Recent Posts

1226

General Software Discussion / Re: Custom webmail recommendations (to switch from gmail)

« Last post by superboyac on May 31, 2013, 07:45 PM »

A hosting package that includes CPanel includes 3 different webmail interfaces and also gives POP and IMAP access to the same accounts.

Most hosts will also offer secure connections - but to use your own domain name securely you would have to buy an SSL certificate.

-Carol Haynes (May 31, 2013, 06:49 PM)

Yeah... but the UX on those standard mail interfaces is one of the reasons I went away from using my own.  All of the alternatives I've seen on hosts have really sucked.

SquirrelMail?  Horde?  Bleh.  And Roundcube is only barely better.

-wraith808 (May 31, 2013, 07:27 PM)

yup i totally agree.

But atmail has a pretty gmail-like interface.  I think the goal is to have your email data under your control (like your own computer, or your own server space, even if it's rented) and use the webmail software to navigate it.  So I'd use atmail on my own server, basically.  I don't want gmail or yahoo or outlook because they store your email data themselves.  I would love to just use the gmail software on my own server, ideally.

1227

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by superboyac on May 31, 2013, 04:33 PM »

OK, followup on the cheap chinese TV devices I've been playing with.


The "1080p Media player" by a company called Diyomate is the best device for a tiny thing that will connect to your TV with an HDMI cable and play HD movies from a flash (or any external USB drive).  It does not struggle at all with the playback.  But it doesn't have internet or anything like that.  it is strictly for playing back videos (and audio if you want).


Then there's this MK808b device, which is about the size of a pack of gum.  It is a full Android device.  So if you plug it in with the HDMI cable, it will turn your TV into a "smart" TV.  Meaning it has a wifi internet connection, you can install android apps on it, play back video and audio.  As far as video, it is not very smooth so I don't recommend it for that.  The other one is much better for video playback.  But for internet related activities this thing is great for it's tiny size and cheap price.  Also, you will need to get that RC11 remote so that you can use it as an airmouse and keyboard.  Either that, or some kind of keyboard/mouse combo that can be connected to an android device through usb.  I recommend the RC11, as I tried a couple of other options.  One area that was impossible to get around: pinch zooming.  I don't know how to do this with just a mouse and keyboard.

Now, what's so great about this?  Just because the devices are small and cheap, that's all.  I know those of you that have xbox and playstations can do all this with those things.  But this may be a more convenient option.  Also, people like me that have a full desktop pc connected to a TV will also not be that interested.  So it's just a price/size thing.  Amazing nonetheless.

1228

General Software Discussion / Re: Custom webmail recommendations (to switch from gmail)

« Last post by superboyac on May 31, 2013, 03:37 PM »

smartermail and atmail are pretty good.  In addition, there is a good comparison on Noupe.  It's pretty old, but its how I found atmail.

My personal recommendation would be to use a commercial webmail solution, and point it towards your own mail server, especially if you want a well developed user experience.

-wraith808 (May 31, 2013, 03:00 PM)

atmail is nice.

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General Software Discussion / Re: Custom webmail recommendations (to switch from gmail)

« Last post by superboyac on May 31, 2013, 02:40 PM »

Best bet IMO is to have somebody inexpensively host it for you under your own domain name.

Some, like Godaddy, will give you one free mailbox if you register the domain through them.  Basic POP3 e-mail host plans are also pretty cheap no matter who you go through. I'd suggest paying the small premium for an IMAP account. That way your folders will automatically be in sync among your devices if you still want to use an e-mail client. No need to futz with PSD and other message stores if you get a new machine either. And you're also backed up because your messages remain on the IMAP server.

If you already have a registered domain I'd strongly suggest springing for some small (5-20 mailbox) hosting plan. Prices are low, and there's some real bargains if you shop around.

If you're an Outlook fan who needs the full functionality, go with Microsoft's Exchange Online service. It runs about $5/mo per user with no contract. With that you get the full capabilities of Outlook, like shared calendars and contacts, invites, etc. It's a very good deal if you need all that. And you can pay it month to month so it's very affordable. 

