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551

Developer's Corner / Re: Create web2.0 style stripe textures online with this fun tool

« Last post by allen on July 06, 2007, 03:18 PM »

He is categorically a security Ninja. But shh, it's a fsekrit!

552

Developer's Corner / Re: Create web2.0 style stripe textures online with this fun tool

« Last post by allen on July 05, 2007, 08:45 AM »

But back to this site, beyond all the fun and clever semantic discussions, there is one thing that makes it a representative ultimate web2.0 site:  it doesn't work as well as it looks

-iphigenie (July 05, 2007, 08:36 AM)

I wasn't going to say anything--I thought it was just an Opera problem, and "Web 2.0" notoriously leaves us Opera users out in the cold.  I didn't feel the tool was worth firing up another browser -- I really didn't need any stripes.

Perhaps I was a bit hasty with my judgement. My mistake was not defining web 2.0 properly.  If pretty, broken, over-hyped and underwhelming is web 2.0, we have found the crowning glory.

553

Developer's Corner / Re: Create web2.0 style stripe textures online with this fun tool

« Last post by allen on July 05, 2007, 08:05 AM »

I'm familiar with O'Reily's coining of the term--and the spirit he coined it in is good.  Unfortunately, the web 2.0 movement I see most commonly is nothing more than a certain homogeny that allows the developers to leverage/harness the momentum of a certain demographic--a demographic of bloodhounds who howl and pursue ravenously anything with "Web 2.0" in its nomenclature.  If you had no self-respect and really wanted to grow donation coder, all you'd have to do is overlay this website with that special, bubbled shiny "2.0" aesthetic, throw in some stripes, and sub-title this website.  "Donation Coder -- The Web 2.0 Software Distribution Model" and the hounds would come.

How is a stripe not just part of, but the definitive tool of "Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform." -- unless rules for success include/are equal to . . .  stripes.  I agree with you, Mouser, that some things are taken for granted.  Some things should be taken for granted! A stripe generator is a novel tool with a very limited application.  I am not saying it shouldn't be created.  I'm saying that it shouldn't be over emphasized.  The problem isn't that there is a stripe generator, the problem is that there is a stripe generator--and a slew of other web apps--that compensate for their underwhelming feature set and limited scope by claiming to be web 2.0.  If your application can't excite end users on its own, label it web 2.0.  After all, if someone doesn't "get" an app dubbed Web 2.0, it's not because the App is underwhelming or poorly conceived.  It's because they don't get Web 2.0.

In all fairness--Forgetting it thinks it's web 2.0's definitive tool, I'd review it as such:

The Stripe generator does precisely as its name implies.  It generates stripes.  If you want to generate a striped tile to use as a background for something, there's no better online application for it that I know of.  You pick the colors, the line density and choose from 4 possible angles and your tile is generated on the fly.  There are community features provided allowing stripe enthusiasts to share their designs and discover those created by others.

Here's my problem, though--the author of this application has not asked to be judged on the merits of his application alone.  My problem isn't with the stripe generator, sure, it generates stripes.  But since he has gone to all the trouble to label it the definitive web 2.0, I feel obligated to discuss it according to the promises inherently made by the author.  With apology to those reading, my griping continues.

Consider this--nearly all "Web 2.0" calibre developers are first and foremost graphic designers who use the Internet as a vehicle for their skills in aesthetics.  These graphic designers tools are capable of everything the stripe generator does--and can produce striped fills every bit as quickly.  They also have far more control over the angles, line density, gradience and so on.  They can create this locally, thereby removing the download step before they upload it to their server.  Bottom line:  The target audience for this elaborate stripe generator are the sniffers--those web 2.0 bloodhounds.  I know, I'm a bigot--I vehemently despise leveraging indiscriminate, pop-culture sensational band wagons.  Unfortunately, that's all web 2.0 means to me--which is to say it's a meaningless marketing gimmick deployed by web developers who are either not confident enough in their work or not creative enough to release an application on its own merits.  Let the end users play with your masterpiece--and if they dub it web 2.0, wonderful--let the hounds come.  But spare me the prescribed bewilderment.  Let me decide whether or not stripes are definitive web 2.0 tool.

