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1451

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: Runnable .format files

« Last post by IainB on October 09, 2016, 05:00 PM »

@Jathri:
I think I see what you mean, but am not sure. I could be wrong, of course, but what you are suggesting would seem to be of limited potential use to most users.
Where @mouser says:

...Having said that.. It wouldn't be such a crazy idea to make a standalone tool of a different name, like SimpleTextFormatter which basically was just the text formatting functionality of chs, designed to be run manually or via commandline.

-mouser (September 29, 2016, 05:15 AM)

-have you considered bundling those AHK text formatting commands into an AHK script (or compiled as a .exe), giving it (say) a GUI for the user to select which commands they want to apply? The script could then be called by FARR and used to edit the text contents of the system clipboard or the CHS clipboard buffer (if those things were possible) or a designated text file where the text contents of the clipboard had been saved.
This could be more easy to use for most users than (say) them having to know how to invoke the separate commands individually, or (say) @mouser having to program in some text manipulation commands which might be of only limited use to most users. If the AHK script was compiled as a .exe, then it could presumably be packaged as one of the many optional plugins for FARR, and it wouldn't necessitate users having to install AutoHotkey.

Just a thought. I don't know how practicable that might be.

1452

Find And Run Robot / Re: Klip Keeper Access Violation

« Last post by IainB on October 07, 2016, 07:39 PM »

Just a note for posterity, at the risk of duplication. I was doing some migration of FARR and its plugins and checking on latest version numbers, etc., and noticed that the links to the latest fscript on this thread are now broken (404).
I'm not sure at the moment where the latest official version is archived.

The version I have is v1.20.
There is a file with it:
Filename: readme fscript dll is now version 1_2.txt

201403

this gmail plugin version contains the correct/latest fscript.dll 1.2

KR
Wjamoe

1453

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Update MiniTool - Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10

« Last post by IainB on October 06, 2016, 03:03 AM »

Using WUMT, I have today managed to clear most of the backlog of updates that were queued up, having failed to complete update. Most of them were HP and Intel driver updates, but a couple were MS updates.
By a process of trial-and-error, I got them all to go though successfully, bar one: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - Keyboard - Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard for HP Hotkey Support  (released in April 2014). It just will not complete an update.
The current driver is of 2006 vintage!   

1454

General Software Discussion / Windows 10 update - try out Windows Update MiniTool

« Last post by IainB on October 06, 2016, 02:52 AM »

Looking at some of the comments in this thread, I would recommend trying out Windows Update MiniTool - Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10
It does rather put the user back in the driving seat on the updates front. Seems to be very stable and problem-free - though I'm expecting Microsoft to inject some virulent antibodies to try to "fix" that any day now...   

1455

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: FreeFileSync - automated backup - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on October 06, 2016, 02:37 AM »

I had begun to cynically wonder whether they were not "update thrashing" just to multiply the frequency of the OpenCandy being used - i.e., to gain revenue

-IainB (October 05, 2016, 02:20 AM)

Of course they are.

-x16wda (October 05, 2016, 05:30 AM)

Well, one can only suppose.
"By their fruits ye shall know them."

1456

General Software Discussion / Re: 7-zip updated to 16.04

« Last post by IainB on October 05, 2016, 11:58 PM »

Well, it doesn't seem noteworthy, given the recent history of changes (see below), but then one never knows how significant those fixes/changes might have been for some users (including oneself). Generally any incremental bugfix or improvement is probably welcome in an archiving tool - given its relative importance in the software armoury. I had v16.03 and as a precautionary approach have just updated to v16.04 anyway, after reading this thread - I use the RAR functionality and also do some work under Vista - so, thanks for the heads-up @MilesAhead.

HISTORY of the 7-Zip
--------------------
16.04          2016-10-04
-------------------------
- The bug was fixed: 7-Zip 16.03 exe installer under Vista didn't create
  links in Start / Programs menu.
- Some bugs were fixed in RAR code.

16.03          2016-09-28
-------------------------
- Installer and SFX modules now use some protection against DLL preloading attack.
- Some bugs were fixed in 7z, NSIS, SquashFS, RAR5 and another code.

