Recent Posts

3626

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: CrazyLittleFingers

« Last post by app103 on January 06, 2009, 01:36 PM »

You have been featured on Lifehacker!

http://lifehacker.co...r-toddlers-curiosity

Congratulations!

3627

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout

« Last post by app103 on January 05, 2009, 07:03 PM »

Doing my promised XP test...

I am happy to say that all the issues reported before were 9x (or slow pc) related and not appearing on XP.

Is there anything you can do about untagged files leaving a blank line?



(on second thought, this might be a good thing, since it will allow me to easily see which files have missing tags, so I can fix them)

I am in love with the minibar! (you still need to make sure it can't leave the desktop, though)



This is a really nice player and there are only a few reasons left for me to ever use Winamp again:

• last.fm support
• tag editing
• media library
• ability to remove dead files & duplicates from playlists
• ability to send nasty songs to recycle bin
• Explorer shell integration (play or enqueue from context menu)

Other than those, you have it ALL covered for me. 

Credits on their way.

3628

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Wrap Up

« Last post by app103 on January 05, 2009, 05:35 PM »

Well, if Perry did not, then who did? (nsfw)

-PhilB66 (January 05, 2009, 08:56 AM)

Crap! And I just rated this site as safe for kids on WOT.   

3629

Developer's Corner / Re: How to remove CRC check from a exe?

« Last post by app103 on January 02, 2009, 05:15 PM »

Ok, I am going to lock this thread and if mouser thinks it's appropriate, he can unlock it.

3630

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Wrap Up

« Last post by app103 on January 02, 2009, 09:26 AM »

This year's was the best one yet...and so organized! Thank you Perry! You were the best pest ever!



And for all those that pledged and submitted a project...

(mouser, theses smilies scare me)

-kwacky1 (January 02, 2009, 07:59 AM)

LOL!

They are from my collection. 

There is a certain culture to particular e-mail & chat communities on AOL, with a tradition of sending emails with graphics like these (aka "tags") when someone helps or does something nice for you. Also a tradition to send a tag back saying "you're welcome" if you ever get one.  The collection on this site is partly made of the ones that were sent to me.

There are also mailing lists that people can subscribe to where they can get a bunch of sets to use for various purposes, each month. The artists and other volunteers will even customize them with your name or other message. Often, they are themed for upcoming holidays. That's where the rest came from. (Yeah, I know most of them are pretty girly, but it's mostly women that make them.)

Up until about 2 years ago, I was collecting them like they were baseball cards. In total, I have close to 3000 of them.   

3631

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Trout

« Last post by app103 on January 01, 2009, 02:25 PM »

Quick test on a 9x PC:  Pentium I, 233mhz, 64mb RAM, WinME

Streaming audio was not tested due to the fact that the PC is on 33.6k dialup. I only tested it with local wav & mp3 files and CD's, as that's all I have available for that machine. I also didn't test all features.

I really like the nice compact size of the minibars. The size is perfect! It would be nice if there was some sort of tooltip on the minibar to give you some sort of hint what you are listening to. (I know it's on the tray icon, but I keep my taskbar hidden) It would also be nice if there was an option to keep the minibar always on top.

Drag & drop from Explorer works wonderful! Thanks for that!

Some issues (might not be 9x related, I'll test on XP later and let you know):

It took a looooong time to load a folder of files. You can't play anything till it's finished loading the files. I ended up having to wait 30 minutes!

When you resize the window the list box doesn't resize with it until it's finished loading all the files.


There are no scrollbars and I couldn't see what was in the other columns unless I maximized the window. I had to use the keyboard to scroll up/down. No way to scroll left/right though. Scrollbars do show if I close the player and open again, as long as I don't clear & create a new list. (scrollwheel on my mouse doesn't work, so those bars are important to me)

The seekbar leaves the limits of the window during play, unless I close and reopen and don't clear & create a new list.


Listbox tends to cover statusbar.


Status bar does some neat tricks when using my arrow keys to scroll the list down.


Invert selection doesn't work.

It's possible to have both minibars on the screen at the same time. (shouldn't it be one or the other, but not both?)

