Author Topic: SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help (Read 396105 times)

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #375 on:** March 26, 2008, 03:52 PM »

I have not yet uploaded that version above, simply because I am making small changes to unrelated things in the program (MediaControl's player interface is not tall enough, for example). I am currently preparing to install Xubuntu, but I will try to remember to upload a beta version to be played with later today/early tomorrow

tomos · « **Reply #376 on:** March 26, 2008, 04:45 PM »

no panic here when I think about it $:-\$

I mightn't get to install anyway till next week cause I'm not at pc @ weekend....

Curt · « **Reply #377 on:** March 26, 2008, 06:15 PM »

One step to get inside the << 800 pixels >> boundary again?
- I see no reason not to.

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #378 on:** March 26, 2008, 07:45 PM »

Ahh! I will see what I can do about trimming those extra pixels off. Will work on it later today as I am currently in Linux, tinkering about (SnapSuite for *nix, one day, perhaps

).

I was hoping that 800x600 was gone, but oh well - it is no problem

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #379 on:** March 27, 2008, 01:03 AM »

By the way, Walt did this for me about a year or so ago, when I was in the middle of building the 3rd rewrite of the AHK SnapSuite. It is a very good graphic and I plan on putting it on the website soon.

Image here: http://img187.images.../snapsuiteboxwq9.jpg

Now, if only that was on a shelf, in a store...

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #380 on:** March 27, 2008, 01:45 AM »

Double posting, but oh well...

Curt and tomos can try out the latest beta, available at http://mazecraze.dci...ite 2008 Private.exe

Sorry Curt, it is still a little over 800 wide, but you *shouldn't* miss anything important. I still need to shrink it a bit. $:-\$

The Custom buttons for Total Care in SystemCare do NOT function yet, but you can still use the ones above them (same buttons, but the bottom ones just don't have functions yet).

Please tell me what you like and don't like, and tell me if the CrossLoop idea (see the second SystemCare tab) is good or bad.

-Brandon

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #381 on:** March 27, 2008, 09:34 PM »

OK, here we go - just another beta upload, the buttons still don't work (see above), however this build brings 2 updates and a bugfix

Features:

1) The GUI is now exactly 800x600 (so, while it uses the entire screen, it still works 100% on 800x600 now - and SystemCare hides when you run maintenance now, so there isn't much of an issue with this...)

2) A much planned and finally completed update of InstantSweep. This version is *really* instant, as you will only see it for ~1/2 a second on older computers (newer PCs in good condition may only see a flash). It eliminates the annoying MessageBoxes, and replaces it with an updating GUI. A ProgressBar was planned, but it cleaned so fast in my tests that I found it idiotic to add such a thing.

Bugfix:

1) NTREGOPT was missing its language localization file (I only include the US English version, just to let you know). I have added this file back in so NTREGOPT is now usable. (Visual Basic didn't know what the file was, so it ignored it at build time.)

It is at the same link, http://mazecraze.dci...202008%20Private.exe, so grab it if you want it.

Just FYI, this version is codenamed "Minimized" (due to the loss of 88 pixels in width and 16 in height!)

-Brandon

EDIT: It appears that NONE of the Custom maintenance buttons work!

I will fix this and upload tomorrow along with a couple other tweaks.

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #382 on:** March 29, 2008, 12:57 AM »

Alright, as a suprise to everyone (with a select three or so excluded) I am now typing this on the new SmartBrowse. This version is deemed 2.0, and was created off of the base code of IE7Clone (publically available code by Thomas Maxwell -the author of the tab control system is Eduardo Oliveira). I took this openly available browser, converted it to VB 9.0 code, and dumbed it down - while some may not like what they are about to read, I may add it in later, depending on requests.

Items removed:

IE7-style notification bar
Download manager interface (it wasn't complete, so I didn't see a reason to keep it...)
Options
RSS reader
History
Bookmarks
a few other things...

However, SmartBrowse is a "basic" browser. Right now though, it has several advantages...

