Recent Posts

726

Find And Run Robot / Re: Oversized icons when using large icon setting (DPI)

« Last post by Nod5 on May 19, 2009, 04:07 AM »

 

727

General Software Discussion / Re: The New (And Improved?) VLC

« Last post by Nod5 on May 18, 2009, 05:37 PM »

VLC is getting better and better. But I really dislike that there still seems to be no way to COMPLETELY disable error message popups. For example, if I have a txt with the same name as the videofile then VLC gives a subtitle error (since the txt is not a subtitle file at all). Ticking the box in the popup to hide future errors of that kind doesn't help. Similarly with the silent mode settings. The VLC preferences needs a big "never, ever display warning messages. Period."-checkbox 

728

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 18, 2009, 05:25 PM »

Gavotte to works well on my XP 32bit system too. 
I don't have Vista so I can't reproduce what you describe -- hopefully someone else can.

729

General Software Discussion / Re: Idea: File note

« Last post by Nod5 on May 18, 2009, 05:15 PM »

skooter1121: Curt quoted an old post of mine (with an old version of FileNoter), he didn't post any new .zip file.

Cool that you're making the program! That's the spirit! You can if you want start a separate thread about it (now or later) and describe it more, maybe ask questions about AHK details (if needed) or just share the program with others.

730

Find And Run Robot / Re: Oversized icons when using large icon setting (DPI)

« Last post by Nod5 on May 18, 2009, 05:07 PM »

lanux: Yes, as I said I get no cropping in small icon mode. The combination Large Icon Slides + SlideNum is needed to get the problem.

you guys didn't say if you could reproduce the problem or not. If not, then I'll describe my settings more so we can try to narrow it down.

731

Find And Run Robot / Re: Oversized icons when using large icon setting (DPI)

« Last post by Nod5 on May 18, 2009, 05:08 AM »

I get non-cropped icons if I activate program options > settings > display options > report columns > SlideNum.
But as soon as I deactivate it (since I don't want the numbers) the cropping is back.
Can someone else reproduce that with 2.59.01?

732

Find And Run Robot / Re: Oversized icons when using large icon setting (DPI)

« Last post by Nod5 on May 17, 2009, 12:03 PM »

I just upgraded to FARR v2.59.01 from v 2.55.xx and now the icons are cropped. Since later FARR updates are related to this topic chances are the problem is related.

The grey area is covered result titles/path. The icon cutoff is done by FARR not me.

when I change program options > settings > display options > results display style from Large to Small then there is no icon cropping. So only in Large mode.

733

Living Room / Re: ZipCar.com - super cool car sharing service in the US for occasional drivers

« Last post by Nod5 on May 17, 2009, 10:55 AM »

Nice! I've seen similar services where you don't even need a keycard. When you register online you enter your mobile phone number and thereafter unlock the car by sending it a special SMS code (the key is in a glove compartment which also requires a code to unlock. A key factor is the number of cars (in relation to the number of users) -- is there a spare car most of the time or would you need to book far in advance or even reschedule to fit the car availability?

734

General Software Discussion / Re: Idea: File note

« Last post by Nod5 on May 15, 2009, 04:08 PM »

I think I understand what you want the GUI to look like. But I don't have time to code it. But if you do have such a folder structure then the above code might be of use to at least get a (static) view of the first line of all Todo files. Just change the folder path in the first line to point to your ____\Working\*.ToDo folder.

735

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by Nod5 on May 14, 2009, 07:17 PM »

Mouser: Ok, there are some intricacies concerning the labelling but I think you go too far in the other direction. OpenCandy clearly belong to a category of programs that display ads, in one way or the other. That is a common feature it shares with software with constant GUI ads. Many other freeware and commercial software products lack that feature.

Calling it adware would be a problem if most who hear that label then automatically assume that it was just like a strong form of adware with big blinking ads in the GUI, which it isn't. But it would be just as misleading if some OpenCandy wrapped program was automatically categorized together with completely ad-free software. It is somewhere inbetween. Soft adware still seems like a fitting term. But here's another alternative: "installeradware".

