Recent Posts

401

General Software Discussion / Re: Flexible List (data) Management - ListPro and the Alternatives

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 06, 2011, 07:06 AM »

Thanks. I can see it now.

Edit: I'm out of ideas.

402

General Software Discussion / Re: Flexible List (data) Management - ListPro and the Alternatives

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 06, 2011, 06:58 AM »

Ok. Btw since this topic doesn't have Treesheets and it's talking about grids, I hope you don't mind me posting about it. Last time I did, that turned out to be what someone was looking for.

http://treesheets.com/

403

General Software Discussion / Re: Flexible List (data) Management - ListPro and the Alternatives

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 06, 2011, 06:50 AM »

Hi, unfortunately the image doesn't load for me. (Domain unregistered. The one with the frog.)

404

General Software Discussion / Re: software to write gamebooks ?

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 06, 2011, 06:40 AM »

That is going to be tough. Well, I don't have any suggestion but if you have heard of ChoiceScript it can deal with the stats but testing is pretty much an interactive fiction rather than a book.

A storyboard program like Celtx could supplement the map but this is assuming mindmapping programs can't work for you.

The rest would have to be dealt with via a novel writing software or some other form of notebook/outliner. Maybe even a software wiki could supplement the randomized sections. If it's random events, maybe PopUp Wisdom can make up for it.

405

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / The reason why it's hard for people to finish their to do lists is because...

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 06, 2011, 03:51 AM »

The reason why it's hard for people to finish their to do lists is because when you are working on a project the elements of that project constantly change.

Full Comment:

I don't agree with this article. I know she sites a study about this but I'm skeptical of the results or the interpretations of the results.

I've always been a "to-do" person. I kept long lists of tasks and got extremely good at organizing my tasks into different categories or topics. But I never really got good at finishing anything. Every morning I would wake up, look at my list and feel like my tasks were never going to end. This caused me to procrastinate and take "breaks". I needed a break from thinking about all the things I had left to do.

I recently threw away my task list. I kept extremely important tasks but I got rid of everything else. For the last 4 days I have been more productive then I've been over the past month. I've also gotten into the habit of writing down what I've accomplished during the day. Now when I wake up I look over what I accomplished yesterday and it motivates me to keep accomplishing things.

I think the reason why it's hard for people to finish their to do lists is because when you are working on a project the elements of that project constantly change. You might also plan to do some step of the project but then change your mind or realize that there's another, better way to do it. This is how our brains work more than anything. Our brains are wired to figure out things as we go along and solve problems along the way. It's extremely difficult for me to finish a project if everything has been laid out for me in advance. The to do list makes me feel like I can't make any changes to the goal or to the steps to reach that goal.

If you want to be more productive try eliminating some of your tasks or responsibilities. I really don't think the specific way you "get stuff done" really matters. Everyone is different in that regard.  Obviously there are always going to be things we have to do that we really don't want to do but I think that list is a lot shorter than we think it is. What really matters is that you just do whatever it is that needs to get
done and you eliminate those tasks that don't really matter.

Source of comment: http://blogs.hbr.org..._great_finisher.html

P.S. I'll still be inactive. Quote was just too good to pass up.

Just lots of factors why I made this:
-Currently looking on my old posts and checking if there's any I can subjot
-Looks like Tree List has officially been abandoned which kind of sucks. Thankfully the forum link was still up. Hopefully someone improves on it. I would add it to coding requests but the thread would just turn into a feature list for any to-do app.
-The subject was interesting and this particular comment can be considered critical to improving the concept of a to-do list program though I don't have any specific ideas
-Finally wanted to add something new related to mouser's chore cards but saw the warning and didn't want to necro the topic even though it's just below this thread.

Anyway see you guys around. Too bad GOE pretty much kind of died out. The modified chore cards I used was just getting a set of trading cards and adding sticky notes on the back and shuffle them and then just do those tasks. Not really that good as the sticky notes prevent the cards from being shuffled well but it works ok enough for motivating me to do non-daily chores. (I plan to add this to the blog/e-book but lately the contents are not looking very good.)

