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1551

Living Room / Re: Mechanical Keyboards

« Last post by wraith808 on July 23, 2018, 12:06 PM »

Price breakdown:
PCB and Plates/case - ~$50 - Found at keeb.io
LEDs and Resistors - ~$15 - The build guide recommends using 470s, but I used 220s on the resistors and 2x3x4 LEDs - LEDs Resistors *note: There are several choices. I got one that had several different types.*
Pro-micro and Header Pins ~$45 - I bought SparkFun pro-micros due to the high reviews they got. I've had friends spend $6-9 dollars on pro-micros and they ran into issues with ports breaking off after a single plug/unplug. These are about $20 each, (need one for each side) but they are sturdy. I'm sure that's not the case for all the pro-micros, but I want this to last and don't want to have to desolder/resolder a new pro-micro if one decides to break. Pro-micro
Switches - ~$20 - Gateron blues/browns. Browns for my alpha numeric, and blues for my modifier keys (shift, function, space, etc) Switches
Key caps - ~$70 - Split purchase between WASDkeyboards and MAXkeyboard. WASD had the color's I wanted, and MAX had the pricing and printing options I wanted.
Solder/flux

-Mizraim (January 18, 2018, 01:10 PM)

I haven't gotten into handwiring yet... it's still a bit daunting to me.  I do have 2 different projects waiting on me, but I've been avoiding them in favor of PCB related project LOL   I am thinking about trying a 3-d printed Whitefox though...

1552

Living Room / Re: Mechanical Keyboards

« Last post by wraith808 on July 23, 2018, 12:03 PM »

So for me, my layout preferences are a constantly evolving thing, iterating on what I like, and removing what I don't.  My current daily driver.



It's a new Clueboard v4.  I've been really liking the Clueboard for the 'superplate'. 

Going a bit into the plate and its purpose:  The plate is what holds the switches in place and can be made out of many different materials, and be mounted in many different ways.  You don't actually need a plate- you can use PCB mount switches and mount them directly to the PCB.  The result is a bit too bouncy for my case, and with how heavily I type, I just don't trust it- though there's really no evidence to support my lack of trust, in all honesty.  But the plate can be aluminum, carbon fiber, steel, brass, bronze - or really any semi-rigid metal - with varying degrees of support, resistance, and aesthetic appeal.  Similarly, there are many different ways to mount the plate in the case- the simplest being a sandwich case, where the plate forms the top.  There are also tray mount, bottom mount, and top mount variations.  The super plate is a combination of the top part of the case and the plate.  I really like the support it gives (did I mention that I type hard?) and the feel of the mounted switches. 

You can see the detail in the following image:



On to the layout- my current layout is merely an iteration on my prior ones, now having a split right shift, a split space, and a maximized bottom row.  My layers are set up as shown in the images below:

Layer 0	Layer 1	Layer 2

I haven't assigned the extra spacebar to anything but a spacebar yet; I've been trying it out, to make sure that I don't hit it in normal practice as I theorized.  If I don't, I'll probably make it backspace or enter, and hit it with my other thumb to reduce travel.

It's a really interesting hobby- and I do believe it has increased my typing speed and accuracy, and my overall productivity.  I can measure the first two, but sadly, the only measure I have of the last is my work, and considering that it's just changed a bit in scope, I don't really have a good measure.

Ask any question that you will, and I'll try to answer

1553

General Software Discussion / Re: Additional F-keys with inter-applic software vs keyboard manufacturers lunatics

« Last post by wraith808 on July 23, 2018, 08:57 AM »

You could also look at it as hardware problem- you say that you don't think it's worth marketing a hardware product, but as you say, there have been instances of it in the past.  There is a whole community around vintage keyboards- the finding, restoring, and adaptation of the same.  There are also custom keyboards being built all the time; in my case, I just have those function keys to the right on my custom board.  And also custom sub-boards that are relatively inexpensive, while retaining power usages.  And last but not least, there is the use of keyboard programming software that already exists on keyboards adapted to them, i.e. QMK (https://qmk.fm/).  It's quite powerful and very generic, and I have my own custom layout programmed to exactly what I need it to be.

