Recent Posts

3126

General Software Discussion / Re: Clipboard manager

« Last post by rjbull on September 09, 2005, 05:29 AM »

wow - GREAT LINKS 

also, from lifehacker:
http://www.oldversion.com/

-mouser (August 30, 2005, 03:50 AM)

Found a few more "Last Free Version" sites from a TalkAboutShareware (i.e., Pricelessware) official post:

The Freeware Graveyard
http://fwg.raum108.de/

NeverExpires.com: Software Orphans
http://www.neverexpires.com/orphans/

The Mole Zone: Rareware
http://htmole.alterv...sta.org/rareware.htm

warning, haven't tried these yet.

3127

Living Room / Re: Answer in another area?

« Last post by rjbull on September 09, 2005, 04:56 AM »

> Stefan uses both cron and Stickies, I wondered how the two fit together, when he would use one rather than the other.

What do you mean, rjbull ?
I playing around always and test several tools all the way.
If i had to do a work and must start an tool or batch i like to use cron.
If i want to be remember on an given time or in several minutes (or store an notice) i use stickies. (or ATNotes, or UK's Kalender or EPIM)

-Stefan (September 09, 2005, 03:18 AM)

That's exactly how I use them    Just interested to see if there were any tricks I'd missed!  Except, I'm currently using Magic Notes, which is shareware, mostly because I got a cheap deal.  Not sure if I'll "stick" with it indefinitely.

3128

Living Room / Re: Humour - how about a giggle column ...

« Last post by rjbull on September 09, 2005, 04:49 AM »

Q.  Why do cats eat cheese?
A.  So they can wait outside mouseholes with bated breath.

3129

Living Room / Answer in another area?

« Last post by rjbull on September 08, 2005, 10:46 AM »

Mouser,

Is it possible with this software to quote/answer a posting in another area?

e.g., knowing that Stefan uses both cron and Stickies, I wondered how the two fit together, when he would use one rather than the other.  That's a new topic that doesn't fit in the "Donation value to developers" thread, which is where the Stickies message is.

3130

General Software Discussion / Re: For Developers: Do Donations Make a Difference?

« Last post by rjbull on September 08, 2005, 03:47 AM »

...
Stickies is a PC utility I wrote

-rjbull (September 07, 2005, 10:25 AM)

What ? 

YOU wrote Stickies ? May i take the change to thank you for that great tool?

-Stefan (September 07, 2005, 04:16 PM)

Stefan,

Sorry, wasn't me... I can see how I caused confusion.    I clip-and-pasted a bit from his Web page, using quote marks round the quote, but I should have thought to edit it.  You need to thank Tom Revell of Zhorn Software, he's the author.  I e-mailed him a link to this thread but don't know if he's taken it up.

Again, deep apologies... 

3131

General Software Discussion / Re: For Developers: Do Donations Make a Difference?

« Last post by rjbull on September 07, 2005, 10:25 AM »

Mouser,

Are you looking to list donationware?  Because I just spotted another one:

"Zhorn Software   http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/

Stickies is a PC utility I wrote to try to cut down on the number of Post-It® notes I was leaving stuck to my monitor. It is a computerised version of those notes.

The design goal behind Stickies is that the program is small and simple. Stickies will not mess with your system files, or write to the registry. Stickies stores all information in a single text-based ini file. "

3132

Best Archive Tool / Re: Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 07, 2005, 08:08 AM »

RJ, I nominate you and Jibz to write the joint Best Command Line Compression Tool review. 

-zridling (September 07, 2005, 06:23 AM)

I couldn't possibly approach the quality of your review     Besides, I'm busy in other parts of the wood...

3133

Best Archive Tool / Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 07, 2005, 04:00 AM »

winrar has very good commandline support, doesn't it? i hear this mentioned frequently when people say they like winrar.

-mouser (September 07, 2005, 03:49 AM)

That's good.  But, a lot of my archives are made at work, for work.  There's a limit to the amount of my own money that I'm willing to spend for work.  Naturally, the supplied tools are limited by the corporation's willingness to spend money...

3134

Best Archive Tool / Re: Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 07, 2005, 03:56 AM »

As such, I considered it a separate review altogether, e.g., Best Command Line Compression Tool.

-zridling (September 07, 2005, 03:46 AM)

Ah.  (Is there a smiley for sublime innocence?)  When are you bringing that one out?

3135

Best Archive Tool / Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 07, 2005, 03:40 AM »

the real purpose of the review, which was to find the best archive program, not necessarily the best compression ratio.

-zridling (September 06, 2005, 10:15 PM)

Of course, everyone has different criteria for "best"   

Most of my archives are made by automated processes, i.e. batch files.  That means I want a command-line tool, or at least, one that can be controlled from the command line.  By the same token, I have essentially no interest in obligatory point-and-click GUIs, and I missed comments on which if any products were command-line compatible.  If I really want a GUI, I use Total Commander as the shell.