406

General Software Discussion / Re: Flexible List (data) Management - ListPro and the Alternatives

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 06, 2011, 03:15 AM »

I don't really understand the thread but it seems like this is what Brainstorm was designed for. Don't ask me how to use the program though.

407

General Software Discussion / Re: software to write gamebooks ?

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 06, 2011, 03:09 AM »

Could you clarify? Aren't gamebooks just regular books but ones where you include things like stats and drawn art? Wouldn't a novel writing application or even a word processor suffice for that task?

408

General Software Discussion / Re: Generic Card/Board Game Prototyping and Playtesting Tools

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 05, 2011, 03:08 AM »

I'm not sure Stencyl fits here since I haven't really figured out how to use it but there has certainly been card games done on flash.

I think free rules card games are often gameable so design wise, it's probably much better to focus on advanced tactics than actions but I'm mostly talking generically. It would still encompass action but this way it would be easier for a developer to be warned where their game is leading up to. (Does it increase rushing, stalling, etc.)

I know the above can probably be fixed by advanced rule testing but I see it more as a critical perspective because it can define many things. Take the zone of say poker. It's all in there in front but the ordering of who goes first is such a critical moment that zones alone could be what has kept card games limited in reality and in many ways in most software card games with less emphasis on reality. The breaking away from zones then may then allow for a concept maker to accidentally or purposefully create a card game that's altogether much more different and balanced.

409

Mini-Reviews by Members / Subjot - My New Twitter but It may Not be for You

« Last post by Paul Keith on September 05, 2011, 02:28 AM »

Basic Info

Click here to jump to site

Subjot is a Topic based Twitter except it's not. It's part Quora, part forum, part Plurk (comments, not interface) and part Friendfeed (cross-posts to Twitter/FB only)

What's in it for Twitter users:

It doesn't have an external application that I know of but your homepage design is all Twitter with the extra options not really getting in your way:

Cons:

No retweet

No hashtag (although it has a better list system in-site but that doesn't get imported when posting to Twitter)

No notification of when someone mentions your username (although it has the same notification Quora uses which is much more powerful for when people you know replies back to you)

No saved searches

No auto-url shortening
 
What's in it for Facebook users:

The service still relies on inviting your friends into using it but you don't have to follow their every status updates. Just the ones you want to know about them.

I'd take a screenshot but the options requires hovering over an icon. Just remember this message which is on top of almost every page:



Cons:

No privacy. Right now all posts are public.

What's in it for Plurk users:

Same micro-blogging goodness that includes a comment system.

Cons:

It definitely has no similarity to Plurk's interface.

What's in it for those who have avoided social networks?

Currently it has a nice community. Even the developer is all over the place talking to users publicly in the comments.

Initially the interface may seem scary but it has the feel of a forum. In some parts superior, in some parts inferior.

The limited character count for example is adapted from Twitter but unlike Twitter it has a higher character count.

It may also not allow for titles but subjects are like turning Titles into Twitter streams. Say... you write a mini-review. You can create a mini-review subject and every post you write under mini-review will go there. It is also your own exclusive forum category. Others may make the same title but both of your contents don't cross-post unless people follow both of you.

There's also no direct image hosting or formatting but the textbox is smart. Direct image links show images. Youtube links embed videos.

Relationship btwn. Reviewer and Product

REVIEWER: The site recently went public beta and I joined it, liked it and switched to it. Even said it on my Twitter profile. Most of this review is actually tl;dr because the site is growing and it has only recently gone out of private beta but as I was considering some of my posts there and considered switching my Twitter profile for that link, I just decided instead of coming off spammy and bothering mouser to allow for a profile space for a service that may or may not warrant a space due to it's lack of current popularity. Why not just create a mini-review for it instead of coming off spammy.

410

Living Room / Re: Strange subtleties of the Placebo Effect

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 30, 2011, 04:07 PM »

I wouldn't doubt that. People tend to doubt their skepticism if they don't know how to verify it.

