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7026

Developer's Corner / Re: C# Help Pls :)

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 10:21 PM »

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to do...

Does this help?

http://www.codeproje...n_windows_forms.aspx

http://www.codeproje...edit/HtmlEditor.aspx

http://www.codeproje...ctrl/HtmlEditor.aspx

Checking in there, they're using the MSHTML library... Ahem... If you've ever used shdocvw.dll and MSHTML, you know it's horrible.

I've got a basic tutorial written up here for some aspects of it:

http://renegademinds...abid/82/Default.aspx

The WebBrowser control in Visual Studio is just those two ruffians wrapped up. For highly controlled situations inside of your application, they're good. However, if you actually need to do HTML that will be used outside of your application, or consume HTML from outside of your application, then you have a potential problem.

Since it's basically just IE 6, you have all kinds of baggage there. If a web page is using hacks like PIE, you could be in big trouble. The hacks that PIE uses are IE6 filters (I think they started in 5.x though, not sure), which are highly CPU intensive. If there's much going on there, then it will grind IE6 to a halt. Not good. Besides, IE6 is just plain slow anyways.

You might want to look into those links above that f0dder posted. Check out MozNet for sure. I've used the old GeckoFX control, and it's wonderful. I bought a MozNet license but haven't had time to use it quite yet. It's dirt cheap too. (I bought early, so I got a small discount, but it's still cheap.)

I checked out this quickly:

http://awesomium.com/

And it does look awesome.

If you can post a bit more about what you're trying to do, maybe I can help some more.

Opening and loading HTML into the browser is pretty simple though.

WebBrowser.Navigate(fullPathToHtmlFile);

For loading in memory, use wbr.DocumentText > http://stackoverflow...o-webbrowser-control

However, keep in mind that the DocumentCompleted event fires 3x per page, and isn't predictable/reliable. So you'll need to use the Navigated event, but some things will only work in DocumentCompleted... Welcome to Hell.


Does any of that help or is it relevant?

7027

Developer's Corner / Re: Want to be in Amazon's App Store? Think again!

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 09:45 PM »

 

So if I give away another authors work, it's piracy.

But if a large corporation gives away another authors work, it's a free promotional placement deal.

-Stoic Joker (August 05, 2011, 08:11 PM)

Kill somebody and you're a murderer. Kill a thousand and you're a hero.

Freaking amazing what you can do with a good lawyer ain't it?

-Stoic Joker (August 05, 2011, 08:11 PM)

Pulling out the oxymorons, eh?

They basically got raped in an alley and then received a bill for their attacker's services.

-Stoic Joker (August 05, 2011, 08:11 PM)

Pretty much...

Amazon MUST have a clue about what kinds of numbers developers can expect from a "free promotion", so it seems that they're being grossly negligent in not informing the developer about the kinds of numbers they can expect. 100k new users in a day is a lot.

I feel sorry for those poor guys. Jeez...

7028

Living Room / Re: Why ebooks are bad for you

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 12:11 PM »

There truly is nothing comparable to holding a real book in your hands. It feels like the essence of the book is lost when it is read on a kindle. I appreciate the benefits, but I think there is some sort of enjoyment factor which isn't quite there when it isn't the real thing...

-CodeBoy (August 05, 2011, 03:04 AM)

+1

It's hard to articulate.

I think it's easier to flip through a book than a digital edition. Really, flipping through a digital book is nothing short of agonizing in my experience.

I just bought a book in both ebook (non-DRM PDF) and physical. I can easily read the physical, but the ebook is much more difficult to deal with.

7029

Living Room / Re: Steam: Savior or Slayer of PC Gaming?

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 10:56 AM »

Want to download a purchase from iTunes? Ooops... Sorry. Please buy that again. (Wasn't happy when I went back to download a purchase and found that out.)

-Renegade (August 05, 2011, 07:43 AM)

Apparently they finally figured out that this was a bad idea; you can download old purchase now, and retroactively.

-wraith808 (August 05, 2011, 08:53 AM)

Y'know... Speak of the Devil and who should appear?

Less than an hour ago...

I bought my wife and I each a Pro subscription to Toodle, and Due Today for myself on my Android phone, and the Toodle iPhone app for my wife on her iPhone. Well, while signing in, she asks me to buy her Bejeweled Blitz 2, which I'd bought for her before, but we deleted it because it is just so damn addictive... (Kind of like the many TD games that mouser tortures me with! [ I've lost entire DAYS because of those posts... Not proud of that... ] )

So I buy the game 'again', and lo and behold... Her iPhone tells me that I've bought it before, and that I can get it for free...

