Recent Posts

976

General Software Discussion / Re: SpiderOak Unlimited Space

« Last post by Dormouse on November 06, 2015, 10:32 AM »

Unlimited plans were not usually defined as totally unlimited - just unlimited per month/year.
So the providers have always had the option of discontinuing their most loss making customers at the end of their contracts - presumably a reasonable notice would be needed.

For a lot of people unlimited really means not having to think about limits or extra costs and so is a good sales pitch for the providers.

I've never had any problem with something being done about people who take advantage by delving into Terms and Conditions and driving through a loophole. And that goes for customers as well as providers.

977

General Software Discussion / Re: Reliable Web Hosting for $5 or less?

« Last post by Dormouse on February 17, 2015, 12:49 PM »

Good luck with your decision.

If it falls through at some point, I would recommend ASmallOrange (ASO)
Very good reputation for many years - I've had an account with them for a very long time now. Support levels & uptime both very high.

978

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: TreeDBNotes Pro - Christmas and New Year Discount: 50%

« Last post by Dormouse on January 17, 2015, 04:23 PM »

What I like about TreeDBNotes for writing is the very full toolbar (I have all options open - and the styles at the bottom), the extensive right click menu, and the ability to write/edit in a pop out without all the PIM clutter.

-Dormouse (January 08, 2015, 05:48 AM)

I'm wondering whether at heart you'd prefer a single-pane outliner, if you could find one you liked?  Inspiration, perhaps?

-rjbull (January 17, 2015, 03:44 PM)

It may seem odd, but I have never really got on with any single pane outliner - though I do have Outline 4d (a very particular type of program which again seems to have escaped development in the recent aeon). I'd have more panes if I could. Same with file managers: the more panes I can use the better.

Had a quick look at Inspiration. Seems most like a mindmapper with an outline view to me. I tend to find the rigid structures far too limiting and they never work with anything I'm doing. I seem to be able to do any number of things in TreeDB at the same time which is what I usually need.

979

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: TreeDBNotes Pro - Christmas and New Year Discount: 50%

« Last post by Dormouse on January 08, 2015, 10:57 AM »

As someone with some little experience of the outsourcing sites, I have *zero* respect for "black walls of silence". You can hire people for *$2 per hour* to just "say things" and do a "few other things". (Like copy and paste support questions into a file and give them back one of seven canned responses from their script). So even a "useless" reply would have at least sent the signal that someone was behind the wheel. Instead, we get the guy here who wants a new sale. *That's the disconnect*.

-TaoPhoenix (January 08, 2015, 10:40 AM)

I don't disagree, but then I have bought programs that were entirely defunct. If a program does what I want, I will use it and if it is the only one that does it the way I want if, I will go with it. Obviously for anything critical that I will rely on, I want rock solid support (not sure where we can be sure of getting that now) or get out methods, alternatives and backups. And preferably all of them.

I like using TreeDB myself, but I do find it hard to recommend to anyone else given the opacity of the situation.

Sagelight Image Editor is another one with a "black wall of silence" most of the time in terms of contact with the developer. But it does what it does very well, is unique in how it does it and is still very cheap. And there is a forum and a method for getting a licence that seems to be working atm. And the black walls have so far been interspersed with intense bursts of light. So I'd still recommend that to anyone who was prepare to buy in full knowledge of the history.

980

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: TreeDBNotes Pro - Christmas and New Year Discount: 50%

« Last post by Dormouse on January 08, 2015, 10:44 AM »

I want to warn you that the bug I ran into, was that suppose you make a note element in your writing, then you decide to move some of them around. TreeDB wasn't keeping the moved new structure, and instead dropping semi-random nodes back where they started, so just when you thought you had a new structure, it ends up a garbled mess!

-TaoPhoenix (January 08, 2015, 09:30 AM)

It's not something that has happened to me, touch wood, but at the same time, I have huge numbers of backups, so it doesn't really feel like a biggie for my usage either. That said, I don't use it for very long or complex projects (or only in discrete chunks if I do); I like the environment but I've never been willing to totally trust its database integrity (don't know what it runs on) and it never felt right as an information manager. Your usage seems more complex and requiring a higher level of solidity.

