Recent Posts

226

Living Room / Re: 64 Bit OS - When to Switch ?

« Last post by vlastimil on July 08, 2011, 10:31 AM »

@vlastimil I disagree that this is a actual issue affecting many end users.

-justice (July 08, 2011, 04:29 AM)

maybe not many, but it affects some users/applications
http://stackoverflow...-bit-in-net-winforms

I never ran into this issue, and I do not believe it is any problem. If anything, window handles (which are the things you are referring to, I believe) have only gone up in the supported amounts, and the last time a scarcity of that resource was an issue was back in the W9x days. If you refer to the Z-order that defines what is drawn on top of what, I do not believe there is any sane limitation on that either.

I dare say, if you run into issues with the amounts of resources Windows makes available for a specific purpose, you are abusing that as a developer and without a doubt can find a more suitable solution. For example, there are tons of windowless controls that are considered lightweight because they do not use any Windows resources, and instead co-opt the help of their parent control that do have a handle.

-worstje (July 08, 2011, 07:54 AM)

This is not about the number of window handles. It is about recursive window message processing - parent window receives WM_SIZE, sends WM_SIZE to its children, etc. (it is more complex in reality, there are more messages being sent)
Even native Windows controls use this kind of aggregation. List box has a Header control as its child, Combo box has an Edit box as a child. A toolbar can host a combo box (with an edit box inside) and be hosted in a Rebar. These are 4 levels of depth and we are still talking just about a toolbar. That toolbar is hosted within the application frame. Now add a tab or a splitter control and the depth grows. The depth limit on 64-bit windows is pretty shallow, like ~12. If you use .net winforms and make a tab/splitter hierarchy, you can experience this yourself.

Window-less controls can help, but it is a pain to use them. They are not the easy-to-use blackbox that a window is. But this is not the main issue here. The fact that the 64-bit system is worse than the 32-bit one in this aspect. And there may be more catches like this one.

The memory: first, determine if you need it. Do you want to work with really hi-res video or a large database? By all means get a lot of memory, 64-bit Windows AND a 64-bit edition of the software. Do you just browse the internet, use office and play games? You'll be better off with 4GB and 32-bit for the next few years.

Also...there are artificial limits on how much memory a 64-bit Windows allows you to use http://en.wikipedia....ysical_memory_limits

227

Living Room / Re: 64 Bit OS - When to Switch ?

« Last post by vlastimil on July 08, 2011, 04:06 AM »

I think the right time to switch will be when 64-bit Windows becomes the more compatible flavor. When developers actually focus on the 64-bit editions of their software and when hardware manufacturers do the same with 64-bit drivers. We are not there yet and installing 64-bit OS will cause compatibility issues than sticking with 32-bit. I would still recommend 32-bit to my mother, because most people do not care about fancy 64-bit address space - they care about their favority applications.

Let me mention one incompatibility that affects my software on 64-bit Windows. Here is some context...
Windows (I mean the mostly rectangular regions on screen) form a hierarchy: imagine an application with a tabbed top-level window (like Firefox). The actual tabs may be implemented as standalone child windows. These tabs may have other child windows like edit boxes, bookmark panels, etc. A complex application may have a complex hierarchy of windows.
Unfortunately, there is an unofficial limitation on the depth of this window hierarchy. While the application may create child windows as it sees fit, the messages sent between these windows stop working at certain level. This is due to internal stack overflow in the message routing component in Windows kernel.

Here is the catch: the amount of memory available for the stack is the same in 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, but the stack entries are twice as long on 64-bit Windows. Hence the usable window hierarchy depth is halved. And if you think that you can avoid the problem by using 32-bit edition of the affected application on 64-bit Windows, that is not the case. The problem is in the 64-bit kernel. The worst thing is that Microsoft refuses to consider this a bug and fix it (unless they changed their mind since the last time I checked).

So...if you do not want unexpected problems, switch to 64-bit Windows when you HAVE A REASON to, not when there seem not to be a reason not to.

