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1201

General Software Discussion / Re: Back again: focus flicker ...

« Last post by barney on March 27, 2010, 07:13 PM »

Sorry to be so dilatory in responding ... slight medical emergency, ER visit(s), mostly age-related junk, kinda got in the way.  Funny, but ERs aren't too wild ab. having a laptop in use <sigh />.  And it was a no-no in the room, as well.

OK, back to the flicker.

Flicker may occur once, twice, or many times - as high as ten, so far - and while it usually flickers back to the previous focus, that is not always the case.  In a significant number of instances, there was no visual evidence of the element that grabbed the focus.  When flicker occurs, it can actually interrupt a pre-copy (mouse drag) highlighting in progress - ! - as well as affect keyboard input.  I've pretty much given up on a cure, save through serendipity.  However, I will continue to post [new] symptoms as they occur.  Will also post a resolution should one evince itself - not hopeful, though.

1202

General Software Discussion / Re: Back again: focus flicker ...

« Last post by barney on March 05, 2010, 12:18 PM »

@mouser,

Video acceleration properties haven't seemed to have any affect one way or the other.

Yep, title bar changes color - but that doesn't always mean another title bar changes color to show getting focus.

Reliably reproduce?  Not exactly.  I never know when it will happen, but it happens often enough that I think I could say it reliably reproduces itself  .

The flicker is not always from one visible window to another ... at times the only visible evidence, other than typing glitches, is the alternating color of the title bar of the window I'm trying to use.  And I think I've seen that alternating title bar at times when I was not actively using a window, but I cannot be certain of that.

I've checked the event logs to see if anything would jump out and slap me, but have found nothing glaring to date.

1203

General Software Discussion / Re: Back again: focus flicker ...

« Last post by barney on March 05, 2010, 12:01 PM »

Just thought of something I should have added.

Frequently, when I call forth a window that is system/application modal, e.g., a configuration window, it will draw onscreen, then immediately move behind the application from which I called it.  Now I cannot grab the title bar and move the application because the other window is modal, but cannot bring the other window to the fore since is smaller than, and covered by, the application window.  Sometimes I can switch to another window, then use the task bar icon to move back to the application in question - the modal window appears and stays on top.  Other times, I have to use a task manager tool to abort the application, then restart it.  If the called window is truly system modal, the latter course of action is the only viable one.

Meant to mention this before, but forgot to do so, sorry.

1204

General Software Discussion / Re: Back again: focus flicker ...

« Last post by barney on March 05, 2010, 11:47 AM »

@mouser, I've stripped Win7 nude, for all practical purposes, but still have the issue.
@IanB, I cannot seem to find a tweak system for Win7 that allows the things I remember doing with XP.

I've check several forae that mentioned nVidia as a possible cause, but none of the fixes published were viable.  Same thing with various Logitech boards, even though I don't use Logitech drivers, 'cause sometimes a solution will not be related to the board it's on.  I've tried several TweakUI variants supposedly for Win7, but have yet to find one that is even close to comprehensive.  Even tried the XP version, with mixed results, but nothing has addressed this problem to date.  As I said, I've been working with this, off and on, for a while, to the point that I'll accept, or at least try, just about any left-field suggestion.  Not quite ready to dance naked under a full moon with esoteric symbols painted on my body, but if I thought it would help ... 

1205

General Software Discussion / Back again: focus flicker ...

« Last post by barney on March 04, 2010, 10:19 PM »

Seems as though Ive been asking a lot of questions lately.  Prolly 'cause I have.

I've been dealing with this for a while, now.  However, what was a minor annoyance has become a major irritant.

I've been researching this for several months, but while I've found something like 1,110,000+ references - up by ~8,000 since last week or so - none of them seem to apply.

The problem is that when I change focus from one window to another, the focus doesn't stick.  It flickers from the selected window to another.  This can be a back-and-forth process, sometimes just once back and forth, sometimes as many as ten times, possibly greater.  Of the referenced million-plus pages, once I filter out Ford Focus, Logitech drivers, and other such kinda, sorta false positives, there are still more pages than I can begin to peruse in what's left of this year, much less in the next few weeks.

