Recent Posts

1526

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: free eXpert PDF 3 - Full commercial app, as sold for £40

« Last post by tinjaw on March 27, 2007, 09:13 AM »

I cannot find a list of improvements from version 3 to version 5. Can anybody locate it?

1527

Living Room / Re: Multitasking Dangers

« Last post by tinjaw on March 26, 2007, 10:07 PM »

I have been interested in this concept of multitasking and that of Continuous Partial Attention. As a person with ADD I find in interesting that there is a non-ADD parallel. I also think that I suffer from both. I think that because of my lifestyle in the digital world of multi-tasking, that I exacerbate my problems and create a feedback loop.

1528

Developer's Corner / Re: Game contest prize increased to $10,000

« Last post by tinjaw on March 26, 2007, 07:46 PM »

Thanks for ruining the next 12 months of my life. 

1529

General Software Discussion / Re: Good pixel/bitmap editor?

« Last post by tinjaw on March 26, 2007, 12:34 PM »

Allen,

Thanks for the suggestion. I was looking for something that I was calling Paint++ or Advanced Paint and GraphicsGale seems to be a good fit.

1530

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Screen Calipers on Bits du Jour Tuesday, March 20

« Last post by tinjaw on March 24, 2007, 01:26 PM »

Screen Calipers is also the weekend deal for Bits du Jour.

1531

Official Announcements / Re: Mar. 2007 Giveaway/Discounts: Website Watcher,Local Website Archive,AM-Noteb

« Last post by tinjaw on March 22, 2007, 10:57 AM »

I'm not going to provide a better description of LWA then the developer does on his own site, but I can tell you my number one use for it.

I often teach informal classes as "brown bag lunches". I spend some time before the class surfing websites that I frequent on the topic. I store those using LWA. Then create a zip file with the runtime LWA and the LWA database I just created. I use that on my laptop during my class, since there is no internet connection at that time. I then pass around a USB stick with the zip file to anybody who wants it. This has met with much success and I plan on doing it for other presentations I give.

As a side note, there are a few (D)(X)HTML-based PowerPoint "replacements" available out around the Net. I am planning on creating my presentions using one of those tools and then combining my lecture slides with the archived web pages in a single zip file.

1532

Official Announcements / Re: DC-IRLDD: DonationCoder.com Impromptu Real Life Dinner+Drinks, Sat 3/24 Illi

« Last post by tinjaw on March 21, 2007, 01:50 PM »

Darn. Not good timing for me. However, Google maps says that it should only be a six hour drive each way from KC to you. That's firmly in the realm of the possible and creeping into the realm of the probable. Maybe I will take a long weekend some time this summer and come visit.

1533

Official Announcements / Re: MARCH 2007 SOFTWARE DRAWING RESULTS POSTED

« Last post by tinjaw on March 20, 2007, 06:54 PM »

Congrats to the winners and a big thank you to Martin Aignesberger for the donation of the prizes and the generous discount.

1534

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Screen Calipers on Bits du Jour Tuesday, March 20

« Last post by tinjaw on March 20, 2007, 06:51 PM »

I just got home and ordered the pack. I had problems earlier today completing my order. I'm glad I finally got these as full versions. I couldn't justify the cost for the amount I used them, but I can at this price.

1535

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Screen Calipers on Bits du Jour Tuesday, March 20

« Last post by tinjaw on March 20, 2007, 03:03 PM »

w00t!  I'm going to snatch this up. Thanks Nico.

But, wait a minute! This is Donation Coder, not BdJ!  How about, as a special Donation Coder super extra bonanza, if a DC forum member buys the Screen Measurement Pack (to get all three measuring tools) and posts to this thread letting you know they ordered, you throw in a free copy of the Screen Tracing Paper !!  I'd bet that would get a few people to give in and upgrade to the Screen Measurement Pack!

1536

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for 'Open With...' Editor

« Last post by tinjaw on March 17, 2007, 12:55 PM »

I don't need to group mine. I don't even know if you can. What I do is set the default program for each file type so that double clicking a file will open it in the editor I prefer for that file type. Then, in my Send To, I have all of my multi-format editors and viewers.

1537

General Software Discussion / Re: join operations with excel tables (free?)

« Last post by tinjaw on March 17, 2007, 08:38 AM »

Actually that was just the excuse I give myself when I, once again, cannot find the time to teach myself pivot tables. 

1538

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for 'Open With...' Editor

« Last post by tinjaw on March 17, 2007, 06:59 AM »

I don't use "open with". I use "send to" and I maintain that by using Send To Toys.

[attach=#1][/attach]

I find it very easy to modify the Send To context menu with this tool.

1539

General Software Discussion / Re: gameplay database; gameability resources?

« Last post by tinjaw on March 16, 2007, 07:26 PM »

I was reading an interview with a successful game producer and found this quote of interest.