228

Developer's Corner / Re: Thoughts on HTML5?

« Last post by vlastimil on May 28, 2011, 06:49 AM »

Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are pushing HTML5. An open and (relatively) powerful standard is in their interest.

Opera is trying, but its small market share makes it irrelevant (sorry to say that) - it is a good software, but they do not have a killer feature that would lead more people to them. Good compatibility is not enough, especially when sites are optimized for other browsers.

Internet Explorer has been successfully (intentionally) slowing down the adoption of new web technologies in the last decade. Powerful web apps are Microsoft's nightmare. Once ordinary users only need a capable internet browser, Windows loses a lot of ground. (Why install Windows on your mom's computer when she only needs it for reading email, video-conferencing, watching news, TV shows and movies, listening to music and playing games like solitaire? And all that can be done in a free HTML5 browser running on a free Linux.)

Microsoft continues to sabotage the progress with IE9 by claiming HTML5 compatibility and calling it a modern browser. They only implemented a tiny bit of HTML5 and are discrediting the HTML5 buzzword. That behavior is completely understandable, it has brought them a lot of money. They were the leader in IE4 times, but left that position to others. Maybe they make a comeback - they had 10 years to address the situation and I kind of do not want to believe that their whole strategy was to delay the adoption of web technologies. We'll see...

229

General Software Discussion / Re: Pirated Software and Viruses? Ahem... No. I don't want to help you...

« Last post by vlastimil on May 03, 2011, 03:07 PM »

... he bought a CD of pirated software ...

-Renegade (May 02, 2011, 12:14 AM)

This really sounds absurd to me. He is OK to pay for software, but not to the authors.

I think this is ours (software authors') fault. We cannot sell the software properly. The deal does not seem fair to a lot of people. And so they pirate the software. I don't hate them...but helping them? No.

230

Living Room / Re: Loss of ownership / control over a .org domain - advice requested

« Last post by vlastimil on April 26, 2011, 04:08 AM »

Domain squatters suck.

Anyway, as people advised above, try to ask the current owner politely to give/sell you the domain. I would not bother with threats of legal action. The squatter will just ignore it - they won't bother responding, because the process is complicated and the worst that can happen to them is they lose the domain. But it takes time and they will happily make money on "your" visitors until then.

The domain does not appear to have a lot of traffic or links and therefore, for the squatter, it does not have a significant value. Offer them a price that would cover the time needed to transfer the domain. The $100 mentioned above is a decent price for this task - make it clear, you are unable to pay more. If you offer a low price that does not cover their time, the squatters will just ignore you. I doubt you can count on the goodness of their heart - cybersquatting is a shady business.

According to yahoo, only feministcardiff.wordpress.com is linking to your original site. If that blog is under your control, you should change the link to the mirror (removing the links further decreases the value of the domain to the squatter).

231

Developer's Corner / Re: A very good (and free) captcha class in PHP (Recommendation)

« Last post by vlastimil on April 16, 2011, 03:29 PM »

I do not consider questions better than awkwardly twisted words. It shall not be the user's task to prove that they are human.

Spam only works because it is automated and stock CMS solutions are low hanging fruits, especially the free ones like Wordpress or Drupal. By adding a bit of a non-standard code, the problem is solved. A spammer will not bother writing custom script for just one website. And if they do, the webmaster can react by changing a little detail. The spammer has to spam 100s of webs, while the web owner only has 1 (or a few) to care about. Web masters, who care, win easily.

(Of course, if a web site owner has dozens of sites, then I understand they would want to use captchas. In that case, I have my doubts about the quality of the sites. It takes a lot of time to maintain and add valuable content to just a single web site.)

232

Developer's Corner / Re: A very good (and free) captcha class in PHP (Recommendation)

« Last post by vlastimil on April 15, 2011, 03:58 PM »

So if we agree that captchas are bad at all, and that there ARE situations where you need one, my finding is still one of the better ones.