As far as remembering what the key assignments are, that's a different problem.  For myself, I've solved it with my own program that overlays an image that shows my key assignments.  There are also LED oriented aids, i.e. LEDs to let you know what layer you're on so that you can always tell what you should be typing.  Additionally, there are also Relegendable keys that have a bit of paper in them that can be labeled with your own personal layout.  I just rely on memory and repetition personally, so I've never used those, but they operate similarly to the OLEDs in the keys proposed by Art. Lebedev Studios that you referred to above- the Optimus Maximus and other expensive keyboards of varying varieties that followed from that same studio.  Speaking of that, there was a more affordable version of those keyboards from UnitedKeys, but it is no longer available - a keyboard and a keypad with limited OLED keys so that accounts for the affordability.  Of course, Apple has caught on to this with their new MacBook replacing the function keys with an OLED strip with mixed results and a mixed reaction.  But as that was their first stab at it, I'm not totally convinced that they might not be going that way, though there are downsides in the feel of typing which has the net effect of slowing down productivity.

The problem of synchronicity of the keyboard with the software, I think will only be solved by a combination of both- one of the applications that I currently use my G13 from Logitech for; it allows me to have generically named keys that are reassigned based on the games that I'm playing; so I have a unique layout.  That leaves the recognition part, but they also have a software application that runs on a mobile device that queries for the custom layout and shows it on the screen.  It works quite well, but unfortunately, they've not been making noises as they would continue down that path, which is rather disappointing.  I'm personally waiting for the update to QMK that they've talked about that will result in the ability to program the keyboards without a hardware reset- hopefully at that point, someone can combine those together.  It is for this reason that I think the eventual resolution to the keyboard UI issue is going to come from custom hobbyists rather than the companies, with the companies hopping on once they see the capabilities.

1554

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by wraith808 on July 23, 2018, 08:24 AM »

Sorry, what I meant was -- there is no technical reason to have to stain it, but staining really adds depth, even if it's a very light color, because it creates some interesting shading differences in different parts of the wood, which help make it look good after you put the topcoat on.  Without a stain the wood looks a bit unfinished to my eyes.

-mouser (July 22, 2018, 12:06 PM)

Ah, I get what you mean.  And I get the problem also- on my smaller projects, I always stain them for that reason.  This just seemed to actually look good unstained.

1555

N.A.N.Y. 2019 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2019 idea: file modification monitor and alert tool

« Last post by wraith808 on July 23, 2018, 07:52 AM »

Interestingly, Ghacks had an article on FRSSystemWatch today, which wasn't on one of the links above.

https://www.ghacks.n...with-frssystemwatch/

It also includes changes to the system registry.

1556

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by wraith808 on July 22, 2018, 12:02 PM »

The two color samples you're showing remind me of furniture in old people's homes - so dark and brooding

I think it needs to be stained, but a more natural yellow would be an option, if I had such a dye available.

-mouser (July 22, 2018, 05:14 AM)

Could you just stain it for protection rather than decoration/coloring?  Like using Minwax or Defy or any of the other clear protective coats?

1557

N.A.N.Y. 2019 / Re: N.A.N.Y. 2019 idea: file modification monitor and alert tool

« Last post by wraith808 on July 22, 2018, 11:59 AM »

Have you tried the options that are out there?  Is there anything you want that's not there?

I'm thinking about https://directorymonitor.com/ (which I'm using) or any of the others mentioned by raymond.cc (which is where I first looked, but found that directory monitor was on chocolatey) at https://www.raymond....les-folders-changes/

1558

General Software Discussion / Re: How to close a Fortran DLL routine when exiting Visual Basic (front-end) program

« Last post by wraith808 on July 22, 2018, 11:52 AM »

So you tried using the DLL in Delphi and calling functions and it unloaded correctly?  Where you dynamically loading the DLL or did you statically link it?

1559

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by wraith808 on July 21, 2018, 07:18 PM »

I just have to learn to love the fumes -- it's too big to move outside and too humid outside to open the windows.  So it's just me and the fumes.

