Recent Posts

526

Living Room / Re: tv worth watching for a change

« Last post by allen on August 11, 2007, 08:41 AM »

My wife will be thrilled, save for the disappointment in the location of the airing.

527

General Software Discussion / Re: Top 3 programs you use

« Last post by allen on August 09, 2007, 05:25 AM »

Opera
FARR
Tie between AceText/ArsClip

528

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your music player of choice?

« Last post by allen on August 06, 2007, 12:41 PM »

I like what I see with VUPlayer but have not tried it yet. It's default UI looks rather ugly, but if it will let me do the things I want to do, that's ok.

-moerl (August 06, 2007, 08:55 AM)

She's not particularly pretty.  The black/purple in the display can be changed to taste, but otherwise it's just a standard windows interface--no skins. (and as you can tell from my screenshot, I don't use the xp themes).   The way things used to be.  I don't care for additional overhead to make something look less like software and more like plastic

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General Software Discussion / Re: What's your music player of choice?

« Last post by allen on August 05, 2007, 11:54 AM »

last.fm isn't particularly important to me, but seemed a critical matter in regards to the original post in this thread.  As the poster said, there aren't that many players that support it natively -- though might be something to consider.

The other day when I was playing with it, I'd tried most of the stuff I was listening to and wasn't finding any results. (Leonard Cohen, Johnette Napolitano (new album, didn't expect to find it), The Red Paintings, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)

Edit: I like free music, definitely going to have to give them a listen

530

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your music player of choice?

« Last post by allen on August 05, 2007, 11:21 AM »

I use ALSong for music. The deciding factor is the playlist because it's done RIGHT.

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

It does have very good play list management.  It does not, however, support last.fm does it?  -- The other qualm for me was that its primary differentiating feature (aside from playlists) is the lyrics browser.  Unfortunately, thus far not a single song/artist I listen to is in the lyric database Be nice if one could configure it to use other lyric databases out there.  But that's asubject for another thread

531

General Software Discussion / Re: What's your music player of choice?

« Last post by allen on August 05, 2007, 06:28 AM »

I use VUPlayer -- it's small, no frills but has great sound output and has all the features I need for simple listening.  It has native support for last.fm (audioscrobbler). Supports shoutcast/mp3 streams as well and has a number of visualization options, if you like that sort of thing.  As you can see, though--it's a player not a manager--just a simple playlist.

VUPlayer is a freeware multi-format audio player for Windows
supporting the following formats:

MOD • Sound/Noise/ProTracker
MTM • MultiTracker
S3M • ScreamTracker
XM • FastTracker
IT • ImpulseTracker
MO3 • MO3 Packer
MP3 • MPEG Audio
MP4 • QuickTime MPEG-4 (AAC/Apple Lossless)
MPC • Musepack
OGG • Ogg Vorbis
FLAC • Free Lossless Audio Codec
APE • Monkey's Audio
WV • WavPack
AIFF • Audio Interchange File Format
WMA • Windows Media Audio
WAV • Windows PCM/ACM
MIDI • Musical Instrument Digital Interface
CD • Audio CD
•

Features include:

• gapless playback •
• MP3/OGG/WMA internet file streaming •
• optional 32-bit mixing •
• 9-band graphic equalizer •
• volume, balance & pitch controls •
• full system tray functionality •
• timer playback/screen saver feature •
• configurable system-wide hotkeys •
• support for multiple visuals via a plug-in system •
• digital audio extraction •
• encoding to Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, APE, WMA & WV formats •
• Audioscrobbler support •
• remote freedb support •
• CD-Text support •

532

Living Room / Re: Thanks for the cards

« Last post by allen on August 03, 2007, 05:34 AM »

I knew invisible ink on invisible parchment with invisible postage was a bad move . . .

533

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Opera Widget Editor

« Last post by allen on August 03, 2007, 05:30 AM »

I can see how this would potentially be handy, but--really widget crafting isn't any more difficult than making a web page.  Little xhtml, little css, little javascript, some xml -- and zip her up.  Keeping the files together is the lesser evil; the real catch is being sufficiently fluent in the languages used in order to make a decent widget.