736

General Software Discussion / Re: What the hell is OpenCandy?

« Last post by Nod5 on May 14, 2009, 12:11 PM »

I appreciate that Dr Apps/Andrew took time to make a detailed and friendly case for OpenCandy. You come across as a likeable person that believe that this is something good and take user worries seriously! 

That said, I am still sceptical (but less so than initially).

1. I still think software using OpenCandy is adware. As I see it, software with enough ad presence in the whole chain of use is adware (chain of use: go to official website -- download software -- install software --  use software -- remove software) Above that level we have degrees. Ads in the GUI all the time means strong adware. OpenCandy is softer adware. That does not make it wrong per se. It might all things considered be a good deal for users. But I am sceptical.

2. Andrew wrote:

Would you rather have another opt-out browser toolbar trying to push it's way onto your system or have a recommendation for a piece of software that a developer you trust (you trust them enough to install their software) loves?

and:

There isn’t any choice there, if you surf the web that’s the way things are [=privacy intrusive]. And soon, all software installers will be the same way. But this can either be done the right way [...] or the wrong way.

I don't buy the framing of only two narrow alternatives in either case. There are other, better alternatives. Yes, webpages today get lots of info on their visitors. But that is a problem to solve, not copy to installers.

I think the installer is an especially bad place for ads from the users perspective. When running the installer a user wants to get the software running with as few distractions as possible. It is then easy to by mistake or at least without thinking it through click some ad or install some toolbar, just to get the distraction out of the way. It is a context for less informed or less though through user choices.

Finally, there are clearly already much better platforms for software recommendations from the users perspective: blogs, forums, magazines and so on.

Cheers

737

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 12, 2009, 04:01 PM »

Ok now I have 6GB. Windows XP 32bit reports it as 3.2GB free.

I then:
- installed the RamDisk Plus 9.0 trial.
- File > memory... > unmanaged > configure > enable... CHECK
- checked available ram in process manager: 2.9 GB (with a few other programs running...)
- created a 2GB ramdisk and filled it with files
- checked available ram in process manager: 2.9 GB

738

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: 1 computer 2 mice-2 pointers-seperate button programming

« Last post by Nod5 on May 12, 2009, 12:52 PM »

This autohotkey thread is relevant to the topic here I think: http://www.autohotke...orum/topic41397.html

739

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 12, 2009, 02:17 AM »

My Win XP pro 32bit runs in PAE mode. I've not activated that manually and I think it was active even before I started trying out these ramdisk programs.

740

Find And Run Robot / Re: Stop FARR From Searching Further?

« Last post by Nod5 on May 11, 2009, 05:19 PM »

I like mousers idea above. I run into that problem now and then, especially when very soon after entering the searchphrase pressing enter to launch the first result.  I'd set it for 100 miliseconds or more and would opt out of any warnings. If there must a warning then some visual cue seems more fitting. Maybe the most subtle warning is best: just not launch any result and keep FARR open.

741

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 11, 2009, 04:40 PM »

edbro: nice, I'm adding that to the list above. Do you know if it can use memory above 3.x GB in XP 32bit? The homepage and manual doesn't say anything about that so my guess is "no".

742

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 11, 2009, 01:34 PM »

4wd: right, if there was malware in Gavotte ramdisk then, as you say, many of the veterans at places like Boot Land would have reported on it. So I think it is clean. That said, anyone could of course name a file ramdisk and upload somewhere so it makes sense to download from several places and compare hashes I think.

Tried ImDisk now - it works great! I'm adding it to the list above. It installed very quickly. It created no shortcut - I had to make a shortcut to C:\WINDOWS\system32\imdisk.cpl myself. Great that it is actively developed. A bonus is that it can also mount regular .iso files so it can replace Daemon Tools or SlySoft CloneDisk in many cases.

There's a subforum dedicated to ImDisk at http://www.boot-land...t=SF&s=&f=59 and the ImDisk developer participates in it. But ImDisk can't use memory above 3.x GB in XP 32bit.

