Recent Posts

1276

General Software Discussion / Re: web clipping

« Last post by rjbull on June 05, 2011, 10:37 AM »

Evernote works in everything except FF5

-Dormouse (June 05, 2011, 07:10 AM)

Which version are you using?  Does it have the "Universal Clipper," and if so, does that work with FF5?

1277

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by rjbull on June 03, 2011, 03:52 PM »

Harlan Ellison's brilliant "Repent Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman.

-40hz (June 03, 2011, 08:44 AM)

His "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" has to be one of the most terrifying and horrifying short stories in all SF.

What if the government issued (at random) special cards which gave the bearer a single use permit to kill any one person

Read another story on a similar theme, long ago: they didn't get cards, but had to go through the prison sentence that would be applied for whatever crime they wanted to commit, before committing it, labelled as "precriminals."

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General Software Discussion / Re: Monitoring USB Ports

« Last post by rjbull on June 03, 2011, 03:45 PM »

USB Safely Remove (USBSR) too: payware, but they've offered plenty of deals.

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General Software Discussion / Re: How can I delete over 6,000 recursive directories?

« Last post by rjbull on June 02, 2011, 04:31 PM »

NOPE.
I extracted the contents of "delage32.zip" to a temp directory. And ran my first command:
Delage32 D:\MomPhoneBackup\*.* 10 /recurse /rd
[...]
DelAge32 - No files
[...]
But I tried a few more times and all come up with the same results.

-Jammo the OrganizedFellow (June 01, 2011, 05:27 PM)

It's meant for deleting files over a given age.  You may need to wrap the path in double quotes, if the path has spaces in it.  I.e.,

D:\Here it is\*.*

would probably fail, but

"D:\Here it is\*.*"

should work (I think).  I certainly had to use quotes round UNC paths.  You may also have run into a command line that's just too long for Windows/DOS to accept: there's a limit, though I can't remember just what it is.

Examples of command lines that worked for me:

[Select]

c:\dos\utils\delage32 g:\pcw\bak\*.7z 60

Straightforward, there isn't a space in the path

[Select]

c:\dos\utils\delage32 "\\GBRCSFBZ001\Groups\Technical\Library\Newsletter\Newsletter_*.pdf" 60

with UNC path

[Select]

c:\dos\utils\delage32.exe "c:\Documents and Settings\robertbull\Local Settings\Temp\ev_client_log_*.txt" 1 /includeRO /includeH /quiet

both worked, and that last one does have spaces in the path.  I used these examples in batch files for automated clean-ups, using PowerPro's scheduler.

Another thought; shouldn't most file managers do what you want without fuss?  Total Commander certainly will.  You have to press OK the first time if it thinks there's something inside the top-level directory you're deleting, including empty child directories, but only the once.  It isn't free as delage32 is, but it's modestly priced, and one of the best-value file managers out there, as well as one of the very best file managers anywhere.  It was the first thing that made using Windows almost semi-tolerable for this old-time DOS person.

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General Software Discussion / Re: How can I delete over 6,000 recursive directories?

« Last post by rjbull on June 01, 2011, 04:28 PM »

DelAge32, freeware by Horst Schaeffer.

DelAge32 is a command line tool that deletes or moves files by age (number of days).
[...]
/recurse   Recurse through the entire subdirectory structure (see /rd option to remove empty directories)
/subonly   Recurse, but exclude the initial directory   
/rd   Remove empty directories by age (according to "created" stamp)   
[...]

1281

General Software Discussion / Re: looking for a program to close other program in a batch

« Last post by rjbull on May 22, 2011, 03:12 PM »

Taskill v1.02 [6kB] (freeware).

Taskill is a process viewer and killer. It works in GUI or CLI mode and can kill multiple instances of the same task in one go.

I don't doubt you could do it with PowerPro, too...  but don't ask me how.

1282

Living Room / Re: The end of the line for cursive writing

« Last post by rjbull on May 15, 2011, 04:14 PM »

Don't worry about cursive disappearing.  As soon as the oil runs out so no plastics and much less energy, rare earths run out so no semiconductors, copper at a premium, etc., meaning NO COMPUTERS, they'll have to reinvent quill pens and iron gall inks to record anything.

1283

General Software Discussion / Re: Best Text Expander software for Windows

« Last post by rjbull on May 14, 2011, 04:11 PM »

I installed Phrase Express but could not figure out how to customize it to autocorrect my spelling errors.
It has built-in correction dictionaries but didn't make it obvious at all how to build one's own.