Popup blocker (this is standard nowadays, but still)
Phishing Filter (yep, I left this one in - it is untested, but should work normally; if I did it right, it should be silent)
(Lightening) Fast - opens fast, tabs (oh yea, did I mention tabs?) open and close fast (tabs close faster than you can react!!!)
TABS!!! Open as many as you want! Browser fanatics rejoyce!
Standard Ctrl+T tab opening (however no Ctrl+W tab closing)
Uses the IE rendering engine, so you can use your favorite sites (and Microsoft Update too!)
Has encryption for websites (banks, PayPal, etc)
Pages load EXTREMELY quickly
Supports Java/Flash AND SILVERLIGHT (!)
Large (48x48) buttons keep everything easy to use at the top of the browser
No extra clutter - everything is at the top, with a *tiny* statusbar at the bottom.
Automatically maximizes on startup - allowing you to view the web without anything in your way
Use and manage web search engines
Easy to use - ANYONE can use this - you get no questions, no menus, nothing - it is still the simplest browser (if you know of an easier one, let me know!)

I have attatched a screenshot of the current setup below - note that there is no "Clear Browsing Data" button right now. After I post this (and get done browsing youtube

I will add that back in. I will probobally make the URL bar longer, and a couple other things.

PLEASE!

(I don't have a spell checker on this, so please forgive my (most likely many) mistakes

)

-Brandon

tomos · « **Reply #383 on:** March 29, 2008, 03:32 AM »

superficial comments here only

Large (48x48) buttons keep everything easy to use at the top of the browser
No extra clutter - everything is at the top, with a *tiny* statusbar at the bottom.
-wreckedcarzz (March 29, 2008, 12:57 AM)

these seem a little contradictory ?!?
I think it would be nice to have an option to have small (or smaller) icons as well for once people get to know it

I can think of a few people I could recommend this to - I was trying to help someone figure out IE lately (dont know which version - the one without the menu - but I couldnt even figure the $&%§ thing out - I havent really looked closely at it in years...)

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #384 on:** March 29, 2008, 03:36 AM »

While 48x48 sounds large, most people have large screens and high resolution graphics cards these days (including integrated) so it is actually just enough to feel "cozy" (IMO). I might make the buttons smaller, but I don't really see a reason to. 32x32 just feels too... Windows 9x (once again, my opinion).

It is easy to use, but it can have issues with multimedia for some reason (YouTube video controls suddenly stop taking commands, for instance). Not sure why. Fixed with a close+open, or waiting a few seconds sometimes. Still looking for problems. Seems that is the only one...so far...

(I am actually using this right now (SmartBrowse), I actually like it...more than my FireFox install... it is kinda scaring me

)

Curt · « **Reply #385 on:** March 29, 2008, 01:48 PM »

I tried the SnapSuite VB rev 2 version today, and you know what, Brandon? In my opinion you should take some more time to work on SmartBrowse in order to (also?) offer it as a stand-alone program; it has so much potential!

But of course, IE8 is just around the corner... $:-\$

Anyway, no matter how fine SmartBrowse may be, I know by experience that I am not likely to start SnapSuite in order to start SmartBrowse. Nor will I start SnapSuite in order to start SnapScreen. On my PC I will not start one program just in order to start another - one, that is so small and yet so capable it could easily be a stand-alone program. So SnapSuite must already be open, if I am to use any of the programs it offers inside, and I am not sure I can see why I would have SnapSuite open? Should SnapSuite be a new smart desktop widget?!!

Could you please tell HOW you use SnapSuite?

BTW: AppLaunch wouldn't start anything. Not Firefox, IE, Maxthon, Thunderbird, Winamp, or RealPlayer.

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #386 on:** March 30, 2008, 04:16 AM »

I plan on making SmartBrowse somewhat Standalone, as it will be launched seperately from SnapSuite as soon as I get this 2.0 ready for mainstream usage (huge gaping bug may force me to remove the Search box

). But it is good to know that you like it!

