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Recent Posts

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17401
DcUpdater / Re: Dcuppdater.exe crashes multiple times daily in W7...
« Last post by mouser on December 30, 2009, 06:15 AM »
Ah visual studio 2005 supports win98, that's good to know, then maybe i will upgrade to that on my vmware that i use for such things.

I did notice this interesting project which seems to claim it can make visual studio 2008 apps build for win98:

http://www.legacyextender.com/
17402
Screenshot Captor / Re: Broken Link on MiniCap page
« Last post by mouser on December 30, 2009, 05:10 AM »
thanks i'll update it.
in the meantime here's the link:
http://www.hi-compon.../apprehend/index.htm
17403
DcUpdater / Re: For developers who want to add DcUpdater check to their apps: dcuhelper.exe
« Last post by mouser on December 30, 2009, 04:01 AM »
Just a note that i've tested dcuhelper on windows versions from win98 to win7, all working.
17404
DcUpdater / Re: For developers who want to add DcUpdater check to their apps: dcuhelper.exe
« Last post by mouser on December 30, 2009, 02:54 AM »
I've posted a copy of the new version at:
https://www.donation.../alpha/dcuhelper.zip

Let me know how it works for you.  Remember it should work the same as before except when run on a machine without the main dcupdater program installed on it.
17405
DcUpdater / Re: For developers who want to add DcUpdater check to their apps: dcuhelper.exe
« Last post by mouser on December 30, 2009, 01:05 AM »
I'm not proud to say it only took me 11 months to add this feature, but i'm happy to say that i have implemented it, and will upload it in the next few days.

The new version of dcuhelper works as follows:

You bundle dcuhelper.exe (still about 100k) with your executable, and invoke it to check for updates.
As before, if the user has the full dcupdater installed, that will be used to check for updates and manage their installation if any are found.

What's changed is the behavior if the user does NOT have the main dcupdater tool installed.

In the past, the dcuhelper.exe would open the program web page and dcupdater page, where they could manually check to see if an update had been released.

Now, dcuhelper.exe will actually check on it's own if an update is available (note this only works with installs that have a single .dcupdate file and won't recursively check plugin updates).

If dcuhelper detects a new version available (or an error), it will behave as before and open the program web page in the browser for user to download and install the new version manually.

If there is no update, dcuhelper will behave like dcupdater and silently exit without bothering the user.

I hope this new feature will offer people the best of both worlds -- very lightweight update checking for people who don't want a full fledged update downloader and prefer to do things manually, and a full featured update tool for people who prefer an automated solution, and for complicated cases like plugins, etc.  The bottom line is that in the past users HAD to install the main dcupdater tool to get any useful benefit -- whereas now dcuhelper.exe on its own will be good enough for most users.  This should make bundling dcuhelper with your application more clearly a good thing to do.

I'll post the new version in a few days and would appreciate any help testing.
17406
DcUpdater / Re: Dcuppdater.exe crashes multiple times daily in W7...
« Last post by mouser on December 29, 2009, 06:53 PM »
The new version also includes a rebuild of the libcurl library, which i built using visual studio 2003, since it seems to be the last visual studio that will build static dll that doesnt require the ms runtimes that are missing in older windows versions (do i have that right?)
17407
DcUpdater / Re: Dcuppdater.exe crashes multiple times daily in W7...
« Last post by mouser on December 29, 2009, 06:48 PM »
it was very tricky to track down, and looks like it was from a component library i've used a lot.  it's code to enable drag and drop of files onto the form.  the code reroutes windows messages on start up using a call to SetWindowLong:
 SetWindowLong(TargetWnd,GWL_WNDPROC,NewWndProcedure);

Which basically reroutes windows messages for the target wnd element to new function -- that's what lets the code handle drag and drop onto a target form UI element.

And it seems that for whatever reason, on win7 some messages are getting sent to that rerouted function in the middle of destruction, when the new code/object is being torn down and no longer exists.

The solution was simply to un-reroute the windows message procedure before any destruction -- not sure why that was not being done before except that it didn't seem to make a difference before.
17408
DcUpdater / Re: Dcuppdater.exe crashes multiple times daily in W7...
« Last post by mouser on December 29, 2009, 05:26 PM »
DC members easye and katykaty have tested dozens of versions of the code to help me try to locate the problem.. not fun for anyone i assure you.

I have a new candidate version, let's see how this works for the rest of you:
https://www.donation...a/DcUpdaterSetup.exe
17409
Living Room / Re: Are my EBook Reader dreams going to be answered in 2010? A full size reader?
« Last post by mouser on December 29, 2009, 03:53 PM »
My desires are:
  • 8.5x11" Screen
  • Native PDF rendering
  • Reasonably fast page turning
  • Basic ability to add notations
17410
Living Room / Re: Best. Shop. Ever.
« Last post by mouser on December 29, 2009, 02:08 PM »
Love it.. i didn't realize how much of this stuff would be sort of historical in nature.. resulting from excess inventory of old items.. cool.  makes you think that maybe each of those items has some interesting story behind them..

