Recent Posts

2026

General Software Discussion / Re: Fairware: an interesting experiment in getting paid for Open Source

« Last post by app103 on September 10, 2011, 10:00 AM »

Hi hsoft and welcome to the site. Seems we have some common thoughts here with regards to getting users to voluntarily contribute to supporting the software they use.

We have our own One Year Report that you may find interesting.

And some of our larger software projects take a similar approach with encouraging users to donate, by way of temporary licenses that require the user to come back to the site every 6 months, or a donation of any amount granting the user a non-expiring license for any and all of our software.

And many thought our approach wouldn't work, and we have had our own share of criticisms, but it has been 6 years and we are still here and growing.

2027

Living Room / Re: Thoughts in remembrance of 911

« Last post by app103 on September 10, 2011, 09:18 AM »

Now I gather that there is a proposal to build a massive Islamic mosque at Ground Zero. Yeah, right.

-IainB (September 10, 2011, 08:02 AM)

It's not a mosque, it's an interfaith community center, in much the way the YMCA is a community center. The so-called mosque is nothing more than a prayer room within the center. And it is not on Ground Zero, it's a couple of blocks away. In fact, a place of Muslim worship already existed on the location for quite awhile, used by about 450 peaceful Muslims, locals that live in the area. Blaming and punishing them for the attack would be no different than blaming and punishing all Christians for the Oklahoma City bombing.

What they want to do is tear down the existing building, which was damaged in the 9/11 attacks by falling airplane debris, and rebuild it, expand it and make it a community center and not just a place of worship. It will include a 500-seat auditorium, theater, a performing arts center, a fitness center, a swimming pool, a basketball court, a childcare area, a bookstore, a culinary school, an art studio, a food court, and a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks.

It specifically will not contain a mosque and only a prayer room because if you call it a mosque, then anyone of the Muslim faith, regardless of ideology can enter and use it for whatever purposes they choose, and if they call it a prayer room instead, they can have complete control over who they allow to use it, keeping out radical extremist groups who are less than peaceful...and allowing use by people of other faiths, including Christians and Jews.

The proposed community center's purpose is to promote multi-faith peace, tolerance and understanding...the complete opposite of what the 9/11 attacks were about. The Muslims that are responsible for the proposed community center want to push back against the extremists and be part of the rebuilding of the area.

"The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers." Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan, quoting from an Islamic poem.

And I seem to recall this from a very popular Christian hymn:

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
   with the cross of Jesus going on before.
   Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
   forward into battle see his banners go!

2028

Post New Requests Here / Re: Simple Counter Utility Wanted

« Last post by app103 on September 09, 2011, 08:18 PM »

It's almost similar to what you wanted, without the automatic incrementing, and without the deincrementing, and you need to have a target goal, it has a progress bar, it saves data to the registry (so it isn't portable)...and it's not written in AHK: AnotherOneDone (something I released for GOE challenge)

2029

Developer's Corner / Re: Looking for Browser Add-in/Plug-in/Extension Plaforms - Advice?

« Last post by app103 on September 09, 2011, 05:59 AM »

Perhaps nevf might be able to point you in the right direction. He did create browser extensions to work with his Surfulater application.

2030

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by app103 on September 07, 2011, 04:47 AM »

This is old (1975), made of stuff even older (1920's & 30's?), and it's pure awesome!

2031

N.A.N.Y. 2012 / Re: NANY 2012 Pledge Teaser: Web Link Captor, aka LL Robot

« Last post by app103 on September 06, 2011, 04:01 PM »

 

2032

Living Room / Re: Goodnight Irene

« Last post by app103 on September 03, 2011, 09:04 PM »

And in other news:

Comcast Will Charge for Hurricane Irene Service Outages, Blames God

Comcast customers who lost—or still don't have—cable, phone or Internet service in the wake of Hurricane Irene have a nasty surprise in store for them when they seek to get credit for their downtime. Comcast says they won't be crediting customers who lost service during the hurricane because it was an "Act of God".

2033

Living Room / Re: Goodnight Irene

« Last post by app103 on September 03, 2011, 09:00 PM »

That supermarket in the video reopened today. My daughter was down there but said she walked in and walked right back out. The whole place smells really bad and she didn't want to buy anything she would think about eating from there.

She says most of the other stores in that strip mall look like they are closed for renovations, Radio Shack looking really empty, as if they might not be reopening.

The dollar store seems to be OK, doesn't smell and no sign of damaged merchandise.

And a clothing store that has discounted their flood damaged merchandise at 20% off the original price, advertising it as a normal "final clearance" sale and not mentioning anything about water damage. The place is so dimly lit that you might not even notice it if you didn't really look at it and check for damage.

2034

Living Room / Re: Should I Get A Divorce?

« Last post by app103 on September 03, 2011, 02:53 AM »

I don't know about a divorce, but it is one of the questions my daughter now asks before considering dating a guy:

Do you own a computer? (REQUIRED!) Is it a Mac, and if so, what OS is it running (Linux is OK).

