Recent Posts

1801

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Discrepancy Trainer

« Last post by JavaJones on November 15, 2009, 10:51 PM »

Cool idea, and useful for more than just programmers, to be sure!

- Oshyan

1802

Living Room / Re: Netflix might delay new release shipping by 1 month

« Last post by JavaJones on November 15, 2009, 09:44 PM »

"How many times have you watched something on DVD only to wish you could have seen it on the big screen afterwards?"

That is a *really* interesting point, but I do wonder whether the number of people who would want to see it a second time in theaters, especially for a premium as you described, are really the vast minority. I think they might well be. Though I know I might be one of those people.

- Oshyan

1803

Developer's Corner / Re: Is there such a thing as Rentacoder in reverse?

« Last post by JavaJones on November 14, 2009, 10:03 PM »

Almost sounds like an idea I had a little while ago for sort of a mini-VC funding social networking/community site. But I figured something like it would have to already exist. I didn't look very hard, didn't find anything though. Then I thought mostly what I want is just a way to connect myself with cool projects, so it got more specific and I lost interest in it. But now that you bring it up *as a coder* it's piqued my interest again. Hmm...

- Oshyan

1804

Living Room / Re: a gmail system that works for me.

« Last post by JavaJones on November 13, 2009, 04:28 PM »

Google employees can read your email anytime? Really? And you know this how?

There are web-based interfaces to free/open source email servers. You could easily run your own mail server that way and have web access. Or if you have one of the millions of cheap web hosts out there, you get the same thing for free - POP, IMAP, and web-based email. The advantage there is that if your machine or 'net connection go down at home and you're away, you still have email.

- Oshyan

1805

TFDocs / Re: tfdocs.com - share your creations

« Last post by JavaJones on November 12, 2009, 02:36 PM »

That actually looks really good and potentially useful for me very soon mouser. Thanks!

- Oshyan

1806

Living Room / Re: Open source remake of the classic game Elite

« Last post by JavaJones on November 12, 2009, 01:02 AM »

Wow Deozaan, that sounds really cool!

- Oshyan

1807

Living Room / Re: How would you improve a standard PC keyboard?

« Last post by JavaJones on November 11, 2009, 12:36 PM »

Ever since the "10 GUI" thread I've been really interested in the idea of a keyboard with a large multi-touch surface next to or as part of it. If it was also a screen (OLED or LCD), it could dynamically display keys or other info depending on the mode it's in. I'd pay $200 for a keyboard like this that worked well...

-JavaJones (November 09, 2009, 09:54 PM)

Yes: me too. Though I'm a bit concerned about the lack of travel in the "keys".

Did you see http://www.artlebede...hing/optimus-tactus/ ? Not a lot of information, but it'd be neat if it included pointing as well.

-Perry Mowbray (November 11, 2009, 05:55 AM)

Oh wow, hadn't seen that. Awesome. But as you said I'm not sure I'd want it without any travel in the keys for the *entire* keyboard. I was more thinking of a part on the side(s) of the keyboard where the numpad would usually be that did double duty as tracking surface (multitouch), numpad, and fully customizable command area. Maybe one on either side...
Still the Tactus looks interesting.

- Oshyan

1808

Living Room / Re: Open source remake of the classic game Elite

« Last post by JavaJones on November 11, 2009, 12:28 AM »

Yes, like EVE, except even better graphics, fully simulated galaxy (maybe Universe?) of hundreds of thousands of stars, real-world planetary (and galactic) scales with planets you can fly down to from space right down to a few meters above ground, planets including mountains and vegetation and whatnot, and - my favorite - you can actually fly the ships directly, rather than the more RTS-like EVE ship control.

- Oshyan

1809

General Software Discussion / Re: Wanted: Version Control for non-software project for dummies

« Last post by JavaJones on November 10, 2009, 06:12 PM »

Tell them if they make it flexible enough they could sell it.

- Oshyan

1810

General Software Discussion / Re: Wanted: Version Control for non-software project for dummies

« Last post by JavaJones on November 10, 2009, 05:00 PM »

If such a thing really doesn't exist, it seems like a niche waiting to be filled! I know my office could use something like it. Hmm...

