Recent Posts

2351

General Software Discussion / Axialis License Key Frustrations

« Last post by app103 on February 04, 2011, 05:10 AM »

I am posting this because I know I am not going to be the only one to go through this. If anyone else has the same troubles, just follow what I did and it will work out just fine, I think. (step-by-step summary checklist at end of my post)

Axialis was very generous and donated a number of free licenses for their IconWorkshop product to DC, to be given away as prizes to members

I was one of the lucky winners (yay!).

I received an email with my license key and proceeded to their site to download and install the trial version.

After installing the trial, I hunted around in the software trying to figure out where I am supposed to enter my key. I could not find anywhere to do this. I clicked the option to register my product, thinking maybe that would have a place to enter my key. Nope! A dialog popped up essentially telling me that since the product was not registered, I can't register it. 

So I go back to the website and figure out where on their site that I can register it.

With the product now registered, I then go back to the software and try to find if there is a way to link what I have just done on their site to the copy installed on my computer. Nope! 

I go back to the website and log in, and in my list of registered products there is a link for them to send me a download link. I click that and they emailed me a link to download the setup file...another trial version, supposedly the same version I already have installed.

I install that over top of the version I already have, thinking maybe there is something slightly different about this one, and on first run...at last I have a place to enter my license key. 

Whew!

Now if you think I am finished, I am not...

I go back to their site to download the full version of the object packs that I am entitled to. In order to do that you have to enter your license key for each one. I do that and it tells me it isn't enough characters...invalid key! 

The key listed on the site in my account, under registered products isn't quite the same as the key I was sent and entered into the software to unlock it. The one on the site has an extra character, somewhere. So I copy & paste THAT key into the box and download an icon pack...repeat, repeat, repeat till I have all the icon packs downloaded.

Then I install them and each one tells me that I have installed a Trial Package, and not the full version. (yes, I did install the full versions because those are the ones you need to submit your license key to get).

ARRRRGH! 

So, to register your product, unlock it, and get all the goodies:

• Go here and register it with your license key.
• Log into your account and request a download link for your product on the Download a Product page.
• Install that and enter your key.
• Go back to the site, log in, and copy the key shown on the Display My Product Keys page.
• Use that key to get the object packs by clicking the green download buttons and entering that key.
• Install the object packs and hope they really are the full packs and not the trials like it says.

2352

Official Announcements / Re: January 2011 Giveaway - Winners Posted

« Last post by app103 on February 04, 2011, 03:04 AM »

Oh, yay! More icon tools to play with! 

I feel kind of generous, WTH, whoever from the participants wants a free license to my icon editor ( http://www.rw-design...m/3D_icon_editor.php ), just sent me a PM with your name.

-vlastimil (February 01, 2011, 11:16 AM)

Does that mean me too? While I didn't submit a project this year (first year I haven't done so) I did help out with anyone that wanted icons (made a whole set of dice for worstje I think, and the icon for N.A.N.Y. Excuse Manager)

2353

Finished Programs / Re: DONE: RandomPlayer - play a mp3 file at (almost) random intervals

« Last post by app103 on February 03, 2011, 10:29 AM »

Slightly OT but I'm looking for something similar but it instead plays video files when the computer is idle sort of like a screensaver but one where it plays random specified video files.

-Paul Keith (February 03, 2011, 09:09 AM)

Set up your default video player software to how you want it (random, full screen, etc) then make a playlist of the videos you want it to pick from and save it as a playlist file.

Launch your playlist file with my IdleStart app. It allows one to run apps after a specified length of user idle time (no keyboard or mouse input). It does not run apps as screensavers, but time the launching of apps with a more screensaver-like behavior.

Keep in mind that it will not close the video player when the PC is not idle. You will have to do that yourself or run the risk of multiple instances of your player running when you become idle again.

2354

Living Room / Re: IE6 Effects

« Last post by app103 on February 03, 2011, 06:54 AM »

WinME was like the worst thing ever in computing...

-Renegade (February 02, 2011, 05:33 AM)

Some day, you are going to come here to visit me and I am going to introduce you to my WinME snail...and you are going to eat those words. 

2355

Living Room / Re: Why does the Mayan calendar end on....?

« Last post by app103 on February 02, 2011, 05:29 AM »

This was interesting...and probably made more sense than anything I have read concerning the Mayan calendar and all this doomsday stuff: http://www.bbsradio.....pl?md=read;id=26353

According to that, our calendar is off and we got the date wrong. It was Dec 21, 2010, which has already passed. The day of a total lunar eclipse on the winter solstice.