743

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 10, 2009, 03:17 PM »

Another ramdisk discussion thread:
http://www.boot-land...rums/?showtopic=1507
That thread and others mention "ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver" which is open source. But it doesn't seem to be a ramdisk, more a virtualization software or a daemon tools like program. Or?
http://www.ltr-data....opencode.html#ImDisk
edit: it seems to be a ramdisk. Not sure if it can make use of the >3.x GB memory parts in win XP 32bit though.
quote from: http://www.ltr-data....mdisk_screenshot.gif
"If you want to create a virtual disk backed by memory instead of an image file, leave the image file field blank and just enter a size in the size field."

744

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 10, 2009, 03:00 PM »

f0dder: try the Dataram RAMDisk then. Free for <4GB disks which seems plenty big for a ramdisk.

4wd: great! I will try Gavotte once I upgrade.

Here's a translation of the forum page linked above (which seems to be the first page the author uses to post his updates to)
http://translate.goo...&history_state0=

If I understand that list correct there are two releases of the v1.4096.5. Which one are you running? We should make a list of releases and their MD5/SHA1 hashes. I share f0dders sentiments about the lack of an official website. I'm in general a bit wary about running software from posts in forums where I can't read the context directly, there always a risk of missing some important info or run the risk of installing malware. That forum seems legit though but I'd be more comfortable if it was a program that was also carried by major download sites like filehippo.com . Open source would be best for this type of tool, I agree on that.

745

Finished Programs / Re: FastShutdown

« Last post by Nod5 on May 10, 2009, 04:29 AM »

Found a relevant registry entry:

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\International]
"sShortDate"="yyyy-MM-dd"

So for a complete solution I need to add:
1. code to read that on the local computer:

[Select]

RegRead, dateformat, HKEY_USERS, .DEFAULT\Control Panel\International, sShortDate

2. modify the script based on the format there. There might be a lot of different such formats so it is hard to cover them all.

Here's a non-complete quick fix that at least might satisfy Canadians, Swedes and Germans (as a rule, world domination is best achieved incrementally )
But sometimes, just sometimes, it can be had straight away, muaHAHAHAHA  :

[Select]

;-- Fast Shutdown -- by Nod5
;-- v090510b
;-- does a onestep windows shutdown unless there are scheduled tasks later the same day
;-- default hotkeys: (middle click on Start button) OR (Right Shift + Escape)

#singleinstance, force
~Mbutton::

MouseGetPos,,,xxid, xxcontr
WinGetClass, xxstart, ahk_id %xxid%
if xxstart = Shell_TrayWnd ;-- if mouse over start button
 if xxcontr = Button1
   goto fastshutdown
return

RShift & Esc::
fastshutdown:
xout =
xvar =
x = %A_Temp%\%A_now%.txt
RunWait %comspec% /c "schtasks > "%x%"",,Hide
FileRead, xvar, %x%
FileDelete, %x%
FormatTime, today, A_Now, ShortDate
Loop, Parse, xvar, `n, `r
{
if A_LoopField contains %today%
 xout = %xout%`n%A_Loopfield%
}
if xout !=
{
MsgBox, 1, Fast Shutdown, %xout%`n`nReally shutdown?
IfMsgBox, OK
 Shutdown, 1
}
else
{
MsgBox, 1, Fast Shutdown, Shutdown in 5 seconds...,5
IfMsgBox, OK
 Shutdown, 1
IfMsgbox, Timeout
 Shutdown, 1
}
return

(FormatTime in Autohotkey had a ShortDate option)

746

General Software Discussion / Re: Idea: File note

« Last post by Nod5 on May 10, 2009, 03:49 AM »

skooter1121: Ok, so for any selected file "filename.ext" you can right click and then create a filename.MEMO or filename.ToDo for it. Neat! I can see how that makes it easy to find when searching. Using a tag in the non-extension part of the filename also makes searching easier. But since some programs allow for sorting based on extension your alternative might be better sometimes. 