No need to send me anything.. I just wanted to see what you'd get. Thanks for posting.

I guess if there was one item i'd like to see more pictures of it'd be the head swapping animals -- be nice to see what they look like "in action" so to speak.

17411
Living Room / Are my EBook Reader dreams going to be answered in 2010? A full size reader?
« Last post by mouser on December 29, 2009, 06:28 AM »
Today I read something that made my heart fill with joy.. The possibility of a full sized ebook reader:

First on the list is the QUE, from Plastic Logic, a company with e-reader technology that we've been covering since at least 2007. Like many of the others that will debut at CES, the QUE's display is E-Ink-based. But, unlike other E-Ink readers, the QUE's display is printed on a flexible, plastic backplane that will make the device lighter and more robust. QUE also sports a 8.5x11 inch screen, so that it can display printed business documents at their full size without scaling.

Aside from its form factor and enormous screen size, the other advantage the QUE has over its non-Sony competitors is a touch-based interface. Users will flick a finger across the display to change places, or tap to select items. Unlike the Nook, the action takes place on a single screen.

There's no word yet on pricing or availability, but Plastic Logic has had a factory working away on producing their displays since September of 2008. The QUE will be sold at Barnes and Noble (where it will compete with the bookseller's own hardware), and the latter is actually a content partner for the device, as well.

From the information released so far, it's clear that Plastic Logic's ultimate target isn't the Kindle, but the laser printer. The QUE aims to replace the stacks of print-outs in your briefcase, and not the paperback in your carry-on. In this respect, the Kindle DX, another device that's sold as a laser printer replacement, will compete with the QUE for business customers.

As a DX user, it's already clear to me that the QUE will be the superior option, barring any showstopping technical glitches or reliability issues. The DX's screen just doesn't work well for 8.5x11 documents—because it can't render them at their native resolution, the DX forces you to either scale or scroll. The former is hard on the eyes, while the latter is very awkward thanks to E-Ink's slow refresh rate.


This is the only tech product i've really been craving badly for years.. I've been waiting so long to be able to read full sized 8.5x11" academic papers.. This just can't come fast enough for me.
17412
General Software Discussion / Shell Extension City - Top 20 Freeware Programs of 2009
« Last post by mouser on December 29, 2009, 06:02 AM »
Many of the original handful of DonationCoder visitors discovered us through ShellCity and they've always been huge friends to small freeware developers.  Drop by all this week to check out their list of top new programs from 2009.

As we do this time every year, tonight we're beginning our presentation of the Shell City Top 20 programs of the year..... We'll be listing them in reverse order, five each night, until New Year's Eve, when we'll name the final Top Five for the New Year. So this is how it begins.....

17413
N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Release: Open Menu Format
« Last post by mouser on December 28, 2009, 06:19 PM »
I think the NANY concept is suitable for new web sites like this.
17414
Screenshot Captor / Re: Links to Reviews and Comments - Add yours!
« Last post by mouser on December 28, 2009, 05:08 AM »
Mentioned in PC World's 26 Greatest Windows Tips of All Time:

http://www.pcworld.c...ips_of_all_time.html

Screenshot - 12_28_2009 , 5_05_17 AM_thumb.png
17415
Circle Dock / Re: Circle Dock: A truly multi-lingual program
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 11:42 PM »
Wow  :-*
17416
N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Teaser: FarrSpell
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 10:30 PM »
By the way the problem Tomos had with crashing is related to a known problem with an older version of the fsubscript.dll found in some other plugins.
See https://www.donation....msg176615#msg176615 for more info.
17417
N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Teaser: FarrSpell
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 10:29 PM »
Updated with new icon set from hamradio that looks a lot better in large icon mode.  Thank ham  :Thmbsup:
17418
General Software Discussion / Re: Fave Folder hotkey utility
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 09:54 PM »
where's the download? the smiley links to smiley page..
17419
N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Pledge - World Cup Predictor FIFA 2010
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 09:27 PM »
Thought i would explain a little about my my rationale for making it a NANY submission even though the underlying code is not a complete rewrite.

Basically this version is built off of the 2006 version which accompanied the 2006 World Cup; after 2006 the predictor system went offline and was useless.

Today, 4 years later, i've set up all of the new tournament data for the 2010 event and re-set it to start from scratch all over from the beginning again for the 2010 event.