-HankFriedman (May 14, 2011, 10:14 AM)

They'd probably point you to a video on their Web site.   They have quite a lot, though they don't make them obviously visible from the front page.  The support person, who posts here as BartelsMedia, has posted links to them.  You could also ask in their forums - but don't dare compare with another product, or even suggest any other product exists.  Typing Assistant that I currently use makes it easy to get at auto-correction.  It looks like it can do bulk imports too, though I've not tried that.  But, it's payware for all uses, though modestly priced.

1284

General Software Discussion / Re: PDF to Word converter comparison

« Last post by rjbull on May 12, 2011, 05:05 PM »

I have a copy of the Able2Extract desktop software (about three years old).  Darwin has one of the Nuance versions, and kindly converted the front page of a patent for me for comparison.  There wasn't much difference, but Darwin's copy of Nuance did a slightly better job, mainly by getting some bold text correct, whereas AbleExtract left it plain.  But you wouldn't expect a huge difference, because Able2Extract actually says it uses licensed Nuance technology.

For online conversions, you might also try Zamzar, which worked quite well for me except on tables containing code numbers with hyphens in them.  There's also Convert PDF to Word.net and online-convert.com which I haven't tried.

1285

General Software Discussion / Re: Software recommendations for writers

« Last post by rjbull on May 11, 2011, 04:01 PM »

I understand what you're saying. But you're not handing anything over to them gratis since they're not using your content. They're only storing it.

-40hz (May 10, 2011, 06:38 PM)

I should have put it better: handing over control of my data.  I would feel very vulnerable if it was only stored on their servers.

As far as changing their business plan, that's the risk you take using free services.

I doubt it would remain free very long, but, I thought the storage was part of what you paid for when you paid for Evernote > 2.2.  I don't want to go on paying for evermore...

@Dormouse: thanks, I thought > 2.2 was cloud only.  They emphasized the cloud aspect much more when they changed.  I don't have a smarphone, don't want one, and can't afford the likely price of UK contracts...

1286

General Software Discussion / Re: Software recommendations for writers

« Last post by rjbull on May 10, 2011, 05:03 PM »

If I remember correctly, Evernote 2.2 was the last version that was a "proper app" which stored its data locally.  I believe the 3 series is a cloud app.

I'm not interested in cloud apps - why should I accumulate, or generate, content that's useful to me, hand it over gratis to some company, then hire it back again at whatever fee and whatever business model they feel like, both of which they can change at any time?

1287

General Software Discussion / Re: Brilliantly Simple Programs, that's what I'm looking for

« Last post by rjbull on May 06, 2011, 03:10 PM »

I am beginning to think CintaNotes falls into this category as well.

-Jibz (May 05, 2011, 01:24 AM)

+1! One of my absolute all time favorite apps. Evernote without the bells and whistles. 

-40hz (May 05, 2011, 04:13 PM)

Depends how many bells and whistles you want.  Evernote understands URLs within a page as well as the URL of the page itself, and makes them clickable links.  CintaNotes and other simple notetakers I've tried only treat them as text.

1288

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: Clipboard Help+Spell - Top Priority Requests for 2011

« Last post by rjbull on May 06, 2011, 02:03 PM »

I think these features would be a great addition for debugging/programming. [...]
If anyone knows of another tool that can already do some of this, please reply.

-sosimple (May 06, 2011, 11:44 AM)

Nir Sofer's freeware tool SysExporter can do some of what you want:

SysExporter utility allows you to grab the data stored in standard list-views, tree-views, list boxes, combo boxes, text-boxes, and WebBrowser/HTML controls from almost any application running on your system, and export it to text, HTML or XML file.
Here's some examples for data that you can export with SysExporter:

    * The files list inside archive file (.zip, .rar, and so on) as displayed by WinZip or 7-Zip File Manager.
    * The files list inside a folder.
    * The event log of Windows.
    * The list of emails and contacts in Outlook Express.
    * The Registry values displayed in the right pane of the Registry Editor.
    * The data displayed by SysInternals utilities (Registry Monitor, File Monitor, Process Explorer, and others.)
    * The text inside a standard message-box of Windows.
    * The HTML inside any instance of Internet Explorer.

