
Software
Freecom	http://www.freecom.com/
FreeNAS	http://www.freenas.org/
Openfiler	http://www.openfiler.com/
NASLite	http://www.serverelements.com/

Product Details

Who is this designed for:

Anyone who wants/needs:

• Extra storage that should be available on their LAN
• RAID storage
• Access via HTTP/FTP

For what reasons did I buy a NAS, and  what was essential?

• Data Availability (centralised storage): access to shared files for all networked computers
• Backup destination: RAID1
• Gigabit Ethernet: network performance
• Home use: not many concurrent users
• Internet Access to my files via HTTP, HTTPS & FTP

As well, it gave me the not necessary, but neat ability to:

• FTP Server: I have my own webspace that I use, but I thought it'd be nice to try a local FTP. After all, then you're only downloading it once, not uploading at all (not that that makes too much difference)
• Web Server (with MySQL and PHP)

Sepecifications
Full Specs: DS207+ available here:

Hardware	CPU Clock Rate: 500 MHz RAM Size: 128MB Internal HDD: 3.5” SATA(II) x2 External HDD Interface: USB 2.0 port x3, eSATA port x1 Size: 160mm x 218mm x 88mm Weight: 0.98kg LAN: Gigabit x1 Fan: x1(60mm x 60mm) Power Recovery AC Input Power Voltage: 100V to 240V Power Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz, Single Phase Max Capacity (Internal HDD): 2 TB (Supported HDD) Max Supported IP Camera: 5 (Supported IP Cameras) Operating Temperature: 5°C to 35°C (40°F to 95°F) Storage Temperature: -10°C to 70°C (15°F to 155°F) Relative Humidity: 5% to 95%RH Maximum Operating Altitude: 10,000 feet
Power Consumption 1	32.76W(Access) 11.04W(Hibernation)
Certification	FCC Class B CE Class B
Networking Protocols	CIFS AFP (3.1) FTP
Windows ADS Domain Integration	ADS Support Domain users login via Samba/AFP/FTP Synology Data Replicator 3 for Domain Users
Security	"FTP over SSL (explicit)" or "FTP over TLS (explicit)" Encrypted Network Backup HTTPS Connection FTP Auto-Block
File System	EXT3 FAT (External Disk Only) NTFS (External Disk Read Only)
File Sharing	Max User Accounts: 128 Max Groups: 64 Max Shared Folder: 100 Max Concurrent Connections: 32
Utilities	Synology Assistant Synology Data Replicator 3 Synology Download Redirector Add printer wizard
Applications	Surveillance Station Photo Station File Station Audio Station Web Station PHP/MySQL Download Station iTunes Server
UPnP Multimedia Service Support	Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox360 (All Supported DMA) Audio Format: AAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, WMA, WMA VBR, WMA PRO, WMA Lossless Video Format: ASF, AVI, DAT, DivX, MP4, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, VOB, WMV, XviD Image Format: BMP, JPG (jpe, jpeg), GIF, ICO, PNG, PSD, TIF (tiff), UFO Playlist Format: WPL, M3U
iTunes Server Support	Audio Format: MP3, M4A, M4P Playlist Format: M3U, WPL
Audio Station Support	Audio Format: AAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, WMA VBR Playlist Format: M3U, WPL Internet Radio: SHOUTcast, Radioio
Photo Station 3 Support	Video Format: ASF, AVI, MPEG1, MPEG4, WMV, XviD, DivX, DAT 2, MP4 2, MPEG2 2, RM 2, RMVB 2, VOB 2 Image Format: BMP, JPG (jpe, jpeg), GIF
Management	AJAX-based Management UI Download Station Bandwidth control Download Station Port Range Setup Editable HTTP Error Page Email Alert Message Email Notification for New User Firmware Upgrade FTP passive port range Hide-able Shared Folder Internal HDD Hibernation Port range for BitTorrent Removable Default Shared Folder Ez-Internet PPPoE UPS Management (Over USB 2.0) User Quota Web-based Download Station
RAID Management	Upgrade from Basic to RAID 1 Expand RAID 1 with Larger Hard Drives Volume Auto-rebuild after abnormal power failure
Backup Solutions	Network Backup Local Backup Desktop Backup (using Synology Data Replicator 3) USB Copy
3rd-Party Backup Support	Acronis True Image Symantec Backup Exec EMC Retrospect LaCie SilverKeeper
Supported Clients	Windows 2000 onward Mac OS X 10.3 onward
Printer Support 3	Max Printer #: 1 Supported Protocols: LPR, CIFS, AppleTalk
Languages	English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese.
Environment	RoHS Compliant
Package Contents	DS207+ Main Unit Installation  CD Welcome Note Assembling Kit AC Power Adapter & Cord SATA Hard Drive Data Cable x2 SATA Hard Drive Power Cable x 2 2M RJ-45 LAN Cable