16.02          2016-05-21
-------------------------
- 7-Zip now can extract multivolume ZIP archives (z01, z02, ... , zip).
- Some bugs were fixed.

1457

Find And Run Robot / Re: [Feature Request] FARR use across computers

« Last post by IainB on October 05, 2016, 04:28 AM »

I'm still trying to figure out a workaround to overcome the inherent limitaions in FARR, in order to achieve the objective stated.
No luck yet, though I got close to it by trying to get FARR to run from the Cloud - like a Chromebook. Trouble was, I was using OneDrive as my Cloud, and that had some unanticipated drawbacks...   
Ah well, onwards and upwards.

1458

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: FreeFileSync - automated backup - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on October 05, 2016, 02:20 AM »

^^ Yes, FFS (FreeFileSync) have not changed their packaging model for a long time, AFAIK.
The OpenCandy continues to be a PITA, which I guess could have generated enough complaints for them to offer the ad-free version, if one makes a donation. Probably not a bad idea anyway, really.

FFS is currently on v8.5.0.0. I noticed when I was installing it a week ago that they had started to offer the software "ad-free for a donation".
This might be quite unfair to suggest, but I must admit that, given the apparent frequency of updates of FFS, I had begun to cynically wonder whether they were not "update thrashing" just to multiply the frequency of the OpenCandy being used - i.e., to gain revenue - rather than to release any significantly useful updates. Shades of GS-Base.

Regardless, FFS seems to continue to be an excellent piece of software and is apparently not stagnating.

1459

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: CLIPBOARD HELP+SPELL LATEST VERSION INFO THREAD - v2.34.0 - Jan 4, 2016

« Last post by IainB on October 02, 2016, 07:16 PM »

@dr_andus: I'd be interested in any CHS performance factors/limitations you may discover on this. Please could you post your results here, as and when any turn up?

1460

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: blogcpp: Static blogging in C++17

« Last post by IainB on October 01, 2016, 09:04 PM »

Curious, I did a search, trying to see "why C++17"? but the most authoritative reference seemed to be from the DSDA (German Software Development Association): https://www.youtube..../watch?v=ND-TuW0KIgg

Whether one agrees with him or not, I suspect that the guy probably makes some valid points.

1461

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: [free] Paste As File giveaway

« Last post by IainB on September 30, 2016, 10:20 AM »

I didn't quite get this "FREE giveaway" app, but after looking it up I am quite impressed, though probably for the wrong reasons.

For years I have been accustomed to what (for me) seems to be an ergonomic no-brainer - being able to paste from the Clipboard directly into a folder, and a file is automatically created to hold the contents, either as a .txt (text) file and extension or as a .png (image) file and extension - depending on the contents of the Clipboard being pasted at the time.
I only very occasionally have need to use this functionality.
In fact, as soon as it has been pasted, the file's filename is open (as in F2) for editing and with the cursor positioned ready inside the name, which has a default name "x2scrap".
This is done using xplorer² PRO x64 (a Windows Explorer replacement), but, because I didn't think much of it, I had thought it was probably doing pretty much the same thing as you could do in Windows Explorer, but with maybe the naming bit added. However, I must have thunk wrong as I just now tried it in Windows Explorer, and nothing happened. This is in Win10-64 PRO, Build 14393.

Amazing that this functionality is still not yet built-in as standard to Windows Explorer. I mean, how many years does it take to accommodate likely user needs and fix up the sloppy ergonomics of a critically useful and ubiquitous file management tool?
(Another indictment of Microsoft?)
Sheesh.

1462

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: SysExporter - (Screen-scraping) Export data from Windows controls - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on September 29, 2016, 02:00 PM »

@exjoburger: Thanks. I have added that to the list of alternatives in the OP.

1463

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: SysExporter - (Screen-scraping) Export data from Windows controls - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on September 28, 2016, 06:48 PM »

Just updated the OP to reflect that the current version of SysExporter is now v1.75 - up 5 versions from v1.61 (as originally posted).

Versions History - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/sysexp.html
Version 1.75:
Added 'New SysExporter Instance' (Ctrl+N), which opens a new window of SysExporter.