Occasionally, when I double click the icon on the minibar to show the main window, afterwards, when I move my mouse, the minibar sticks & moves with it (but not necessarily under my pointer) till I click somewhere else. It would be possible to lose the minibar offscreen if I were to click the desktop while the minibar was offscreen. Might want to confine the minibar to the desktop to prevent that from happening. (I have the same issue with an application I wrote and had to confine it to the desktop after a user lost it and had no way to get it back besides editing the registry)

Seekbar & playlist font issue: can't use a different font than the default one or the size is too tiny and I can't adjust font size. Settings are ignored. (I wanted Arial bold, because it's clearer & easier for me to read) I was afraid to change the font on the toaster because I didn't see a button to revert it back to default if there was an issue.


It doesn't read tags properly. It shows the file name where Artist should be, doesn't show album/title/year/genre. This affects the playlist, seekbar, titlebar, and toaster.

freeDB worked fine and displayed all the info, but I couldn't get Trout to play CD's at all on that machine. It could be an issue with my drive though. Very few players actually work with it...only 2 that I know of, one came with my keyboard and the other one is some crappy thing that I wrote in VB6. (At least Trout didn't crash like Winamp & WMP does when trying to play CD's)

3632

Living Room / Re: PMOG - Passively Multiplayer Online Game

« Last post by app103 on January 01, 2009, 03:11 AM »

Someone made up a mission in that game that involved visiting websites containing productivity software some months back and I got hit with a lot of traffic from PMOG players.

3633

Living Room / Re: End of year humor (I apologize in advance)

« Last post by app103 on January 01, 2009, 03:03 AM »

Here is one to send to everyone in your addressbook that has a habit of forwarding crap to everyone in their addressbook:

Dear All,

Heartfelt thank you to all my e-mail friends.

As another year will shortly be a memory, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

Extra thanks for the ones that I have to open 15 times to get to the message.

Special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope. Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer drink Pepsi, or Dr Pepper, since the people who make these products are atheists who won't put "Under God" on their cans. I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS. I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day. I no longer go to shopping malls because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from, nor send packages by UPS, or FedEx, since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise. I no longer answer the phone, because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan. I no longer eat KFC, because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike. I no longer have to buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus, since I now have their recipe. I no longer worry about my soul, because at last count I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. I no longer have any savings, because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program.

Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favors!

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (EDT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of mine's next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

Have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

3634

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / NANY 2009 Release: Fried Babelfish

« Last post by app103 on December 31, 2008, 11:22 PM »

NANY 2009 Entry Information

Application Name	Fried Babelfish
Version	1.0.8 (updated 2009-02-09) (No longer works)
Short Description	tabbed translator
Supported OSes	Win-all
Download Link	FriedBabelfish.zip (325.53 kB - downloaded 25528 times.) This no longer works but I am keeping the download available due to the fact that the source is included and this part may still be of interest to someone.
System Requirements	A Windows based PC with some form of IE installed (not sure if it works with pre-IE5)
Version History	Current version: 1.0.8 + Added 7 new languages: Albanian Estonian Galician Hungarian Maltese Thai Turkish Previous versions: 1.0.7 1.0.7 - This has sort of been an ongoing coding game between the 2 developers, and there have been too many versions to count, with the GUI in various languages from ibasic, VB, and finally Delphi, with the most significant change in this version being a switch from using Babelfish's translation engine to using Google's.
Author	Krishean (translation script) and app103 (GUI)

Description
When you are using online translators in your web browser, it's not that convenient to have to keep switching the languages back & forth to translate an ongoing conversation between 2 people. It is also kind of clunky to have a full browser window with toolbars and extensions getting in your way. And most browsers lack a feature to keep the window on top of all others.

Originally, Fried Babelfish was powered by Babelfish and served as mini ad free version if their translator. But with this release, it might still carry a bit of the old Babelfish look, but it has been completely rewritten and is now powered by Google's translator.

Features

• 2 tabs - one for your language and one for a second language
• a button to set the window to stay on top
• Full source is included.

Planned Features
we are not entirely sure

Screenshots


Usage
Installation
Just unzip and run. It will need access to the internet to fetch translations from Google, so you'll need to give it permission in your firewall.

Using the Application
select your 2 languages on the first tab, type in the text to be translated in the top box, click the translate button. use the 2nd tab for a 2nd language pair. Click the button on the top left to toggle between on top & normal.