While this was not a serious problem before, now that I'm contracting again, there are several downsides that are not tenable.

One of 'em is that when I switch from, say, PHP to CSS IDEs, what I start typing may not end up in the right IDE  .  'Nother one is that when I work with a DVCS, I can't always depend upon the commands going to the right place.

The OS is 36-bit Win7 on a dual-core 2.8 GHz processor, 3G Ram, mucho disk space available.  Don't think this started with Win7, may have started with installation of Google's Chrome, but I think it was later.  Think I first noticed it after installing Prism HUD, a system resource monitor, but it doesn't seem attributable to Prism HUD. 

Oh, yeah ... the focus doesn't always switch back to the window I was in ... sometimes it flickers from the window I'm in to I wot not what.

Frankly, I'm at a loss to 'splain it.  I can, if I'm careful - and abominably slow - work with it, but I'd much rather work without it.

As usual, DC is my recourse of last resort.  Any ideas?

1206

General Software Discussion / Re: NoSQL database(s) - anyone familiar?

« Last post by barney on March 04, 2010, 12:10 AM »

Between 40hz's document link - the cleanest/clearest to date - and zridling's series of links - particularly the eflorenzano.com blog - I've pretty well been convinced that NoSQL, while interesting and something I'll play with as time permits, is definitely not in line with the coming project.

Back in mid-80s I wrote a checkbook program in DOS batch mode - a never-ending batch file - actually the Tandy version of DOS for the CoCo.  Data was stored in a CSV file, and the only hard part was creating the edit/delete part of the code.  I don't see much difference 'tween that and the NoSQL stuff.  NoSQL's more sophisticated, yeah, but much the same, nevertheless.

Much thanks to the both of ya ... saved me many hours & prolly a lot of eye strain <chortle />.

1207

General Software Discussion / Q

« Last post by barney on March 03, 2010, 08:54 PM »

Woof!  It was a job to get that file.  Tried seven (7) different PDF [Windows] printers, finally had to subscribe to Scribd - a process much more drawn out than it should have to be - before I could download it.  I did get through the first 35 pages - all that one of the PDF printers would produce - and I'll get through the rest in the next couple of days, even though my preferred learning method is kinesthetic, not visual.  The document is a bit clearer than the others I've seen.

That said, what I'd really like to find is reviews/comparisons/testimonials anent the various flavours of NoSQL by folk who've actually used it.  Searches have provided me little of content in that respect.  I'm looking for the usual stuff from folk who have had some experience with it:  why they chose it, how it worked for them, the upsides & downsides of their application of it.  On the face of it, I've seen very little to tempt me to change from MySQL.  In fact, most of what I've seen implies that I'll need to learn Python in order to really make use of any of the NoSQL applications available.

Granted, that opinion's based upon a cursory inspection of the few implementations I've seen, and is subject to change.  Long and the short of it, though, is that I've seen no compelling reason to change my current methodology, other than just doing something new and different.  I like new and different, but where a client is involved, it's difficult to justify experimentation w/o some reasonable expectation of a better outcome.

1208

General Software Discussion / Re: Versioning Systems, for Small Enterprise ...

« Last post by barney on March 01, 2010, 09:06 PM »

@JavaJones,
@f0dder,

I tend to agree with f0dder on this, but I've some ulterior motives, as well.

While I'll be the mainstay as far as getting this mishmash set up, at some point my client's folk will be taking over the maintenance, upgrades, changes, whatever.  At that time, my only activity will be responding to, "Help!  It broke!"  At that point, it would be much easier to check the archives to find out where the design forked into disaster.  Granted, I'll have to inculcate a willingness to use whatever VCS system is installed, but that's gonna be easier than trying to get some inexperienced coder to remember what was done.  Who knows?  It might even work <chortle />.

