Recent Posts

1001

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MLB/Mouseless Browsing FF extension - MUST-HAVE for every keyboard user!

« Last post by brotherS on April 12, 2006, 06:20 AM »

Can you assign specific numbers or are they generated page by page? If they change all the time it looks like hard work to me!

-Carol Haynes (April 12, 2006, 06:15 AM)

Well... as long as pages have the same layout the same IDs will appear. But even if the IDs change for every page, how is that hard work for a true keyboard user (who doesn't have to look at the keys when typing)?

1002

Post New Requests Here / Re: A shortcut/hotkey to switch between audio devices?

« Last post by brotherS on April 12, 2006, 06:18 AM »

If you make two scripts, one for each device you can just double click the correct device when you need to swap.

-Carol Haynes (April 12, 2006, 04:56 AM)

Or you could just create one AHK script that's writing some kind of indicator to an .ini file and every time the script is executed it changes the device to the one not being selected the last time.

AHK = great

1003

Mini-Reviews by Members / MLB/Mouseless Browsing FF extension - MUST-HAVE for every keyboard user!

« Last post by brotherS on April 12, 2006, 06:06 AM »

I recently read about MLB/Mouseless Browsing on https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=2842.0

MLB (http://www.rudolf-no...ouselessBrowsing.htm) is a Firefox extension, I chose to install version 0.4.1 Beta.

Basic Principle

Mouseless browsing bases on appending small boxes with unique ids for all links, form elements and frames to the page. You can trigger an action (e.g. following the link) by simply entering the id and depending on the configuration confirming it by pressing Enter.

As DC user vamp07 said in the other thread, I quickly noticed it makes sense to change the delay from 500 to 750 ms and to set the Numpad0 key to toggle visibility of the IDs.

A picture says more than 1000 words, so have a look:

On that screenshot I marked three places, which have so-called IDs:
A = 176 (quote)
B = 180 (shoutcast.com, external link)
C = 188 (reply)

All I now have to do is to quote Carol is to hit Ctrl and type 176, if I would type 180 the new page would open in another tab (depends on how you set up Firefox) and if I would type 188 while holding Ctrl down I'd just reply, without quoting.

This is an extremely helpful extension! Being a true keyboard user I was always annoyed when having to grab the mouse.


These settings are working fine for me (I didn't change the "Styles" tab values):

Google Mail users might want to pay special attention to the setting I highlighted in the last screenshot. By default MLB uses the "/" key of the Numpad here - which allows you to easily jump to Google Mail's search field!

1004

Jazper's Software / Re: What is ShoutcastConcierge?

« Last post by brotherS on April 12, 2006, 04:37 AM »

I almost never listen to streaming music mainly because there is so little I like, esp. the lack of classical music streams. The ones that do exist are 'popular' classics (which basically means stuff you've heard in TV ads or in film music).

Just a shame there are no serious classical streams (at least that I can find).

-Carol Haynes (April 12, 2006, 04:25 AM)

Yeah, you have to search more to find rare stuff... but Shoutcast and Google are able to help

Shoutcast Concierge comes close to solving some of the problems because I can at least have a pile of streams and look to see if there is anything I fancy listening to without having the stuff I don't want to listen to pootling along in the background. Having said that I am amazed that www.shoutcast.com don't have a 'my favourite streams' feature which would have saved the need for extra software!

I'm afraid I can't follow... how could such thing work if Shoutcast (which seems to have problems right now) doesn't even list all the streams you are listening to? I also prefer an "extra software" solution because those tend to be updated more often - and are available without a browser, so you could just have it sitting in a corner of your screen. Features like tray icon alerts are also only possible with an external solution.

1005

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Fusemail - Professional E-Mail Service

« Last post by brotherS on April 12, 2006, 04:10 AM »

There's a demo account at http://webmail.fusem...d=demo&DoLogin=Y - looking great!

You sure about that missing Outlook feature?
http://www.fusemail..../features/index.html says:
"Sync your MS Outlook mail, calendar, contacts, and groupware using FuseMail SyncML tool."

1006

Jazper's Software / Re: What is ShoutcastConcierge?

« Last post by brotherS on April 12, 2006, 02:58 AM »

You obviously weren't listening to music streams that often, right?

I love it, I virtually stopped listening to mp3 files completely!