And as we talk about Javascript. What if you have customers with JS disabled? Doesn't that mean you hate them when you make your pages unusable without JS? E.g. in my browser JS is disabled and scripts are blocked all the time unless i allow a page to execute scripts. How annoying if i have to enable scripts all the time.

-JoTo (April 15, 2011, 08:54 AM)

I guess, the way your use of captchas is perfectly fine. If you do not actually want people to use that form, captcha is a good way .

It is true that some of the functionality of my pages will not be available to people with JS disabled. This affects 1-2% of visitors - captchas in wrong place affect 100%. I am happy with that state, especially when the interaction with the web is way smoother for the 98-99% with JS on.

233

Developer's Corner / Re: A very good (and free) captcha class in PHP (Recommendation)

« Last post by vlastimil on April 15, 2011, 03:45 AM »

I should apologize for this post in advance. I know, you think you have found a very good thing, but I do not believe there is or ever will be a "good" captcha. They are a major annoyance for end users. Putting them on your web site is like saying "I hate you" to your visitors. Spam is your problem, you should solve it. It is not your visitor's problem. They don't care.

I have 0 captchas on my site and the level of spam I am getting is negligible. It is because my forms are protected by other means. I use invisible codes that expire after some time, I do not have the form source code in the html, but use javascript to display it. I submit the forms via ajax. This improves the user experience and prevents spam.

Google for "without captchas" and you'll get a lot of resources. It takes more time to build a site without captchas, but it is worth it.

234

Developer's Corner / Online icon archives should be more flexible

« Last post by vlastimil on April 13, 2011, 11:33 AM »

Hi all,

few days ago I read and enjoyed Renegade's post ( https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=26359.0 ) and his cheap art purchasing guide on his blog.

Though, I think things needs to be taken a bit further. The web is moving forward and online art archives should be more than just archives. Here is my attempt at providing for free one of the icon that Renegade showed as an example in his post. I have re-created it and made it more flexible: http://www.rw-design...e-icon/classic-web20

Now I am looking for more ideas from you. What pictures would you use on your own web site?

Thanks,
Vlasta

235

Developer's Corner / Re: Partial (corrupted) downloads from a server (Not a valid win32 application etc)

« Last post by vlastimil on April 11, 2011, 08:42 AM »

Not that I know the answer for that question (as much as I would like to know) (maybe fiddling with http headers would help with the re-download), but it also sometimes happens to me and I usually have the download on multiple urls and have an additional .zip with the installer and I tell the people to download using one of the other urls or with different browser.

236

Living Room / Re: Should I add ads to my website?

« Last post by vlastimil on February 28, 2011, 05:18 PM »

Why not? It is a kind of site that can benefit from a ads, if there are not too many.

Requiring to commit for a year seems a bit unusual. Did they offer you a fixed amount of cash for the year? Also, it is worth the effort to find out whether they are in for the visitors it can bring them or if they are just looking for the links to get better search engine rankings. I would stay away from them if it is later case.

237

Site/Forum Features / Re: Shortcomings of DC and How to Improve

« Last post by vlastimil on February 28, 2011, 09:34 AM »

Re Reviews -
I can see why the reviews section (full- as opposed to mini-) died a death - too much work.

-tomos (February 28, 2011, 09:13 AM)

I agree with this. In order to make a really valuable and insightful review, one would need to work with every application for literally years to really know it. I work with various programs, but I would not feel competent to write a review of for example ftp clients or text editors. It is like, I have my favorite one and ignore the others. Even if I installed the others I would be angry, because they work differently than the old one. And then there are new versions and the review article getting outdated...

Here is an idea for the review section: Who knows most about the reviewed software? Who has the biggest motivation for the review to exist? The authors. Instead of a volunteer with limited motivation and information writing the review, what if a mechanism existed that would allow the software authors to do their part? An independent review manager would only need to set the rules and grantee all the facts are straight. Much less work.

