Recent Posts

4351

Official Announcements / Re: Draw Cody competition - win incredible prizes!

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 31, 2007, 05:04 PM »

Well done Audrey!!
Cody knows how to pick a winner!

4352

Living Room / Re: Fantastic Job Opportunity

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 31, 2007, 11:16 AM »

Some loser who types in ALL CAPS requesting "help" in developing a website guaranteed to make a jillion dollars.  The ad was packed with bad grammar, spelling errors, and soaked with the sweat of fevered imagination. 

No money up front for the developer, but "5% of the profits".

Such a deal!

-Ralf Maximus (October 31, 2007, 09:33 AM)

I don't want to seem critical here, but I don't understand your prejudice against Nigerian web sites!

4353

Developer's Corner / Re: Strange customer...

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 31, 2007, 11:11 AM »

Very pleased to hear your news, John!

I still think you were right to be wary.

For the future, it's still good to get a contract.  Even the most amicable arrangements between highly-trusted partners can go wrong at some point down the road. A well-written contract can help to settle things with less rancour should that arise.

4354

General Software Discussion / Re: Opening apps in a multi-monitor setup

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 30, 2007, 01:17 PM »

Force Window Visible is a simple free utility that helps in the worst cases of off-screen apps. It saved me a lot of times.

http://www.compendiu...rcedisplay/index.php

-yksyks (October 30, 2007, 03:44 AM)

Thanks, yksyks, that's a good one to know about.

4355

Living Room / Re: Postcards from DC members

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 30, 2007, 01:14 PM »

How about printing the two on the same sheet so that you only need to do one cutout and fold it? You will need to print the photo upside down though.

-Carol Haynes (October 30, 2007, 05:25 AM)

Certainly could do that.
For myself, I find it less trouble to use a self-adhesive sheet for the address side, saves messing around with a separate adhesive.

4356

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 30, 2007, 01:09 PM »

An we all thought you were off programming for filthy lucre - now we know the truth ... you've hung up you keyboard for a hammer and chisel !

-Carol Haynes (October 30, 2007, 05:32 AM)

It's only a small rack, Carol. It can't have taken much thyme.

Nice job, Mouser!

4357

Living Room / Re: Postcards from DC members

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 29, 2007, 08:32 PM »

i need some info on the "align the two" part. do you print on two sets of paper & stick them together?

-lanux128 (October 29, 2007, 08:00 PM)

Yes, I made a quick and dirty template with crop marks, sized according to the local mail's 'postcard rules'. It's all very low tech. 

The photo goes on heavy, glossy stock and the reverse goes on a self-adhesive sheet.
This gives a good printing surface for the front (image) side and adds a little more body when the reverse is applied.
It also lets me put whatever marks I need on the address side (e.g. "AIR MAIL").
Normally I print the address and usually, given the deplorable state of my handwriting, the  message as well.

I'm working on printing the stamps, too 

4358

Living Room / Re: Postcards from DC members

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 29, 2007, 12:35 PM »

i just checked with the post authority and i can't do that because of the different dimensions.. maybe a img2postcard utility could fix that..

-lanux128 (October 28, 2007, 11:34 PM)

Since my photos are nothing like as stunning as yours, I just crop whatever I want to postcard size and print that. Then I print the message/address side, align the two and it's done. I find this a good way to stay in touch with people (mainly relatives) who aren't into email. Carol's reference to Avery pre-cut stock is worth noting too.

4359

Living Room / Re: Postcards from DC members

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 09:57 PM »

maybe i'll just print them & write the address on the reverse-side and try posting them. would it work?

-lanux128 (October 28, 2007, 08:35 PM)

Works for me. When I do that I use premium photo stock for the image and add a piece of medium-weight self-adhesive sheet for the address/message side.

4360

General Software Discussion / Re: Extended Download Protection Plans? A waste of money?

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 07:58 PM »

Like most people, my extended download protection is a home-made CD with pertinent registration information -- so, no thanks!

Extended warranties are trickier. Generally, if I can buy something locally, easily, and for under $100 I wouldn't even contemplate a warranty.

I'm also reluctant to buy them for more expensive items. Most places from which I buy will replace something during the first year anyway. For some items that are known to be risky (a good example pointed out by Darwin is a laptop machine) then I might buy one.

The decision depends to some extent on just who is offering the warranty. It also depends on how convenient that warranty is to execute. An over-the-counter exchange is more likely to get my money than shipping something into the wide blue yonder. I tend to want (or need) a replacement RIGHT NOW for stuff that breaks down. It won't help me to get a by-then-redundant item at some point after I've run out and bought another.

4361

Living Room / Re: Postcards from DC members

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 07:40 PM »

Also, reading handwritten comments has an immediacy about it that is lacking in an e-mail with a jpg or png attachment.

-Darwin (October 28, 2007, 07:13 PM)

Spoiler

4362

Living Room / Re: Postcards from DC members

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 06:30 PM »

Good idea.

How about specifying a format so that images could be uploaded somewhere?  Too much bandwidth use?

4363

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Seeking Website Feedback for kid's product

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 05:17 PM »

cranioscopical, do you have any suggestions on where I might be able to get free pictures of energetic kids? I find plenty of Creative Commons and Open Source images, but I would technically prefer something public domain so that I can modify without having to attribute the author below every image.

icekin, I'm in the same boat as you, try http://www.sxc.hu/ ("Welcome to Stock.XCHNG, the leading FREE stock photo site!") but attributions aren't really what you want on a professional site.