1 Measured with 2 Seagate 750GB ST3750640NS hard drives. The figures could vary on different environments.
2 User can click and download the file, but not play it in Photo Station as compressed Flash video.
3 For Mac users, DS207+ supports PostScript USB printers only.

-Synology Inc

Small Footprint
The DS207+ measures only 160mm x 218mm x 88mm, sits vertically and doesn't take much room on the desk:




Features
The list of features is impressive (but quickly becoming the norm, as competition in this class of product heats up).

Why Did I Buy This Product?

I'd thought quite a while ago that a NAS is what I wanted, but I sort of slipped slowly into purchasing this product. First I tried converting an old computer here into a NAS using NASLite (which wasn't successful at all), and then tried using external USB Hard Drives on my NetComm Print Server. The NetComm was successful, but a little slow for my liking. After convincing myself that these lower priced options were not going to work for me I decided a real NAS was the next option.

What swayed me toward the DS207+?
Low cost: I managed to get a great deal on eBay, but I'd already felt that the DS207+ was better priced than what I thought was it's closest compeditor the QNAP TS-209 (although prices are very volatile).

Quiet & Cool: The unit sits on top of my desk and makes a low hum, noticeable but not distracting. I felt I needed the fan (active cooling), so am more than willing to cope with the small amount of hummm.

Low Power: My unit actually runs along at 19 Watts when it's just sitting there, and maxes out at 47 when accessing the drives. In my tests it averaged at 0.474 kWh/day over 4 days of general use (this was without shutting it down over night). I have 2 1TB Seagate Hard Drives [ST31000340AS] installed in the unit.

Web Access: HTTP/HTTPS/FTP

Features that I'm using now
Download Station
Simple download manager that's great for large files: means that I can set it up and turn the computer off!



Also comes with a Desktop client to manage the process without accessing the Web Client.

DDNS Support
The DS207+ supports various DNS providers:

• DYNDNS.org
• 3322.org
• NoIP.com
• TwoDNS.de

It's just a matter of adding your HostName, UserName & PassWord and the DS207+ will maintain the connection for you as your IP Address changes through various log ons. After I'd set the device up I logged on to DynDNS, created a free account, loaded the account information into the DS207+ and it was up and running in a matter of minutes. Works a treat.

Power Management
This is one of the main reasons for getting a NAS! You can Hibernate the Internal and External Hard Disks, as well as switching the unit off at a particular time.



Features that I'm undecided about
Web Album
There is a nice integrated Web Album application, but I already use Google and Picasa (mainly), but as there are upload limits and I take heaps of photos, there is a possability of enabling Web Albums in the future (simply because I can then host ALL my photos without the need to upload, etc)



USB Printer
I probably will pop the printer onto the DS207+, the only problem is that there is no printer at the moment. My Epson CX5300 recentlly died, so I've got to get a new one. I'm umming and ahing about which printer to get and whether it should have networking built in (having two unversity attending children does put a little stress on such things).

Of all the features, I think the USB Printer is the most wanting, as it really only offers simple printing. If you've got a multifunction printer you'd be better off getting something like the NetComm NP3680 which has much better support for such devices. I purchase one some time ago, and am pretty happy with it, although it's only Megabit.

I'd imagine that Synology's Printer support will be the next big feature imporvement, because as it stands now, I think they're falling behind.

The other consideration in purchasing a printer is what printer will successfully work off the NAS: Synology have an official list as well as a long list of printers reported by users.

AudioStation & USB Speakers
You can connect some USB speakers to the DS207+ and set it up so that it will play the music stored on the DS207+, Internet Radio or an iPod connected to the USB Port.



I didn't have any USB speakers, but I did try it with a USB Headset and it works fine... great in fact!