Uninstallation
Just delete it.

Known Issues
Due to Google discontinuing their translation API, this application will stop working on December 1, 2011. (sorry, out of my control)

3635

Living Room / Re: Microsoft's Pay-Per-Use PC: ...Worst? Idea? Ever?

« Last post by app103 on December 30, 2008, 05:37 PM »

What is the major difference between this business model and an internet cafe, from the end user's perspective?

How about those mobile phone companies that supply the phone and bill you a base price by the month, plus additional fees for usage?

And how do you get a patent for an idea for a business model any way? The patent office only grants patents for inventions...implementations of ideas and not the idea itself.

Just because they filed for the patent doesn't mean it will be granted. Anyone can file for a patent on anything they want, doesn't mean you'll get the patent, and doesn't mean the patent is worth anything even if you do get it. There are plenty of stupid things that are completely worthless that have been patented.

I came pretty close to patenting something I made and used when my daughter was very small, but would likely make me the victim of many lawsuits from irresponsible mothers, if I ever released the product to the public. I still could have wasted my time & money getting a patent on it though, even if I never had any intention of manufacturing & selling the product.

^{It was an elastic strap with a loop/snap on each end, used to hold baby bottles (or toys) to a stroller (or car seat), so if the child dropped it, it wouldn't hit the ground (or floor) and get lost (or dirty). Some mother would be likely to end up using it in a crib, playpen, or another situation where they aren't watching their child all that closely and then hold me responsible if their kid got strangled and died while they were neglecting them. (baby products need to be completely idiot-proof, not because babies are idiots, but too many of their parents are)}

3636

General Software Discussion / Re: How do I get rid of MSN: check out these awesome pics from the awesome party LOL

« Last post by app103 on December 29, 2008, 11:28 PM »

From my quick research on that original url (the essential part before you changed it), f0dder is absolutely right. There are only a few results (non-english) and the only one that seems to suggest anything as a solution says to just change the MSN password.

http://translate.goo...sta.org%2F%3Fp%3D214


No matter what browser she uses, it won't protect her from doing something stupid like entering her username/pass where she shouldn't even be.

The best antivirus is common sense. Educate her and you'll be providing her with a free upgrade. 


btw, I don't use Adblock Plus...I prefer Ad Muncher, since it works with any browser and any application, not just one browser or only browsers. It works with Firefox, IE, Chrome, K-Meleon, Opera, Sleipnir, AOL, Maxthon, and even browsers you never heard of, including whatever browser that might be released tomorrow morning or even a home brewed browser. It even removes ads from MSN, AIM, Yahoo widgets, Yahoo messenger, RSS readers, etc. It's a full system ad blocker. While it does not require the Firefox extension to block ads, it is required if you want the ability to use the Firefox context menu to add a page as an exclusion (otherwise you have to enter it manually from the main application window). Works great with IE and the context menu entries are already there by default, once Ad Muncher is installed.

If she insists on using IE, I would suggest she get Ad Muncher AND either McAfee Site Advisor or WOT (Web Of Trust).

3637

Developer's Corner / Re: What Websites Offer Free Multimedia Resources For Use In Software?

« Last post by app103 on December 28, 2008, 12:17 PM »

I found another site: 

Beachware has placed their entire collection "A Zillion Sounds" online in .MP3 format, free for non-commercial use.

If you want to use their sounds commercially, you have to buy the full set, which is offered as either a download or on CD, in Mac (.AIF) or Windows (.WAV) format. Purchasing the set gives you the full collection of 5000 sounds to use, royalty free...and at only $20, it's a real bargain.

This is a great set for sound effects in software and casual games and I have owned the set on CD for a long time and have used them in some of my apps in the past. (Instant Boss users should recognize this one)

I think it's fantastic that they have put the whole collection online for free.

3638

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: PESplash

« Last post by app103 on December 28, 2008, 07:40 AM »

but it's a pretty cool way of tracking who is downloading your files (if released in the wild)

-seedling (December 25, 2008, 10:08 PM)

What exactly do you mean by that?

3639

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Neat Net Tricks

« Last post by app103 on December 27, 2008, 02:51 PM »

yeah, an RSS option for the free version would be really nice. I would be more likely to read that than an email.

