Recent Posts

2801

Living Room / Re: Recommend an alarm clock mp3 features.

« Last post by superboyac on February 16, 2011, 03:24 PM »

Kirby is good, but the snooze feature is not flexible enough for my purposes

-superboyac (February 15, 2011, 04:04 PM)

Alarm++ checks out for all your requirements?

-rjbull (February 16, 2011, 02:59 PM)

Yes.  The key is having a snooze-compatible audio player program with command line control.  Trout is the only one with the specific "snooze" feature that I know of.  Trout lets you set an option to "stop playing music after x minutes".  So I configure Alarm++ to send the "play" command to Trout every 10 minutes.  But I'll set Trout to STOP playing music after 9 minutes.  One minute later, Alarm++ will make the music play again.  So the snooze feature will work as expected.

2802

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout (audio player)

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 05:12 PM »

OK thanks!  I knew my answer was in Trout somewhere.  Excellent work.  I'm going to experiment, and then maybe I'll post about how to have the most perfect alarm clock setup ever created.

2803

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout (audio player)

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 04:29 PM »

Trout currently has a "Pause track after # minutes idle."  Is this good enough?

-skwire (February 15, 2011, 02:10 PM)

Ok, skwire!  Now we are getting close!  Ok ok...is it possible to invoke the command indicated above using commandline arguments?  The software I mentioned, Alarm++, has the flexibility to do what I want with the snooze, I just need the player to be able to play nice with the program.  Here's the screen to configure the launching of Trout:


So how can we configure this so that the program launches trout with a specific playlist on shuffle, AND it has to pause after 9 minutes?  In that screenshot, it could be configured like so:
Open: trout.exe
Arguments: /play

Will that work?  Here are the issues I see.  I can see the program being launched the first time the alarm runs.  Good.  Now, let's say the track gets paused after 9 minutes, and one minute later (10-minute snooze) the alarm rings again, what argument is going to unpause the player?  Is it going to launch another player?  Is that going to work?

2804

General Software Discussion / Re: What's the best SQL software for writing queries?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 04:22 PM »

TOra looks interesting.  And yes, it's an Oracle database.  I still like PL/SQL so far.

-superboyac (February 15, 2011, 03:56 PM)

To be honest, for your first database, Oracle doesn't really make sense. It's simply a gargantuan beast. Oracle runs countries. Something else would make more sense. MySQL is a good choice. Or PostGreSQL. MS SQL Server is good.

It's kind of like going to the firing range to learn how to shoot with strategic nuclear missiles.

Is there a reason why you're using Oracle?

-Renegade (February 15, 2011, 03:59 PM)

I'm using Oracle because I'm at work.  Our IT is apparently overloaded  with work so I have to now get into this stuff.  It's not my job, but at least it's something I've always wanted to learn anyway.

2805

Living Room / Re: Recommend an alarm clock mp3 features.

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 04:04 PM »

Kirby is good, but the snooze feature is not flexible enough for my purposes.  Just so people know exactly what I'm looking for, I'm quoting my post from the Trout thread:

Most alarm clock software can play a chime or something, that's easy.  Where they all fail is their handling of playlists, since it gets complicated once you start considering that the alarm software is not necessarily a music player.  So does it launch another player?  That's what most of them do, but the problem there is that you lose the snooze functionality.  The alarm program can't snooze another software, but it can snooze it's own built in chimes or other wave files.  That's why most of the programs out there suck, they haven't gone the extra length to handle snoozing of playlists. So they either have no playlist functionality or they do, but there's no snooze.  This is key to what I am looking for.
Also, the program should have a shuffle option.  i don't want to wake to the same music in the same order every day, and I don't want to change the order every day.  One option is to let the program launch the music player, like i said, but then how do you snooze it?
The other missing feature in most software is the scheduler for repetitive alarms.  They can all repeat every Friday, but can they repeat every other Friday?  Hmmm, that's the tough one.  To do that, you need to give the user the ability to set up weird repetitive cycles like that.  Alarm Clock Pro can do it in a funky way.  The best way i've seen it is on mylife organized, where the scheduler can be set to repeat "every X days", so if you set it to 14, it's every other Friday.  That's what I'm talking about.  i can post screenshots of all of these things if it will help.
So that's what it comes down to.  The distinguishing features are:
playlist support
shuffle feature
snooze capability for playlists
flexible repeat alarm scheduler (must cover all possibilities)

2806

General Software Discussion / Re: What's the best SQL software for writing queries?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 03:56 PM »

TOra looks interesting.  And yes, it's an Oracle database.  I still like PL/SQL so far.