An astrologer, Victoria Peltz just wrote an article explaining that we are – or may be - two years off in our calendar because of the confusion back in the 16th century between the Gregorian and Julian calendar. In other words when we interpreted the end of the age in the Mayan calendar as 2012, it should have been 2010.  Now what is so interesting about that is when I heard of the 2012 end of the world scenario, I immediately did a chart for Dec 21, 2012 and saw nothing.  Then I asked a few of my astro friends and they saw nothing.  BUT, if I do a chart for Dec 21, 2010, I see a spectacular, powerful eclipse lasting over one hour.  Also, in July 2010, we have a cardinal T-Square with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto in the sky that can be seen as a herald or portent of things to come. People have been predicting the end of the world approximately every couple of centuries since 2800 BC when it was written on a clay table in Assyria. And the Mayan elders have been trying to tell everyone that the end of a Cycle on their calendar is not the end of the world.

Dec 21, 2012 is actually Dec 21, 2010 2010 is a WHOPPER! And is more the REAL 2012. The alignments of December 21, 2012 is nowhere near the power of December 21, 2010 More and more astrologers say this year is THE ONE. They were 2 years off ! It will happen at WORLD POINT 0 degrees Cancer, and have an effect the world Over, it will also conjunct Hades. ECLIPSE SMACK DAB ON WINTER SOLSTICE DAY. On 21st December 2010 coincides with a total lunar eclipse. This is the only Lunar eclipse that will occur over this period of 36 years or so during Which the winter solstice sunrise is directly aligned to the Galactic Centre. The Mayans, among other cultures, have identified this dark rift in The Milky Way galaxy (between Sagittarius & Scorpio) as the cosmic source of all creation (and destruction) and they have specifically tied their Mythological and calendrical traditions to its winter solstice alignment. It is the place to which the Mayan shamans have always ventured on their visionary journeys in order to gain wisdom and understanding. On Winter Solstice this year, thanks to the lunar eclipse, and for the only time during this period of solar alignment, the Moon, Earth, Solstice Sun and Galactic Centre will all be in perfect alignment. So far everywhere I have been reading online everyone is saying it is what the 2012 should look like!!! BUT 12-21-2010 that looks like it instead

2356

Living Room / Re: IE6 Effects

« Last post by app103 on February 02, 2011, 04:00 AM »

Reminds me of Windows 95. . .

-Deozaan (February 01, 2011, 10:33 PM)

I was thinking WinME. 

2357

Living Room / Re: *URGENT* Patch IE security flaw (31 January 2011)

« Last post by app103 on February 02, 2011, 03:58 AM »

From the MS Security Advisory (Mitigating Factors and Suggested Actions):

In a Web-based attack scenario, a Web site could contain a specially crafted link (MHTML:) that is used to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would have to convince users to visit the Web site and open a specially crafted URL, typically by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's Web site, and then convincing them to click the specially crafted link.

So once again it's only those who blindly click away at anything that are (actually vulnerable) affected.

Microsoft Security Advisory (2501696)

-Stoic Joker (February 01, 2011, 11:01 PM)

My concern would be users of sites like Twitter, where shortened links are routinely used and you don't really know where they are going. Could one of these specially crafted links be shortened and then posted on Twitter with a catchy headline promising news about current events or other attractive content?

2358

General Software Discussion / Re: Web images to get expiration date -- no, no, no!

« Last post by app103 on January 30, 2011, 04:07 AM »

This sounds more like some sort of DRM...

A photographer uploads images to the internet that expire in 30 days. Every 30 days he has to upload a new copy. Since he has the originals, he can do that. Those that steal his photos will not have them for very long, because they will still expire in 30 days.

Problem: How are they going to handle screen capture software from making unencrypted copies?

If the idea is that social networks themselves will use this technology on all images uploaded, then that wouldn't work well either.

Imagine someone that has many photos of themselves with their friends uploaded to facebook...someone with a lot of friends. Something happens and he dies a tragic death. His profile gets memorialized. All of a sudden photos start disappearing because they have expired. Now you have lots of angry people that can no longer visit their dead friend's profile and see all the pictures of all those memories.

2359

Living Room / Re: I Predict You Are A MURDERER~!

