Recent Posts

276

General Software Discussion / Re: Black Hole Organizer updated to v.4.00

« Last post by rjbull on January 18, 2017, 03:33 PM »

3 months is pretty insane.  Unless it has very frequent updates, which would beg a different question.

-wraith808 (January 18, 2017, 11:23 AM)

Upgrade price is $14.95, but note their version history, given above - it's evidently been five years since the "initial release."  That presumably means the initial release from Starre Software, because they bought it from the original developer, Lincoln Beach Software, and straightaway wanted a new registration fee for no change.  Whatever they've done to make it move forward, there don't seem to be any new features to encourage one to upgrade.  I agree the "3 months" is bad, and they aren't consistent about it.  I asked why didn't my license key work?  Here's part of their reply:

Your original registration information will not work with version 4, since they are for version 3.

Here is an explanation of why the codes do not work, along with the available options for you.

All of our software comes with a full year of support and free upgrades/updates.

You originally purchased the software well over a year ago.

As you might have noticed, we have upgraded our software to include many new features
and functions since your original purchase date. 

A full year?  New features and functions?  Looks like a canned reply, but they could at least be consistent about the time period.

I think BHO was one of the first reasonably well-known organizers, and is still one of the few three-pane ones.  But the field has moved on, and I'm not disposed to upgrade.

277

N.A.N.Y. 2017 / Re: My Android Apps for NANY 2017 -- All in One Place

« Last post by rjbull on January 17, 2017, 05:29 PM »

How do they rate "Active" vs "Total" installs?

278

General Software Discussion / Black Hole Organizer updated to v.4.00

« Last post by rjbull on January 17, 2017, 05:27 PM »

I had assumed this one had been abandoned, but here is a sign of intended progress;

Black Hole Organizer Version History Version History:

3.30 - 2/21/2012
Initial release of product.

4.00 - 1/4/2017
Version upgrade. Fixed/Corrected many internal issues, updated interface. Prepared internal structure for further updates.

279

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommended replacement for Push The Friggin Button (PTFB)?

« Last post by rjbull on December 26, 2016, 03:41 PM »

Majorgeeks: 'ClickOff automatically clicks button on error messages that come up all the time.'
My first thought on this is more like: let's find where the error messages come from all the time [...]

-n8wachT (December 22, 2016, 09:11 AM)

More like automatically clicking maddeningly repetitive confirmation dialogs, e.g. this from tinyapps blog:

Automatically click OK (or any button) with ClickOff
While running SysClean on a heavily infected system, the following message kept popping up:

    Damage Cleanup Engine (DCE)
    Virus Found:TSC_GENCLEAN

Each time, the virus scan would not continue until OK was pressed. After several dozen times, this became rather annoying. Thankfully, the small and lightweight ClickOff made short work of this otherwise unpleasant task.

280

Coding Snacks / Re: Drop file to rename it according to list of names

« Last post by rjbull on December 26, 2016, 03:18 PM »

Does it have to be drag and drop?  Wouldn't a batch file be better from the point of view of automation?  At its simplest, you'd just have a series of lines like

if exist abc123.xyz ren abc123.xyz widgets_report.txt

and you could add in refinements like moving the file to a different location, making a backup and renaming it using something like BRC (the command-line version of BRU (Bulk Rename Utility), and triggering the whole thing automatically using one of the various folder-watching utilities, e.g. perhaps NewFileGo to name a recent free one (that admittedly I haven't tried).

281

Living Room / Re: Looking for smartphone

« Last post by rjbull on December 19, 2016, 03:31 PM »

best camera in a smartphone under 250€ / 300$US appears to be the Lenovo Moto G4 Plus.

-tomos (December 18, 2016, 02:01 PM)

The opinion of UK reviewers seems to be that the Moto G4 is not only the best budget smartphone (for a given value of "budget") but better than most mid-range phones.  If you want something a bit cheaper, and physically smaller, check out its small brother, the Moto E.  See e.g. this Expert Reviews roundup: Here are the best budget smartphones in 2016.

I don't know the basis of Expert Reviews, but they seem to have all the reviews that are published in the UK's Computer Shopper magazine.

282

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by rjbull on December 19, 2016, 02:37 PM »

@panzer:

Where do you get your nice cover artwork from, please?  Clearly not from scanning actual books.