 

-40hz (May 31, 2013, 12:14 PM)

This sounds good.  I already have the domain and email from inmotion.  I just checked, and i think they already use roundcube which is an imap webmail application.  So it may be just a matter of changing my primary email address and letting everyone know.  I also use the bat to filter everything into the proper places on my hard drive that gets backed up.  Not sure if I need to go imap for that, but if imap can sync with the rules I have setup in the Bat, then why not?

1230

General Software Discussion / Custom webmail recommendations (to switch from gmail)

« Last post by superboyac on May 31, 2013, 10:35 AM »

I'd like to know what my options would be if I were to ween myself off of gmail and go to my own custom webmail service.  Does anyone have some recommendations?  I have server space and everything, so what application would be the best?  The default cpanel webmail options are ok, but nothing special.  I figure there are some open source gmail alternatives out there or something.

I'd love to eventually get off gmail and control my own destiny, so to speak.  I like gmail's simple search and the quality of results you get.  Other than that, there isn't much I see in gmail that is particularly important to me, other than some of their nice interface elements.  I'm sure with html5 and everything, the alternatives can look good also.

1231

General Software Discussion / Re: Best method for a dead simple web site?

« Last post by superboyac on May 28, 2013, 03:30 PM »

I've been around on this many times also.  In the end, I always resort to wordpress, usually against my will for some reason.

1232

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by superboyac on May 26, 2013, 01:50 AM »

He he -- I use my digital scale daily to measure my tea leaves

-ewemoa (May 25, 2013, 06:34 AM)

dang!  i didn't realize the tea drinkers do that.  cool.

1233

Living Room / Re: Cool visualization of dial-up modem sounds and what they mean

« Last post by superboyac on May 25, 2013, 10:25 PM »

oh yea.  This is like 1080p geek porn.  Good stuff.  Yes!!

1234

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by superboyac on May 25, 2013, 12:02 AM »

Regarding kitchen scales, i just got one and I'll tell you why.  For years i've been trying to figure out the best way to make a cup of coffee.  I've tried all the gimmicks and methods.  The one I like the best is called a "pour over" using a V60 or something similar.  But to do it right, you need to properly measure the amount of beans you use, and the temperature of the water.  So i got the scale to measure the means.  I'll be trying it out this weekend.

1235

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by superboyac on May 24, 2013, 11:43 PM »

I love to provoke the Beethoven crowd in the Bach vs. Beethoven debates. This is awesome!

1236

General Software Discussion / Re: Help needed with computer problem

« Last post by superboyac on May 24, 2013, 11:42 PM »

this happened once to my previous computer.  it ended being the power supply that went bad.  and once it went bad, the graphics card also went bad and the ram.
I find this kind of issue the most frustrating to figure out and deal with.

1237

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: NoteFrog Pro (clipboard information manager) - Mini-Review

« Last post by superboyac on May 24, 2013, 11:07 PM »

I'm not a huge fan of evernote anymore, but it still is a good program.

-superboyac (May 24, 2013, 04:08 PM)

They just added reminders to the Web and Windows Phone app. Hook is set so much harder...

-allen (May 24, 2013, 08:53 PM)

true, the wp8 evernote app is pretty nice.

1238

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: NoteFrog Pro (clipboard information manager) - Mini-Review

« Last post by superboyac on May 24, 2013, 04:08 PM »

i tell you what though, if notefrog's mobile version works with windows phone 8, I'll definitely be excited about that.  Even though I have evernote, and evernote can sync with rightnote (my preferred notetaker), I wouldn't mind another alternative.  I'm not a huge fan of evernote anymore, but it still is a good program.

It doesn't look like notefrog mobile can do syncing.  It's more like an export to a webpage, which is handy in itself.  but I still would prefer some kind of syncing method.

1239

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: NoteFrog Pro (clipboard information manager) - Mini-Review

« Last post by superboyac on May 24, 2013, 04:03 PM »

There's a lot of good in Notefrog.  But on a completely shallow personal level, the interfaces leave me taken aback with shock as a user and a developer.

Completely shallow, I know... but as someone who loves designing the UX, it's something I have a hard time getting past.

