Recent Posts

201

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Actual Window Menu - 24 hour Giveaway.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 17, 2013, 06:20 AM »

(make sure you reg with the "glary" details beforehand)

-mitzevo (April 17, 2013, 06:11 AM)

? ? ?

202

General Software Discussion / Re: Aero effects without Aero

« Last post by pilgrim on April 17, 2013, 06:06 AM »

I wasn't sure whether or not to start a new thread for this, if the 'Powers that be' think I should perhaps someone would be kind enough to move it to wherever is appropriate.

Since my last post on transparency I have been looking into the AHK script that I found and discovered several others that are similar, after trying various things by making some very minor modifications to make it easier for me to use I have got as far as this:

; changing window transparencies
^WheelUp::  ; Increments transparency up by 3.125% (with wrap-around)
    DetectHiddenWindows, on
    WinGet, curtrans, Transparent, A
    if ! curtrans
        curtrans = 255
    newtrans := curtrans + 8
    if newtrans > 0
    {
        WinSet, Transparent, %newtrans%, A
    }
    else
    {
        WinSet, Transparent, OFF, A
        WinSet, Transparent, 255, A
    }
return

^WheelDown::  ; Increments transparency down by 3.125% (with wrap-around)
    DetectHiddenWindows, on
    WinGet, curtrans, Transparent, A
    if ! curtrans
        curtrans = 255
    newtrans := curtrans - 8
    if newtrans > 0
    {
        WinSet, Transparent, %newtrans%, A
    }
    ;else
    ;{
    ;    WinSet, Transparent, 255, A
    ;    WinSet, Transparent, OFF, A
    ;}
return

^o::  ; Reset Transparency Settings
    WinSet, Transparent, 255, A
    WinSet, Transparent, OFF, A
return

^g::  ; Press Ctrl+G to show the current settings of the window under the mouse.
    MouseGetPos,,, MouseWin
    WinGet, Transparent, Transparent, ahk_id %MouseWin%
    ToolTip Translucency:`t%Transparent%`n
   Sleep 2500
   ToolTip
return

In spite of spending several hours looking for answers, mainly on the AHK website, I still have unanswered questions:

1) All the scripts and information that I have looked at show transparency settings in values between 0 & 255, what I was looking for is a way to set it by percentage. Is that possible?
    I know that skwire did this with Frameless but I cannot find where I put the source code to see how he did it.
    What I had in mind was using hotkeys, say Alt + 1 - 9 for each 10% and using Alt + 0 as reset/off.
2) If 1 is possible is there a way to add the transparency settings to a window's context menu?
3) Is there a way that ALL transparency settings can be reset to opaque if you exit the script or reboot?

203

Found Deals and Discounts / Actual Window Menu - 24 hour Giveaway.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 17, 2013, 04:12 AM »

http://giveaway.glarysoft.com/

I have just downloaded this and installed it inside a sandbox to try it, I am impressed.
Although some may prefer hotkeys this has a very comprehensive context menu so everything can be done with a right click.

I have most of the functions this provides in separate programs, because of the way this combines them it can require two actions to achieve what I normally achieve with one.
e.g. Alignment + resize, Sizer allows me to set both in one go (for x64 see HERE), Sizer can also show a program name next to the size in the context menu so you know exactly what it is intended for.

Having said that if I go with Actual Window Menu I could replace as many as half a dozen other programs. Resource usage is not an issue for me and I doubt if the change will make more than a few MB difference anyway.

I shall definitely consider installing this permanently in the coming days.

204

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Xara Xtreme 5 Giveaway

« Last post by pilgrim on April 16, 2013, 07:43 AM »

Throughout last year Xara Xtreme 5 came up on giveaways at least once every two months, sometimes more.
I am pretty certain it came up several times the year before as well.

205

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by pilgrim on April 14, 2013, 08:04 AM »

It's a wonder you never smudged it.

The ink can't have been dry when you copied that.