- Oshyan

1811

Developer's Corner / Re: redmine: website tool for collaborative project todolist/wiki, bugtracking, etc

« Last post by JavaJones on November 10, 2009, 02:58 PM »

After a few days of heavier use I'm still really enjoying this thing. I do wish it had more specific, dedicated "project planning" functionality, e.g. enter in a series of high-level tasks with sub-tasks, due dates, etc. but you can use the issue tracker roughly that way, including scheduling, basic gantt-type charting, etc. Of course there are probably plugins that would help accomplish this, but I haven't delved into them too much yet:
http://www.redmine.o.../redmine/Plugin_List

Just thought I'd also mention, for anyone who doesn't have a web server, doesn't want their data to live on someone else's machine, or just wants a quick and easy way to set this up at home for their own use, Bitnami has a Redmine stack that works very well: http://bitnami.org/stack/redmine
Bitnami basically allows you to install and run Redmine (and many other web-based tools) automatically and easily on your local machine, without worrying about getting all the necessary supporting apps - Apache, Ruby on Rails, etc. Then you just access it locally on your machine through a web browser, easy as pie.

- Oshyan

1812

Post New Requests Here / Re: REQ - name format changer

« Last post by JavaJones on November 10, 2009, 01:44 PM »

I reckon you might be able to do this with Excel (or OpenOffice Calc other spreadsheet app), particularly if all the names actually separated by commas or spaces already. If it's in a plain text file just load it as a CSV, specify the separator that works best to get the data into columns (it will show you a preview in the Calc importer from which you can judge). Then once you have it in columns, just switch the columns and save out to text file.

- Oshyan

1813

Living Room / Re: Open source remake of the classic game Elite

« Last post by JavaJones on November 10, 2009, 01:36 PM »

Speaking of infinite game universes, are any of you familiar with Infinity: The Quest for Earth? Deozaan, I imagine this might be particularly interesting for you. It's aimed at being an MMO, but the engine that powers it looks to be fantastically powerful (read the developer's blog, and check out videos of it on YouTube), so I hope it ends up being available for other game development (open source or commercially).

- Oshyan

1814

Living Room / Re: How would you improve a standard PC keyboard?

« Last post by JavaJones on November 09, 2009, 09:54 PM »

Apple's "Mighty Mouse" has a ball for a "wheel". I really don't like it though. I like the more solid, "clicky" feel of a wheel really.

Ever since the "10 GUI" thread I've been really interested in the idea of a keyboard with a large multi-touch surface next to or as part of it. If it was also a screen (OLED or LCD), it could dynamically display keys or other info depending on the mode it's in. I'd pay $200 for a keyboard like this that worked well...

- Oshyan

1815

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows vs. Mac: I'm starting to change.

« Last post by JavaJones on November 09, 2009, 12:44 PM »

I was 'close' to switch to a mac just because i work as a webdesigner with adobe products (photoshop, bridge, indesign, illustrator, dreamweaver...).

-DFrench (November 09, 2009, 12:04 PM)

This is a common thing I come across and these days I really don't understand it. The entire Creative Suite, well integrated, is available on the PC as well. In fact I hear the latest version - at least of Photoshop - was actually developed with the PC as its primary platform rather than the Mac (obviously it works on both, but there is still usually a "lead SKU"). Also as far as I recall 64 bit Photoshop/Creative Suite was unavailable on the Mac until Snow Leopard, while it was available from day 1 on the PC. So it's really just a very, very outdated myth that Macs are better than PCs for graphic design work and/or Adobe apps.

Anyway thankfully you didn't switch for this foolish notion, since you seem to like PCs anyway.

- Oshyan

1816

General Software Discussion / Re: Firefox 3.5.5 Netflix and Silverlight - watch online

« Last post by JavaJones on November 09, 2009, 12:30 AM »

I've actually been using this quite a lot lately as most of what's on TV is crap and if I can stream something good legally, it's a much better option. Mostly I watch TV shows, especially since high definition doesn't matter as much to me there. But the quality can even be quite good sometimes. Overall I'm impressed and highly recommend it. It's well worth the price. But then I've always been a fan of Netflix...

- Oshyan

1817

Developer's Corner / Re: redmine: website tool for collaborative project todolist/wiki, bugtracking, etc

« Last post by JavaJones on November 08, 2009, 09:09 PM »

Old thread, but I just thought I'd add my 2 cents in favor of Redmine. I discovered it about a year ago and have been trying to move more and more of my stuff to it ever since. I'm just now getting to setting it up for a lot of my personal projects, and the speed at which I can do so blows away anything else I've tried, including dedicated project management apps. One of the things that's great about it is the inclusion of many ways to interact with it and enter data, from normal "issue" tracking, to wiki, to forums. The wiki element is particularly useful when compared with e.g. a normal project management tool where there are often not good places to enter large amounts of free form project-related data. The addition of file attachments and discreet wiki-format "documents" also gives you more options for organizing info.

