Messages

76

Living Room / Re: Latest Apple Mac vs PC Commercial: PCs suck because of all the software cho

« on: June 19, 2007, 06:33 PM »

I only use Windows and Linux, I hate Apple/Mac (I only use iTunes, and its...well I am forced to use it- the only reason I do). Too limited and over-rated software.

This might be a good alternative:
http://www.snapfiles...com/get/yamipod.html

"YamiPod allows you to manage the content of your iPod without the need to have iTunes installed. You can copy mp3 and AAC files to/from your iPod, import and export playlists, search for songs, remove duplicates, create and edit notes and much more. The program runs completely standalone and can be copied directly to your iPod and run from there"

77

Living Room / Re: Latest Apple Mac vs PC Commercial: PCs suck because of all the software cho

« on: June 19, 2007, 06:06 PM »

The best summary of how I think about the Apple/PC issue was in one of Fred Langa's newsletters:

If you get the feeling I dislike Apple's marketing, you're right. The wonderful thing about personal computing is that it places enormous power in the hands of us all. Companies that pursue elitist policies--- and Apple is far and away the worst in that regard--- work against the democratization of high-technology; and also appeal to some of the basest of human instincts: "I'm better/cooler than you because I 'think different'," or some such. Apple's technology is fine, but their approach to marketing just rubs me the wrong way. It always has.

Bottom line: Apple's move to Intel is NOT for the end-user's benefit. It's solely for Apple's benefit. If your interests align with Apple's, then you'll do great with their hardware and software. But if things like "bang for the buck" or wide applicability and broad compatibility are important to you, Apple has *never* been a good choice. And I'll be very, very surprised if that changes any time soon.

I never met a computer I didn't like - though there have been several I wouldn't have minded tossing out the windows at times - and it would be a much drearier world without all the software that is written by individuals and small groups. That's creativity and problem solving on a level that Apple, Microsoft and Adobe don't, and can't, operate.
They all have great people working for them, but they aren't going to make a Ccleaner or Mouser's Screenshot Captor, things that make my life easier.

I like Linux since the interface is becoming more graphical. Mint is one I've been using lately.
Linux is growing and its great to watch.

By the way, there's a good boot loader called GAG (weird name, great software) if anyone is looking for a good one.
http://gag.sourceforge.net/

I don't know where its going, but its fascinating to watch, especially with all the computers being shipped to um, so called Third World countries where the kids take to them like water and they take them around on carts to the villages and run them on solar power.

78

Living Room / Re: Links page - suggestions wanted

« on: June 10, 2007, 08:18 PM »

a few more, then I'll retreat to my usual haunts......

Process Library
http://www.processlibrary.com/

Bleeping Computer Startup Programs Database:
http://www.bleepingc...mputer.com/startups/

exelib
http://exelib.com/

yep, a theme there, identifying what's running........

79

Living Room / Re: Links page - suggestions wanted

« on: June 10, 2007, 03:57 PM »

Two more that might be helpful:

Portable Apps:
http://portableapps.com/
Great list of apps you can carry around with you. Uses Open source, free.

I don't know if this blog fits in here, or not, but I find the most interesting things on it.
Really a great resource about a number of things.
Its called etc.
http://www.fortysomething.ca/mt/etc/

80

Living Room / Re: Links page - suggestions wanted

« on: June 10, 2007, 03:47 PM »

In addition to addall, I like fetchbook:
http://www.fetchbook.info/

And Zoho is turning out some great programs like Zoho Notebook in addition to their other offerings:
http://www.zoho.com/
some people like Zoho Notebook better than Google Notebook.

Media Convert , while an online converter, will convert some less known files:
http://www.media-convert.com/

I've found some answers to some fairly obscure technical questions here:
http://techrepublic.com.com/

This site is a good resource for rootkit information:
http://antirootkit.com/

This site has absolutely nothing to do with technology per se but its a great site anyway:
Kevin Kelly Cool Tools
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/

Two other favorites:

Of Zen and Computing
http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/

Freeware Genius:
http://www.freewaregenius.com/

81

General Software Discussion / Free Software Downloads for Vista and Office 2007 from Microsoft

« on: May 23, 2007, 05:51 PM »

Some really interesting things here.
One of my favorites is a plug in that allows .pdf files to viewed in Explorer if you are using FoxIt reader. Only for Vista at the moment but they are working on other versions.

