Bartels Media paranoia

[J-Mac]

I will say that the Breevy developer reacted much smarter to the attacks and slurs than the DA guy did. BTW, I'm now using Breevy.  

-J-Mac (February 12, 2010, 11:45 PM)

Do you know if there are any advantages of Breezy over DA?  I was using DA, then switched to MacroExpress Pro, but it's a bit too heavy for launching applications (though good for a lot of other things), so I've been looking at the newest version of DA...  how does Breezy compare?

-wraith808 (February 13, 2010, 10:15 AM)

I had DA 1 and I have a license for DA2 or 2.5, but the developer changed his product to a subscription-based program. I didn't renew my "subscription".

I had a lot of problems using DA. For one thing, it could not handle abbreviations well, often deleting the word and replacing it with the first letter doubled and sometimes tripled. Also in some programs DA did not register line feeds/breaks, thus rendering a name and address field all on one line without spaces. Things like that. Further, it choked on Vista for about the first six months, not opening or opening and immediately closing. Some things he fixed; others he seemed to ignore. Check my posts at their forum for a recap.

Breevy is very similar but I haven't had the same kinds of difficulties with it so far.

Jim

[J-Mac]

Arguing about the validity of his claims is exactly what is going to open up all this stuff again.. how can we expect someone to not reply to a thread claiming he has no proof people are stealing his work?  sigh.. this has really become counter-productive.

-mouser (February 13, 2010, 10:24 AM)

Jess, I can understand the above, but in most cases I couldn't see the exactness of the "copied" stuff that were often linked. Other than the programs have the same basic purpose of course.

Jim

[J-Mac]

One last comment: Personally I don’t care much either way, banned or not. I just said "Good..." meaning that it would have been nice for a change to read through a thread about a new text expander - any new text expander - and not have to see it turn into a stink bomb war!

Thank you.

Jim

[Josh]

That is all I asked him to do in the private messages sent and public posting I did asking him to stop. I understand that he is upset and rightfully so if he is in fact being copied, but DC is not the place or forum to hijack every thread about a text expander. I welcome him back with open arms if he will stop doing this but if not I say we leave the ban in place or remove future violating posts.

[wraith808]

I had DA 1 and I have a license for DA2 or 2.5, but the developer changed his product to a subscription-based program. I didn't renew my "subscription".

-J-Mac (February 13, 2010, 01:18 PM)

That was actually sort of a 'lost in the translation' moment.  What the new license is in essence is a purchase with a 1 year upgrade protection policy, i.e. if you buy, then you get all version (major and minor) released during the year for free, instead of the former lifetime upgrade policy.  You can keep using your version for as long as you like (which is substantially different from an 'subscription' policy where you can't use the software after your subscription runs out a la Auction Sentry Deluxe).

[rjbull]

I was using DA, then switched to MacroExpress Pro, but it's a bit too heavy for launching applications (though good for a lot of other things)

-wraith808 (February 13, 2010, 10:15 AM)

You might like to know that Insight Software, makers of Macro Express, also offer ShortKeys, which seems to be specifically an expander, and presumably a subset of Macro Express itself.

[wraith808]

I was using DA, then switched to MacroExpress Pro, but it's a bit too heavy for launching applications (though good for a lot of other things)

-wraith808 (February 13, 2010, 10:15 AM)

You might like to know that Insight Software, makers of Macro Express, also offer ShortKeys, which seems to be specifically an expander, and presumably a subset of Macro Express itself.

-rjbull (February 13, 2010, 02:15 PM)

Thanks, but that doesn't launch apps, which is really what I use DA for.

[J-Mac]

I had DA 1 and I have a license for DA2 or 2.5, but the developer changed his product to a subscription-based program. I didn't renew my "subscription".

-J-Mac (February 13, 2010, 01:18 PM)

That was actually sort of a 'lost in the translation' moment.  What the new license is in essence is a purchase with a 1 year upgrade protection policy, i.e. if you buy, then you get all version (major and minor) released during the year for free, instead of the former lifetime upgrade policy.  You can keep using your version for as long as you like (which is substantially different from an 'subscription' policy where you can't use the software after your subscription runs out a la Auction Sentry Deluxe).

-wraith808 (February 13, 2010, 02:11 PM)

I'm using Nagarsoft's wording. Their email to me:

Dear James,

Thank you for your purchase of:

(1) - Direct Access Upgrade Subscription

Licensing information will be sent to you in few hours.
Please check your spam filters so that you will receive e-mails from nagarsoft.com.

Thank you.

