Recent Posts

21176

General Software Discussion / Re: Microsoft Update. Worth it?

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 09:37 PM »

i use it.

21177

Living Room / Re: Are there any copyright/trademark lawyers on the forum? Issue with our mascot

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 08:08 PM »

going to lock this thread now since i think we have some reasonable differing opinions expressed in very calm fashion and i don't want any chance of things getting acrimonious at this delicate stage.

i promise to open it back up for debate once we know more -- and i encourage anyone to contact me by personal message with their thoughts, regardless of your viewpoint on the issue.

21178

Living Room / Re: Are there any copyright/trademark lawyers on the forum? Issue with our masco

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 07:40 PM »

Wusterfields comments are right on the money.  It seems like trademark law and copyright law share some common issues in terms of "prior art" and the formality of registration.

See: http://www.uspto.gov...c/basic/register.htm

"Is registration of my mark required?
No. You can establish rights in a mark based on legitimate use of the mark. However, owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages.."


Anyway, let me say again:
I do not ascribe any malicious intent to this twitter site and new startup company.  I am not claiming they are copying our idea or that they are acting in bad faith.  I am making an attempt to contact them to see if the issue can't be resolved in a friendly fashion that results in their mascot being different enough in concept to limit the possibility of confusion between the two sites/companies.  I will report more as I learn more.

21179

Living Room / Re: Are there any copyright/trademark lawyers on the forum? Issue with our masco

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 07:35 PM »

I should say i do not believe they are purposefully trying to "rip off" our mascot. I ascribe no bad intentions to their act.

My concern is simply that when you combine the fact that both sites are about micropayments, which is a pretty darn rare thing, with the logo of a bird with a coin in its mouth, that that logo is going to lead to people thinking that the two sites are related, from the same company, etc.

On donationcoder we have long had buttons you can put on your website that let people click to make a donation to you:


And now imagine this company gets popular and starts putting little buttons with a bird and coin saying "donate to me"..

It just seems to me that the likelyhood of people confusing the companies or thinking that both companies and websites are related is very high.

Maybe it doesn't matter so much now that this site is small, and isn't doing anything we object to.  But i worry about the confusion if things take a different turn.

21180

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 06:20 PM »

i have 4 21" samsung lcd monitors (204b) and have recommended them for a couple of years.  Very affordable and attractive. 

However recently two of the four have developed problems both with stuck pixels and with very long warmup issues has stopped me from doing so.   so right now i would not recommend samsung lcds.

21181

Living Room / Are there any copyright/trademark lawyers on the forum? Issue with our mascot

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 06:00 PM »

Hi all,

Are there any copyright/trademark lawyers on the forum? If so, could you please send me a personal message through the forum.

I am not a big one for lawyers, and DC has always been a website focused on being good internet citizens.

Today I saw something that put a knot in my throat.. A new startup company focused on micro-payments with a mascot that seems to be using the idea of our very own Cody as their mascot, a bird with a coin in its mouth.

Perhaps if the company was doing somethign completely different than ours i wouldn't be so troubled, but the fact that they are also focused on microdonations really makes me think we have a problem here.

The website in question is: http://twitpay.me/p/intro

Their mascot logo:


You can see our mascot Cody, designed by Nick Pearson, all over the DC website since 2005, and of course follow the public thread where he was created here: https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=1093.0

I feel very strongly about Cody, he has been an integral part of our site for three years now, and this troubles me greatly.

It's true that their bird looks different from ours.. but it's the idea of a bird with coin in its mouth representing a mico-payment website that makes it seem like it would lead to confusion and would be a case of trademark/logo violation.

I also know that with such things if you don't assert your legal rights you open yourself up to such claims against you.

--

Anyway I don't want to have a public debate about the legal issues on this thread here, so i ask anyone with input to contact me directly via the forum.  I'd appreciate suggestions of any sort.  I've already emailed the company and asked to speak with a legal representative.

I will update everyone on this issue as it progresses.  Hopefully their is a friendly solution.

However like i said i don't want to have a premature public discussion on the forum *yet* so i may lock this thread.. Eventually we will talk about it here as we do everything else.

21182

General Software Discussion / Re: no uninstall for URLSnooper2?

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 01:53 PM »

urlsnooper2 has an uninstall procedure.  it should be in the start menu in the UrlSnooper group.
and it should also be found in the add/remove control panel.

21183

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Comparer

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 01:32 PM »

notice i say "i'll make sure we have a plugin".. that's code speak for i will try to convince ewemoa or czb to write the alias/plugin, and will fall back to doing it myself if i should fail in this

21184

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Comparer

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 01:32 PM »

great -- i'll make sure we have a plugin/alias available for FARR that can use it -- this will actually be the first use of the brand new ability for FARR to support custom right-click context menu extensions.

