Recent Posts

5426

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Release: Page Countster

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 29, 2010, 09:30 AM »

Hm... Not sure right now as the project is currently back burner-ed while I'm working on a production inventory/management system for the office (and T-Clock 2010 has my off time spoken for).

But I do understand where you're coming from. The scan date (date report saved actually)  is stored in the report file, it's just not given a column to keep the interface as compact as possible. However when you open a saved scan/report the message box that pops up displays the (that) date it was last scanned/saved. Granted it's in SQL (YYY-MM-DD) format, but that was a necessary evil for the SQL back-end and other applications in the suite.

Whenever I save a series of scan reports, I usually name the file using the SQL date format and location ID so it gives me a point of reference that appears on the title bar (opened report name is added to window title).

Let me know if that works for you, and I'll make a note in the project's To-Do list to explore other (less cryptic) options for last scan date verification/notification.

5427

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (beta - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 28, 2010, 07:54 PM »

For you Astronomy buffs, I've added the Julian Date as a custom formatting option (JD)

If you are wondering what the Julian Date is...

Today is: 2455283.5

Download in usual place

5428

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (beta - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 28, 2010, 01:08 PM »

Okay, as it turns out Hotkeys are a hell of a lot easier that I'd originally thought. So...

T-Clock Hotkeys
Ctrl + Shift + S      : Opens the T-Clock Stopwatch.
Ctrl + Shift + T      : Opens T-Clock Add/Edit Timers.
Ctrl + Shift + W   : Opens the T-Clock Timer Watch Window.
Note: Timer Watch will auto-close if it isn’t needed (has no timers being watched).

Now included in the new build available in the usual place.

5429

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (beta - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 28, 2010, 09:11 AM »

Trying out the first beta of TC2010 (congratulations, btw  )

Stopwatch can now can be controlled form the command line:

      /exit   : Exit T-Clock 2010
         ...
      /stop   : Stop (pause really) the Stopwatch Counter
      /lap   : Record a (the current) Lap Time
      /reset   : Reset Stopwatch to 0 (stop as/if needed)

-Stoic Joker (March 27, 2010, 01:16 PM)

Woohoo!  Mmm, command line options...Sorry, I'll try to contain myself.

The quoted 1 + 3 items appear to work as expected here.

      /prop   : Open T-Clock 2010 Properties
      /start   : Start the Stopwatch Counter (open as/if needed)

These made a corresponding dialog of T-Clock active -- which seems to make sense for /prop, but I'm not sure it does for /start.  Do you get the same behavior?

-ewemoa (March 27, 2010, 04:12 PM)

The /prop  &  /exit switches have always been in T-Clock, they're part of Kazubon's origional code. /stop, /lap, & /reset are all rather predictable as they assume (require) the stopwatch be running to effect their changes. /start however has a dual purpose (requirement) which will both start the counter and launch the stopwatch dialog window if it isn't already open. If the stopwatch window was already open, it would only start the counter in the pre-existing window.

Timers Can now be viewed/monitored:

Took me a bit to figure out how to make that window appear  

Some observations:

I had a single timer visible in the Timer Watch dialog, stopped it from the Add/Edit dialog (so this is neither expiring nor plain removal from the dialog), and noticed that the Timer Watch dialog went away.  Is that what happens there?  Not sure what I think of that yet.

I guess it would seem a bit quirky at first glance - But the logic behind it is that if there is only one timer(/purpose for the window) running, and that timer is canceled, why make the user close two windows just to get rid of it. Hence the window's self terminating if un-needed behavior.

...And yes, I do need to flush out the help file a bit in that department.

Highlight a timer in ListView & hit Delete - To get Exit Options.

This seemed to work for all three cases.

I started to wonder whether it might be useful to be able to start expired or stopped timers from the Timer Watch dialog -- and/or perhaps have some way to get the Add/Edit Timer dialog to appear via a hotkey or button press.  Still at the wondering stage though.

