Recent Posts

36701

Official Announcements / A way you can help DonationCoder.com

« Last post by mouser on July 03, 2005, 10:29 AM »

Just thought i would mention something - DonationCoder.com relies on word of mouth to let people know about our site.

If you come across one of our programs on a freeware/shareware download site, and they have a place for users to add their comments/ratings, and you are an actual user of that program and like it, please consider adding a comment or rating.

Note that I don't want anyone to leave comments or positive ratings for programs they don't use(!) - i'm just asking that you consider taking the time to add comments and ratings for programs that you actually use when such a facility is available.

People really like to know that others are using a program and like it, and like the company that makes it.  And so few programs ever get rated or commented on that i think it can mean the difference between someone visiting the site to check out a program or ignoring it.

In a similar spirit, if you see a discussion about "what's the best program to do ..." and DonationCoder.com has done a review on this topic, consider giving them a link to our review of the category.

Of course always be considerate of any forum guidelines, etc. - the last thing we want to do is be guilty of spamming.  I'm just asking that you keep your eyes open for the appropriate place to point people to our site/software, and asking that you take the time to do so when appropriate.

I usually ask people how they heard about us when they donate, and they almost always mention some blog or forum post, which alerted them to one of our programs or reviews, so it makes a huge difference.

thanks!!

36702

General Software Discussion / free IE extra context menu tools

« Last post by mouser on July 03, 2005, 02:19 AM »

http://mattkruse.com/contextmenu/

This is a set of tools which extend the right-click context menu of Internet Explorer. By simply installing these tools, your browser will have added functionality which can greatly help in debugging pages, designing sites, diagnosing form problems, tweaking design, etc.

looks useful and should work on any browser based on ie engine (ie netcaptor, etc.)

found on our site of the week site (freeware world team)

36703

Living Room / Re: DonationCoder.com Mascot needed

« Last post by mouser on July 03, 2005, 01:46 AM »

it should definitely be a cartoon.
maybe a picture of a dog paying a cat to code hehehe
or vice versa.

36704

ProcessTamer / Re: also check out process lasso (new free lite version)

« Last post by mouser on July 03, 2005, 01:39 AM »

nice, i had no idea you could do that. cool.

36705

Unfinished Requests / Re: interface to manage right click menu in internet explorer

« Last post by mouser on July 03, 2005, 01:36 AM »

there is also one made by pc magazine people that is quite good.
ContextEdit -> http://www.pcmag.com...2/0,4149,9879,00.asp

36706

ProcessTamer / Re: also check out process lasso (new free lite version)

« Last post by mouser on July 03, 2005, 01:32 AM »

by the way, i didn't post the link as a way to say that process tamer is not going to be improved -
far from it!
Process Tamer will get a new round of improvements and new features as soon as some time is found for it.
Im just encouraging everyone to check out alternatives, suggest features they like, etc.

36707

ProcessTamer / Re: also check out process lasso (new free lite version)

« Last post by mouser on July 03, 2005, 01:30 AM »

can you set run priority to run as from start menu shortcut?

36708

Living Room / Re: how to give out software gifts

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 02:57 PM »

thats not a bad idea at all vegas,
and would limit prizes to people who at least check the forum once per week, which seems a good idea.
also you would only be elligible for one gift, so
it would make people think twice about signing up for every offer, since once you get one you won't get another

36709

Screenshot Captor / Re: memory leak

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 02:43 PM »

memory leak has been fixed.
new version (1.01.16) is uploaded and publically available for all.

i expect another release will be uploaded this weekend, so you can ignore this one if you are not using the program much and wait for next update.

36710

Backup Guide / Re: External Harddrive Problems....

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 02:22 PM »

newegg rocks.
though i always buy 5.25 so i can mount removable drives like dvd etc
but if you know its only for a hd then a nice slim 3.5 would be nice.
and has you say they are cheap.

36711

Backup Guide / Re: External Harddrive Problems....

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 02:00 PM »

glad to hear you isolated the problem.
my current enclosures are bytecc. they seem to work well and have an exposed front suitable for external dvds, etc. should you want to do that.

36712

ProcessTamer / also check out process lasso (new free lite version)

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 01:38 PM »

the maker of process lasso has newly released a freeware lite version:
http://www.bitsum.com/prosuper.asp

process lasso has the same aim as process tamer (and actually came out before process tamer), so it's definitely worth checking out if you like process tamer.

36713

Living Room / how to give out software gifts

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 12:01 PM »

ok this might be a delicate question since people might have a conflict of interest
but..

when a company donates some copies of a program, what i think we'd like to do is, save some to give out as rewards for guest reviews or for programmers writing coding snacks.

but then i think we should give out one or two to members of the forum (ie donating members).

but how should we decide who to give to?
based on subjective view of their contributions on the forum (ie have they helped people etc?)  but this might hurt people's feelings who feel they are being over looked?
or totally at random?
or based on whether they have some need for the program in question?
or some probabilistic function based on all these things?
do we end up giving to someone who doesnt need it?

any thoughts? we don't want this to be a big thing, with people trying to make their case why they should get some piece of software, since it could create antagonism.  im just looking for innovative ideas on the matter.