Since then, I’ve done a lot… consulting here and there (with the most interesting gig being working with a behavioural psychologist to turn his research into a game),

And I find that interesting, because that is one of the reasons I am interested in working with you on a project as you describe it, I think it will be very interesting and a great learning experience for me. I think software engineering can learn a great deal from behavioral psychology. Software interacts with humans, so we, as software engineers, should work to find out how to best interface/interact with humans.

1540

General Software Discussion / Re: join operations with excel tables (free?)

« Last post by tinjaw on March 16, 2007, 06:54 PM »

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Don't go over to the dark side!!!!!

You are a Jedi of the command line - Wizard of the script - Oracle of code. Do not succumb to the glitz and glitter of the GUI dark side! For all they offer is vain. Once enticed you will only then learn of the shallowness of the dark side. It is a mere facade that will prove weak and easily overtaxed with all but the meagerest of demands upon it.

Kevin, IMNeverSHO, is right. If you can "do" R, you should look to VBA. With VBA you will be able to take from the dark side it's meager offerings of GUI goodness and yet resist the temptation to do GUI gymnastics when CodeFu will get you there via a more elegant path.

We, brothers of the code, are here for you. We have behind us the knowledge of many before us. The knowledge upon which the GUI generation is dependent. GUIs shall always stand upon the ground made solid by our brethren. We, keepers of Ada, custodians of Lisp, clerics of C, protectors of Perl too have our young generation of warriors. We too enter the future with youth and vigor, but such as ours is built on code and shall protect the earth through Ruby and Python. Have faith in your ancestors urlwolf. Our strength runs deep throughout the universe.

1541

Found Deals and Discounts / From Bits du Jour: Friday, March 23: eWallet

« Last post by tinjaw on March 15, 2007, 08:04 AM »

From Bits du Jour: Friday, March 23: eWallet - Securely manage all those passwords, without giving up convenience

I have owned (and updated) eWallet for years. I find it a very convenient way to store my software serial numbers and other related information. One of the many nice features is the ability to have it both on your PC and your PDA.

1542

Found Deals and Discounts / Screen Calipers on Bits du Jour Tuesday, March 20

« Last post by tinjaw on March 15, 2007, 08:00 AM »

From Bits du Jour : Tuesday, March 20: Screen Calipers - Here's a really handy little tool for measuring anything on your screen.

I have recommended this program in the past. I have been waiting for a DonationCoder discount on all three tools from Iconico. Maybe, if Screen Caliper does well at Bits du Jour, mouser can convince them to do a DC discount on a three-pack for us. 

1543

General Software Discussion / Re: gameplay database; gameability resources?

« Last post by tinjaw on March 14, 2007, 11:10 AM »

urlwolf,

Let's move this into the world of the concrete. I think it might help.

This may seem like a lot of "homework" for a stupid DC forum posting, but I think it may be important to you "getting it". Write up a fake grant proposal. Describe to me what you want to research, why, how, etc. Describe to me what data you want to collect. Tell me your research/learning objectives. As well as describe to me an existing, or not-yet-existing, game that suits your needs.

Yes, this would be a lot of work, but I think it might help you better get the landscape of the realm you wish to explore further. I am interested enough is what I believe you are looking for, that I may be willing to commit to volunteer work if you flesh this out enough to become a real world academic research project.

1544

General Software Discussion / WMHelp.com :: XMLPad 3

« Last post by tinjaw on March 13, 2007, 12:03 AM »

I have been playing with this sophisticated XML editor for the past half hour and it looks pretty good. I can't commit to it, but this seems worthy of a mini-review. This is definitely a contender for a top ten editor if it lives up to its potential. And it's freeware.

From their website:
XMLPad 3 new features:
-- XML Schema full support.
-- New and improved look & feel.
-- Project system with CVS support.
-- XML Schema editor with color syntax highlighting, line numbers, element range navigation, and context-dependent source assistant wizard.
-- Preview and printing XML Schema in graphical diagram window. The diagram is synchronized with XML Schema editor.
-- XML Schema documentation generation (ws3p.xsl) with diagram images.
-- XML Schema validation and XML files validation against the underlying XML Schemas.
-- Very big schemas (such as uccnet or xCBL35) use XML Schema binary cache in their implementation that mitigated
performance issues in validation and analysis. Every schema used in validation is compiled in binary format
on first use and later could be loaded from cache.
-- Generation of XML samples from XML schema or a sample of XML Schema from XML file. Converting XSD to DTD and DTD to XSD.
-- Schema component renaming (refactoring), navigation between schema components (Goto definition/Goto reference)
and navigation from XML data to appropriate schema component.
-- Regular expression builder and enumeration builder.
-- Schema-aware XSLT editor and debugger with Active script support.
-- Support for JAXB and Castor binding.
-- HTML & DBF import.

[attachthumb=#1][/attachthumb]
[attachthumb=#2][/attachthumb]
[attachthumb=#3][/attachthumb]
[attachthumb=#4][/attachthumb]
[attachthumb=#5][/attachthumb]
[attachthumb=#6][/attachthumb]
[attachthumb=#7][/attachthumb]

1545

Developer's Corner / Re: Registry Help...