I've pondered that one myself, unfortunately getting the timers to restart from the watch window would require recoding the whole shebang from scratch as launching the timers is dependent on accessing a CBGetItemData structure which is only available when the add/edit window is open.

I haven't started exploring the hotkey option yet, but that will be dependent on how reliably I can make it without hooking even deeper into the shell.

Note: Timer Watch will automatically close if last timer is removed, or if a Single watched timer Expires.

I observed these two results too.  I'm not sure what I think of the latter yet.

[/quote]

Granted I'm assuming ... But...
If the last watched timer is removed, the next logical step would be to close the now un-needed window (which is why it's automated).

If a single timer expires, the alarm is more of an attention getter that a string of zeros (or the expired flag) so auto-closing the window while the clock is flashing & beeping saves an extra click.

The first (tricky) part was just get the thing to work ... ... *Shrug* the design behavior after that is up for debate. So let me know if it starts to grow on ya, or just itchs real bad.

Thank You,

Stoic Joker

5430

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (beta - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 27, 2010, 01:16 PM »

Okay, first beta of TC2010 now available.

Stopwatch can now can be controlled form the command line:

      /exit   : Exit T-Clock 2010
      /prop   : Open T-Clock 2010 Properties
      /start   : Start the Stopwatch Counter (open as/if needed)
      /stop   : Stop (pause really) the Stopwatch Counter
      /lap   : Record a (the current) Lap Time
      /reset   : Reset Stopwatch to 0 (stop as/if needed)


Timers Can now be viewed/monitored:


Highlight a timer in ListView & hit Delete - To get Exit Options.

Note: Timer Watch will automatically close if last timer is removed, or if a Single watched timer Expires.

Feedback Appreciated.

5431

Living Room / Re: Bluetooth PAN Network Adapter driver.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 26, 2010, 10:06 PM »

Re: #2

If those NICs are using public IP addresses and this server is your DC, the short answer is you can't. You also never want to multihome a DC because it causes major problems for your network.

-40hz (March 25, 2010, 10:31 AM)

That sounds awfully much like a myth to me ... If DNS is setup properly, all IPs assigned to the DC, will resolve (correctly) as the DC. I spend a lot of time with SOHO/SMB networks, and if you need to isolate services between public & private, and the budget only allows for one box. Multihoming is the safest way to do it without sending the administrative overhead through the ceiling.

This question comes up a lot. Rather than me blathering, take a look at this link. It shows a way to work around this problem.

http://social.techne...b2-9477-27ab158d3932

Luck!

Not sure if that was the link you really wanted, but that guy is just babbling about DNS config (which granted most people do screw up), and never really answered the "Can you use 2 internet connections" question. The answer is simply yes...but you need a router with dual WAN ports to load balance the connections like this one

Public IPs assigned to (a SOHO) the DC ... ... Now that's scary.

5432

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 26, 2010, 05:29 PM »

It seem almost poetic lyrical - Is there a tune that goes with it?

-Stoic Joker (March 26, 2010, 06:48 AM)

Good question

Up Coming Stuff: I'm currently working on the (much needed) "live" timer countdown interface. The plan is to have a single location where a selectable group of active timers can be monitored.

Sounds nice!  Would a hotkey to toggle visibility make sense?

-ewemoa (March 26, 2010, 08:11 AM)

Hm... I'll look into it.

Also working on making the stopwatch controllable from the command prompt, so a script can start/stop/lap/reset the counter for execution time checking.

Mmmmm, command line access.  More of that!

I've already got a few issues with the current CLI options, so what else I can do in that direction will depend on how well that turns out.

Beyond that ... I'm running out of ideas

How easy/likely is a non-registry-using (=> portable-friendly) version?

Inside Program Files (UAC/File Permissions/etc.) no. Outside Program Files .ini handling isn't really that difficult - So it sounds do-able.