And if a guy talks about his iPad or iPhone the way one would talk about their child or pet, it's over. She doesn't talk about her LG Lotus that way and thinks it's a real turn-off of a guy shows way too much affection for his gadgets. She would rather him talk about his ex-girlfriend. At least that would be a human with the same parts as her, and she could compete with that.

But I already told you what she told that one guy, that wanted to know if all those cool DC AHK tools she had, would run on a Mac. ("Go die in a fire!")

She has already dated a few Mac users and it ended in disaster...they really do think differently. They are OK as friends, but no long term commitment from her. It just wouldn't work.

And I already told her that whoever she ends up with, if he isn't a Windows power user, capable of doing all that stuff she usually gets me to do for her, then she has to start her geek training the day after she gets back from her honeymoon. 

2035

Living Room / Re: Goodnight Irene

« Last post by app103 on August 31, 2011, 03:45 PM »

Here is the supermarket where I usually do my food shopping.

That water is actually much deeper than it looks. It's a recessed parking lot.

The night crew workers didn't leave before the storm hit and had to be rescued.

I don't think I'll be shopping there for awhile.

A&P bought 2 supermarket chains that had locations in my town and shut down the store around the corner from me. I bet right now they are thinking to themselves "Damn, we shut the wrong one down!". The one by me is on much higher and drier ground.

2036

Living Room / Re: Clipart collections, and/or image converters

« Last post by app103 on August 31, 2011, 01:41 AM »

They are not bundles, but many of the stock photo sites also have clipart.

Not only can you find some free ones on the pages listed here, but they are also ok for commercial use, without attribution: http://cranialsoup.b...ock-photo-sites.html

I come across clipart all the time on my favorite site in the list: http://www.freestock...mp;a=all&set=all

2037

Site/Forum Features / Re: Handy search tip for the DC forum, using Firefox

« Last post by app103 on August 27, 2011, 08:21 PM »

There are 2 additional ways to search, made by me.

1. DC search plugin for Firefox's search box: https://www.donation...m/Software/Other/ff/
2. Search from the taskbar with DC search Deskbar, which opens in default browser: https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=11600.0

2038

General Software Discussion / Re: Serial Key Storage for Windows

« Last post by app103 on August 26, 2011, 10:33 AM »

Rather old, but it's small (189kb), simple, lightweight, and portable, works on win9x, and he even has an older version for win3.1 still available: http://passkeeper.com/

It was what I used before moving to Keepass.

In addition to the screenshot shown on the site, which shows how the list window looks, here is what the actual info window looks like:



I originally acquired this when someone shared their copy with me, with their encrypted database. They were using it as an address book for a wedding guest list.

2039

Living Room / Re: Seriously, Youtube is becoming impossible!

« Last post by app103 on August 26, 2011, 09:49 AM »

Ad Muncher is terrific and takes care of the problem in all browsers, desktop RSS readers, etc.. 

2040

General Software Discussion / Re: Cnet's Download.com and the installer scam

« Last post by app103 on August 25, 2011, 08:31 AM »

I have given them the rating they deserve: http://www.mywot.com...orecard/download.com

2041

Living Room / Re: U.S. East coast quake - Everybody OK?

« Last post by app103 on August 24, 2011, 03:26 PM »

Here in NJ, just felt like my cat was trying to claw the back of my chair...but she was asleep in the next room.  

I kind of enjoy them!

-JavaJones (August 24, 2011, 01:35 PM)

My GF gets off on violent thunderstorms and major blizzards.

You two really need to get together!  

 

-40hz (August 24, 2011, 02:32 PM)

I have been known to suffer from "snow fever" since childhood. Whenever it snows, I just HAVE to go out in it before everyone else does...which means the middle of the night. When I was a kid it meant sneaking out onto the roof outside my bedroom window, as a teen it meant grabbing my cousin and a couple of shovels and helping rescue workers down by the Parkway, as an adult it meant talking a 1.5 mile walk to Walgreens and getting yelled at by the cops and driven home (and told to stay on my own street). Haven't gone out in the snow like that much in recent years. Maybe I am beginning to mellow out.  

2042

General Software Discussion / Re: Cnet's Download.com and the installer scam

« Last post by app103 on August 23, 2011, 09:32 AM »

The response to my email to them telling them to remove all donationcoder software was to tell me to purchase their premium service if i wanted to remove their bundled installer crap.  In other words this is one big extortion racket.

-mouser (August 23, 2011, 09:16 AM)

Wait a minute...they won't remove your software from their site?

Legal threats might be the next step.

-Stephen66515 (August 23, 2011, 09:26 AM)

I agree. Sounds like you might have to send them a DMCA takedown notice to get them to comply with your wishes for removal.