283

General Software Discussion / Re: Affinity (Serif) goes head to head with Photoshop & (maybe) Illustrator

« Last post by rjbull on December 06, 2016, 05:59 PM »

Deal is apparently over. Price is now back to $49.99 and with no freebies.

Oh well! 

-40hz (December 02, 2016, 10:40 AM)

Don't worry, if you've ever had any dealings with Serif, you'll know that another special offer will be along shortly.

284

General Software Discussion / TED Notepad, version 6.1.1.beta released

« Last post by rjbull on December 06, 2016, 05:57 PM »

A rare update of the excellent small editor TED Notepad:

New release of TED Notepad, version 6.1.1.beta, is available
 at its homepage. See http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/ http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/ for details.
 
 What's new in version 6.1.1:
 
 + Added: Support for IME composing window.
 + Added: Added support for DPI-aware scaling.
 + Added: Push Line Up and Push Line Down for moving lines around.
 + Added: Drag&Drop editing; moving text by mouse is available via both buttons.
 + Added: Setting: Auto-save Untitled documents (into the Temp path).
 + Added: Setting: Store auto-save files in the Temp path instead of current directory.
 + Added: Setting: Store backup files in the Temp path instead of current directory.
 + Added: Setting: Temp path for storing autosave and backup files to, with relative paths support.
 + Added: Setting: Create backup files with hidden attribute.
 + Added: Setting: Create multiple backup files and rotate them.
 + Added: Setting: Warn on loading binary files.
 + Added: Setting: Ignore case in quick Sort tools.
 + Added: Check for Updates and Automatic Check for updates.
 + Added: If there is a new version available, hint is displayed in the StatusBar.
 + Added: Command line parameter: /u Check for Updates.
 + Added: Command line parameter: /l Goto Line accepts negative numbers and works from the end.
 + Added: Command line parameter: /c Goto Offset accepts negative numbers and works from the end.
 + Added: Command line parameter: /s Set Selection accepts negative numbers and works from the end.
 + Added: Command line parameters: /l Goto Line and /c Goto Offset can be used together.

- Fixed: Italics fonts are no longer clipped.
- Fixed: Selection background does not clip nearby characters anymore.
- Fixed: Each tab character now enforces at least some minimum visual extent.
- Fixed: Selected end-of-line extent and visible end-of-line extent were unified.
- Fixed: When switching to another instance of the same document, no unexpected questions are asked.
- Fixed: Message about another instance takes precedence over message about lost auto-save found.
- Fixed: Document is not auto-saved if there are no modifications since last auto-save.
- Fixed: The user is now warned that it is necessary to save recovered document.
- Fixed: Auto-save file was not always removed after successful recovery.
- Fixed: Canceling Revert operation no longer removes current auto-save.
- Fixed: Chosen encoding or code page is no longer reset during Revert.
- Fixed: Overwrite flag is no longer reset during Revert or Re-open.
- Fixed: Creating a new file during loading adds such new file to Recent files.
- Fixed: Relative paths are supported for Template file and are not updated during loading.
- Fixed: Changing current encoding also changes BOM flag to reasonable default.
- Fixed: Default newlines are used upon no newlines in the loaded file.
- Fixed: Default newlines are used upon mixed newlines in the loaded file when No mixed newlines are in force.
- Fixed: Default newlines are used upon mixed newlines in the document if No mixed newlines are turned on.
- Fixed: Lists of available codepages split into categories for easier navigation.
- Fixed: Shift+BackSpace deletes previous character just like a simple BackSpace.
- Fixed: Insert Recently Inserted text was needlessly unavailable sometimes.
- Fixed: Sorted Complete Word dialog was inserting incorrect suggestions.
- Fixed: Right-click menu could appear on a wrong position upon several displays.
- Fixed: Scrolling by mouse via selecting text outside of edit window has been slowed down.
- Fixed: Message is displayed after successful replace and no further occurrences.
- Fixed: Replace tool used empty string upon undefined back-references, instead of skipping such occurrences.
- Fixed: Propper icon recovery while re-starting crashed Windows Explorer.
- Fixed: Keyboard focus was not relinquished properly upon Hide to Tray.
- Fixed: Saving widnows position and/or size and restoring them was reviewed.
- Fixed: Config INI file is only updated upon actual changes in the config data.
- Fixed: Some funky edge cases were fixed in various tools and features.