Often times it's easier to hope on a cure (assuming taking it means little to no cost plus massive gains)

We see this all the time with health drinks, religious atmosphere and even productivity systems. (and hell...web marketing)

411

Living Room / Re: Linux vs. Vista for an absolute beginner? (+related Vista/hardware query)

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 28, 2011, 07:06 PM »

ahh the irony of reading this on March 2011...

I'm kind of sad that I couldn't get more out of your comment f0dder. You usually are more detailed than this.

Anyways, nowadays Mint has a Welcome Message that's a lil bit better but as it's the case with web links - too darn slow/have to open the browser/right at the beginning of boot which makes it more tempting to close.

There's also a Study Linux tab on Ailurus. It's crude and is mostly liniks but the cool part is that the Tip of the Day can be set so that everytime Ubuntu restarts, you get a random tip (I forgot how to set it to on though) and there's also an option to submit a tip but I haven't tried it.

Of course the irony of this thread is that Windows 7 kind of shifted the discussion away from everything. There are even some weird people now who consider XP a "dinosaur". Kind of sad considering how much less of a leap 7 was compared to Win98 to XP but I guess that's how the ball rolls.

412

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Looking for Suggestions for Name of New Blog that Will be Abandoned

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 24, 2011, 03:53 PM »

New Q:

Any criticism for this lay-out?



Source

413

Finished Programs / Re: IDEA: Instant Notes - move mouse to top left corner to pop up a notepad

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 24, 2011, 01:37 PM »

(Just being a devil's advocate)

The con of hotkeys though is the high risk of program conflict.

Imagine having a program maximized and the hotkey opens up the notepad instead.

I do use a minimized to tray Akelpad for this though. Love auto saving only when mouse loses focus on the window (so all I do is alt+tab or minimize the window and it saves) Too bad there's no plugin for auto-opening a new tab off of clicking the tray icon.

414

Living Room / Re: Elgan: Why digg failed

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 20, 2011, 09:35 AM »

ugh... no personal insult intended Josh but if you're going to post a teaser paragraph, maybe save it for content that's actually worth it?

It just feels like I've been link baited. IMO anything that starts with Digg was undemocratic is a sure sign of writers either not doing their research or padding up the importance of Digg's "symbolic" hype without understanding that majority of users simply didn't care for that and the pudding is in the sentence about Twitter.

415

General Software Discussion / Software Creators Create Their Own Problems (Vimeo)

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 20, 2011, 09:27 AM »

Video: http://vimeo.com/2624186

Source page: http://www.rebootrethink.com/index2.php

P.S. Haven't read the book.

Blog page: http://davidlongstreet.wordpress.com/

Coincidentally, latest blog post:



Posted the image because ironically that's how the video sounded to me. It seems more like marketing 101 than anything else.

416

Living Room / Re: KewlAid.net - My Deepening Hatred for Fanboys

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 19, 2011, 11:30 AM »

I might be missing something but nothing there reads close to NSFW although it's probably cause I just skimmed it. (unless you count the F word in the last paragraph but I'm assuming at that point, people would either be already offended or apathetic about the issue)

I wonder where he makes the step from "OS suited for professionals" to "MacOS/Apple"?

It appears to be an Apple based blog so that's probably where the connection comes from.

417

Living Room / Software is Boring, Apps are Fun (Hint: Apple Discussion again)

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 18, 2011, 01:23 PM »

"Most of the software released these days, is boring. If you don’t believe me, browse around the software section of your favourite (online) retailer. See anything that excites you? No? Thought so."

Source

[/size]

How different is the world of apps. Apps are fun! They usually do one thing really, really good. It’s not as if ground-breaking mobile apps are released everyday, but there’s more innovation here than there has been in software land in the past five years. These apps vary in price from free to a couple of local currency. Only a few are what you would call “expensive”. While it makes sense to have small, easy to use apps on your phone, I wonder whether it’s a good thing the apps are now making their way to desktop land.

Some of the comments:

Tim Acheson said:

"Apps" are overrated.

Most are either pointless gimmicks duplicating functionality already available in the web browser. Apps are popular on iOS partly because the web browser is so bad! (Flash doesn't work, etc.)

