Newsletter for May 7th, 2010
"Birds of a Feather Update Together"
1. Newsletter EditorialHi all, and welcome to another edition of the DonationCoder.com newsletter. It's been less than 30 days since the last newsletter, and I'm trying to work my way back to doing them every 2 weeks, instead of the 4 week gaps that have become common.
I've updated half a dozen of my larger programs in the last week, and this newsletter marks their shift from beta to release status. You'll find links below -- the biggest update is to Screenshot Captor, which now boasts some of the best capturing of Windows 7 and Vista semi-transparent (Aero Glass) windows you can find.
Skrommel, the legendary coding snacks coder finally gave in and has recompiled his huge collection of utilities hosted on DonationCoder, but we are still waiting for the new versions to be uploaded on his page -- I think this may be a case where we all need to nag him on the forum to show him how much we appreciate his work. If you haven't visited it in a while, stop by his section and take a look, and send him a message telling him to update the files already!
Markham has released a new update to CircleDock, the insanely popular circular launch dock that got it's start on DC (originally coded by Eric Wong). And DC member and programming legend Ecaradec, has posted about his latest creation, Swiffout, a browser extension that can take an in-browser flash game and let you play it full screen.
Lastly, let me mention here that I'm putting out an open invitation for anyone who wants to come over on May 22nd (Saturday) to my place in Champaign IL, for food and to play board games. See the thread below for more details. Social outcasts and shy non-talkers are welcome.
2. User-to-User: Your Input RequestedWe encourage everyone's participation on the forum, regardless of your computer knowledge or how long you've been a DC member. If you're still waiting to make your first post, see the links below for some good places to dive in.
3. May 2010 DiscountsLast month we featured a discount on the
VTrain vocabulary trainer, and gave some copies of it away as well. We're pleased to announce that VTrain has agreed to extend the discount through May, for anyone who missed it in April.
4. DC Member Software UpdatesThis month DC members announced a few new coding snack utilities and software updates.
5. Mouser Software Updates on DCI released a bunch of updates to my larger software programs on the site, including some major new features (like completely re-written functions for capturing Vista/Win7 Aero transparency effect by Screenshot Captor).
6. DC Member Software Updates and Mini-reviewsWe also have an eclectic trio of new mini reviews posted by forum members:
7. Site/Forum Features and DiscussionThere are several ongoing discussion threads about DonationCoder.com features, structure, and possible improvements.. I think we are finally reaching some agreement on our top priorities for things we want to do going forward, but we still want to hear more opinions about these things, so don't be shy!
8. Website Discoveries, Debates, and DiscussionsWhat's new on the world wide web? What fun new sites have forum members discovered? What's the current hot topic and debate? Let's find out..
9. Fun, Games and Amusements on the WebIf you've read the newsletter up to this point, take a break and check out some of the lighter fare from the forum - humour, videos, and games..
10. Software DiscussionAlmost half the posts on the forum fall into the category of general software discussions, questions, recommendations, etc. This is one of the most active sections of the DC forum and a great resource if you're trying to solve a software or hardware related problem.
11. Developer's CornerIf you're not a programmer, don't let the title of this section scare you away - there's something here for everyone, even non-programmers! It's more than just a forum about software development, it's also where we discuss web design, entrepreneurial struggles, and general productivity issues. It's great to see that the section has been pretty active recently.
12. News You Can UseDC member Stephen6615 has been filling in for Ehtyar in posting weekly summaries of interesting tech/computer/security news articles that he comes across on the web. He even forced me to create an archive page where you can browse through past editions.
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