Jim

[rjbull]

I was using DA, then switched to MacroExpress Pro, but it's a bit too heavy for launching applications (though good for a lot of other things)

-wraith808 (February 13, 2010, 10:15 AM)

ShortKeys

-rjbull (February 13, 2010, 02:15 PM)

Thanks, but that doesn't launch apps, which is really what I use DA for.

-wraith808 (February 13, 2010, 02:28 PM)

Two suggestions: if you want a text expander that launches, try Typing Assistant, which does.  It's payware.  If you just want a launcher that works from shorthand/keywords, have you written off SlickRun, freeware?

[rjbull]

@All:  Sorry to stir up this miserable can of worms    I was pretty incensed at the time.

[bmms]

@rjbull: We invest several thousand Euros every month to drive traffic to our website. I kindly ask for your understanding that we do not want to give competitors free exposure/advertising. If you want to discuss other products, you are welcome and free to do it everywhere else (e.g. here) but please do not do it in our support forum that is solely dedicated for technical issues with PhraseExpress as explained in our forum disclaimer (which ironically have inspired DirectAccess quite a bit for "his" forum disclaimer. This guy is just plain incredible. *duckandcover* :-)).

Your actual support request was quite general in nature and it would require a 30 minute training to configure PhraseExpress for your specific task if we would have to start from "zero". That is why we recommended you to start with the manual that explains the general concept with many step-by-step video tutorials.

This would give you an overview about the PhraseExpress concept and would make it much easier for us and for you to go into details afterwards. We are there to help but it makes it easier if you made some first steps with PhraseExpress first before engaging with advanced configuration. I am sorry that I have not made this clear in my first reply to you.


> "It was basically about features being integrated rather than a byte-for-byte copy that I remember."

Just one example and evidence.


@J-Mac: Unfortunately, my Breevy related postings have been censored/deleted here and I have been banned from this forum (so much about “1984”). That said, I find it important to mention that I never said that Breevy stole from us. I rather mentioned that the Breevy maker seem to have been very attracted by the DirectAccess user interface. My posting had nothing to do with PhraseExpress. I actually was advocate for DirectAccess in that particular matter.


> how can we expect someone to not reply to a thread claiming he has no proof people are stealing his work?

This is a very good point. A few users here are twisting my words as they like and expect from me not to set it straight.

[bmms]

> Two suggestions: if you want a text expander that launches,
> try Typing Assistant, which does.  

As you recommend Typing Assistant, have you actually personally tried it for a few days?

Has it never bothered you that it collects any misspelling you ever entered on your keyboard and repeat to offer it over and over again? Unfortunately, TypingAssistant forgot to add some sort of "garbage collection" and quickly spill over with unwanted junk you accidentally entered.

As you apparently do not like PhraseExpress (that also does single-word autocompletion, but including garbage collection) then I would recommend the free LetMeType (Opensource).


---

Regarding program launching. I never got the idea of a launcher program. Why not simply hit the WIN-key and start typing the first letters of a program name. A sophisticated "program launcher" is already built into Windows. While PhraseExpress also has a program launching feature I personally do not need it and wonder about the hype about program launchers. Do I miss anything?

[wraith808]

<snip>
I'm using Nagarsoft's wording.
</snip>

-J-Mac (February 13, 2010, 02:38 PM)

Oh, I understand your reasoning, I just don't think that was the intent, as I clarified by asking Nagarsoft directly, hence the "lost in translation" reference.

> "It was basically about features being integrated rather than a byte-for-byte copy that I remember."

@wraith: You already impressed in earlier postings by never willing to recognize the actual information provided. Just one example and evidence to help you regarding the byte-for-byte theft accusation.

-BartelsMedia (February 13, 2010, 03:11 PM)

I'm not getting drawn into this, as I've already deleted the comment, but let's just say that I never rebutted any statements you made about that software (and indeed, never discussed it with you, as I don't know anything about it, nor have I ever used it).  My statements were in direct response to the claims against DA, which I do use, so please don't twist what I said?  And can we drop it since I removed the comment that you quoted before you quoted it, so you did this just as an irritant, which in the end is irritating mouser more than me.

Thank you for doing so.

[wraith808]

Two suggestions: if you want a text expander that launches, try Typing Assistant, which does.  It's payware.  If you just want a launcher that works from shorthand/keywords, have you written off SlickRun, freeware?

-rjbull (February 13, 2010, 02:39 PM)

I haven't tried either, but SlickRun requires you to bring up a window, and I use FARR in that regard, and don't really want to bring up a window to launch.  Thanks for the suggestions, though!