If something is "freeware," I like to know whether it's free for all uses, or for personal use only.  In future reviews, maybe the word "cost" could be supplemented by "license?"

Oh, dear, this does sound negative...

3136

Best Archive Tool / Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 06, 2005, 06:05 AM »

Zaine,

Are you aware of Jeff Gilchrist's compression tests
http://compression.ca
The Archive Comparison Test (ACT) is a set of benchmarks designed to show the state of the art in lossless data compression. It contains benchmarks on various types of data for compression speed, uncompression speed, and compression ratio.

Rather out of date as he's working on his thesis, but interesting.

3137

Best Archive Tool / Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 06, 2005, 05:24 AM »

Yes, there now, thanks.  Must have been caches.  On this version of IE (5) reload button is F5, "Refresh."  At least I think that's what it means...

3138

General Review Discussion / Re: Free PDF tools review?

« Last post by rjbull on September 06, 2005, 05:12 AM »

Having just mentioned the Iceni editor, it occurs to me that thread title includes the word "free:" is that going to be exclusive?

3139

Best Archive Tool / Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 06, 2005, 05:10 AM »

Might just be caches, but still 404

When I click the link, I get a page that lists all the reviews.  There should be a graphic, but that's just a box withan X in it, too.

3140

General Review Discussion / Re: Free PDF tools review?

« Last post by rjbull on September 06, 2005, 04:56 AM »

Not sure if this qualifies.

Iceni Technology, makers of Infix PDF Editor.  Windows 95/98/9x users should check the demo for compatibility.  9 Mb download...
http://www.iceni.com/

This is a $99 WYSIWIG PDF editor which, in unpaid-for form, puts a watermark in every PDF it saves.  But if you don't want to pay that much, they will sell you a cheap (IIRC, $6 or so) one-time key that will remove the watermark on one document.  Doesn't have password features ATM but that's scheduled for next year.

3141

Best Archive Tool / Re: New Review (09/05/05) - Best Archive Tool

« Last post by rjbull on September 06, 2005, 04:48 AM »

Mouser,

Where's the review gone?  I'm getting 404s.

3142

Screenshot Captor / Re: WANTED: Resurces for to use with ScreenCaptor

« Last post by rjbull on September 05, 2005, 09:54 AM »

Does everyone know Diamond Willow stick site: lots of freeware links and recommendations, especially for graphics and the Web.

http://www.sticksite.com

You have to page down a long way to get to the freeware link, but there's plenty there when you find it (including DeKnop).

3143

General Software Discussion / Re: Interfaces we love

« Last post by rjbull on September 05, 2005, 03:37 AM »

I think it would be a good idea to consider what we think is a good interface and a model for software interface design.

-Sentinel (September 04, 2005, 02:51 PM)

How about Norton Commander?  Or is that not so much a "good" interface" as a "standard" interface?  I can't get my head round Windows Explorer: the two-pane model seems much more intuitive.  The NC interface has carried through from DOS, with various clones, to Windows, with various clones, the one I use most on Win2K being Total Commander (shareware)  http://www.ghisler.com

More here - Orthodox File Managers: Simplicity Rules

http://www.softpanor....org/OFM/index.shtml

Dr. Nikolai Bezroukov's page devoted to the Orthodox File Managers (OFMs) that are also known as "Commanders". Members of this family of file managers use simple yet very powerful interface that is a direct derivative of Norton Commander (NC) interface

3144

Living Room / Re: calling all bored cat lovers

« Last post by rjbull on September 02, 2005, 08:17 AM »

Try Leslie Fish's (true?) cat stories
http://www.kayshapero.net/FishTale.htm

I owe this link to Kay Shapero, who hosts it; Kay is a Notable Purrson in furry fandom and also does filk (science fiction folk songs).  She also put me on to one of the funniest sites on the Web, the Definitive Exploding Whale Web Site, to which she also has a link (and a song).

3145

General Review Discussion / Re: Vote for what Review to do Next

« Last post by rjbull on September 02, 2005, 07:57 AM »

Treepad and Keynote aren't the only free ones.  There's also (at least)

Action Outline Lite  http://www.greenparrots.com

TreeDBNotes Lite  http://www.softviewer.com/treedbnotes/

Treeline  http://www.bellz.org/treeline/index.html
(this one uses XML as its native file format)

My Life Organized (MLO)  www.mylifeorganized.net

I assume EssentialPIM has a hierarchical organizer too, but the free version doesn't have a file import function to ingest pre-existing text files, so I didn't look further.

plus a myriad of payware...

BTW, ShadowPlan, the Palm PIM, also uses XML, but its Windows version doesn't seem to be as good.

