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Super-sized Newsletter for Sep 15, 2015 - Codename: Upgrading Everything

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mouser:
Super-sized Newsletter for September 15, 2015"Codename: Upgrading Everything"


1. Newsletter Editorial

Greetings!  It's been 6 months since the last newsletter, and this edition of the newsletter isn't just super-sized -- it's the biggest newsletter we've ever put out.

I'm going to talk a little in this editorial about happenings on the website and forum.  So if that doesn't interest you, feel free to skip the remainder of the editorial and the first few sections of the newsletter and jump right to the roundup of the most interesting new posts on our forum.

In March we held a fundraiser to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the site, and raised $15,649 from 927 donors (an average donation of about $17).  For 10 years our software has remained free of adware, spyware, bundled toolbars, or other unwanted stuff -- all made possible by donations from ordinary users.  It was a rejuvenating experience to hear from so many people who have supported our site over the last decade. 

The fundraiser made it possible for us to finally spend a couple of months putting in place a major forum upgrade, which was unveiled on August 30th.  The forum upgrade brings lots of small improvements on the user interface side of things, and some major improvements in the back end that will make it easier for us to improve, maintain and secure the forum for the next ten years.

And with the successful forum upgrade behind us, we're not slowing down -- next up is a major site overhaul.  We're moving the entire website to a CMS which will allow us to more easily add more content from more users, and make it easier to keep the website content updated.  We should be ready to unveil that in November (section 2 has links with more details), so stay tuned -- your donations are hard at work.

Ok, onward to the newsletter!

-jesse (mouser)


2. DonationCoder Site News

Here's a collection of threads discussing all the recent news on the site and forum, that I spoke about in the editorial above, as well as a few more meta-threads that may be of interest to those who have followed the history of the site.  If you're a long time member be sure to check out the "long time member check-in thread".


* The 2015 10th Anniversary DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Cheer for Victory Thread!
* The DonationCoder 2015 10th Anniversary Fundraiser is Now Officially Over!
* Forum Upgraded August 30, 2015 - Report issues here
* Official CMS Migration Progress Thread - September 2015
* DonationCoder Major Upgrades - Progress Report Thread
* New quick video tour of DonationCoder.com uploaded
* 10th Anniversary - Long time member check-in thread

3. Mouser's Software Updates

I've uploaded some updates to many of my large applications since the last newsletter, including some new Beta releases to improve Windows 10 and high-dpi compatibility.  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).


* Screenshot Captor v4.10 Stable and v4.13 Beta
* Find and Run Robot 2.223.1
* Clipboard Help+Spell v2.29 Stable and v2.31 Beta
* URL Snooper v2.38
* Easy Screencast Recorder v1.12
* LaunchBar Commander v1.145
* MiniCap v1.32
* Webcam Video Diary 1.03

4. Mouser's Software Discussions

I don't normally add a section in the newsletter collecting forum discussion threads about my apps, but thought I would give it a try in this edition, with a small collection of miscellaneous feature requests, bugs, and questions.  If you don't use one these apps, you can safely skip this section!


* SC: Help! loooong delay on active window capture
* SC: How to change screen capture "shutter" sound?
* SC: Can I capture selected region in less steps?
* CHS: Hotkey access to favorites?
* CHS: Re-ordering groups?
* CHS: Other paste methods, like imitate typing?
* FARR: Creating Aliases With Optional Parameters
* FARR: Some aliases I'd like to share
* FARR: New keyboard, hotkey not working: how do I activate FARR?
* FARR: What are %SPECIALSYS_APPS% and %SPECIALSYS_DOCS%?
* FARR: Run a batch file without launching a “command window”
* FARR: Change in master hotkey
* LBC: Docking alignment?
* LBC: Problem launching Firefox with commandline
* The Form Letter Machine: Variables?

5. Skwire Empire Software Updates and New Releases

DC 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 and a few brand new releases:


* MPH (Media Player Hotkeys) v1.1.2
* PlayTime v1.4.5
* sChecklist v1.1.6
* SigcheckGUI v1.1.0
* Snap DB v1.5.1
* Splat v1.1.8
* sWeather v1.5.5
* Trout v1.06 build 76

6. User-to-User: Your Input Requested

We 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.


* The joy of seeing a first time forum poster
* Micro Reviews of Board Games
* What online services do you pay for?
* What's living in your taskbar notification area right now?
* What software do you use to create an Audio CD?
* How are we all getting by with our reading organization/tracking post-RSS?
* So, what pdf reader app is your fave?
* Web design question: laying out one 'simple' page on my own?
* Recommend 32-bit software for old WinXP machine I'm giving an elderly woman
* How do you resist buying ever more powerful PCs?
* Partitioning or Not w. single HDD?
* Interested in doing my own car maintenance.. Advice?
* Laptop tray - for your lap [Recommendations?]
* Ran a 10k race today.. any other runners here?
* On the road again - remote windows access from chromebook, tablet, library-hotel?