Version 1.72:
Added 'Run As Administrator' option (Ctrl+F11), which allows you to easily run SysExporter as administrator on Windows Vista/7/8/2008. You should use this option if you need to extract data from a software that is executed as administrator.

Version 1.71:
Fixed to accept 64-bit handles in /Handle command-line option.

Version 1.70:
Added command-line options that allows you to export the data of Windows controls to a file, without displaying any user interface. For example, to export the active ListView in the task manager of Windows to html file:
sysexp.exe /Process "taskmgr.exe" /class "SysListView32" /Visible "Yes" /shtml "c:\temp\1.html"

Version 1.62:
Fixed the flickering while scrolling the items of list-view.

Version 1.61:
Added 'Auto Size Columns+Headers' option, which allows you to automatically resize the columns according to the row values and column headers.
Fixed issue: The properties and the other windows opened in the wrong monitor, on multi-monitors system.
__________________________________

1464

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: SysExporter - (Screen-scraping) Export data from Windows controls - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on September 28, 2016, 06:37 PM »

Somebody PM'd me with the question: (my emphasis)

I have downloaded the SysExporter but I cant get the number of pages of the files in my folder.

I'm not absolutely sure that I understand the Q, but, as far as I am aware, SysExporter is not able to count pages within document files displayed in a folder, but, if there is a column in the display that gives a count of the pages, then SysExporter will probably be able to see that and export the numbers in it to a .CSV file.

Hope this helps or is of use.

1465

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Update MiniTool - Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2016, 02:38 PM »

@IainB: You need to point to the MajorGeeks WUMT page, the link you have for the download is session only and will result in 404.
http://www.majorgeek...update_minitool.html
__________________________

-4wd (September 26, 2016, 09:09 PM)

Thanks, I have fixed it up now.

1466

Living Room / Re: HP "timebomb" prevents HP inkjet printers from using non-HP ink cartridges.

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2016, 02:12 PM »

As far as market costing models go, I would suggest that, at some point, HP would have decided in their wisdom to adopt the Gillette razor marketing model.
This is Marketing 101, but it's a very interesting case.
Bit of a digression - but it may reflect the dilemma that HP is in.

The Gillette model basically comprised of:

• A product (the handheld razor) which was made as cheaply as possible, but engineered for a long and serviceable life. The sale price of this item was at or below cost.
• A consumable component - the disposable razor blades, which wear out. Originally, these were an innovation - 2 edges on opposite sides of a disposable blade - and when edge 1 became blunt, you just reversed the blade to expose edge 2. When that became blunt, the disposable blade was thrown away, and a new blade was fitted. The blades were sold at a very profitable price - I think they came in packets of 5 or 10.

The Gillette corporation had created an entirely new market, and they had a patent and a monopoly, and they consequently made a huge fortune.
However, when the patent ran out, the competition moved in. Now there are several producers supplying the market for handheld wet razors with disposable blades, and the differentiation between the various products is hard to distinguish. A ludicrous new war got under way, with the disposable blades becoming "one-sided", but with 2, then 3, then 4, and now 5 narrow blades all facing the same way, per disposable blade unit. Of course, for each new blade unit designed, the handheld component mysteriously could not fit the new blade unit and so consumers needed a new handheld component and the old one was made obsolete - and the handheld component and the muliti-blade units have become increasingly quite pricey. What a surprise! (NOT)

You can see the same marketing model having been adopted by HP for its printers, and now things have got into the ludicrous war stage.

Meanwhile, in the wet razor-blade market, very cheap and entirely disposable multi-blade units with fixed plastic handles have hit the market and many/most consumers are buying those. This will impact the potential growth in numbers sold of the "old" model, which are made more expensive as the failing producers try to make more profit per item sold from a diminishing number of sales, thus arguably hastening their own eventual demise. They probably have a foot in the newer disposable product as well.

Years ago, the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) developed a simple hypothetical Growth-Share Matrix. It is drawn as a square, cut across its centre into 4 equal quadrants: Cash Cows, Stars, Question Marks/Dilemmas, and Dogs. These are often characterised as the stages in a product's life-cycle. It doesn't matter what the product is - most will probably be able to fit the hypothesis.

