Recent Posts

27951

Living Room / Re: poll: how old are you?

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 09:47 AM »

i think you are underestimating the people over 60 - typical of you whipper snappers.
let's extend it out to 80 before you start insulting everyone! 

27952

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 07:35 AM »

Actually, I would add aliases to the simple dialog simply because they are a commonly used feature and quite easy to figure out.

josh you just spent the last month trying to convince me they were too hard to use!

27953

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Spartan Multi Clipboard

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 07:01 AM »

Looks interesting and and it's nice to see a different approach to clip management 

27954

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 06:45 AM »

hehehe don't skip the file - its the update!
It just means the old version of the program is still running in that tray - exit it from the tray and then install

27955

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Page Headers by Veign

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 05:18 AM »

the idea of linking to the appropriate field descriptions was a great idea tinjaw - and nicely implemented veign. 

27956

Developer's Corner / Re: How long should a software time trial be?

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 04:53 AM »

but you have to give people a limited time of refunding, say, 6 months? If you give them unlimited time, you could, for example, buy Total Uninstall now, and in a year, ask for a refund, and use the money to buy

I just want to point out an important flaw in this reasoning that i think too many people make.
It is not necesary to ensure that no user could somehow do such a thing.  It is only important that most/all don't.

Who cares if 0.01% of your customers request a refund in 20 years?  As long as it's such a small percent it's not something worth worrying about.

27957

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 02:36 AM »

There's no hard and fast deadline - i was thinking it would be ready this week.. I'd like to be able to announce it in the next newsletter on Jan 22nd, so let's consider that a hard deadline.

27958

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 01:34 AM »

Note:
The latest version (2.00.35) now tries to reduce font size on Large Font displays to eliminate the cropping of labels and stuff seen before on Large Font displays. Ironically, i think this makes the font a bit harder to read then if one were in small font mode BUT at least everything should fit on screen I hope.

27959

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 17, 2007, 01:30 AM »

I've uploaded a new version with the Advanced vs. Simple mode switch.
There are a couple of items i left in simple mode just to communicate them to user (hotkeys).

I realize the right click menu is a bit complicated BUT i think it's dangerous to remove it in simple mode beause there is no easy way for the user to figure out that it is missing.  Let's just assume the right click menu is something that novice users will never see anyway since they wont be right clicking; if they right click then they are advanced enough to deserve the full thing.

PS.
As i get ready to make this a public release i could also use some advice on a top 10 skins list from the bonus skin pack that i should include with the full release.  The skins pack download includes screenshots by the way for those who want to suggest their favorite skins.  I'd appreciate hearing your choices.

27960

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 11:43 PM »

very thoughtfull suggestions farmsteader, i may just go with your suggestions,

27961

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 09:53 PM »

also in the meantime, if you don't need the folder search feature, you can always use ver.1

i can't think of a reason not to use version 2.  if you don't need the folder search feature, just uncheck the folder search option on the General Options tab.

My programs tend to have a lot of options because I tend to take user suggestions pretty seriously.. I appreciate that more options make it a bit more complicated to find and tweak what you want but I usually tend to err on the side of adding the option.  I do however work hard to make the defaults usable right out of the box.

I think the defaults on FARR v2 are such that most people need never open up the options dialog and change anything; just just the program as is.

I'm definitely willing to hear any suggestions about changes i should make to the default options, but i'm not inclined to make 2 different versions of the program. I would be willing to consider a "simple mode" but i'm not sure what that would be - almost all of the advanced stuff in FARR is completely invisible to the user unless they know how to use it, and it doesnt really interfere with basic use of the program does it?

27962

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 02:40 PM »

hornsts, you need a screenshot taking program that creates png formatted files - your screenshot makes my eyes bleed.
Try Screeeshot Captor: https://www.donation...hotcaptor/index.html

27963

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 02:34 PM »

i think we should give some more thought to multi-parameter stuff - there are a lot of issues like letting user search for actions among a set and other things that would be worth considering in this line of thought that i'm just not ready to embark on.  i think it may call for a more fundamental change of interface as your mock screenshot suggests.

27964

Developer's Corner / Re: How long should a software time trial be?