-wraith808 (May 22, 2013, 04:49 PM)

This. I bought a license when Notefrog was really young, despite it being the ugliest software I've ever seen. Bad by Windows 3.1 standards. I figured it was just an awkward early phase but... years later I can only deduce that it is by "design". I can get behind function before form (Love ArsClip), but this is absurd.

-allen (May 24, 2013, 02:49 PM)

I agree.  I got a license too and tried somewhat committing to it.  But it never stuck with me.  Still, it has some features i really enjoy.  The interface is difficult to get past though.  I've used arsclip, clipmate, CHS, notefrog, aceclip.  They all have certain features that are unique, but in the end, my current workflow uses CHS and clipmate.  CHS for the mouse popup and text cleanup features.  Clipmate for hardcore archiving, complicated queries, and complex cut/paste jobs.  CHS replaced Arsclip, especially once mouser implemented the icon feature.  interface-wise, I liked aceclip the best, I love that program, but too much overlap, and not enough uniqueness with the other two I use.

I think what was initially attractive about notefrog was the find as you type.  But eventually, all these programs got that, so now I don't know what is so great about it.

1240

Living Room / Re: Did you know DonationCoder has a Wikipedia article?

« Last post by superboyac on May 21, 2013, 02:44 PM »

They zapped Mouser bio page? What can you say? Supposedly Kurt Vonnegut once tried to correct some factual errors in a Wikipedia article somebody had written about him. The corrections were not accepted because, per Wikipedia's guidelines, Vonnegut cannot be considered a "reliable source" of information on Kurt Vonnegut.

Shades of the movie Back to School where Rodney Dangerfield's character hires Kurt Vonnegut (who puts in a brief cameo appearance) to write a school paper on himself. Dangefield's English Lit professor marks the paper "F" along with the comment "You obviously don't understand a the first thing about Kurt Vonnegut or his philosophy."
 

-40hz (May 21, 2013, 02:39 PM)

freaking people.

1241

General Software Discussion / Re: New Messge says 1 message

« Last post by superboyac on May 21, 2013, 09:45 AM »

When you deleted the message and it still said you had 1 new message, did you make the face in your avatar?

1242

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommendation for mosaic/tiled live screensaver that reads folders of pictures?

« Last post by superboyac on May 17, 2013, 03:15 PM »

(Mosaic Screensaver...) Where you at somebody's house and saw the screensaver on their Mac?? The neighbor had a (Mac Leopard) mosaic screensaver running that was positively mesmerizing. A quick Google search turned up these (for Windows):

http://www.animosaix.com/
http://mosaicinfinite.com/

...I'm thinking of trying out the second one.

-Stoic Joker (May 17, 2013, 11:39 AM)

I did see the photo wall thing on the mac, very cool.  I'll check these out and see how good they.  MPQ is doing a pretty great job so far, except for those performance comments I had.  I don't quite understand's MPQ's algorithm, but whatever it is, it has a nice effect on multiple monitors.  If you set the crop settings properly, the photos cycle through really nicely.  Some photos will randomly be fullscreen, and if you set the the changing frequency to something fast (i have 3 seconds), it makes for a nice photo wall display.

1243

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommendation for mosaic/tiled live screensaver that reads folders of pictures?

« Last post by superboyac on May 16, 2013, 10:48 PM »

This is working great.

Just one comment:
I have a lot of directories loaded with large files.  MPQ seems to have some performance issues with it, if it's simple to fix, that would be nice.  If it's too much, no big deal.  Loading the configuration screen and exiting, and also the launching of the screensaver can take a while.  On my computer, it was about 10-20 seconds for each of those things.  And it's a pretty beefy computer: 12GB ram, i7.

1244

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommendation for mosaic/tiled live screensaver that reads folders of pictures?

« Last post by superboyac on May 16, 2013, 10:22 PM »

Multi Photo Quotes does a pretty dang good job of this.  Very nice.

1245

Post New Requests Here / Re: "Photo Wall" Screensaver for Windows

« Last post by superboyac on May 16, 2013, 10:15 PM »

damn...didn't see this.  I just made a similar thread.  Will have to try MPQ again and picasa.