If, in speaking of web 2.0, a stripe generator meets the following criteria--I retract my rant.

serving to supply a final answer, solution, or evaluation and to end an unsettled unresolved condition

Web 2.0 is certainly "an unsettled, unresolved condition" -- but, please, are stripes the answer?

554

Developer's Corner / Re: Create web2.0 style stripe textures online with this fun tool

« Last post by allen on July 05, 2007, 06:31 AM »

Not an attack on you mouser . . . but this link is more than just a novel tool for me.  It's a cold, shocking reality check.  We're talking about somebody putting together an all out web design, complete with a blog, blog-independent comments, folksonomy functionality--all of this for a little ajax toy that . . . makes stripes.  It makes stripes.  I have to say it again.  It makes stripes.

Now, I will admit openly I'm not fond of this hype-tastic labelling "Web 2.0".  I think it's a vague, stupid label applied to any and everything shiny for the sake of stirring (oft undue) hype.  I mean, honestly, what is "Web 2.0" outside of that context? And this striped shit only serves to validate my qualms.

How did the author not choke on his own vommit when he dubbed his striper "The ultimate tool for web 2.0 designers" ? Seriously, a thing to make a striped texture is the ultimate tool for a web 2.0 designer?  To be 2.0, not only must you master ajax -- you too must, must, must don the striped uniform of the 2.0 movement. Forward thinking thinking web designers wear stripes!

Dubbed as anything else, I could have appreciated this tool.  But their jumping on, if not altogether hanging on, the 2.0 label -- going so far as to claim that stripes are the definitive tool of the web 2.0 designer -- it sickens me.  To me, the web 2.0 movement is to web development what the Boy Band and Pop Diva movements are to music.  Over hyped, over packaged shit that everybody devours.

Look at the comments on this thing--they are absolutely raving.  I assure you if it didn't claim to be definitive web 2.0, the comments would be mixed -- half people saying "WTF, it makes stripes? Who cares?" -- but hell, if it says it's 2.0, then by golly you'd better throw yourself at it. Love it. Lust after it.  After all, you aren't anybody unless you're 2.0!

But come on . . . this thing makes stripes. That's what it does. That's all it does. It . . . makes stripes.

Useful? In a limited context.  Web 2.0? Maybe. Definitive tool? I certainly hope not.

If I ever brand anything I create "Web 2.0", please--for the love of Bumba, Zeus, God, Lucifer, Tom Selleck: Kill me.

555

General Software Discussion / Re: ONLINE RSS Reader?

« Last post by allen on July 03, 2007, 10:20 PM »

My favorites are Google Reader and Rojo -- the former really seems closest to what you want, but alas--no hovering.  I'm not sure about Rojo, for me ability to use the keyboard rather than the mouse is key.

556

Living Room / Re: Anyone planning on buying an iPhone?

« Last post by allen on June 30, 2007, 01:06 AM »

I've oft said Apple products are 55% hype, 45% product -- which isn't to say they're bad products.  They're not.  But they're not great, either.  They just happen to know how to [brilliantly] tap into the core of pop culture.  Personally, I'd prefer nearly any media player over the hypeP... iPod.   I really hate proprietary shit--I refuse to pay for hardware that requires proprietary software in order to utilize it.  Probably stems from my Linux days.

Screen smudgery will definitely be an issue (reminds me of the PSP) --though I don't think earwax will be any more a problem than it is with your average cell phone (or home phone) .  I'm with you 100%, though, Z -- I hate the phone--wired or not.  Last thing I'm going to do is spend an excessive amount of money on a technology that is at its core my bane.

557

Best Text Editor / Re: Boxer Text Editor

« Last post by allen on June 26, 2007, 05:48 PM »

Nice to see a responsive software author - that's always a big plus

-f0dder (June 26, 2007, 05:41 PM)

Indeed!

558

Best Text Editor / Re: Boxer Text Editor

« Last post by allen on June 23, 2007, 11:07 PM »

I was surprised that their implementation has the selection being released when you reposition the text cursor by clicking with the mouse.

I had no idea. Not a big fan of the mouse (First thing I did when I installed Boxer was hide the toolbar)

I really appreciate your time in this thread. For the first time in several years, I am considering dropping a few dollars on a [different] text editor--of course a bit more time spent with the trial period will make it easier to decide whether the value of this editor versus my [surely easy to deduce] primary editor is justified given the price point.  While not an unfair price, per se, it is not a negligible one either.