Download Free Windows Vista Software from Microsoft
http://bhandler.spac...910C9F7F3!1844.entry

Download Free Office 2007 Software from Microsoft
http://bhandler.spac...910C9F7F3!1822.entry

82

General Software Discussion / 18 Online Tools to Edit, Mix and Enhance your Videos

« on: May 17, 2007, 12:57 PM »

http://www.makeuseof...video-editing-tools/

Whether you need basic tools that let you easily cut-off desired scenes, add background music, integrate animations, etc. or something more powerful, it’s all here. While each service offers different editing features, functionality is the same everywhere, i.e. (1) upload your video either from your PC or grab it directly from the web (i.e Youtube, Metacafe etc…), (2) edit/mix/enhance it, and (3) share it with others.

Something I ran across that might be of use.

83

General Software Discussion / Re: Good Screen Recorder Video Editing Software?

« on: May 17, 2007, 12:49 PM »

The tutorial over at True Launch Bar were made with Wink, as mentioned already.
http://www.truelaunchbar.com/
I've seen it used for others as well but can't recall where.

84

General Software Discussion / Re: Good programs for helping you manage what programs start with windows?

« on: May 17, 2007, 12:43 PM »

My vote goes to Code Stuff Starter.
http://www.snapfiles...com/get/starter.html

Its easy to use for beginners, lets you control Start Up Programs, Processes and Services, each in a different tab.

One feature I really like is that if you aren't sure what a program or service is, you can click on Properties and it will give you information about the program.

85

General Software Discussion / Re: I have the need to convert animated GIFs to AVIs

« on: May 04, 2007, 02:11 PM »

This isn't an area I know much about, but this site has been useful to others who need stuff converted.

http://media-convert.com/

Its also a good site for converting just about any other kind of file.
Its free, no ad or spyware.

Media Monkey comes highly recommended, you might have a look at it.

http://www.mediamonkey.com/product.htm

86

Found Deals and Discounts / Mouse wheel enhancement for Windows

« on: May 01, 2007, 07:06 PM »

I ran across this little gem at Lifehacker http://www.lifehacker.com/ today.

It allows your mouse to scroll in *any* window or pane your mouse is in.
Not being able to do that has been an annoyance of mine for a long time.
I'm happy to report it works great, and the tray icon is cute (not a requirement but fun anyway).

http://www.code-scout.net/katmouse/
donationware

from the site:
"The prime purpose of the KatMouse utility is to enhance the functionality of mice with a scroll wheel, offering 'universal' scrolling: moving the mouse wheel will scroll the window directly beneath the mouse cursor (not the one with the keyboard focus, which is default on Windows OSes). This is a major increase in the usefullness of the mouse wheel.

Another feature involves the wheel button. Since the wheel button is not consistently used in Windows, KatMouse can use it for a kind of task switching: with a click of the wheel button you can push a window to the buttom of the stack of windows that is your desktop, making a recovered window the active window."

87

General Software Discussion / Re: Lock a folder down?

« on: April 08, 2007, 12:49 PM »

Whooops, sorry about LockNote, its mostly for text files and passwords.

For folders and files Axcrypt is solid.

http://www.axantum.com/AxCrypt/

Usage is pretty simple; to encrypt files or folders just right-click them and select "encrypt." while double clicking on encrypted files lets you edit or view them with the program of your choice. Closing the open files automatically re-encrypts them.

88

General Software Discussion / Re: Lock a folder down?

« on: April 08, 2007, 12:31 PM »

I've been using LockNote for about a year now, its very easy to use.
Easy enough for anyone who can double click and/or drag and drop.
Its freeware, licensed under GPI.

http://locknote.steganos.com/

89

General Software Discussion / Re: Can you disable XP's Recovery System partly?