1007

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Volume Mixer for programs (for annoying web pages!?)

« Last post by brotherS on April 11, 2006, 05:59 AM »

I visited a website recently which had annoying music on every page.  Even more annoying was when I had multiple pages of this site open by using Maxthon's tabs.  I know that sound can be disabled by IE but I don't want to lose the sound of every page I visit.

-skywalka (April 10, 2006, 11:41 AM)

In general I hate pages that use sounds. At least they should offer a mute button and/or a slider to reduce the volume! If the site had good content I'd send them an email and ask for changes, if not I'd just never visit it again.


If you try IndieVolume please post a Mini-Review about it in https://www.donation...index.php?board=42.0 - I don't need such a program, but other DC users might!

1008

Living Room / Re: Happy birthday Carol H.

« Last post by brotherS on April 10, 2006, 10:48 AM »

 

1009

Official Announcements / Re: Contest - Make a new Banner for Website

« Last post by brotherS on April 10, 2006, 07:54 AM »

slave - i think your latest, while beautiful, puts a bit too much emphasis on the mighty dollar sign for my comfort.

-mouser (April 10, 2006, 03:42 AM)

I second that

1010

General Software Discussion / Re: RegEdit addin for Internet Explorer

« Last post by brotherS on April 10, 2006, 07:04 AM »

Yeah, the idea is pretty good, but probably makes only sense for those few that are 'knee-deep in the registry' every few days.

1011

Best Music Service / Re: tech crunch article comparing music services

« Last post by brotherS on April 10, 2006, 07:00 AM »

i think i will fire off a few emails to the artists that are available to download by the service and see what their views are (hopefully some spokesperson will reply from the labels). that's about the only way i'll put my conscience to rest on this matter.

-nudone (April 10, 2006, 02:31 AM)

Thanks, I'm looking forward to the result!

1012

Post New Requests Here / Re: DONE: a better PowerDimmer screensaver alternative?

« Last post by brotherS on April 10, 2006, 04:19 AM »

brotherS, I think your problems with the WinActivate function is also related to the transparency, by always staying active.

-skrommel (April 10, 2006, 02:56 AM)

Hmm... meaning there's no way around? Or that it has to be done in C++?

Another problem I have with the 1.3: for the second time in a row, it didn't disable itself when I moved the mouse and hit some keys. The options are set correctly.

1013

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you use RSS feeds?

« Last post by brotherS on April 10, 2006, 02:02 AM »

It has a synch feature that I love...makes reading feeds between work and home much much easier.

-skwire (April 10, 2006, 01:52 AM)

Now that's a smart idea! 

1014

Post New Requests Here / Re: DONE: a better PowerDimmer screensaver alternative?

« Last post by brotherS on April 10, 2006, 01:58 AM »

Great, version 1.3 is running fine here so far, no high CPU load!

Now I only miss the "exclude list" idea (that I mentioned above - for keys that will *not* disable the screensaver)

1015

Living Room / Micropayments Drive Asian Games

« Last post by brotherS on April 09, 2006, 11:08 AM »

Another example of how micropayments could change things:

By now it's expected that major American multiplayer games like World of Warcraft will charge customers a monthly subscription fee. But the news out of Asia's booming gaming market suggests a different approach may be more lucrative: Throw open the gates to your online world, while tempting users with small purchases that help them look good while they're visiting.

While I'm not a gamer, I like the idea!

http://www.wired.com....html?tw=rss.culture

1016

Jazper's Software / Re: ShoutCast Concierge v1.0.0.5 BETA

« Last post by brotherS on April 09, 2006, 11:06 AM »

Btw, I don't know which language you prefer, but maybe ShoutCast Concierge could enter the C++ Builder Programming Contest?

1017

Post New Requests Here / Re: DONE: a better PowerDimmer screensaver alternative?

« Last post by brotherS on April 09, 2006, 07:01 AM »

Try DimSaver v1.2. I've added multimonitor support and tweaked it some.

Please let me know if it works.

-skrommel (April 08, 2006, 11:33 PM)

https://www.donation...e/Skrommel/#DimSaver still says "DimSaver v1.1" although it's 1.2.

I suggest you set all the 3 "Actions that closes DimSaver" on default, I was kinda puzzled when I updated to 1.2 and found no way to disable it (besided killing the task)

Hmm... for whatever reason DimSaver does not save the "Actions that closes DimSaver" settings here

And it's still using the night settings when testing it now.