Oh, BTW, the primary repository will be on one of my sites, as well as backed up to my local system server.  I may be dense on VCS systems, but backup has saved my financial bacon on more than one occasion, and I'll not be lax about it on this one.

As for getting 'em to use the revision system, learned that trick at MCI.  I purposely created a faulty fork of a departmental application - it never went public, but was invaluable in showing VSS' utility to the young lady that took over maintenance after I finished a task - presented it to her as job security, and it worked <chortle />.

1209

General Software Discussion / NoSQL database(s) - anyone familiar?

« Last post by barney on March 01, 2010, 08:06 PM »

Folk,

In preparation to [re]enter the rat race, at least for a bit, I've been looking at database alternatives.  Ran across a reference to NoSQL , a class of non-RDBMS databases particularly suited to Web site utilization.  Searched the forum, via Google & via the internal search engine, but found no mention.

From what I've read, the concept is appealing, but I'd like to see some hands-on comments as to the advantages/disadvantages of the product and the implementation.  While there are some Windows binaries, the product seems mostly aimed at Linux servers.  But I've yet to find anything that says yea or nay about installing it on a shared server.

Anyone have any experience with NoSQL?

1210

General Software Discussion / Re: Versioning Systems, for Small Enterprise ...

« Last post by barney on February 28, 2010, 08:37 PM »

f0dder,

The more you write, the more I think I'm approaching this from the wrong vector.  'Course part of that could be because I'm in the midst of reading installation/usage instructions  .

When I was using VSS, it had a significant footprint, running in the background.  But, as I said, that was years ago.  And -also years ago, just not so many <chuckle /> - there was a footprint from WinCVS, or so it seemed.

However, after reading the instruction set for SVN and your comments on learning, then unlearning/relearning, methinks I've adopted the wrong approach.  Luckily, that is something that is relatively easy to change at this stage.

As you say, disk space is cheap, and I have a lot of it free, for the nonce.  My use of the thumb-drive is not for long-term storage, but for convenience.  If I can take it (the files) with me, I'm not reliant upon a network being available when I need it - or said connection being fast enough to be worthwhile.  Long-term storage will be on both a local hard drive and on the NAS drive, as well as periodic backups to DVD.  I currently use SyncBackSE to perform data backups, including the thumb-drive, on a daily basis, with system [restore] backups weekly.  So I'm not too concerned about the thumb-drive data being lost.

<Sigh />  Looks as though I need to change directions and start researching DVCS entities.  Hopefully I could set the VCS primary on the server, then the DVCS on the thumb.  Oh, well ... back to search <ouch />.  Prolly Mercurial & Bazaar 1st, then wherever the engines take me.

Thanks!

1211

General Software Discussion / Re: Versioning Systems, for Small Enterprise ...

« Last post by barney on February 28, 2010, 05:15 PM »

Oh, no, that's not a problem.  I used VSS for years, then migrated to WinCVS (?) when I left MCI.  The overkill to which I referred is the overhead of the revision system.  I'd just like something a bit less resource intensive than [I assume] the current products are.  I could always go back to WinCVS, but I was never wild about that implementation, and the more I ponder, the more I like the idea of something on a thumb drive.  I'm trying at the moment to set up SVN that way, with RapidSVN Portable as a client, although it appears that Mercurial might be better suited, or perhaps Bazaar.

Yeah, on line repositories would work - I could even set one up on my own site - but I might not be always on line when I want to work.  On line strikes me as better suited for backups & storage.  In that light, a DVCS would make even more sense, but methinks I need to walk before I start any marathons <chortle />.

Oh, the other reason for wanting a thumb-drive installation is that I won't always know what OS I'll be working on, so server-based access from a thumb drive would seem to be a practical approach.  I will, of course, live with whatever constraints come to be, but that doesn't mean I can't push the limits a bit <chuckle />.

Edit:  that overhead mentioned might just be due to the VSS experience - never had cause to check it with WinCVS.