I'm keen on Internet radio. Where I live in the Blue Mountains I often don't get very good reception and my ISP provides free streaming of many radio stations, so I often stream the radio. The ability to stream it through a device that is using a quarter of the power consumption than my computer seems like a very good idea!

Also, Internet radios seem to be retailing here for about $200 mark: this is very much a more affordable option!

Also on offer is a remote control ($85 locally): http://www.synology....cts/remote/index.php I'm thinking very seriously of this now...



Local Backup
The DS207+ can also backup to a local SATA Drive attached to the unit.

Features that I wont use
iTunes
Don't do iTunes 

Surveillance Station
You can connect IP Cameras to the NAS and record the videos to the NAS which means you don't need a PC. I don't have a need for this though.

UPnP MultiMedia Server

DataReplicator
This is Synology's Backup Software. I'm sure it's OK, but I'm a confirmed Backup4All user.

Using the Device

What didn't work

I can be a litte too pernickety at times, but this is the full list (most of which is pretty much unimportant):

• Opening up the device required to undo two screws. These screws were not mentioned in the Instructions.
• Drive 2 was not immediately recognised on initial boot and the unit "clicked" when booting: this eventually required manufacturer's repair.
• After the unit rebooted after a power down Drive 2 would be uninitialised, which required Repairing the Volume (RAID1 Array)
• The Repair button did not always become active when a Repair was required to the RAID Volume.

Apart from those (unavoidable  ) glitches and the manufacturer repaired the unit, everything has worked perfectly.

I don't think the Repair Button has been repaired, but then again, I have not had the opportunity to test it 

Needs Improvement

1. More user feedback when loading new Firmware.
2. Support for MultiFunction/bi-directional printers.

Setting it up

I purchased the device plus 2 1Tb Hard Drives from the same fellow off eBay; initially because there was a bit written about which hard drives were compatible with the unit, and I didn't want to muck around. The unit came with the drives installed and all I had to do was plug it in and set up my RAID array as I desired.

I was very excited, rushed home, put the instructions on the desk and plugged it in. You know that feeling when you're excited about something, so much so you hope against hope that it's going to work and when it doesn't you suddenly knew it wouldn't? Well, that sort of materialised: when I turned it on a disturbing clicking sound was emitted, and after a long time when all the lights stopped flashing one of the drive lights was not on. It was at this point that I returned to the instructions, but they were not much help as the unit is pretty basic and speaks for itself.

Tried a number of times to get it to boot without success, eventually decided I'd open the unit up and investigate the drive connections (thinking that maybe they were not installed correctly). Got a little confused with the screws which were not detailed on the instructions, but everything looked fine inside when I eventually got inside. But after continued reseating of the SATA connections and turning the device on and off, the drive light eventually came on and we were away (finally  )! All lights green and solid...

Floating around on the installation CD is the SynologyAssistant that locates the DS207+ for you so that you can log in:

file:///G|/Documents/Reviews/SynologyNASReview/data/Assistant.png

First Looks: Doesn't the AJAX interface look pretty!!


Checking out the Complete Mode was a little overwhelming:



Focusing on the task at hand, the second step was to upgrad the Firmware. Downloading from the synology website was easy and standard. Uploading it into the device took a long time using the ManagementUI, which was somewhat disconcerting as there was not a lot of user feedback: none infact! I sat for a long time wondering if the thing had crashed... which it hadn't, and finally we got control back again!



I'd already decided to configure the disks in a RAID1 Array, but the unit will also do Basic and RAID0.

Setting up the RAID1 Array was a snack, just a matter of selecting the Disks and the RAID type and hit Create. The unit then, somewhat laboriously, created the array.



All good so far, and once I got a usable Volume I could wander around the unit and see how it felt. The unit worked fine until I tested the "Restart automatically after a power failure" feature. As soon as I powered down then back up again it lost the RAID sync and had to re-sync the array (which took quite a deal of time for the two 1 TB Hard Disks). We also get quite a number of power outages where I live, so power failure is a common experience: I did't want to live with this!

So after a day or so of emails back and forth to the fellow I purchased from, who was forwarding onto Synology, they asked for it to be returned for repair. Synology paid for the courier to and from Taiwan and the turn around was not much more than a week. They ended up replacing some component that wasn't working, tested with my drives and sent it back. I've got to say: this has been the best customer experience for faulty hardware in my life! No arguement, no hassle, no worries!