• Star: Initially, a new product is designed/launched and it becomes a Star product. Sales are growing rapidly.
• Cash Cow: As diminishing marginal costs of large scale production come into play, it's all profit for little/reducing cost, and the product becomes a major source of large, pure net profit - a Cash Cow. Milk it for all it's worth.
• Question Mark/Dilemma: At some point, when a product has reached the end of its marketable life and is at risk of being superseded by fresh product invention or innovation in the marketplace, it is no longer a Cash Cow and starts to become a product management problem - it is a Dilemma. It's not dead yet. Do you just cease to produce it before it becomes a loss-making proposition, or try to sell it off to a manufacturer with a lower production cost base who might want to wring some residual potential revenue/profit out of it? Ceasing production can be a very expensive exercise (e.g., think of all those layoffs and redundancy payments), so the usual tack is to plan to sell it so that it all becomes a SEP (Somebody Else's Problem). Of course, if your production base has been outsourced to an arbitraged rock-bottom labour-unit cost base in (say) China, then it's already a SEP and you can continue to wring out the rag for any residual profit.
• Dog: The product's end-of-life stage. If it's not been sold yet, then now is the time - if you still can. Otherwise just terminate it ("deprecate" is quite the wrong term for this) and incur a pile of costs - unless you are already producing in (say) China. Usually it's advisable not to be holding the parcel when the music stops, so pass the parcel, quick - e.g., (say) IBM's sale of its PC division to Lenovo.

HP will indubitably be somewhere in that mix, with its Printer division and its PC division, and its Managed Services division, and the longer it delays facing up to the task of re-engineering the multifold parts of itself (e.g., as successfully done by IBM and Reed/Elsevier, to name but two), then the more we are likely to see it slipping into an increasingly dysfunctional state, thrashing about trying to juggle the numbers and survive and avoid change/damage by means of all the old tactics. If you look at HP's history of corporate deals and fiascos over the last 8 years or so - a lot of which is certainly nothing to be proud about - then this time-bombing of the HP inkjet printer head firmware is arguably just more - and pretty good - evidence of just such a dysfunctional state. Ditto for Volkswagen diesel's cheating on emissions-testing.
This corporate behaviour is arguably symptomatic - and what one might typically expect - of the business hypothetical and theoretical explanations above.

1467

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Update MiniTool - Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2016, 09:12 AM »

I have installed WUMT - dl from http://www.majorgeek...update_minitool.html
and WUMT Integrator - dl from https://drive.google...aF9XY1FjZEh4c1E/view

They work together seamlessly. Very nice. Ruddy brilliant actually.
It's also an indictment of Microsoft that some 3rd-party developers had to do this to work around Microsoft's clodhopping mistakes.

See interesting discussion thread here following a post by one of the developers of WUMT Integrator: https://forums.mydig...Tool-Integrator-v1-0
(You need to register to read the discussion and get the dl link.)

1468

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Updates changing to Single update

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2016, 07:39 AM »

Check out: Windows Update MiniTool - Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10

@Cloq: could you fix the spelling in this thread's opening post title please?

1469

General Software Discussion / Windows Update MiniTool - Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2016, 07:35 AM »

If this does as it says, then it could be well worth a look:                
Windows Update MiniTool: Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

Windows Update MiniTool: Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10
admin Published on Sep 26th, 2016

In Windows 10, Microsoft has removed the classic Windows Update section from Control Panel, making it a lot more difficult for users to control Windows Update.

The Windows Update section in Settings app offers little to no control over how updates are download and installed, particularly in Home edition of Windows 10.

While this will indirectly force Windows 10 users to automatically upgrade to the latest Windows 10 build and keep their system up-to-date, most users prefer to have control on Windows Update.

There are have been ways out there to completely disable Windows Update and pause Windows Update download but there is no concrete solution out there for Windows 10 Home users.

Windows update minitool for Windows 10   
Windows Update MiniTool is an alternative to Windows Update in Windows 10 Home and Pro editions. The Windows Update MiniTool helps you check for updates and install updates only that you want.

Additionally, you can view all installed updates, hidden updates and there is an option to view full update history as well.