5433

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 26, 2010, 06:48 AM »

It seem almost poetic lyrical - Is there a tune that goes with it?

Nice to know somebody missed the font issue, I've got 50+ Emails from people that didn't. The new size 8 font is actually not bad now with 2 lines on the (default height) skinned XP taskbar ... But I wouldn't try it on 2k.

I've been thinking it might be nice to get folks to post a SS of their clock configuration - if a vague consensus of form can be found, I'll make it the (new) default.

Up Coming Stuff: I'm currently working on the (much needed) "live" timer countdown interface. The plan is to have a single location where a selectable group of active timers can be monitored. Also working on making the stopwatch controllable from the command prompt, so a script can start/stop/lap/reset the counter for execution time checking. Beyond that ... I'm running out of ideas, but am reviewing the emails I received over the years to see if there is anything else I can add (that won't junk-it-up). <- Hint... ) Next build will most likely be the first beta.

5434

Living Room / Re: Facebook 'linked to rise in syphilis'

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 25, 2010, 08:59 PM »

Right, so who are the Vulcan looking make-out twins in the far left corner?

5435

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 25, 2010, 08:04 AM »

Here are the date time formatting settings i use; frankly i don't know why anyone on earth would use anything but these, so i suggest they be made not only the defaults, but the only option available unless the user is willing to hack the executable:

-mouser (March 25, 2010, 07:29 AM)

That seems a bit harsh...even by my (lack of) standards...

That looks like an awfully old build in the screenshot, but in defense (hehe) of alternate settings, here's  my current config at the office.

5436

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 25, 2010, 06:57 AM »

Okay, this one is kind of a quicky - but it's for a weird issue that has plagued TC forever. The font size calculation had a bugg that caused the size 8 font to be way tiny (and almost impossible to see). I've reworked the calculation method so now size 8 is actually size 8. While this change causes the clock text to need to be repositioned after settings are applied,  each time (in testing) it needed to be repositioned back to 0 instead of the offset I'd been using to center the clock. This implies (to me) that it's now being calculated correctly which finally allows the clock to properly self-center itself.

I also bumped up the font creation quality to ClearType Natural (it was draft) ... which seems a bit crisper, but I'll leave it up to you folks to let me know if it really is better. Download available it the usual place.

Thank you,

Stoic Joker

5437

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 24, 2010, 08:35 AM »

Well, much as I hate to regard silence as acceptance ... I gotta go with it.
[...]
As Always, Feedback Greatly Appreciated.

-Stoic Joker (March 23, 2010, 06:07 PM)

Didn't you see me post above?...  or was the link useless?
https://www.donation....msg199412#msg199412

-AbteriX (March 24, 2010, 06:32 AM)

Yes, I spent a great deal of time studying both your link, and wr975's - therein lying the problem - The more I read it the more it started turning into a "If this week, ws next week, last week..." Bugs Bunny skit in my head.

I tried googling for a clearer (straight) answer but none could be found. I was looking for a simple (straight answer) chart of the week numbers going back a few years, that would give me the correct answers according to (Hoyle...) the ISO standard, so I could compare TC's output to it. What I found was warring Brain-Monkeys clashing (pontificating) over end of week 53 vs. week 0. ...At which point I gave up, and went with what I had.

So at this point it's up to you guys to tell me if it's "right", as the only one of the 3 that I can/could verify with any accuracy was the Ww SWN - Which I ended up writing myself because the Timex formula struck me as just way to convoluted a method of answering a simple question.

Week = floor(((DayOfYear) + 6) / 7);       // (Can't miss - End of Problem)


Thank you.

5438

Living Room / Re: 50 Places Linux is Running That You Might Not Expect

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 24, 2010, 05:56 AM »

Interesting, but only 49 "surprises" ... Novell doesn't count - Not since they switched to (/jumped/bought) Suse because their own OS was too arcane to survive on the new hardware (no DOS drivers for SATA == byebye Novell). So They damn well better be dog-fooding that puppy.