7. Coding Snacks, Mini-reviews, and other Member Projects

We 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!


* TextOverlayTool
* Mini-review: Tabs Outliner for Chrome
* Some Thoughts on Sony's DPT-S1 (Digital Paper System)
* Looking for White-on-Black or Transparent Menu-Less Text Displayer
* Tool: Move files, replace with shortcuts to those files
* Tool: Delete every N files, or keep only every N files
* Pastebin command-line app for windows
* Request: Deepdream frontend.
* WildOpal - hypothetical new idea for a "find and replace" program

8. Website Discoveries, Debates, Essays, and Discussions

What'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..


* Nice essay on the Prisoner's Dilemma Tournaments
* Startups and the Big Lie
* Explorable Explanations
* Thoughts on "next generation" forum systems? (Discourse, nodeBB, etc.)
* Your Stuff Really Is Breaking Faster Than It Used To
* Implications of a global market on random success
* What happens when a Kickstarter project fails to launch?
* Simpler tax forms? Intuit says NO!
* Inceptionism: DeepDream trippy new artform from the Google people...
* A short history of Google's algorithm updates
* Comparison of FREE Cloud Storage services.
* Parcel shoppers & forwarders: anti_not-available-in-your-area: get what you want!
* A website where online folks can "sign" a card digitally - then send by mail?
* A Reddit AMA with John McAfee!
* SourceForge takes over GIMP for Windows’ account to peddle adware
* Email account with fastest sign up
* Firefox drastically bleeding market share
* No more Filehippo for me
* DSLR Camera Simulator

9. Software Discussions - General Discussion

Some noteworthy general software discussions on the forum since the last newsletter:


* Raymond.cc roundup of ad blocking extensions
* Awesome software for kids
* Android: Recommend form-filler/password manager, please?
* LastPass alternatives with two-factor authentication? (including premium LP)
* Create Restore Point question
* Any free portable pdf editor with these features?
* Recommendations for a free image viewer with strong editing features
* AV testing: Is your antivirus app doing its job?
* Label making software
* Software wanted: warn when free RAM falls below xxx MB
* Looking for File Explorer with Move and Rename Features
* Nifty FREE Utility to do almost anything to a filename in Windows
* Batch PDF printing
* Raffle/random choice software?
* Android like Typing Assistant for Windows PC?
* Recommended replacement for Push The Friggin Button (PTFB)?
* Fax Software
* Bargain Watch software?
* Looking for a very flexible timer
* The Best List of Free Windows Security Software on the Web
* Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer
* Newer password keepers/form-fillers - anyone using Dashlane or 1Password?
* Question about syncing only new files

10. Software Discussions - Specific Apps

Some noteworthy software discussions on the forum about specific software applications since the last newsletter:


* Pale Moon and Firefox - The Honeymoon Period is Over
* Chocolatey...opinions? portable?
* Mozilla to replace add-ons with Chrome compatible extensions
* WinPatrol going subscription
* What's up with WinPatrol?
* Microsoft "Hyperlapse" tech is finally available to play with
* uBlock Origin (Chrome ad blocker extension) - I like it!
* Ooh, CarotDAV portable ROCKS!
* SSD-Z - shows you a few stats about your SSD/HDD
* uBlock ad blocker and unwanted behavior
* Softmaker Office 2016 released
* BitTorrent Sync 2.0 Sucks!
* FossaMail - brought to you by the makers of Pale Moon
* Vivaldi, the new Web browser for power users
* Comodo Internet Security -- a cautionary tale?
* PixiShot photo manager (from WebSite-Watcher author)
* What3words
* Avoid AdBlock Plus for Android!
* You can now run Android apps on a Mac or PC with Google Chrome
* Panda Free Antivirus 2015 anyone using?

11. Software Discussions - Windows 10

We've had enough Windows 10 posts since the last newsletter to devote a full section to it here.  The general consensus on the web seems to be that it's a solid improvement, but you can see from the forum that upgrading has not been entirely painless for everyone:


* Windows 10 will be free for "genuine and non-genuine" users
* Windows 10 Privacy Concerns
* Windows 10 All In one Shortcut bar
* Free Windows 10 Tweaker @TheWindowsClub
* Is Windows 10 a trojan?
* The stupid windows 10
* Windows 10 Clean Install Instructions
* Windows 10: Migration-woes thread
* PSA: Woe to Thee Who Performs a Windows 10 Clean Install
* Question regarding Win10 upgrade
* Windows 10 Tips

12. Entertainment, Games, and Humour

Here's a collection of some fun or funny web browsing links posted on the forum recently.


