Recent Posts

3626

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: A-PDF: 90% off!

« Last post by Curt on December 09, 2010, 10:57 AM »

A-Pdf and Boxoft seems to be two parts of one and the same company.

Boxoft:

<Company_Info>
<Company_Name>Boxoft.com</Company_Name>
<Address_1>DaGuanNanLu Tian He Area GuangZhou</Address_1>
<Address_2/>
<City_Town>Guang Zhou</City_Town>
<State_Province>Guang Dong</State_Province>
<Zip_Postal_Code>510000</Zip_Postal_Code>
<Country>China</Country>
<Company_WebSite_URL>http://www.boxoft.com</Company_WebSite_URL>
−
<Contact_Info>
<Contact_First_Name>Alice</Contact_First_Name>
<Contact_Last_Name>Li</Contact_Last_Name>
<Contact_Email>[email protected]</Contact_Email>

<Author_First_Name>Alice</Author_First_Name>
<Author_Last_Name>Li</Author_Last_Name>
<Author_Email>[email protected]</Author_Email>
</Contact_Info>

There are of course many Alice Lis, but I would be surprised if any of them actually turned out to be this Alice Li.

3627

Found Deals and Discounts / A-PDF: 90% off!

« Last post by Curt on December 09, 2010, 06:45 AM »

You may prefer a huge powerful all-in-one, but A-PDF is the opposite: Many small specialists. Really many: 52!! $199 is of course a hole bunch of dollar notes, but at the same time the offer seems really good.

http://a-pdf.com/xmas2010/

2010 Christmas is coming, I wish that you would like our holiday offer, XMAS PACKAGE 2010, which includes almost all of our PDF products and cost only $199. That means, you will get 90% OFF! Take advantage of it Today because the offer will be expired at 2010/12/26.

-A-PDF

A-PDF Merger    $27
A-PDF Split    $27
A-PDF Size Splitter    $49
A-PDF Content Splitter    $59
A-PDF Scan and Split    $49
A-PDF Page Size Split    $49
A-PDF Manual Split    $27
A-PDF Image Extractor    $27
A-PDF Password Security    $27
A-PDF Password Security Service    $99
A-PDF Image to PDF    $27
A-PDF Deskew    $27
A-PDF to Black/White    $27
A-PDF Image Downsample    $27
A-PDF Word to PDF    $39
A-PDF Excel to PDF    $39
A-PDF PPT to PDF    $39
A-PDF Office to PDF    $49
A-PDF Publisher to PDF    $39
A-PDF Infopath to PDF    $39
A-PDF Visio to PDF    $39
A-PDF DjVu to PDF    $39
A-PDF AutoCAD to PDF    $39
A-PDF HTML to PDF    $39
A-PDF Watermark    $27
A-PDF Page Master    $27
A-PDF Batch Print    $27
A-PDF Rename    $27
A-PDF Text Replace    $27
A-PDF Page Cut    $27
A-PDF Data Extractor    $27
A-PDF Form Data Extractor    $27
A-PDF Scan Optimizer    $39
A-PDF Creator    $27
A-PDF Page Crop    $27
A-PDF Thumbnailer    $27
A-PDF Label    $27
A-PDF N-up Page    $27
A-PDF to Excel    $39
A-PDF Explorer    $27
A-PDF Number Pro    $27
A-PDF AutoMail    $49
A-PDF Scan Paper    $39
A-PDF to Image    $27
Flip PDF    $79
A-PDF Mailer    $49
A-PDF Preview and Rename    $27
A-PDF Filler    $27
A-PDF TIFF Merge and Split    $27
A-PDF Content Splitter Service    $99
A-PDF to Video    $39
A-PDF Restrictions Remover    $9.99

-A-PDF Product list

http://a-pdf.com/xmas2010/

3628

General Software Discussion / Re: Video player: What's the quickest (fastest/lightest)?

« Last post by Curt on December 09, 2010, 06:23 AM »

I use ALSong for music.
(...)
Disclaimer: I work for the company.

-Renegade (August 05, 2007, 08:21 AM)

(...)
So: When are ALTools gonna launch a genuine media player (ALLPlay)  ???  
- I cannot be the only one longing for this version!?  

-Curt (August 06, 2007, 09:59 AM)

ALShow was recently renamed to ALPlayer and it's finally out in version 2 now.