All in all I'm a big fan, though I haven't used it too seriously just yet (despite having discovered it a year ago and been tinkering with it since then). I'll report back again soon after I've had a bit more in-depth time with it.

- Oshyan

1818

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by JavaJones on November 08, 2009, 03:55 PM »

Cool, thanks for the info. Looking forward to Avast 5! Is there any news on when it might be released publicly?

- Oshyan

1819

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by JavaJones on November 08, 2009, 02:46 PM »

Interesting, I've actually found MSE on my older dual core laptop to be pretty snappy, in comparison to AVG. I can't be sure there's a direct corollary, but I do find the system waking up from hibernation faster, and I find less slowdown in dealing with the massive amount of multiple-brand browser windows I tend to have open at any given time (currently 13 Chrome windows, 9 Opera windows, and something like 20 IE windows). I've only had it on a week or so now, but so far I'm very happy.

I'm also curious to try the new Avast when it comes out. I have Avast running on my media machine, another recent convert from AVG, and so far it seems fine, but somehow I'm more impressed by MSE at this point. Maybe I expected less.

- Oshyan

1820

General Software Discussion / Re: Sorting of files into folders - need an easier way

« Last post by JavaJones on November 08, 2009, 02:38 PM »

This may be an unpopular suggestion, entirely against the workflow you have going here, but I just sort things as I go throughout the week. If I extract an attachment from email, I stick it in a folder before opening it. If I save something from the web, I file it appropriately before doing anything with it. It seems pretty efficient to do it this way, particularly since it allows me to remember the exact context and use that as part of the sort criteria. For example I may have downloaded a driver for a particular graphics card, and if I come to it later I'll see it as "Graphics card driver" and put it in "Drivers", but in reality when I downloaded it, it was for a friend's computer, and I have a separate folder which I call "Work" with subfolder "Clients" where I keep files specifically for use with other people's computers. If I sort later, I may not remember that context.

Anyway that's just my method. Sorting all at once may be more efficient in theory, but in practice you do run into the issues you mention above.

- Oshyan

1821

General Software Discussion / Re: Trying to find way of managing documents

« Last post by JavaJones on November 08, 2009, 02:34 PM »

There's a free version of Alfresco with minimal limitations, so if it otherwise meets your needs, it might be worth another look. If you haven't already seen this list, it may be also be useful: http://en.wikipedia...._Management_software

- Oshyan

1822

Living Room / Re: Post Your Funny Videos Here [NSFW]

« Last post by JavaJones on November 07, 2009, 01:51 AM »

The PSAs were brilliant! That's the kind of stuff I've always wanted to make and put up on real TV. I wanted to have an "Endowment for the Weird Arts" or something that sponsored stuff like that, totally random commercials for nothing in particular.

I'm also a big fan of Japanese game shows, but I surprisingly hadn't seen some of those. The water rocket one was kind of amazing - he was actually airborne for quite a while!

There's no end of funny stuff online of course, but I'll start with one of my current favs, and Internet sensation (I'm sorry I actually said that) Jon Lajoie. You guys have probably seen some of his more well known stuff, but since nobody posted any yet:
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=5PsnxDQvQpw
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=qqXi8WmQ_WM
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=8MMc3f588yc

- Oshyan

1823

Living Room / Re: Carl Sagan sings (with help from Stephen Hawking)

« Last post by JavaJones on November 06, 2009, 12:45 PM »

Wow... that's kind of... amazing. God bless Autotune I guess, heh.

- Oshyan

1824

Living Room / Re: Lenovo Reliability

« Last post by JavaJones on November 04, 2009, 11:28 PM »

Wow! Yeah, up until very recently I've continued to regard them highly, and the press has seemed to do likewise. This is the first explicit acknowledgement of large-scale problems I've seen actually. We had some problems with one at work about 6-8 months ago, so I've been a bit wary since then...

So what was listed as the most reliable?

- Oshyan

1825

Coding Snack Guidelines / Re: IDEA Submit webform (sweepstakes entry) daily, weekly, monthly...automatically?

« Last post by JavaJones on November 04, 2009, 06:58 PM »

How about using a tab manager for FF, opening the sweepstakes sites, saving as a Session, then you just re-open whenever you want to enter. It won't do it automatically every day, but...

And then use something like LastPass to auto-fill the forms.

- Oshyan