534

fSekrit / Re: Idiotic Antivirus

« Last post by allen on July 30, 2007, 01:11 PM »

Indeed.  I keep meaning to replace it, have loathed it since first download. Just so lazy

535

General Software Discussion / Re: Best search and replace software discussion

« Last post by allen on July 30, 2007, 12:58 PM »

PowerGrep is powerful beyond belief--but you pay for it accordingly.  The power and control available when using it is unmatched--and boasts a comprehensive system of backing up/rolling back changes.  I doubt there's anything out there that can do more or as well so intuitively.  Like I said, though--doesn't come cheap. (149 USD)

PowerGrep (Or if you want to pat me on the back, there's a link in my signature with my referrel code).  But, of course, I praise because I love not because there is a referrel program

My favorite feature(s) would have to be its ability to perform additional regex on matches (regex within a match) -- use it all the time, first capturing a block of [something], performing actions within that, then moving onto the next, repeat. Prior to PowerGrep, I spent a lot of time writing scripts to perform that kind of functionality. 

Copied from features page:

Apply any number of search terms of regular expressions sequentially or concurrently. Complex search and replace operations often require multiple steps. Use PowerGREP to execute as many steps as you want in a single operation. Run the steps concurrently (search matches won't overlap), or sequentially (replacements cascade onto the following steps). Save all steps into a single PowerGREP Action for instant reuse.

Similarly, while searching or collecting data, use a list of search terms or regular expressions to find files matching different criteria, or to extract disparate information from each file.

Edit: attached a couple images--the first is a search library that emulates syntax markup from a wiki script.  The second are the results displayed.

536

fSekrit / Re: Idiotic Antivirus

« Last post by allen on July 29, 2007, 08:38 PM »

Actually, it was quite a bit stupider -- I forgot to update the thread.  It had nothing to do with the application itself at all, but rather that I'd used a period in the names of the files. So it considered them as executables with double extensions.  Nevermind the "extension" before the .exe being all long and not-a-known-extension at all

537

Official Announcements / Re: How to punish DonationCoder if you are angry at being nagged to donate

« Last post by allen on July 25, 2007, 10:02 PM »

I have donated successfully since that first time, and to be honest I haven't taken advantage of most of the member benefits like discounted software or the membership kit, but being a part of this community has repaid my relatively small donations more than ten-fold, both literally and figuratively!

-Deozaan (July 24, 2007, 11:45 PM)

My father often joked about sales one day being his financial ruin--I'm sure many others have made the same joke; whether it's they or their significant others buying a bunch of stuff "on sale" that they otherwise wouldn't buy.  While it would save them money if these were things they'd  have purchased anyway, that not being the case the result is increased spending, not saving.

I say this only to say that the software discounts have, instead of saved me money, provoked me to buy software applications I otherwise wouldn't have.  Sure, they're purchases I love--but I'm amused that instead of "taking advantage of" it's more a matter of having been taken advantage of! (Not by DC, of course--just in general, damned sales stickers...)

538

General Software Discussion / Re: E Texteditor experiences?

« Last post by allen on July 23, 2007, 11:09 AM »

I'll admit straight out that it has been at least a month since I last tried it--but I found it a bit underwhelming, almost a teaser.  And already with a 35 dollar price tag?.

The built in version control seems pretty amazing for a simple text editor, and can see it being an amazing upgrade in a multiple user environment.  The text mate bundles are probably the biggest draw--but not so much for me.  The bottom line is probably simply that I'm not the target audience for e: I certainly don't "get" it.

539

General Software Discussion / Re: a honest review from someone who went full-time mac and came back to windows

« Last post by allen on July 23, 2007, 11:03 AM »

I can't help but chuckle at the constant attempts to claim one is objectively better than the other.  The bottom line is simply that they are both imperfect operating systems bosting overlapping but not identical featuresets and application availability.  At the end of the day, you use what you prefer and/or can afford.