36714

Mini-Reviews by Members / Backup4all

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 10:20 AM »

i put my mini review of backup4all in a thread related to backup guide review:
https://www.donation...=461.msg2887#msg2887

36715

Unfinished Requests / Re: interface to manage right click menu in internet explorer

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 08:32 AM »

its a good idea and an important thing, especially for apps that add stuff you dont want.

there are one or two freeware apps for this - i'm trying to remember what the names of them are.
if no one else can remember i will dig through my files and find them.

36716

Screenshot Captor / memory leak

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 08:30 AM »

got a good report that the latest version of screenshot captor may be failing to free memory as it takes screenshots, which could result in it crashing.

a new version of screenshot captor will be uploaded this weekend with bugfixes and a couple new features.
anyone have any quickie suggestions, now is the time to suggest

36717

ProcessTamer / Re: Final version

« Last post by mouser on July 02, 2005, 12:43 AM »

i understand completely, i feel same way.
i wish the popup would last about 4 seconds.
i will try to fix it.

36718

Backup Guide / Re: Information about Backup4all 2.3.2

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 10:44 PM »

here are my impressions after playing with backup4all.  i will be adding these to the current review.

bottom line: i was positively stunned at how good backup4all was - BUT it still has a couple issues that could use improvement.


the company who makes backup4all made a post on the forum and posted a code for 20% discount on there backup4all app.
thought i would just share my thoughts on the program after evaluating it a bit.


first the good stuff:

• First, i think the basic organization of the program, and its feature set are fantastic; maybe the best ive seen in any document backup app. i think they did an extraordinarily good job of organizing the process of making backups.
• Using zip file format was great decision.
• great incremental versioned backups (but see comments below)
• super easy to use

then the stuff that could use some improvement:

• seems somewhat slower than the other backup tools i've tried
• Initially i was put off by the unusual button icons, but that's a simple aesthetic issue and others may have a different impression. 
• one other feature i couldn't find and would recommend highly if you don't currently support it (and i didnt see it): ability to specify *folder* patterns in the exclude and include filters.
• the options pages (wizard) when setting up a new project are superb - maybe the clearest i've seen.  but one thing that would be nice is
  having a "help" button on each page of the wizard that would take person to help page relevant for that subject.  it would really be useful for things like choosing the type of backup, etc.
• issues with exploring catalogs (see below)

extra comments:
I'm a very big advocate of versioned backups, and backup4all seems to do a very good job of it.

But it can be very difficult to find out what files were added to each backup set, and to in general search for modified files, etc.

I discovered that the restore wizard actually has a nice way of letting you explore each different backup operation and thus study which files were saved each time.

What i would really like to see is some integration into the main exploration display some more flexible ways of browsing through backup sets.  for example maybe being able to select specific backup sets and see the files added, or the ability to search for a particular file by name and see versions.

I really love the way when navigating to a file the program shows a list of all versions and their dates, and lets me view or restore any version (though it was sometimes excrutiatingly slow to retrieve files from older sets)

i think with a few changes backup4all could likely win our best document backup tool were we to conduct it again, and could win it when we revisit the issue in 2006.  The general interface and ease-of-use far exceed Genie Backup.

BUT i would like to suggest that backup4all authors look at the Catalog view in Genie Backup, it allows you to explore and search the incremental backup
sets, and does a very good job of it, and i think this is something that i would really miss using backup4all.

its probably the only area which would give me pause in recommending backup4all.

36719

General Software Discussion / free diary app..

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 09:58 PM »

i keep meaning to write a diary type app.
this one looks quite good and is free:
http://www.csoftlab....dvantages_Diary.html

36720

General Software Discussion / Re: Cool Java and other stuff — bodytag.org

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 09:38 PM »

that is just too cool. love it.

warning: "cursory" will mess with your mind

36721

Living Room / Re: DonationCoder.com Mascot needed

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 09:36 PM »

An image of a keyboard with some coins scattered across it makes more sense to me than a cat.

maybe we need a pic of a cat hunched over the keyboard typing furiously

in all seriousness - your point is valid wrt a LOGO - we could use a new one of those too,
but i was talking here about a mascot for fun stuff.

having the mascot part of the logo might be the best combo though, so you're point is not out of line.
im not at all fixed on the idea of a cat.. could be like a little robot.

anyone ever see the pictures in david ahl's famous "Basic Computer Games" (either new or old) - something like that might be fun, a happy computer on wheels or robot.

regarding logo, it would be nice if it captured the spirit of community idea - and not be so centered around the programmer.

36722

Screenshot Captor / bug: screenshot directory changes to c:\

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 09:31 PM »

i've had this report from 2 people now so i know it's real - i will try to fix this weekend.
(if anyone can figure out a reliable way to cause it to happen it would help me figure it out).

36723

General Review Discussion / Re: About this section

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 04:21 PM »

i appreciate that sentinel -
i sometimes try to think of ways to get out the word, but by far the most important has been word of mouth from nice people like you guys spreading the word about the site to friends and acquiantences. it's much appreciated.

36724

Living Room / Re: anyone know a tool to empty recycle bin when drive gets full?

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 04:18 PM »

yeah i was really thinking of a non-interactive solution.
it actually is not a big deal for me, i have enough space so this shouldnt be an issue, i just fucked up once and thought, hmm there should be a better solution..

36725

ProcessTamer / Re: Final version

« Last post by mouser on July 01, 2005, 04:16 PM »

do you want to make the baloon appear for shorter or longer time?
unfortunatelly windows wont let me show them much (any?) shorter.. but if you want them to stay on screen longer, that i can do.