238

Site/Forum Features / Re: Shortcomings of DC and How to Improve

« Last post by vlastimil on February 28, 2011, 09:21 AM »

Hm, I only participated in the last NANY (although I noticed the previous one, but had not enough time), but I do not think the reception was that bad. I cannot compare it to the older ones, but one thing is certain: The freeware landscape has changed a lot in the last 4 years. There are now much more freeware applications and freeware is not as attractive to bloggers as it used to be. In order to attract similar level of attention, the event would have to be much bigger.

239

Site/Forum Features / Re: Shortcomings of DC and How to Improve

« Last post by vlastimil on February 28, 2011, 03:44 AM »

I see nothing wrong with the visitor stats. The number of daily visitors is stable and adequate to a niche web site. Mouser actually did something very right this January. According to Alexa, the time spent on site (or pages/visit) has risen significantly in January and remained there. I do not know what mouser dd, but whatever this seemingly invisible change was, it had an impact. Maintaining a web site and a set of software tools is full of similar under-the-hood tasks that take a lot of time and it takes more and more effort the older the web site is. An annual fund raiser is justified by just keeping the web site together.

On the other hand, nothing can be done with the fact that most users do not care much about these invisible maintenance tasks. It might be a good idea to do something trivial, but clearly visible to everybody from time to time.

240

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by vlastimil on February 26, 2011, 04:22 PM »

I got an offer from OpenCandy few months ago, turned it down and then I got a second email with some more arguments why to join. I was to lazy to reply to that.

The offer did not sound bad, they presented the system as innovative and dynamic, with the software author being in control of the ads shown. I can see why some developers would choose to try it. I am not sure if it is better or worse than having a fixed adware, like those toolbars or java. So many companies are gathering information about people that I have given up getting angry whenever a new company joins that crazy race.

Adware is like fruits. "User" eats the apple and then spread the seeds - that's the deal. Unless you don't eat the seeds. Some fruits are smart, some are dumb. The same applies to fruit eaters ;-). Is there a place for good and evil? I think not.

241

Living Room / Re: Recommendation for removing eye flash

« Last post by vlastimil on February 24, 2011, 03:33 PM »

Here is an option, let's call it carpet eyes:

242

Site/Forum Features / Re: Revisiting the idea of simplifying the DC big app license key stuff

« Last post by vlastimil on February 23, 2011, 05:27 AM »

Few thoughts about the new version->new key:
* If people are happy with the features of the current version, they tend not to upgrade (no motivation, fear of change).
* Upgrades often happen when people install new Windows or buy a new computer.
* It is in the best interest of the developer to push the new version as much as possible (support is easier if there are less versions out there; latest version has more features and hence better chance to be talked about and spread by word of mouth).

Getting people to donate is good, because the donor feels part of the community. I guess that is one of the Mouser's goal - getting people to participate in the forum, etc. People, who often upgrade already are part of the community, they are watching and waiting for the new features. If they did not already donate, they probably will in the future.

Problem are those other people, who downloaded and forgot. They are not likely to return and donate. Hence I would be against the principle of new version->new key. The opposite may actually make sense: if you are using the latest version, all is fine. Once a new version is out, users must either upgrade or donate or be bugged every month to get a new temporary license.

243

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is Software for Hardware Always Sucky?

« Last post by vlastimil on February 22, 2011, 08:53 AM »

I noticed the same. Sometimes, it also applies to drivers of sound cards, or to some special notebook hardware and such.

Hard to say why is that. Maybe the main reason is that the people in charge have too much money to spend and desperately want to *see* where the money went. Instead of investing into testing and behind the hood feature, they want the "better" custom GUI.

244

Site/Forum Features / Re: Revisiting the idea of simplifying the DC big app license key stuff

« Last post by vlastimil on February 22, 2011, 03:50 AM »

I guess all freeware is donationware. In most cases, the author has made the biggest donation of his/her time, electricity, distribution costs, etc. I believe non-programmers do not know how much effort (~money) does it take to create and maintain software. Maybe it would help if the costs were known to the end users. So, here is an idea: Before receiving the free license key, the user would be forced to view the page with costs and donations that would also list the freeware author as a donor (donating total costs minus sum of all other donations).