3640

Finished Programs / Re: JustToDoIt - Fast ToDo lister

« Last post by app103 on December 27, 2008, 02:25 PM »

A-SQUARED Anti-Malware by EMSI Software detected a Trojan in this programs downloaded file - JustTodoIt.exe.  The specific Trojan identified was "Trojan-Spy.Win32.Agent.bqt'IK" listed as high risk.  This is just FYI for those who are interested.

-jabyrdtx (December 27, 2008, 02:08 PM)

Hi jabyrdtx...welcome to DonationCoder!

I understand your concern, and under normal circumstances you would be very right to be concerned. But this application was written in the AutoHotKey scripting language, which has been unfairly targeted by antivirus companies as trojans.

Just as mouser has said, it's a typical false positive. After reading the links he has provided, you might want to read my article about what is going on and why:  http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com/2008/12/autohotkey-is-not-virus-worm-or-trojan.html

If you are still unsure, you might want to delete the .exe file and use just the .ahk source instead, and install Autohotkey and run the source script by double clicking it. I am pretty sure if you scan that .ahk file , that it won't result in your antivirus calling it a trojan.

And you can open the .ahk file in notepad and see the actual code it contains, too. There is nothing hiding. Everything is in plain sight.

3641

Living Room / Re: site:donationcoder.com [your username]

« Last post by app103 on December 27, 2008, 02:49 AM »

Results 1 - 100 of about 8,490 from donationcoder.com for app103 

Good thing I have the numbers after my username here or it could difficult to know how many of the results were referring to me or to "app" as in "application". 

^{(it would have inflated my results by an additional 33,200!)}

3642

General Software Discussion / Re: How do I stop selling myself v1agra?

« Last post by app103 on December 26, 2008, 07:41 AM »

maybe you should switch to Gmail and use this: http://gmailblog.blo...-mail-you-later.html

Or better yet, just filter it by keywords contained in the subject or body that you never want to see in your inbox, but combine that filter for emails from yourself, not to be sent to spam, but to trash instead.

That way, you don't block yourself or report yourself as a spammer, but still don't have that crap in your inbox.

3643

Developer's Corner / Re: SpiderMonkey

« Last post by app103 on December 24, 2008, 05:46 AM »

I've used this myself once or twice, very very impressive. April has a friend who knows a lot more about it than I.

-Ehtyar (December 23, 2008, 04:00 PM)

Yeah...

A friend of mine (rkarman) built the original version of a really cool scriptable chat server called ARCA Eclipse, to host chatrooms on the Ares P2P network. (This was before Ares went open source) He used Spidermonkey in it.

The server is a great teaching tool for teaching beginners programming, by allowing them to play with Javascript right in the chatroom. He even included a debugger to give them feedback.

Chatroom admins can have a lot of fun with it too. With a scriptable server, there is no need to have room bots for playing games and other features. Plus you can create a function, toss it in the room, and use it immediately.

Back in the early days, I coded a complete slot machine game as a single function of under 200 chars and tossed it into the room. About 5 minutes later, someone else in the room coded a cheat function for it. 

Today the server is developed and maintained by another party, as rkarman decided he no longer wanted to do it himself.

Before passing the project on, he gave a small group of trusted admins from his chatroom a copy of the original source, with express wishes that it be used for learning, and never for the purposes of creating malware. I am one of the caretakers of the original code, in case anyone would like to see the source to learn from.

I can't post it publicly, as I am only allowed to give it out to people I consider trustworthy.

_{(btw, he didn't know C/C++ before starting this project, and basically learned it in a day, so the code might be messy. He stated that if it had been his choice, it would have been written in either C# or VB.net. And if you want to know why it wasn't, you have to ask hollowlife1987)}

TriXUL - XML-based GUI toolkit embeds SpiderMonkey, using JavaScript to implement logic behind its GUI, supporting calls from JavaScript to C++ objects.

-ewemoa (December 23, 2008, 02:00 PM)

Is this not a little redundant when you consider XULRunner?

-Ehtyar (December 23, 2008, 04:00 PM)

Or Boxely?

