Recent Posts

1576

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the currently best Desktop Search software?

« Last post by Dormouse on December 27, 2008, 04:06 AM »

what about StopKa

-vitali_y (November 24, 1973, 12:04 PM)

OK. I thought I would give it a go.

Problem 1
What I expect to see when setting up an index is a number of obvious options to select. At a minimum-

• location(s) of files/documents to index
• types of file/document to index
• location to save index to
• name of index

I did not find this. And in my initial looking around the menus, I could not even find the location in which the index would be placed.

Problem 2
Never mind, I thought. I'll try an index and see how it goes and then should be able to find the index file easily enough.
I did the index; drive C. Indexed lots of files; only just over 3 hours. Found index in C:\Stopka\. But however I tried to search, I couldn't get it to find any documents.

Problem 3
Never mind, I thought again. I will move the index location to a suitable place. I will index most of the internal hard drives. And left it to run overnight.
In morning, a visual C error message. And a Windows message saying windows had run out of memory and had switched to a paging file (first time that has ever happened to me in recent years, and not a lot was running apart from Stopka) - and it was obviously running like treacle. Restarted machine. Deleted Stopka.

Sorry to be negative, but I do expect a much easier path into testing out a Search program.

1577

Living Room / Re: Photography Questions

« Last post by Dormouse on December 23, 2008, 04:53 PM »

Another point worth considering is the lens.
 
If you were to get the A200 (and money weren't a major issue), it would probably be worth getting it with the extremely well regarded Sony or Tamron 18-250 lens (which would make it more equivalent to the Canon 40D in price, but produce much better quality output; putting a decent lens on the Canon would push its cost even higher).

Can't emphasize enough that making the best of any of these cameras means putting on a much better quality lens than comes in the kit.

The 18-250 seems to be exceptional value for money (rather like the A200) and also adds a much greater range (and is said to be pretty good along the whole range). A lot of people seem to use it as their only lens, even when they have a number of decent lenses to choose from. Works very well on the A700 too.

I'd want to repeat that I'm not trying to recommend the A200. The essence, as Lutz_ said, is trying all the options out.

1578

General Software Discussion / Re: Editor for PDFs: recommendations, please?

« Last post by Dormouse on December 23, 2008, 12:52 PM »

I didn't spot a PayPal link, though I wasn't looking for one.  Did I miss it?

-rjbull (December 23, 2008, 09:22 AM)

I think they stopped doing PayPal.
A virtual debit/credit card is not the same as paypal even if it is one done by paypal. Their one works as a standard Mastercard, but you only have the amount of money you are spending with that retailer on it. It's a system to avoid giving your real credit card details to retailers you aren't sure of, but it seems it might circumvent this difficulty.

1579

General Software Discussion / Re: Editor for PDFs: recommendations, please?

« Last post by Dormouse on December 23, 2008, 06:37 AM »

Since we do not ship internationally, we also do not accept international credit/debit cards. We only accept credit/ debit cards that are issued in the U.S., from a U.S. Bank.

This despite the offer being a download rather than physical shipment.

-rjbull (December 23, 2008, 03:46 AM)

Have you tried a virtual debit/credit card such as paypal's?

1580

Living Room / Re: Photography Questions

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2008, 06:36 AM »

That is correct, only has to cover the 18-55 range. Right now, I am being pushed in the Sony direction but from what I read, the quality at higher exposure levels (ISO Levels) tends to be a bit noisy when compared to the somewhat more expensive canon. We were looking at the Sony A200 and the Canon 40d.

-Josh (December 22, 2008, 06:08 AM)

A lot of fuss is made about high ISO differences, but most photos are taken in low ISO, and the differences between the brands at high ISO are actually very small and not easily noticed on prints at most normal sizes. Any difference in quality between the lenses on the cameras will be greater.

The counter argument tends to be that Canon photos look 'plastic' because of the in-camera noise reduction which smoothes things out. (And whatever claims are made, ALL digital cameras do have in-camera NR)

You always need to think whether any differences important to pixel peepers will be differences you will actually notice in your own real life use.

High ISO photos on Sony are generally best taken in RAW and not PPd with ACR, but again whether you will notice the difference is pretty moot.

If you are worried about high ISO, download copies of photos you like taken by the camera in question at high ISO and have them printed at relevant sizes (or just check them out on your monitor - worth remembering that not all monitors are really worth trying to calibrate, so worth thinking about monitors too - potentially $£$£). Remember a lot of stuff on the web is either too small in resolution, or done at 100% making it too big.

You have to be really cynical when reading stuff on the web about cameras, whether they are reviews or comments. Most, if not all, are done by people with a commitment to one system and much less experience of others.

If you are interested in Sony, it is worth visiting photoclubalpha. The photog who runs the site has extensive experience of Sony and Minolta - but also of other systems - and one of the most frequent posters seems to think of nothing but extremely high ISOs.

1581

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2008, 06:06 AM »

Firefox has no ability to display CHM files. So this is not a configuration issue. All CHM files, on all Windows versions and from all programs are displayed by Internet Explorer. If you don't like this you can use the PDF help file.

-Outertech Support (December 22, 2008, 06:00 AM)

Has an add-on for CHM, though.

1582

Living Room / Re: Photography Questions

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2008, 06:02 AM »

• DSLR Camera with interchangeable lenses. The lens it comes with MUST have a focal length of 18-55mm. I was looking at the Canon EOS 40d which seems to have all she needs and will be a decent system for her use throughout the course (Or until they require us buy more lenses, etc)

-Josh (December 20, 2008, 12:31 AM)

Whatever anyone says, it's best not to choose a camera without trying it in hand, trying the control system (buttons and menus) etc. Some people adjust quickly from one system to another, some find one system much more intuitive than others. How the camera feels, size etc also makes a difference. We all do better with a camera that feels right.

Also worth looking at photos made with the different systems by 'ordinary' photographers. All makes produce good cameras, but color tones and the general look of a photo vary in a significant way - even if you shoot raw and do a lot of PP.

Once decent (ie expensive) lenses are bought, that becomes an extra disincentive to change makes. So buying the brand that feels best at the beginning is worth the effort. There does tend to be a consistency within each brand in the types of body, control systems and tones etc. And remember, in the end, most photographers end up with far more money invested in lenses than in camera bodies.

At the very least, I'd try Canon, Nikon and Sony (all likely to be around long-term; Canon and Nikon well-established; Sony fast expanding market share from its Minolta/Sony base); and I'd also try to look at Pentax and Olympus, though they'd have to feel very attractive to make me go with their systems at this stage). All capable of producing good photos.

I assume that it doesn't have to be an 18-55 lens, just one that covers that range?

1583

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by Dormouse on December 22, 2008, 05:20 AM »

I'm just surprised and a little disappointed that Linkman's Help file is configured to run in an IE window rather than in the window of the user's default browser.

-cyberdiva (December 22, 2008, 05:10 AM)

I'd agree with that. Seems to me that most people who don't use IE as their default prefer not to see it activate at all. May not be a big issue, but a bit disquieting.

1584

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Teaser: Tree List

« Last post by Dormouse on December 21, 2008, 09:06 AM »

I would like to be able to see more text visible (ie that the text box is able to go as wide as the window). Also easy export/import; I assume it would not be too much of a prob to do this with xml files.

1585

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Teaser: Tree List

« Last post by Dormouse on December 21, 2008, 08:59 AM »

Congratulations Richard, as a simple To Do List it works fine (at least I couldn't break it).

And simple is pretty nice. I also use ToDoList, which now does almost everything, but it's not small and quick anymore (well, not as small and quick as it used to be)

-Perry Mowbray (December 05, 2008, 05:35 AM)

I also use ToDoList, but like most tasklist/todolist progs it is complex and not well suited to quick lists of transitory stuff. So simple tasklist progs definitely have their place, and probably would be used most often. In comparing this with ToDoList and JustDoIt, it seems to me that this is the prog that is best for very transitory jotting and todo management, JustDoIt interfaces well with other progs (easy to export from ToDoList into it for example) and is better for checking whether something was done and so fits in-between TreeList and ToDoList. I hope both progs develop further because they could both be even more useful than they are now.

1586

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Teaser: Tree List

« Last post by Dormouse on December 21, 2008, 08:47 AM »

Terrific. The hierarchical functionality is what's missing from JustDoIt IMO.

-Ehtyar (December 05, 2008, 05:19 AM)

Interesting differences between the two.