* Steam Introduces Refunds
* Whole Room Watercooling
* Documentary film online: THOSE WHO ARE JESUS (2001) - 3 people with god delusion
* Rock Paper Shotgun: 25 Best Co-Op (video) Games Ever Made
* Any difficulty in doing knots?
* Memoir of a Part-time Knight - comic about girls and gaming
* Astonishing comics that 'save your game' when you turn the page
* Game Over. No, really... "The Flock" will shutdown after all players die
* Plink - a super intuitive multiplayer music experience
* Incredibox - Express your musicality!
* Some photos from our last walk
* Patent your mom tips
* IRLDD DC Meetup April 2015: Upcoming Trip to Singapore and Malaysia

13. Developer's Corner

This section highlights some discussions that might be relevant for not just coders and developers, but also people interested in entrepreneurial issues.


* AWS security woes
* Hack font v.2
* "Think X" Book Series and the Textbook Manifesto
* Source 2 (Engine by Valve) will be free for content developers
* Unity 5 now free for everyone!
* Unreal Engine 4 is now free* for everyone!
* LiveCoding - watch others code
* Can someone help me with some useful information about Yii framework?
* Unity (Game Engine) Comes to Linux: Experimental Build Now Available
* Microsoft is open-sourcing its iOS to Windows porting tools
* Is it possible to easily build a GUI mockup?
* Webassembly: Big four to develop binary format for the web

14. Announce Your Software/Service/Product

On most forums people are banned as spammers if they post about a product they are personally involved in.  While we show spammers no mercy, we think it's silly to ban people from posting about something interesting just because they are involved in it.  Instead, we simply require people to make such posts in a specific area of the forum, and make clear any relationship they have with a product when posting, and refrain from simply copying and pasting standard press release text.  Here are some recent posts from that section:


* WildGem 1.1
* PixCalc - a handy pixel-to-inches/centimeters calculator
* SunsetScreen v1.0
* Context Note
* Lintalist - searchable interactive text to copy & paste with plugins
* Compressed archive NSE (7Z/RAR/ISO etc)
* onEVENT for Linux
* Paste As File 5.0
* Hyper Plan 50% off

15. Security Corner

There were many security-related posts on the forum since the last newsletter; here are some of the most noteworthy:


* Security: Seagate Wireless HDD Undocumented Accessible Telnet Services
* Security: Stagefright Vulnerability (Android)
* Be prepared against ransomware viruses..
* HTTPS exploit ready to terrorise
* Firefox users, here's a security flaw you'll need to fix
* LastPass hacked
* New WordPress exploit makes it easy to hijack wp sites - fix just released
* Lists of "Rogue Security Software"?
* uTorrent has gone rogue
* TSA's master keys leaked, 3D printed
* New vulnerability found in older Intel processors
* Beware: A Dangerous Windows 10 Ransomware Scam Is Spreading Online
* Need SSL Certificate Recommendations
* Twitter is less anonymous for TOR users

16. Hardware Hangout

While the lion's share of technical discussions on our forum involve Microsoft Windows software, hardware and linux threads are becoming increasingly common.


* How Much RAM? 4GB vs. 8GB vs. 16GB Performance - TechSpot
* New printers that come with refillable ink tanks?
* Tindie: DIY Maker Store
* Using a Webcam as a security camera?
* The end of the hard disk
* Anyone want to team up on a little fun hardware project? a 2xl tinypc toy
* The End of my Macbook Pro Experiment
* Kickstarter Highlight: Onion Omega (like Raspberry Pi, etc.)
* Automakers Want to Outlaw Gearheads From Working on Their Own Cars
* Need help guidance as a beginner of Android world
* VOIP - alternatives, PROs and CONs.

17. The "My Computer Just Died" Section

For some reason there were quite a few threads since the last newsletter dealing with computers that died suddenly and stopped booting.  Read on for some spooky tales of panic and dread:


* Scary Windows error: Failure to log in to profile, loading of temp profile
* Nothing working to get FUBAR PC to boot
* HELP! AMD Catalyst update broke my PC - How best to reinstall Windows 7?

tomos:
Great job :Thmbsup:

ToddWC:
Epic!

Deozaan:
Thanks for the newsletter! I found some good stuff that I missed, and rediscovered some older topics that interested me. :D

wraith808:
Thanks for the newsletter! I found some good stuff that I missed, and rediscovered some older topics that interested me. :D
-Deozaan (September 15, 2015, 12:29 PM)
--- End quote ---

Deo sums up my thoughts!  :Thmbsup:

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