[rjbull]

@rjbull: We invest several thousand Euros every month to drive traffic to our website. I kindly ask for your understanding that we have no interest to have third party products mentioned in our forums and give competitors free advertising. If you want to discuss other products, you are welcome and free to do it everywhere else (e.g. here) but please do not do it in our support forum that is solely dedicated for technical issues with PhraseExpress

-BartelsMedia (February 13, 2010, 03:11 PM)

When I made that post I genuinely believed that IntelliComplete had been withdrawn from sale, other than the Server edition which comes with some editors (in fact, now I check, it is back on FlashPeak's site).  What I wanted to know was whether PhraseExpress worked, or could be made to work, the same way that IntelliComplete or Comfort Keys do.  I don't think asking is unreasonable.  It's a convenient way of describing what I mean.  We've all looked at other products.  Merely mentioning them is not to be automatically construed as advertising, even if I like them at some level.  Pretending they do not exist is futile.  If one is not allowed to make comparisons, it is hard to see how users can make suggestions for improvement. 

Please read http://support.phraseexpress.com to learn more why we use a support forum rather than email based support.

We do not know everything - Enthusiastic users can step in and share their knowledge.

Your behaviour is hardly calculated to encourage "enthusiastic users."

Your actual support request was quite general in nature and it would require a 30 minute training to configure PhraseExpress for your specific task if we would have to start from "zero". That is why we recommended you to start with the manual that explains the general concept with many step-by-step video tutorials.

In an ideal world, everyone would read the manual.  In practice, nobody does.  Nobody has time.  You answered my other query about sorting; if you didn't answer this one, my natural assumption was that PhraseExpress could not do as I wanted.

it makes it easier if you made some first steps with PhraseExpress first before engaging with advanced configuration. I am sorry that I have not made this clear in my first reply to you.

There are things I need it to do that may not be at what you consider beginner's level.  I rarely have time to wade through exercises, and rarely do I need to.  If I do, there's probably something wrong with the software.

my Breevy related postings have been censored/deleted here and I have been banned from this forum (so much about “1984”).

It was I that mentioned 1984, not J-Mac.  Even in societies that approve of free speech, there are limits to what you can say, such as libel, or incitement to hatred.  DC may be a discussion forum, but the moderators still have to keep the peace.

we have no financial benefit if you use PhraseExpress as it is free-of-charge (as in "we worked 8 man year for you and you can take advantage of this work without pulling your credit card") for personal use and we granted DonationCoders an exclusive 70% discount.

Which I took up.  And upgraded to the more recent and more expensive Pro version, which didn't have a further DC discount.  So it's not as if you hadn't received any monies from me.

[rjbull]

TypingAssistant forgot to add some sort of "garbage collection" and quickly spill over with unwanted junk you accidentally entered.

-BartelsMedia (February 13, 2010, 03:27 PM)

How would a phrase expander know what's junk and what isn't?

As you apparently do not like PhraseExpress

Read my OP.  Quoting myself: "PhraseExpress seems a good product."  But you're getting me more and more annoyed, so however good it is, I'm not prepared to continue with it.

[bmms]

My statements were in direct response to the claims against DA, which I do use, so please don't twist what I said?

No twist at all. I can also help you in this case (Byte-wise stealing at 1:03).

[bmms]

But you're getting me more and more annoyed, so however good it is, I'm not prepared to continue with it.

-rjbull (February 13, 2010, 04:13 PM)

TypingAssistant forgot to add some sort of "garbage collection" and quickly spill over with unwanted junk you accidentally entered.

-BartelsMedia (February 13, 2010, 03:27 PM)

How would a phrase expander know what's junk and what isn't?

-rjbull (February 13, 2010, 04:13 PM)

PhraseExpress only adds new words if they have been entered a configurable number of times and automatically removes junk (such as misspellings or words that are used only very rarely) after a customizable grace period.

Single-words auto-completions can also be configured to appear only if they fit to the foregoing context.

One example: If you type "The car is green" or "My car is fast", the word "car" would not show up in the beginning of a sentence (unless you entered it in the beginning) but only after "My" or "The" or any other word you have entered before car in any other sentence.

[wraith808]

I removed the comment that you quoted before you quoted it, so you did this just as an irritant

You made my day: You write junk. Then, you realize that it was junk and removed it. Now, you accuse me of "irritating" because I accidentally took your junk serious?!

Wow! This requires a very strong personality.
 

My statements were in direct response to the claims against DA, which I do use, so please don't twist what I said?

No twist at all. I can also help you in this case (Byte-wise stealing at 1:03). But no need to reply on that one. I have provided it to you already and you ignored it at that time.

One thing is strange anyway - Is it that you have an "agenda" and set a Google Alert trigger on us just waiting to bash? I wonder because you show up   e v e r y   s i n g l e   time whenever our name is mentioned. Why not just ignore, please? I asked you that before but you ignored that as well. Do so from now on, PLEASE!