1289

General Software Discussion / Re: Brilliantly Simple Programs, that's what I'm looking for

« Last post by rjbull on May 04, 2011, 04:36 PM »

Horst Schaeffer's Windows Software.  I routinely use MemPad, PopSel and Reminder, and most of the others from time to time.

1290

Living Room / Re: Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading List

« Last post by rjbull on May 04, 2011, 04:29 PM »

Yes, Lewis is one of my heros too (along with JRRT
[...]
There are also the novels of Charles Williams - in particular The Place of the Lion - these novels are even more 'religious' than those of Lewis

-joiwind (May 02, 2011, 10:50 AM)

In his BOOKS REMEMBERED list, author Garth Nix says this:

Red Moon, Black Mountain by Joy Chant is what I would call ‘Harder-edged Narnia’. This is a novel in which children are transported to a fantasy world and take part in a great struggle against evil. Grittier and tougher than Narnia, , it was unjustly neglected, probably because it was way ahead of its time.

But I digress... no longer on SF.

1291

Found Deals and Discounts / TypeMate - Text Expander for Windows on BdJ, Saturday 7 May, 2011

« Last post by rjbull on May 01, 2011, 02:20 PM »

Please note, this post is not flame bait.

Just when you thought it was safe to come out, here's yet another new (to me, and apparently so far unmentioned on DC) text expander, to be offered on Bits du Jour, Saturday 7 May, 2011, at $20.97 = 40% off regular price of $34.95.

Sanity check: I have not tried this myself.

Here's the blurb from the TypeMate Web site:

Repetitive typing costing you time? TypeMate is the solution
TypeMate lets you automate regularly typed phrases and sentences

TypeMate text expander makes typing a breeze by converting shortcut text into fully formatted phrases or sentences as you type. TypeMate works in almost any Windows application that can accept text input, including word processors, spreadsheets, web browsers, email programs and more!
One utility, hundreds of uses
Speed up email responses

Speed up your customer service productivity by defining shortcuts for your most commonly used email responses.
Insert signatures into documents

With just a few keystrokes you can insert your full signature, including a scanned autograph or a company logo. You can even use different fonts, colors and sizes.
Speed up technical transcription

Define shortcuts for regularly used technical terminology, and let TypeMate save you hours of typing. Ideal for highly technical typing, such as in the medical profession.
Correct common spelling mistakes

With TypeMate you can define shortcuts for frequently misspelled words. No need to make the same mistake twice!
Turbocharge your programming

Use TypeMate to define shortcuts for your regularly used keywords and expressions and watch your coding speed soar.
Autocomplete words in any application

TypeMate also features an Autocomplete mode that can provide suggestions to complete the word that you are currently typing. TypeMate is supplied with both US and UK English dictionaries containing over 110,000 words. English not your first language? No problem - TypeMate allows you to create your own dictionaries too.

The feature list, on the face of it, doesn't look exceptional.

1292

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: 2011-04-28 Bits Du Jour - NeXuS Ultimate

« Last post by rjbull on May 01, 2011, 10:47 AM »

One can have a weekly list of what's coming in the next seven days.

-cranioscopical (April 28, 2011, 11:51 PM)

If you check their forums, you'll see that they're trying to move away from that.  They want you to have a daily e-mail, or at least to check the site at no more than three-day intervals.  If they drop weekly e-mails, I'll probably drop them.

1293

Living Room / Re: Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading List

« Last post by rjbull on May 01, 2011, 10:42 AM »

A Voyage to Arcturus - David Lindsay

-joiwind (April 29, 2011, 04:13 PM)

Excellent recommendation! One of the best lesser known sci-fi fantasy novels out there. Thought it was better than C.S.Lewis' Silent Planet Trilogy even though it shared some similar concepts and themes. 

-40hz (April 29, 2011, 05:16 PM)

I read A Voyage to Arcturus because I'd read an interview with C.S. Lewis, where he recommended it.  It seems to me, following Lewis, that it's not so much science fiction as philosophy fiction.  I didn't understand it, but though I read it only once, and many years ago, I've always remembered bits of it.  Especially the over-the-top names; Maskull, Nightspore, Sullenbode, and so on.

• Wikipedia page on David Lindsay (novelist)
  
• The Violet Apple.org.uk, dedicated to The Life and Works of David Lindsay

1294

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: 2011-04-28 Bits Du Jour - NeXuS Ultimate

« Last post by rjbull on April 28, 2011, 03:31 PM »

Thanks - really, my feeling was, if I didn't know what they were talking about, I didn't need it!  And if it was the sort of launcher I thought it was, I'd probably look at mouser's LBC.