21185

Find And Run Robot / Re: Searching network shares

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 12:44 PM »

sorry this escaped my memory, i will try to have another look asap.

21186

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 12:31 PM »

f0dder is always right about these things, but there is also something to be said for getting a bigger psu than you think you need and better memory than you think you need.

and that reason has to do with how infuriatingly mysterious memory chip and psu problems can be.  it's one of those cases where it may be better to be safe than sorry.

21187

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: cpfindex

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 10:45 AM »

yes.

21188

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Comparer

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 10:33 AM »

Nice; the only thing that would be a cool option would be a html output option which outputted the results in a more compact html table.

21189

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: cpfindex

« Last post by mouser on December 18, 2008, 10:29 AM »

screenshots please!

21190

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Comparer

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 09:57 PM »

ooh i can't wait to try the commandline version --
before i download, can i ask -- can the commandline version just display all known info about a single file? (ie without requiring an actual comparison between two files)?

21191

General Software Discussion / Microsoft Critical Internet Explorer Browser Patch Now Available - Dec 17, 2008

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 02:58 PM »

This is a serious security patch that needs to be applied by anyone running any version of MS windows.

The out-of-band security update fixes a JavaScript-related vulnerability that's being actively exploited through hacked Web sites.

By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
December 17, 2008 02:00 PM

Microsoft has released an out-of-band security update, MS08-078, to fix a vulnerability in its Internet Explorer Web browser that's being actively exploited.

"At this time, we are aware only of attacks that attempt to use this vulnerability against Windows Internet Explorer 7," said Christopher Budd, Microsoft security response communications lead, in an e-mailed statement. "Our investigation of these attacks so far has verified that they are not successful against customers who have applied the security update. MS08-078 has a maximum severity rating of Critical for all versions of Internet Explorer."

Nonetheless, Microsoft lists Internet Explorer 5.01, 6, and 7 as affected software in its Security Bulletin. It also says separately, in the FAQ section, that Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is affected.

article: http://www.informati...?articleID=212501006
download patch from windows update -- or see http://www.microsoft...lletin/ms08-078.mspx

21192

FARR Plugins and Aliases / Re: Locate32 Plugin (and FARR) Search Question

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 02:40 PM »

unless Okke wants to start using Locate32 searching module directly

one of the things i would really really like to do is build into the core FARR functionality the option to use locate32 module or indices directly and explicitly.

jmj -- maybe one of these days in near future you will let me bend your ear and ask a few questions about the best way for me to do it.

21193

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Intro

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 01:55 PM »

I noticed the following definition on that link: "A more useful definition for Donationware might be a program where the author requires a donation of some sort for full access to the program." It's good to know that requiring a donation still constitutes donationware, as I have considered that option too.

it needs to be pointed out that i was *suggesting* that this would be a useful definition -- but pointing out that it is simply a battle over word meanings that has already been lost.  there is no accepted/extant term for describing a program that requires a donation but the user can choose the amount.   if you use the term "donationware" to describe such a program you might confuse people.  i still think it's a useful concept worth experimenting with.  just don't know what it would be called.

---

One final quick question--does the software that is submitted have to be free for the life of the product (including all future versions?) or would it be ok to submit a completely free VERSION of the program, for the competition, and then maybe introduce a more traditional model in future versions?

i think this gets back to the intent issue underlying a lot of your questions.  if the intent is to release a teaser version that will get attention but that won't really be useful to anyone, just to drive them to your real pay version, then people might feel resentful.  in such a case you'd be better off posting about your program on our forum in a normal way and inviting people to try your program with the full knowledge that it is meant to be a commercial product.

the idea of nany is to encourage people to make new free programs -- if you can come up with a lite version of your new program, which you think stands on its own as a semi-useful program, then go for it, in the spirit of the contest -- and be happy if people are interested in it for it's own sake without feeling like you have to convert them to the paying version.  note that i say "semi-useful" because plenty of the nany programs are more like exercises for programmers than polished programs meant to be super useful.  again i think the bottom line comes down to how you approach the thing -- nany is not meant to be a showcase of commercial software, it's meant to be a fun event for coders to release something free for everyone, for fun.  Doesnt mean we don't want to hear about your program on the forum -- but it means you have to think about whether what you are doing fits in with this particular event.