Windows Update MiniTool features
As you can see in pictures, you can control how updates are downloaded and installed. You can choose either automatic, disable updates, notification mode (alerts when updates are available), download only (downloads but doesn’t install), scheduled and managed by administrator option to control how updates are downloaded and installed on your PC.

Windows update minitool for Windows 10 pic2

Besides that, like Windows Update in Settings app, it also allows you stop automatic update of device drivers in Windows 10. There is an offline mode, which you can use to install updates on a PC not connected to the internet.

Windows update minitool for Windows 10 pic1

Do you want to download Windows Update to install on another PC? You can do so using Windows Update MiniTool as it gives direct links to .cab, .exe and .psf update files. Select an update, click Copy link to clipboard button and then paste the URL in the address bar of a web browser to download the update.

For those who might be wondering, Windows Update MiniTool downloads updates right from Microsoft servers and saves them in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\ Download directory.

Overall, Windows Update MiniTool provides all Windows Update controls in an easy-to-understand interface. The program is standalone, meaning no installation is required.   

Finally, if you like Windows Update MiniTool, there is another utility called Windows Update Integrator which makes it possible to catch Windows Update notification popup, meaning when you click on Windows Update desktop notification it opens up Windows Update MiniTool instead of Windows Update section of Settings app.   

A word of caution. Windows Update MiniTool requires Windows Update service to download updates from Microsoft. So if you have disabled Windows Update, please enable it.

Download Windows Update MiniTool

One suspects that Microsoft might feel obliged to try and kill this new thing.   

1470

Living Room / Re: HP "timebomb" prevents HP inkjet printers from using non-HP ink cartridges.

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2016, 06:59 AM »

Yes, clearly self-serving cynicism seems to abound in corporate thinking. Recent examples indicate that to be the case, whether it's in automobile manufacturing or computer/printer manufacture. I reckon that it displays a rent-seeking mentality - the desire to gain revenue/profit without actually doing anything productive (making something or providing a service) to warrant it. Like the banks, I guess - e.g., with financial instruments like (say) subprime mortgages. Then, when it all turns to custard, they apparently expect or may have even planned for the contingency, to get guaranteed or bailed out by the government (taxpayer) because they are "too big to fail", or "it's in the national economic interest", or "to maintain employment", or something. Solyndra Scandal.

(And I never could figure out why apparently all that stock of Solyndra's output had to be destroyed. I mean, why not sell it off or give it away - or maybe was what they had produced no good in the first place?)

1471

Living Room / HP "timebomb" prevents HP inkjet printers from using non-HP ink cartridges.

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2016, 04:38 AM »

Related discussion: What's your experience with 3rd party color inkjet ink replacement?

There are lots of reports about this, for example the excellent one from techdirt:
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

HP Launched Delayed DRM Time Bomb To Disable Competing Printer Cartridges
from the innovation! dept

For decades now, consumers have been lured into a sour deal: pay for a relatively inexpensive printer, then spend a lifetime paying an arm and a leg for viciously overpriced printer cartridges. As most have learned first-hand, any attempt to disrupt this obnoxious paradigm via third-party printer cartridges has been met with a swift DRM roundhouse kick to the solar plexus. In fact if there's an area where the printer industry actually innovates, it's most frequently in finding new, creative and obnoxious methods of preventing cartridge competition.

Hoping to bring this parade of awfulness to its customers at scale, HP this week unearthed the atomic bomb of printer cartridge shenanigans. HP Printer owners collectively discovered on September 13 that their printers would no longer even accept budget cartridges. Why? A firmware update pushed by the company effectively prevented HP printers from even detecting alternative cartridges, resulting in HP printer owners getting messages about a "cartridge problem," or errors stating "one or more cartridges are missing or damaged," or that the user was using an "older generation cartridge."

As Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing notes, this behavior is simply par for the course, with Lexmark engaging in similar behavior back in 2003. By embedding an "I am empty" bit in their cartridges, they were similarly able to ensure that users couldn't use third-party cartridges or they'd be told the cartridge lacked ink. Lexmark leaned heavily on Section 1201 of the DMCA to support its behavior, a tactic HP is likely to mirror but evolve:
"Lexmark invoked Section 1201 of the DMCA, which makes it a criminal and civil offense to bypass an "effective means of access control" for a copyrighted work. The DC Circuit court asked Lexmark which copyrighted work was being protected by its access control, and it argued that the checking routine itself was copyrighted, as well as the "Empty" bit. The court found that the DMCA could only be invoked where there was a copyrighted work apart from the access control, and that a single bit didn't qualify as a copyrightable work. Lexmark lost."
In this case, HP's DRM time bomb firmware update was apparently deployed back in March, but HP didn't activate the "improvement" until this month. And as is usually the case in this space, HP isn't saying much outside of a misleading quote proclaiming the company was simply protecting its "innovations" and intellectual property:
"HP said such updates were rolled out "periodically" but did not comment on the timing of the last instalment.

"The purpose of this update is to protect HP's innovations and intellectual property," it said in a statement."
But rejoice! HP claims that users can still refill cartridges, as long as those cartridges contain an HP-approved security chip:
"These printers will continue to work with refilled or remanufactured cartridges with an original HP security chip. Other cartridges may not function."
Well, at least until HP figures out a way to DRM the printer fluid itself, which surely can't be too far along on the horizon.

The above report was amusingly referred to in Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt:
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

Next, we've got a small but important anonymous observation about HP disabling third-party ink cartridges with a firmware update:
There is a serious and long-term unintended consequence that MS, HP, et al are not considering here: they are teaching users that *installing security updates is bad.*

Which was coincidentally almost exactly my thought when I first read of this disgraceful example of what rather seems to be - whichever way one looks at it - underhand, sneaky, unprofessional, greedy and user-hostile sharp practice. Hewlett and Packard would be spinning in their graves.

I stopped buying (as in "Will never buy again") HP inkjet printers after they made my last superb HP A3 printer obsolete by deliberately NOT updating the drivers to work in Windows 7.
Similarly, I stopped buying HP scanners after they made my last superb HP scanner obsolete by deliberately NOT updating the drivers to work in Windows 7.
I was a loyal HP customer up to that point. No more. The very idea of buying HP peripherals gives my mouth a bad taste.
I subsequently bought a superb and more portable EPSON A4/letter scanner for smaller documents/photos/negatives, and a very good Brother A3 multi-function (scanner-printer-fax) device to cover all bases.
The only problem I have had is with the printer. I do very little printing and the somewhat underused printhead keeps clogging up (which my HP printer also suffered from, and for the same reason).

Whoever dredged up this latest anachronistic and failed approach to "customer retention" for HP and reworked it, and whoever approved it, will probably be quietly taken out and shot for all the good it has probably NOT done for the company.
It is on a par with, and just as moronic as, that brilliant idea that the Volkwagen engineers apparently had for cheating on the diesel fuel emissions tests: "OK, if we can't do it through honest endeavours, let's just cheat! That way, we make more money and no-one will ever find out!"
Yeah, right.

I find the absolute lack of imagination that was probably required to resurrect this sort of moronic idea and to actually employ it and engage in such shoddy/sharp practice, to be mind-boggling in the extreme.
Well, it certainly sends out a big message to HP's current and potential future buyers/customers. It will be interesting to see what damage control is put in place by HP. Either way, there will likely be repercussions.

1472

Living Room / Re: Guides or tools to help with adding GMAIL to Desktop Outlook 2016 in Windows 10

« Last post by IainB on September 24, 2016, 02:15 PM »

I would recommend @Shades' suggested approach as something that seems to work.
Very interesting too what he says about moving from Outlook to Thunderbird. I have tried for a long time to get MS Outlook to work nicely, with all my email accounts, but even with using an Outlook.com account it was nothing but trouble, though the more recent addition  of using individual app passwords seems to have helped a lot.

