Topics

101

General Software Discussion / Free Game: POTC Desktop Galleon

« on: October 08, 2007, 04:38 PM »

I like pirates, which might be evident from my ghostly green skull-and-bones monkey icon.

And I've played a LOT of pirate-themed games which, to put it politely, suck bilgewater.

Leave it to Disney to create a fun little desktop diversion called Desktop Galleon, buryed deep within their new Pirates Online website (beta):

http://preview.tinyurl.com/38n3uu

It's a wee little freebie that installs a gorgeous pirate ship on your desktop.  You can sail it around using the cursor keys, and when you're ready for fun, engage BATTLE MODE!  Then wave after wave of enemy ships come to attack, and of course the ones you vanquish yield gold and rum. Collect enough booty and you can unlock "treasures" from the Disney pirates website: usually behind-the-scenes art for the new online game (meh).

Note that the ship actually does sail ON YOUR DESKTOP, among your wallpaper and icons.  Outside of battle mode, you can optionally leave the ship anchored on your desktop so it's ready when you are for a quick diversion.

It's absurdly easy to play, but gets more difficult with each passing wave of ships.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well engineered this little gem is.

Highly recommended.

102

General Software Discussion / [Windows XP] Is there a way to apply folder views to all sub-folders?

« on: October 08, 2007, 12:47 PM »

Probably a simple thing, but I haven't found it yet...

Let's say I set up a folder to display as "Tiles" sorted by "Name".  If I drill down into a sub-folder, however, THAT folder still displays things as it always has.

How can I apply the current folder view to all child folders as well?

Windows offers a "use the current folder's view as the default" but that applies to ALL folders everywhere on the system.  No want.

Any ideas?

103

Living Room / Ghost car!

« on: October 07, 2007, 10:53 AM »

This has got to be the weirdest police chase video I have ever seen:
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=CO9Ve03s41w

It looks pretty normal up until the very end.  Then prepare to have your mind blown.  And don't worry -- this is not one of those stupid things where a monster jumps out at the end and makes you pee involuntarily.

What does this have to do with software?  They don't say, but I bet the dude in the car is being chased for copyright infringement by RIAA enforcers.  :-)

104

Living Room / Online business incorporation in the US... recommendations?

« on: October 05, 2007, 08:45 AM »

Howdy,

When I started my first company 10+ years ago I paid my lawyer a coupla hundred bucks to do all the paperwork, and was rewarded with a spanking new C-corp.  Life was good.

Now I find myself needing to incorporate a new company, this time as an S-corp.  I know I can complete all the paperwork myself and pay the $100 state filing fee, but I'd feel better if professionals handled it. 

Things have changed since the crazy days of 1996, when cars were powered by mastodon dung and cats didn't have the right to vote.  There are now some websites that allow you to fill out a few fields, charge your credit card, and DING, instant coporation.  As simple as registering a domain name.

My concern is: who (whom?) to trust.  Which sites actually do what's required by law for a reasonable fee, and which sites are dangerously stupid to use?

Anyone done this before?  Which service would you recommend?  Which to avoid?

Thanks!
Ralf

105

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: CPU monitor that plays sound according to activity

« on: July 04, 2007, 03:03 PM »

This oughta be a fun one. :-)

I have a couple of long tasks I kick off and walk away from -- one is a compiler that takes about 7 minutes to complete and pegs the CPU at 100% (50% on a dual core) the while.  It would be great to be able to HEAR how the thing is doing while I'm in another part of the room.  Thus...

- Need a small utility that sits in the tray and monitors cpu activity
- Should handle multiple cores/cpu's and report on the TOTAL cpu usage
- Should play a small "blip" or hum or something that rises in tone/frequency for every percentage increment
- Should be entirely silent if average activity falls below a threshold (10%?)
- XP compatibility only; Vista not needed.  In fact, screw Vista.  Vista sucks.

Nice to have:

- Customizable sound (maybe select a .wav file?)
- Ability to select wanted/ignore unwanted processes by .exe name
- Upon falloff to 0% (or below threshold) for x seconds, play a "completed" sound.

Whatcha think?

106

Post New Requests Here / Request: Force NUMLOCK always on

« on: June 28, 2007, 12:36 PM »

Howdy,

I've searched for a utility (or HotKeys script) that automatically forces NUMLOCK to remain on at all times.  I have some ill-behaved apps that turn it off, and when I go to use the keypad...

So, anything?

Thanks,
Ralf

107

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: Triple-Click Mouse Utility

« on: May 05, 2007, 01:46 PM »

Hiya,

I've looked high and low for something like this, but to no avail.

I need a wee little thing that sits in the task bar and detects mouse triple-clicks.  Upon triple-click, it converts the action into a predefined hotkey / keystroke.  For instance, convert triple-click into SHIFT-F2.

Make sense?  Whattaya think?

Thanks,
Ralf