21194

Living Room / Re: Pet Peeve: I will never buy a rechargeable mouse again for as long as i live

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 01:09 PM »

At home, I'm using the computer at all hours of the day and night, so there's no consistent time to put the mouse in the cradle.  I can see that becoming a problem.

bingo.

21195

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Intro

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 01:01 PM »

more great questions.

one i can answer pretty definitively, and depressingly :

So in your opinion, can releasing something as donationware actually generate more funds than say a traditional pay-to-unlock model?

i'm sorry to say that my experience is that you will never make close to as much in donations as you would selling your software.  that is the unfortunate conclusion i have come to after years involvement in donationcoder, which i think is probably one of the most "successful" (in terms of donations and users) donation-based software sites that there is.

however, this only takes into consideration financial gain -- for many of us there are other issues besides financial gain that outweigh the differences (see my old article here).


Keep in mind that some people assume incorrectly that this site would be hostile to traditional shareware and commercial software but we are not, so no one will begrudge you trying to make money on your software.  Though of course it won't come as a surprise that most of us here tend to be more interested in and curious about software that is free/donationware.

Now that said, here's a philosophical question for you: surely a "lite" version of a program that is completely free, but missing maybe some advanced features of a "pro" version, so long as it doesn't nag, would be considered free/donationware, correct? If so, does bundling two versions into the same installed product (in other words, upgrading to unlock certain features) also count as free/donationware, again so long as there is not any annoying nagging to upgrade? I ask this mainly because from a design standpoint it is much simpler to create a single product rather than two versions, one free and one pro.

another really good question -- framed very logically.
again you will find differences in opinion here.  some people will view the lite version as primarily a marketing strategy and say it's no different than giving someone a feature-limited demo.  it's really that gray line thing again, and it's mostly going to come down to what features you disable.

Obviously if you disable key features like the ability to save documents, then you are really talking about not a free version but a non-time-limited demo which people will have to upgrade to make any good use of the program.

On the other hand if the program is useful to large numbers of people without ever paying for pro features, and you aren't frequently nagging them to upgrade, then i think you can argue that you are talking about a free lite version and a pro pay version, which seems reasonable to me.  You just have to be careful how you "advertise" it on your web page and in other places, to make sure people know what they are getting, etc.


Another model you haven't mentioned yet, which i find particularly attractive, and seems to be gaining in some popularity recently, is the "Free for Personal Use" model -- whereby there is really only one version of the program, which is free and does not nag the user or have any limits, but for which the license is allowed only for personal use (or as we do it here on donationcoder, free for personal and small/home office business type use).  Commercial users are expected to pay for a license to use the software.

Whether you can make money with a "free for personal use" type license will depend very much on the kind of program, and i suspect on the kind of marketing you do.  Some companies seem to do exceedingly well with such a model, but they tend to be pretty aggressive in marketing/selling their software to businesses.  they get the benefit of free press from being a free program, and a good user base, and then they actively try to market the program to businesses.  there are quite a few security programs that work on this model.

21196

Circle Dock / Re: How do you place folders and files onto the dock?

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 12:32 PM »

Hang in there bodaggit -- i know the reply is slow and comming, but the author (VideoInPicture) can be busy, just give him a bit of time.  Or maybe one of the other users can help.

I know it can seem agaonizingly slow getting a response.. but just hang in there, it will come! 

21197

Developer's Corner / Short Coder Essay: Plugins are Not For Users

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 12:14 PM »

Short Coder Essay: Plugins are Not For Users
by donationcoder member mouser, December 17, 2008

This is a really short essay about the significance of adding a plugin system to your software, from the standpoint of developer happiness.  It's something i've been meaning to write for a while.

Plugins/Extensions/Add-ons

Plugins, sometimes referred to as extensions or add-ons, have probably been most popularized by the FireFox browser, which has gone a long way to bringing the concept into mainstream consciousness.

There can be little debate about the usefulness of such a facility for end users of popular programs.  The number and variety of the FireFox extensions are impressive, and they have opened up all kinds of possibilities for the program.


Low-popularity Programs

For a high-popularity program like firefox, there are enough active users and developers that extensions emerge rapidly and continuously.

For less popular programs, extensions may be very slow in coming, of mixed quality, and of arguable nescesity. A small developer may be wary of spending the time to code support for a plugin api, and even more resistant to dealing with all of the other things that go along with that (such as documenting the interface, providing examples, helping coders get familiar with the code, etc.).

There is no immediate benefit to end users from a plugin system -- there is only a benefit for them when people start creating useful plugins.  A programmer may be resistant to going through all of the trouble to develop and document a system without knowing ahead of time that there is sufficient interest by fellow programmers in developing such extensions.


