Recent Posts
Oh, and you could make the QR code clickable, so one can browse there directly from their phone-Ath (November 14, 2011, 03:44 PM)
Fun! How about giving a link to the webservice you made it with?-mouser (November 14, 2011, 03:37 PM)
Stephen,
Could you elaborate on the vast amount of permissions requested by your app? About half of it shouldn't be needed, I guess-Ath (November 14, 2011, 03:40 PM)
- I assume it just has a set of permissions it uses regardless of the type of app you make, rather than checking what you have included and only setting the permissions for it.So how's it going, all ye noble and dutiful participants?
Update! Update!-40hz (November 12, 2011, 03:23 PM)
Good luck!!!-vrgrrl (November 04, 2011, 05:18 PM)
First
Bvckup's default mode of operation is to constantly monitor for changes. Once the changes are detected, it propagates them to the destination. This makes Bvckup a real-time backup utility.
Second
Its default copying mode is delta copying. Which is a fancy way of saying that it copies only changed parts of the file. This makes Bvckup fast, really fast. Lots more details on why and how along, mind you, with the list of drawbacks of this particular approach is available here - Delta copying, explained.
Third
Bvckup is not a two-way sync utility, it's a backup utility and it makes full use of the core difference. By default it assumes that the destination copy does not change between the backups. This allows it to not scan the destination directory to detect what changed, but rather rely on a locally saved summary from the last backup.
I hear you say "bah, so what?". Two words - NAS backups. Not needing to scan the destination directory eliminates a lot of network traffic, and it removes the need for spinning up otherwise idle disks on NAS devices. This adds up to some major time savings, on top of those delivered by delta copying.
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Still with me? A bit more perhaps?
Fourth
The user interface. It is not about utilizing all 16 million colors in a single toolbar icon. Verbosity is not a feature, multitude of options is not a convenience. Properly designed user interface is all about simplicity and unobtrusiveness of the day-to-day interaction flow. A small example would probably go a long way here - Bvckup toolbar - but the only sure way to appreciate the UI polish is to take the app for a spin.
In fact Bvckup is as much about the UI design as it is about technical features. This bit explains how tightly these two are intertwined in case of Bvckup and how they shaped the design of the app - Short history of Bvckup.
Fifth
It is small and very lean. The installation package is about 480 KB. That's as much as a splash screen logo of some other backup products The app is written in C++ but without any extensive use of ++ features. It's much more like C with Classes... just like Bjarne envisioned before he got sucked into that bloody language design committee... but I digress.
Sixth
It is technically sophisticated. It doesn't copy just the file contents and the attributes, but also the timestamps, NTFS security and ownership information. If it finds a file that it cannot copy (locked, open, etc), it will try and use Volume Shadow Copying to work around the problem. If it is running under stripped-down administrator account on Vista or W7, it will prompt and offer to elevate itself to full admin privileges.
Also, and it's for true Windows connoisseurs only - it can run in elevated and filtered modes using the same executable. In fact, the even more amazing feat is that the very same executable can interact with Shadow Copying service on both XP and Vista; even though Microsoft explicitly requires linking to two different VSS libraries for these two platforms. Took a while to figure this one out, I can tell you that
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A bit more...
Assorted bits and pieces of some interest - built-in software updates, linear regression ETA estimator, the built-in interactive Mini Guide shown on the first run, a bit of a logo and web design goodness and a bit about myself.
And lastly...
All beta versions are free, with some tasty perks in store for the beta users.
Okay folks, you asked for it... Build 25 now available!
Whatz New:
Window height will now autosize itself to allow display of all drives without the need for scrolling (this behavior can be disabled in settings). When you add a drive, it gets bigger! Remove one and it'll shrink.
Drives can now be hidded by drive letter(s) ... Just enter a string of what you want to hide, and they disappear!
If you can't get the option you want/need on the context menu for drive X, just hold the Shift key while right clicking and all options will be added to the menu.-Stoic Joker (October 30, 2011, 03:24 PM)
Savile, who was one of the most famous names on British TV and radio in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, died Today.
Police said they were called to his home in Leeds, but that there was nothing suspicious about his death.
His family programme, Jim'll Fix It, drew in huge audiences and the programme received 20,000 letters a week at the height of its popularity.
The view outside your window General Discussions. ... So here's one, show us a pic of the front view from the front room in your ...
__________________
Lisa
Ebooks-lisanancybis (October 27, 2011, 12:36 AM)
Just tried in Greek, drives dissapeared. Seems to be Western Characters only o_0-Stephen66515 (October 23, 2011, 09:38 PM)
Can you give me a bit more detail as to what (exactly) was done, and what happened/failed next?
I may not be able to fix this without recompiling localized versions for multiple languages (which is hardly ideal).-Stoic Joker (October 24, 2011, 06:45 AM)
Okay regarding above request:
(Brace for incredibly stupid question) Does Windows identify drives as A - Z, in all languages??
I ask because I was going to try sanitizing the input string and it occurred to me that I'm not entirely sure what I should be checking for on say a Chinese machine. Being that I think they have more that 26 letters ... Which 26 do I pick??
...Or have I gone completely daft and started totally over-thinking this thing.-Stoic Joker (October 23, 2011, 06:53 PM)
refuses to work on Windows 7 x86-Stephen66515 (October 22, 2011, 07:00 PM)
Eh? I use Windows 7 x86 and it does work. What kind of error are you getting?
I didn't think this is a problem with some versions.-wraith808 (October 23, 2011, 09:12 AM)
before possibly being banished back to the nether regions of the forum.-mouser (October 18, 2011, 02:49 PM)
DC's nether regions don't get enough love.-Deozaan (October 18, 2011, 05:07 PM)
Not unlike mousers?^_^
-Stephen66515 (October 18, 2011, 06:06 PM)
I'll have to take your word for it. I wouldn't know anything about that.-Deozaan (October 18, 2011, 07:31 PM)
No need to lie Deo
-Stephen66515 (October 18, 2011, 07:37 PM)
Well, aside from his pinings in IRC, I mean.-Deozaan (October 18, 2011, 11:42 PM)
before possibly being banished back to the nether regions of the forum.-mouser (October 18, 2011, 02:49 PM)
DC's nether regions don't get enough love.-Deozaan (October 18, 2011, 05:07 PM)
Not unlike mousers?-Stephen66515 (October 18, 2011, 06:06 PM)
I'll have to take your word for it. I wouldn't know anything about that.-Deozaan (October 18, 2011, 07:31 PM)
Not PC related but one night I accidentally spilled a full pint of Guinness into and old CRT TV. Surprisingly even after turning it upside down on a towel barely a drop poured back out. Still worked perfectly the next day, if a bit smelly.-Eóin (October 18, 2011, 06:09 PM)
before possibly being banished back to the nether regions of the forum.-mouser (October 18, 2011, 02:49 PM)
DC's nether regions don't get enough love.-Deozaan (October 18, 2011, 05:07 PM)
^_^