SHOCK~! 

Bewilderment... 

WTF?

Has Apple realized that ing customers in the isn't acceptable behaviour?

Stunned... Just stunned...

I have yet to try this on my Mac, but we'll see. Will they charge me again? Dunno. (Need to get "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" back!)

That they did it retroactively is simply unbelievable.

7030

General Software Discussion / Re: Google Apps vs. MS Office 365: Your Choice

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 07:50 AM »

Funny commercial ad from MS against Gmail/Google Apps -

http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=OrkAuwaoFGg

 

-mahesh2k (August 05, 2011, 07:32 AM)

Very cute!

Did anyone notice that the office he walks into is Contoso Ltd?

7031

Living Room / Re: Steam: Savior or Slayer of PC Gaming?

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 07:43 AM »

To paraphrase a quote from the article for my own purposes:

{I} want a simpler, more unified experience. The verdict is in: {I} like using Steam. Why? Cause it's easy, it's lightweight, and it can work on multiple platforms. PC is an incredibly broad term, with just about everyone owning and operating a personal computing device of some sort.

Also, I like not having physical media, and being able to get the game again whenever I want.

-wraith808 (August 05, 2011, 07:29 AM)

+1

It's a compelling argument.

I buy from one web site fairly regularly (SnowCovered.com). They keep a record of all my purchases and I can go back and download any of them at any time.

Doesn't sound impressive until I say that I have purchases dating back to 2004 that I can download...

How many sites keep records and downloads that long? Most won't let you download again after 24 hours or 30 days (and some inbetween as well). Want to download a purchase from iTunes? Ooops... Sorry. Please buy that again. (Wasn't happy when I went back to download a purchase and found that out.)

The simple fact that I can go back and get a download again is a very compelling reason for me, and goes a long way in buying my loyalty.

7032

Developer's Corner / Re: Software Revenue/Licensing Thoughts

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 01:12 AM »

Thread resurrection powers... ACTIVATE~!

Well, not so much resurrection as bring back from the brink of forgotteness... (not really a word, but whatever)


New idea...

Instead of actually charging for specific features... why not charge for NUMBER of features? e.g.

* You have 10 paid features in an application.

* You charge:

$10 for all of them
$7 for 5
$5 for 4
$3 for 2
$2 for 1

Now, in the software, you have a license admin page that lists the 10 options. Users can then check which ones they want to use, and can check as many as they have purchased.

The next question is whether to allow/force users to PERMANENTLY check options, or to allow them to CHANGE them as they need.

Or perhaps mix it up, with some being permanent and others being switchable. I suppose it all depends.

But the basic idea is to charge for the number of features, and not for specific features.


For allowing people to switch features on/off, the motivation to purchase all of them would be convenience. i.e. Do you want to toggle them on/off every time? For an extra few bucks, you can kiss that inconvenience goodbye.

Thoughts?

Nutty? Good? Complex? Confusing? Super Simple?

7033

Living Room / Re: Steam: Savior or Slayer of PC Gaming?

« Last post by Renegade on August 05, 2011, 12:42 AM »

Interesting take on things there. But I didn't really get much out of it. Steam has never worked for me; their payment system is too rigid. If you want to see an excellent payment system, check out the Vivid.com system. FYI - it's NSFW - Vivid is one (if not the) of the largest companies in adult entertainment. But seriously -- their payment system is intelligent. They detect your browser language (not from your IP address, which is completely idiotic [can we say "Google"?]) and then choose a default currency for you based on your IP address (which is the most logical as there is no other way to do that). Got to hand it to pron... they understand that getting money is better than not getting money -- something that is sorely missed in the rest of the online ecommerce world.

7034

Living Room / Re: Cute jokes' thread

« Last post by Renegade on August 04, 2011, 10:34 PM »

To add to the geek humour:

Your math teacher lied to you.

A² + B² does not equal C²

A² + B² = DD

So there. =P

7035

Developer's Corner / Re: Discussion of CMS suggestions for the DC software directory

« Last post by Renegade on August 04, 2011, 07:32 PM »

I worked briefly with a fellow that uses Drupal for everything and loves it. He had nothing but good things to say. He also said that Drupal is really a set of building blocks, and that you need to build things like that. So, I suppose that it kind of all depends. I've not used Drupal, but may have a look some day.