Plugin Systems For End Users

When I added a plugin system to a six-year-old program of mine called Find and Run Robot in February of 2007, I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was the first real project I had worked on that i went through the trouble of adding such a plugin API to.  Actually adding the plugin API wasn't that much work, but there is a lot of ancillary work that goes along with such a process, and in the beginning i was the only one writing plugins for it.  It seemed like a lot of work with little benefits.

My hope was that eventually people would write some plugins that other end users would like, and that this would save me from having to add these feature requests into the main program.  My main motivation in coding the plugin system was so that i could say to someone who made a feature request: "maybe someone will make a plugin for that feature", and feel ok about not implementing it.

But I didn't write the plugin system for myself -- I wrote it for the end users.  So that they could get features they wanted without me having to do as much work.


Plugin Systems to Reinvigorate the Developer

But then something unexpected happened in the last year or so with the plugins for my program.. A very cool coder started doing some unexpectedly fancy things that made me sit up and take notice [Emmanuel Caradec on the DonationCoder forums].  He basically wrote a plugin dll wrapper that made it possible to write javascript plugins for the application which was written in C++ (something i wasn't even sure was possible!).  A few skilled javascript coders [users czb and ewemoa in particular] then took this concept and ran with it, pushing the boundaries with the kinds of things that such plugins could do, and eventually writing a kind of meta-plugin system and other strange and delightful hacks.

As I talked with these coders about the things they were doing we inevitably got to talking about new features they needed to do new things they wanted to be able to do, and new ideas for the program that could be used as building blocks for new plugin ideas.  Suddenly I found myself reinvigorated by these fellow coders, and newly excited about working on this six year old program.

I always love interacting with end users and adding new features, but interacting with plugin writers is uniquely satisfying from a developer's perspective.  The clean separation of code means that you get the teamwork and facilitation, without any of the pain of version control conflicts that you have when working with a team on shared code.

There are other benefits to the developer from adding a plugin system to your program; moving as much of the features out from the core of the system to a plugin system makes it easier for you to maintain and extend, and keeps the program lean and flexible.  But for me the real surprise has been how much fun it is as a developer to interact with plugin writers, and how much it has added to my enjoyment of working on the program.

If you are a small/independent developer, I encourage you to make the time and effort to implement a plugin system for your software -- not for your end users -- but for yourself; you may be surprised at how much more you enjoy working on your own programs again.

-mouser
 12/17/08

21198

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Intro

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 11:53 AM »

Does it qualify as donationware if the donation price is fixed (at $10-15), so long as there aren't any limitations in the unregistered copy?
Does a "please donate/register" reminder void the donationware status?

great questions! we've actually periodically debated these issues on the forum.. i should try to find the old threads since it's been a while since we talked about the issues.

i don't think there is one right answer, but i'll give my personal opinions:

Does it qualify as donationware if the donation price is fixed (at $10-15), so long as there aren't any limitations in the unregistered copy?

YES. i believe that is still donationware in my view.  if paying is truly optional then yes.  i still think it's better if user can choose how much to pay -- i think that's an important concept, but i still think this qualifies.  a "recommended" donation might be an ideal compromise.

Does a "please donate/register" reminder void the donationware status?

DEPENDS.  This is where people get religious!  Some people claim that even a single one time tiny itty bitty reminder/request/notice/fineprint in statusbar of program change a program from being freeware into being shareware (which they inevitably refuse to use!)

In my view, it's a bit of a gray area.  The bigger programs on donationcoder for example i consider donationware, but they in fact will show you a reminder after an initial period and require you to visit the web page to get a free license key to use the program.

Personally i believe it's s matter of reasonableness.  If you pop up a big message every time the person uses the program saying they should pay that has to be clicked closed, then for me personally, that is going to bother me enough for me to say that its "nagware" and isn't really free.. The question is when does a program nag so much that it crosses the line from freeware to nagware.  That's something everyone has to decide for themselves.

21199

Find And Run Robot / Re: FARR window narrows by itself at random

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 08:11 AM »

i believe i've fixed the bug that is requiring you to delete the ini file; i'm not sure if ive 100% fixed the problem of it occasionally narrowing, but at least it won't revert back when you resize the window yourself. which is what's forcing you to delete the .ini file.

But the fix is in the new version which isn't released yet, going to make a few more changes this week before i upload new version.

21200

Find And Run Robot / Re: properties.. menu does not do anything

« Last post by mouser on December 17, 2008, 08:08 AM »

ok that's a clue -- i'll see if i can reproduce+solve it in a vista virtual machine.