1018

Post New Requests Here / Re: DONE: a better PowerDimmer screensaver alternative?

« Last post by brotherS on April 08, 2006, 04:10 PM »

I found another problem in the 1.1 (see for other problems above):

In one of my two running AHK scripts there's this code:

[Select]

  [...]
  WinActivate, programX
  WinWaitActive, programX
  [...]

While DimSaver was actively dimming, that code wasn't executed - only when I moved the mouse to disable DimSaver, the other script was continuing.

When I was running PowerDimmer I never saw that happening.

1019

General Software Discussion / Re: what kind of keyboard you use?

« Last post by brotherS on April 08, 2006, 10:09 AM »

Need illuminated keys? Prolly nobody. I'm not a gamer, but I like them flashy lights! My monitor has a little light behind the power button too, even though it's probably not necessary. It just looks better and is easier to see.

-Hirudin (April 08, 2006, 08:55 AM)

You just stated the only useful (to see if the monitor is on/off/in energy-save mode) LED besides the POWER LED for the PC itself IMHO

Yes, since I'm using a cordless keyboard it doesn't have any LEDs - and I'm not even looking at the LEDs that the remote signal receiver offers. I like the on-screen-messages I get when I hit CAPS Lock, Num, Roll etc.

1020

Living Room / Re: 10 minute video of Japanese Rube Goldberg Machines

« Last post by brotherS on April 08, 2006, 10:02 AM »

If you like that cool Honda commercial try to get your hands on "Der Lauf der Dinge/The Way Things Go" that I mentioned above! 30 instead of 2 minutes - AND they use chemical reactions too!
 

1021

Post New Requests Here / Re: DONE: a better PowerDimmer screensaver alternative?

« Last post by brotherS on April 08, 2006, 04:16 AM »

@skrommel: thanks! How do you feel about adding an option to just turn the monitor off/enter low-energy-mode later instead of starting another another screensaver?

[Edit]:
There's a bug: I did set the day settings, but the night settings are being used.

Some more suggestions:
- add an "exclude list" for buttons that will NOT disable the screensaver! That way one would be able to use Winamp's Global hotkeys and other stuff without turning off the dimming! I'd love that
- you could also add options whether it should disable itself on keyboard and mouse activity or on one of those two only. I'm using a Miranda plugin which has such a feature (did I tell you I love being able to customize stuff? )


I added a poll at the top, please all take part!

1022

Living Room / Re: 10 minute video of Japanese Rube Goldberg Machines

« Last post by brotherS on April 08, 2006, 03:26 AM »

Thanks, great find - fun to watch, just the female voice saying something over and over again is a bit annoying... but I fixed that by muting the sound (I wonder if those Japanese texts means "Am I cool or what?" )

He surely was influenced by "Der Lauf der Dinge/The Way Things Go": http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0094300/ They were not using mechanics only but lots of chemical reactions too, awesome to watch! 30 minutes non-stop chain-reactions!
 

1023

General Software Discussion / Re: what kind of keyboard you use?

« Last post by brotherS on April 08, 2006, 03:16 AM »

PS, this may be of particular interest to brotherS

-Hirudin (April 07, 2006, 06:14 AM)

This plugin enables Miranda-IM ( www.miranda-im.org ) to display
notifications of messages/events, chat with contacts,
and browse through your contact list on the G15's LCD display.

@Hirudin: Hehe, that's a funny idea! I prefer to use an OSD plugin for Miranda and a wireless keyboard, but it's sure great someone developed that special plugin for gamers.

@all: Who (but gamers maybe) needs illuminated keys? Improving the typing skills (remember https://www.donation...index.php?topic=2238 ? ) are more important, and one shouldn't type in dark rooms anyway..

1024

Living Room / Re: TyperA - test your typing skills

« Last post by brotherS on April 08, 2006, 03:14 AM »

Any more DC members willing to share their typing speed with us?

1025

Site/Forum Features / Re: Jan/Feb Poll - What Area Should DonationCoder.com Focus on Most in 2006?

« Last post by brotherS on April 07, 2006, 10:20 PM »

Hi nigelfraser, your avatar is really cool! (and I'm saying that although I usually don't like animated avatars)

It's a shame you only post 0.025 posts per day!