Recent Posts

651

General Software Discussion / Re: Run apps as non-admin with SetSafer to avoid spyware.

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 30, 2007, 07:33 AM »

This sounds incredibly cool.  This is the way security should work in Windows.

INEVITABLE SNARK: So why didn't Vista adopt this instead of the wacky house-of-mirrors it imposes?

652

Living Room / Re: Teledildonics — build your dream (virtual) sex machine

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 30, 2007, 07:31 AM »

I can just see it now...

After a few years the free teledildonics packages gain a foothold in the marketplace.  Naturally Microsoft sees another opportunity to develop and sell what's been available for free: Microsoft Sex.  Debates erupt comparing free sex with pay-for-sex, with the chief argument being, "why pay for something you can get for free?"

And then Apple delivers iSex, the self-contained PORTABLE version you can carry with you everywhere!  And best of all, it doesn't require anyone else!  It's sleek and wonderful and reviewers rave that its silky touch and ease-of-use make it so obvious we should have been doing it this way all along.

Soon everyone is having their iSex in public, on planes, in buses, in CLASSROOMS.  Authoritarians crack down on it but the people will not be restrained!  Soon a revolution rolls through the land, a time of freedom of expression and yes, even universal love. 

Then the human race dies out because we're having so much fun we forget to make babies.

653

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the currently best Desktop Search software?

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 30, 2007, 07:20 AM »

What I meant was that it's not a good thing to annoy potential customers.  Firstly, it's bad business.  Secondly, it's just not a nice thing to do.

I *do* believe that developers shoot themselves in the feet by annoying potential customers.  That was the intent of my rant; should have written it more clearly.  Sorry.

Your X1 experience reminds me of mine, except that when I downloaded and installed the latest build the performance remained abysmal.  That and the fact that X1 wouldn't index my networked documents (while Archivarius did) sealed its fate.  I paid $79 for X1 back in the day they charged for it, and still trashed it.

654

General Software Discussion / Re: You MUST See the Price for this Software

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 05:43 PM »

Just got permission to post the reply from Christian ([email protected]):

Hi Ralf,

I'd say the model has been quite successful at the moment. I've only started this thing about three weeks ago, so it's probably a bit early to make a definitive statement, but in these three weeks I've earned what I've earned before in a year (with a fixed price of 40 Euros). The average price people pay is around 9 US Dollars at the moment, so people really seem to be willing to pay non-negligible amounts. The number of buyers who went for the cheapest option of 50 Cents (to cover Paypal expenses) is definitely lower than I expected, about 30 percent (which, interestingly, is of the same order of magnitude as for the new Radiohead, where also about 30 percent of the people paid basically nothing). So, all in all I'm glad I've taken this move! The only thing one might suspect is that quite a few people have bought the software just to support the idea, and if all developers would do it this way, the "marketing effect" of the new payment method would no longer be there...

By the way: I think what I do is not donation coding. There is the fundamental difference that people FIRST have to pay (albeit almost nothing) and THEN get the product. I've observed it from myself that I often download something from a donationware page and, in spite of being really satisfied with the software, never come back to donate because I basically forget it. So the order of things seems important to me.

Cheers, Christian

655

Living Room / Re: Coders' Watches

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 05:37 PM »

I too wear mine 24/7, but the reason is simple.

-Ralf Maximus (October 29, 2007, 03:24 PM)

Ummm. Don't you take it off in the shower at least, so you can clean underneath it? Eeewww.

-CWuestefeld (October 29, 2007, 05:01 PM)

I take it off to shower, unless I'm in a hurry.

And what about during ... ummm ... romantic moments? 

Don't need to worry about it.  I'm married!  [badda-boom!]

656

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

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 05:34 PM »

My date is  11/12/2004    but it says   alive 3 yrs  11 months  6 hrs 55 min 29 secs

BUT  from 11/12/2004 to 10/28/2007  should be   2 years, 11 months, 16 days

Is it me ?

Lew

-ljbirns (October 28, 2007, 06:30 PM)

could it be to do with american 11/12/2004 = european 12/11/2004?
nope still doesnt add up

-tomos (October 29, 2007, 03:00 AM)

Aieee!  Yep, it's a bug.  Certain circumstances display an extra year in there.  Consider it a bonus.