* Esc key cancels any ongoing mouse operation.
* Right-click can also be used to select text before the Right-click menu appears.
* Paste from clipboard thru Ctrl+Right-click occurs only upon releasing the button.
* Selected lines are slightly accentuated by double-drawing the text.
* ODO meter and Trip meter were added to the Utility info dialog for amusement.
* Overwrite mode menu item added to Options menu for convenience.
* Date/time glue setting moved from the Tools page to the General page.
* Warning is show in the Status Bar upon saving Unicode file with no BOM.
* Document title is always displayed in the taskbar and caption, even if also showing the full file path.
* Stay on Top is saved along with other common options in the Basic Options category.
* Newlines are now decoded in Could not find messages; with a new setting to disable this.
* Progress percentage during re-wrap has been rewritten to give a more linear user experience.
* The .reloc section was removed from executables in a hope all future Windows will accomodate.
* Executable code was moved back to the .text section where it belongs.
* Read-only data was moved back to the .rdata section where it belongs.
* Text storage engine improved to support files with truckload of lines.
* Text storage engine memory usage and general behaviour optimized.
* Edit box behaviour and other code optimized.
* Utf-8 recognition algorithm fortified.
 
 Don't type, ted-it!
jsimlo, TED Notepad

285

General Software Discussion / Re: Total Commander v9.00 Public Betas

« Last post by rjbull on November 28, 2016, 04:19 PM »

Quoting their email:

As usual, the update is free for all registered users.

I bought my license in 1999.  That's 17 years without needing further payment...

286

General Software Discussion / Re: Sentence Generator using some form of AI to recombine sentences

« Last post by rjbull on October 11, 2016, 03:47 PM »

Are you saying the following?

1) Usually, nothing much happens
2) Corporate demand a report anyway
3) Corporate further demand said report be written as if the nothing much that barely happened was an exciting event worthy of poetic response
4) Corporate never read the reports

If so, I'd consider Corporate to be stuffed with supernumaries engaged in making work for other people, to justify their own existence.  A bit of culling is indicated.

However, if you must endure this silly situation, you might possibly get at least part way with mouser's Form Letter Machine:

The Form Letter Machine is a program that will help you to write letters and emails by mixing and matching from pre-written paragraphs.

It's useful for people who regularly need to send out emails which include different components in different circumstances. For example if you field technical support requests, or if you need to reply to various inquiries, etc.

Someone would have to write a multitude of templates in the first place, and I also wonder if FLM's variables are sufficiently sophisticated.  Besides, you seem to need something like FLM cross-bred with one of the Corporate Bullshit Generators you can find on the Web.

FLM's Help quotes only one similar program, a commercial one: Blitzdocs:

Blitzdocs is the fastest and most powerful document automation and document assembly software. It helps you quickly design and generate common and specialized documents and forms for a variety of purposes, including agreements, invoices, letters, etc.

Document assembly, at the most basic level, is the creation of new, complete documents from the combination of 1) new, and 2) existing information.

Reusing existing information is more efficient than retyping the information into the computer. Although document assembly may take on many forms, it is this basic concept that makes it so appealing to law firms.

Why do I need it? To save time and money by lowering the overhead of document production and its staffing.

287

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: [free] Paste As File giveaway

« Last post by rjbull on October 01, 2016, 04:29 PM »

Of related interest for plain text operations, a freeware by Horst Schaeffer:

ClipTX 0.10 - Clipboard to file
-------------------------------

ClipTX appends (plain) text from the clipboard to one of several predefined target files. ClipTX only acts on hotkey or mouse click (no automatic collection). The "Quick save" function (hotkey or click on system tray icon) saves the clipboard text to the default target file.

I used to make current awareness bulletins, partly by clipping press releases etc. from the web into HippoEDIT (HE).  I defined a tool inside HE that would save the file temporarily: run a batch file that ran an AWK scrip to pick out the first non-null line of the file: convert any characters that were illegal as file names to legal ones (e.g. colon to semi-colon): write that to a new temporary file: then use Horst's command-line program ClipText to send the title to the clipboard (ClipText is bi-directional, clipboard to file and file to clipboard, unlike the built-in Windows tool).  That way, when I went to save the file in HE and it presented the standard Windows Open/Save dialog, I could paste in the meaningful title.  As a bonus, if the clip turned out to be unicode and I tried to save it as .TXT, HE would ask if I wanted it saved a unicode or text, and when the answer was text, convert the unicode on the fly.

