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Recent Posts

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451
Living Room / Why Small Programs Can Take Years To Complete
« Last post by KenR on February 03, 2007, 08:29 PM »
Here's an interesting discussion of some of the factors that can make finishing programs take far longer than they otherwise might - unless you're Mouser.

One way to look at Salon co-founder Scott Rosenberg's new book, "Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software," is as an attempt to tell the story of a specific software development project -- the effort by industry legend Mitch Kapor and a band of ace programmers to create Chandler, a kind of turbo-powered personal information management program that would dazzle users with its ability to enhance their productivity...

452
Living Room / The MicroISV Show: Develop Software and Run Your Business
« Last post by KenR on February 03, 2007, 06:54 PM »
Here's a fun and clever way to connect with your target audience.

Joining Michael Lehman as co-host of The MicroISV Show is Bob Walsh, Managing Director of Safari Software (www.safarisoftware.com), author of "MicroISV: From Vision to Reality", author of the soon to be published "Clear Blogging", and proprietor of 3 websites which are useful to the MicroISV community: www.mymicroisv.com, www.todoorelse.com and www.clearblogging.com.

In this first collaboration, Michael and Bob interview former MicroISV and successful software entrepreneur, Joel Spolsky (http://www.joelonsof...are.com/AboutMe.html), co-founder of Fog Creek software, prolific blogger and host of the Joel on Software forums including one on the Business of Software (http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/?biz) on which many MicroISVs ask and answer critical questions about starting and staying in the software business.  Bob Walsh along with Eric Sink are the "hosts" of the BoS forum...


from http://www.joelonsoftware.com/
453
Official Announcements / Re: February 2007 Discounts: Chameleon Startup + more (40%) and Notezilla (30%)
« Last post by KenR on February 01, 2007, 06:18 PM »
February Giveaway and Discounts
Supporting Members, you've only got until February 14th to enter this month's Free Shareware Giveaway.  The Discounts run until February 28th.

This Month's Special Discounts and Giveaways:

-mouser (February 01, 2007, 06:10 PM)

Great Mouser. Thank you for getting us the discounts on these fantastic programs!!!!

Ken
454
Living Room / Underpinnings of Consciousness from a Cellular Perspective
« Last post by KenR on February 01, 2007, 01:05 PM »
Here's an interesting discussion of the neurobiological substrates of consciousness.

The young women had survived the car crash, after a fashion. In the five months since parts of her brain had been crushed, she could open her eyes but didn't respond to sights, sounds or jabs. In the jargon of neurology, she was judged to be in a persistent vegetative state. In crueler everyday language, she was a vegetable.

So picture the astonishment of British and Belgian scientists as they scanned her brain using a kind of MRI that detects blood flow to active parts of the brain. When they recited sentences, the parts involved in language lit up. When they asked her to imagine visiting the rooms of her house, the parts involved in navigating space and recognizing places ramped up. And when they asked her to imagine playing tennis, the regions that trigger motion joined in. Indeed, her scans were barely different from those of healthy volunteers. The woman, it appears, had glimmerings of consciousness.

Try to comprehend what it is like to be that woman. Do you appreciate the words and caresses of your distraught family while racked with frustration at your inability to reassure them that they are getting through?...


from http://cognews.com/index_html
455
Living Room / Alleged FBI Cybercrook speaks out
« Last post by KenR on January 30, 2007, 02:14 PM »
Fascinating and scary story of the credit card underground...

By Kim Zetter| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Jan, 30, 2007

By the time David Thomas eased his Cadillac into the parking lot of an office complex in Issaquah, Washington, he already suspected the police were on to him.

An empty Crown Victoria in one of the parking spaces confirmed it. "That's heat right there," he told his two passengers -- 29-year-old girlfriend Bridget Trevino, and his crime partner Kim Marvin Taylor, a balding, middle-aged master of fake identities he'd met on the internet.

It was November 2002, and Thomas, then a 44-year-old Texan, was in Washington to collect more than $30,000 in merchandise that a Ukrainian known as "Big Buyer" ordered from Outpost.com with stolen credit card numbers. His job was to collect the goods from a mail drop, fence them on eBay and wire the money to Russia, pocketing 40 percent of the take before moving to another city to repeat the scam...


from http://www.boingboing.net/
456
Developer's Corner / Many 2 Many - A Weblog on Social Software
« Last post by KenR on January 30, 2007, 10:59 AM »
An interesting discussion of the need for systems to elicit self-control rather than brute force measures to keep would be evil doers away...