-Renegade (December 09, 2010, 06:10 AM)

 

Thanks for telling

3629

General Software Discussion / Re: Why is it so hard to create a video cd/dvd on a windows machine?

« Last post by Curt on December 09, 2010, 02:34 AM »

and for once with perfect timing: http://www.giveawayo...poo-myautoplay-menu/
but be sure to remember to disable MyAshampoo Toolbar during installation!  

However, the gift is of course ment to make you upgrade:
 

As a user of Ashampoo® MyAutoplay Menu, we would like to present to you a new and much more powerful successor version of your current program:

Ashampoo® Burning Studio 10

Now available for you! We would like to invite you, as a loyal customer, to test this new version free and without obligation now. Take the opportunity of our fantastic top offer today and make sure to get your upgrade for the brand-new version.

Buy your upgrade now for only 19.99 USD instead of 49.99 USD

3630

General Software Discussion / Re: Video player: What's the quickest (fastest/lightest)?

« Last post by Curt on December 09, 2010, 02:11 AM »

is there an english site?

-techidave (December 08, 2010, 09:33 PM)

unfortunately, no.

-superboyac (December 08, 2010, 09:45 PM)

http://www.softella.com/

have you been hanging out with those Russians for too long, boy?
 

3631

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 08, 2010, 05:32 AM »

This is not about speed, but today (and ending 24:00 PST December 9, 2010) dotTech is teaming up with iSkysoft Studio to bring everyone iSkysoft Video Converter ($35.95 value) for free! You can use the offer to upgrade to the $55 Ultimate version for merely $29.

http://dottech.org/freebies/19221

Edited:

You may go straight to the Ultimate offer.

Just so all dotTechies know. Before I committed to a co-promotion with iSkysoft Studio, I talked to their new sales manager about iSkysoft’s spamming. He reassured me he is trying to rebrand iSkysoft Studio and will stop spam-tactics. Otherwise, if I wasn’t given that guarantee, I wouldn’t have agreed to this promotion.

-Ashraf, dotTech

3632

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 07, 2010, 01:26 PM »

-and NoteBurner Audio Converter is the fastest!

I totally forgot about this one because I never have used it myself, and it is $35.
Read more at http://www.noteburne...audio-converter.html

3633

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 07, 2010, 07:02 AM »

 

.Wav, 60 minutes.

---

Regarding the downloaded MP3 "debate" file from 4wd's post: It was quite interesting to notice how much faster it is to convert from MP3 to WMA, than the other way around.

I used Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate to convert the 3 hours 'debate' file from MP3 to WMA. It only took 2 minutes, but it took 5 minutes to convert it back into MP3! My converters will not work any faster than 30, 40 or 50 times the normed play time - depending on the settings. This is where the key to conversion speed is to be found, meaning that most programs probably will convert with the exact same speed!

As Hank said, in this discipline (1 long file, from wma to mp3) MediaCoder was in fact slower than the other converters. I used to have a lot of converters, and still have some license keys, so I was tempted to do a thorough test. But the European Championship tournament in female Handball is beginning in a few minutes, so I skipped the lot and went strait to the target: If conversion speed really is so important to Hank, he should consider not converting at all; it is a waste of time, just in order to halve the size of the files! Speaking of "halves"; if you must change any settings, divide any number with 2 or 4, avoid odd  dividers. Don't use "Preset > Voice", it takes forever to create.

Sorry; I am out of time (hopefully not too literally!!!) Handball girls, here I come!

3634

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 07, 2010, 04:09 AM »

 

We decided more than 30 years ago in our church that a sermon never should be any longer than a cassette tape. Today we only offer our sermon recordings as "1 sermon = 1 CD".

Thanks for the file. I am going to test it now.

3635

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Sagelight Image Editor - pay what you want promo (Apil 2010)

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 06:30 PM »

-based on Rob's sections 1 and 2 (pre-release #1 and #2 schedules), I think it is safe to expect the price won't change before next pay-day / new-year. But it is of course not for me to promise ;-)

3636

Found Deals and Discounts / Sagelight license key?

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 06:15 PM »

Thanks for assuring us of version 4, Rob.

Kind regards from newly Sagelight lifetime license owner, Curt  

Edited:
Extra glad to see the low price even included VAT.