-BartelsMedia (February 13, 2010, 04:20 PM)

I'm on the boards regularly.  It's you that does it.  Look at my post count, and how many times I post in relation to you.  And I removed the post in reference to mouser's request.  And now I'm done.  Thanks.

[KynloStephen66515]

BartelsMedia - Next time, edit your 1st post, rather than doubling up pointlessly please. k tnx

[mouser]

ok guys and gals, let's wind down this thread.. if you feel absolutely compelled to say something that hasn't been said, and feel like you need to get in another punch before the teachers break up the fight, go for it, then let's lock this unfortunate thread and move on.

[bmms]

Your behaviour is hardly calculated to encourage "enthusiastic users."

I am sorry that you felt the urge to be offensive but we entertain a comparatively vivid forum. We love our users and love to exchange thoughts, carefully listen to user input and help where we can.

It's a convenient way of describing what I mean.

It assumes that we would be aware about any (discontinued) program but in your case, I already understood the issue based on your description.

Pretending they do not exist is futile.

Yes, you are right.

In an ideal world, everyone would read the manual.  In practice, nobody does.

So, it does not hurt to remind to read the manual. Because it is a rich and valuable source of information created by those who developed the software and know all the tricks. In our case, we also added many instructional step-by-step videos.

Nobody has time.

Yes, indeed. That is why we offer personal trainings for those who do not like reading manuals.

if you didn't answer this one, my natural assumption was that PhraseExpress could not do as I wanted.

I understand. The challenge is that PhraseExpress can be easy to use but also can get very complex as it can be configured in great detail to customize it for special uses. We find it very difficult to balance the level of description of details vs. simplicity. It is a constant evolution and we learn every day.

If I do, there's probably something wrong with the software.

Probably. It is very easy to say that. It is more difficult to make it better though. We try it every day.

So it's not as if you hadn't received any monies from me.

So, please do not feel addressed by my posting. By the way, it would help if you would have added your license key to your forum signature to identify yourself as a supporting customer. Of course, supporting users do get extended and preferred customer support.

[wraith808]

My apologies mouser.  I should have take a bit away from the computer to cool off.  I will bow out of this conversation (a bit late it seems).  Again, apologies to mouser and the whole board.

[TucknDar]

>  "To their defense, though, they did fix my issue promptly. It's too bad they behave like this"

@Tuckndar: Why complain? Because we clean up our forum from questions that are already asked elsewhere in order to keep the forum easy to browse for you? Is it more important for you to get quick help or is it more important for you that redundant postings populate our forum for the pure sake of archiving?

-BartelsMedia (February 13, 2010, 03:11 PM)

I "complained" because I couldn't find an answer to my specific question, and found it odd that you removed my post. I would imagine it was a question that someone else might ask as well, which is a benefit with a forum support system vs purely e-mail support, there is a public search functiion. Your e-mail and support was top notch, however. Btw, the page you link to does not give an answer to the problem I had I know that if I use it for commercial purposes I'd be cheating you, but I didn't and you acknowledged that, hence me saying your support was top notch when I explained my problem.

[lehenryjr]

I think everyone owes Michael an apology- I think Michael does a great job!

He's PhraseExpress's loyal terrier; he's apparently intelligent- BUT also has blinders on to the world. His point of view is the ONLY one; there is no other manner of discussion...

But I guess I'd be omnipotent too, if I was the only one doing support, and all I had was my 'canned responses' to deal with all these 'people'.
God forbid if someone asks a question that's not in his 'response list'.

I found this thread by mistake; I was doing some general searches, thinking that I might find a different side of PhraseExpress support, but NO, here he is again... with his normal shtick. Showing the crowd how cute and lovable he can be... with all his little smile icons and curt comments, he must be a HOOT at parties. It's just so hard to show everyone humor via an email- how lovable he is...

It's so nice to see a person, in a support position, being so open-minded and understanding on so many levels to customers, AND potential customers.

I've to admit that, I'm NEW to this forum; but if I was just a John Doe off the street, and just reading this response from Michael, I’d think he was arrogant and attacking. There's a difference between defending your point and being attacking on topics. It seems like every inquiry or comment made about PhraseExpress is approached with this National Socialist/Conformist point of view. And that really doesn't work for a lot of people. What? You can't see how forum and forum are completely different words?

And when Michael says there's blind animosity, it's probably because those people [probably customers] asked a question [covered in the user manual], posted a remark [slightly off topic] and then was subsequent corrected with the gentleness of an atom bomb; AND somehow they were angered by this... Why would he want to waste his time on you, when the answer is in the manual? Everyone loves to hear READ THE 'FOCUSED' MANUAL!

Please forgive me; I'm not real good at 'satire'.
Have a nice day!