3644

General Software Discussion / Re: Cannot open Paint on Vista

« Last post by app103 on December 24, 2008, 03:18 AM »

- mspaint is not an option to add or remove, on my version. It is not listed anywhere I can find.

-Curt (December 23, 2008, 04:38 AM)

This is where it is on XP. I don't have Vista so I can't show you a screenshot or guide you on Vista. But finding it should be a similar method to XP. If I am wrong, maybe a Vista user could provide the exact details.

Make sure when you open the add/remove programs panel that you click the button for "add remove windows components".

Another window will pop open with a list. Locate and select "Accessories and Utilities" and then click the details button. Another window will open.

On that window, locate and select "Accessories" and then click the details button. Another window will pop open.

On that window, scroll till you find "Paint" and uncheck it. Then click OK, etc etc etc.

When everything is done, then go back again, same place, same way, and check the box to reinstall it. You may need to pop in your Windows disk if your PC came with one. If it came with a restore partition instead, you won't need the disk.

Screenshot guide:

3645

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA W/ SOURCE CODE: Auto-Dim LCD Notebook screen to save electric

« Last post by app103 on December 23, 2008, 09:48 AM »

Dimming the screen is controlling the backlight brightness. So, that was exactly the link I intended to post.

The level of brightness of the backlight can be adjusted from a range of "off" to very bright, depending on what the hardware supports (just because the fn+arrow doesn't let you turn it off doesn't mean the hardware doesn't support it).

An application created using the information at the MSDN page would work regardless of the brand of your display, and coded properly would be universally supported by all brands of displays, provided it actually supports the dimming levels desired. (which is more likely with a laptop display than a desktop display)

I am still hoping someone experienced in writing drivers and qualified to do this, will be able to use the information provided at the MSDN link and fill your request, as well as the previous request the blind guy made for a hotkey to turn his completely off, with a quality application that anyone could use to save battery power, and not specific to one brand of laptop or display.

I have discussed this request (and the other one) with various coders, and the possible things that could go wrong. They have all told me they would not feel comfortable enough playing around with this kind of stuff on their own laptop display to attempt to create an application like this. If they mess up in the process (and yes, coders do mess up all the time and see the worst of the bugs before you ever see an application), it would take far more than a simple reboot to fix it, as it would be controlling the hardware directly and not dependent on whether Windows was running or not. Whatever settings they change would survive a reboot. It would even survive formatting the hard drive. A worst case scenario mistake could mean a costly repair to the developer that is testing his work on his own hardware.

3646

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: Lacuna Launcher

« Last post by app103 on December 23, 2008, 12:03 AM »

Cool! Thanks!

3647

General Software Discussion / Re: Cannot open Paint on Vista

« Last post by app103 on December 22, 2008, 10:29 PM »

Have you considered uninstalling MS Paint and then reinstalling it? It's quite easy to do.

Start > Control Panel > Add Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows components and find and uncheck paint. Click Ok, Next, next, etc., etc., etc.

When you are all finished doing that, go back and do it again, but put a check in the box for Paint this time, and it will reinstall it.

3648

Living Room / Re: Last second home-made gift ideas: HELP!!!

« Last post by app103 on December 22, 2008, 10:26 AM »

Along the same idea as writing a story, how about this?

https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=6725.0

3649

Living Room / Re: Last second home-made gift ideas: HELP!!!

« Last post by app103 on December 22, 2008, 10:12 AM »

This is how you make fabric yo-yos: http://sewing.about....ent/ss/basicyoyo.htm

It's so easy a young child can make them. You can use any scrap fabric you have, from worn out jeans, to messed up dress shirts, to stuff you outgrew a few years ago.

Just gather the fabric together, and while one starts cutting the circles, the other can start sewing them.

When you have a bunch made, take a look at what you can make with them:

a bookmark:


placemats & doilies:


dolls:


a Christmas tree:


A quilt:


a keychain:


and there is a bunch more things here: http://www.needlepoi...cles.aspx?NavID=1385

And if you are smart, you will keep making the yo-yo circles long after Christmas is over, storing them for the next time you need to make a gift. And if you run out of cool stuff to make, just search Google for fabric yo-yo projects

3650

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009: The Challenge Graphic

« Last post by app103 on December 22, 2008, 07:51 AM »

I am wondering how this would look on the zip hoodie.