Posts:    111 (0.058 per day) My doctor did tell me not to overdo things.

206

General Software Discussion / Re: Problems after you install Microsoft's security update 2823324

« Last post by pilgrim on April 14, 2013, 07:25 AM »

In spite of my view of MS Updates (and many other things MS) I would always advise people, especially those who were not particularly computer literate, to have MS Updates set to automatic. Mine are all set to notify only.

Going back to the events I mentioned in my previous post, I had one update that I had tried every method I could think of to install, nothing worked.
MS had not listed it as a problem even though I found several forums where people were having trouble installing it but none of them had found a solution.
Finally, after a lot of time I found a thread on a forum I had never visited before in which it was not the main topic but someone mentioned this particular update and suggested that you should download the installer and manually extract the files, then place one of them in the System32 folder. The minute I did that it installed.

This raises a whole range of questions in my mind which I won't bother to go into as most of them are self evident.

Much of the way we view things is based on our personal experiences, I have read many stories of disasters brought about by malware, the worst thing I've ever found on one of my computers was a tracking cookie, along with my share of false positives.

Going back to the update this thread originally mentioned I found that it had installed on my Windows 7 computer without issue and as it had been there a couple of days without incident I have decided to not tempt fate and leave it there.

207

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« Last post by pilgrim on April 13, 2013, 07:01 AM »

Reminds me of this unusual song: http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=zxv7MiZ4cwA

-mouser (April 13, 2013, 06:34 AM)

I liked that from when it first came out but The Clown was inspired by THIS.

208

General Software Discussion / Re: Problems after you install Microsoft's security update 2823324

« Last post by pilgrim on April 13, 2013, 06:47 AM »

I have long thought that the biggest threat to a Windows computer is not malware but MS Updates.

About a month ago I went through my three computers sorting out updates that had refused to install, in total there was well over thirty of them, two thirds on the same computer and nearly all relating to the NET Framework.
It took me seven hours altogether, much of that looking up solutions on the internet, and for the first time since the first update on my first PC there are no updates outstanding although each computer has several hidden that are not relevant for one reason or another.

My pet hate is that you keep getting notified about an update but when you go to install it you are informed that the relevant program is not installed!
Then why the ******* hell do you keep getting told you need it?

Actually in rare cases it can be therapeutic, I heard of a doctor who advised his patients with low blood pressure to buy a Windows computer.

209

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« Last post by pilgrim on April 13, 2013, 05:58 AM »

Scaramouche?

The Clown

I was a clown, I played the Fool,
But deep in my heart there’s no laughter at all.

I was a clown but I couldn’t see,
It wasn’t the jokes, they were laughing at me.

Now the circus is over, the crowds have gone home,
The lights go down and I stand here alone.

No more the clown, only a fool,
For when I look around there’s no-one at all.

210

General Software Discussion / Re: Aero effects without Aero

« Last post by pilgrim on April 13, 2013, 05:48 AM »

AquaGlass in AquaSnap makes a window transparent only when you are moving it, you choose a default setting that works for all windows.

Interesting that you should mention Actual Window Manager as yesterday I was looking at THIS.

Buying software at any price is not something I even think about these days, the government seems to be trying to turn poverty into an art form.

As I said in my previous post I will have a look at the AHK script I found, since an exchange with skwire nearly two years ago I have numerous bookmarks on AHK which I go back to from time to time although at the moment it still means little more to me than Chinese. (I can feel the brain cells dying every time I look at it.)

211

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« Last post by pilgrim on April 12, 2013, 11:18 AM »

I only looked at this thread for the first time last week and have been wondering ever since whether to post, after all who would want to know about me? Who would I want to know about me?
After much deliberation and having some time to spare I decided to contribute some brief details about myself taken from my autobiography which was published posthumously at the end of last year by Andrex.

Pilgrim: A Brief Hystery.

When I was born I was very young, everything that has happened since has been a consequence of that and the fact that I never quite got over it.

It was realised within moments of my birth that I was 'different'.
The minute my mother set eyes on me she cried out "Good God" and I immediately replied "Yes Mother"?

I was considered to be a bouncing baby, when my father took me out he attached springs to my feet and walked alongside me repeatedly patting me on the head.

My education was fairly short but varied.
I went to a number of schools the last of which I believe was considered to be very good.
It was 'approved', although I never found out for what or by whom.

From quite an early age I was well known for taking things apart, although to begin with that was mainly due to my failure to put them back together again.
In later years I became known for repairing things that were supposed to be 'irreparable'.

My working life started with me working on vehicles of various types as a mechanic, when I later decided I wanted to travel I realised that the best way of doing it was to get someone else to pay so I became a professional driver.
I quite enjoyed my travels abroad, the only thing was that everywhere was full of foreigners who didn't speak English.
Europe, America.

I have come to a number of conclusions over the years:
1) One thing that is absolutely essential in life is a sense of humour.
    I've been meaning to get one for a long time.
2) Sanity is not a requirement.

I actually passed away quite some time ago.
I'm only walking around to save funeral expenses.

Pilgrim. (DCeased) 

212

General Software Discussion / Aero effects without Aero

« Last post by pilgrim on April 12, 2013, 07:53 AM »

I have Aero disabled in Windows 7 because most of it I would never use, however there are two things that I use in both XP and 7.

The first is the snap option for which I use AquaSnap in both OS'.

The second is transparency. In XP I have long used PowerMenu, one of the reasons I have always liked this is because it puts the transparency option in the context menu of taskbar icons as well as in open windows, unfortunately it has not been updated since 1998 and will not work correctly in Windows 7, the developer has had countless requests to update it which they have so far ignored.

When I was looking for an alternative I came across a number of things, from an AHK script which I might go back and look at sometime, I like the idea but I'm interested in possible modifications to it particularly the possibility of adding it to the context menu, to Glass2k which I am currently using, it does the job and it has its own right click menu, the trouble is that when it is enabled it opens when you right click on anything, even links on webpages.

I am aware of other programs that include transparency but I already have programs that do just about everything else such as resizing etc, so all I need is a dedicated transparency program.
I wondered if anyone used or knew of any other programs that would do the job without doing lots of other things as well?

213

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Standalone colour blender.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 11, 2013, 03:35 AM »

There's no urgency whatsoever, for one thing it's not something I use every day, for another I can easily work with what I've got, a lot easier than when I started this thread.

I will put my ideas together into a reasonably coherent form and post the results for you to look at as and when.

Best wishes for a speedy and positive outcome to the health issue.

Pilgrim.

214

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Standalone colour blender.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 10, 2013, 12:07 PM »

I have not had the time to sort all my thoughts out yet but when the possibility of modifying the Color Warlock program was made I realised it could not only create a gradient but replace one or more other programs I use in making them.
For instance, it has a colour picker built in, which would save me opening a separate program.
It has the ability to save a gradient and while I still want a way to save them as text I would not have to do it at the same time that I created them.

What I have managed to do is have a look at Pilgrim Color Blender which stands up well as a program in its own right.
I have found two issues with it, the first is that I cannot resize the window.
When I create a gradient I like to be able to see all of it or as much of it as possible without having to scroll, with CW I can either drag the window to increase its height or right click on the middle button (top right of the window) and with the help of The Wonderful Icon expand the window to the height of the screen. With PCB neither of these work.
The second issue is minor and does not greatly affect the use of the program.
I am able to paste both HEX and RGB values into the Start Color and End Color boxes and even if I mix the values (1 HEX, 1 RGB) it will produce a gradient (brilliant!), what I have discovered is that I cannot simply highlight and paste over anything that is already in the boxes I have to actually press delete, even if the box appears empty I still have to press delete before it will accept a new colour, I'm not sure if this is down to the program or the computer I am using.

That's as far as I have got for now.

215

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for a minimalist Desktop Calendar Application..

« Last post by pilgrim on April 08, 2013, 11:20 AM »

I have downloaded Classic Calendar and find it ideal for my needs, the only problem I have with it is that it starts in a large window in the centre of the screen.
I can reduce it and put it just above the clock, then minimise it to the system tray, it will stay put until I reboot, so every morning I have to put it back.

Anyone know if it's possible to carry the settings across a reboot?

Just had a thought, could running it in portable mode be the problem?

216

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Standalone colour blender.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 08, 2013, 10:47 AM »

CodeName of it atm is Pilgrim Color Blender.

-hamradio (April 08, 2013, 10:27 AM)

Fame at last.

I'll get back to you as soon as I have time to try it out, many thanks.

217

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Standalone colour blender.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 08, 2013, 10:03 AM »

I'll stop work on my app then. :-)

-c.gingerich (April 08, 2013, 07:55 AM)

I can only see the characters for your smilie so I'm not sure if that is good or bad.

How about I copy all that out and make a small version with adjustments for you from the Color Warlock code since you say you don't need the main window.

-hamradio (April 08, 2013, 09:13 AM)

Thank you for the offer, I will take you up on it but it might be easier if I take a more thorough look at the program as it stands so as not to keep coming back with different ideas.
If you don't mind waiting a couple of days I will make more detailed notes about possible changes and get back to you, then you can see what is or isn't possible. Is that OK?

218

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Standalone colour blender.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 08, 2013, 06:58 AM »

Thanks for the replies.

I have downloaded a copy of Color Warlock and will continue experimenting but I have a few thoughts about what I want to do.

I use RGB more than I use HEX so I would like to be able to enter Start and End Colours in HEX or RGB without having to convert them.
I would like to be able to choose whether to show HEX or RGB values under Colors of Chart.
I would like to be able to copy HEX or RGB values, individually or as a list (gradient), as text. (Only worked out how to do it individually.)

When I am creating gradients I tend to have several programs open on the screen at the same time, on a 24" or 27" monitor that is not a problem, on a 10" monitor it can be.
The main window of Color Warlock is not something I would use but besides opening first it stays open with the Chart Builder window, which in turn I could not reduce in size.

In some respects Color Warlock is more complex than I was looking for, having said that it does do most of what I want and I will hang on to it while I keep looking.
One thing I did like was the full range of Middle Colors, the website I linked to only goes to 10.

219

Living Room / Re: In Car Gadgets & Doodads

« Last post by pilgrim on April 08, 2013, 05:15 AM »

Oh... a MUST have for your car - wheel spinner knob

-Renegade (March 02, 2013, 04:33 AM)

I looked at one of those several years ago for practical reasons and was informed that Insurance Companies considered them a modification which could affect your premium and if you had one they had not been told about in the case of an accident they could refuse to pay out.
Which also raised questions about whether our beloved DVLA consider them a modification, in which case you need to notify them as well.

Subject to the above they are legal for the disabled but I'm not sure about everybody else, a lot of truck drivers seem to be using them.

I did try one for a couple of days but found that in my case it got in the way more often than it helped so I took it off.

220

Post New Requests Here / IDEA: Standalone colour blender.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 07, 2013, 10:23 AM »

From time to time I need to create colour gradients of up to 16 colours starting with just the colours at either end.
I do not need to actually see the colours during the process, what I do need to see are the HEX and RGB values.
I realise that this can be worked out mathematically but that takes time, more colours, longer the time.

Earlier today I discovered Color Blender which does what I am looking for online.
It is possible to download the source but that still means using a browser to run it, which I do not want to do.

What I am looking for is a small program that I can use offline without a browser.
The 'waterfall' display on the website is of no use to me, my interest is in what is to the left of it.
Actually showing the colours produced is not essential, although it was useful to have them there.
The rest of the layout would be ideal if it came as a standalone program.