I've fixed it in v1.2, below.  Also new in this build:

- Switched from using GetTickCount() to WMI's LastReboot parameter.  This prevents the clock from "rolling over" every 25 days, for servers and Windows users who never reboot.  That is, those users who never touch the mouse or keyboard.

- Added File & Options menu drop-down.  Options has a "Don't Care" mode for nite_monkey.



Share and Enjoy,
Ralf

657

General Software Discussion / Re: You MUST See the Price for this Software

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 04:19 PM »

I contacted the author via email, and Christian was kind enough to respond. 

He says he just started this model 3 weeks ago, but has made more money than in the last year he's been selling the software.  He suspects a certain number of purchases are from supporters who are voting in favor of the business model, not necessarily musicians who want the software.  Thus it's difficult this early on to say how successful the whole thing is.  I think I'll write him again in six months and see how things are going.

The number of users who went for the cheapest price (50 cents) is about 30%, while the average of all puchases is around $9.

I've written back asking for permission to post his correspondence in its entirely; I'll do that if/when he says OK.

658

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Do this First.

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 04:12 PM »

Another build, this one v1.3

- New optional "Due d" syntax where d is a numeric day, e.g. "Due 28".  If specified day is <= today it's interpreted as next month;

- New optional "Due d/m" syntax where d/m is the month/day desired, e.g. "12/31".

Double 'ray!  I can confirm that this also works using day-first settings. However, a month less than the current month is not yet interpreted as next year. That will be important shortly!

-JennyB (October 29, 2007, 09:38 AM)

I did this.  Specifying a day and month selects the next occurence if the specified day+month is today or past.

However, the syntax is now "Due m/d" instead of Due d/m".  I changed it for consistency since some parts of the app were thinking day/month and others month/day.  If you'd prefer the European d/m syntax let me know and I'll swap it out.  Really no trouble!

Thinking a bit more about alarms - I definitely don't want one te go off when a deadline passes, but this might be useful:

For n  is interpreted thus - When the file is launched, TDOD is hidden, and pops up at the end of n minutes. A running total of time spent on the task is displayed.

I'll have to ponder the best way to do this.  I like the idea, and I like the "For n" syntax, but just gotta figure a way to fit it into the GUI without it looking crowded.  Maybe I'll implement a right-click context menu, where you can choose to "Open" or "Open for n minutes" or something.

You want an alarm to "bing" when the app restores itself at the timeout?

Is it conceivable you'd have more than one launched task counting down simultaneously?

UPDATE: Almost forgot!  Anyone with artistical skills want to make me a cool 32x32 icon for this wee beastie?  The one I'm using is so generic...

659

Living Room / Re: Coders' Watches

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 03:24 PM »

I too wear mine 24/7, but the reason is simple. 

If I take it off, I forget to put it back on.  Or worse, where I left it...

660

Living Room / Cry Wolf: Another Halloween Trick

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 08:53 AM »

This time it's werewolves, and the story dates back only a few years.  Maybe 2004ish.

WARNING: This one contains some naughty language and "adult situations" (as they say on TV).  It's probably NSFW assuming your boss can actually read.

Thanks,
Ralf

661

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

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 08:31 AM »

GridMove! GridMove! GridMove!

GridMove, you say?

662

General Software Discussion / Re: A Simple Database Program? (Or is that an Oxymoron itself?!)

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 08:10 AM »

Maybe just a desktop search engine?  Seed your documents with keywords and don't worry about an actual database.

663

General Software Discussion / Re: You MUST See the Price for this Software

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 29, 2007, 08:08 AM »

It's quite brilliant.  I wonder how it's working for them?

664

Living Room / Re: Teledildonics — build your dream (virtual) sex machine

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 08:38 PM »

Hmmmm...  Is there a teledildonics API?

Find And Rape Robot anyone?

665

Living Room / Re: Postcards from DC members

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 08:35 PM »

I'll do it.

Assuming they let me mail anything from in here.  Pens, pencils, and other pokey objects are strictly prohibited...

666

General Software Discussion / Re: website translator

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 08:28 PM »

I kind of like this one:
http://www.rinkworks.com/dialect/

667

Living Room / Re: Whats on your desktop?