-mouser (July 21, 2018, 06:52 PM)

I solder a lot and purchased a fume extractor.  It wasn't very much, and I do notice a change in the quality of the air while soldering.

https://smile.amazon...actor/dp/B0007ZLH4Q/

Not sure how that would work for you, but if not, a respirator might be worth the investment.

https://smile.amazon...rking/dp/B078PKW2GD/

Or at the very least, a pollution mask

https://smile.amazon...ction/dp/B07D7CKDH8/

1560

Living Room / Re: Windows 7 update stuck on constant "need to restart" - end of my tether

« Last post by wraith808 on July 21, 2018, 07:15 PM »

Left undisturbed, operational HDDs don't usually "suddenly fail", they tend to progressively fail in incremental fashion, all the meanwhile logging their gradual deterioration in their on-board SMART data accumulators. Analysis of HDD failure can be quite enlightening and can enable the user to predict HDD failure, when they avail themselves of SMART monitoring to detect when it is time to migrate from a failing drive, rather than risk blindly waiting till forced to recover from an already-failed drive.

-IainB (July 21, 2018, 02:38 PM)

That's not the experience I've had as a consumer.

In some cases, I've seen "reallocated sector count" or some similar stat go up before an eventual full breakdown - but mostly, it's been "worked fine yesterday, now I can't get my data". And I've had disks with reallocater sectors that kept trucking along for years without flaw, and just ended up being too small.

SMART is a mess. The values are opaque, and you can't really compare them between brands. There's no guarantee you'll get reported errors before a failure, and reported errors are no guarante of a failure. And, moving from spinning magnetic platters to solid state drives, failures tend to be "oops, logic board died, all data is lost".

-f0dder (July 21, 2018, 05:55 PM)

Totally agreed with all of the above.  I've had hard drives fail with varying symptoms or no symptoms, running diagnostic software that said that there were no flaws on the drive until it actually failed- then all of a sudden the scan was showing a lot of errors right as it failed using HDD Sentinel.

1561

Developer's Corner / Re: Delphi for free? YES!! Delphi Community Edition is out!

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 04:15 PM »

I remember I had a contract where they were using Delphi.  It was back when MS was first getting into .NET, and it was a major contract for a major contracting firm that wanted to use it on more contracts because of how well we'd done before with it (KPMG/BearingPoint).  I think it was going through the Borland -> Inprise at that point, and they paid no attention to that contract.  MS was always calling, and they decided to move some of the stuff to .NET.  Microsoft sent a team down there to train us (VB.NET even though we advised C#.NET) and work with us to get the contract done.  Borland was too occupied with Microsoft to see that the client base and developer base was where they should have been concentrating... not Microsoft.  After that I made a living going around converting systems from Delphi -> .NET.  A lot of very large companies were wed to Delphi- UPS, AEGON, quite a few banking and insurance interests.  Too few programmers left that were interested in Delphi left the field wide open for me, and I also garnered a lot of experience in the meantime.  Borland could have also prospered in the OSS arena- their few strides were met with relative acceptance as an alternative to MS.  But they left that one hanging too.

Self-inflicted death by a thousand paper cuts was what brought them down.

1562

Developer's Corner / Re: Delphi for free? YES!! Delphi Community Edition is out!

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 03:08 PM »

Why is that bad news?  You either get a new license for a new year, or upgrade from what I'm reading your statement.

-wraith808 (July 19, 2018, 12:12 PM)

Because it makes the offering unusable?

It might be "the same as it was before", but that status quo is "at the mercy of Embarcadero". I wonder if they, deep down, really just want Delphi to die... there's a lot of legacy stuff written in it, but with terms like this, I can't see much reason to choose the platform. Sure, Object Pascal isn't a bad language, but there's so many other (and better, IMHO) platforms around.

-f0dder (July 19, 2018, 01:51 PM)

From my experience, it can be really powerful, especially using inline assembler to optimize code- a feature that I've not seen so easily used in many IDEs.  I have nostalgia for it- from my first real development opportunity being in Delphi 1 (I did some c, c++, and vb before it... but this was where I was able to spread my wings) to really getting going in contracting and meeting many of the minds behind it (and working alongside Xavier Pacheco), and it really reached highs.  Borland's missteps killed it, and Embarcadero doubled down on bad decisions.  A lot of the legacy of Delphi is in Visual Studio, so it had a chance.  They just didn't grab it.  I don't think that anything Embarcadero could do would put it on top again, but it just gives me good vibes that it's still around. 

1563

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 03:01 PM »

This is so interesting to watch!  Thanks for keeping us updated!

1564

Developer's Corner / Re: Delphi for free? YES!! Delphi Community Edition is out!