Yes, IE8 Beta 1 is already out, but all I see in it is more annoying updating (I spent 3 weeks getting IE7 Beta 2 uninstalled, WITH Microsoft "support"!!!) and nothing more than an updated interface and "web standards" support. Nonetheless, I have a lot of options at my disposal currently to tweak this web browser and keep it up to date - it can be annoying, but I learn a lot through trial and error.

Curt, your idea of running SnapSuite to "run" another program died on the last main release. Right now, SnapScreen is built into SnapSuite (you click it and it works right there), SmartBrowse I may add a desktop shortcut to after this, but basically this is how you are "supposed" to use SnapSuite...

SnapSuite is meant to be open all the time now. It is a "holder" for everything inside. You just navigate to what you need and use it. It launches next to no external programs now (check the folder %Program Files%\SnapSuite 2008 and you will see a few EXEs for SystemCare and ~15 other files; mostly for other small uses that I need to clean up. The DLLs control MediaControl, by the way.).

And yes, I know of this strange bug - NONE of the buttons work for some wierd reason

??? Only the SystemCare buttons on the left (OneStep) work. I have absolutely NO idea what is causing this, but it will be fixed before I send out a new update.

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #387 on:** March 30, 2008, 11:25 PM »

Alright, button fiasco has been resolved. The buttons somehow came "unattatched" from their Click event strings (the event that occurs when you click the button) and they therefore weren't doing anything. So that is all fixed.

However, speaking on Curt's issue - all the AppLaunch buttons were fine; make sure the programs are installed to the default directories AND in the C:\ drive. I don't understand the Windows registry very well, so I can't determine program locations on individual computers. I just launched another Firefox window by clicking Start Firefox, so the buttons do in fact work.

No program updates though, I have some more work to do to get SB (SmartBrowse) working with SS (SnapSuite) properly. And I have a couple problems with it I need to fix.

-Brandon

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #388 on:** March 31, 2008, 07:45 PM »

I am trying to salvage what I can of the SB web search box, but it isn't looking too hopeful right now. $:-\$

I just figured I would give an FYI to everyone that I am using the latest version of AHK for the AHK scripts that are left (the new InstantSweep uses it) and I will be updating all AHK files to the new version. If your virus scanner goes off next update, that is probably why (although it could still be something unrelated to SnapSuite, of course (and hopefully!)).

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #389 on:** April 01, 2008, 06:20 PM »

Being in a Media Productions class, I have been working on lots of (media) stuff. Images, videos, sounds. Somewhat complex, especially because I love to tinker.

Took a leap with one of my Creative Commons songs, and pulled the first 6 seconds out, and added a long fade (in) effect and a short fade (out) effect (at beginning and end respectively). This I am choosing to use as the SnapSuite welcome sound (somewhat similar to the idea of the Windows XP/Vista welcome sound).

I chose this particular part because it is at the beginning of the song, and it just seems to be relaxing. It is kind of like "welcome, have a look around". It ends somewhat abruptly but I wanted it to be short (10 seconds is a bit lengthy for a small sound effect).

You can download it (linked as attachment) below - just a small MP3. Opinions, please?

-Brandon

EDIT: It is notable that the Media class is Macintosh based, and this was (proudly) done on a Windows PC

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #390 on:** April 04, 2008, 09:05 PM »

First of all, if you read the post title in Pop-Up Cody or somewhere else, before you are mislead...

No program updates yet - (still) more work to do. I want to make this a good, worthy update.

Alright, after quite a few hectic days and I have some good/updated news...

FastNote will NOT be canceled!

SnapSuite news:
I have been working my behind off the last 3 nights (I have gotten about 25 hours sleep this week - I usually get 36+) getting the New/Open/Save options for FastNote working (so that you can actually USE it) and after extensive debugging, repair, and testing - it handles text files wonderfully. There are a few things I would like to add, but they are minor things ("Would you like to save? Yes/No" When you don't save before clicking New, etc...) so I won't work on them now.

I am very proud of myself, as I am really worried that I am not able to get everything working as I really hope to do. I don't want to say things and then let people down (including myself).

I have also been fixing very minor things (things you just expect a program to do - just small items) and fixing the code base. AutoType is f*cked - I have no idea what to do about that right now... $:-\$

Video/commercial:
I am also thinking about a commercial (just for DC, for fun) for SnapSuite - something really short and basic, but just kinda "cool". I am not sure wether I want to post about that or not (because then there is the idea of me posting and no one replying, therefore my looking idiotic - or the problem of privacy and whatnot - and other stuff that could go along with it). It is an interesting idea, just not sure if it would be ... "welcome" (if you will). Can't really explain it any other way.

Question/comments/ideas - post 'em!

-Brandon

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #391 on:** April 05, 2008, 10:22 PM »

SnapSuite Component Status Overview:

Figured I would give an overall completion amount for all SnapSuite components (as I call them)...

(I have been working my butt off adding things and changing the overall appearance to make SnapSuite extremely easy to use and easy to open it and just "get it done" without lengthy navigation)

QuickStart (the main menu) has been polished over and is complete
AppLaunch is complete
AutoType needs to be repaired (heavily) @ ~60% completion (it is looking grim) - IM clearing is complete
DateMaker is complete (known bug: XP displays calendars differently from Vista (causing the strange appearance on XP) - SnapSuite is "designed for Windows Vista, compatible with Windows XP", so Vista overrides XP)
FastNote is complete EXCEPT the ability to print
KidDraw still needs to be integrated - 5% completion on the main GUI side, ~25% overall
MediaControl is complete
SmartBrowse 1.0 is complete
SmartBrowse 2.0 is complete.
SystemCare is complete ~~EXCEPT automatic maintenance EXEs~~.
The Support section is complete
The About section is complete

There are still several things I want to add afterwards, but so far I am very happy with the overall result. The only disappointment I have is that I am worried that KidDraw will be very basic and just be able to make doodles - no saving, no opening, no printing. But we shall see...

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #392 on:** April 07, 2008, 06:08 PM »

I have come from VB Land with exciting news

I was fortunate to find a better tutorial online that explains making functional drawing boards, and instead of the crappy WPF tutorial Microsoft offers, I found one that uses the normal Windows Application tools - allowing me to integrate it almost seamlessly (after some modification and adding of features, of course).

So I present now the first working model of the drawing board that is PART of SnapSuite; along with my lovely drawing

(I am going to try to work on loading images (at least) after posting - it might work...maybe...)

-Brandon

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #393 on:** April 08, 2008, 12:05 AM »

I have been working constantly since my last post- mostly on KidDraw, but a little bit on other features. Here is a summary of what you can expect from KidDraw:

It WILL be able to...
"clean" your "page" (New)
SAVE images made in KidDraw to JPG files

It WILL NOT be able to...
open existing images (I will keep trying, but...)
print (as with FastNote, I want to have this option, but it looks too advanced for me)
Cut/Copy/Paste/Select All/Undo

Although it has...
adjustable brush sizes to fit individual requirements
several different colors to choose from for individual requirements

So it can paint, save, and clear - just the basics. But that is still enough to get creative with, right?

(I have been sending out copies to select people and have gotten nothing but positive feedback - a few feature ideas, but nothing negative

)

See the attached image that my friend Mariana did (used to do graphics work for SnapSuite) - it was done completely in KidDraw!!!

(NOTE: In her image, the Save button is disabled - I worked the code out for the button while she did this)

-Brandon

wreckedcarzz · « **Reply #394 on:** April 09, 2008, 02:06 AM »

Alright, as I head off to bed I thought I would post my progress from today...

SnapSuite will now have a splash screen. I made it myself in Photoshop and personally think it looks quite good.
Said splash screen will FADE in and out! It will reach 100% opacity (normal) and decline back to 0%.
During the splash screen being open, the SnapSuite Loading Sound will play.

Also, I learned about opacity from a separate (and not successful) experience, and I also figured out how Timers work. Good stuff to know for future reference.

-Brandon

Deozaan · « **Reply #395 on:** April 09, 2008, 02:21 AM »

Okay, so after months of ignoring this thread, I decided to finally try out SnapSuite because some of the things are actually interesting. Amazing what you find out when you read what the product is.