3637

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Sagelight Image Editor - pay what you want promo (Apil 2010)

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 03:20 PM »

The implication seems to be that the new pricing will only come with the actual release. OTOH, the lifetime offer could go any time.

-Dormouse (December 06, 2010, 03:05 PM)

-that was precisely my concern; the lifetime offer gone when pre-4 is launched - that is, before we know for sure 4 actually will come.

3638

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Sagelight Image Editor - pay what you want promo (Apil 2010)

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 02:06 PM »

Special Sale!

Get a lifetime version of Sagelight for just $39.95 (limited time)
Buy Sagelight Image editor now for $39.95 and get a lifetime license with free upgrades.




Why the Sale?

What better way to introduce you to the power of Sagelight? Sagelight is getting compared to editors like Lightroom, et. al., more and more these days... There will be a pre-4.0 release very soon, and the price will raise to $79.95 upon the initial 4.0 release.  

-Sagelight homepage

His blog was last updated November 14, 2010, so something is going on. Other than that it is difficult for me to see if Sagelight 4 is going to become a reality any time soon, or never. Should I take the lifetime offer?
 

Edited: I already have the 3.1 Gizmo version.

http://sagelighteditor.wordpress.com/
http://www.sagelighteditor.com/

3639

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Lightcraft Aurora - intuitive image editor; free- today only! (no longer active)

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 09:52 AM »

-I agree it is much too heavy, because it insists being a photo manager which it by no means is suited for. No, when I say it is very fine, I am talking about the afore-mentioned editor features, especially "Relight" and "Color Strength". No other program that I know of can adjust these parameters so subtle.

3640

General Software Discussion / SyncBack with Dummy Profiles

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 07:11 AM »

Note that if you're using SyncBack Freeware you'll need to move up to SyncBackSE/Pro to enjoy the following.

http://www.2brightsparks.com/

Be Clever with Dummy Profiles

If you want to have something handy to take with you when you leave the house (as fire/burglary insurance, maybe) backed up with your latest (perhaps 'slimmed down', 'most-crucial') data, then you can set up a Group with the appropriate profiles in it to back up that data onto a portable device, either re-using existing profiles, or making special ones with extra filtering or de/selection, as you see fit.

If you then want to be able to run that Group without much PC-interaction, now set the Group to trigger On Insert of that device. You can also create a couple of dummy profiles, called Startup Announcer Profile and Completion Announcer Profile (or similar), which have Speech strings in their Misc settings page, thus (as appropriate to the profile name & purpose, in the appropriate Speech section):

This is the %PROFILENAME% confirming that backup group %GROUPNAME% has started
This is the %PROFILENAME% confirming that backup group %GROUPNAME% has completed

You can adjust the announcements to what you like (or even use WAV files instead).

These 'announcer' profiles are set with Source & Destination pointing to two dummy directories created for the purpose, with a dummy file in one (the first run will copy it to the other) to avoid any pop-ups about 'no files found'. You can make one profile, Copy it to an adjusted name for the other, and simply edit the speech string of the resulting copy. Both profiles can use the same dummy Source and Destination.

These profiles can thus be re-used in any Group to signify startup and completion. You can then set the Group to run On Insert, unattended, and the whole thing will audibly confirm to you it has started, and when it finishes (provided you turn the volume up). You can then trigger the entire backup just by removing the flash drive (if it was already inserted) and re-inserting it (always provided SyncBackSE/Pro is running). You can then wait a couple of seconds to hear confirmation the backup has started, then continue on with your preparations for leaving, whilst awaiting the announcement of completion at the end of the group; then simply remove & pocket the drive.

This avoids the need to keep checking to see if the backup has completed - you can simply hear that it has in the background (TV, etc permitting). It might be most suitable for a flash drive on your key-ring, as it then makes it hard to leave the premises without your backup (at least, without your keys...), although you do need to remember to insert the drive to start with! haha.

This entire scenario assumes you have your flash drive set to disable write-caching, and/or it is unused for other purposes, except perhaps backups scheduled to occur at radically different times (e.g. overnight). Removing a flash drive in mid-use is definitely not recommended, and if the Safely Remove icon appears in your System Tray, you either need to disable Write Caching, or click Safely Remove (which needs the mouse, and maybe your spectacles, and detracts from the 'automated' aspect somewhat).