We’ve all gone to school on the moderation and reputation systems of Slashdot and eBay. In those cases, their growing popularity in the period after their respective launches led to a tragedy of the commons, where open access plus incentives led to nearly constant attack by people wanting to game the system, whether to gain attention for themselves or their point of view in the case of Slashdot, or to defraud other users, as with eBay.

The traditional response to these problems would have been to hire editors or other functionaries to police the system for abuse, in order to stem the damage and to assure ordinary users you were working on their behalf. That strategy, however, would fail at the scale and degree of openness at which those services function. The Slashdot FAQ tells the story of trying to police the comments with moderators chosen from among the userbase, first 25 of them and later 400. Like the Charge of the Light Brigade, however, even hundreds of committed individuals were just cannon fodder, given the size of the problem. The very presence of effective moderators made the problem worse over time. In a process analogous to more roads creating more traffic, the improved moderation saved the site from drowning in noise, so more users joined, but this increase actually made policing the site harder, eventually breaking the very system that made the growth possible in the first place.


from alex3f
457
Developer's Corner / How To Get Hired -- What CS Students Need to Know
« Last post by KenR on January 30, 2007, 10:49 AM »
Some good info for those preparing for a future in computer science.

I've hired dozens of C/C++ programmers (mostly at the entry level). To do that, I had to interview hundreds of candidates. Many of them were woefully poorly prepared for the interview. This page is my attempt to help budding software engineers get and pass programming interviews.

Contents

    * What Interviewers are Tired Of
    * What Interviewers Look For
    * What This Means For You
    * But How Can I Get Experience Without a Job?
    * Quick Reality Check
    * Good luck!
    * Shameless Plug
    * Links ...



from http://www.lifehack.org/
458
Living Room / Wayfaring: Cool Map Creation Tool
« Last post by KenR on January 27, 2007, 03:33 PM »
Here's a very cool way to create and share maps online.

Maps, Your Way!
    * Create personalized maps
    * Share them with your friends
    * Explore maps created by others
    * Connect and collaborate


from http://tech.cybernetnews.com/
459
Living Room / Bubbl.us: Free Diagramming Tool
« Last post by KenR on January 27, 2007, 03:23 PM »
Visit the site to use their slick and fun online mind-mapping (diagramming) tool.
Screenshot - 1_27_2007 , 3_20_55 PM_thumb.png


from http://tech.cybernetnews.com/
460
Living Room / Downloadable Game for the Weekend: Bloodmasters
« Last post by KenR on January 26, 2007, 09:27 PM »
Our friends at ghacks.net have found another gem of a game - multiplayer mayhem in this free top down shooter. Let's play!

The game could almost be a clone of Quake 3 Arena or Unreal Tournament in 2D. All the classic weapons like the minigun, rocket launcher and lightning gun are available and can be used to vaporize the enemy. Even game modes that I do not like this much (Deathmach) are pure fun because the game is fast and intense and respawn is almost instantly.

You can fall of the edges so beware those positions, it happens often that a grenade explodes near you and the detonation pushes you into the darkness counting as a suicide, bad if you play team deathmatch.

Bloodmasters should run even on old computers the requirements are 1.4 Ghz cpu and 256 MB of ram.

461
General Software Discussion / Microsoft Word Zero-Day Attack Discovered
« Last post by KenR on January 26, 2007, 10:19 AM »
Here's Microsoft's latest security issue.

Microsoft's security response team has launched an investigation into reports of a zero-day attack against a previously unknown vulnerability affecting its ever-present Microsoft Word program.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker said it's aware of "very limited attacks" exploiting the reported Word flaw. If the vulnerability—and attack—is confirmed, the company is likely to issue a pre-patch advisory with workarounds or suggested actions or vulnerable customers.

The vulnerability was discovered during an actual live attack by anti-virus vendor Symantec. It affects multiple versions of Microsoft Word and can be used in successful code execution attacks against users of Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP.

According to an advisory from Symantec, the flaw is unrelated to the three previously known Word bugs that remain unpatched...

462
General Software Discussion / Top 10 Tools for Learning More About Your Computer
« Last post by KenR on January 25, 2007, 05:20 PM »
Here are several very good mostly freeware utilities for providing useful information about your hardware, OS, and software from DC member Veign's blog.

1. Autoruns: The most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys.

2. Everest Home: EVEREST Home Edition is a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC

3. Application Monitor: A very small API monitor that allows the user to monitor the APIs called by the given application.

4. Shell Extensions Manager: The ShellExView utility displays the details of shell extensions installed on your computer, and allows you to easily disable and enable each shell extension.

5. Win Updates List: Displays the list of all Windows updates (Service Packs and Hotfixes) installed on your local computer.