1212

General Software Discussion / Re: Versioning Systems, for Small Enterprise ...

« Last post by barney on February 28, 2010, 01:00 AM »

Thanks, I'll check those links ... never occurred to me to search for single-user setups for CVS/SVN:  I have seen a number of good comments on TortoiseSVN.

Quick question, may be answered in one of the links.  Do you know whether it would be possible to install on a thumb drive, as opposed to NAS?  More I think about it, the more appealing that becomes.  Portability would be a lot more convenient than GoToMyPC or equivalent - cheaper, too  .

'Preciate the response.

1213

General Software Discussion / Versioning Systems, for Small Enterprise ...

« Last post by barney on February 28, 2010, 12:00 AM »

Folk,

I've perused several threads here on the subject matter, as well as general search, but nothing I've seen to date seems to fit my needs/wants.  I'm about to get back into production trading code - PHP/HTML/CSS/JS/etc. - for money.  In view of that, I need to set up some kind of versioning repository - learned that lesson a couple of decades ago.  Back then, it was VB.  I started with v0.9x, kept up until v6.0.  At the time, I was using MS Visual Source Safe, but even that was overkill - I was an independent developer, not part of a team.

Now I need to set up something that will let me keep track of my errors - or progress, if any.  Mostly I see CVS/SVN, but that seems like real overkill.  However, I can't seem to find anything small   .  I'll be the only one coding, and the whole purpose of this is to:  a; recover when I really screw up, and b; possibly fork if I come up with a really nifty concept.  Since the major part of my work will be done on Windows 7 - some Linux, but mostly Win - I'd prefer a GUI interface.

This will, by preference, be installed on a NAS drive, so SMB compatibility would be nice (for the Linux), but not a game-killer if not available. 

So, the question is whether any of you know of any such beastie?

1214

General Software Discussion / Re: Quasi Post-It note utility?

« Last post by barney on February 01, 2010, 03:36 PM »

Sorry I took so long to get back to this.

I've been using Stickies.  After a rather stupid question to the author, I've found it to do almost everything I want.

Sidebar:  RTFM is incomplete ... it should be RATFM, with the A standing for All  .

Stickies offers the * wild card character for the attachment, so with a bit of judgement, I can see the same note attached to a Web page in any browser, in any IDE or editor.  This is a Godsend when I'm editing PHP or CSS script and don't quite recall why I wanted to make a change, or, perhaps, all the changes that need to be made.  Since it pretty much fulfills my needs, I've not bothered to test anything else.  That may happen in the future, but for the nonce, Stickies works for me.

Oh, yeah, it can be made portable, so working on Web script on another machine is feasible.

1215

General Software Discussion / Re: Audio moderator required ...

« Last post by barney on January 16, 2010, 04:47 PM »

Looks as though I'm gonna hafta find a hardware resolution.  None of the software I've found really works that well.

Upside, though is that I can - if I find the hardware, that is! - run both the PC and the TV/monitor through the same interface.  I just hate to give up the [presumed] desk space <chortle />.

To that end, can anyone recommend a good hardware forum/resource?  That's not an area I've explored to any significant extent, since most of my quandaries have been software related <sigh />.

1216

General Software Discussion / Audio moderator required ...

« Last post by barney on January 04, 2010, 10:36 PM »

... in a couple of areas.

Folk, I'm looking for a couple of things, one software, the other almost certainly hardware, but they [will] both serve the same purpose.

I get a lot of email with embedded audio/video (a/v) over which I have little control.  Same thing with a lot of Web sites.  The audio portion starts automatically, with no concern as to my volume settings, and frequently w/o any controls to mitigate the volume or even stop the a/v.

Nothing I've encountered allows me to preset the volume on my machine such that all audio is presented at a consistent level, something between preset lower & upper levels.

Now, in line with that, I have a cable TV problem that is similar.  One channel comes in at a whisper, another at a boom.  While I don't expect a resolution for that, I thought I'd mention it.