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 12:12 PM »

AFAIK all free editions however Name is/was (Turbo, Personal, Educational, Starter, Community etc) are 1 Year Licenses with easy ability to subscribe another free Year. That belongs in most cases just Software Update not the Product (CE in this case). I will ask that @Embarcadero and tell you answer.


edit
Bad News, developing is bound to license, so that version is really just valid for one year, the IDE shows soon enough a pop-up reminder to either update another free year or upgrade (buy) License.

-KodeZwerg (July 19, 2018, 11:13 AM)

Why is that bad news?  You either get a new license for a new year, or upgrade from what I'm reading your statement.  Is that not the case?  If so, it's the same as it was before.  Which was the reason that at least I stopped using Delphi.  It was fine when I was buying licenses because I was using money from contracts.  But not going to do it if it's not making me money.

1565

Site/Forum Features / Re: Discussion of ignore feature

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 06:37 AM »

@anandcoral:
Re: Use of the "commercial at" symbol "@" as a prefixed Tag: You are not "making a mistake". For the purposes of improved communication, it is taught as being quite useful (depending on one's objectives in making the communication). This is typically useful within the context of circumstances where the classic communications model applies.

-IainB (June 15, 2017, 11:42 AM)

I only let him know as it doesn't do anything on this forum mechanically. Many have started to make use of it recently as some software alerts the named user of their mention.  As currently set up, DC does not.

1566

Site/Forum Features / Re: Discussion of ignore feature

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 06:34 AM »

Could some moderator maybe split this topic from post #12 down?

-tomos (June 13, 2017, 05:08 AM)

Done.  I didn't have the power when asked.

1567

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: ZenTao fill up the role of QA tool in Jira

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 06:21 AM »

I can't help but think that you are in some way related to the product you recommend and it may be the best thing since sliced bread, but with a bit of study you can really do a lot(!) within Jira itself.

-Shades (June 12, 2018, 07:45 PM)

Yes, you caught me   

I am trying to promote ZenTao internationally. Back in China, we have a lot of users who make good use of our open source version. So why not bring it to the overseas markets and see whether they like it.

-reneet (July 19, 2018, 04:19 AM)

Thank you.  We require those that are affiliated with software to clearly state that and the affiliatiin clearly or remove the post in question. Could you please edit the first post to show clearly that you are affiliated with the comlany, and to state what that affiliation is?

1568

Developer's Corner / Re: Delphi for free? YES!! Delphi Community Edition is out!

« Last post by wraith808 on July 19, 2018, 06:18 AM »

Up to some days ago the only free thing from Delphi was "Starter Edition" what is very crippled and beginners cant really learn since no sources are shipped with that edition.
Delphi CE is similar to Tokyo Professionial, here and there some license limitiations but product is full. (ie: you can develop for Win32/Win64/OSX/Linux/Android/iPhone)

-KodeZwerg (July 19, 2018, 01:37 AM)

Yes, I know.  That was the reason that I stopped even using Delphi at all. The Turbo versions were the community editiins, and were discontinued when Embarcadero bought it from Borland/Inprise.

License term lasts for one year (although once you have created a product you can still distribute it). Also your max income is limited to $5000, I would have to reread the license to see the parameters on that. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to play with it but I would need a specific task I want to accomplish, and allocated time to work on it, before I even download it.

-x16wda (July 19, 2018, 05:36 AM)

That's almost verbatim the license terms for the Turbo versions.

1569

Developer's Corner / Re: Delphi for free? YES!! Delphi Community Edition is out!

« Last post by wraith808 on July 18, 2018, 09:55 PM »

So they figured out they should start this back up again, eh?

1570

General Software Discussion / Re: More Ads in Windows 10

« Last post by wraith808 on July 18, 2018, 12:37 PM »

I'm seriously considering moving to Linux if they don't stop this crap, but there's a lot of stuff I'd miss from Windows

-f0dder (July 17, 2018, 03:28 PM)

Same.  And your entire post is what I've been saying for a while. A good OS hampered by idiotic decisions.

On another point (I might make another thread) Android has started taking pages from MS.