When I got the unit back home again I plugged it in, held my breath, and... no problems! Turned it off and then back on... no problems! It's been on ever since  without a hint of a problem.

Configuring the device
As you'd expect, after set up the device requires an amount of Configuring, Synology give you a lot of control in the whole process (though it just about works out of the box as well):

Network


Language


Time
The time can be set manually or Synchronised with a NTP server:


Notification
Send emails somewhere when something goes wrong:


Power


Users
Add users to the system, add them to groups.


Shared Folders


OS


DDNS
The DS207+ has integrated dynamic DNS management. I obtained a free account with DynDNS, plugged in the details in the DS207+ and the WebServer had liftoff!


Once its all set up...
I moved all my photos to a "Documents" folder and pointed Picasa at it, and apart from the re-indexing it was pretty much business as usual. I've got 15GB of photos, and use a Picasa screensaver on my dual monitors. I have not noticed any drop in performance (though I assume that there must be some drop in the write speed because it's RAID1).

I moved all my music to the unit as well. I pointed MusicMagicMixer at the directory and there doesn't seem to have any issues. Playback speed is not an issue. I get a comforting pause when I first boot MMM up and the drives are in hibination.

Using the download software is simple enough as well, and it's great to be able to set up a download and turn the computer off 

Performance
OK, I wasn't going to do this as I'm no hardware guru and Networking is a bit of a black art in some ways, but I found this neat little utility for testing the through put on Hard Drives [here] and thought I'd see how the system performed: at least in comparison to other drives on the system. The results confused me a little, and maybe I need to tweek the Network settings a little?

Drive	Write (MB/Sec)	Read (MB/Sec)	Random (MB/Sec)
Hard Drive Average	28	571	429
DS207+ (no Jumbo)	17	19	11
DS207+ (Jumbo 9000)	9	18	688
USB Ext on Computer	19	580	425
USB Ext on Prt Server	1.8	550	381
USB Ext on DS207+	31	570	437
Zip Drive	0.7	534	427

I'm pretty sure that my NIC doesn't support Jumbo Frames (can't see it in the properties), but the switch does. I'm not sure what to make of those numbers, and they raise some questions:

• Why does the external USB Hard Drive connected to the NAS out-perform the same drive when it's connected directly to the computer (USB2.0)?
• Why does the external USB Hard Drive out-perform the internal Hard Drives in the NAS?
• I don't understand the NAS results with Jumbo Frames enabled at 9000?
• Why are the read times on the NAS so low?

There's obviously some tweaking that I should be doing to get the best performance out of the DS207+, maybe a new NIC?  Raymond.cc had some interesting numbers, my machine performing quite respectably, but it'd be interesting what other NAS's were getting.

BackUp Regime
An essential element of my NAS is the Backup functions...

Some time ago, probably after reading the DC Backup article, I worked out a Backup Regime that I was happy with; I've just about implemented it all:

• Protect System Drive (C). Done: FirstDefense-ISR
• Backup essential files off site. Done: Backup4All to FTP
• Backup essential files to RAID1. Done: Backup4All
• Backup all documents locally to RAID1. Done: Backup4All to DS207+
• Store "shared" files on RAID1. Done: DS207+
• Syncronise portable data between Desktop & USB Drive. Done: DSyncronize
• File versioning on "creative" files. Planned: FileHippo FileHamster (Thanks tomos)

One of the major reasons for getting a NAS was for Backing up/Protection of my files. The DS207+ achieves this in two ways:
1. Using RAID1 means that storing files on the DS207+ gain an added level of protection from the RAID1 Array.
2. Backing up to the DS207+ provides backup protection with the advantage of the backup being on RAID1. Files backed up to the DS207+ are available to other computers on the Network and via FTP.

Shared Files with RAID1 Protection
The files I store on the DS207+ include:

• Music (this is for convience mainly)
• Photos (this is for protection)

Backups
After a bit of investigation (DC has a great Backup Article that I've read a couple of times), I decided to purchase Backup4All to handle my backup needs.

Setting B4A to use the DS207+ was equally a snack. For ease, I created a Backup Folder and mapped it. Getting B4A to use it as a destination was easy as selecting it from the folder browser.

Using B4A on the DS207+ I found it essential to set the Temporary working directory as a local directory on my computer, otherwise errors are caused.