1295

Living Room / Re: Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading List

« Last post by rjbull on April 28, 2011, 03:28 PM »

I thought Fred Pohl's Gateway one of the best SF novels I've ever read, and have great respect for Ursual K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness.  But there are plenty of good SF novels not on this list:

• Paul McAuley - I specially enjoyed Fairyland and White Devils.
• Ian Macdonald - River of Gods and Brasyl.
• Adam Roberts - especially Salt, On, and Stone.
• Chris Wooding - Retribution Falls and its sequel, The Black Lung Captain.  These are actually fantasies in a steampunk SF leather jacket with a skull and crossbones on the back.  Great fun.

But the list started with SF.  I really love fantasy, and there's a lot of overlap, but it's really a different list.

1296

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: 2011-04-28 Bits Du Jour - NeXuS Ultimate

« Last post by rjbull on April 28, 2011, 03:01 PM »

I don't even know what "shelf tabs" are   

1297

Living Room / Re: My beloved illustrated children's story about badgers (What was the name??)

« Last post by rjbull on April 28, 2011, 02:58 PM »

Fans of "talking animal" stories might want to check out Kay Shapero's Furry pages.

1298

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Serif PhotoPlus 10 for free

« Last post by rjbull on April 24, 2011, 03:12 PM »

I think they eventually migrate older editions downwards through successively cheaper incarnations, but you might not want to wait for X4 to get to that stage, if it ever does.

1299

General Software Discussion / Re: Does "Not yet upgraded for Firefox 4" also happen to you?

« Last post by rjbull on April 24, 2011, 03:10 PM »

-I assume RF version 7 works okay with FF4? I was thinking about buying it because the InformEnter that I have been using doesn't work with FF4

-Curt (April 24, 2011, 01:14 PM)

I believe so...  but suggest you check.  I started the thread Upgrading RoboForm from v6 to v7: worthwhile?, and at present am not intending to update RoboForm as it's too expensive and I don't want a cloud application.  Lots of people unhappy about Siber Systems' change of license policy, too.  So, if I have to upgrade FF, I'll probably look at Password Depot or maybe Sticky Password rather than automatically change to RF 7.

1300

General Software Discussion / Re: Typing Assistant has a feature you might be wanting + giveawayoftheday

« Last post by rjbull on April 24, 2011, 02:56 PM »

Just installed Typing Assistant, but almost immediately got disappointed: it doesn't expand according to the autotext case--I mean "ta" becomes "Typing Assistant", but TA, Ta, or tA do nothing. Did I miss something or am I just spoiled with its competitors? Anyway, such a behavior seems to me absolutely logical and inevitable.

-yksyks (November 01, 2009, 10:59 AM)

I didn't see this thread before, so am late to the party, but I thought much the same.  I e-mailed Sumit Soft in Jan. this year (2011), so I had a similar thought to yours but much later.  Here's Sumit Soft's reply:

Another suggestion, though I'm not very sure about it. At present
short forms are case-sensitive, so "atm" and "ATM" could expand to
completely different things. Usually I want "atm" to mean "at the
moment." However, if I start a sentence with that phrase, I need "At
the moment," with initial letter capitalized to "sentence case." Of
course, I can define "Atm" to do that. But, does it make sense to have
some kind of "smart capitalization" so I only have to define the
phrase once, and Typing Assistant will automatically enter the right
initial letter?

I suggest you define two Auto-Expand entries as below:
1) shorthand="atm", full text ="at the moment"
2) shorthand="atm", full text ="At the moment"

Then you just need remembering one shorthand, and choose the full text you need to expand.

Of course, you could regard case-sensitivity as a feature rather than a bug.  You could define "iirc" as "if I remember correctly," but if you were in a forum where practically everyone understood that anyway, you could just type "IIRC" which Typing Assistant wouldn't translate.

@Curt:  you're right about the settings.  I've grown to largely ignore the popups when I don't want them.  I thought there was an option to change where the popup appears, so you could park it out of the way under the bottom of the window or something, but can't see such an option.  I don't always run TA with Windows, but only when I want it.

@urlwolf: Just tried it in Word 2010 and it seems to work OK.