This has the hierarchy. And multiple lists.
JustDoIt has moving of the done items, a record of what is done (can be kept long-term, on daily, weekly, monthly etc basis), a very easy way to import items in bulk and 'automatic export'.

1587

Finished Programs / Re: JustToDoIt - Fast ToDo lister

« Last post by Dormouse on December 21, 2008, 04:55 AM »

Would also be cool if there were options for the CompletedTasks:-

• them all to have a time/date stamp when completed
• for them to be struck through when completed (makes it more obvious that it is the completed list being looked at, but possibly less easy to read)

1588

Finished Programs / Re: JustToDoIt - Fast ToDo lister

« Last post by Dormouse on December 20, 2008, 08:58 PM »

Also seems to me that putting items straight into the text file (either writing or cutting/pasting - especially from a clipboard manager) is the fastest way of doing this in bulk.
This is a major improvement over the tedious large boxes that need completion in most todo apps.

1589

Finished Programs / Re: JustToDoIt - Fast ToDo lister

« Last post by Dormouse on December 20, 2008, 07:32 PM »

I'm thinking about how to show multiple lists too or some way of being able to seperate multiple projects. Maybe it could recognise <project>: task formatted tasks and generate tabs or a menu of some kind, keeping the speedy input/overviews.

project a: example task
project b: some other task

this could result in a tasklist per project.

-justice (November 12, 2008, 08:05 AM)

Isn't this what we have, more or less. Multiple instances give multiple lists.

Simplicity is good, portability is good.
Showing more than one list at a time would also be good (ie potential for multiple panes); also potential to set background color for each list (so I know immediately which list is which).

I find multiple lists easier than setting projects.
Phone calls to make;
things I've just thought I must do in a minute;
letters to write;
etc
Anything complex and I would use a much more complex program, but I don't want a much more complex program for very simple things I expect to do very soon.

This can also be used as a simple checkbox template; one instance per task; at end, save completed tasks under the task name.

Also a very quick way of making a test list into a checkbox list.

1590

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by Dormouse on December 20, 2008, 06:03 AM »

Cranioscopical's occurrence seems the same as mine: calling ie when trying to update from Linkman. At least it suggest that the issue was not for my system alone.

1591

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by Dormouse on December 19, 2008, 06:53 AM »

That's very strange then. It is many years since I had ie as a default browser and the only time it can ever appear so on any of my machines is when Windows is first installed. I know it has never been the case here since other progs always launch the default browser (Opera). Well, I'm glad Linkman usually installs the same default as the machine, but slightly perturbed at why it wasn't the case with me (this is the point at which I become slightly paranoid about what might have been secretly changing settings in the background).

Thanks for all the info. 

1592

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by Dormouse on December 18, 2008, 07:09 PM »

I think two 24" is too much, but I'm not sure.  I don't know what brand is good. 

-superboyac (December 18, 2008, 03:36 PM)

Why do you think 2 x 24" is too much? Usefulness will depend on how you have them set up, where you sit etc, but I'm not sure too much screen space is possible.

Brand. Always worth checking reviews, but in my experience very cheap, well reviewed models turn out to be very good (so long as the guarantee is equivalent to other brands anyway - I've never tried a monitor with less than 3 year cover). My latest was a DigiMate - very cheap but does exactly what I need and I'm very pleased with the quality. I would only buy models that have good user reviews though (assuming that the site you buy from has reliable reviews) - with cheap models it is easy to get poorly manufactured monitors with awful quality control. But for normal use, I still see no reason to pay more.

Not true for specialist uses though. For instance, if you are a keen photographer who will be wanting to calibrate your monitor so that you can see exactly what will be printed, you will have to select very carefully and expect to pay a much higher price; photographer friendly models are reducing in numbers too.

1593

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by Dormouse on December 18, 2008, 06:03 PM »

If you mean "Help | Updates" in Linkman's main menu then it launches the browser that is specified in the Linkman settings as your default browser (Tools | Settings | Launch URLs).

-Outertech Support (December 18, 2008, 05:26 PM)

I do and I have changed it now , but surely it should use the default browser in the absence of instructions to do the contrary?

1594

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by Dormouse on December 18, 2008, 04:19 PM »

Interesting.