So I managed to find a link several posts previous to this one. It was hard to find! Not a good thing, if you want people to actually download your program, you need to make the download link easy to find. Even if you're working on new features, you need the latest stable version easily findable and downloadable! I suggest using your forum signature to link to the post/site with the latest version.

I installed it and launched it. First impressions are very important. That's why your user's first thoughts should not be: "WHAT THE SMURF IS THAT?"

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

Seriously? Six icons that take up half of my screen space? BAD! Those could easily be quarter the size (50%) and still feel a little too large. If you really want me to "Get started quickly with SnapSuite" then you need all of the quicklaunch icons available at a glance. I shouldn't have to scroll to see them all.

I think I know what you're going to say, especially based on some screenshots I've seen here in this thread. "SnapSuite is intended to be viewed fullscreen." Sorry, but with dual 19" monitors, there is hardly a thing I can stand to have maximized anymore. Don't force your preferences on your users.

Also, I noticed that when I hover over some of the icons, no description help bubble things pops up, and actually if I hover over the SnapScreen icon, it takes me directly to the SnapScreen tab without me clicking or anything.

Okay, now that I've finished talking about that, I can actually try out the features of the program.

AppLaunch:

I'm not sure how this is coded in there, but since I only have 3 of the applications installed (Firefox, IE, and Windows Media Player) I'm wondering if these buttons would break if someone were to customize their installation path for any of these programs. Then again, you probably did it the smart way and used registry information or something I have no idea about since I don't do this kind of programming.

EDIT: The FAQ answers this question:

Q: When I try to start a program with AppLaunch, nothing happens. What is the problem?
A: You need to have the program installed in order for it to launch. It also needs to be installed to the default directory.

In my opinion having quicklaunch bars for 7 web browsers is kind of useless. Especially if I only have 2 of them installed. I don't know how feasible this is, but AppLaunch would be much better if you could add entries yourself. Or, perhaps an even better idea, is if there's a way to detect if it's installed or not, just link to the application homepage to download it it if isn't installed already.

I also just noticed that the "Recommend a program to add" and "Help" buttons don't do anything for me. In fact, the Help button doesn't do anything for me on any of the tabs. I haven't tried any of the other buttons in the other tabs yet since I want to go through each section at a time.

Speaking of which... On to the next section!

AutoType:

Once again the buttons and things are too large for the screen:

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

That means I can't read the instructions. In fact, even if I grudgingly resize the window, it doesn't help anything. How does that make sense?

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

Okay, so visual problems aside... I can't get this to work. I press F1 and it makes SnapSuite disappear for a split second and then it comes back, but no text is pasted anywhere. I can see that it takes practice, so I figure I'll try clicking the button and clicking in this text box where I'm typing this right now to you. You can see from my screenshots what it should be typing. I'll do it right now:

And.. nothing happens. Actually the first time I did it, it locked up my computer for about 45 seconds. No mouse, no keyboard, no response.

Hi! I'm back. Back from where you might ask? A total system meltdown. After I had finished telling typing out that the AutoType stuff wasn't working, I noticed a giant button at the bottom that says "Clear/Hide your instant message history..."

I clicked it. I noticed an AHK script show up in my tray that said IM history will be cleared in 5 seconds. I clicked back here in anticipation and waited. Then this happened:

What the heck just happened?

NOTICE: POS
|
|
|NO
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P ||O S

||
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|IP c
E O|| | S

N|||O T I

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o|
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T | I

|C|
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:\
| | |P|

OS
|
|: |

|| P
| O|

| S

||

It wrote all that stuff in here. "That was odd," I thought. Then suddenly 5 more AHK icons showed up in my tray. Each one saying IM will be cleared in 5 seconds.

OH SMURF!
(Blue because Smurfs are blue)

I rushed my mouse over to try to close them out but was not fast enough. Suddenly everything on my desktop started opening up. A million zillion Windows Explorers opened up, and every couple of seconds another 5 or 8 or 10 AHK icons popped up in the tray again, repeating the process indefinitely. There was nothing I could do but hit the reset button.