« Last post by app103 on January 29, 2011, 02:31 PM »

^ You mean it's not Welsh?

-40hz (January 29, 2011, 02:24 PM)

Only if you say it with your head inside a bucket. 

2360

Living Room / Re: Is pranking Josh unfair?

« Last post by app103 on January 28, 2011, 03:42 AM »

While this prank was good, it could have been even better. Therefore, Josh hasn't been pranked enough. He deserves more...lots more. 

2361

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

« Last post by app103 on January 27, 2011, 01:05 AM »

I think she was pretty accurate, at least with all the signs I recognized (yeah, I studied sign language when I was younger).

I would love to see something similar done by the artists themselves, in their official videos.

2362

Living Room / Re: Rip a CD to Compact Flash/SD/... without a PC - is there such a gadget?

« Last post by app103 on January 26, 2011, 11:19 AM »

All I found was this, from more than 3 years ago. The links provided in the article are dead, but I did find this page on a company's site, of a different name. Just scroll down till you get to Invion Micoder. Seems the product is still "coming soon".

2363

Living Room / Re: Is SEO worth the trouble?

« Last post by app103 on January 25, 2011, 07:38 PM »

Yes, you should use both title and alt for images, since not all browsers support alt to show a tooltip description. Also, using title on links make sense for reasons other than SEO, like the links on my ebook blog are URL's that can be copied & pasted by those viewing the content in plain text, and also can know what content it links to with the title attribute, when viewing it as HTML. (also serves a purpose for me, with click tracking, that I am not going to go into)

But this is part of building for people, which is good for SEO.

Meta tags are not really used by Google, but they are used by other search engines, so they should be used on your pages when possible. And each page should have its own meta tags. Don't just repeat a block of the same meta tags on every page.

2364

Living Room / Re: Is SEO worth the trouble?

« Last post by app103 on January 25, 2011, 05:34 PM »

Thanks app!  That's a very well written article, I'll definitely be using that.  To all interested, I think App's article is excellent and addresses the intent of this thread I started.

-superboyac (January 25, 2011, 03:49 PM)

Thank you. It was written as a response to the exact question in the title of the article. If one person wants to know, others are bound to want the same, so I turned my response into a blog article, to benefit all asking the same question.

2365

Living Room / Re: Is SEO worth the trouble?

« Last post by app103 on January 25, 2011, 03:39 PM »

You might want to take a look at my article How can you rank well on search engines, without fussing with SEO?

This has been my approach to SEO for awhile, and I have had no problems with it. My ebook directory is the top result in Google for the keywords "programming ebooks" and has been for a number of years, despite site design changes, domain name changes, and being a victim of content theft (a lot of people with high PR blogs copied the original one page site and shoved it into a single blog post, never even bothering to link back to me as the source of their info).

I also do not have problems with any of my other sites when I follow my own rules.

2366

Finished Programs / Re: IDEA: play a mp3 file at (almost) random intervals

« Last post by app103 on January 25, 2011, 03:45 AM »

'Nice to have' options would be:
- daily start time and end time (limiting the 'operating hours')

-brotherS (January 23, 2011, 12:51 PM)

This would still be nice to have. Since I run my PC 24/7, I wouldn't want the music to start playing during sleeping hours.

I don't know what you're doing with it, but it sounds fun.

-wr975 (January 23, 2011, 05:24 PM)

Yes. :-) It's a 'mind hack' experiment, I'm using this to guide my attention in a direction I like (so as not to be on automatic 24/7).

-brotherS (January 24, 2011, 07:09 AM)

Great idea. I might use it myself to ensure I maintain a more cheerful mood throughout the day.

2367

N.A.N.Y. 2011 / Re: Major feature instead of new up for NANY?

« Last post by app103 on January 25, 2011, 03:08 AM »

Not sure how well that works with the March anniversary though.

-Perry Mowbray (January 25, 2011, 02:59 AM)

Ahhh...March is when you have 6 years worth of stuff to work with, instead of just 1 year. 

2368

N.A.N.Y. 2011 / Re: Major feature instead of new up for NANY?

« Last post by app103 on January 25, 2011, 02:05 AM »

You don't think that doing a wrap up of the previous year's achievements wouldn't work? for which badges could also be given??

Seems to me that reminding people of the great benefits of DC have given over the past 12 months could have lots of nice follow ons...

Edit: Agreed -- another competition wont work so close...