When I tested saving Wordpad rtf content as "filename.memo" then Wordpad renamed it to "filename.memo.rtf". I can't see a way to fix that internally. An external workaround would be a script that regularly scans the system for all files ending with "_____.memo.rtf" and renames them to "____.memo"

I'm not sure what todo list script you're thinking of. But if it exists then hopefully someone else here might have heard of it.  If you save the notes in the same folder then something like this might be enough:

[Select]

Loop, C:\somefolder\*.ToDo ,0,1 ;-- exclude folders, recurse
{
line =
FileReadLine, line, %A_LoopFileLongPath%, 1
out = %out%%A_LoopFileLongPath%`n%line%`n`n
}
msgbox, %out%

But if you place the .ToDo files in many different folders/files then an AHK script might take to long to be useful. Everything ( http://www.voidtools.com/ ) can find the files instantly (if you have NTFS drives) but can't automate reading and presenting the first lines of text. Later on when we've gotten an upgraded Everything plugin for FARR then I think FARR could easily achieve what you're after.

747

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 10, 2009, 03:22 AM »

I tested Cenatek Dataram RAMDisk Beta V.3.5.107: Got a blue screen of death 10 seconds after starting a ramdisk! I think the software firewall was the cause because after disabling it things worked fine.

Startup time for Firefox portable 3 from ramdisk / harddisk: 2 / 6 seconds. But after the first start Firefox is cached in system memory so the starting it from the harddrive is just as fast thereafter (until something else takes its place in the cache I guess)

f0dder: that makes sense. Once I have upgraded to more RAM I'll setup things similarly:
- disable pagefile completely
- place programs I often start (but don't keep running all the time) on the ramdisk. (Dataram RAMDisk already has built in support for loading/saving RAMDisk contents on system startup/shutdown. But I'll test and compare the other programs too. What ramdisk software are you using?)
- experiment with using the ramdisk for FlashGet downloads

748

General Software Discussion / Re: RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 09, 2009, 07:02 AM »

Thanks! Here's a roundup from some more searching:

CENATEK.COM -- http://www.cenatek.com/
1. Dataram RAMDisk Beta V.3.5.107  -- released 2008(2009?)____  "free for disks under 4 GB"
2. RAMDiskXP v2.0.100 RC7 (trial) -- released 2005-11-15

http://www.cenatek.c.../product_ramdisk.cfm
http://www.cenatek.c...sk_download_list.php
http://www.cenatek.c...XP_Configuration.pdf
"The absolute maximum RAMDiskXP/2000 disk size is 3045 MB, if you have a computer with 4 GB
of RAM installed.  RAMDisk will always leave some memory for the OS." = can't use memory above 3.X GB in XP 32bit?


Gavotte Ramdisk -- http://bbs.et8.net/b...wthread.php?t=906641 (non-english)
1. ramdisk5.7z (free) -- released 2008-11-17

http://www.chweng.id.../swintro/ramdisk.php
http://www.mydigital...000-and-2003-server/
http://translate.goo...atwiki.jp/gavotterd/
 (claims Gavotte can use memory above 3.X GB in XP 32bit)


Qsoft RAMDisk -- http://www.ramdisk.tk/
1. RAMDisk Enterprise 5.3.1.11 ($10) -- release 2009-04-17
2. Free RAMDisk 5.0.2.2  (free; 64MB size limit) -- released ______
3. RAMDisk Extended Basic (trial & nag) (RAMDisk_Evaluation_52102PRO.zip) -- released ______

http://members.fortu...MDisk/ramdiskent.htm
http://members.fortu...download_and_001.htm
http://members.fortu...Disk/ramdiskfree.htm
http://members.fortu...Download/brewing.htm (updates/news)

limitation: "The 32 bit versions of XP and Vista do not allow the RAMDisk to allocate memory above a particular 3.x GB boundery"

trialware: "The "Enterprise Evaluation" (full) versions are freely available and can be downloaded from the links within the table below. The versions are full functional , but they may however popup randomly a "nasty" reminder message. They may display a "Fatal application exit" message, although there is nothing "fatal" going on and you can continue your work without any fear at all. The evaluation version will expire on September 1st , 2009."


