Recent Posts

1001

General Software Discussion / "God Mode" in Win7? (All Tasks)

« Last post by zridling on January 05, 2010, 03:45 AM »

Saw this AppScout post on all tasks in Win7 and surprised it's not touted as a expert feature. Seems like a brilliant time saver.
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Q:   Suddenly I'm hearing a lot about some kind of "God Mode" in Windows. I know what that means in games, but I can't make sense out of it as a Windows thing. Is it real? Is it good for anything? --Mansfield Skaess.

A: The correct name for this feature is "All Tasks." Apparently, one of the Windows 7 beta editions made this feature visible to users, but Microsoft later pulled it back into the shadows.

The "All Tasks" folder lists over 250 settings from various Control Panel applets and system settings dialogss in a tree-structured list, organized by the application associated with each setting. To enable the All Tasks feature on your Windows 7 PC, simply create a new folder and name it:

Anything.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

replacing "Anything" with whatever text you choose. You'll notice that the folder icon changes to an image of a control console. Opening this folder displays that lengthy list of settings.

1002

General Software Discussion / Re: Any freeware alternatives to Faststone MaxView?

« Last post by zridling on January 04, 2010, 04:45 PM »

Although it's a different platform, Gwenview used by KDE is highly customizable and does basic editing, EXIF, and file management. Comes free on any KDE-based Linux installation. Of course, the one thing I love is its customizable keyboard shortcuts for every part of the app.

1003

Living Room / Re: Are my EBook Reader dreams going to be answered in 2010? A full size reader?

« Last post by zridling on January 04, 2010, 04:31 PM »

Seems like a perfect opportunity for Adobe to create this exact device. But I think the device that really wins this market during this decade will be the one most open; that is, the one that can natively read the most formats from PDF to ODF to .doc/rtf to .txt to even spreadsheets without the expected DRM. The second feature would be its power supply, i.e., could it be recharged using any light source rather than needed to plug a battery recharger in somewhere.

Joe Wilcox had some thought on this recently with regard to Apple's tablet. Man, did he catch hell for it, too.

1004

General Software Discussion / e-readers -- not quite the death of paper

« Last post by zridling on January 04, 2010, 04:20 PM »

David Lane at Linux Journal has a beef with his new e-reader. Here are a few excerpts:

. . . I am the proud owner of an ereader. I have had a Sony PRS-600 (Touch) for less than 24 hours. But unless something changes dramatically, I am unlikely to be an ereader user 24 hours from now. To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. For what I have paid for the unit, I almost feel taken.

. . . Legibility: I bought this to be able to read documentation, so it does not help that I cannot read the words or, that I cannot read the words. Let me explain...  if you read at a decent rate, say 400 words per minute, you will be frustrated with both the limited text available and the speed at which you can move to the next block... and then there is the microscope factor, of having to zoom in so tight to read paragraph chunks that you cannot see the overall document.

. . . Performance: I expected that page turns would be nearly instantaneous. OK, so, I can live with not quite counting to one as I initiate a page turn, but I cannot live with counting two, or three or putting it down to flip the pancakes and picking it back up again and finding it has just turned the page as I am watching it repixelate.

. . . Rendering: One of things that I found odd was the inconsistent rendering of PDF documents, specifically the fonts. I suspect it has to do with what was used in the master document and how the PDF was told to manage the fonts, but in several cases, there would be a major font change within the document, and sometimes within words, where the font would shift from serif to sans serif and back again. I could find no logic behind the shifting, especially since the PDF seemed to render correctly on the PC and in print. This is incredibly distracting to read.

. . . Configuration: One of the first things I looked for was a contrast adjustment. It does not exist. No dial, no setting, nothing. You cannot alter the predefined contrasts. In fact, other than the date and time and the gesture you use to change the pages, you cannot alter much on the device.... being able to alter the contrast might actually alleviate some of the legibility issues I experienced in some of my lighting conditions – like standing next to the stove, trying to read grandma’s pancake recipe.

...................................................
David says he would have bought a Kindle except for the limited formats and its larger size. This is definitely a device I would want to try out for a week before I dropped $250-$500 on. However, if you have one and like it, please share your experience of it with us.

1005

Living Room / A list of things to know when time-traveling to the past

« Last post by zridling on January 03, 2010, 04:52 AM »

[via La boite verte]:

A highly important tool for 2010: a list of important stuff when time-traveling:

It’s always curious to think about what one would put in this type of list. Perhaps asking "What pieces of knowledge and artifacts would you like to take with you to the past, in case you can time-travel?"

1006

Living Room / Re: Sex Doesn't Sell

« Last post by zridling on January 03, 2010, 03:55 AM »

I think the worst gratuitous nudity I've ever seen in a film was the absolutely awful film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).



I could have lived an entire life without seeing Jason Segel's ugly junk, fat gut, puffy nips, and hatchet ass.

1007

Living Room / Re: 2010: Will it be better than 2009?

« Last post by zridling on January 03, 2010, 03:48 AM »

I won't even ask, "Do you think it could get any worse?" since I asked that every year in this past decade and from start to finish, it got worse!

1008

Living Room / Re: Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

« Last post by zridling on January 03, 2010, 03:45 AM »

But a few days ago were you saying "Twenty-nine"? Or "Twenty-Oh-Nine"?

-Innuendo (January 01, 2010, 10:36 PM)

Years ago I looked up what they called the first decade of the 1900s. Most used the term "aught," as in 19-aught-7, or "Back in 'aught-04' we ate dirt and were glad to have it!" I've since said 20-aught-1,2,3,... 9 to the quirky faces of my friends. You might also ask, will the same "TeeVee" people say "Twenty-one hundred fourteen" in the next century!
 

