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2726

Coding Snacks / Re: IDEA: Plain text checklist manager

« Last post by superboyac on February 23, 2011, 09:16 AM »

One thing that ALL of the listmakers I've tried are not very good at is printing.  Including MLO, which is expensive.  I've soured on it a little because I've been using it for years now, and the printing is still extremely shabby.  People overlook that part, but remember.  People at work and stuff have to take their lists to meetings with them and show it to others and talk about it.  These printouts from software are so bad that I'm embarrassed to show it during meetings.  So i have to take it to excel, massage it, then bring it.  It would be really nice to have some nice GUI controls for modifying and tweaking how the printouts of these lists look.  At the very least, if it looks really nice on the screen, it should be one-click solution to print that.  We need to be able to present the lists in front of people.

It seems like people just use the standard IE print preview/print component in their software.  It's probably easy and cheap or something to do that.  What are the better alternatives out there for printing and print preview components?  If it's a matter of money, maybe I could donate it to DC for the programmers to use.  Hey!  That's a good idea...instead of making donations to individuals, could we donate development tools to DC, as a kind of site license that developers can use to create programs?

2727

Coding Snacks / Re: IDEA: Plain text checklist manager

« Last post by superboyac on February 23, 2011, 09:12 AM »

OOO:
http://widefido.com/products/todopaper/
That program is perfect for what I was looking for.  Man, i wish it were free  .
If I detailed the characteristic features, do you think we could mimic it here?

2728

Coding Snacks / Re: IDEA: Plain text checklist manager

« Last post by superboyac on February 23, 2011, 08:59 AM »

I started working on porting my FarrMilk plugin to the plain-text todo format suggested by Gina Trapani sometime beginning of this year. Although it's already quite far developed, it is not ready for release yet. The format, described here, seems to be very similar to the one you guys are discussing here. Actually that similar, that one was probably influenced by the other

If you guys are going to implement an application, please consider using the todotxt.com file format. What it would buy you is compatibility with FarrTodo (which is what I'm calling the plugin) as well as compatibility with Gina's command line interface (available for Linux and Windows using cygwin) and (the main reason why I started working on FarrTodo), the Android app which she is working on with some other guys at the moment.

-phitsc (February 23, 2011, 01:44 AM)

Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me.  But it's up to the programmers to see if it makes sense.  I say, why not?  It's already been figured out.

Warith, about your comment, yes, you are probably right.  It could get complicated if unlimited nesting is allowed.  So does that mean the hierarchies are going to be maximum two-levels?  It's limiting, but it doesn't mean it shouldn't be that way.  Probably best to keep it simple.

2729

Coding Snacks / Re: IDEA: Plain text checklist manager

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 10:18 PM »

Regarding the "+Project", would it be possible to have more than two levels in the hierarchy?  For example, what if I wanted to make:

Project1
  task1
    task2

For task2, would it have to be parented to "+task1", and task1 is parented to "+Project1"?

2730

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

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 05:49 PM »

I'm considering starting a site for something like this.  But I'd have to get a cut of the sales.  I know that's going to turn a lot of you off, so I really have to think it over.  I'm not going to do it to get rich.  It's just my belief that I don't think it can be sustained otherwise.  I will try to think of a business model that makes be fair sense for all parties involved.  Basically, I'd like to be the middle man for the transactions and the business handling, and I'd like the developers to be able to freely focus on the product.  And I know that makes me sound like Jobs, but that's not what I want.  If it turns out to be that way, I will stop.  I don't want that.  I want it to be profitable, and I want to offer the talented developers here a way to focus on doing what they are good at and what they are talented in.  My talent is the business stuff so I would do that.  But I do know that my business beliefs tend to differ with a lot of people here, so I just want to be up front about that.  If I do it right I think it will be fun and profitable for everyone.  And I will do it in such a way where nobody is obligated to anyone.  I want it to be fair and fun.  This has probably already been tried and done before, and I'm probably not thinking about some prohibitive factor, but it's an idea I'd love to explore.

2731

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 05:19 PM »

@SB

FYI  - if it's based on TaskPaper, you can find that over in the App Store.

Don't you use an iPad?

-40hz (February 22, 2011, 04:32 PM)

That's a good idea!  Thanks, I didn't think of that.  it doesn't help me for work, but I will definitely see if it fits in my personal work.

2732

Coding Snacks / Re: IDEA: Plain text checklist manager

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 05:17 PM »

Tudumo costs $30.

-superboyac (February 22, 2011, 04:51 PM)

Good enough.  Wraith mentioned he might want to write this one; if he doesn't, I can.