Backup4All does a weekly incremental and versioned backup of the whole of "My Documents", and stores it on the DS207+. This backup is Scheduled, and provides a complete failsafe if things go wrong on my computer. Once it's scheduled, it just runs without me having to worry about it.

Initially B4A backed up "My Documents" in 44 minutes and archived 24,323 files taking up 3.79 GB (compressed).

Subsequent backups are much quicker (generally only a couple of minutes) and much smaller.

The DS207+ can also Backup its files to a local SATA/USB Drive attached to the unit. I have not set this up, as it's probably just a little over the top at the moment (note to self: must try the Cry Test)

Off Site
I also have Backup4All backup my "essential" files, such as financial records, passwords, serial numbers, etc, to some web storage by FTP. For this I use a Mirrored backup (which basically just pops a copy there) and in conjunction with a php upload/download script I can get access to my "essentials" any time.

This provides a copy of my essential files if the something happens to the computer dives AND the NAS (perish the thought  )

Conclusion

Why I think you should use this product

The Synology DS207+ is a very affordable NAS that offers an ever increasing array of features; the specifications are up there with the better brands, though I think the Home/SOHO NAS market is going to become very compeditive in the near future.

Set up and Configuration is incredibly easy, and just about works out of the box.

The customer support is first rate (though I hope you never have to avail yourself of it ).

How does it compare to similar Products

I did try NASLite previously without success, which is not a fair comparison anyway, so I wont...

This is my first NAS, so it's a touch difficult to really compare, but from my investigation this NAS performs on par with other leading brands. The performance compared to USB Drives attached to my megabit Print Server feels a lot brisker.

The performance results seem to indicate that I need to look at the Network, as I'd think that I should be getting better results than that??

Links to other reviews of this application

TechwareLabs: http://www.techwarel...k/ds207+/index.shtml
TrustedReviews: http://www.trustedre...k-Station-DS-207-/p1
PcPro: http://www.pcpro.co....k-station-ds207.html
Arizona Macintosh Users Group: http://www.amug.org/...s/sansdigital/ds207/
SmallNetBuilder: http://www.smallnetb...ntent/view/29957/75/

Where can I Get it?

Please note: Computer hardware is a pretty volatile area for sales and pricing. At the moment US suppliers are able to sell the DS207+ cheaper than what my Australian supplier can buy it for (not exactly sure how that works, but it's probably got something to do with volume). The supplier I purchased my unit from has kindly agreed to give a [small] extra special discount, but the final price is still more expensive than the US Suppliers (I'm not sure how other countries compare).

DS207+
If you're in or around Australia, APS Computer Solutions (who I purchased the product through, and proved incredibly helpful and very customer orientated) have kindly offered an extra discount on both the DS107+ and DS207+ and any Hard Drives purchased at the same time! The extra discount is off their already low prices. If you're interested please contact John directly and mention this review and DonationCoder.

In the US New Egg have the DS207+ listed for US$329.99: details here, many other stores will also stock it (but I have not gone looking).

Backup4All
Backup4All currently have a "perpetual" 30% discount here on DonationCoder, and have also kindly offered some copies for this months Give-Away. These guys deserve all the custom they get! 

DSynchronize
Freeware by Dimitrios Coutsoumbas here.
   

49

General Software Discussion / Backup4All FTP Problems

« on: April 17, 2008, 06:32 AM »

This has been a major pain  , and I'm only posting here in case someone has bumped into something similar and found a solution.  I've been in contact with the Backup4All developer, the Hosting provider, the router manufacturer  and we seem to be running in ever diminishing circles with most people excusing themselves, understandably, and saying it's not their responsibility.

OK: What's the story:
I've got a paid-up latest version of Backup4All Pro that I'm using, amongst other things, to back up off-site, via FTP, to my Windows hosted site at LunarPages.com.

No problems at all locally. Plenty of FTP problems though. B4A almost seems incapable of overwriting a file, not all the time, but when it fails (99% of the time) it always fails when it's trying to write a file that exists on the FTP server. It'll do an initial backup and FTP it to my site without problems. When I do another backup, it'll successfully FTP the next *.zip but fail with the catalog.

The B4A devs have investigated the log files and catalog and said the failure is caused by:

The problem is that the FTP connection is interrupted during the backup.

-B4A Developers

I tested B4A using some free FTP space over at 0catch.com and it performed fine without problems, using exactly the same backup job (just changing the destination).