Just a suggestion, in your shoes I'd grab a digital camera and some product and try the local school/nephews-nieces/neighbours' kids. If the results aren't good enough, perhaps if you 'borrowed' a couple of lively good-looking kids and took them with some product to a local professional photographer you might find the investment well worth it. A professional is likely to get the product placement right.

Good luck!

4364

Living Room / Re: Windows Install Date Thingie: I made it!

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 03:26 PM »

nudone:  i was going to reinstall windows soon but after seeing you guys with 4 years of xp use i now think i'll just leave things as they are

[/b]

I agree with your point of view.  You know, I'm really very pleased with XP.  I've had tons of stuff on and off the machines (like many of us here).  Very stable, very few problems.  Mind you, I'm only a user, not a developer.

I know I'll be using Vista one day but it won't be soon (did you see the nonsense where it doesn't want to install to a machine with > 3Gb RAM?) 
XP was the first Windows release of which I wasn't an early adopter and I'm very glad that I waited.  I intend doing the same with Vista.

4365

Living Room / Re: Windows Install Date Thingie: I made it!

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 12:50 PM »

This is my backup machine.

4366

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Seeking Website Feedback for kid's product

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 28, 2007, 11:06 AM »

Hi icekin,

I admire your technical  ability to put together a website!

Asking for comment always turns up some criticism, at least it does in my case when my own efforts are reviewed.  So, please don't be offended by the following remarks.
Since you asked, the site seems rather 'flat', a bit clinical.
I'm no designer, so I can't suggest how to energize things, but I do know I'd pass on this one if looking for investment potential. 
To me, if a site seems low-key it implies (rightly or wrongly) a lacklustre marketing/management approach (and perhaps, in this case, a lack of synergy with the ultimate consumer -- most kids I know like more enthusiasm).
Have you any pictures of kids enjoying or showing enthusiastic interest in the product?

I hope  the project turns out well for you!

4367

General Software Discussion / Re: Share Usb Devices

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 26, 2007, 11:17 PM »

I still have a hard time figuring out how this feature would be useful...

I guess I see that it makes sense if one has to use a specific and costly chunk of hardware.

I'm so lazy that any peripheral that I use needs to be within arm's reach.
Of course, as my possessions have increased over the years this has meant an increasing resemblance to our knuckle-dragging forbears. 

4368

General Software Discussion / Re: Share Usb Devices

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 26, 2007, 05:44 PM »

This thread is OLD but thought I'd update it - just came across Masters ITC BlindScanner Pro and thought of this thread. It is specifically designed to allow users to do what Earthcoder was asking about - share a scanner.

I've no interest in this functionality, so haven't tried the software. It advertises:

The BlindScanner Pro software will share and open access to a scanner on the local area network that is not directly connected to your computer, but installed on a computer located in the neighboring room, for example.

-Darwin (October 26, 2007, 09:11 AM)

FWIW Giveaway of the Day (for Friday 26 Oct, 2007) has Scanitto on offer, which is part -- but only part -- of what you describe http://www.giveawayo...theday.com/scanitto/

Description from Giveaway's site:

Spoiler

Scanitto is a lite application for aquiring images from TWAIN scanners. It allows scannning, saving scanned images in various formats (bmp, jpeg, tiff, png, pdf, gif) and sending output images directly to the printer. Scanitto does the job in 4 easy steps: selecting TWAIN device, setting scanning parameters, aquiring images and perfroming images management.
Features:

    * Simple and user-friendly interface;
    * Direct-printing scanned images that can also be saved in the following formats: bmp, jpeg, tiff, png, pdf, gif;
    * Possibilty to change resolution/color depth;
    * Compatibility with all TWAIN scanners.

4369

Living Room / Re: dotNET compiler for LOLCODE

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 26, 2007, 03:55 PM »

I thought so too, which is why I made a contribution. 

http://lolcode.com/proposals/1.3/loop

-JennyB (October 26, 2007, 12:12 PM)

droll 

4370

Living Room / Re: Windows Install Date Thingie: I made it!

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 26, 2007, 01:39 PM »

Neat toy, Ralf!

On the machine I'm at right now, 2 years, 7 months etc.

4371

Living Room / Re: RalfPocalypse v1.0 - Official Bug Tracking and Feature Request Thread

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 25, 2007, 10:14 AM »

Fax feature sends random document regardless of file selected.

And, apparently, at random times. 
By the way, thanks for the fax gallimaufry that I received at 03:00, 04:04 and 04:46. 
Since I couldn't get back to sleep again after the last one it was good to have 197 pages to read.

4372

Living Room / Re: RalfPocalypse v1.0 - Official Bug Tracking and Feature Request Thread

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 25, 2007, 10:05 AM »

REQUEST: After observing the drain on resources, the "RalfPocalypse" animation should also rotate counter-clockwise for Australian users.

4373

Official Announcements / Re: Draw Cody competition - win incredible prizes!

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 24, 2007, 08:54 PM »

Fortunately, thanks to Aesop, Cody found another distant relative
who seems to have laid this golden egg.

It seems to be cracked, hmmm
Could be some potential here...

4374

Official Announcements / Re: Draw Cody competition - win incredible prizes!

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 24, 2007, 04:47 PM »

The sad event came about this way...

Cody drew inspiration from the writings of one of his distant relatives (Mother Goose).
In this case "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers..."

Unfortunately, Cody mistook the noun 'peck' for a verb and acted accordingly!

 

4375

Post New Requests Here / Re: REQUEST: Picture Codyfier

« Last post by cranioscopical on October 23, 2007, 10:29 PM »

What fun!
What an amiable bird!