1009

Developer's Corner / 7 Lessons for Software Developers from Heinlein

« Last post by zridling on January 03, 2010, 03:32 AM »

Robert Heinlein wasn't really a programmer, of course. But in his writing career he said or wrote several things (in his own voice or that of a fictional character) that can help any software developer improve her code... or her career.

http://www.javaworld.../community/node/3601



I also like this one on not getting burned by computer consulting contracts.

1010

General Software Discussion / Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 06:59 PM »

I hardly ever leave the house. If it's on fire, the first thing I'm grabbing is not my wallet, but my computer! Then I'll go back for the wife. 

1011

General Software Discussion / Re: Must-have Windows Programs

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 06:56 PM »

For me (using a virtualized Win7), it has to be a file manager of the caliber of XYplorer or Directory Opus. After that, everything else is second place.

1012

Living Room / Re: How can we *share* Donationcoder.com better in 2010?

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 06:53 PM »

@Shades:
Holy crap, thanks for the link. That's incredible. If you do read it, don't skip the footnotes. ha!!

1013

Living Room / Re: 2010: Will it be better than 2009?

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 06:49 PM »

No idea why I hit "2 answers" to the poll. Can't delete and restart this thing. Oh well.

1014

Living Room / 2010: Will it be better than 2009?

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 06:45 PM »

For me, it has to get better. 2009 was a very tough, tight financial year. Well, every year is, but I'm glad it's over.

1015

Living Room / Re: Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 06:39 PM »

Perhaps we should add pronunciation errors, too. I'm ready for this century to be "20_._" as in "Twenty-ten," not Two-thousand ten. Yet the idiots on my TeeVee keep saying the latter. I don't remember them saying "Nineteen hundred seventy-five"!

1016

Living Room / Re: What are your new years resolutions for 2010?

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 06:34 PM »

I plan to keep beating back anorexia and maintain my girth. It's not easy eating that many carbs and empty calories day after day, but I'm willing to slog through it.
 

1017

General Software Discussion / Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 05:07 AM »

Reminds me somewhat of the ebook/kindle technology. I pulled a book off the shelf that I haven't read in 29 years yesterday. There it was, in good condition, no DRM, no revocation by "Big Corp." no outdated proprietary formats that killed it. Just open and read. And 29 years from now, I'll still have my book and I'll reread it then, free of charge, without having to purchase expensive technology to enjoy it.

Call it Occam's revenge.

1018

Living Room / Re: How can we market Donationcoder.com better in 2010?

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 04:59 AM »

Yea, definitely a diction mistake on my part. I should have phrased it like Perry does -- share and promote. There's a lot to brag about on this site, on what it has become, and the good it does year after year. So to get back to the original question:

- Tell your friends.
- Mention on other sites and forums where relevant.
- Be ready to recommend member software where you see a need.
- Blog, twit, and best of all, contribute here.

That's what I meant.

1019

Living Room / Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

« Last post by zridling on January 01, 2010, 04:48 AM »

Cute.

1020

Living Room / How can we *share* Donationcoder.com better in 2010?

« Last post by zridling on December 31, 2009, 03:46 PM »

Let's help the DC community out in 2010 by expanding our reach. There are lots of assets, but they start with developers and members. Among the software offered, the contests, the free-wheeling discussions, the software discounts, more people should know and benefit from DC. So I'm asking for your suggestions:

How can we market promote and share Donationcoder.com better in 2010?

1021

Living Room / [Humor]: Cluetrain gives way to the Cluefree Manifesto

« Last post by zridling on December 31, 2009, 03:40 AM »

Never mind that Cluetrain was about markets (and not marketing), this is funny.


To many web maniacs, a pivotal moment occurred 10 years ago when something called "The Cluetrain Manifesto" was published.

The Cluetrain Manifesto was a foundational document in the "conversationalist" school of marketing. It included "95 Theses" in the style of Martin Luther, meant as a denunciation of contemporary marketing and a clarion call to a new, idealized age of marketing enabled by digital communication.

The Cluetrain Manifesto's “95 Theses” was a smug and annoying document written in the voice of a petulant tenth-grader. Its vision somehow failed to foresee Facebook stalking, idiotic tweets, Viagra spam, or Ethiopian lotteries.

From a distance of 10 years, it seems even more ridiculous.

1022

General Software Discussion / Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player

« Last post by zridling on December 31, 2009, 03:22 AM »

Wise words, 40hz. Josh, I know the Linux version of VLC includes all its own codecs so there's no need to cull them from other sources. But VLC is also free, it's highly customizable, and the more customers that used it, the fewer that Apple could peddle their DRM wares to. Follow the money.

1023

Living Room / Re: Has SEO ruined the web?

« Last post by zridling on December 31, 2009, 03:16 AM »

Ironically, I think this was the attraction to my little "Great Software List" that lasted almost a decade. No ads, no agenda, I was just championing good software based on a few principles. But you'd be amazed -- AMAZED -- at the things some companies would do to convince me to add their software to the list. As for SEO pollution, the basic problem as you stated is that it drowns out "actual" results; that is, intended results. Just like news, if you can't find it, then maybe you'll give up and just pay for it.

1024

Living Room / Re: Looking for e-Books/e-Docs (and Happy New Year to all)

« Last post by zridling on December 26, 2009, 02:03 PM »

Ken!! There's ton of sites out there, especially if you enjoy the classics.

Online Books Page by Univ. of Pennsylvania
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/

Bartleby's
http://www.bartleby.com/

And then this blog post list 20, but I won't vouch for most.
http://www.hongkiat....wnload-free-e-books/

1025

Living Room / Re: Worldometers -- real time stats around the world

« Last post by zridling on December 26, 2009, 01:57 PM »

Hmm, can't think why. You mean the website or the picture? Which virus does it report?