Please don't compare the "Apps (trademark)" on iOS and Android to the real software applications available on Windows including Windows 7 tablets.

This article sounds like it's written by somebody utterly brainwashed by Apple's marketing.

Author replies:

"This article sounds like it's written by somebody utterly brainwashed by Apple's marketing."

That's why I wrote this article: because people are going on and on about apps (and it's not hard to see why) - not about new software. I don't think it is necessarily a good thing that the app model makes its way to our desktops (It's not just the Mac App Store, but also the Chrome App thing and future Windows Marketplace that try to cash in on the app hype). Still, software could learn something from the user-friendliness the best apps have to offer. Compared to some of the crap that lands on my desk every week, these apps are HEAVEN.

Tim Acheson replies:

"people are going on and on about apps"

That's so true. Of course, the word "app" is just an abbreviation of the term "application", but from Apple's marketing you could be forgiven for believing that Apple invented the concept of software installed on a base OS! Indeed, Apple is actually trying to copyright "App" in the context of their App Store.

"Still, software could learn something"

So true -- many of the apps I've seen look beautiful. I even think web apps could be improved by taking lessons from software apps on mobile devices. I asked a UX designer I work with about this, and he pointed out that the smaller screen real estate forces him to focus on the interface like never before.

Food for Thought:

Consistent with the mega-trend that reached the knee of the hockey stick curve 3-4+ years ago - the hyper-fragmentation of all things digital. -Philip Hotchkiss

418

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Looking for Suggestions for Name of New Blog that Will be Abandoned

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 18, 2011, 01:01 PM »

...if anyone have any comments on how the new Blogger turns out, please post them here too.

http://thenextweb.co...tent-discovery-tool/

419

General Software Discussion / Re: Nemo - it's like Outlook Calendar for files

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 17, 2011, 08:29 PM »

Basic Info

App Name	Nemo Document
App URL	http://www.nemo-docs.com/
App Version Reviewed	0.96
Test System Specs	Windows XP
Supported OSes	Windows XP/7/Linux
Support Methods	http://twitter.com/nemodocs
Upgrade Policy	http://www.nemo-docs.com/blog/
Pricing Scheme	Free Download
Reason for Reviewing	Link

Intro:

timns described it better than me. It's like Outlook Calendar but for files.




Who is this app designed for:

Hard to say. If you click on Nemo's Review Link, you'll get such ideas as:

Makeuseof.com

“I can see the calendar view being useful to anyone that is GTD-conscious (red: Getting Things Done) and may want to review files that s/he is working on.”

The Good

Google sync. I didn't actually try it but apparently it can sync with Google Calendar + Google Docs.

Linux version with .deb (i.e. click and install on Ubuntu for anyone coming from Windows)

The needs improvement section

The philosophy.

Spoiler

The application seems to be well praised and the marketing on the windows page as a file manager sounds good at first (the linux page is more honest: It's a new way of managing files. Or rather not manage files. Currently it's a cross between a calendar and a file browser with labels. It's a free/open source GTK application for Linux written in C#.)

...but eventually it becomes apparent that you can't create files and folders within it which is the main functionality of Outlook interfaces like these. Many of the reviewers also appear to be praising it not for the Outlook design but because it supports labels.

Unfortunately the developers seem to have forgotten that labels work for anything without folders not as a supplement to them especially when creation of said folders can be done in an actual file manager.

In the end, it becomes no more than a pretty "layer" file labeler before you actually want to mess with the files.

Spoiler

Unfortunately here too it fails because Months/Weeks/Days are not how most people sort files otherwise most of us won't be trying to clear up our recent documents files.

What is worse is that it simply flat out loses to it's alternatives, not even because it's still in beta, but because their concepts were better.

RecentX for example goes a whole nine yards further in trying to understand the file organization behind Recent Documents and in turn becomes a decent launcher versus a file manager that is actually a file labeler.

Everything, Locate32 and DocFetcher on the other hand are much more meaner and faster file indexer.

Finally for labels...well there are several taggers but I personally use Ultra Explorer...but any file manager that supports bookmarks/favorites can work.