288

General Software Discussion / Re: window killer

« Last post by rjbull on September 28, 2016, 04:37 PM »

If you mean anything like I think you mean, I suggest you search the forum for "PTFB", and similar software.  Many threads mention it, e.g this one: Recommended replacement for Push The Friggin Button (PTFB)?

289

General Software Discussion / PTFB Pro Version 5 released

« Last post by rjbull on September 28, 2016, 04:28 PM »

As reported in its author's blog and e-mail, a rare major update of PTFB Pro:

PTFB Pro Version 5

PTFB Pro Version 5 Adds Visual Triggers and Command Line Control
Posted on September 4, 2016 by Paul Roberts

PTFB Pro has just received a major update and its brought a lot of new features that our customers have been asking for, including:

1) Visual Triggers

Your macros can now fire automatically when a change is seen in a portion of the target window or the screen. It’s a huge new addition for PTFB, allowing it to react to things that we as humans can readily see (such as changes to text, graphics and color) but which previously it was unable to detect. This new trigger can be fine-tuned in a number of ways, so you can have your macros fire exactly when you need them to.

2) Greatly improved command line control for better integration with Powershell and other script shells

Ever since version 3 it’s been possible to trigger macros via the command line, but version 5 has expanded on this considerably. From the command line you can now:

    Enable/Disable PTFB Pro as a whole, enable/disable a list of macros
    Trigger any number of macros AND pass named parameters through to be used by v5’s newly extended macro actions
    Properly synchronise command line actions thanks to the new /WAIT command line directive

3) Control the clipboard

A new “Set Clipboard” macro action has been added which lets you load literal text, the contents of text files, and even files themselves into the Windows clipboard, for use in subsequent paste operations. This action can take a command line parameter, so you can pass in clipboard content from a script or command shell such as Powershell.

4) Track when a macro was last used, and easily archive little-used macros

I’m not afraid to admit that I have mild hoarding tendencies; when I create a macro or single press for a specific job I rarely delete it. The result is that over time my copies of PTFB Pro have filled up with lots of items that were used heavily for a short time, but have layed dormant ever since. PTFB Pro dutifully loads them into memory and checks them multiple times each second to see if they’re ready to fire automatically; remove them, and PTFB Pro becomes just a little leaner and faster to respond. Version 5 now tracks the most recent usage date/time, and can use this information to disable unused items and/or move them to a specific tab.

5) Instantly test your settings on the “Identifying the Target” page

There can be a learning curve for people who are tailoring a single-press or window-based macro so that it keeps firing even when the target window changes. Version 5 takes the guesswork out of this process by adding a “View Matches” button to the target identification page; press that button, and PTFB Pro will show you exactly which windows match your settings.

I’ll take a closer look at these new features in later posts, but you can try them out yourself right now by getting your copy of v5 from our download page: http://www.ptfbpro.com/download.shtml

Note that because this is a major upgrade it’s only free to people who bought v4 on or after June 1st 2016 (about 90 days prior to the release of v5). Anyone who bought before this date can purchase an upgrade license at a 50% discount. Please visit our upgrades page for more details or just send an email to [email protected] and we’ll send you a free license / discount purchase link  – whichever is appropriate.

No related posts.
Posted in How to eliminate Workflow Interruptions   

For those who don't know:

What is PTFB Pro?

PTFB Pro’s focus is on dealing with the day to day irritations and interruptions to work flow experienced by Windows users. From attention craving programs that tie an operator to a computer just to 'push a button' every so often, to vital programs that crash while no one is there to notice or restart them.

A couple of mouse clicks and PTFB Pro will make sure you're never troubled by these things again.

How can PTFB Pro Help Me?

    Restore a window’s size, state and position every time it opens.
    Automatically respond to Windows prompts and information requests
    Prevent programs / processes from running at specified times
    Keep vital programs running 24/7
    Restart programs periodically or when not responding
    Run a macro, script or Command Line every time a specific Window, Dialog or Program opens
    Automate Repetitive Tasks
    PTFB Pro for Power Users
    Case Studies
    Make a window stay on top

   

290

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by rjbull on September 26, 2016, 04:55 PM »

The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr, latest in his "Bernie Gunther" series.  This one has Bernie working on the French Riviera in the early Cold War period, getting involved with the writer Somerset Maugham (who really had been a spymaster in the Great War), and discovering the lamentable state of British Secret Intelligence Services (MI5, MI6) in the wake of the defections of Burgess and Maclean.