7036

General Software Discussion / Re: Dot Net - a wrong step by MS?

« Last post by Renegade on August 04, 2011, 07:26 PM »

HTML5 is a browser based technology.  No matter how robust they become, desktop applications won't disappear, which is why the second part is fallacy.  Even Silverlight has its place in Microsoft's strategies.  HTML5 is the language of choice in Microsoft for internet applications; Silverlight is still Microsoft's language of choice for intranet applications.  There is a big difference.

-wraith808 (August 04, 2011, 07:11 AM)

+1

Let's see someone do this in HTML5 and JavaScript:

Code: C++ [Select]

1. void imdctf(float* time_signal, float* mdct_line, mdctf_plan* m_plan) // Looks like JavaScript has already failed at this point.
2.  {
3.      float  *xr, *xi, r0, i0, r1, i1; // And if it didn't fail above, it will here.
4.      float  *cos_tw, *sin_tw, c, s;
5.      int     N4, N2, N34, N54, n;
6.  
7.      N4  = (m_plan->N) >> 2;
8.      N2  = 2 * N4;
9.      N34 = 3 * N4;
10.      N54 = 5 * N4;
11.  
12.      cos_tw = m_plan->twiddle;
13.      sin_tw = cos_tw + 1;
14.      
15.         /* pre-twiddle */
16.      xr = (float*) m_plan->fft_in; // Oh god... This will destroy...
17.      xi = xr + 1;
18.      for(n = 0; n < N2; n += 2) // Bring on the nukes!
19.      {
20.          r0 =  mdct_line[n];
21.          i0 =  mdct_line[N2-1-n];
22.          
23.          c = cos_tw[n];
24.          s = sin_tw[n];    
25.          
26.          xr[n] = -2.f * (i0 * s + r0 * c); // KILL! MAIM! DESTROY!
27.          xi[n] = -2.f * (i0 * c - r0 * s); // RUB IN SALT! POUR IN IODINE!
28.      }
29.     // etc. etc.

Sure, JavaScript can do a lot, but it CANNOT (in the practical sense) do heavy lifting.

By the same token, trying to emulate a browser (HTML5 and JavaScript) in C is nothing short of insane. Can it do it? Of course. Is it practical? No.

Different technologies have different places. Trying to force them into the wrong hole is doomed to failure.

It's the whole "I have a hammer, so everything looks like a nail" thing. Well, there are such things as screws out there as well...

HTML5 and JavaScript will enable fast, cheap, and easy development of all sorts of applications. But they won't be doing certain kinds of applications.

That only means that some cool stuff will get added to Windows 8. It doesn't mean that everything else is invalidated.

Microsoft fully supports F#. For a reason. It does a job that other languages don't do.

While JSON looks like crippled XML, it does have a purpose, and fills a role that XML doesn't neatly fill. Can you be more expressive in XML? Sure. Is that always needed? No.

It seems like every time a new technology comes out, someone wants to pee on an older one. Sometimes that's justified. But only when they address the same problems in the same circumstances. That isn't the case with .NET and HTML5/JavaScript. They address different problems in different circumstances. Is there overlap? Sure. Then it's just a matter of preference or prioritizing.

It kind of reminds me of kids complaining about not liking math. Well... It turns out that sometimes you need math... It also turns out that sometimes you need to know a bit about history, and sometimes about geography, and sometimes about chemistry, and sometimes about...

I only see the new goodies in Win8 being a good thing.

7037

General Software Discussion / Re: Strange Tomtom.com issue on my netbook

« Last post by Renegade on August 03, 2011, 11:45 AM »

Wow. That's esoteric.

Try pinging the site then adding a HOSTS file entry for it. That will help rule out DNS problems.

Next? Dunno. Drawing a blank there.

But don't waste time on installing/uninstalling. Components shouldn't cause problems there. (Unless they are low level.)

7038

Living Room / Re: Intelligence and Internet browsers

« Last post by Renegade on August 03, 2011, 11:37 AM »

What would be fun is a money:brains ratio study to fund some more religious wars.

My imaginary friend has better IQ than yours, oh blasphemy your imaginary friend died for your browsers sins. 

-mahesh2k (August 03, 2011, 09:52 AM)

Hahahahaah~!