981

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: TreeDBNotes Pro - Christmas and New Year Discount: 50%

« Last post by Dormouse on January 08, 2015, 10:25 AM »

Then the warning bells went off when they didn't just "freeze" the forum, but *nuked it* and replaced it with this blind suspicious form that doesn't get answered.

But this big switch to a form that basically goes nowhere, was beyond a ref flag, it was like dumping a bucket of red paint on the bull, because there might not be anyone at all doing support, and some cheap marketing outfit might have a legacy program and is trying to squeeze a few more nickels out of new ... uh ... people.

-TaoPhoenix (January 08, 2015, 09:23 AM)

A lot of "mights"

So though I used to like them, if you then change owners and but the best plasma cannon Star Trek credits can buy and point it at your face, then ... well ... I have to pick a new program!

-TaoPhoenix (January 08, 2015, 09:23 AM)

And an "if".

I've no idea what happened, or whether it has changed hands, and never really expected to see another update - but there have been a few.

My impression was that the forum was closed because of all the criticism about the lack of development. I've noticed a few authors do that. When the forum becomes toxic then it usually doesn't last unless they delete threads and/or ban particular posters.

It happened at the same time a number of similar programs seemed to go into meltdown, so I assume sales went through the floor and didn't justify further investment of time. Ultra Recall announced no further development, but then did get updated.

And my impression was that support was always a bit limited although there was a certain amount of responsiveness in the forum.

982

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: TreeDBNotes Pro - Christmas and New Year Discount: 50%

« Last post by Dormouse on January 08, 2015, 05:48 AM »

Dormouse, I'm particularly interested in chatting with you a bit to see what it's doing for you, and I'm fascinated if you could peek at MyInfo because it became my "replacement winner" once TreeDB self destructed both structurally and with the forum. I found it to be surprisingly close and I think it could be a replacement for you, with a better overall experience if you, as you say, "just use it for writing".

Also the MyInfo dev also responds by email for specific questions, and according to my email, he just posted a new update on Dec 11. (Modest bugfix update, but apparently it can also now auto-lookup new versions...)

-TaoPhoenix (January 06, 2015, 10:31 AM)

Hi,

I briefly trialled MyInfo some time ago (6.17) and didn't take to it. I'll have another look when 7 eventually comes out, but I don't think it is likely to offer an environment that is comfortable for me to work in. Features and functionality are good, but I find, for writing, that comfort in the "environment" makes the most difference to productivity.

What I like about TreeDBNotes for writing is the very full toolbar (I have all options open - and the styles at the bottom), the extensive right click menu, and the ability to write/edit in a pop out without all the PIM clutter. This gives it a strong multipurpose value for me.

I have a very extensive collection of programs I use for writing - on all platforms. None are remotely ideal, and I tend to use the one that is best suited to the task and situation at the time. And I don't see much development anywhere.

983

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: TreeDBNotes Pro - Christmas and New Year Discount: 50%

« Last post by Dormouse on January 06, 2015, 06:54 AM »

TreeDBNotes

Anybody see the calendar?
not that little history thing?

-Steven Avery (January 06, 2015, 02:47 AM)

I've always assumed it's the view you get in Tools>Alarms & Reminders (Alt F5).
I think you could describe it as a calendar.

Since the closure of the Forum and the slowdown in updates, I keep trying to switch but carry on using it for a lot of things because I find it does a lot of things I want very well.

BUT I've never regarded it as a PIM or a data storage program and I use VueMinder as my calendar.
I mostly use it for writing.

984

Circle Dock / Re: Version 1.55 - a Significant Release: Please Read Carefully

« Last post by Dormouse on December 24, 2014, 06:05 AM »

I'm not really interested in revisiting the history, and the legal complexities and implications of the different open source licences are massive anyway.

I was just wanting to point out that the programs available on cnet, Softpedia etc are likely to be there legitimately because they fall under the open source licence.

985

Circle Dock / Re: Version 1.55 - a Significant Release: Please Read Carefully

« Last post by Dormouse on December 23, 2014, 07:50 PM »

I would love to bring the UN-Oficial version's code in house and have it added to the code Database.

A part of me still holds out hope that this most potentially excellent of launchers will resurrect at some point, and be free and open source again.

-sgtevmckay (December 23, 2014, 01:18 PM)

I suspect that legally the whole thing is still covered by the original open source licence. I don't think that was ever changed. iirc it came as a shock to the developer that he wasn't free just to say it was private and charge for it. Of course, being open source does not mean that the source code was actually released, simply that it should have been. But it would mean that the availability of the .exe is legitimate.

986

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: WinPatrol & WinPrivacy holiday discounts

« Last post by Dormouse on December 23, 2014, 10:12 AM »

I bought the joint family pack, though I've had WP+ licences for a long time. I hadn't heard about the launch or discounts either.
I feel it is worth supporting.

987

Circle Dock / Re: Version 1.55 - a Significant Release: Please Read Carefully

« Last post by Dormouse on December 23, 2014, 10:00 AM »

AFAIK that version you're looking for is unofficially available on Cnet.

-tomos (December 22, 2014, 03:24 PM)

And 38+68=106 downloads last week alone  
120k+ altogether

Also on Softpedia (another 100k), & presumably etc,

988

Living Room / Re: I'd like to get a Windows Tablet: help me decide.

« Last post by Dormouse on October 27, 2014, 11:31 AM »

And I just can't get into android, even though I have one now (my nook).  Things just seem so much harder to get done.  I was thinking that my Nook might be the gateway into Android for me.  But It's turned out to be the exact opposite- I just use it for reading.

-wraith808 (October 27, 2014, 10:16 AM)

There's no getting away from the fact that getting into any new system is a lot of effort and you need to know there's a payback for it, preferably with some kind of fairly instant gratification.
In my case it was the phone and ability to organise (and I had been previously used to Palm & earlier Windows mobiles); not sure an ereader would ever have done it for me.
And then, when I was trying iOS, I could see the productivity bonuses available when I got a system sorted.

And a lot of things are harder to get done.
Though a bunch of others are much easier.
And I can carry a phone/tablet & keyboard around in my pockets which isn't an option with a laptop.
The productivity all depends on what you are doing and how you do it.

989

Living Room / Re: I'd like to get a Windows Tablet: help me decide.

« Last post by Dormouse on October 27, 2014, 08:54 AM »

If we're talking about serious work and serious productivity, aren't laptops fulfilling this purpose?

-dr_andus (October 27, 2014, 06:12 AM)

Not for me.
Not as light, not as flexible, and assumes that all your 'writing' is entered on the keyboard.

I have a high quality, light Logitech bluetooth keyboard. I can use it with my phones & tablets depending on what I have with me.
I find that, for a lot of the time, my writing implement of choice is the stylus so the keyboard is optional, depending on what I am doing.
Screens on laptops aren't as good, unless you spend huge amounts of money.
I have a Windows ( laptop/tablet combo. Quite light. Works well for what it is. But I don't use it very much because I'm less productive with it, and it is much less convenient to get out when I'm out and about and have just the odd 5 or 10 minutes for a bit of work.

But going down the tablet route does mean completely changing your system and the progs you use.
Unless you go Surface, and, I suspect, even with that you would be better off adapting your system and progs to your new device.

990

Living Room / Re: I'd like to get a Windows Tablet: help me decide.

« Last post by Dormouse on October 27, 2014, 05:27 AM »

Android and iOS, regardless of the size of the screen, can't really do much beyond media consumption (gross exaggeration, but valid when compared to a Windows PC).

-superboyac (October 26, 2014, 08:13 PM)

To say 'gross exaggeration' is putting it mildly. I do little media consumption (and never looked for music videos  ). There are heavyweight programs on PCs that don't really have an equivalent on Android or iOS. But I find that I don't use those programs for the vast majority of my 'productivity' time. And when I do, I actually want to be at my desk using my big monitors. The use of digitizer pen technology has transformed my ability to use tablets and phones for productivity (and led me to move to the Samsung Note series in both cases - Surface Pro is only a tablet and massively expensive in comparison).

But with the desktop computer, you are still tethered to a cubicle, with the only reason for not being at another location being "secuirty".  But with the tablets, sheesh, that will be a more difficult argument.  Make calls on your phone, do your work on your tablet...don't need buildings or any location specific needs.

I can already tell that as connected as I am, this surface pro tablet has really made an impact on me, this is the future. 

-superboyac (October 26, 2014, 08:13 PM)

Pretty much agree with all this.

I suspect MS would have more traction in this space if
a) it hadn't already lost the consumer end of the market
b) it was cheaper
c) W8 were less horrible
d) the phones/tablets formed a coherent whole system
e) it were easier to see that Windows was going in a desired direction

Lets all clap for Ballmer

991

Living Room / Re: I'd like to get a Windows Tablet: help me decide.

« Last post by Dormouse on October 27, 2014, 05:10 AM »

Here's something to consider for the future ...

http://www.howtogeek...are-killing-tablets/

Can see the logic if phones get bigger - 6.5" screen almost the same as a 7" tablet.

-fredemeister (October 26, 2014, 02:22 PM)

Misuses statistics - says tablets still growing, PCs may have stopped falling - but tries to give the impression that tablets are flagging (iPads certainly are) and being caught by PCs in the growth stakes. May happen, but it hasn't already happened.

Says tablets can't do multiple windows. Samsung Note can. & the pen can be used similarly to a mouse. Or can just use a mouse.

There's a lot more water to float under these bridges. Usage will continue to change fast and development of devices and ODs continues apace.

992

Living Room / Re: Google's new Inbox powered by Gmail

« Last post by Dormouse on October 26, 2014, 07:58 AM »

I don't really see the problem - though I only know the tiny bits I have seen on the net.

Seems to be another Google beta project, in this case a supplement to gmail, primarily for use on mobiles.
Possibly competes with some other mobile email apps, but no impact on desktop. Apparently only a crude version so far on ChromeOS, so not at all surprising that it only works as a Chrome extension: it's not really standalone except on Android & iOS.

Half agree about the name, but it makes some sort of sense if it is seen as an optional component of gmail.

993

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: SoftMaker Office HD, the only complete Office for Android tablets, free beta rev

« Last post by Dormouse on October 20, 2014, 12:09 PM »

Tried opening a password protected file from the latest version of MS Word.
TextmakerHDbeta wouldn't do it because it doesn't support that version of password protection 

Polaris opened the file in a non-editable form; I can cope with that.

But Textmaker did open a password protected file (docx as well as its own format) from the desktop version of Softmaker, and I can cope with that quite well.

Overall, it does seem to have a lot of functionality and for someone who seems to be moving my productivity work away from my desk (PC) and tables (laptop) where I can, it does look very useful. I probably ought to revisit Kingsoft but I'm not sure I have the motivation.

994

General Software Discussion / Re: Ad Muncher 5 will be free

« Last post by Dormouse on October 20, 2014, 10:50 AM »

And two years of making losses presumably meant that options were limited.
And I noticed that the donation options were at a reasonable level and the free use may attract lots of new people to try it and some of them might decide to make donations.
I certainly hope it goes well, but it isn't looking obviously optimistic, especially if there is a massive rise in pressure on their web server.

995

General Software Discussion / Re: Mind Mapping Software - What are the current top players now?

« Last post by Dormouse on October 19, 2014, 05:17 AM »

Yes, it integrates with Scrivener... but I haven't seen an integration with Evernote.

-wraith808 (October 10, 2014, 02:07 PM)

Ooops 
Shouldn't try to respond when I clearly didn't have time to read or think properly.
At least I remembered what I had originally intended to write 

996

General Software Discussion / Re: Mind Mapping Software - What are the current top players now?

« Last post by Dormouse on October 10, 2014, 01:13 PM »

Will probably end up buying Scapple, if only because of integration with Evernote

-Dormouse (October 10, 2014, 04:27 AM)

... what integration?  I looked it up after I saw your post, thinking I'd missed something.  I don't see anywhere that it integrates with Evernote...?

-wraith808 (October 10, 2014, 11:13 AM)

I might well be wrong, as I've only just had a quick look at it so far. I picked the comment up from this:-

There are also some free concept mappers out there, such as Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) (which I prefer) and CmapTools. Neither of these are hierarchical mind mappers, i.e. they do not force you to build a tree-like hierarchy. But they may not integrate with Scrivener as nicely as Scapple does, of course.

-dr_andus (April 04, 2014, 06:35 PM)

And any level of integration with Scrivener would be a plus for me.

997

General Software Discussion / Re: Mind Mapping Software - What are the current top players now?

« Last post by Dormouse on October 10, 2014, 07:59 AM »

FWIW, a number of times that I've drawn these sorts of diagrams, I've felt that I run out of space -- and part of the point for me is to be able to take in stuff all at once. 

-ewemoa (October 10, 2014, 07:37 AM)

Agreed. One of the first things I checked for each app was how big a virtual sheet could I have.
I find the zoom is good enough for me most of the time - I don't do really huge diagrams.
Also find that the quality of the stylus/digitiser is critical for the pen approach to be functional.

998

General Software Discussion / Re: Mind Mapping Software - What are the current top players now?

« Last post by Dormouse on October 10, 2014, 04:27 AM »

I quite liked the look of Gingko, but couldn't possibly use an app that relied on internet access.

I like VUE, Compendium etc, but don't often use them because they seem too much trouble. Agree with the idea that I want something quicker/rougher for my own use rather than prettification. Will probably end up buying Scapple, if only because of integration with Evernote Scrivener (and L&L's very reasonable pricing model ).

I'm probably with Superboyac on this. I don't notice any of ewemoa's problems with my tablet (res 2560x1600, Octs core, 32GB) and can have infinite sheet size using Papyrus; though maybe I simply haven't developed his level of discrimination. And the good thing for me is that I am actually using it instead of playing about every now and again.

I will eventually have a look at Brain. So many comments saying it is different, but I haven't yet and it seems like a lot of work for 95% of the things I'd be wanting to do in idea visualisation.

From my point of view, a writing system has to be hierarchical because the final product will start at the beginning and proceed to an end (so could imagine using Gingko if weren't online). But information and ideas are rarely hierarchical even though they may have an apparent hierarchy through increasing detail/depth.

999

General Software Discussion / Re: Outline 4D >>50% off sale<< (only $50)

« Last post by Dormouse on October 06, 2014, 01:41 PM »

Thanks for the templates. I've not tested what they do yet because of too much to do + system switching.

I've stopped trying to use iPads for for more general activities (rather than the specific use I bought them for) & switched to using the Samsung Note system, purely because it gives me very good stylus functionality and it just seems much easier to use Android as part of a multi-OS system. (Some) iPad apps very good, and I've worked hard to try to get them into a productive system, but it I've never been able to get it to work well. And I had a Damascene conversion moment when I realised the importance of the stylus after finding myself carting a pen and notebook around with me all the time because I liked writing things out and seeing them the way I wrote them. So busy system tweaking atm, but still happy with the overall feel of Outline 4D, at least for moment. Though I do have a suspicion that a stylus, keyboard & pad will be what I end up using most of the time - but that will usually be after the Outline 4D bit, and I can use O4D (maybe) when I work in Windows..

1000

General Software Discussion / Re: Outline 4D >>50% off sale<< (only $50)

« Last post by Dormouse on September 21, 2014, 08:10 AM »

Also, when you open the RTF export in MS Word, the headings are not automatically recognised. For this reason it's a good idea to set up a template with different formatting for each level of heading in O4D, and then in MS Word you can use the "find text with similar formatting" tool and apply the heading levels manually.

-dr_andus (September 21, 2014, 07:00 AM)

Would that be true in all word processors? I might try it with a number of them to see if there is any difference. It's not a major issue for me as I would probably do headings manually at the end anyway, when I was thinking about layout.

It has also struck me, while I have been looking at these, that the constantly developing ToDoList may well be perfectly effective for organising and writing now, with custom columns, filters, gantt chart and calendar views. It would actually meet all the criteria I have been applying to the other programs; and probably more. I will probably give it a go some time.