AR Soft -- http://www.arsoft-online.com/
1. AR RAM Disk (free) 1.20 -- released 2009-04-23

http://www.arsoft-on...;id=26&Itemid=47
"The AR RAM Disk is no longer supported by AR Soft. You may continue to use the RAM Disk, but we will not provide any help or additional information. Since the development of this product has been stopped there will no more versions of the software."

http://www.softpedia...-Soft-RAM-Disk.shtml

can't use memory above 3.x GB in XP 32bit


SuperSpeed -- http://www.superspeed.com/ramdisk.php
1. RamDisk ($35)
2. Ramdisk Plus ($50)

"RamDisk Plus 9 has a most unique feature. Our patent pending technology can access memory beyond the limitation imposed by a Windows 32-bit operating system! In other words, RamDisk Plus 9 can use "unmanaged" Windows' memory e.g. above 4GB. It can also use the stubbornly inaccessable memory between 3.2GB and 4GB." = can use memory above 3.x GB in XP 32bit

http://www.superspee...ad/trialversions.php

ImDisk -- http://www.ltr-data....opencode.html#ImDisk
1. ImDisk (freeware) 1.1.4 -- 2009-04-21

+ free ; actively developed ; author active in forum (below)
+ can also mount image files (like an .iso image of a DVD)
- can't use memory above 3.x GB in XP 32bit

http://www.ltr-data....opencode.html#ImDisk (official page)
http://www.boot-land...t=SF&s=&f=59 (official forum)

FarStone -- http://www.farstone....rtual-hard-drive.htm
1. Virtual Hard Drive 2 Pro ($30)

edit changelog:
090511 added ImDisk, Farstone

749

General Software Discussion / RAMdisk on XP 32bit - brainstorming!

« Last post by Nod5 on May 08, 2009, 05:59 AM »

I'm soon upgrading my XP 32bit system with two new 2GB sticks of RAM. Together with my two previous 1GB sticks I'll then have a total of 6GB.
But from what I've read XP can only make use of a bit above 3GB for regular RAM for some complex reasons.

So I'm looking into the possibilities of using the leftover memory as a RAM-disk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAM_disk

I'd like to brainstorm a bit about that.  Things I'd like to get feedback on:

1. This RAM-disk program claims to use the memory XP can't use as regular memory for a RAM-disk:
"RamDisk Plus 9 has a most unique feature. Our patent pending technology can access memory beyond the limitation imposed by a Windows 32-bit operating system! In other words, RamDisk Plus 9 can use "unmanaged" Windows' memory e.g. above 4GB. It can also use the stubbornly inaccessable memory between 3.2GB and 4GB."
http://www.superspee.../desktop/ramdisk.php 

Has anyone tried that? Does it work well? Any drawbacks? (Note: even if there are great problems with that I'm still interested in the RAM-disk questions below -- 3GB is still a lot of memory for many cases so I could still test to devote a bit of that for a RAM-disk)

(The Ramdisk Plus software was brought up in this older thread that didn't catch on https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=10979.0 )

2. putting the XP page file on a RAM-disk: one (possible) benefit would be non-recoverability. Are there also noticeable speed benefits?

3. putting the cache of Firefox or other programs on a RAM-disk: speed benefits?

4. putting all of Firefox on a RAM-disk (via a script that copies Portable Firefox to the RAM-disk at each system start): would I get additional speed benefits, especially when starting Firefox?

5. Downloading: I sometimes use Flashget Classic to grab video streams. With many parallell streams Flashget easily freezes and seems to strain the harddrive. Would I avoid those problems by saving the downloads (and perhaps also Flashget cache or all of Flashget) to the RAM-disk and then only later, once all parts are save, move the saved file to a harddrive?

6. Are there any other good RAM-disk applications for XP 32bit (especially freeware/FOSS version that are actively developed)?

another partly related older thread:
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=10348.0

750

Finished Programs / Re: FastShutdown

« Last post by Nod5 on May 06, 2009, 11:15 AM »

Ok, so I need to query the local date format from within the AHK script. I'll try to sort it out tonight.