6. Index Dat Spy: Index.dat are files hidden on your computer that contain all of the Web sites that you have ever visited. Every URL, and every Web page is listed there. Not only that but all of the email that has been sent or received through Outlook or Outlook Express is also being logged.

7. Why Reboot: Displays a list of "pending file operations" (rename, delete, etc) that will occur after rebooting your computer.

8. Process Monitor: An advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity.

9. Start Up List: A simple tool that lists all and every auto starting program on your system. (from the developers of Hijack This)

10. Ethereal: Ethereal is used by network professionals around the world for troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education...

463
General Software Discussion / Re: Your experiences with disc catalogers and most wanted/used features
« Last post by KenR on January 25, 2007, 04:25 PM »
A few things that I think are important

- cataloging the files that are inside of archives - zip and rar at a minimum
- being able to search by file name as well as contents of file
- cataloging the information in a file in a specifiable location, which can then be appended to
- being able to specify when searches are performed instead of having it suck away resources all the time keeping track of things on an ongoing basis
- having the option of being able to index the contents of some of the files, such as doc or text files, as an example

Ken
464
General Software Discussion / Most Awards Award Nomination for Emil Fickel
« Last post by KenR on January 25, 2007, 03:30 PM »
In looking for a program, I ran across this site. Although I wanted to post it, I wasn't quite sure whether to post this in the General Software, Development, or Living Room section. Ultimately, I decided on the Living Room.

I am formally nominating Emil Fickel for the "More Awards Than Anyone in the Universe" Award. Should anyone want to be absolutely stunned, go to http://www.efsoftware.com/award/e.htm and look at all the awards he has obtained for his various programs. The attached imaged shows only a trivial number of his total awards.

Oh, and while you're there, you might actually want to read about, download, and try out some of his great programs at http://www.efsoftware.com/index.htm.

News
1/23/2007 - EF Process Manager 4.20
Shows you comprehensive information about which modules processes have opened or loaded, register/unregister modules to registry database, show the environment variables or the Windows error codes, operations like kill process.

1/17/2007 - EF Duplicate Files Manager 4.10
Find out duplicate files with same name, same size, same content on specify paths. Handle optional like folders the archive files.

1/15/2007 - EF File Catalog 1.40
Powerful program that help you to catalog all your drives (CD-ROMs,...). Browse and handle like folders the currant archive files. Extract automatically descriptions from files like MP3, executables or FILE_ID.DIZ.

1/8/2007 - EF Commander 5.80
The first Commander with direct link to PDAs (Windows CE only, since version 3.0, 12/01/2001). File manager, archiver, viewer, FTP-client, HEX-Editor and much more...

1/4/2007 - EF Find 4.20
A powerful search program. Look for files, text, HEX sequences and regular expressions also inside archives.

1/3/2007 - EF Duplicate MP3 Finder 3.20
Discovers duplicate files in the formats MP3, Ogg/Vorbis, FLAC and WMA.

1/2/2007 - EF Mailbox Manager 4.00
Manage fast and easy as many as desired POP3 Accounts. It can automatically query into individually configurable poll time the mail servers or download the messages to the local computer for future use.

11/16/2006 - EF CheckSum Manager 4.00
A program designed for the integrity examination of files on the standard formats SFV, MD5 and SHA1.

11/6/2006 - EF System Monitor 4.10
Shows you comprehensive information about your local or remote (over TCP/IP) system resources and performances.

10/30/2006 - EF StartUp Manager 3.00
Allows you a simple handling and complete control of applications which starts with Windows. The controlled starting mode makes it possible to start the programs in a defined order and optionaly specify a delay between them.

10/16/2006 - EF Multi File Renamer 1.20
A versatile tool for comfortable renaming of numerous files.

8/11/2006 - EF Commander OS/2 2.34
File manager for the operating system OS/2.

465
Living Room / Arcade Lines Deluxe - Flash Game of the Day
« Last post by KenR on January 23, 2007, 11:08 AM »
Play on-line while you download Arcade Lines Deluxe

Arcade Lines Online

Click/Drag balls of the same color so that 5 line up horizontally, vertically or diagonally to make them disappear. Use powerups. More instructions explained in the game.

466
Developer's Corner / 25 steps for building a Micro-ISV
« Last post by KenR on January 22, 2007, 08:20 PM »
Some good practical information for website development.

As promised, here's my 25 steps for building a Micro-ISV which are hard learned steps based on our experience getting TimeSnapper to where it is today. Each of these steps is both harder than it looks, and easier than you'd think.