Also might be worth looking at - an interesting (brilliant?) concept that I tried out a while back - a FREE add-in for Outlook that enables access to Google Docs. It worked for Outlook 2007/2010. I just installed it now and it does not seem to work for Outlook 2016, but that may be because I have an obsolete version. Cannot find a newer version.
harmon.ie for Google Docs

1473

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft OneNote - some experiential Tips & Tricks

« Last post by IainB on September 24, 2016, 12:26 PM »

As a result of reading this: Office Lens: CamScanner For Windows 10 - I download the Office Lens for PC app from Download Office Lens (Store link).

I already have the FREE Office Lens app on the Windows smartphone that I have been using, and it's very useful and integrates well with OneNote.
The FREE Office Lens download (above) is more obviously useful on (say) a tablet PC with a camera, and may not be much use on a laptop/PC. However, it has an Import function, so one can get it to process any image on the laptop or PC client and re-dimension it as a pukka document and then OCR scan it and save it to a OneNote Notebook. Just what I was waiting for.

1474

Living Room / Re: Slow motion trained birds

« Last post by IainB on September 20, 2016, 08:00 AM »

Beautiful birds, not often seen performing their maneuvers in the wild in daytime, and well-nigh impossible to see at night.
Thanks for posting that. My son will love it too (we both like owls).

1475

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: PIM-related Mini-Reviews ("also-ran").

« Last post by IainB on September 18, 2016, 12:07 AM »

@wraith808:

Are you looking in the correct location for release notes? ...
________________________

-wraith808 (September 17, 2016, 04:55 PM)

Yes, thanks, I did/do know where the release notes were/are, and I also read with interest and on an ongoing basis the proposed incremental changes ("ïdeas") that fairly regularly crop up in the CN blog before the changes are even implemented.
With all that apparent change going on, I had - perhaps unrealistically - a more than usual "feeling of hopeful anticipation of things useful to be discovered", but, as I said "this one was a bit of a fizzle".

I was a bit mystified by this apparent lack of progress, and one possible explanation for it was as per the conclusion I drew - as I wrote - that "As a database, CN may have reached the limit of its designer's original scope and is somewhat archaic (e.g., can't handle images or RTF).".
All that "change" seems as though it might have been a bit like a mouse running in a treadmill - lots of activity, but is it progress? Is it even "development"?
The greater part of the changes being made to the product would seem to be (according to the blog and the release notes) ad hoc ideas, tweaks and adjustments - e.g., (say) like putting knobs on with a different colour, or belatedly adding that functionality that you really shoulda thought of adding when you did that other bit last month, but didn't because there was no real forethought design or development plan, but you call it a "feature" or an "enhancement" anyway.

Sure, that might look like "development" to some people, but from experience of years of programming and managing and directing commercial systems and application  development and implementation, I would tend to call a spade a "spade". It would seem to be more like simple - and possibly even belated - maintenance to make corrections to a possibly ill-thought-out design, or maybe there is no design. That could explain it, and is why I commented that "CN may have reached the limit of its designer's original scope".

By the way, that should not be taken as a criticism, and it is not necessarily a criticism - in and of itself - of any of the good folk who put their earnest and best endeavours into maintaining the CN product. The individuals in most small and enthusiastic development groups will usually be found to be operating in an environment of Level 1 (Ad hoc/Chaotic) or Level 2 (Repeatable) of Humphrey's theoretical process CMM (Capability Maturity Model). The work processes in those levels are characterised as being in a state of constant dynamic change, by definition, and things only start to stabilise (become less ad hoc/chaotic) at CMM Level 3 (Defined).
Whenever I have found myself in such environments (CMM Level 1 or 2), I personally would tend to direct a switch to so-called "Agile" development methodology - and incremental prototyping - and "Agile" project management methodology, because conventional development methodologies (e.g., SADT) and conventional "waterfall" project management methodologies generally won't be able to help you in those cases - though they'd be great for and most easily applied at CMM Level 3 and above, of course.
It is from that context that I wrote that "...its development is so limited and so static that it's almost become stagnant abandonware. I have the CintaNotes blog in my bazqux feed-reader and quite frankly the blog is a procession of small ideas for minor changes with nothing terribly significant actually being planned/implemented.".
Sorry if that didn't/couldn't communicate too well in my brief notes above, but I did intentionally make them brief and they are notes to myself really, which I've just copied here in the hope that they may be of help/use to others.