Naturally the suits behind their respective operating systems want for everyone to believe their operating system is wholly and objectively better than their competitors (whether or not they are willing to invest what it would take to create something truly wholly and objectively greater) -- but that end users, too, jump on this is amusing.  I don't think it's even so much a matter of brand loyalty, but rather a fight to not be pegged as incorrect or foolish in your decisions.

This isn't directed at anyone in the thread, simply a blanket statement targeted toward the "My OS is better!" pissing/moaning contest that has been at the cornerstone of computing from the beginning. (and, of course, will persist well beyond our own life times!).

My favorite operating system was BeOS. It was novel, fun, short lived . . .  I won't say it was the best, but I liked it.  I love fiddling with/tweaking/customizing linux--but in the long run, -that- love leads to decreased producivity for me.  Mac never did much for me, its emphasis was in the wrong places to tickle my fancy.  Windows is my primary OS--if for no other reasons than familiarity and native support of all of my favorite applications.  But I don't have [whatever it takes] to claim I've chosen the best -- simply what I'm most comfortable with--for reasons of familiarity, convenience, and affordability.

Bottom line: pissing contests are silly. Should one wish to jump into one though, be mindful of wind direction and velocity!

540

Find And Run Robot / Re: Farr configuration decision: what's your opinion?

« Last post by allen on July 22, 2007, 10:16 PM »

Ahh, I expected I was missing something. Thanks for clearing that up mouser!

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Find And Run Robot / Re: Farr configuration decision: what's your opinion?

« Last post by allen on July 22, 2007, 09:31 PM »

Finally updated--apparently there isn't yet that check box to make it auto-highlight... and worse, has the option to configure my default launch text been removed? I can't figure out how to clear it . . . and really don't like having to hit escape every time I launch FARR.  Manual editing ini files "ftw"

542

FARR Plugins and Aliases / Re: KlipKeeper (A FARR2 Plugin by hamradio)

« Last post by allen on July 22, 2007, 09:11 PM »

Excellent!

543

Find And Run Robot / Re: Farr configuration decision: what's your opinion?

« Last post by allen on July 21, 2007, 06:56 AM »

Selected text makes a lot more sense to me (granted, that's how I use it...).

It's expected bahavior, in my opinion--you tab into any web form, address bar, windows text field -- the text is highlighted, standard.

Also, I'd think users that would be using alias[es] as their primary functionality of FARR would be more advanced users, or at least more experienced, not first timers.  So I'd expect the client behavior to reflect that.

I think the primary two questions to ask yourself are--
  1. Is the majority of the userbase using FARR with aliases the majority of the time
  2. If 1 is no, but you want it to become yes, is there sufficient intuitive aliases pre-packaged with enough documentation and nudging to encourage them to figure out aliases before they even get a feel for the program?

It's not a huge deal, as long as it's option, but IMO selected makes more sense and doesn't break common/expected behavior.  And, like I said, seems more like an experienced user rather than new user trick to me--and defaults are all about the nubs.

544

Find And Run Robot / Re: A long shot: anyone up for creating a fake satire hype video for FARR v2?

« Last post by allen on July 20, 2007, 10:27 PM »

http://www.stickpage.com/

-mouser (July 20, 2007, 06:00 PM)

Amusingly enough, a community for stick-death animators is how I met Deozaan so many years back

Sadly, the de-lifing of stick figures is the extent of my "talents".

545

Find And Run Robot / Re: A long shot: anyone up for creating a fake satire hype video for FARR v2?

« Last post by allen on July 20, 2007, 01:39 PM »

Don't forget that FARR is Web 2.0

-tinjaw (July 19, 2007, 03:00 PM)

*uninstalls FARR*

546

Living Room / Re: Recreate yourself: simpson style!