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 02:02 PM »

very good point about the money back guarantee.  i think then you are getting into the territory where i am more comfortable.

when you think about it, if you have a money back guarantee, say one without an expiration, what you are basically saying is that they can have an unlimited trial period, but they have to 1) show good faith that they will buy it if they like it, and 2) you dont lose sales due to people just forgetting or losing energy, and 3) people with money to burn will probably end up keeping it while people who find themselves short of cash can always get a refund.

27965

N.A.N.Y. Challenge 2007 / Re: Update: MusToe (Music-Tic-Tac-Toe) V 1.10 released

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 12:22 PM »

my apologies 

I just now noticed there is a home page!! yay! 

For anyone else who missed it: http://www.jotosoft.de/mustoe/

27966

Living Room / Re: Channel 102's Gemberling

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 07:57 AM »

I just watched all 8 episodes and i have to say this is pure low-budget comedy gold.  A must see. 

27967

Developer's Corner / Re: How long should a software time trial be?

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 07:40 AM »

It's interesting.. but then im not sure just because a certain policy would get the most buyers means its the best thing to do..  other factors might be: how happy are people once they buy it.  how much do they regret buying it later?  the people who don't buy - what's their attitude about your company in the future?

27968

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 06:35 AM »

I have posted a test of the new action system using aliases.  It works exactly as i said above.
Create an alias with a result list using $$1 where you want the file replacement to be.
Then use +aliasname in your search and select your result; you should then see the alias replacement with your selected file.

Let me know what you think.

27969

General Software Discussion / Re: sizeasy.com - visualizing sizes made easy

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 05:25 AM »

same effect.  the # can be replaced with the attachment # if you want to reorder the which attachment images go where.

27970

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 05:23 AM »

this is an interesting idea.. it falls under the rubric of difficult discussions weve had in this section on the best way to deal with actions.. a lot of the ideas for this revolve around a similar scheme of "building up" argument+action chains..  its definitely out of the scope for this version 2 release thoguht, but its something worth thinking about for later release.

27971

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA Random walk over desktop image

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 04:40 AM »

i like the idea of not animated but a screensaver that could take a huge image like that recent super giga boston image, and every hour or so zoom in on a random part of it and set it as wallpaper.

27972

N.A.N.Y. Challenge 2007 / Re: Update: MusToe (Music-Tic-Tac-Toe) V 1.10 released

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 04:07 AM »

This definitely needs a nice homepage and pad file - it's one of those things that would be very fun to play with a friend, but it's specialized enough game that it needs to get out the word about it.

27973

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 04:02 AM »

Are there plans about translating FARR?

I've actually had a good experience translating my URL Snooper program but it does involve a bit of work and maintenance and so it always ends up on the bottom of my todo lists.

27974

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 03:59 AM »

The rest of what you are saying meshes exactly with the discussions we have had in the past about supporting "actions" in a future version of farr.  In this case you want to perform an action on a file or path so you want to be able to have farr help you find a file and then maybe help you chose an action to perform on it (or in opposite order).

Although i think a lot more thought has to go into the "perfect" way to do this.. maybe i can sneak in a preliminary implementation of this using the keyword modifiers that recently got added.

The keyword modifiers start with + and let you restrict search directories and scoring patterns.

So that you can type:
dylan +audio
Which tells farr to only find certain types of files and only look in certain places.

Now what if we added the ability to use +ALIAS syntax as well
which would say to ignore the regular expression of the ALIAS, but use the search result as the $$1 paramater in the alias.

So for example, in your case you would make an alias called hexedit
with commandline "C:\program files\hexedit.exe $$1"

Then to use it you would do
+hexedit myfilepattern
and farr would do normal search as you type myfilepattern as normal, as if +hexedit was a search modifier.
except that you would be launching hexedit on the file when you launch.

Now you gave a complex example of using 2 parameters..  That's a lot more convoluted to handle..
Though conceivably it could be done by letting you trigger the first parameter, and then letting you search for second, but that sounds like it could get a bit messy.

27975

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR v2.00.25 ALPHA PREVIEW Release - January 13, 2007

« Last post by mouser on January 16, 2007, 03:43 AM »

Btw. The actual history score is neither shown nor updated in result list. It always stays at 100 or rather history bonus.

i think what you are referring to was on request, it's an option:


(note the history score is always used when matching against what you type).

Oh. And about the fraction bug... In alias/group score 1000,25 results in 0.

thx, fixing now.