I tried the FTP backup to my site with SyncBackSE and it performed without problems (obviously using the same FTP account: therefore it's definitely not permissions).

So I think I can presume:

• It's not a router issue as SyncBack works on my site, B4A works on 0catch.com and Filezilla works on my site.
• It's not a permissions issue as SyncBack works fine.
• It's not my site, as SyncBack works on my site as does Filezilla
• It's not B4A, as it works on 0catch.com

It can only be the combination of B4A and my site??? Is that possible 

50

General Software Discussion / On-Line Dictionaries

« on: March 27, 2008, 06:35 AM »

After being soundly and justifiably corrected for posting off topic (thanks tinjaw ), I thought that exposing the OnLine Dictionaries in a Poll would be both interesting and useful.

To vote I've given you the top 14 Dictionaries by Popularity from OneLook.com to choose from, plus OneLook (of course  ), and an "Other" for your own favourite if it's unlisted. I'm assuming that the popularity on OneLook is gained by counting the clicks on the Dictionary links? The options list is in order: It'll be interesting to see if the results here match OneLook's.

My all-time favourite OnLine Dictionary is OneLook.com, which offers a range of Dictionary survices:

• OneLook Dictionary Lookup Offers entries from, and links to, many dictionaries.
• Reverse Dictionary Offers a wonderful way to cheat at crosswords find a word you can't quite remember
• Word of the Day is another ubiquitous word-power improver
• Rhyme Zone is a new find for me and finds Rhymes, Synonyms  , Definitions, Homophones, Similar sound, Same consonants, Related, Quotations, Antonyms!!

These guys are brilliant and are definitely in my favourites! 

-Perry Mowbray (March 26, 2008, 09:08 AM)

But they do not do all this Dictionary stuff themselves, they actually use other dictionaries! The 109 General Dictionaries (sorted by popularity) are listed here; all in all though, they've indexed 12,833,697 words in 1061 dictionaries (a huge number in anyone's language):