It's hard because there are pitfalls, procrastination, miconceptions, anxiety, conflicting opinions and confusion at every step. It's easy because, hey, you're a smart guy or gal, so you can do this stuff in your sleep.

I'm planning to write a blog entry on each of these, and yes if things go very well, it may be a book someday ;-)

The big news is that Scott Hanselman interviewed me, about this list, for this week's episode of hanselminutes, out now! (Hanselminutes, for those who live under sedimentary deposits, is a weekly audio talk show with noted web developer and technologist Scott Hanselman.)

If you want to get some early tips on all of these topics, please listen to the show! It was a real blast doing the show -- far more excitement than this little geek is used to. Scott and Carl were very helpful with all the technical aspects, and Scott was just as sharp and witty as you'd hope...

467
General Software Discussion / Procrastinator's Clock
« Last post by KenR on January 22, 2007, 08:06 PM »
Here's a program I NEED to get.

Legendary web designer David Seah has a recent post where he releases what he calls the Procrastinator's Clock, which is implemented in a simple pop-up window in your browser. Although he considers it silly, I think this thing is pure genius.

The idea here is that many people (like me, unfortunately) set their clocks ahead in the hopes of being on time more often. The problem here is that if you yourself set the clocks ahead, you already know how much extra time you have. If you get clever and let someone else do it for you, it won't take long to figure out what your time buffer is. So, David postulates, what we really need is a clock that is sometimes fast, but not necessarily.

The Procrastinator's Clock has the potential to be up to 15 minutes fast, but it just as easily could be exactly accurate, assuming your computer's time is accurate. This means that you basically have to assume that it is correct, and you will likely show up for meetings or appointments with some small amount of time to spare, rather than walking in 5 minutes late and having to apologize profusely...

468
Developer's Corner / Esoteric Programming Languages
« Last post by KenR on January 22, 2007, 07:47 PM »
Here's an interesting way to spend your time - write esoteric languages.

    * BIT - a language that treats all data like C treats strings.
    * Chef - a language where the programs produce magnificent meals.
    * Haifu - a language based on Eastern philosopy and artistic values.
    * HQ9++ - a language which extends the elegance of HQ9+ to the object-oriented paradigm.
    * Ook! - a language designed for orang-utans.
    * Piet - a language where the programs are works of modern art.
    * Whenever - a language with no sense of urgency.
    * ZOMBIE - a language designed for evil necromancers.


from martin13
469
Living Room / Public Domain Image Sources
« Last post by KenR on January 22, 2007, 02:53 PM »
Here's a place where you can obtain images for your projects.

There are a number of sources of public domain images on the Web.

The presence of a resource on this list does not guarantee that all or any of the images in it are in the public domain. You are still responsible for checking the copyright status of images before you submit them to Wikipedia...

# http://lcweb2.loc.go...ammem/ammemhome.html Library of Congress American Memory site (Check copyright information for the separate items before deciding to use them!)
# http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/ - public domain images of American Political History
# http://www.exclassic.../newgate/ngillus.htm Images from The Newgate Calendar. Mostly crimes and criminals from the 18th century. Also other works at http://www.exclassics.com
# http://fromoldbooks.org/ Collection images scanned from various old books that are now in the public domain. Searchable. Used to be at http://www.holoweb.n...m/pictures/oldbooks/
# http://www.john-leech-archive.org.uk/ John Leech sketch archives 1841 until 1864 from Punch magazine The page states they are long out of copyright and that they are believed to be public domain...


from http://www.progressi...ans.com/frontPage.do
470
General Software Discussion / Cormorant: Flock's Latest Incarnation
« Last post by KenR on January 20, 2007, 04:48 PM »
Here is a nice look at the upcoming release of Flock's latest web browser: Cormorant

Following along with the bird theme, Flock has announced that their code name for the Cardinal successor (Cardinal is the current 0.7.x release) is Cormorant, a medium-to-large seabird. Originally, the next big release was supposed to be Danphe, however they’ve taken a step back to evaluate where they currently are, and where they’d like to be. They feel they have more work to do on Danphe, so they’ve decided upon an ”in-between” release which will be Cormorant.  Right now, they’ve got a pre-release/preview available for download. Ryan and I spent the last hour checking it out and taking a bunch of screenshots… so.. here is our mini review (don’t forget that you can click the screenshots to view a larger image).

–Download–

The screenshot below shows what the browser looks like right after downloading.  Because it is considered a “social browser,” you’ll notice that at the top are links to MySpace and YouTube. Down at the bottom is a bar that can list featured media from either YouTube of Flickr.