291

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by rjbull on September 19, 2016, 05:47 PM »

[...]
Started reading them, but they weren't attractive enough (at least not for me) so I abandoned them.

-panzer (September 14, 2016, 06:07 AM)

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay has been mentioned on DC before, originally by joiwind; my reply is here - Re: Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading List

This book appears on various "Greatest Novels of the 20th Century" lists.  According to an interview with C.S. Lewis, each chapter is a tableau that represents a philosophical position, which Lindsay sets up - then immediately tears down.  Philosophy is above my level; I haven't forgotten my mother's comment that everyone she'd ever met who had studied philosophy was totally incomprehensible.  I only read it once, over forty years ago, didn't understand it, but fragments of it have stuck in my mind  to this day.

292

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by rjbull on September 19, 2016, 05:09 PM »

Older children/YA level SF, but don't let that put you off.  Outrageously entertaining!

• Philip Reeve's Web site
• Philip Reeve's fantasticfiction bibliography

“The Great Network is a place of drones and androids, Hive Monks, maintenance spiders and Station Angels. The place of the thousand gates, where sentient trains criss-cross the galaxy in a heartbeat.

It is also a place of great dangers – especially for someone who rides the rails and rides his luck the way Zen Starling does.

Meet Zen Starling:
Rebel, Adventurer, Imposter, Liar, Hero, Enemy, Ally
Destination: Unknown…”

293

Android Apps / Re: WhenLast (Android app) - v2.01 Beta - Sep 30, 2016

« Last post by rjbull on September 11, 2016, 04:27 PM »

changing the options wont change past history text, only the dates shown on the live items (and possibly subsequent date history entries, not sure about that).

-mouser (September 11, 2016, 03:50 PM)

Dates on live items now display correctly with token string yyyy-MM-dd; I didn't think past history items would be changed.  I confirm it doesn't change new entries, they are still in US format.

294

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Generic windows command line gui builder

« Last post by rjbull on September 11, 2016, 04:18 PM »

I don't know if this might help: Dr. Batcher (payware, has been featured on Bits du Jour):

Dr.Batcher is the simplest in use batch file editor available on market. You can create batch files even if you have never done it before. Writing batch files has never been easier!

Still Dr.Batcher provides with powerful tools for advanced users that are familiar with batch files and their syntax. Enjoy full-featured batch files development environment with syntax highlighting, code tooltips and bookmarks. Write batch files code faster and easier!

Highlights:
  - Support for all Windows and DOS batch files
  - Simple mode for novice and professional mode for advanced users
  - Batch to EXE compilation support
  - Backup script wizard: generate your own batch files for backup create/restore in a few clicks
  - Lots of templates and examples of batch files

The following are varying degrees of improved consoles, but don't have the sort of GUI features you ask for:

• Take Command, TCC/LE (Take Command, GUI, payware; TCC/LE, console, freeware)
• PromptPal (payware)
• PowerCmd (payware)
• Console (FOSS)
• cmder Portable console emulator for Windows; one version includes some Unix commands (freeware?)
• ColorConsole Portable (freeware)

295

Android Apps / Re: WhenLast (Android app) - v2.01 Beta - Sep 30, 2016

« Last post by rjbull on September 11, 2016, 02:46 PM »

1: in the advanced options you can change the format of the displayed date and time to make it how you want it.

-mouser (September 11, 2016, 01:45 AM)

Thanks, I didn't know that.  But, I must be missing something, because it doesn't work for me:

This is even after rebooting the device (Asus MemoPad 7, ME173X, Android 4.2.2).  Perhaps an explanation of the tokens and format is in order, at least as a link to somewhere?

2: this is trickier.. right now the date history is basically free form multi-line text where no formatting is enforced.  i choose that for simplicity.  but perhaps ideally it would enforce a specific strict list format.

-mouser (September 11, 2016, 01:45 AM)

Were you to decide to give WhenLast statistics, it would be necessary to enforce the correct data format.  Maybe it's a nice idea that's not worth the bother of doing.