Back to the PC issue, there are several apps that allow volume moderation during some ripping or conversion process.  However, there doesn't seem to be any sort of volume regulator that will take any audio input and apply specified min/max values.  This could be a significant issue were I to be working in the baby's room, or perhaps on the bed next to a sleeping spouse (neither of which I currently have, just painting a recognizable situation) and the sound flares up w/o warning.

So, since my search skills seem inadequate to the task, I thought I'd broach the topic here and pray for serendipity.

1217

General Software Discussion / Re: Aren't all _on_ events JavaScript?

« Last post by barney on January 04, 2010, 08:29 AM »

Thank you, sir, for that document reference.

For one thing, it has rubbed my nose in the fact that I've gotten sloppy in my definitions of various HTML/script elements, something I sorely needed.

More to the point, however, it should be ideal for Gina:  it's dry, it's factual, but mostly it's official <chortle />.  It will also clear up some of my aforementioned sloppy descriptions for her.

I think this will convince her that browsing her pages with a script-disabled browser really is a necessity, not just a training exercise of an old geek.

1218

General Software Discussion / Re: Aren't all _on_ events JavaScript?

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2010, 11:46 PM »

I know, sir, I know.  The problem is convincing her.  She's a stickler for docs - if it's [relatively] printed, it's gospel.  What I will do is point her to this discussion - she's gonna believe a foreigner - someone she doesn't know personally - over something like this.  It's not a matter of best practices so much as a matter of someone else telling her the same thing I've been preaching.

Hearing it from me, she tends to think it's an old guy's set ways.  In particular, your last post will likely serve as a lightning rod.  I'll pay for this, of course ... but we'll likely survive it  .

1219

General Software Discussion / Re: Aren't all _on_ events JavaScript?

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2010, 11:28 PM »

That, sir, is the conundrum.  You know that.  I know that.  She don' know dat, and is extremely reluctant to be convinced, since she can use some JS events - e.g., onLoad, onBlur, onFocus - w/o script tags.  I've been loathe to try to force her, but think that's about the only option left, sans specific documentation.

  This is actually more onerous in that I'm not getting paid for the training ... if she were paying for it, she'd be a lot more likely to attend my warnings  .

1220

General Software Discussion / Re: Aren't all _on_ events JavaScript?

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2010, 11:11 PM »

That's my understanding as well ... but I cannot, for the life of me, find anything that just flat says it outright.  This gal is pretty good at learning & utilizing Web scripts, but she's convinced that some on events are built into HTML, and I've not been able to dissuade her of that notion.

I'm fearful that it will come back to bite her when someone comes along with a JS-disabled browser, or something like Firefox with the NoScript extension.  My thought is that if I can find some documentation to support that these events are strictly JS, then she'll be more amenable to adjusting some of her page scripts.

However, in not even you are aware of such docs, chances seem to border on slim to none  .  Guess the only viable alternative is to get her to disable JS in her browser, then visit her own pages, but I'm not certain even that will convince her  .

1221

General Software Discussion / Aren't all _on_ events JavaScript?

« Last post by barney on January 03, 2010, 05:28 PM »

Folk,

I have a client/student who swears she has seen on events, e.g., onBlur, onClick, onMouseOver, and the like, that are [X]HTML events, not JavaScript.

I keep telling her that they are all JavaScript and do not exist in any of the HTML iterations.

However, I have been unable, to date, to find any concrete statement to that effect.

Her argument is that if you don't have to enclose the event in script tags, it ain't JS.  Her favourite argument is adding the onLoad to the body HTML element.  I'd really like to find something to refute that concept.

Can any of you point me to some source that will unequivocally show her the truth of my assertions  .  Or prove me wrong, for that matter .

1222

General Software Discussion / Re: Quasi Post-It note utility?

« Last post by barney on December 31, 2009, 08:48 AM »

PowerPro is nice for a lot of things, but it's a bit clunky for this purpose.