I clicked on the search for updates and up sprung internet explorer (definitely NOT my default browser) looking for the update. I took advantage of it to install the security patch, but I definitely do not like it launching ie.

1595

General Software Discussion / Re: Is it finally time to abandon IE?

« Last post by Dormouse on December 17, 2008, 10:39 AM »

To stay protected, it pays to be informed about risks as they occur, and to have options.

I use Opera, and FF, and increasingly Iron/Chrome and occasionally ie. I see few advantages to using ie, so I avoid it, partly for the benefits of the other browsers but also for the reduced risks of not using the  most prevalent programs. If I see a risk with one, I switch to using the others until it is sorted.

I use the same approach for most types of programs, though still use XP more than Linux.

1596

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Teaser: Permanent Toothbrush, i.e. Iphi's Memorable Passwords

« Last post by Dormouse on December 16, 2008, 04:32 PM »

i for example still remember that 258512 was my phone number when i was a kid.

-iphigenie (December 16, 2008, 06:19 AM)

So can I! 

OK, lets see how common that is

-Perry Mowbray (December 16, 2008, 06:34 AM)

No, I had a different number

1597

General Software Discussion / Re: Another 'Lifetime' license bites the dust

« Last post by Dormouse on December 16, 2008, 04:22 PM »

a developer has to fund themselves in some way ... When the sales tail off, either because the market matures, or like now, people rein in their spending then we have to expect people to change their models.

-markan (December 16, 2008, 04:57 AM)

The problem is the idea that a change of model will solve the income shortage. The best model for a product is the best model for that product whatever the state of the economy. There are things that can be done to bring income forwards, but moving to a different model will not improve things unless the wrong model was used in the first place. The danger of making an abrupt and major change is that it will affect the perception of customers and future customers in a way that can't be undone.

As you say, a lifetime model only really works if there will always be a supply of new customers. It can make people more likely to buy (sometimes much more likely) and can be a useful differentiator from competitors. So it is not necessarily a bad model for many products. And many people lose their license details and still upgrade their hardware from time to time - can be tempted to buy a new license. Usage of a program is often short or medium term (say between 2 and 6 years) - so there may not be a huge loss compared to an Upgrade cycle model (and on upgrade models, many people have another look at the competition every time they are asked to fork out again).

Annual licenses generally play poorly in the consumer market except for AVs - and then only because people are scared into it. I would be surprised if many products can increase their long-term income by moving to this model, wherever they start from.

1598

General Software Discussion / Re: Bear Bottoms Freeware: A very nice high-quality software site

« Last post by Dormouse on December 14, 2008, 06:27 PM »

Very strange that Silverstein arrives here to draw attention to this thread more than two years after the most recent post. If he/she didn't want the site promoted, then why post in this forgotten thread at all?

1599

General Software Discussion / Re: Another 'Lifetime' license bites the dust

« Last post by Dormouse on December 12, 2008, 08:12 AM »

I agree completely with Carol that this announcement of an imminent loss of the lifetime license is an attempt at a good marketing ploy. Some realisation that the annual license may not be as remunerative as they would like, but they want to get as much cash now as they can without getting a reputation for sales and discounts.

1600

General Software Discussion / Re: Another 'Lifetime' license bites the dust

« Last post by Dormouse on December 12, 2008, 08:09 AM »

There is SUPERAntiSpyware Lifetime Subscription. I've got a licensed copy. Check it. It can't detect any spyware, though nor can it prevent the system being infected. Thrown it out and installed Spyware Doctor. Peace, now.

-BCHOWDHURY (December 12, 2008, 05:31 AM)

I use Kaspersky atm. 3 year license; cheap deal; very effective; uninstalled Spyware Doctor some time ago. I reconsider the prog I use everytime I get to the end of my license. There are some progs I have a lifetime license for that I don't currently use (so the lifetime sale was good marketing); others that produce regular upgrades where I also don't use - and don't buy upgrades.

What developers should be considering is what sort of product and market they have and what type of license is likely to be most effective for them.

In practice, I think many of them just think "I'm not getting as much money as I think I should be getting, so I'll change the license to bring more money in". This strategy is quite capable of reducing their income rather than increasing it.

We are now in a recession. Most developers will just have to accept that incomes are likely to reduce until things pick up again.

TreeDBnotes did a similar thing to FruityLoops.