1246

General Software Discussion / Recommendation for mosaic/tiled live screensaver that reads folders of pictures?

« Last post by superboyac on May 16, 2013, 10:00 PM »

I want a screensaver or a software that can display a bunch of pictures from a group of folders.  But I want it to display the pictures like dozens at a time, not just one or two at a time.  Like a mosaic or tiled interface.  I'd like some snazzy effects, and the pictures to change often randomly, and the tiles don't have to be consistent sizes, they can be all over the place.

Anyone know of such a software?

1247

Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by superboyac on May 09, 2013, 12:34 PM »

Yeah...I just looked up some videos about creative cloud.  It looks like a normal, local install of adobe stuff.  The only difference is some synchronization of your work files, digital delivery of installation files, and digital license stuff.  That's it.  very minor.  If you think about it, most of our third party tools work exactly the same way.  All the little sharewares we use don't come boxed, several offer cloud syncing services (e.g. MLO, Evernote) and licensing is verified through some online portal.

 

1248

Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by superboyac on May 09, 2013, 12:30 PM »

What does it really mean for software to be "in the cloud"?

Because I don't see anything interesting in Adobe's change, in terms of software architecture. So far as I can discern, the only things that are changing are:

• Only available via download, no physical media
• Auto-update via download
• Change from a single payment perpetual license to a recurring subscription payment
• Optional online storage of data (which we already have via tumblr, etc., anyway)

So it's a minor tweak to delivery, and a fundamental change in how you pay for it.

Given that, where are the benefits to the user that are so undeniable? The *only* benefit I can see is the convenience of automatic updates, but to me that's quite minor. It doesn't make the pricing model change undeniably better, and the once actual change is something that I'm not willing to pay any extra for.

-CWuestefeld (May 09, 2013, 11:55 AM)

True.  Initially, it sounded like the software would be run through the browser or something.  Especially with the talk about HTML5 and what not.  But now, it sounds like you describe, basically same local installation and a different license verification technique.  I don't see how "cloud" is being used except for license transactions.  I guess if your work files are being synced online automatically, that's also part of the cloud.  But the question is, is the actual software running online or locally?  Fully cloud, to me, means I work on photoshop within firefox.  Meaning I didn't install anything on my computer.

1249

Living Room / Re: Can we compare file transfer protocols?

« Last post by superboyac on May 08, 2013, 05:18 PM »

Did you hear anything, superboyac?

-Tuxman (May 08, 2013, 05:04 AM)

Apparently it takes 3 years for a sound from 4wd to reach superboyac.  So no.  I'll check by in '016.

1250

Living Room / Re: Adobe drops the gauntlet - going forward it's cloud - or nothing.

« Last post by superboyac on May 08, 2013, 03:28 PM »

You know, I've been noticing that the media seems to insist that the benefits of subscription cloud services are "undeniable".  And I'm getting really annoyed by it.  Not because there are no benefits, there are.  But the way they say it, it makes it sound like the local installation does NOT have any benefits.  And those who don't understand the differences hear this and it seems like it is gaining momentum.

They both have benefits.  I'd argue that an individual user would most likely prefer the benefits of a local install vs. a cloud service.  I wish they would just flat out say "we are doing this mainly to combat piracy" don't confuse the issue.
This reminds me of a random story.  I'm playing pickup basketball, there are 11 people.  So one has to sit out.  You shoot free throws to see who gets to play.  I missed mine so I have to sit out.  The person who sits out automatically gets to play the next game, and the losing team's players shoot to see who gets to stay.

OK, so I'm sitting out, my buddy comes up to me and says "Don't worry, buddy!  You got the next game." and I get all pissy and respond "Yeah, I know I get the next game!  You don't have to tell me!  It's not like you're doing me a f---ing favor.  that's the rule, everyone knows that! !@#$!$"  Totally mean response.

But that's what cloud services are.  A company goes cloud to protect their product, possibly a very minor part of that decision was really based around benefits to the customer.  But when selling it publicly, they will obviously make it sound like it has everything to do with the customer. oy.

Stay positive!