• Encarta® World English Dictionary, North American Edition: [107301 words, More info]
• V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary: [2042 words, More info]
• Compact Oxford English Dictionary: [42157 words, More info]
• Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 10th Edition: [107552 words, More info]
• Cambridge International Dictionary of English: [66408 words, More info]
• InfoVisual Visual Dictionary: [3884 words, More info]
• Wiktionary: [580200 words, More info]
• The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus: [47719 words, More info]
• The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: [89248 words, More info]
• Infoplease Dictionary: [127110 words, More info]
• Dictionary.com: [710879 words, More info]
• Online Etymology Dictionary: [21327 words, More info]
• UltraLingua English Dictionary: [103294 words, More info]
• Cambridge Dictionary of American English: [37791 words, More info]
• Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms: [5132 words, More info]
• Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia: [3201550 words, More info]
• Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs: [1929 words, More info]
• Online Plain Text English Dictionary: [111778 words, More info]
• Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition: [88773 words, More info]
• Rhymezone: [229780 words, More info]
• CMU Pronouncing: [118581 words, More info]
• My Hebrew Dictionary: [40 words, More info]
• Grandiloquent Dictionary: [2039 words, More info]
• Faclair G?idhlig - Beurla Gaelic - English Dictionary: [5173 words, More info]
• American British For English Speaking People (American to British): [1791 words, More info]
• AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary: [175063 words, More info]
• R-O-Matic Italian/English Dictionary: [3504 words, More info]
• The Spoken Taino Language: [334 words, More info]
• GREEK-SERBIAN DICTIONARY: [3932 words, More info]
• Strange and Unusual Dictionaries: [1769 words, More info]
• Langtolang English from/to French dictionary: [20075 words, More info]
• Webster's 1828 Dictionary: [62949 words, More info]
• 1500 acronymes de l'�cole: [8239 words, More info]
• 18 LANGUAGES MULTILINGUAL DICTIONARY: [9309 words, More info]
• 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica: [34704 words, More info]
• A to Z list of the most popular idioms: [185 words, More info]
• ANTIDICO (L') - LE DICTIONNAIRE DES MOTS ABSENTS DES AUTRES DICTIONNAIRES: [7900 words, More info]
• All About Homonyms: [1506 words, More info]
• Bali: The Online Travel Guide: [978 words, More info]
• British American For English Speaking People (British to American): [1892 words, More info]
• Celtic Dictionary: [129 words, More info]
• Chinese Characters: [398 words, More info]
• Cl�sica expresi�n Canaria: [320 words, More info]
• Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition: [50831 words, More info]
• Columbia Gazetteer of North America: [33247 words, More info]
• Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (Encyclopedia.com): [7267 words, More info]
• Dict.cc Englisch/Deutsch Wörterbuch: [750745 words, More info]
• Dict.cc Englisch/Deutsch Wörterbuch: [293932 words, More info]
• Dictionary of Americanisms (1848): [2158 words, More info]
• Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898): [14825 words, More info]
• Dictionary/thesaurus: [404303 words, More info]
• Dizionario Esoterico: [1855 words, More info]
• Double-Tongued Word Wrester: [1249 words, More info]
• E Cobham Brewer, The Reader's Handbook: [5277 words, More info]
• ESL Idiom Page: [203 words, More info]
• Encarta® Online Encyclopedia, North American Edition: [4994 words, More info]
• Etymologically Speaking: [236 words, More info]
• Etymologies & Word Origins: [429 words, More info]
• Eurodict Online: [76780 words, More info]
• Foreign Words and Phrases: [74 words, More info]
• Free Dictionary: [254453 words, More info]
• GREEK-CATALAN DICTIONARY: [2470 words, More info]
• GREEK-ENGLISH DICTIONARY: [2399 words, More info]
• GREEK-SLAVONIC (LANGUAGE OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA: [3776 words, More info]
• Gaelic Language (Manx): [48957 words, More info]
• General English-Spanish: [20735 words, More info]
• Hutchinson Dictionaries: [17102 words, More info]
• Hutchinson's Dictionary of Difficult Words: [14455 words, More info]
• Langmaker Dictionary of Neologisms: [2140 words, More info]
• Langtolang: [51081 words, More info]
• Le Dicomoche: [553 words, More info]
• Lexical FreeNet (shows word connections): [134189 words, More info]
• Logos Multilingual E-translation Portal: [52994 words, More info]
• LookWAYup Translating Dictionary/Thesaurus: [187425 words, More info]
• Luciferous Logolepsy: [9029 words, More info]
• Michaelis Moderno Dicion�rio da L�ngua Portuguesa: [812 words, More info]
• My Hebrew Picture Dictionary: [180 words, More info]
• MyWord.info: [2425 words, More info]
• New English Words: [112 words, More info]
• OneLook Dictionaries "Frequently Asked Words" (FAW): [1 words, More info]
• Online Talking Dictionary: [293282 words, More info]
• Phrasal Verb Page: [173 words, More info]
• Phrase Finder: [953 words, More info]
• Robb: German English: [439 words, More info]
• Robb: Swahili English: [31 words, More info]
• Robb: Finnish English: [9 words, More info]
• Rogets Thesaurus: [968 words, More info]
• Russian dictionary: [157 words, More info]
• Siglas de Organizaciones en Guatemala: [981 words, More info]
• Stammtisch Beau Fleuve Acronyms: [23068 words, More info]
• The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: [6639 words, More info]
• The Phrontistery - A Dictionary of Obscure Words: [15361 words, More info]
• The Word Detective: [1512 words, More info]
• The Word Spy: [2502 words, More info]
• Turkish Acronyms to live by: [138 words, More info]
• Typographical Errors in Library Databases: [410 words, More info]
• UVic Writer's Guide: [319 words, More info]
• UltraLingua French Dictionary: [58671 words, More info]
• Urdu/English Dictionary: [117441 words, More info]
• VERBAL VESTIGIA (Words Hanging On By A Single Phrase): [50 words, More info]
• Virdainas - a Sudovian Dictionary: [5918 words, More info]
• Who2: [3079 words, More info]
• Wikimedia Commons US English Pronunciations: [7192 words, More info]
• WordNet 1.7 Vocabulary Helper: [119160 words, More info]
• World Wide Words: [1979 words, More info]
• Worthless Word For The Day: [3694 words, More info]
• Ye Olde English Sayings: [41 words, More info]
• Yiddish-Hebrew-English-German-Russian Picture Dictionary: [186 words, More info]
• bab.la: [512709 words, More info]

Of course you get all the above (plus many more) Dictionaries with OneLook, for me it's a simple choice...