-Perry Mowbray (January 24, 2011, 09:39 PM)

This was why I had suggested that in the week or month leading up to the day of all the NANY excitement, apps released over the course of the year should be showcased, especially the ones that might not have received much attention, that should.

A sort of shower of software that builds up to the new year and new stuff. Think of it like a fireworks show, with the NANY releases being the big finale at the end.

2369

Adventures of Baby Cody / Subscribe to receive text messages from Baby Cody

« Last post by app103 on January 24, 2011, 07:20 PM »

NOTICE: I have canceled my account, so this offer is no longer available. Sorry.


I recently got a job doing customer service and tech support at textmarks.com. In order to do my job well, I need to become a user of their product so I am familiar enough with it to help people that can't figure it out.

Since I do not plan on having a paid account, and free lite accounts are limited to non-commercial use, and I don't have a use for the service, personally, I figured I'd use my free account for something fun and DC related.

Therefore, anyone in the US (up to a max of 100 subscribers) can now receive text alerts from Baby Cody. This is free to you. You will not be charged by the service to receive these messages. All you have to do is send a text message to 41411 on your cell phone, with the keyword BABYCODY to subscribe. (The service does not work outside the US or with Google Voice)

After that, whenever Baby Cody moves from one location to another, you will receive an alert from him, giving you his destination or arrival status. You will receive at least one message per month (the minimum needed to keep the keyword from being deleted) regardless of Baby Cody's status. You may receive other alerts from him, from time to time, too, but I promise not to overwhelm you, these messages will be very infrequent, and I will try to make them fun.

If you change your mind at any point and wish to unsubscribe, just respond to any message sent by Baby Cody with LEAVE BABYCODY.

Currently, I have 7 days left on my free trial, afterward it will convert to an ad supported free lite account. Once the conversion goes through, there will be a short ad automatically tacked on to the end of all messages. I do not profit from these ads and the revenue they generate is used to offset the costs of providing the free service. UPDATE: The messages will remain ad-free, for as long as I work for the company.  

This offer is only valid to the first 100 subscribers in the US. Message and Data rates may apply. If you have any issues with signing up or leaving, contact me for help.

2370

Living Room / Re: Perils and Pitfalls of Online Community Management

« Last post by app103 on January 24, 2011, 07:11 AM »

DC used to have ads a long time ago, but the community is too tech savvy to either see them or click them, so there wasn't much money to be made from displaying them, so rather than having them detract from the site, mouser decided to get rid of them.

The only time he thought of bringing them back had nothing to do with raising money to support the site. He wondered if he put Adsense back on the site, would Google spider its content better (we were having a bit of a problem with the Googlebot). At no time was this site ever in jeopardy of traveling down the path you described, if the ads were reintroduced. It also wouldn't have been permanent.

The final decision not to do it was based on the fact it wouldn't have resulted in what we wanted because the site wouldn't be any better spidered by the Googlebot, because content spidering for Adsense is done by the Adsensebot, for a different purpose, with different results,  and the results are kept separate from the data that is used by Google's search engine.

The LiveJournal group she described is the end of life, after having it's time in the sun, going through sale, and almost everyone leaving...kind of where Friendfeed is today, and where MySpace will soon be. That doesn't describe DC at all, since we are still growing, not shrinking; and the site has not been sold. DC can not enter that stage as long as mouser is still here and cares about the site.

2371

Living Room / Re: Perils and Pitfalls of Online Community Management

« Last post by app103 on January 24, 2011, 05:49 AM »

Bamse, skip whatever you read about Quora and just think of the link in my original post as a blog post link, since that is essentially what it is. (it was not an answer to a question on the site)

In the article you linked to, he is also partially wrong about the tech slant. It isn't only for tech related questions, not only for the techie type user, and not only for high profile names and people interested in things they have to say. Yes, there is a lot of that there if that is what you are following.

But it's also possible to follow keywords that have nothing to do with tech. For instance, my dad follows Jazz, and that is all he is interested in following there. Since he isn't following the tech topics, he isn't seeing what the guys at TechCrunch are seeing and writing about. For my dad, it's a brand new jazz Q&A site, and there are no high profile people involved at all.

Quora is a cross between a site like Yahoo Answers and Wikipedia, intended for any type of question on any topic.

I have answered questions that have nothing to do with tech, like these:

What's the worst pick-up line that was actually used on you?
How can I keep snails under control in my freshwater aquarium?
How do snails reproduce?
How can I tell if I have contracted the Ebola virus?
How do you find out if New Jersey is in a snow-related state of emergency?

