Super-sized Newsletter for May 20, 2014
"Codename: Slow and Steady"
1. Newsletter EditorialGreetings!
It's been 125 days since the last newsletter. In that time, approximately 837 new threads were started on the forum, and 8500 new posts were made (133 of those have been selected for inclusion in this newsletter); 300 spammers were banned by our moderators, 3187 new members joined the forum, and 600 new people donated to the site (thank you!).
In those 125 days, the site has registered over 20 million pageviews and served over 4 terabytes of data (most of that coming from our free software downloads).
I highlight those stats because freeware has been getting a bad name lately, with adware, junkware, and toolbars being bundled into downloads by more and more formerly-respected software hosting sites (sometimes even against the will of the original coders) -- and our site has remained free of such things since we started 9 years ago.
That's been possible only because of the support of normal everyday folks who have donated to the site. Your donations have meant that we have been able to pay for a fast dedicated server and have never had to depend on software hosting sites or the whims of advertisers. And that's made all the difference.
Thank you for supporting our site and making it possible for us to keep doing things our way, as a small independent site.
And now on to the newsletter -- a collection of some of the best posts on our forum in the last few months, and a summary of recent updates to our software.
Hopefully you'll find something worth your time.
-jesse (mouser)
2. User-to-User: Your Input RequestedWe love nothing more than having interesting discussions on our forum -- and we love when new people participate in the discussions. In each newsletter we try to highlight a few topics that we think might interest casual readers and that are good candidates for making your first post.
3. Mouser's Software UpdatesI've uploaded some updates to many of my large applications since the last newsletter. As always, you can find the list of what's new both in the online help pages (linked from each program homepage) or in the forum thread about the application (also linked from each program homepage).
4. Skwire Empire Software UpdatesDC member skwire is one of the more prolific coders of utilities on our site -- he roams the coding snack request section and pounces like a jaguar when he finds something that catches his eye. He's released a ton of updates to his software since the last newsletter, including some updates to his most popular tools:
5. Coding Snacks, and other Member ProjectsWe love to keep up with projects that our members are working on, and hearing what our forum members think of software they use. If you're working on something interesting -- let us know!
6. Mini-reviews and requestsMembers share their reviews of software with one another on the forum.
7. Website Discoveries, Debates, Essays, DiscussionsWhat's new in cyberspace? What exciting new sites have been discovered by forum members? What's the current hot topic and debate? Read on to find out... And be sure to check out our new list of our "Favorite" websites.
8. Software DiscussionsSome noteworthy software discussion on the forum since the last newsletter.
9. Entertainment, Games, and HumourHere's a collection of some diversionary web browsing links posted on the forum recently.
10. Developer's CornerThis section highlights some discussions that might be relevant for not just coders and developers, but also people interested in entrepreneurial issues.
11. Security NewsThere were so many security-related posts on the forum in the last month that we have a section of the newsletter devoted to the issue.
12. Hardware HangoutWe've started to see more hardware discussions on the forum in the last year or two. Hopefully the trend will continue -- we'd love to hear about more DIY projects from readers.
13. Linux and Non-Windows StuffA relatively new section in this newsletter devoted to linux and other non-windows platforms.