2807

General Software Discussion / Re: What's the best SQL software for writing queries?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 01:14 PM »

Notepad++

-f0dder (February 15, 2011, 01:03 PM)

Oh geez.  Yes, the highlighting features are nice, but it's not really tied to the database or anything.  These other programs kind of do it all.  I think I'm going to stick with PL/SQL, it's pretty neat.

2808

Living Room / Re: Recommend an alarm clock mp3 features.

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 01:12 PM »

Check it out, you guys are going to think I'm super crazy!
So, I've managed to purchase a Panasonic Toughbook W8 for around $450.  I'm going to use that as my alarm clock! 
I've also discovered the software that will allow me the flexibility I'm asking for.  It's called Alarm++:
http://www.12noon.com/

Alarm++ costs about $25, but if it does what I want, it's totally worth it.  So now I know you guys think I'm doubly crazy: using a toughbook for an alarm clock, and spending $25 on alarm software.  Go ahead, you can proceed to poke fun.

2809

General Software Discussion / What's the best SQL software for writing queries?

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 11:23 AM »

I'm working with an SQL database for the first time, and I was wondering what you guys consider a good SQL software for writing queries?
The one's I've seen so far are:
SQL+ which comes with SQL installer; nothing special
SQL Developer; free from Oracle, the guys here seem to like it, it seems pretty handy to me
PL/SQL Developer; a commercial software similar to the one above, it might be better, I don't know

Any others?  Is there a lesser known one that does things more nicely or easily?  Remember, I'm looking for nifty shortcuts, like buttons, panes, cool autofill features, etc.  Stuff that makes life easier.  Any suggestions?

2810

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Selling off Veign assets

« Last post by superboyac on February 15, 2011, 09:30 AM »

What is your reason for doing this?  is it because you don't have the time to develop and maintain the software?  I've often wondered how much money one can make with a few shareware tools.  How much do the text editor companies make when they sell each license for around $30?  I know Total Commander sells a lot in the file manager business, how much do they make?  Where can I find any numbers for these?

2811

Living Room / Re: Android tablets to rival iPad

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 10:18 PM »

It looks like there will be a flood of Android 3.0 tablets using a 10.1" 1280x800 pixel form factor coming to market within the next 6 months or so.  Acer, ASUS, Motorola, Samsung, Toshiba and Viewsonic are the big name brands that have demonstrated working models to date, and there will probably be lots of  smaller players as well.

This form factor provides 30% more screen area than the iPad, but many of these devices also sport features to make them more compelling choices, such as removable flash storage, swappable batteries and HD video output.

The only one that seems to have a price tag as of now is the Motorola Xoom at $800 plus a Verizon contract, which seems ridiculously high to me, but I'd expect more competitive pricing by summer, when there will be many choices.

-xtabber (February 14, 2011, 09:38 PM)

I'm excited about all of those!

2812

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / New site for NBA fans

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 09:26 PM »

Hi everyone, I'd just like to announce a new website for NBA fans.  I am contributing articles to the site, on behalf of Laker fans.  I hope to only keep a small Laker bias in the articles, while trying to remain fairly objective on most issues.  If you have followed the NBA at all, I hope my articles are interesting and fun, even if you disagree with it.  (I will intentionally try to provoke people anyway, so it's all in the name of fun).  I hope you like it!

http://nbaunderground.com/

2813

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout (audio player)

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 06:09 PM »

Also, consider this:  you've already made trout, so all the playlist and music playing functionality is created.  So the things to add would be the scheduling options and the snooze.  I don't know how hard that is, but to me it sounds easier than the music player part, which is done and already very nice.

-superboyac (February 14, 2011, 12:35 AM)

I won't be adding alarm functionality to Trout as I like tools that do one thing and, hopefully, do it well.  As for an alarm clock app, I simply don't want to get tied up in a huge amount of options in regards to scheduling (which there can and will be).  In regards to programming, it's a right pain in the arse to try and handle all potential types of scenarios when it comes to time and schedules.