That said--portability/registry independence is something that is becoming extremely popular these days--sooner or later, I'm sure you'll get pressured into that.  (Though you've more or less already implied sooner.)  My request for persistent selections (or persistent blocks) is certainly a less common one--if not altogether uncommon--but I think some experience with them might give you an appreciation for them; even if you are not wholly converted yourself.  I know for certain of two text editors that use them--and to greater effect than The Bat! VEDIT and Editpad Pro. In both cases, the ability to copy and move the block/selection to the cursor are made available.  When creating somewhat redundant but not identical code, duplicating the selection is a real time saver.  For example a list of links that differ from one another only by a number or character or two--select the redundant text, duplicate it--the new copy is highlighted now; you edit it, perhaps incrementing, then duplicate that one.  Easy to remember what the last one you did was--it's copied over.

I can see where you're coming from with potential difficulty in such an implementation, though. The fact that you're at least looking at it gives me at least a little hope.  As seemingly subtle a feature it is, it's a (perhaps irrationally) huge thing for me.

All that out of the way, just a few more comments--

* Probably from spending so much time with Opera, I personally expect a new blank file to open when I double click the empty desktop

* Soft wrapping:  is it possible to wrap text on screen without it hard-wrapping the text?  The spelling and auto-complete features make this a great environment to compose things like this--but I don't want to wrap text I'm going to be dropping into a forum--but don't particularly enjoy reading through these long lines either.  Wrap -> Format -> Unformat--seems to add a lot of steps.  (Granted this is a moot point 99% of the time when one is programming) (I see you get this a bit

* I love the custom file->open box--it's a tremendous "selling point" for me, particularly the auto-complete aspect.  What I'm curious about is--can you multi-select from the command line (other than wild cards).  What I'd hoped to see, I guess-- is, I autocomplete file1.txt -- put in a semi-colon and it lets me auto-complete another, and another, etc. -- like "file.txt";"file2.txt";"file3... --etc., after the semi-colon, a new file name can be auto-completed.  Already got it covered, I see

559

Activation/License/Language Help / Re: I really need a XoftSpySE license key

« Last post by allen on June 23, 2007, 08:19 PM »

So kind and tactful app. <sits in the corner>

560

Activation/License/Language Help / Re: I really need a XoftSpySE license key

« Last post by allen on June 23, 2007, 08:08 PM »

Your creditor and/or paypal account may be more appropriate to consult in regards to securing a registration code.

561

FARR Plugins and Aliases / Re: Post your FARR v2 Plugin Idea Requests Here - Plugin Writers Read In

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

I haven't read the entire thread, so I apologize if this has been suggested. Also, I have not read up on the api so I don't know if this would be at all feasible.  But I think it would be really cool--

Basically a very simple text editor that would allow you to use farr for quickly editing a non-binary file, even expanding it into a bit of note-taking functionality.

Ideally, it'd be able to edit/access any file you'd normally be able to find via farr, but preceeded with the appropriate alias--in which case, instead of opening the file in the default app it'd be opened in the place that tyipcally lists files -- the text body being there with the cursor focus shifting to that field where changes could be made and then saved.

It could also be possible to define some directories in the plugin config that would be scanned for text files only when the plugin is references, so one needn't clutter the rest of FARR with these special interest dir(s). They'd be prioritized for quicker access than tyipcal full scan.

In the spirit of quick note taking, typing alias filename blurb of text would automatically append "blurb of text" to the end or beginning of the file (the choice of which being defined in the plugin settings)

So if I simply needed to find a document to copy the contents to my clipboard for repasting elsewhere, I could just bring up FARR, open the document directly in it, snag the contents, exit out.  Or open FARR, jot down a quick alias, filename, and the note -- presto, duly noted.  The list could easily/rapidly be edited, cleared, etc. -- all without ever having to call up an external program.

562

Living Room / Re: Thank you for this site and the people here.

« Last post by allen on June 19, 2007, 07:44 PM »

Lest I fall into the aforementioned seeming apathy of absence, I should say: Your presence exudes life, even in such a difficult time.  Surely this was to her, before and during the worst of it, a great source of light.  It's a shame  you had to lose her sooner than you'd have liked, but it would be a shame for her to be lost by anyone who would not have loved her so much.

Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives. ~Lucan

563

Living Room / Re: what is the potential capacity of the internet?

« Last post by allen on June 19, 2007, 11:26 AM »

I'm digging my own cables! Like I trust Canadian technology!

564

PHP / Re: Before you start the PHP Assignments

« Last post by allen on June 19, 2007, 07:19 AM »

Yeah, should work.  I've removed the access list, so anybody can make a directory there.   

565

Living Room / Re: what is the potential capacity of the internet?

« Last post by allen on June 19, 2007, 07:08 AM »

Meriam Webster defines Internet as:

an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world

It's vague--if I setup a gopher network between myself and Canada some 20 miles away, is it a new Internet? (A more relevant question would be:Does it matter?)  Is "Internet" like universe, can there be only one? Hard to say for sure--but there are many such electronic communications networks both for civilian and military use that are not open to the WWW we know and love, but still interconnect people under their employ throughout the world.

566

General Software Discussion / Re: delicious and opera. Integreation

« Last post by allen on June 19, 2007, 07:00 AM »

I don't understand the the big need for integration, regardless of platform--to me it's working backwards.  The way I see it:

The advantage to storing bookmarks online is global access regardless of platform, no need to copy data from one place to another--it's all at your fingertips.  They can be brought closer by simply setting up a custom search that queries your bookmarks -- then they're as close as your search bar.

If you're anything at all like me, you've accumulated thousands of bookmarks -- most of which are just things that piqued your interest that yo may or may not ever look at again, while a select few are frequent/daily visits.  In the case of the former, ready access isn't imperative.  In the case of the latter, frequent change isn't necessary a consideration.

SO, the bulk links that you may or may not revisit needn't be ever-hanging in your browser slowing things down when, on the off chance you want one of them, you can quickly search to find it (Which I've come to much prefer over trying to remember where in a hierarchy of menus/folders/tags I buried it).  The frequent ones I do keep locally -- mostly bookmarklets, but it's a seldom changing cast of links that don't need to be frequently synced.

Obviously I'm missing something here, as a lot of people wand their del.icious browser-synced -- but as near as I can figure, it's a matter of "knowing" they're synced without any clear advantage.  I mean, it's not like being able to see your menu offline is going to help when the links are all online . . . What am I missing?

567

General Software Discussion / Re: RegexBuddy 3 released

« Last post by allen on June 19, 2007, 06:19 AM »

"for the win"
Victor!

568

Best Text Editor / Re: Boxer Text Editor

« Last post by allen on June 18, 2007, 03:19 PM »

Thanks for the quick reply,

Allen,

>> 1. Is there any way to tell it to quit opening windows maximized? 

Yes... on the Configure|Preferences|Display dialog page, uncheck the option entitled "Auto-maximize new windows when created"

-Boxer Software (June 18, 2007, 03:04 PM)

I swear, I looked there a dozen times... how'd you just now get it to appear?!

>> 2. Is it possible to save settings without closing Boxer?

No, sorry.  I hope you'll find that crashes are very rare.  I've never considered adding features to work around crashes. 

Was the edit box filled to its capacity with text?  I checked the code, and I do see a potential problem, but only if you were using a parameter string longer than 250 characters or so.  Was yours that big?

Hey, you never know--windows could crash, too. It happens! As for the parameters, they weren't anywhere near -that- big.

[Select]

/search /Folderrecurse "$Path" /masks *.$Ext /searchtext "$Sel" /Preview

or something similar.  It won't crash for me now... can't reproduce, it may as well not have happened at all And now I get to put it in a third time, it having never named the tool it forgot I'd put it in.  I'll name it yet.

Did you see above my hap-hazard description of persistent selections?

569

Best Text Editor / Re: Boxer Text Editor

« Last post by allen on June 18, 2007, 01:30 PM »

So, I decided to give it a download.  I've run into a couple things I'm curious about--

1. Is there anyway to tell it to quit opening windows maximized?  Sure, I can configure a shortcut to restore the newly opened window, but I'm so lazy I'm asking if there is a bunch of code to prevent me from pushing two buttons

2. Is it possible to save settings without closing Boxer?  I'd just spent an hour or better manually copying over ftp accounts, text libraries, and custom tools.  While inputting the last tool, boxer closed without the courtesy of an error message.  To my chagrin, all of the aforementioned input was gone. No ftp sites, no user tools, unsaved documents gone.  If it makes a difference, the tool in question had a pretty big command line parameter. and no name yet filled in. That may have been the difference between it and prior tool input.