-skwire (February 22, 2011, 05:05 PM)

You guys are awesome.

2733

Coding Snacks / Re: IDEA: Plain text checklist manager

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 04:51 PM »

If I may be so bold...if the TuDoMo app does what it did originally, who cares what the backend is like.  I mean...you're not interacting with the backend, are you?  If so, you really have no need for a frontend, right?  Something like this is trivial to write...but why reinvent the wheel if TuDoMo still does what you want on the frontend?

-skwire (February 22, 2011, 04:09 PM)

Ha!  It's a good question.  I'm going to have to be honest to answer it.  I want to say because the original idea was better, but that's to vague.  here's the real answer:
Tudumo costs $30.  My company will make me go through so many hoops for me to get that, that it's basically impossible.  So I can't use it at work.  And I don't need it at home.  So if it's not freeware, I won't be able to make use of it.

And I do think the original idea was a bit cooler.  To go into a text file and do things just like the program would was a neat idea.  But not neat enough to say the new version sucks.  It's still good, probably better in some ways.  So the real reason is the selfish one above.

2734

Coding Snacks / IDEA: Plain text checklist manager

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 03:52 PM »

I just learned that the program TuduMo is not doing the plain text checklist thing the way it originally used to.  Here's what wraith said in the other thread:

In the old format, each todo was a line in the file.  Tags were @tags at the end of the line.  When a task was done, it was flagged with a - before the line.  The app interpreted all of this into its interface, but it was beautiful.  But now it's an example of what happens when someone decides to do too much with their original idea.

The beauty of it was that everything was just controlled by simple characters and symbols int he text file, and the program interpreted them in a  functional way that allowed you to use it as a dynamic checklist.  I was wondering if someone would be interested in a coding snack that revives this idea.  It doesn't sound too difficult if it is kept simple, but what do I know?

2735

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 03:37 PM »

I was going to recommend TuDuMo.  It was originally supposed to be a pc version of TaskPaper, a plain text to-do app for the mac.  It had many advantages: Plain text files.  Very simple, and keyboard shortcuts.  Not free, but very reasonable for the power.

But, now it uses XML files.  And they're still decipherable, but a long way from the old format.  In the old format, each todo was a line in the file.  Tags were @tags at the end of the line.  When a task was done, it was flagged with a - before the line.  The app interpreted all of this into its interface, but it was beautiful.  But now it's an example of what happens when someone decides to do too much with their original idea.

It's still a cool app, but I weep for what it was before.

Maybe I can make one that does what it used to do...

-wraith808 (February 22, 2011, 02:04 PM)

Ah!  You are right.  That's exactly what I remember.  What a shame.  I was all set to use it.  Maybe someone here would be interested in reviving the idea with a coding snack?

2736

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 02:47 PM »

Man, there was one that was really cool.  It was stored as text files, and certain prefixes did certain things inside the program.  it was extremely simple.  Similar to the one skwire mentioned above, but even more simple.  What was the name?  Someone either recommended it here, or it was on BDJ.  I don't remember.

2737

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 02:39 PM »

I was going to recommend TuDuMo.  It was originally supposed to be a pc version of TaskPaper, a plain text to-do app for the mac.  It had many advantages: Plain text files.  Very simple, and keyboard shortcuts.  Not free, but very reasonable for the power.

But, now it uses XML files.  And they're still decipherable, but a long way from the old format.  In the old format, each todo was a line in the file.  Tags were @tags at the end of the line.  When a task was done, it was flagged with a - before the line.  The app interpreted all of this into its interface, but it was beautiful.  But now it's an example of what happens when someone decides to do too much with their original idea.

It's still a cool app, but I weep for what it was before.

Maybe I can make one that does what it used to do...

-wraith808 (February 22, 2011, 02:04 PM)

You know, this reminds me of a nifty text based task organizer I saw last year.  It was all text files, but the way it was controlled was with certain prefixes for each line.  It was simple and neat.  i wish I remember where I saw it or the name.

2738

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 01:00 PM »

All I want is a way for me to share files and folders with other users.

-superboyac (February 22, 2011, 12:37 PM)

For basic todo, I'd definitely try April's suggestion above. Almost Zen-like in it's simplicity. (I really like it. Yay April! )

For basic file sharing I'd go with Microsoft's free Skydrive.

If either of those are too complicated for your partner, then it's spreadsheet time.

-40hz (February 22, 2011, 12:49 PM)

For this particular request (todo list), I think app's will be perfect. If my coworker doesn't like it, then Excel is our other choice.  We have networked shared drives, so we can share any files with each other.  So I don't need Skydrive.

i will use skydrive for my other projects between individuals in different locations.

But the best solution would be a networked drive that can work over WAN.  I need to be able to work with the files in the actual folders they are in.  Not with some kind of two-step sync method (dropbox, skydrive).

I have a feeling this doesn't exist because it would basically lead to closed loop p2p activities.  But it sure would be cool to be able to access your friends' folders/files in a way that it appears as a regular folder in your file manager.  That seems to me to be a very convenient tool.

2739

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 12:42 PM »

Dropbox plus my little todo list app?

http://appsapps.info/todolist.php

Small, lightweight, portable, so simple it really needs no instructions.
It saves in 2 plain text files, one for todo and one for done. It autosorts all entries alphabetically, so if you want to group or sort them by priority, just add a prefix of category or rank number to the entry.

-app103 (February 22, 2011, 12:39 PM)

That's nice!  That may just do fine.  Thanks app!

2740

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 12:40 PM »

Oh snap...could GBridge (Google Bridge) be the answer?
http://www.google.co...11654411784860340142

2741

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 12:37 PM »

FWIW, I used to feel that way about web apps. But over time (and now that most of the weaklings have been purged from the herd) I've grown to grudgingly accept that there are times when web apps aren't just a viable solution, they're also the only practical solution for many small businesses with tight (or nonexistent) IT budgets.

-40hz (February 22, 2011, 12:15 PM)

I've searched long and hard for an easy setup solution for a VPN.  But I haven't found anything.  everything is a pretty major hassle.  I must have at least two threads about this.  All I want is a way for me to share files and folders with other users.  Just like an ftp, but more smooth.  Like a networked drive...that actually works.  i don't need to be able to stream.  I just need to be able to read/write...for example, edit a word document through the VPN.  There's gotta be a way to do this, how has somebody not created a simple solution for this?  Why does everything have to be so painful to configure with this VPN stuff?  I don't see why it can't be like an ftp server/client thing.  You open the server program, setup the usernames/logins, ports, etc.  Then use a client or something that sets it up as a networked drive.  Why does all the rest of it have to be so...manual?

2742

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 12:30 PM »

These are all entirely too complicated.  Not for me necessarily, but for my coworker.  Actually, for me also.  Forget it, we're just going to share an Excel file.

2743

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 10:59 AM »

Yeah, I'm hoping there's some small freeware thing that can do it.  I don't need anything complicated.  Basically, one line for a description and a checkbox.  I don't need to overengineer the todo list.  And we'll never have like more than 20 things to do.

2744

General Software Discussion / Software to share To-Do lists?

« Last post by superboyac on February 22, 2011, 10:49 AM »

My coworker and I need to share a task list (To-do list).  Is there a nice, simple software that will allow us to do this?  Something that we install on both computers and share a file over the network?  Is there anything like that?

2745

Living Room / Re: One for the musicians

« Last post by superboyac on February 21, 2011, 10:48 PM »

That's ridiculous.  The sole purpose of whoever made that is just for the novelty of it.  It's not really usable as any kind of sheet music.

2746

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

« Last post by superboyac on February 21, 2011, 09:48 PM »

DC has always been very supportive of anyone in its ranks making a go of selling software.
But I think there is something special about the free software community, and although DC may have a strange place in that community, i think part of our specialness and part of the fun we have is because of our commitment to it.  I don't think we want to lose that.  DC is *not* a proper business.  Our goal is not to maximize profits.  DC is not a full time job for anyone.  I think it would be a mistake to try to change that.

That's not to say that individual members shouldn't feel supportive if they try to go that route -- there is nothing dishonorable about selling software.  But as a site I don't think it should be our focus.

That's not to say there aren't ways for us to do things differently, just that i think we need to be true to ourselves and what makes us a special place.

-mouser (February 21, 2011, 08:11 PM)

I see.  yes, I've noticed a strange disconnect between the way I think and how some of my favorite freeware developers think.  I'm always thinking, "Man!  it just doesn't make sense!!"  But if I now think about it more clearly, it's the same thing as me offering my piano playing services for whatever: banquets, parties, etc.  I don't get paid, and I refuse payment, etc....same thing.  I get it.  We get pleasure out of using our talents that way.  There's a comfort and satisfaction about it, and you don't get that from work.  Am i right?  is that how it is?

2747

Site/Forum Features / Re: idea for dc

« Last post by superboyac on February 21, 2011, 07:35 PM »

Here's an idea that I think most of you will think is crazy, but I think it is a AWESOME idea:
I like this forum.  I think we have a lot of talent here, and the talent is special because most of the people are very nice, polite and helpful to one another.  We've tried doing things like donations and stuff, and it is always a nice idea, but like mouser said, the donations eventually evolve into something else other than people actually using the money to buy things.  Since the amounts are so small, they don't have puchasing power, so they just serve as a "Thank you" to people here and there.  And that is nice, but how about this idea (sorry for building up to it like this)
What if we use whatever money the community has here to start generating a small DonationCoder economy with employees and everything?  Why don't we start a cool DoCo app store?  The software written here is pretty good, why not charge $5 for people to get a license and make it truly free stuff.  And we'd have great customer service also.  Look, I asked skwire to write the List Numberer program, which he did in like a day.  And it's great.  But why not charge a buck or two for it?  It's nothing, but at least people will come and just give a little bit to say thanks.  But it's not freeware, so at least there could be something self-sustaining about it.

And you could make it a deal in a fair way also.  Some money should go to the site and some should go to the authors.  But it has to be fair.  it can't be a salary, because shareware just doesn't sell well enough to have a salary.  It should be a percentage PER license sold.  So if skwire sold his program for $2, maybe one dollar goes to DC, and he keeps the other dollar.  Then we just let the sales do the talking.  If you want to make more money, write something that more people would want to use.  We don't have to pay $1000 up front to make a program that only 100 people will buy.

It will justify some of the more difficult requests being made.  stuff that is too hard and complicated to consider a one-hour coding snack.  Well, charge $5 or $10 for it then.  And keep in mind the discussion we had on the other thread about what people are willing to pay for, etc.

But the thing we'd really be able to hang our hat on is the customer service.  Where else can people go and ASK people to make a software for a specific problem?  And someone will actually do it?!  It's very unique.  You can't go to the Nero developers and say, "could you make something for this and that?"  No way.  So why not monetize it a little bit.  Maybe somebody here can make a career out of it.  Wouldn't that be nice?  It would motivate people to do bigger and more challenging projects.  The community here is already well respected int he software community, so why not?  Let's do this guys.  I know a lot of you really want to give things away for free because it's the right thing to do...but it's hard work, I know it is.  People don't mind paying for it when they are getting good software, AND they are getting great customer service.  Their questions are answered.  bugs are fixed instantly.  brand new software requests are accepted and new software is made within days/weeks...that right there would distinguish this place from just about every other "store".  Even the app store has no ability to fulfill requests like that.

Why should we wait for other developers to fix their bugs and holes?  You don't like their stuff, let's make our own and make it better in every way.

I'm not a programmer, but I would love to help in creating a practical business plan that would hopefully work well for all parties.  There are so many things that can be done.  I'd love if you guys wanted to do this.

2748

General Software Discussion / Re: Google set to steal Opera's thunder yet again, decides to eliminate url bar

« Last post by superboyac on February 21, 2011, 07:15 PM »

To me Windows7 Wordpad is totally useless for that reason. I use another editor for .rtf files.

-MilesAhead (February 21, 2011, 03:35 PM)

hey!  Don't leave me hanging man!  What do you use for an rtf editor?  I have NEVER found a good specific rtf editor.  Please, tell.

2749

Living Room / Re: Cute jokes' thread

« Last post by superboyac on February 21, 2011, 02:57 PM »

http://cynic.me/2011...d-lady-church-jokes/

-Renegade (February 21, 2011, 10:36 AM)

-tomos (February 21, 2011, 11:48 AM)

-fantastic! I am still laughing       

 (see attachment in previous post)

-Curt (February 21, 2011, 12:58 PM)

2750

General Software Discussion / Re: Google set to steal Opera's thunder yet again, decides to eliminate url bar

« Last post by superboyac on February 20, 2011, 11:48 PM »

I saw this, too, and it seems to be fixing something that's not broken. I like looking up and seeing the URL, and while it's there, throw me a couple of buttons on the same bar. All I want is for Google to kill that frickin' download bar!

-zridling (February 20, 2011, 10:01 PM)

Seriously.  Who has ever looked at the address bar and thought "man, I wish this were not here."  Whoever it is, it's like .01% of the users.  I think the more appropriate thing to do is remove the rss feed icon in the bar.  Who uses that so much that it needs to be there for EVERY address?

That's how bloat starts.  You start "innovating" that don't address any real need or concern.  Firefox has plenty of issues that can be fixed before they start innovating major features.  I hate how programs have mistakes that remain version after version after version, yet they keep adding features and imrpovements.  The Bat comes to mind.  At least they don't bloat it, but they never actually fix anything.  Then there's Nero, which went from being an amazing, efficient tool, to an enormous blob of bloat now.