471
Developer's Corner / 10 Business Lessons
« Last post by KenR on January 18, 2007, 04:00 PM »
Some good practcal business suggestions...

As a companion to 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job and 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed, here are 10 positive lessons I learned from more than 12 years as an entrepreneur.  A few of these are rehashed from the 10 Mistakes article, but most are new.

This list is the result of the liberal application of the advice from item #5, “Fail your way forward.”

Without further ado:

Network selectively.  Nothing says “business newbie” like shotgun networking.  “You never know when someone might say yes” is marketing for dummies.  Take the time to build a profile of your ideal customers, and target your networking activities to reach them.  Speak to those who are already predisposed to want what you offer.  Almost any profile is better than “anyone with a pulse.”

Buy the best chair you can find.  You’ll probably use your chair more than any other piece of business equipment, including your computer, so don’t settle for a crappy one.  Consider a chair with padded arms and a high back (to the top of your head) for maximum comfort.  The most expensive chairs aren’t necessarily ideal for you, so you must test your way to comfort nirvana...


from alex3f
472
General Software Discussion / Window Arranger Software
« Last post by KenR on January 17, 2007, 06:53 AM »
Free software to modify windows and arrange them in a pattern to maximize desktop space.

Although monitors and video cards are becoming cheaper every day, it is still not enough space on the screen for those people who intensively use computer in their everyday work, such as engineers, financial brokers, software developers, etc. Do they need to buy another monitor? No, there is WinArranger - a simpler solution.

WinArranger helps you to use your workspace more effectively by arranging windows on your computer screen in the most optimal way. It can even hide windows borders and captions and system taskbar. Multi-monitor configurations are fully supported.

Its low system requirements make it possible to use it in your office as well as at home. Moreover, it has neat and straightforward interface, customizable hotkeys and features unique layouts which can not be accomplished by the standard means.

Key Features
Hiding of window borders and captions
Customizable number of windows per each monitor
Customizable layout for each screen configuration
Three modes for window ordering: manual, by process, by title
Hotkey shortcuts for quick operation
Rules for the flexible management of windows to be arranged


from http://tech.cybernetnews.com/
473
Living Room / The Programming Gender Gap
« Last post by KenR on January 17, 2007, 06:46 AM »
Some differences between vocational and life experience differences of males and females.

Thought-provoking article over at Venture Beat today. The author, Joyce Park, points out that there is a substantial gender gap in the computer engineering field since few girls seem inclined to tinker with computers on their own time. Her primary assertions are as follows:

Almost all of the male engineers I know report childhood experience “playing” with computers. I also had this experience, as did most of the female engineers I know; but non-engineer women seem far less likely to have done so.
If Programming 101 classes started with social software rather than math problems and competitive games, more women might discover an unexpected interest.
Women seem to be disproportionately attracted to careers where they feel they can help others — for instance medicine (which of course requires rigorous, highly competitive scientific training) — rather than careers that promise high pay or entrepreneurial possibility.
Male self-taught engineers often begin working with computers as a hobby — for instance, legions of Open Source devotees (including myself) began this way. Women seem less inclined to learn programming just for fun, and more likely to see it as simply a job (to be fair, many self-taught male engineers also seem to primarily see their work as a job rather than a personal passion).

474
Living Room / HushedCrush: When Talking to Someone is the Wrong Thing to Do
« Last post by KenR on January 17, 2007, 06:42 AM »
Don't have it in you to introduce yourself to that special person. Well, just send them an anonymous email!

Got a Crush and Don't Know What to Do?
That's where we come in!

Our system is pretty simple: You enter your email, your crush's email, and a message. They get sent an anonymous email from us inviting them to do the same thing. If they enter your email as one of their crushes, we email you and send them the message you entered.

Use our free MySpace widgets to display your crush count and the number of people who like you!


from http://mikeomatic.net
475
Living Room / Geni: Build Your Family Tree
« Last post by KenR on January 17, 2007, 06:31 AM »
Unique software that helps you build your family tree.

Getting Started
What is Geni?
Geni is a website that allows families to collaboratively build their family tree. Family members can then use the tree to learn more about each other, share knowledge about common ancestors and relatives, and stay in touch with each other. To learn more see about us. Signup & Invitations
How do I sign up for Geni?
Just start creating your tree. We will email you a temporary password. When you login for the first time, you will be prompted to create a permanent password.

If you were invited to join an existing tree, your temporary password was in the invitation. Just login to set a permanent password. You can always have your password resent to you by clicking the link on the login page.

Who can I invite to Geni?
At this time you can only invite family to Geni. Just add them to your tree.


from http://www.techcrunch.com
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