So there you have it. Get smart with dummy profiles today and ensure you've always got your most important data backed up and close by.

-2BrightSparks newsletter

The latest releases of SyncBackSE & SyncBackPro V5.9.4 are now available. If you want to purchase a key for SyncBackPro, I no longer have one spare 20% rebate coupon for one key. This offer will expire on 31 December 2010.  

----------------------
Price Changes For 2011
----------------------

We´ve kept prices of our software licenses frozen for two and a half years, and our volume discounts have been a steal over the same period. Now is the time to grab your license as price changes come into play as of 1st January 2011.

3641

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Lightcraft Aurora - intuitive image editor; free- today only! (no longer active)

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 06:47 AM »

If you create more versions of an edition, Aurora will overwrite the previous version! You will have to first change the file name in your file manager, before saving the next version. This is really bad.


Still I insist that Aurora is very fine program. But with disappointing weaknesses.

3642

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 06, 2010, 03:43 AM »

Not freeware, but low-priced and absolutely serious: http://www.code-it.com/  Their Wave MP3 Editor is a multi-tool that will cover any needs, including WMA > MP3_Voice. I wrote about it in the thread Code-it Software almost-giveaway. However, it seems some changes have been made and that the new top of the pop is the program "Code-it Audio Solutions", but I have undivided faith in any piece of work from programmer Mike Baker.


+ a license is a life-time license.

Screenshot from my "old" Wave MP3 Editor version (model-year 2011):




http://www.code-it.com/software.htm  

Is there any where I can download such a 3½ hours long speech, you're using, for testing?

3643

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 05, 2010, 12:35 PM »

Hmm... We have been testing two quite different things. When you first said your files were larger, I assumed they were of a higher quality, so I tested some Lossless WMA sound tracks. Now I see, your files were l o n g e r, (much much longer: 12.000 seconds!), but merely 64 kbps! Our premises have been from opposite ends of the scale! Sorry, I expect MediaCoder won't help you then.

Edited:
>Relevant Knowledge "spyware"< is shit, but quite harmless. The few times I have had it on my pc but wanted to keep the attached program, I simply moved RN from 'Start' to 'Start on Demand Only', via my AnVir TaskManager Pro.

3644

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: MajorGeeks discounts

« Last post by Curt on December 05, 2010, 11:55 AM »

MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 17 Plus

Special Christmas Offer: HALF price through December!

RRP: $99.99 Save: $50.00 (50%) Our Price: $49.99

http://store.majorge...vie_edit_pro_17_plus

I don't know if version 18 is just around the corner, but version Pro 17 Plus is well-spoken of  and should be worth this "half the normal price", I imagine.

http://store.majorge...vie_edit_pro_17_plus

3645

General Software Discussion / Re: save animation

« Last post by Curt on December 05, 2010, 07:30 AM »

you cannot "capture" it; it is a script. You can "run" a script. In Java. But you wanted to show it in Powerpoint, and PowerPoint doesn't recognize or support Java applets or Java scripts. Jmol won't do you any good in this situation. The only choice left is to record the area as a video animation. Google "capture screen +video", or something alike.

3646

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 05, 2010, 04:03 AM »

Going down from VBR "Quality 6" to "Quality 8", the speed accelerates to 50 times the normed speed: 540 MB transcodes in merely 94 seconds!!

3647

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 05, 2010, 03:40 AM »

The previous transcoding examples were converted into MP3 CBR mode. MP3 VBR mode is even faster:

From a single ½ GigaBytes, 78 minutes long 44.100 WMA Lossless (1192 kbps) file into 22.050 MP3 VBR 64 81 kbps: 112 seconds!

3648

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 05, 2010, 02:47 AM »

I'm keeping my point of view.

114 MB in 35 seconds:





270 MB in 80 seconds:

3649

General Software Discussion / Re: save animation

« Last post by Curt on December 04, 2010, 04:13 PM »

Frame the area in a screen recorder and save it as a video.

3650

General Software Discussion / Re: Fastest Audio Converter

« Last post by Curt on December 04, 2010, 03:51 PM »

I was confused by Hank saying that MediaCoder was very slow. It must have been the settings that were "wrong". 15 seconds to convert ("transcode") a normal 5 minutes song, from wma to mp3, is not slow at all:

click to enlarge, to see the settings: