Recent Posts

876

Finished Programs / Re: Windows sticky note program

« Last post by Veign on November 26, 2005, 12:43 PM »

Note's can also be placed into an 'icon mode' by double clicking the note's icon.  Another way to reduce its footprint

I would go with Carol's suggestions on setting up a context menu or hot key. 

The reason I would not want to include system-wide hotkey support in Note-It is because it means Note-It needs to be running to process the request.  This falls under the same reason why I don't include a system tray icon: I don't like applications running, using resources, that I am not currently using.

Like always: I love feedback by users and alot of future features are coming from users so let me know what you want.  The next version will include: a spellchecker, hyperlink recognition and support, alot of keyboard shortcuts, and a special Insert menu option.  I may also be playing around with 'Menu Limitors' (have to wait and see).

877

General Software Discussion / Re: 2 questions for shareware authors

« Last post by Veign on November 17, 2005, 12:14 PM »

I use shareware .pad files which help a lot, but some sites inexplicably still do not take them and require you to enter by hand.  even those that do are often a real pain.

-mouser (November 14, 2005, 01:23 AM)

I'm in the same boat as you and manually submit applications using the PAD files.  I have compiled and maintain a list where my applications are - this list tells me if they support PAD submissions and if they require an account to submit software.

List:
http://www.veign.com/download_sites.asp

878

General Software Discussion / Re: 2 questions for shareware authors

« Last post by Veign on November 17, 2005, 12:11 PM »

yes, I'm a member of ASP-Shareware for several years now and it worth the money, at least for me.

-aignes (November 17, 2005, 09:46 AM)

What do you get out of it that makes it worth it?  I have also looked into a membership but just can't justify the cost..

879

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Locate 3.0 - great HD search tool

« Last post by Veign on November 01, 2005, 12:26 PM »

Give Seeker a try and tell me what you think..

It does not create index files but is an active search and replace tool. 

Features:
    * Search for files based on a file name mask, multiple file extensions, date restriction, or size restriction
    * Replace text inside of files
    * Command line parameter support
    * Regular expression support
    * Preview all search results in a convienent highlight view mode (from detailed or structure report mode)
    * Powerful reporting with four different modes

I use this tool all the time for doing mass find and replace in website I design.  Also good for locating code quickly in web dev projects. 

A new version will be worked on next year that will introduce special file handlers to search inside of proprietary files with their native search tools (like Word and Excel documents).

880

General Software Discussion / Re: How about a list of Commercial to Open Source Applications

« Last post by Veign on October 21, 2005, 03:40 PM »

And maybe as it builds make it searchable from a database.  User can enter an application name and get its Open Source recommended equivalent...

881

General Software Discussion / How about a list of Commercial to Open Source Applications

« Last post by Veign on October 21, 2005, 09:32 AM »

Would be nice, and a great fit with this website, to have a compiled list of Open Source alternatives to commercial / shareware applications.  Basically a nicely categorized list that gives someone an alternative application (reviewed and recommended from users of DC) to commercial / shareware applications...

Just an idea to keep this site growing...

882

Living Room / Re: Top 100 toys of the 70s and 80s - what were your favorites?

« Last post by Veign on October 21, 2005, 09:27 AM »

#31 was pretty cool game - played often.
#28
#7 - had this too

Brings back alot of memories...

883

Living Room / Re: Interested in teaming up for good web hosting / website accounts?

« Last post by Veign on October 20, 2005, 09:48 AM »

Carol,

Basically all you would have to do is point the domains DNS records to the server mouser is going to setup.  This is done through the domains registrar..

884

General Software Discussion / Re: Discovering software (sites)

« Last post by Veign on October 20, 2005, 09:43 AM »

and it's only a 60kb download.

-Nighted (October 19, 2005, 12:34 PM)

The application is written in C# which means it requires the 22Meg .Net Framework.  So the app is 60K but requires a 22Meg support file.

885

General Software Discussion / Re: Discovering software (sites)

« Last post by Veign on October 20, 2005, 09:38 AM »

Adding to the pile is LifeHacker:
http://www.lifehacker.com/

Great site, constant posts, and good recommendations.

886

Living Room / Re: Thinking about a DonationCoder.com fundraising thing.. opinions wanted

« Last post by Veign on October 11, 2005, 06:07 PM »

Me too - I have no problem seeing ads that are blended in with the sites design.  Sometimes find links to things I never knew existed and it gives you a little revenue...

Why don't you put up a poll and see how many members would object to the ads - I bet you would be surprised how many wouldn't mind.

887

Living Room / Re: Regular Charter Honorary Deluxe Super Plus Ultimate Members

« Last post by Veign on October 10, 2005, 10:34 AM »

You could use some sort of tag like:
Premium Member

Or add a plus to someone title like:
Charter Member+
Honorary Member+

The plus would signify a member group but contributes actively to the forums.  Basically keep it simple and allow for growth with other groups in the future.

888

General Software Discussion / Re: Usenet/NewsReaders — suggestions?

« Last post by Veign on October 08, 2005, 10:17 PM »

I still need to start beta testing Vista a bit more to see what the next version of OE is like.  Actually going to fire it up now and see...

889

General Software Discussion / Re: Usenet/NewsReaders — suggestions?

« Last post by Veign on October 08, 2005, 01:23 AM »

I am also an Outlook Express user.  Works well for me and I spend alot of time in newsgroups.  Tried others but always find myself liking the OE interface and functionality - might be a case of 'use what you know'.

890

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Morse Code as You Type

« Last post by Veign on October 07, 2005, 12:02 AM »

If you price your program out of the range of normal users, you are basically daring the freeware community to come out with a free alternative.

-mouser (October 06, 2005, 11:22 PM)

Thats also a great point.