So that's my reasoning for thinking it could qualify as a NANY, but i'm happy to submit it as a Mini-NANY instead as an alternative.
17420
DcUpdater / Re: Dcuppdater.exe crashes multiple times daily in W7...
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 05:21 PM »
easye has had great patience with me and we are making good progress tracking down the bug, slowly and steadily.  it shall be fixed soon.
17421
WorldCup Predictor / Re: FIFA World Cup Predictor 2010
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 12:53 PM »
Even if you're not interested in gambling or the world cup, I'm hoping some of you may find the discussion of markov chain monte carlo statistics/probability interesting.

There is a page now which can be used to help you get a feel for how the different probability function parameters actually relate to game scores, and i've extended it to show actual sample simulated game scores, so you can get a better feel for how the means and standard deviation parameters map to scores:

https://www.donation...m/wcp/experthelp.php
17422
WorldCup Predictor / FIFA World Cup Predictor 2010
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 12:49 PM »
Thought I would start a new thread to discuss issues in the FIFA World Cup Predictor 2010 site/page.

We need experts to create some pairwise estimates of team matchup outcomes before the tool can be used for anything useful..

But If you want to get a feel for how this tool for calculating betting advice differs from a tool to predict the winner -- select the "Uniform Ratings" from expert ratings list, click Load, then Start the simulation.

What you should see over time is now every team equally likely to win the tournament.  Now look at the Expected Profit columns.  Red entries are expected profitable bets, the higher the better.  Note that Honduras is the highest expected payoff -- which makes sense since it's the team that has the highest payoff odds and we are assuming for this experiment that all teams are equally likely to win.
17423
General Software Discussion / Re: software to draw network map
« Last post by mouser on December 27, 2009, 12:46 PM »
This is probably overkill (and costs $90): LanFlow
http://www.pacestar.com/lanflow/desc.htm

I've used their very friendly flow charting software in the past (Edge Diagrammer).
17424
N.A.N.Y. 2010 / MINI-NANY 2010 Release: World Cup Predictor FIFA 2010
« Last post by mouser on December 26, 2009, 10:19 PM »
MINI-NANY 2010 Entry Information

Application Name World Cup Predictor FIFA 2010
Version v2010
Short Description This is an online javascript tool that uses Markov Chain Monte Carlo statistics to predict the best monetary bets to place on the FIFA 2010 Tournament
Supported OSes Online (firefox,IE)
Web Page https://www.donationcoder.com/wcp
Author mouser and crono
Screencast

This is an online tool to help predict the most profitable bets on the winner of the FIFA World Cup 2010 (soccer).  It uses Markov Chain Monte Carlo statistical methods to simulate tens of thousands of tournaments, using expert-provided pairwise game score estimates, and then calculates the expected payoffs of bets based on current odds.

Description

MCMC works by leveraging simple single-event probabilities, that you can easily estimate, into long-range predictions involving many interactions. There's no magic involved. It's basically a way of estimating the probabilities of complex multi-step outcomes through brute force simulation.

In the case of the World Cup, this amounts to simulating complete tournaments by playing each game from round one through the final, choosing winners based on simple pairwise expectations of how the teams pair up against each other.

The pairwise match-up probabilities are the key to being able to simulate entire tournaments autonomously, and must be provided by an expert or from records of previously played games. You can create your own pairwise estimations using WCP'10 or use one of the probability estimation tables generated by an expert.

Obviously, the accuracy of this pairwise match-up table is critical to getting good results from the Tournament Simulator. The key to the power of MCMC methods is that they let you convert simple known (or relatively easily estimable) probabilities, and by simulating full sequences of outcomes over and over again, arrive at an estimate of the probabilities of different long-term highly-interactive final outcomes.

You can read more about the statistical methods involved on the wcp page: https://www.donationcoder.com/wcp

History

This tool was originally written for the 2006 world cup, and DC member Crono was instrumental in helping me code it.

It is borderline inappropriate for NANY since it is not a complete rewrite -- but I am hoping it will be ok with everyone to submit it because it is a whole new tournament event.

Screencast


Screenshots
From the 2006 tournament:
sampleresults.png
17425
WorldCup Predictor / Re: FIFA 2010 coming up.. should we update the World Cup Predictor?
« Last post by mouser on December 26, 2009, 10:10 PM »
Update:
I've loaded it up with some current betting odds found on the web.

So it's ready to roll.. Though it's missing any expert ratings so it's not going to be of much use until then.


However, if you want to get a feel for how this tool for calculating betting advice differs from a tool to predict the winner -- select the "Uniform Ratings" from expert ratings list, click Load, then Start the simulation.

What you should see over time is now every team equally likely to win the tournament.  Now look at the Expected Profit columns.  Red entries are expected profitable bets, the higher the better.  Note that Honduras is the highest expected payoff -- which makes sense since it's the team that has the highest payoff odds and we are assuming for this experiment that all teams are equally likely to win.

[LOCKING TOPIC -- PLEASE REPLY ON ONE OF THE ACTIVE WCP 2010 THREADS]
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