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 05:18 PM »

Why is it, Ralf, that you insist on playing Eve to my Adam? My wife, whose alter-ego in this little analogy I'll leave to your imagination, will go ballisitic and cast me from the family home if I go out and buy a secondary (Note: not a tertiary or quaternary, but a lowly SECONDARY) monitor. Yet there you are, with your four monitor setup, parading it in front of me, saying "Go on. You know you want to".

-Darwin (October 28, 2007, 03:47 PM)

Hey, Christmas is coming and TigerDirect is having a sale:
http://www.tigerdire...998&Sku=V18-1794

Tell your wife I said it's okay.  :-)

668

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: New release of my font manager called Cfont Pro

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 04:58 PM »

Got v3 installed, and it does the same thing.

Except now the Font Browser shows nothing (not even the "04b_25" font), but the combo box DOES show all 330+ fonts.

Weird.

Cross-posting to your support forum...

669

General Software Discussion / Re: Evidence Eliminator - What has your experience been?

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 04:45 PM »

Oh yeah, I always forget about the american-style credit cards, since I'm used to... debit cards? Ie., cards that are linked to a bank account with money, instead of giving you credit.

-f0dder (October 28, 2007, 03:26 PM)

Oooh, I've got one of those too.  I love debit cards!   Beer runs are ever so much more enjoyable when you can tap into the main account at 2330.  :-)

Fun larceny story: About 10 years ago, some mysterious charges show up on our Amex account.  $4100 for laptop computers purchased at a store I usually buy a lot of crap from.  Needless to say, those were not my purchases.

I called American Express up to dispute the charges, and they suspended them immediately pending investigation.  I assumed some clerk at the electronics store had kept a copy of my card for personal use.  Nope!  Instead, what happened was way weirder.

Apparently somebody at work had borrowed my wife's credit card from her purse, photocopied it, then returned it.  Then went on a binge.  How did we track down the nefarious mastermind?

In addition to the $4100 laptop charge: $900 for shoes at Nordstroms, $600 for cosmetics at Macy's, $700 for ladies clothing at Target.  (Target?)  Clearly not our normal spending habits.  So obviously some super-sophisticated AI at Amex spotted the weird demographic spike and flagged it as unusual... right?

Nope.  The crazed supervillian signed HER OWN NAME to the purchases, which we recognized immediately as a co-worker.

Case solved!  They were quickly pronounced "incredibly guilty on all counts" and got the electric chair.  Actually, I never did learn what happened... as soon as Amex satisfied itself as to our innocence, the Cone of Silence descended and we were excluded.

But the co-worker in question never showed up for work again...

670

Living Room / Re: Coders' Watches

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 04:31 PM »

BTW, did I mention?

That image of my watch up there is ACTUAL SIZE.

671

General Software Discussion / Re: Evidence Eliminator - What has your experience been?

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 03:20 PM »

The best advice I was ever given about credit card theft:

Assume your card WILL be lifted at some point.  It's just a fact of life today.  Use it often enough and it will happen.

So focus not on prevention but on selecting a card with decent identity theft protection.  For example, CapitalOne and American Express both have superb policies, and seem to err on the side of the customer when things get strange.

672

Living Room / Re: Whats on your desktop?

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 03:06 PM »

What can I say?  I saw Swordfish and can't remember the rest of the movie after that scene with the multi-monitor workstation.  :-)

care to say what you use the four screens for - always nosey, i mean nice to know what DC'ers use their machine for.

-nudone (October 28, 2007, 02:56 PM)

Monitor 1: Static quick-launch shortcuts and toolbars, mostly.  Often I'll watch movies or TV full-screen on this one while I toil.  If I'm working from a customer's email, I'll often leave the document up here for reference.

Monitors 2 & 3: Primary workspace.

Monitor 4: Gadgets and timers, Process Explorer here nearly 100% of the time.  Also, spillover from monitor #3 if I've got a LOT of crap open.

Here's what it looks like on a typical day:

673

Living Room / Re: Whats on your desktop?

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 02:49 PM »

Here's my desktop.



Yes, I have a few icons. :-)

It's spread across 4 monitors, resolution 5120x1024 (nVidia NVS 440 quad-head video card). 