5439

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 23, 2010, 09:40 PM »

Below is some feedback for: T-Clock 2010 (alpha -5- Release to DC).zip

1. All 3 of the afore mentioned Week-of-Year options listed above.

-Stoic Joker (March 23, 2010, 06:07 PM)

I haven't tried to grok the week stuff, but FWIW, I put Wm Ws and Ww in a custom format under "Advanced Clock Configuration Options".  What I see currently is:

[Select]

12 12 12

Perhaps that's working   Anyway, just some feedback on that functionality...

-ewemoa (March 23, 2010, 09:08 PM)

Yes at this point they all line up, but Ww (SWN) will go to week 13 on Thursday, Ws will go to 13 on Sunday, and Wm will go to 13 on Monday. *Shrug* I guess on other years it will skew farther - Making for a more dramatic effect. All I know is a lot of people were after this option (showed up frequently in the 300+ Emails I have received), so I had to figure out how to include it...Even tho the "Standard" is confusing as hell.

2. Finally... a help file describing the currently available custom format options.

I see and have opened a file named T-Clock Help.rtf.  I see sections for Date, Time, and Other Options

7. Finally created help file that explains how to make it do what it does.

Was this a reference to T-Clock Help.rtf?

Yes, Help file was the other most requested feature. While I was tracing through the output formatting code line by line to decide where & how best to include the week stuff, it occurred to my Hay why not take notes ... and those notes are now the help file (or at least a reasonably good start on one).

3. Bugg fix for the Menu Dismissal Issue (it didn't always go away when told - It does now)

I'm not sure I experienced this one before and I don't think I see it now.

5. Bugg fix for Child dialogs (Properties/Timers/Stopwatch)  failure to gain focus (pop-under) issue.
6. Bugg fix for bashful tooltip issue.

See remark for 3.

These were rather subtle, but very annoying.

 Thank you.

5440

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 23, 2010, 06:07 PM »

Well, much as I hate to regard silence as acceptance ... I gotta go with it.

New build now available (on first post) Includes:
 1. All 3 of the afore mentioned Week-of-Year options listed above.
 2. Finally... a help file describing the currently available custom format options.
 3. Bugg fix for the Menu Dismissal Issue (it didn't always go away when told - It does now)
 4. Bugg fix for Stopwatch's Evil Psychotic Twin issue.
 5. Bugg fix for Child dialogs (Properties/Timers/Stopwatch)  failure to gain focus (pop-under) issue.
 6. Bugg fix for bashful tooltip issue.
Note: 5 & 6 were closely related to 3.
 7. Finally created help file that explains how to make it do what it does.


As Always, Feedback Greatly Appreciated.

5441

General Software Discussion / Re: StreamTransport: Free Stream (youtube,hulu,etc) Downloading Tool

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 23, 2010, 12:26 PM »

Address looks to be a public hosting company in Amsterdam

5442

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Greenbox LogoMaker: Free

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 23, 2010, 12:21 PM »

Mailing list sign-up appears to be optional - or at least I could uncheck it and still proceed to the download.

Not sure what to do with it - I have 0 art skills - But thanks for the tip!

5443

What's the Best? / Re: Best file archiver/compresser

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 23, 2010, 06:41 AM »

Ask not why song the sirens fling...

5444

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 22, 2010, 10:26 PM »

Okay, so the farther I get into this the muddier the water gets. It seem that even within the "Standard" there are warring intellectual factions that maintain (rather philosophically) that the first (not week one yet...) part of the year is either end of week 53 - or week 0.

*Shrug* Best I can tell, I'm getting the correct answer for week 1 forward, so I'm gonna go with that unless anybody's got a (documented) better idea.

So as it stands now I'm working on 3 variants:
 1. ~ISO week starting on Monday
 2. ~ISO week starting on Sunday
 3. SWN (Simple Week Number)

1 & 2 are already working on test machines, 3 (the "simple" one) is proving to be anything but. However, it will come along (in the next release) eventually - Just as soon as I can find the right sized hammer...