891

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Morse Code as You Type

« Last post by Veign on October 06, 2005, 11:10 PM »

Also if you think about almost an idea you can come up with has been done before in some way, shape, or form.  Very hard to come up with a truly unique application given the way its so easy to distribute applications over the internet.  Also, for every freeware application there is probably at least two developers selling it...

My feeling is freeware developers are an integral part of the software devlopment food chain.  Remove it, ban it, stop it, and everything comes crashing down.  I know nobody mentioned stopping freeware but I wanted to point out how important, I feel, freeware is.

I don't search out applications to write based on a competitor as I write my applications for my use first (very important to have some sort of vested interest in the application) but once I have an application that I consider matured I search out every top competitor I can find and study their applications.  I try and figure out why a user would download their application, what features do they have that I don't, do I need to add these features, and should I even continue with the development of my application.

I might even find an application I like and say "hey I can do that better" or "that looks like it would be fun to code" and then I start.  You would be surprised how many partial applications I have that has never been seen by anyone else: iLoc, xMail, NT Broadcast, DomainXL, Direct Print just to name a few that made it far enough to get a name..

Anyway, just poking my head in...

892

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Freeware Windows Installer?

« Last post by Veign on October 03, 2005, 11:19 AM »

Visual Installer from Microsoft (free):
http://msdn.microsof.../vsi11/download.aspx

Innosetup from JR Software (free):
http://www.jrsoftware.org/

If using Inno Setup check out ISTool at http://www.istool.org/

What is ISTool?
"ISTool helps you create scripts for Jordan Russell's Inno Setup compiler. Inno Setup is a great compiler for very professional looking setups, and the only disadvantage is that you have to create fairly complex scripts by hand."

893

Living Room / Re: Thinking about a DonationCoder.com fundraising thing.. opinions wanted

« Last post by Veign on September 30, 2005, 11:03 AM »

I think Google Ads are an excepted form of ad placement.  I don't think users get turned off by these anymore since so many people use them.

Check out how I incorporated ads into this forum.  I place an ad every 4 posts and it hasn't turned anyone away.  If you were to place a Google Banner ad across the top of your forum you would make enough to pay for hosting and probably would turn away nobody...

Keep in mind its fine to have beliefs but if your beliefs sink you financially then where are you left? (and your users).  No more website and no more software releases.  You can keep the idea alive while still supporting the development / website.

894

Mouser's Zone / Re: Hmmm ... server errors ...

« Last post by Veign on September 30, 2005, 10:31 AM »

I am also getting the same error...

895

Living Room / Re: Thinking about a DonationCoder.com fundraising thing.. opinions wanted

« Last post by Veign on September 30, 2005, 10:21 AM »

Logo:
If you are looking to get a logo made check out one of the existing Design Contest forums.  These have some great designers and you could get a logo for under $200 easily...

Design Contents:
http://www.designcon...forumdisplay.php?f=4

Design Outpost:
http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/

As far as Fund Raiser:
IMO the only people who will donate during that time will either be regulars who have donated before or regulars to these forums who may not have donated yet.  The reason PBS gets donations during that time is they flood you with the information about donating - long commercials, lots of information, and really makes you understand that you need to donate.  On a website you won't be able to have this affect and therefore I think the results will be low unless..

I know its against your beliefs for this website and your software but you could, during the donation time, is require people to donate prior to downloading your software (any amount).  Just put a blurb that states during this fund raiser a donation is required but on Nov 1st (or whatever) the software goes back to no donation required but appreciated.  I think this will get you the best chance at getting some returns.

I am basically in the same boat as you - I work on "free stuff" (includes my software and giving free tech support) far more than I can afford.  I often put in 100 Hr work weeks just so I can work on my software and get little (if any) return on it.  I get more income from my Google Ads than I get from donations from software...

Good luck!

896

Living Room / Re: Stupid IE question

« Last post by Veign on September 29, 2005, 12:12 PM »

- Hold shift and click a link will open the link in a new window
- Ctrl-N will open a new window

897

Finished Programs / Re: IDEA: BlowUp or Read?

« Last post by Veign on September 27, 2005, 01:02 PM »

That narrator is truly an annoying program.  Seems to read Windows events (not that well) and since I tend to switch between applications often it is too slow to keep up...

Works, but very badly - unless I'm missing something...

Magnifier works very well though.  Seems like Magnifier in conjunction with a good speech application would do the trick...

898

Unfinished Requests / Re: QUESTION FOR CODERS - WHAT SOFTWARE WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN?

« Last post by Veign on September 27, 2005, 11:03 AM »

The problem I have found with the freeware versions is that they are buggy and the priority to resolve issues is not so high. 

Take a company like ComponentOne where this is all they do and what they profit from.  Resolving issues, working on new versions, adding features is required to make money - very good incentive if you ask me.

The worst thing that could happen is to release a piece of software with a bug in a component that is not yours.  Then struggle to get it fixed.

I try and stay away from 3rd party controls as much as possible but there are times when using one would add so much to the application and reduce my development time by weeks / months....

899

Finished Programs / Re: IDEA: BlowUp or Read?

« Last post by Veign on September 27, 2005, 10:55 AM »

Seems that tool in conjunction with the MS magnifier that comes with Windows would do the trick...

900

Unfinished Requests / Re: QUESTION FOR CODERS - WHAT SOFTWARE WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN?

« Last post by Veign on September 27, 2005, 10:47 AM »

Problem with student discounts is you either have to be a student or have a student living in your household - neither of which fits me...

Not so worried about MS products as I have an MSDN subscription which gets me a copy of most MS software for use in a development / testing environment.   

The costs for me are the components that I just can't justify on a freeware applications.  Add that to all the other costs and developing freeware applications is an expensive hobby (considering the time I put in)....