So day 1 is a mixed bag

570

Living Room / Re: what is the potential capacity of the internet?

« Last post by allen on June 18, 2007, 08:14 AM »

Satellite technology, and our willingness to bask in those rays, has granted the Internet something of an omnipresence.  The Internet need only continue on its present path to omnscience to become quantifiably God.

All your base are belong to us!

571

Best Text Editor / Re: Boxer Text Editor

« Last post by allen on June 17, 2007, 04:23 PM »

SOrry if you read this before this edit--I didn't realize so many post had gone by, missed some.

I first discovered persistent selections in The Bat and after a brief learning curve, I've found myself unable to work without them.

Long story short, selections persist.  Once selected, moving the cursor will not unselect the text.  Neither will typing, etc. -- regardless of where the cursor is, the selection persists.  Typically, ctrl+delete will delete the selection.  There are a few big advantages to this.  The most immediately obvious is the fact that you won't lose your selection while moving throughout the document looking for something else.  Some other great features then become possible--particularly the ability to duplicate the selection or move it with a single shortcut.  You can also edit the selected text without it become unselected--deleting or adding chars to it, etc.

Some of the behavior simply removes steps from standard cut or copy and paste actions while others simply save time by eliminating the need to select and select again the same text.  Being so used to this manner of handling selected text, I find myself more often than not inadvertently overwriting blocks of text big and small forgetting I need to unselect them before getting to work.

It's frequent that while working with code, I'll select a snippet I'll be reusing, go to work, and possibly many lines down duplicating it rather than having to go up and find it.  One simple keystroke, rather than having to worry about clipboard items or text snippets/libraries etc.

572

Best Text Editor / Re: Boxer Text Editor

« Last post by allen on June 17, 2007, 02:30 PM »

Boxer has some amazing features--especially given its small size--and I
find myself quite tempted to give it a look.  It being a true MDI and
not just tab-based really tantalizes me . . . but I suspect it'd be short lived.  I find myself unable to
function without persistent selections -- a feature I've only been able
to find in a very precious few applications. I don't suppose that's an
option in boxer is it? --also, how is boxer for portability? Is it 100%
reg reliant or are settings saved to a file?

573

General Software Discussion / Re: RegexBuddy 3 released

« Last post by allen on June 17, 2007, 01:45 PM »

As a rule, jgsoft is really good about keeping customers in mind. Upgrade policy is a bit ominous but the actions are typically much better.  acetext 2 was free for all owners of v1 for example.

The new version is great.  A bit confusing, unless you are a powergrep user but more intuitive in the long run I think. Definitely more keyboard friendly.

I'm really glad to see a product forum. While it would be nice to have the option to read it outside the product, his reasons for embeding it as outlined in his blog are sound.

But the addition that will have the biggest impact on Just Great Software as a business are the new RegexBuddy user forums. A lot of people have been asking for forums for all our products for quite some time. It hadn’t happened so far, because I didn’t want to just slap some open source forum package onto the JGsoft web site and then see it only get used for spam.

I’ve seen too many forums on small publishers’ web sites where all that happens is the developer fielding support questions. If the support questions are few, the whole forum just gives me a spooky abandoned feeling.

Personally, I am most excited about seeing embedded forums in the JGSoft products I use the most frquently--AceText and EditPad Pro.

574

General Software Discussion / Re: Xara Xtreme and Xtreme Pro upgraded to 3.2 - Proceed with caution: Info-rant!

« Last post by allen on June 13, 2007, 02:57 PM »

This reminds me of all the discomfort during the "Corel Xara" days . . . but the effects this round are far more devastating, hit the wallet not just the branding.

Ungh.  All I can really say. Ungh.

My Xara!

575

Finished Programs / Re: MP3 Player

« Last post by allen on June 06, 2007, 11:48 AM »

I'm partial to VU Player -- first cddb-enabled player I ever used and still my favorite player when I don't need one with a built in library manager.

edit by jgpaiva: fixing url