1571

General Software Discussion / Re: How to close a Fortran DLL routine when exiting Visual Basic (front-end) program

« Last post by wraith808 on July 18, 2018, 12:29 PM »

The stack trace is from the exception and shows all of the stack frames that results in the execution path to the line in the code.

https://en.m.wikiped...org/wiki/Stack_trace

Article on MSDN about exception handlong in VB

https://msdn.microso...ibrary/ms973849.aspx

you should also be able to break in the debugger to get the same

using breakpoints on MSDN

https://msdn.microso...ibrary/5557y8b4.aspx

1572

Living Room / Re: Movies you've seen lately

« Last post by wraith808 on July 16, 2018, 09:09 AM »

I actually like him as an actor.  IMO he was the best Combination of Batman/Bruce Wayne, probably because of the fact that he was older than in other instances.  That one interaction with Will Smith in the Suicide Squad was one of the best scenes in the movie.  He was also good in the Accountant, the Town, Gone Girl, and Argo.

1573

General Software Discussion / Re: How can I find approximate matches of numbers?

« Last post by wraith808 on July 14, 2018, 11:19 AM »

All of these are great solutions.  I still maintain that the problem hasn't been defined properly, so they could be for naught. 

Ath had the right questions in the initial reply. 

1574

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Mind Collected on BDJ 2018-07-13

« Last post by wraith808 on July 14, 2018, 11:14 AM »

Deal available again today, 14-July-2018.  I've figured out my problem with this program (and many like it)... it's single computer-centric, i.e. you have this collection, and it's only available on the one computer.  A couple of reviews on the BDJ page also have me giving a pass.

Worthless. I have multiple licenses for this software (I'm was very hopeful) and have sent numerous emails to the developer - who responds with boilerplate but never actually offers any help. File sizes quickly get enormous (a little over 1,000 thumbnails has created a Mind Collected file currently at 1,021,831KBs in size that either won't load or crashes immediately upon attempting a tag search). My need is simply to tag thumbnails, and search the tags, so I can quickly find them. I don't use any of the advanced features of this app so this shouldn't be hard (I think). I wouldn't mind (well, I could live with it) the massive file sizes the program creates if the program would then simply open and allow searches but it's painfully slow to open (4 mins, 30 seconds, with a fast i7 cpu, fast SSD & 16GBs of DRAM) - if it opens at all (it usually doesn't) and attempting a search is entirely futile (I last attempted to use it a month ago and it crashed 20 times on search in a row - I counted - this is when it opened at all). It might be the most aggravating piece of non-Microsoft software I've ever used. I'm still hoping an update happens one day (I really need what it should be able to do) but, currently, all my great investment in time and effort (basically at simply cataloging thumbnails) has been totally wasted. My advice is wait-for-an-update. Maybe it'll fix the mess that is this app?

I've had similar problems with WinCatalog (which often appears here on bits): VERY big db size, for the thumbnails, and NO virtual "cabinets"/folders, ie no gathering of files which originally are spread over different physical (NTFS or whatever) folders.

Then, I'm wondering about the silence of the developer, facing the above comments, interaction with a single developer being one of the bigger/biggest benefits of one-man* development ventures.

* = (deceased and) wonderful Karen Kenworthy being the sole (and tremendous) exception to that male-only rule in development, to my knowledge, up to now.

Also, I wonder where from to get visuals for originally-just-text elements in case, even just for my personal use: would it not be too much fuss, at the end of the day? (Since this tool is marketed as some idea-gathering tool, text-only ideas will be frequent after all?!)

So, yes, I'm in a line with other commenters here, wondering about the potential of such software, but not seeing it attained yet.

... and the following with the developers reply.

I purchased and used this software in the past (2015) at version 1.00. The issue I have is, it is only at version 1.00.37 in over three years. For all practical intents, it is dead software more than active or alive.
Just go into knowing you are buying software that apparently sees no time put into it by the developer to keep moving it forward.

Reply

Hello, thank you for your comment. It is true that we haven't release a new version. Partly that's because we focus on our flagship product Swift To-Do List, but Mind Collected is definitely not a dead software. We are prepared to update it if it's necessary. Overall this has been a very stable release.

If it's not a priority for the developer, then as a user, I'm not going to make it a priorty for me.

1575

General Software Discussion / Re: More Ads in Windows 10

« Last post by wraith808 on July 13, 2018, 03:37 PM »

Oh... I got the one about authenticator.  It just appears in the sidebar though, so I just ignore it.  I love that I can send all the prior bubbles and notifications to the sidebar and just ignore them...