2043

General Software Discussion / Re: Cnet's Download.com and the installer scam

« Last post by app103 on August 23, 2011, 08:52 AM »

Anyway, is there a "good" download site left? By good, I mean they do reviews or at least look at the software they list. Maybe softpedia.com and some specialized sites like software.informer.com, alternative.to, portablefreeware.com. Anything else?

-vlastimil (August 23, 2011, 04:46 AM)

Consider Wakoopa as a software research tool. Applications usually have user submitted descriptions, user submitted screenshots, and user submitted reviews...by people that actually use the software, which is how it ends up listed on their site. It's a social network focused on software for Windows, Mac, Linux, and web apps.

They don't host any downloads and don't wrap anything in crapware. Any links to obtain an application lead to the developer's site. And if you want to pitch in and help with the wiki-style editing of application info, just join the site.

They also have their own software application to track the apps you use, if you wish to use that (I do). I have reached "Overlord" user status on the site, which means I am one of the many moderators that help keep the site spam free. There is also a DonationCoder team with 24 members which I am the manager of, although we don't really discuss anything on the team page.

2044

Living Room / When Clippy got the axe (Funny videos from Microsoft)

« Last post by app103 on August 22, 2011, 04:59 PM »

A look back, for those that missed it or want to see it again.

In 2001, a Microsoft advertising campaign for Office XP included the (now defunct) website officeclippy.com, which highlighted the disabling of Clippit in the software. It featured the animated adventures of Clippit (voiced by comedian Gilbert Gottfried, in an annoying voice) as he learned to cope with unemployment ("X...XP...As in, ex-paperclip?!") and parodied behaviors of the Office assistant.

2045

Living Room / Re: "good" LCD monitors - what are their type

« Last post by app103 on August 21, 2011, 09:35 AM »

and two that show immediate differences just by moving my head a few centimetres (admittedly, the two that are "bad" are in portrait mode, so the problem becomes exaggerated).

-nudone (August 21, 2011, 06:11 AM)

This is what I hated when going from CRT to LCD. I still can not get used to it. The only way to describe it is as a weird gradient effect caused by the display. The only thing I have been able to do to "remedy" the situation is bounce in my chair when editing images. (This may have contributed to the death of my last chair)

I am almost tempted to go dual monitor with a CRT and LCD, using the CRT strictly for image editing. But that really isn't a good long term solution....and neither is bouncing in my chair.

2046

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Survival Tricks for When the Zombie Apocalypse Hits :: Lifehacker

« Last post by app103 on August 21, 2011, 04:17 AM »

This hilarious movie has too many quotes to list and it would probably spoil the enjoyment, but this is my favorite:

“Dude, your mom just ate her own eye.”

2047

Living Room / Re: 6 ways to know when your a fully fledged DonationCoder Fanatic!

« Last post by app103 on August 21, 2011, 03:41 AM »

1. Unread posts is the first thing I check, right after my email. This is followed by checking the backlog in the IRC channel. I do this multiple times a day.
2. I haven't gone as far as having a bouncer but I have been there almost always and logging the chat since 2006. I don't shut down my pc because I don't want to miss anything.
3. You need a time machine to make sense of him.
4. Yes, and no. It's a source of both happiness and anxiety.
5. Ebay told me it would have to be a reverse auction where I pay someone to take the hubby off my hands. I don't have enough DC credits for that yet.
6. Yes, and I have done my own share of mousering over the years. (btw, mousering and mousered are both in my spellcheck's dictionary now.)

2048

Living Room / Re: Patent Wars: Apple Hits Samsung in EU

« Last post by app103 on August 19, 2011, 08:00 PM »

Apple Offers Flawed Evidence in Lawsuit against Samsung

Groen explains that litigating parties are required by law to provide "complete and truthful" evidence to the judge. This applies regardless of whether flawed evidence is provided intentionally or mistakenly, says Groen, adding that this obligation is even more crucial in an ex parte decision, as the evidence presented to the judge is one-sided.

This requirement is the same in Germany, confirms Florian Müller, a German intellectual property consultant. He reckons the flawed visual evidence could have serious consequences for the case, "provided that any differences between the product shown in Apple's complaint and the actual product are outcome-determinative," says Müller.

2049

General Software Discussion / Re: Implement features that are known to be loved in other programs, on your own

« Last post by app103 on August 17, 2011, 04:22 PM »

Here's a good example (with screenshot): http://www.minimalis...ExplorerBreadcrumbs/

...and a Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia....umb_%28navigation%29

-skwire (August 17, 2011, 03:49 PM)

Thanks!

Nope, probably not something I'd stick in one of my apps.

2050

General Software Discussion / Re: Implement features that are known to be loved in other programs, on your own

« Last post by app103 on August 17, 2011, 03:37 PM »

I totally understand the complexity of some of these features. Some other, like breadcrumbs, are trivial, though.

-urlwolf (August 17, 2011, 02:42 AM)

Maybe it is trivial...maybe it is not. I can't tell you because I don't even know what you are talking about, which is another reason why some features do not exist in some apps.