2372

Living Room / Re: why is it so difficult to pick out a new computer?

« Last post by app103 on January 23, 2011, 09:42 AM »

A dell Vostro (basic business machine) with close to those specs shouldn't be to hard to get for around $500 if you get it without the monitor. If they just need Email an web (this is the "close to" part), go with a 32-bit OS and 2GB or RAM.

-Stoic Joker (January 23, 2011, 08:35 AM)

I have a Vostro...fantastic machine! I would recommend it to anyone that was looking for a PC and didn't want to build it themselves. They are built to last and Dell is willing to stand behind them for a long time, especially if you pay for the option of an extended warranty...much longer than most companies. That was part of the reason why I bought a Vostro.

Avoid HP if at all possible (it never ends well), they tend to garbage up a machine with multimedia frills that break, and most of the parts are astronomically priced. I've yet to see an old one that somebody was still happy with (toaster level disposable).

-Stoic Joker (January 23, 2011, 08:35 AM)

I have owned both a HP consumer grade PC (Pavilion a847c from tigerdirect) and a business class one (dc7600sff from geeks.com) and I will agree with you as far as the consumer grade ones goes. Not a good experience and it died a horrible premature death due to inferior parts that were made of plastic when they should have been metal. Not only that, but their software bundle they force on everyone really stinks, they install hidden crap that should not be on a pc without the user's knowledge and can cause problems (outdated versions of Python), and the CD burner they included wouldn't work with any software other than the outdated demo they provided in their crappy bundle. It didn't come with OS and drivers disks and instead had a restore partition.

I have been happy with the business class machine though. I am not sure if it was HP's doing (probably not) but the included software bundle was a good one that actually made sense (OpenOffice, AVG free, CD Burner XP, VLC, etc), had OS & driver disks instead of a restore partition, the burner works with up to date versions of popular burning apps, and the parts that should be metal, are.

I have purchased from Geeks before.  It looks like most of their stuff is refurbs, which in my opinion are too high priced for a slightly used computer as compared to a new one.

-techidave (January 22, 2011, 09:31 PM)

Yes, most of their stuff is refurbs, but they do also carry new stuff. My HP dc7600sff was not a refurb, was the same specs as this one, except that it also came with XP Pro, a keyboard, mouse, speakers and was $150 (over 1 yr ago). I repeat...it was new, not a refurb. Very nice little machine that was much better than the $800 consumer grade piece of HP junk that I had, with similar CPU/RAM specs.

2373

Living Room / Re: why is it so difficult to pick out a new computer?

« Last post by app103 on January 22, 2011, 09:18 PM »

For just email and web surfing you really don't need very much, but there are some really nice machines that can be had inexpensively.

Maybe you'll find something good on this page.

I suppose it's "love" then? 

-Renegade (January 22, 2011, 09:07 PM)

Up until you install Windows on it 

-4wd (January 22, 2011, 09:09 PM)

They do sell stuff without an OS. 

If you don't see anything today, check back, because their merchandise changes constantly. And if you do find something you like, don't take too long to think about it because stuff sells out fast. Keep your eyes open for HP & Dell business class machines. They are usually better built than the consumer grade ones. Anything that doesn't come with an OS, check the manufacturer's website to find out what drivers they have. Some of the much cheaper machines are older and only XP drivers are available.

And don't forget to check out their prices on parts. Might be cheaper to get something a little less than what you want and take advantage of a good price on a few upgrade parts for it.

2374

Living Room / Perils and Pitfalls of Online Community Management

« Last post by app103 on January 22, 2011, 07:05 PM »

I came across an interesting post on Quora today, about the lifecycle of online communities. I am curious to know your thoughts and how what she says relates to our community. Are we perpetually locked into a stage somewhere between 1 and 2, without being adversely affected by most of the negative effects listed?

http://www.quora.com...Community-Management

2375

Living Room / Re: Sony v. Hotz: Sony Sends a Dangerous Message to Researchers -- and Its Customers

« Last post by app103 on January 22, 2011, 01:30 AM »

I sure hope laws like that never make it here to europe.

-Eóin (January 21, 2011, 09:20 PM)

Remember, this is only Sony's interpretation of what they want the law to mean. It's not actually the law unless a court agrees with their interpretation.