Newsletter for April 21st, 2007
Codename "Death and Taxes"
"If you read nothing else on our site, read our BLOG"
0. Greetings!April is tax month in the United States, and we know how stressful that can be! That's why we decided to only put out one newsletter this month instead of our normal two, to avoid distracting you too much. But now that it's past, you might need some help regaining your sanity. So to help you recover we've got a ton of easy and super-fun flash games for you in this month's newsletter, and some humorous website discoveries (do not miss the medieval tech support video). And if all this stress has given you some back aches, don't miss the back health site in the "Tips, Tricks, and Techniques" section of the newsletter.
April was also a very interesting and busy month on the site due to getting a glowing recommendation from Ian "Gizmo" Richards in his Tech Support Alert newsletter. I also had some real life visitors from the forum to my new apartment, at the first DonationCoder.com dinner. If you missed it don't feel sad, we'll have another very soon, and you are all welcome!
And if you noticed that we took a break from rounding up shareware discounts this month, don't worry, they will be back in May.
1. DonationCoder.com NewsWho's Gizmo, and why did he cause the largest single day of new members and donations on our site? And what do you do with your credits once you donate? Now's your chance to find out.
2. Your Input Requested!Ok, I'm going to start a new section of our newsletter - one devoted to hot threads on our forum where we'd like to hear back from our readers. It's ok if you're normally shy and reserved and scared to post questions and comments, but we give you permission to make an exception for these posts. Some people think our forum is only for expert power users, but it's really a giant mix of users, and we want you to participate, regardless of your background. So take a deep breath and jump in!
3. DonationCoder Software UpdatesHere come the updates! While work on Find and Run Robot 2 continues apace (see forum to request a preview download), we've been updating our other programs to add features based on your requests. Skrommel is also back with a cool new program, and a new author joins us with a very very cool file searching program (Argus Panoptes) which is capable of finding text based on non-exact search strings, like sound-alike words and typos (great for when you need to find something tricky). Keep your eyes open in the next few weeks for even more updates of programs like Process Tamer and more. Want to see the latest versions available for all of our programs?
https://www.donationcoder.com/Software/.
4. Mini-Reviews by MembersThe mini review section is where members on our forum can post short reviews about programs they like. It's a great way to spread the news about an under-appreciated application, and discover a new program. We've got some nice new mini-reviews for you this month. What's that? You want to read more? You can view them all at:
http://minireviews.donationcoder.com.
5. Fun and Casual GamesOur readers are obsessed with productivity and time management, but even the hardest workers need an occasional quick burst of recreation and diversion. Nothing too complicated -- just enough to recharge your batteries. The forum was bursting at the seams with great flash game discoveries this month, including a super new tower defense game that has to be tried (think of it like you are defending your money from IRS collection agents and you might enjoy it even more). And do NOT miss the brilliant and hilarious Medieval Tech Support video - hahahaahahahahah!!!!!
6. Tips, Tricks, and TechniquesWe love sharing tips on our forum, and you won't find a more friendly, helpful, knowledgeable group of people on any forum on the web. So if you have a question, just post it! Our motto: "No question goes unanswered!" And do you know about our coding snacks section? It's where everyday people can post ideas for small little utilities they would like to see implemented as freeware. Post your request and see if one of the coders on our site will implement it while you wait.
7. General Software DiscussionWe normally just have one "Software Discussion" section in our newsletter, but in the last month there have been so many noteworthy discussions about software that I've split up the posts into two sections. This section has the more general discussions where multiple programs are referenced.
8. Discussions about Specific ProgramsIf there is one trait that most of the people who visit the forum share in common, it's an interest in new software program discoveries. So sit down, brew yourself a cup of tea, and learn about some tools you've never heard of.. You might even find something you want to keep installed by the time the next newsletter comes out. And hey if you find something you like, make sure you make a post and add your opinion!
- WordPerfect Lightning - free beta by Corel
- Free Download Manager 2.3 BETA
- Windows Desktop Search 3.01 for XP
- J. River Media Center: Awesome for music, great for video, and good for pics
- XMplay 3.4 released
- ProcessMonitor 1.1 released by SysInternals
- Sumatra PDF Viewer is cool, thin, and open-source
- Link Commander: Good program, Bad support
- Quizo QTTabbar
- RegExBuddy
- DMEX Bar
- ImageTasks.com - Free image, batch-processing software
- SelfImage: The open-source hard disk imaging utility
- Directory Opus 9 Release
- System Safety Monitor
- KeyPass v2 previews are out
- KMPlayer and GOMPlayer
- Opera 9.2 is out
- Localdeli - Instant delicious search on your windows desktop
- Tweak VI — Don't waste your money
- PowerPro development to cease this month
- XNeat: rearrange taskbar, ontop windows, hide tray icons (free)
- PhotoWipe
- filehippo.com Update Checker (Beta)
- Looks like KeyPass, is named KeyPass, but is not... oops, I can't read... sorry
- DVDProfiler 3.0 is finally out !
- emailSTRIPPER - Freeware
- Fast Explorer: Tweak Your Context Menu
- SysExporter (export list/tree window contents)
- Engauge Digitizer - Digitize Graphs (freeware)
- DipStych - Open Source "Stitch" program
9. The Wonderful World of the WebAre you suffering from IOS (Internet Overload Syndrome)? We thought so. Have you just figured out what web2.0 means? (get ready because web3.0 is coming soon). To help reduce your overload, here's a list of some of the more interesting website discussions, debates, and discoveries that have come up on the forum over the last month..
10. Developer's CornerDon't be thrown off by the name of this section on our forum. It's not just for programmers. It's also for people interested in starting their own business and website developers, students an entrepreneurs. Even if you're not sure whether you belong in that category, you might want to peek your head in and see if there's anything interesting out there that might want you to start up a new hobby..
Ok, whew, that's it for this edition of the newsletter. Sorry it was so long, but it's hard to fit an entire month's worth of site news and discussions into a single newsletter! We'll be going back to putting out two newsletters each month in May. Hope to see you then!
-mouser (jesse)