-skwire (February 14, 2011, 05:10 PM)

heh heh, you must be right.  There are dozens of alarm programs out there, and they ALL take the easy way out.  Just about every single one of them.  I should just stop trying to find one, it's just wasting my time.

I also agree with you about keeping your tools distinct.  As a general rule of thumb, I've noticed very strongly that as additional, unrelated features are added to a software, it loses a lot of the appealing aspects that it once had.  I don't even mean just the bloat of it.  I've noticed that what usually happens is developers keep adding and adding features, but they fail to fix minor issues here and there that last for years.  But I like the way you do it, and the way you've been developing Trout.  You fix every little thing that is buggy, and you carefully add a feature here and there, it's a great method.  I really respect it.  And it's evident in the product.

2814

Living Room / Re: I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 05:00 PM »

Man, wouldn't it be wonderful for a company to just start making cell phones that are blank slates, not tied to any carrier?

Are all cell phone brands are tied to carrier in united states ? or you can buy sim and phone separately ?

-mahesh2k (February 14, 2011, 04:26 PM)

it's not universal, but predominant.  There are certain phones that you can buy "unlocked/jailbroken", but they are usually not offered that way in brick and mortar stores or through official vendors.  So you have to go out of your way to get it (ebay, craigslist, etc.).  If you do get one, yes, you can just swap in your sims card.  but this is not what the "man" wants you doing.

2815

Living Room / Re: I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 02:42 PM »

While I agree that locked devices are really crappy, I'm not sure I see the need for a $100 alarm clock.

- Oshyan

-JavaJones (February 14, 2011, 01:07 PM)

Hey, that's just you.  I'm not the only one.  It's not uncommon anymore to see alarm clocks now that have mp3 playing capabilities, as well as some deluxe boom box features, and they sell for well over $100.  So the day is coming, my friend.  Guys like me would gladly pay $100 for an alarm clock that can do a lot, vs $30 for a old-fashioned clock.  I mean, the super cheap clocks are crap, i would never use one.  The mid-range clocks brag about having multiple alarms (usually two), and not much flexibilty with those alarms, and they can easily sell for $30-50.  So this idea is very reasonable.  It's going to happen sooner or later.  If I were a manufacturer, I'd just create a bunch of different sized, different-speced screens with android on it, and users can use it for whatever.  I'd make a tiny 3" version that people can use as desk clocks, or mp3 players.  Then I'd have mid-size version for things like a desktop calendar, or a screen on the fridge to write notes.  Then I'd have a big boy for portable computing, like the tablets today (ipad).  Why should we be limited to the buttons and features the hardware manufacturers decide to include?  Just give us a blank device and we'll choose how to use it.

2816

Living Room / Re: I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 01:05 PM »

Man, wouldn't it be wonderful for a company to just start making cell phones that are blank slates, not tied to any carrier?

-superboyac (February 14, 2011, 12:07 PM)

Google did in '09 with the Nexus, and it promptly died when carriers pulled out after thinking about giving customers software choices. They found out they could charge for that stuff!

...the carriers decide that phones should be locked down (for supportability as well as for 'lock-in').

-mwb1100 (February 14, 2011, 11:42 AM)

Hey, isn't that the same argument book publishers are making about ebooks? Small world.

-zridling (February 14, 2011, 12:27 PM)

That's very unfortunate.  Shit.  That's terrible.  Just this weekend I was thinking how cool and amazing it would be if companies like Apple or the phone manufacturers started making completely open, touch screen devices.  Basically, just a screen with an OS and nothing else.  Then, each of the manufacturers or the consumers can take that device and use it for whatever specific purpose they needed by adding software to it.  So, for example, I need an alarm clock...I go to the store, buy a small $100 touchscreen device, install the alarm software...BAM, dedicated alarm clock.  How cool would that be?  I could do the same for a bathroom radio, a remote control, etc.  It's all about having the blank device, and having it be cheap enough where you can just dedicate them for each thing.  With a $700 tablet, you don't want to just use it as an alarm clock because it's too expensive (even though I'd still be tempted to).  But this would be way better than having to buy a real alarm clock that has 1/10th the features of a software alarm clock.  This would be a terrific idea, and someone is going to do it and get rich relatively soon.  i wish I could be the one.