While using the app, I'll never know what window I'll be dealing with until it's there.  If it's not in the PowerPro list, I'll have to take time - that I might not have - right then to add it.  I've also seen times in the past when PowerPro had difficulty identifying some windows.

Although, the Stickies app that I'm testing right now has some of that clunkiness, as well.  In order to attach a note to a window, it must be selected from a list produced by a right-click menu.  Would be much better if I could just select Attach from the menu, then click the window to which the note should attach.

Also would be nice if the note would attach to the document, not the note, i.e., the note would show up on a web page regardless of the browser used.  As it is, the note seems to attach to the browser/page combination.

1223

General Software Discussion / Re: Quasi Post-It note utility?

« Last post by barney on December 30, 2009, 10:03 PM »

JavaJones -
Incredibly useful is right - saved my butt more than once when I was doing local development @ MCI.

cmpm -
Thanks.  The $20 app (QNP) has been updated to NoteZilla - with another sawbuck tacked on.  Worth it if it performs.

Downloaded the trial version - 30 or 45 day trial - and also the Stickies from the 1st link you provided.  Testing the Stickies app now ... kinda clunky interface, but it does seem to perform as advertised.  I've established notes for an email in Gmail, a Web site, and a script in Komodo.  Each disappears when I change focus or change documents, albeit response seems somewhat slow.

I'll keep plugging away, get a better read on performance and functionality, then post my results back here.  Figured I'd give Stickies a week, then do the same for NoteZilla.  I'd prefer free, of course, but NoteZilla's price is not outrageous if it outperforms Stickies.  'Preciate the links, btw:  hadn't run across either app in my searches ... maybe I need to take a course in search?

1224

General Software Discussion / Quasi Post-It note utility?

« Last post by barney on December 30, 2009, 04:09 PM »

Folk,

Back in the days of 98/98SE, I had a small utility that let me make quick notes about documents in almost any application.  If I was on a Web page, I'd store a comment - that comment would be resurrected if I revisited that page.

If I was reading a PDF and made notes, they would be would be recallable the next time I opened that PDF.

Same thing applied for almost every application I opened.  It even recalled notes I'd made on specific emails, whether Outlook, Pegasus, or HotMail.

It didn't work on every application, just on most ... I think it used the window title to identify notes, but not certain of that.

When I upgraded to Win2K, the little app came right along & worked just fine, to my surprise and delight.

Somewhere in the process of upgrading to XP, the app got lost in the shuffle, and I'd forgotten the name  .

Does anyone know the name of that little app, or perhaps know of one with similar functionality?

Basic functionality would be

• local storage
• small footprint
• automatic date/time (on/off selectable)
• adjustable font, colours, etc.
• editable after save
• printable list, selectable/sortable by tag(s) (preferred, but not required)
• portable (convenient but not requisite)

With the exception of portability, that's the list of capabilities that I recall.

The way it worked
While resident, it would place another element in the title bar of the active application, just to the left of the minimize symbol.  When that element was clicked, it would open a note window with existing notes, if any for that particular document, otherwise empty.  The note window had three options; Save, Cancel, Delete.  From the app itself, you could view notes, edit notes, print notes sorted/selected by tag, configure note appearance, export notes (also selectable by tag), or exit the app.

That's all I can recall about it.  It was extremely useful for quick product reviews, document suggestions w/o doing direct edits, & general brainstorming.  It was also great for keeping track of suggestions/corrections to my VB/database applications.  I suspect it was coded with VB or Turbo Pascal/Delphi, but don't know that to be factual.

Anybody recall this little app?  Or, perhaps, know of something similar?

1225

General Software Discussion / Re: Needful of opinions on graphics cards/drivers ...

« Last post by barney on December 03, 2009, 10:58 PM »

Sorry to be so dumb about this, but if I put a splitter (?) on one of the nVidia heads, will that work?  I'm really lost on the hardware side of graphics.  I've accepted that I cannot use the card and the motherboard hardware at the same time, but it'll be a week or two before I'll receive the new graphics card, and I'd really like to get this working, if possible.