5445

General Software Discussion / Re: Waze - crowd sourced navigation

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 22, 2010, 02:38 PM »

P.S. Stoic, text message to this system from a user on the road... "Traffic is really heavy at 4th ave and... scratch that, accident at 4th ave and Lincoln, I just rear-ended someone."

- Oshyan

-JavaJones (March 22, 2010, 02:17 PM)

While I do realize that eventually all of this gadgetry nonsense will finally gel into something SiFi wonderful ... I can't help but wonder who wants to cart around all this crap & why the hell do they have to fire it up when they're in my lane? (eyes-on-the-road/petal-to-the-metal/get-er-done.)


...I'll go away now - carry-on.

5446

N.A.N.Y. 2010 / Re: NANY 2010 Final Release: Leap of Faith

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 22, 2010, 06:38 AM »

  Touché

5447

General Software Discussion / Re: Waze - crowd sourced navigation

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 22, 2010, 06:20 AM »

Oh goody, another reason for people in traffic to be on the phone...

5448

General Software Discussion / Re: Dell: No refunds for Linux users who reject Microsoft's OS EULA

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 22, 2010, 06:11 AM »

Industry wide software return policy, is that if the package has been opened (so the product key can be read), it can not be returned. Dell's OEM product key is on the side of the tower. *Shrug* ...The key could have been read. May be poor planning, may not. But I agree that the guy in question was looking-for-a-fight when he placed the order.

5449

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 21, 2010, 03:22 PM »

Okay, dates are not one of my "Strong Points" ... So bear with me while I muddle through this.

As I understand in, we got 2 different Week-Of-Year (WOY going forward) standards, Simple (SWN) and ISO 8601. From what I gather reading the link you posted (thanks for that btw):
 Simple = day one (e.g. Jan/1) week one. 7 days later is week 2, etc., etc..
 ISO = week 1 of a given year is the one that includes the first Thursday of that year (and then it contradicts itself).

I'll clarify that last part (from the article).

In [ISO8601], the week number is defined by:

weeks start on a Monday
week 1 of a given year is the one that includes the first Thursday of that year. (or, equivalently, week 1 is the week that includes 4 January.)

Now Monday = 1 tracks with Thursday = 4 just fine (i.e. 2007), but if week 1 needs a 4th to be week one, there is no guarantee that it will come with/as a Thursday. So which is it? First week with a 4th, or the first week with a Thursday?

2007 1st Thursday was the 4th (perfect!). - Windows called it week 1
2008 1st Thursday was the 3rd. - Windows called it week 0 (but next week (was week 1, and) had 1st Thusday...)
2009 1st Thursday was the 1st. - Windows called it week 0 (but next week (was week 1, and) had 1st Thusday...)
2010 1st Thursday was the 12/31 of 2009. - Windows called it week 0 (but next week (was week 1, and) had 1st Thusday...)
Note: Both Window XP & 7 give the same answers when I pull the WOY out of local time.

So the kicker is really 2008; its got a Thursday, and a 4th (but it's Friday), and Windows called it week 0 ... Now to your way of thinking is that correct, or no?

Now I can pull SWN (as an option 2) out of the same place by grabbing Day-of-Year and dividing it by 7 (simple enough). The question is, do you think (based on above assessment/ramblings) that Windows (by default) has the ISO WOY correct? Or is there something else I'm missing/misinterpreting

5450

T-Clock / Re: T-Clock 2010 (alpha - download)

« Last post by Stoic Joker on March 20, 2010, 10:44 PM »

It looks like you can create multiple instances -- is that intentional?

-ewemoa (March 20, 2010, 08:26 PM)

  No. It's supposed to check for an existing instance on load and give that one focus if it's found.
(Forest->Trees ... shit)

That will be fixed in the next release.

Thank You.