« Last post by allen on July 20, 2007, 01:11 PM »

Bit more sparse in the beard department than I'd like, but it'll do

547

Living Room / Freeware Independent Game: Cave Story

« Last post by allen on July 19, 2007, 10:38 AM »

Cave Story is an amazing little freeware gem--I've played through it once and will very likely play through a time or two more.  But I'll let the more qualified do the gushing--

Cave Story, or Doukutsu Monogatari, is a Japanese freeware PC side-scrolling platformer game developed by StudioPixel. It has been translated into English by Aeon Genesis Translations and will have an official translation script published sometime in the near future.

Cave Story is really one of those games that can be considered a masterpiece of game design. There are so many wonderful and classic gaming elements, that I cannot even begin to describe just one quality well enough to say “It is for this one reason alone that Cave Story is a great game.” There is just so much effort, originality and ingenuity behind this game and it really shows more and more as you play through it.

The developer, Pixel spent five years making this game as fun and as great as it is by adding solid controls, smooth gameplay, a great cast of characters and dialogue, an interesting plot, good music and beautiful old-school 2-D artwork. And on top of all this added multiple endings, several boss battles, tons of items to collect, all kinds of added secret bonuses and special challenges, various and considerably different methods of playing through the game depending on your actions, competition ranking features and an extremely high replay value. For a freeware game it is fairly lengthy too. Cave Story is by far the best freeware game I have ever had the honor of playing through and certainly one of the best games I’ve played.

The gameplay plays like a combination of various NES/Famicom games. Some that come to mind are Metroid, Castlevania, Megaman, Blaster Master and Monster Mash. Pixel’s art style and character design and boss battles are very reminiscent of Treasure games, like Gunstar Heroes, which happens to be one of my personal favorite games of all time. So if you are a fan of any of these titles, then you are in for a real treat. It was a wonderful and addicting experience playing through it and I hope anyone reading this who has not already played this game will give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed. It reminded me of why I enjoy playing videogames.

...Continued

edited to attach picture:

548

Living Room / Re: Nifflas' Games: Within A Dark Forest (wow!), Knytt (new!), and more (all free)

« Last post by allen on July 19, 2007, 10:32 AM »

I finally got around to playing these games a bit yesterday when a blog post reminded me I'd downloaded them back in January.  --apparently there's a new Knytt game, Knytt Stories in development, slated for release end of August.  The previews of it are absolutely beaming. Way too much coordination necessary!

I tried playing WADF drunk yesterday--oh did that go badly.  Way too much coordination necessary, time for a sober stab at it

549

General Software Discussion / Re: Need a contact form

« Last post by allen on July 19, 2007, 08:49 AM »

You could use JavaScript to embed a form hosted on another server -- I've never used any such service personally, but Kontactr provides such a service.  Other than that, if you can't use php or any other scripting language your next option [that I am aware of] would be a mailto input form--but it's going to launch the contents in their mail client rather than submitting via cgi.

550

Find And Run Robot / Re: new launcher just released

« Last post by allen on July 19, 2007, 08:34 AM »

 

Thanks cnewtonne, that cheers me up -- i always feel strange when i see another FARR "competitor" out there, like why am i breaking my back if someone else is getting paid well to do similar work.

-mouser (July 19, 2007, 01:04 AM)

I feel a little funny, I guess for you, seeing other "competitors" posted here too   Screenshots of apps like Dash make me grimmace, though--Apple-esque appearance not withstanding, I just cannot imagine all that candy can be as lightweight as FARR.  As aforementioned, the regex aliases are killer--and the wealth of capabilities available in FARR in you're willing to put a bit of effort into configuring it are most rewarding.

Think of the competitors as a blessing--they can skim off the "lower denominators" who'll be more at home with a pretty, simple application.  Otherwise, they'd end up eating up hours of your time requiring you hold their hand through setting it up and using it -- hours you could be using to work on the software itself.

FARR's what first introduced me to DC and one of the most used apps on my PC.  Went to use my wife's computer the other day and spent several minutes sure her computer was broken--alt+space did nothing, the catalyst which every application on a computer system relies upon was not present, nothing worked!  She did have something on there called a "start menu", but I am not one for fumbling with ancient technology that may or may not be booby trapped.