674

Living Room / Re: Coders' Watches

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 02:30 PM »

The other thread looks like a generic "look at these cool/complicated watches" discussion.

This thread could be about programmers' wristwatches and the very special geeks who love them.  Or something.

Most developers I know have $10 watches, if they wear one at all.  It's just not important -- their computer knows what time it is, and they're usually in direct line of sight.

Another class of developers -- I'll call them the Rockstars -- act like the project exists as a showcase for their talent.  They always have the most expensive/complicated toys, and fight over who has the best workstation in the office.  Their wristwatches cost thousands of dollars, are built using exotic materials like magnesium and depleted uranium, and sport names like Tag Heuer, Ebel, Weil, and Oris.  They won't have diamonds, but WILL be certified to work at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and absorb g-forces that would kill a space shuttle.  One guy I knew had three uber-watches and wore them in rotation.  What?  So as to not wear them out??

Incidently, these guys often have very expensive cars.  One day when returning from lunch we walked through the parking lot and started counting Rockstar cars: Porsche, Mercedes, Porsche, Supra, NSX, Porsche.  How could you tell them apart from the other expensive cars in the parking lot, the ones driven by the top-floor mega-executives?

Easy!  The developers' cars were almost always filthy dirty.  The executives' cars were recently washed.  Leave it to a programmer to buy a $90,000 sports car and never wash it.

Back on topic.  My current watch?  A $39 Casio G-Shock solar/atomic. 



And yes, if it were launched on shuttle Atlantis and crashed into the Mariana Trench it would continue to keep dead-accurate time.  Until the lack of sunlight starved it...

675

General Software Discussion / Re: What is the currently best Desktop Search software?

« Last post by Ralf Maximus on October 28, 2007, 02:00 PM »

In terms of misleading the person downloading the software, there is no difference.  It's a lie, plain and simple.  Not the truth.  Trying to sucker someone into installing your software under false pretenses.  That's why I wouldn't use such software.

If Archivarius really is "more precise results and will be lighter on resources", surely the software authors would like me to check this on all my files?  The limitation seems to me just a way of avoiding a true comparison with other software - until you've parted with your cash, when it's too late.

-jamesthebod (October 28, 2007, 05:15 AM)

Ouch. 

Having used Archivarious for a time now, I'm convinced it *is* lighter on resources and all that.  As I described above, I compared it to X1 and found X1 wanting.  So the product itself appears to be pretty solid.  I "parted with" $39 for Archivarius and am very pleased with it. 

In this case I'd prefer to think the author is basically honest, and simply chose a poor method for crippling the trial version.  Compounded by the lack of up-front information about HOW the trial is impaired, I can easily see how you'd get the impression he's a sneaky bastard.  But in this case, the product clearly works well and he has nothing to hide.

So how did this happen?

There's a war out there.  If you think it's hard being a software consumer, consider the developer: from their standpoint the WHOLE WORLD is out there trying to rip them off, either by sharing licenses or cracks.  I can easily imagine a bunker mentality setting in, the result being a collection of poor decisions about how to protect their baby from being pirated.

Ultimately you can't.  If you put copy protection on something, and somebody else wants it, people WILL find a way around it.  There's a sub-culture in crackers who focus on 0-day cracks, where the cracking tool is published before the commercial app is even shipped!  I recognize there is a big difference between TrialWare and stuff like SecuRom but the overall goals are the same: stop the software from being used unless it's paid for.

So everyone loses.  The author gets a bad reputation (because even honest users are annoyed) and potential customers are turned off before they can evaluate anything.  That almost happened to me with Archivarius, but I re-read all the positive reviews of it here, took a deep breath, and gambled my money.  I am VERY happy I did.

You are very right to be cautious, james, but in this case I believe Archivarius' author is one of the good guys -- he just made some crap decisions, and it'll keep hurting him until they are rectified.  And YOU lose because you'll never get to see Archivarius run free on your harddrive, happy clever puppy that it is.

BTW... This is a prime example of why I think DonationWare is one real solution to the problem.  Honest people who find value in software don't mind paying for it.  And developers don't WANT the other kinds of customer.  :-)