I mention these other softwares though not to downplay Nemo Documents but to show how it seems to be missing an identity. It seems it took one potentially great idea - making a Calendar View for files...and just stuck with it.

Why I think you should use this product

For the ideas, the experience and maybe a lesson in marketing.

As timns said, this is still a software with tons of potential. It's simply an application that will hook you in at first and just the concept alone makes any user a marketer for it when describing it.

It's just that cool whether it is from the screenshot, to the tagline or even upon hitting the page.

Spoiler

It's also a perfect example of a swing and a miss in terms of marketing.

This may seem unimportant if you are looking at it through the lens of marketing as advertising but if it's seen from a usability enhancing perspective, this concept's limitation as a file labeler simply could have been it's strengths...if only it unstuck itself with Outlook and only tried to import the cool options seen there.

Take JetStart for example. It's a launcher that's "nearly" the same functionality as Nemo but without a calendar view and a file indexer and is only limited to programs but it works well as a file labeler because it tries to work within the realms of a file labeler. (double click - search - add for example over slow file indexing)

How does it compare to similar apps

As far as I know, it is a program all it's own.

Conclusions

Nemo is a pretty file labeler for desktop users and those who are looking for a beautiful way to see their files should definitely check it out but those who aren't wooed by the initial interface should just skip it totally.

420

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: [freeware]:WikeNotes for you to manage your notes with ease

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 17, 2011, 08:54 AM »

I can't seem to find a way to add multiple tags, is this currently how it works.

421

General Software Discussion / Re: A LOUDER Internet

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 16, 2011, 10:12 PM »

I think the problem with any pop-ups is the risk of having multiple pop-ups and the sense of rush to click on something + the extra click.

5 seconds would be just too fast to make any smart decision and over time it becomes a source of frustration once you start seeing those sites and it's just easier to close any site permanently. I however think this is a better idea for ads - just reversed to opt-in yes. I certainly prefer it over the confirmation pop-up those spam sites do when trying to close a tab.

422

General Software Discussion / Re: A LOUDER Internet

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 16, 2011, 09:12 AM »

To be fair though, since I have a slow internet connection, I'd rather audio to be pre-loaded.

Opt-in still but preloaded even if it wastes bandwidth just because most music sites require tons of "buffering" and it's not like many of them can be downloaded instead.

Oh and technically muting sites except via site preferences does come close to being an end-all solution except Opera under-advertises their options. It's kind of like Adblock/NoScript being close to the end-all solution for ad blocking software not necessarily because there may not be better options out there but it's good enough for making every site opt-in.

423

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Looking for Suggestions for Name of New Blog that Will be Abandoned

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 16, 2011, 03:24 AM »

I try not to think about it since this is technically a suggestion thread and I wanted to be as neutral to the names as possible.

As far as productivity concepts, some of the name suggestions and the choice of a hosted wordpress/blogger and being on DC or not pretty much opened up any concept I planned but nonetheless the intention remains for it to be an abandoned blog - sort of like a static page/online book but written in such a way that it's more akin to a blog novel.

424

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Looking for Suggestions for Name of New Blog that Will be Abandoned

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 15, 2011, 10:15 AM »

You can get domain name from namecheap at cost 9.95$/year and point it to your tumblr or typepad blog or dreamhostapps blog. I think that will do for personal branding.

Yes, where I live and considering I am unemployed, 9.95$/year is expensive especially for an abandoned blog. Could I find some way to acquire it? Yes, it's not impossible but it's still a noticeable enough drain.

It's not about CSS editing but about premium support and extended features which are usually required if you're web developer and building web sites for clients. For example, genesis (studiopress) framework has SEO and php hooks built-in inside the dashboard of theme, which you don't find with free theme frameworks. You don't need them because that's not needed for your blog.

All themes I have seen, including the crappiest free ones,  use CSS and allow you to use your own CSS.

Thanks for the clarifications.

425

Living Room / Re: More thoughts on micro vs macro donations and the turning point for donationware

« Last post by Paul Keith on March 14, 2011, 10:44 PM »