3146

General Review Discussion / Re: Vote for what Review to do Next

« Last post by rjbull on September 02, 2005, 03:44 AM »

i myself was a happy user of jot+, for its simple no-nonsense interface, but i bolted when they wanted to charge me to upgrade.

-mouser (September 02, 2005, 03:35 AM)

I'm never quite sure about that.  I suppose it depends on the software type.  We had an expensive special-purpose software system for making health & safety data sheets at work once, with minimal support costs.  The company eventually went bust.  The replacement software has much higher ongoing costs - but that company is still in business.

If you quit Jot+, what did you do?  Could you convert your data to a new system without trouble?

Mouser, do you ever sleep?  Or are you permanently nocturnal?

3147

General Review Discussion / Re: Vote for what Review to do Next

« Last post by rjbull on September 02, 2005, 03:31 AM »

As it's such a big category, are you going to break it down into sections?  I.e., one or all of one-, two-, or three-pane organizers?  Outliners? Notetakers that sit in your system tray?  Will "sticky notes" programs count?  Umm...  maybe not those, they aren't hierarchical in the sense I think you mean, though Magic Notes has "Groups."

There're so many ways of taking notes - I still haven't found the best solution.  In DOS, Memory Mate came close.

BTW, just read this link; Discussion of outliners for writers mentions Writer's Block, Jot+Notes, SuperNotecard, ndxCards, StoryView, StoryLines, Treepad, Treepad, UltraRecall, AMD:

http://www.outliners...om/discuss/msgReader$3573?mode=topic

Someone remarks the Internet is "littered" (sic) with two-pane organizers.

3148

General Review Discussion / Re: Vote for what Review to do Next

« Last post by rjbull on September 01, 2005, 10:02 AM »

The Fred's Shack listing is the most comprehensive, but his comments are very brief.

Giant category all right, and, therefore, reviews very quickly date.  I wish people would quote version numbers of the programs they review, dates of the program executables if there isn't another obvious date, plus the date when they reviewed it.  Then you have a rough idea of how far behind the times the reivew is...

3149

General Review Discussion / Re: Vote for what Review to do Next

« Last post by rjbull on September 01, 2005, 08:19 AM »

looks pretty clear what we're going to be reviewing next, if the trend continues.
Note taking programs, here we come.

-mouser (July 06, 2005, 04:27 AM)

Oh, no.  Do you realise just how many reviews of those there are on the Web already? 

John Buckman's home page, with links to his pages on outliner (folding editor) / organiser programs
http://john.redmood.com/index.html
(best but getting dated)

Fred's Shack comments on outliners, and how to set up ECCO
http://www.fredshack.com/docs/pim.html
(most comprehensive but terse)

Fog Creek Software's organizing random notes discussion: part of Joel on Software Web site
http://discuss.fogcr...how&ixPost=71582


John Faughnan's Web site on outliners/organisers, including MORE and ThinkTank
http://www.faughnan.com/more/index.html


Mark T.A.W. (TAW) smallware
http://www.marktaw.c...voriteSmallware.html
(big fan of Treepad Lite)

Dan Butler's "PIM's and where we are today" is also relevant but I don't have the URL.


(0h, all right, do a better review, see if I care!)

3150

General Review Discussion / Re: Free PDF tools review?

« Last post by rjbull on September 01, 2005, 08:08 AM »

How about a review of the best of the free PDF tools out there.  There are a ton of
tools that will let you print to PDF, but very few that will do the more important stuff--splitting and merging, etc.  Anyone else like this idea?

-yacht_boy (August 21, 2005, 09:40 PM)

I mentioned this somewhere else, but here's a bit more blurb;

pdftk - PDF toolkit

http://www.accesspdf.com/pdftk/


=== begin quote ===
If PDF is electronic paper, then pdftk is an electronic staple-remover,
 hole-punch, binder, secret-decoder-ring, and X-Ray-glasses. Pdftk is a
 command-line tool for doing everyday things with PDF documents. Keep one in the
 top drawer of your desktop and use it to:

Merge PDF Documents
Split PDF Pages into a New Document
Decrypt Input as Necessary (Password Required)
Encrypt Output as Desired
Fill PDF Forms with FDF Data and/or Flatten Forms
Apply a Background Watermark
Report on PDF Metrics such as Metadata, Bookmarks, and Page Labels
Update PDF Metadata
Attach Files to PDF Pages or the PDF Document
Unpack PDF Attachments
Burst a PDF Document into Single Pages
Uncompress and Re-Compress Page Streams
Repair Corrupted PDF (Where Possible)
Pdftk allows you to manipulate PDF easily and freely. It does not require
 Acrobat, and it runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD and Solaris.

Pdftk is free software (GPL).
=== end quote ===

The password feature didn't work for me the only time I tried it, but the splitting and merging features work a treat.  Although this is a command-line application, the Web site has a link to a WinGUI shell for most of the major features.