« Last post by tinjaw on March 12, 2007, 06:30 PM »

Renox,

Are you deploying your programs via an installer/setup? Most likely that will be available as an option in your installer/setup builder. If not, what programming language and tools are you using? As you will need to do it "manually" otherwise. (There are plenty of example out in the wild you can use to base your code off of.)

1546

General Software Discussion / Re: hosting: moving away from shared, and into Virtual Private Servers (VPS)?

« Last post by tinjaw on March 11, 2007, 12:21 PM »

Well. I was expecting having better, not worse, performance. This is news. For example, having ruby on rails and the ability to install gems is one of the reasons I want root access (it simplifies installation). RoR could be pretty intensive on the host.

There are hosts that provide "out of the box" RoR environments with mongrel etc. Dreamhost, my current host, does support RoR but the reviews are mixed.

-urlwolf (March 11, 2007, 11:57 AM)

Yes, the reviews are going to be mixed depending on how crowded the servers are an what the hosted accounts are doing. You get what you pay for. Paying more (should) get you on servers that are less crowded and offer more CPU time and bandwidth per hosted account. If there support service is good you can also asked to be moved to a different server if you complain that it is slow and they check and their numbers agree that it is slow.

Having several IPs can be very good,and being independent from your neighborhood is nice.

-urlwolf (March 11, 2007, 11:57 AM)

Well, if you have a VPS, you will still not be independent of your neighborhood. You will still be on a subnet and if that subnet has problem children and is blocked, your VPS will be too. And non-VPS hosting accounts also offer static independent IPs if you want them. So IPs is really a moot point.

1547

General Software Discussion / Re: hosting: moving away from shared, and into Virtual Private Servers (VPS)?

« Last post by tinjaw on March 11, 2007, 12:15 PM »

on the other hand, some VPS share the kernel, so much of the updates, config problems, etc are their resposability.

-urlwolf (March 11, 2007, 12:00 PM)

That sounds possible, but I have not heard of such a thing. The domain 0 kernel is maintained by the hosting provider, but the domain 1 kernel is maintained by you. They will provide you with the base install, but it is up to you to patch it, etc. Similarly, there will be a firewall maintained by the hosting provider for the bare metal server your VPS resides on, but it will be up to you to maintain your own firewall, ACLs, etc.

Plus some, like liquidweb, offer one-click install/updates with fantastico. I guess one could run a VPS leaving all the sysadmin stuff to the host. Again, with no VPS experience, I have no idea.

-urlwolf (March 11, 2007, 12:00 PM)

In those cases, you are probably going to have automated installations work fine until you decide to customize something. This is no different than prepackaged RPMs and similar means.

1548

General Software Discussion / Re: Astyle: A Free Visual CSS Editor

« Last post by tinjaw on March 11, 2007, 10:36 AM »

I have downloaded and installed it on my laptop, but have not yet used it. Feel free to PM me in a week or so if I haven't posted a reply to this thread by then.

1549

General Software Discussion / Re: hosting: moving away from shared, and into Virtual Private Servers (VPS)?

« Last post by tinjaw on March 11, 2007, 10:34 AM »

I have much experience with VPS. 80% of the time you can answer the question "should I get a VPS?" by answering the question "can you handle system administration of all aspects of a linux/windows/BSD that is sitting exposed on the internet 24x7?". If you can answer yes to that question, then you should get a VPS. If you can't, then I suggest you just get a feature rich web hosting account and start playing with linux/windows/BSD in your spare time until you can comfortable run your own server of your at home internet connection 24x7.

If you can safely and competently administer a VPS server, then there are some other things you should keep in mind.

With a VPS, you are paying for versatility, often at the expense of performance for popular tasks. For example, an inexpensive web hosting account will probably provide better performance for serving up static web pages and low-end PHP/CGI/Perl scripts. That is because the shared web hosting server is tuned for such work and probably has much better hardware.

Some VPS accounts are process/bandwidth sliced enough that you can't really run IRC daemons etc., even if allowed under licensing. You almost, without a doubt, cannot run a game server for more than two or three connections, if at all.

There are several other items, but in general:
1) If you are considering renting a dedicated server or collocating in the next 6-18 months, consider a VPS as a test run.
2) If you just want to play with a dedicated server without the cost of one, and you have the skills, consider a VPS.
3) If you just are an advanced user of hosting services, move up to a better web hosting account with more features, and don't deal with the hassles of updating, keeping secure, etc. that goes with VPSs.

1550

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: "Book maker" program-compiles documents to print in book form

« Last post by tinjaw on March 11, 2007, 08:49 AM »

Does anybody know of a freeware alternative to ClickBook? I believe ClickBook is priced right for what it does, but I only very rarely need this capability and cannot justify the cost.