221

General Software Discussion / Re: Screen Calipers is currently free

« Last post by pilgrim on April 07, 2013, 09:17 AM »

(you haveto "like" the iconico facebook page to get the freebie)

-kunkel321 (April 06, 2013, 04:03 PM)

BDJ always have a short questionnaire as an alternative to FB.

Click on 'Buy Now'.

222

Living Room / Re: Cheap LED torches/flashlights - any good?

« Last post by pilgrim on April 04, 2013, 09:26 AM »

Cheap LED torches are like everything else, some are good some are bad.

I bought half a dozen some time ago for the princely sum of 20p each, that included 2 x AA batteries with each.
They only have a single LED but they are bright enough to read by if it should be necessary.
I keep one in each room ready for the inevitable power cuts we get from time to time.

If you wanted one to use outdoors on a regular basis I expect the expensive ones are a better bet, if not the cheap ones are usually adequate.

I used to use fairly large quantities of LED's some years ago but back then High Powered LED's were very expensive compared to others, blue LED's were only just appearing on the market and only low powered ones were available, and trying to find any that emitted a 'white' light (the sort found in most LED torches) was impossible.

It's like the capacity of small rechargeable batteries the technology has improved considerably in recent years.

223

General Software Discussion / Re: Registry cleaning software debunked...

« Last post by pilgrim on April 04, 2013, 04:24 AM »

Thanks for the link.

Reading that brought back some memories and I never knew about the jumper on WD drives before although I never used them at the time.

It also shows how software has moved on since it was written, GParted was one of the programs I used, the latest version mentioned is 0.6.6, the latest is 0.15.0.

Around that time Paragon produced a White Paper on the subject which is still available HERE. It's a direct link to the Paragon PDF download and avoids registration.

224

Living Room / Re: SimCity - EA shows us all how to ruin a landmark game with DRM.

« Last post by pilgrim on April 03, 2013, 06:51 AM »

I have never been a gamer and these days anything that requires quick reactions is beyond me anyway.
I did put MS Pinball on Windows 7 but I suspect a 3 year old could beat my highest score.

I am not sure if I had ever heard of SimCity until the fiasco with version 5, around the same time I found a Java version of Micropolis which I downloaded (all 1MB of it) and not only found it quite interesting but I can actually keep up with it.

The following week I found a new copy of SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition on Amazon for just a few pounds so in a 'what the hell' moment I bought one.
I have to confess that I have not got as far as installing it yet (still wading through the instruction book).
There's no rush, it's 10 years old already so I guess it will keep.

225

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Easeus ToDo Backup Workstation 5.8 offered

« Last post by pilgrim on April 03, 2013, 06:26 AM »

Based on my experience of EaseUS Workstation and the way that giveaways in general work I thought I would offer a few thoughts that might help.
I have downloaded the file and run it but not to the point of installing as I have v4 installed and do not want to update at this time.
I offer no guarantees in regard to what I am about to say but I am pretty confident about it in my own mind.

Giveaway time-frame: This giveaway ends Thursday April 4, 2013 at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time (GMT -7). You must download, install, and register this giveaway by 11:59 PM on Thursday — you will not be able to install or reinstall after that time.

As far as I can see apart from the change in name this is the normal EaseUS Workstation installer, I cannot see any addition which would indicate a date limitation.
Comparing it with version 5.0 which I also have you do not normally require an internet connection to install/activate the program you just enter the license key during installation.
In the event that there is a date limitation but you do not require a connection the solution is obvious.

Take note this giveaway includes Linux-based bootable recovery CD/DVD/USB but does not include WinPE-based bootable CD/DVD/USB.

In spite of this comment I would be amazed if the WinPE ISO is not included in this download.
Based on file size of the Trial version (108MB) which is 200MB smaller than this and does not include the ISO, no matter what other trials they might have included in this I cannot see how to explain the size difference if the ISO is not included.
The ISO size in v4 is 195MB+ which fits with this theory.

"centralized management" only applies if you are using the program in a network situation, then you need an addition program on the main computer for this to connect to.