Not sure if something like that would work, it is just an untested idea. Some people would still leave, because they feel happier if they consider freeware completely free and hate to feel guilty of not helping.

Mouser, you have probably the biggest experience with donations, you gut feelings are the most accurate. On the other hand, if you were able to somehow measure the impact of those various incentivizing options, it would make a great blog post.

245

Living Room / Re: The XKCD solution to Distraction Affliction

« Last post by vlastimil on February 21, 2011, 11:53 AM »

I found out that actually closing FireFox instead of minimizing it is enough to break the habit of continuous news checking. At least for me, it works. Now, to closing  .

246

Living Room / Re: Apple: if we get you subscribers, we deserve a cut

« Last post by vlastimil on February 17, 2011, 11:46 AM »

30% is surely a lot and the conditions are pretty limiting. I have never developed anything for any Apple product, but I can imagine the disillusions some of the developers must feel.

On the other hand, the Apple store probably was a relatively easy source of money for many developers. Everything has its end.

Who knows, maybe Apple will lover their cut to 15% in a couple of days/weeks/months and everyone would happily pay that knowing that things could be worse. Maybe we do not see the whole picture yet.

247

General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?

« Last post by vlastimil on February 15, 2011, 04:04 AM »

I have been thinking about what was said about transparency for a while and here is a summary:

Freeware works like this:
user arrives on a web page -> they read the headlines, look at images -> they decide that the software may solve their problem -> they download the tool -> they use the tool -> they are amazed -> they keep using it and being amazed long enough -> they donate

What would be the right place to be clear about the intent (free licensing)? I do not know. At which point do the people care about it and giving that info would increase the number of people that reach the last step? I still do not know. Each of the -> is a breaking point, some users may leave. Substituting a headline that explains benefits of the software by a headline that says something complicated about licensing may turn down some people. We need a real world experiment and someone with scientific genes to perform it and interpret the results. What we have now are just speculations and singular examples.

Looking at my web pages, I actually am open about the licensing, but it is not emphasized. I guess it is fine this way, but who knows for sure...

----

BTW, there is also an alternative way to receive donation - it happened to me at least twice:
someone with authority recommends a tool to a computer newbie -> they download it -> they try to use it and fail -> the GUI only has 3 buttons and one of them is 'Donate' -> out of desperation they donate -> they write an email to the author stating the software still doesn't work although they donated -> author explains they should really read what is written in the help

248

General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?

« Last post by vlastimil on February 14, 2011, 09:06 AM »

I have to say I perceive freeware differently than 15 years ago. Maybe we need a new definition or some sub-categories.

Freeware is a buzzword now. I dare to say that simply making a good utility and throwing it into the cloud would not work like it worked 15 years ago. Current tools need online presence - at least a web page, but a blog and a forum is almost a must. They may even need a big marketing campaign (Chrome) to succeed. When we refuse to do the non-coding stuff, the chance of success are slim.

The scheme behind my freeware is simple and I believe the story is similar for most other freeware authors. I want to make freeware - or in by mouser's definition donationware. If one of my freeware projects were a financial success, I would stop doing paid software and only worked on free tools. I do not think, it is sneaky. Maybe it must be explained to the end users (if they read such "nonsense").

249

General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?

« Last post by vlastimil on February 14, 2011, 07:42 AM »

It's a simple matter of being honest.

Always the best policy with yourself and others.  

-40hz (February 14, 2011, 07:29 AM)

True. I may actually do that - I mean explaining why it is this particular piece of software "free" and how does it fit in the whole scheme. I always thought it was obvious, but obviously  , it was not.

250

General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?

« Last post by vlastimil on February 14, 2011, 07:35 AM »

  It seems like being freeware author sucks  

People expect free software because copying is so cheap, we have to deal with it. There seems to be two ways. Freeware that the author made and forgot about and freeware that is maintained and nursed. The former is OK without donations, the later not.