296

Android Apps / Re: WhenLast (Android app) - v2.01 Beta - Sep 30, 2016

« Last post by rjbull on September 10, 2016, 03:29 PM »

If an app installed on multiple devices wants to keep sync'd between multiple devices, it has to write some real code to merge changes and keep files synchronized, etc.

-mouser (June 07, 2015, 09:28 AM)

You could, presumably, manually sync with Dukto over a LAN (local WiFi in my case).

297

Android Apps / Re: WhenLast (Android app) - v2.01 Beta - Sep 30, 2016

« Last post by rjbull on September 10, 2016, 03:25 PM »

Editing an entry:

(1) When one edits an entry, one finds the dates presented in US format.  I would much prefer them to be in ISO format, that being the clearest, least ambiguous, and most suited to a program that may be used internationally.

(2) It's possible to edit a date and time manually - and the field accepts any old garbage, there doesn't seem to be any error-trapping.  You also allow use of the standard Android date-picker.  Is there any reason not to make that mandatory, i.e., remove manual editing?  If you do that, for consistency there would have to be a time-picker as well.

298

Android Apps / Re: WhenLast (Android app) - v2.01 Beta - Sep 30, 2016

« Last post by rjbull on September 09, 2016, 05:07 PM »

+1 for moongose's idea of statistics.  And maybe a calendar chart to present them, just spikes on days when an event has occurred, so you can get a visual impression of the spacing between events, and whether it's increasing or decreasing - thinking of times between charges for rechargeable batteries as they age.

299

General Software Discussion / Re: calendar that is happy in Windows and on tablet

« Last post by rjbull on September 09, 2016, 05:02 PM »

I run EssentialPIM Pro on Windows and Android.  They sync nicely over local WiFi without needing the cloud.  If you must have the cloud, the Pro edition, but not the Free one, will also sync with Google Calendar and several other cloud services.  You'd probably want the payware Pro for categories, etc.  It's sometimes on Bits du Jour.  AstonSoft also offer an iOS version, but I don't have any iStuff.

• EssentialPIM home page
• Description of major EssentialPIM features
• Pro vs. Free comparison

300

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by rjbull on August 22, 2016, 04:08 PM »

When I need a new book, my nook suggests books in the genre that I read.

-wraith808 (August 15, 2016, 03:55 PM)

Thanks...  I'm still stuck in the print age, on the whole.  I used to get suggestions for general books from various print sources, e.g. the book reviews pages of a decent newspaper, but as I don't take a paper now, that's gone.  A pity, as I miss recommendations for travel books in particular.  I scan such sources as come my way, of course.

For fantasy and science fiction, I tend to rely most on Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine's book reviews, and also on the stories themselves.  I picked up on Lavie Tidhar (mentioned above) because he had an outtake from his 'Bookman' world published as a short story in Asimov's.  I just looked at their web site, which features the current edition, August 2016.  They naturally don't make a great deal of their fiction available for free, but there a few extracts, and what looks like the complete text of their reviews, main page > Current issue > On Books.  Historically they use several reviewers who take it in turns.  I'm not so keen on Paul Di Filippo, but it takes all sorts.  Norman Spinrad is always on a mission.

Other F&SF sources have been various author sites and blogs; some authors list blogs they frequent.  Sarah Ash used to, but doesn't now.  Webmasters like giving sites a spiffy makeover, but it doesn't always mean more useful information for the user.  And blogs and other useful sites keep disappearing.  I've occasionally looked at Fantasy Book Critic, and there I've just spotted a new series by highly entertaining YA writer Philip Reeve, author of the "Traction Cities" series and of Here Lies Arthur.  Like others, I'm somewhat Arthured-out, but this is a nice take on the legend, taking a pragmatic approach rather than a mystical one, rather like Rosemary Sutcliff did.  His Arthur is a Dark Age protection racketeer; Merlin a con-man on an epic scale; Camelot a jerry-built mud hut; all related by a very down-to-earth Lady of the Lake. 

As for whodunnits/thrillers, they tend to be well covered in regular paper sources; even my casual perusal turns up new names.  On rare occasions I've trawled the Crime Time web site.  Once I find someone whose work I like, the Internet makes it easy to track new works by that author.