The locking of these readers and tablets is very annoying.  I just jailbroke my ipad this weekend, just so I can load the freaking awesome comic reader app called "Comic Reader Mobi".  Oh my...reading comics on that thing is so fun!  It can enlarge ONLY the text bubbles, and has a really cool magnifying lens feature.  It is such an amazing application, I'm loving it.  Now, this app was banned from itunes because it needed a convenient way to load those cbr cbz files onto it, which goes against the closed filesystem rules of Apple.  So the guy just made it available as a jailbroken app only.  But it kicks the butt of all the other "legit" comic readers out there.  Just one example of how the restrictions are preventing the users from enjoying great innovation and convenience.  The ipad is PERFECT for this kind of comic book reading.

2817

Living Room / Re: I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 12:07 PM »

Why can't the Android OS be designed in such a way where it can be installed without any special modding onto all iphone devices?

-superboyac (February 14, 2011, 11:25 AM)

I think the problem isn't on Google's side, it's that right now the true customers for phone hardware are the carriers, not you and me. And the carriers decide that phones should be locked down (for supportability as well as for 'lock-in').  One thing that might help move the system software to be generically installable - at least on some devices - will be systems that aren't phones.  Touch-like Android devices and/or tablets that are useful without being phones.

If we ever get true carrier-transferability in the states, it might happen for phones as well.

-mwb1100 (February 14, 2011, 11:42 AM)

I see.  I keep forgetting about that.  Man, wouldn't it be wonderful for a company to just start making cell phones that are blank slates, not tied to any carrier?  I seriously think they could become the Dell of cell phones.  But I'm sure the telco's would fight to the death before they allowed something like that to happen.

2818

Living Room / Re: I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 11:25 AM »

I hope Android becomes better for tablets and can do something about the fragmentation.

-superboyac (February 14, 2011, 09:55 AM)

The problem is the telcos all decided they were no longer going to get consigned to doing nothing other than provide the conduit like AT&T does for the iPhone. Most telcos thought AT&T "sold out the industry" when it caved in on Apple's demands in order to get an exclusive on the iPhone.

So in light of this, I'm afraid 'droid fragmentation is going to continue as long as Android needs the telcos more than the telcos need Android.

 

-40hz (February 14, 2011, 10:31 AM)

Interesting.  I don't know exactly what you are referring to, but I believe you.  Why can't the Android OS be designed in such a way where it can be installed without any special modding onto all iphone devices?  You can install Windows on any computer with any hardware, why can't Android be the same way?  Is it because the hardware on cell phones not nearly as standardized as normal pc hardware?  I'm assuming that's the case, but even with that I think Google has the resources to be able to figure out a solution.  I mean, if they can practically mind read off all the data they collect, I'm sure they can figure out how to make an updateable/installable OS for phones that would work without any tweaking.

2819

Living Room / Re: I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 09:55 AM »

Nokia really had no choice but to switch OS, and the two options were either Android or Windows Phone. I'm a big Android fan myself, but only time will tell if Nokia and MS succeed.

-Eóin (February 14, 2011, 09:52 AM)

I hope MS can come up with an awesome phone/tablet OS with Windows 8 or whatever they have planned.  Either that, or I hope Android becomes better for tablets and can do something about the fragmentation.

2820

Living Room / Re: I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 09:09 AM »

It's a messy business.  I think I'm going to miss the days where I could buy cool new gadgets without a monthly subscription fee for something or other that will come with it.

2821

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout (audio player)

« Last post by superboyac on February 14, 2011, 12:35 AM »

[...]
How's that?

-superboyac (February 13, 2011, 11:01 PM)

Waaaay out of scope of what I was thinking.  

-skwire (February 13, 2011, 11:24 PM)

What could I do to make it worth your while?

Also, consider this:  you've already made trout, so all the playlist and music playing functionality is created.  So the things to add would be the scheduling options and the snooze.  I don't know how hard that is, but to me it sounds easier than the music player part, which is done and already very nice.

2822

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout (audio player)

« Last post by superboyac on February 13, 2011, 11:01 PM »

skwire, I know a user mentioned adding an alarm clock feature to trout.  Is this still planned?

-superboyac (February 13, 2011, 10:17 PM)

Nope, I hadn't planned on adding this.  If you just want an alarm clock app that will play an MP3, I'm sure there are a myriad out there.  If you can't find one you like, I'll consider writing one for you.   

-skwire (February 13, 2011, 10:26 PM)

I've probably spent a good 10-20 hours searching for one in the past year alone.  There's nothing that's all that great.  The best one i've come across is Alarm Clock Pro, which is primarily a Mac application, but the Windows version works well also.  The only problem is the way it handles playlists, which is the main thing that I'm looking for, and the reason why I haven't found any that can do it.  I think if you did one, it would be a fantastic idea.  Just as a preview, I'll give the basics of what I think it should be able to do:

Most alarm clock software can play a chime or something, that's easy.  Where they all fail is their handling of playlists, since it gets complicated once you start considering that the alarm software is not necessarily a music player.  So does it launch another player?  That's what most of them do, but the problem there is that you lose the snooze functionality.  The alarm program can't snooze another software, but it can snooze it's own built in chimes or other wave files.  That's why most of the programs out there suck, they haven't gone the extra length to handle snoozing of playlists. So they either have no playlist functionality or they do, but there's no snooze.  This is key to what I am looking for.
Also, the program should have a shuffle option.  i don't want to wake to the same music in the same order every day, and I don't want to change the order every day.  One option is to let the program launch the music player, like i said, but then how do you snooze it?
The other missing feature in most software is the scheduler for repetitive alarms.  They can all repeat every Friday, but can they repeat every other Friday?  Hmmm, that's the tough one.  To do that, you need to give the user the ability to set up weird repetitive cycles like that.  Alarm Clock Pro can do it in a funky way.  The best way i've seen it is on mylife organized, where the scheduler can be set to repeat "every X days", so if you set it to 14, it's every other Friday.  That's what I'm talking about.  i can post screenshots of all of these things if it will help.
So that's what it comes down to.  The distinguishing features are:
playlist support
shuffle feature
snooze capability for playlists
flexible repeat alarm scheduler (must cover all possibilities)

How's that?

2823

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout (audio player)

« Last post by superboyac on February 13, 2011, 10:17 PM »

skwire, I know a user mentioned adding an alarm clock feature to trout.  Is this still planned?  I would really like one...soon  .  My ipad is not a reliable alarm clock because of the way it handles background apps, and nobody has made a good jailbreak app for an alarm that runs in the background well.  Anyway, I'm planning on getting a netbook with Windows 7 and using it as an alarm clock.  I'm now looking at the different mp3 players and seeing which ones have alarm clock functionality (any suggestions anyone?).  But I'd figured I'd throw in my suggestion to you since I already know I like using Trout.

2824

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Block/Unblock all network traffic button (one-click)

« Last post by superboyac on February 12, 2011, 06:08 PM »

Oh shit!  Look what I found:
http://www.murgee.co.../network-controller/

This does the job pretty well.  When you run the program, it opens up a window with the network connections, you click the one you want, press disable/enable, and it works.

Now, I have faith that 4wd can do better.  What's better?  Well, in 4wd's program, it's a more efficient method of toggling.  basically, you just click on the system tray icon vs. opening a window, selecting, clicking.  So one click vs. three clicks.  Both solutions are nice, but if 4wd's worked without errors, I'd prefer that one.  Plus the tray icons he used looks really cool.

But, if we can't figure it out here, I'll be forced to pay $10 to murgee.  I'd rather support the authors here.

2825

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Block/Unblock all network traffic button (one-click)

« Last post by superboyac on February 12, 2011, 05:59 PM »

OK, give this a try - it uses devcon to get the status and (dis|en)able the network adapter.

I don't see how it's going to work if you're blocked from (dis|en)abling via the Network Connections Control Panel but who knows, stranger things have happened.

If it doesn't work, then the only option left is to either modify the program to elevate to SYSTEM user or try and run the devcon command elevated and see what happens.

NOTES: You no longer have a choice of toggling ALL connections.

Actual fact it probably works better than NetToggle because the status is more consistantly reported but it does have a LOT less error checking

-4wd (February 02, 2011, 11:42 PM)

4wd, you've almost got it!  Please don't stop!
i just tried the file listed above, and it works functionally, but it gives the following error dialog when toggling it on or off:


So I get that error when toggling the button on and off, and sometimes the save nic dialog pops up again.  So the program is working, it's just a little buggy.  Cmon, we can do this.  er...you can...