Let the memory leaks begin~!

(For those not all that savvy in both the art of death and the art of hackery, memory leaks >> blood letting. )

My grandma and your grandma
Sitting by the fire
My grandma says to your grandma
"I'm gonna set your box on fire"

7039

Living Room / Re: Intelligence and Internet browsers

« Last post by Renegade on August 03, 2011, 09:16 AM »

Seems the original story was faked: BBC - Internet Explorer story was bogus.

-Eóin (August 03, 2011, 09:07 AM)

Nice hoax! I wonder who funded it...

At the low end there with an IQ of 80, that's basically semi-retarded.

But I have to admit, I found it pretty funny. Now that it's a known hoax, it's not as funny.

What would be fun is a money:brains ratio study to fund some more religious wars.

7040

Living Room / Re: Why My Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

« Last post by Renegade on August 03, 2011, 05:17 AM »

Doesn't anyone use their phone for pron? 

7041

Living Room / Re: Why My Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

« Last post by Renegade on August 03, 2011, 12:44 AM »

...Or send the occasional how's your day going text...

-Stoic Joker (August 02, 2011, 03:44 PM)

We use Skype for that. Or Facebook.

7042

Living Room / Re: Block a FOSS release because being free interferes with commercial interests?

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 10:21 PM »

Can't wait to see how this one plays out. Wonder if it's too early to put a bet down?

-40hz (August 02, 2011, 09:30 PM)

I bet 5 DC credits that complete insanity will prevail~!

7043

Living Room / Re: Block a FOSS release because being free interferes with commercial interests?

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 02:53 PM »

Oh god...

 

I just don't know what to say.

7044

Living Room / Re: Why My Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 02:51 PM »

I mainly use my phone to make phone calls ... because, it's a phone.

-Stoic Joker (August 02, 2011, 02:47 PM)

Yeah... I'm just not that popular.

7045

Living Room / Re: Why My Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 02:24 PM »

I mostly use my phone for reading news though... Not much more.

-Renegade (August 02, 2011, 09:50 AM)

When it comes down to it, I mostly use my phone for reading books.  A few other things, but when you boil it down, all of that extra stuff to most people is just window dressing.  One, maybe two functions other than the basic.  But we get so caught up in all of that other stuff that we've done just find without before- and that's what they build their business model on. 

-wraith808 (August 02, 2011, 02:05 PM)

Phone = consumption.

Desktop/laptop = creation.

The limiter? Input. We need good speech to text before anything changes.

However, the current STT business models are stifling it.

e.g. With MS Office you can create infinite documents, but with STT business models, they charge you per word. Not a good way forward.

7046

General Software Discussion / Re: Collaborative excel

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 02:08 PM »

Wow. It's come a long way. That's a pretty good article.

7047

General Software Discussion / Re: Collaborative excel

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 01:58 PM »

That's pretty broad. Excel isn't a collaborative format, unless you start getting into SharePoint. But you might be served better/cheaper/easier/faster with something else. If you could say what you want to do, then it might help. Somebody might know a solution.

e.g. Zoho. Google docs. etc.

7048

Living Room / Re: Intelligence and Internet browsers

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 01:37 PM »

Just look at the economy. The folks that got us to where we are today all graduated with the highest of academic honors

-Stoic Joker (August 02, 2011, 12:00 PM)

But did they though? I always thought it was more likely that they were a combination of pretty stupid and very evil.

-Eóin (August 02, 2011, 01:33 PM)

Huh? Stupid? What? It takes some serious brains to f**k stuff up that badly. Do you really think that some dumb Joe off the street could muck things up so badly? Hell no! That takes major talent!

On the other hand, you got the evil part right.



(Sorry... I just couldn't resist that opportunity for some nutty political commentary! )

7049

General Software Discussion / Resume Visualisation

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 01:33 PM »

Looks like "Visualize.me" is now in beta:

http://beta.vizualize.me/

I'm not going to post a partial crappy resume here, but have a look. It's pretty cool. I signed up a month or so ago.

Basically, the site makes a visual representation of your resume.

7050

Living Room / Re: Why My Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone

« Last post by Renegade on August 02, 2011, 01:28 PM »

(see attachment in previous post)

-justice (August 02, 2011, 10:07 AM)

Dude, you know that like, Apple, Google, OS warz and whatnot are all like, totally troll bait, eh?