« on: April 07, 2007, 01:49 PM »

WinDirStat is a great program to see whose doing what and eating how much space on your hard drive.
I like the graphical use chart and the fact that it tells you exactly which program is taking up space.

http://sourceforge.n...projects/windirstat/

90

General Software Discussion / Re: wanted: ($3 bounty) Automatic Stitching of Screenshots (freeware)

« on: March 31, 2007, 11:10 AM »

You might try Hugin http://hugin.sourceforge.net/.
It has perspective correction.

Tutorials here: http://hugin.sourcef...utorials/index.shtml

91

General Software Discussion / Re: Anyone know any good cheap, easy to use software for interior design stuff?

« on: March 28, 2007, 01:42 PM »

This site has a Flash-based on-line room planner.
You input the information and you can drag things around to see how they fit.
http://www.raymourfl...an.com/room_planner/

92

General Software Discussion / Microsoft Free Game Downloads

« on: March 21, 2007, 06:23 PM »

Microsoft has several of their games free for download on their site.

http://www.windowsma...r=A&maxprice=.01
or
http://tinyurl.com/3yz5fq

They aren't the newest releases but you can find versions of many of their games.
(Solitaire, Age of Empires, Grand Theft Auto, Warcraft, Doom and Sudoko etc.)

93

Living Room / Re: Geek squad / Best buy Busted!

« on: February 09, 2007, 11:13 PM »

well, it looks like we can all chip in and evolve the thread how we like as no one seems to be too eager to say anything about the geeksqaud video. how strange.

My thought after seeing their commercials on television was that if they were spending that sort of money advertising, there wasn't likely to be any in the budget for hiring on the high end of the skill level. 

Having your time and skill valued even if you don't charge for is ticklish.

The best solution I've heard is to submit an invoice (broken down to time and services if necessary) with the total you would charge at your usual rate - whatever that may be.
Then, write No Charge or Donated or something similar across the invoice.
You could add a discount for certain people or circumstances to an invoice too.

I don't think this would work with family or friends - not with mine anyway. They expect me to not only keep them running and updated, but to build them and replace hardware when needed.

You might consider trading with some people. I've been known to trade work for something material or trade for something in kind.
That's another place an invoice comes in handy, you have a way to estimate for trade.

94

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: February 07, 2007, 01:26 PM »

Errrrr.......I don't know, but, I did read through every post. 

I have another addition to add to the pile. I haven't seen it before.
BitsduJour is hoping to have them again in March.

Ultra Recall
http://www.kinook.com/UltraRecall/

Some features from the authors site:

Any web page, document, image, note, or text can be added to Ultra Recall and then easily organized, edited, annotated, and recalled when needed.

Rather than being limited to a single hierarchy of information, this document manager lets you link items in multiple locations via drag/drop or copy/paste, allowing information to be organized however you desire.

Extensive search capabilities are provided, including Quick search as well as Advanced search, with AND, OR, grouping.

95

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« on: February 05, 2007, 08:32 PM »

I've read through this discussion with great interest, and I thought I'd add a few more suggestions to the pile.

I didn't see Notefish anywhere......
http://www.notefish.com/
Its an online application. Its a note-taking, research and project product.
It has a Firefox extension that functions like Evernote.

This site has I-don't-know-how-many free PIM's, note takers, and other related programs on it.
http://www.freepims.com/id224.html
There are some nice ones there, though the site lists only free programs.

Abassis Worktop is free for non-commercial use:
http://www.abassis.com/index.html
Its really quite feature rich. Portable.

Zoho Planner is an online application that takes notes and does other things:
http://planner.zoho.com/jsp/home.jsp

Stikkit is also capable of sharing notes with others:
http://stikkit.com/

If you like whiteboards with the additional ability to save your files, GE has come up with Imagination Cubed:
http://www.imaginati...cubed.com/LaunchPage

I'm a little hesitant to toss this one out here, because it seems that the author's website has disappeared.
The program is still available for download but I doubt its being developed.
Its called Papel.
You can find it here:
http://tinyurl.com/2fvb4h
Server 2 and 3 are the active links.
Its a free form note system, I think if you like mind mapping I believe you'll like this program.