And that, my friend, is where I'm going to have to end this little review. I'm afraid of what might happen if I continue to use SnapSuite. I'm fortunate I didn't have any unsaved documents open at the time of that total meltdown. I'm especially dreadful of what could happen in the SystemCare tab.

EDIT:

Okay, I felt it a little unfair to end there after all. While I was flipping through the tabs to see if the Help button did anything in any tab (it doesn't) I noticed some very cool stuff in your Support and About tabs.

Support:

I like how you've used the built in browser (SmartBrowse?) to display the FAQ, SnapSuite Website, etc. What I think is especially cool is how you've got this very thread (and it always goes to the latest post) as one of the Support Tabs. Very good idea!

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

Very cool!

About:

Pretty much the same thing here. It was a good idea to include info about SnapSuite being a part of the NANY 2008 Coding Challenge (but the image you're using shows a picture of Cody sleeping on Jan 01, 2007)

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

Then also a cool idea is to once again use the built in browser to show off DonationCoder.com and even the lovable (though currently migrated for Winter) WTFCody.com

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

SnapSuite program family/Free online computer help

That's a nice touch!

Curt · « **Reply #396 on:** April 09, 2008, 06:36 PM »

@ Brandon. My little head is confused about the very purpose of SnapSuite. I would like to encourage you to re-consider what the program is supposed to do. I am not likely to open it in order to use a painter, a musicplayer, or a text editor, or any other of that kind of programs - I have better options for this kind of jobs right at hand. SnapSuite has so far been branded as a smart and effecient way to keep my PC clean and healthy. What the *smurf* does all these extras have to do with a healthy machine?

Your head is so full of ideas that I truly must envy you!!, -but it may be helpfull to keep the ideas grouped / seperated, "one item at a time" and "each job in its own time", you know. Sometimes it just is necessary to "kill your darlings"...

You are obviously very talented, so I have great faith that you will write the most awesome programs. Now, kill some darlings, and Go Writing!

mouser · « **Reply #397 on:** April 09, 2008, 06:40 PM »

One does get the feeling that SnapSuite is something of Brandon's Do-it-all repository for all things.
I think the next project Brandon takes on could benefit from some brainstorming and planning here on the forum -- maybe a smaller more focused utility dedicated to solving a specific need.

Veign · « **Reply #398 on:** April 09, 2008, 06:47 PM »

Feature Creep is one of those things a young programmer needs to learn to handle and avoid. Its so tempting and hard to ignore since you want to get all your ideas into the application.

My recommendation is to create a suite of standalone, specific, applications where each one performs a specific thing. Then when you still have more to give but no desire to create an application, start releasing source code (classes and code snippets) and give it away on your website.

That's what I had to do. I have a few tools which I enjoy maintaining and a code library where I give the rest away.

You have a ton of ideas and way more ambition than one person should be allowed to have

Good luck.

Deozaan · « **Reply #399 on:** April 09, 2008, 08:17 PM »

Thinking about the purpose of some of these utilities, I see some very powerful tools being used alongside some utilities (er... one utility) meant for kids. The practical application of KidDraw is not very good if the child can also accidentally click on the other tabs that will mess with your registry or whatever.

My recommendation is to create a suite of standalone, specific, applications where each one performs a specific thing.
-Veign (April 09, 2008, 06:47 PM)

I think this is spot on. We have great examples just at this website of lots of little software applications that do one specific task and do it well. Just think if Skrommel's One-Hour software all came bundled together. Every tool in Skrommel's catalog is useful. It's been directly requested by someone on this site. But that doesn't mean every tool is useful to everyone. Skromme's One-Hour software would not be nearly the success it is if you had to install all of them just to use the one or two you wanted.

I'm even reminded of some software I used years ago when I was still in high school: AnalogX Software. That guy has a little of everything, and at one point I even regularly used 4-5 applications at once from him. I remember specifically using CookieWall, POW!, MaxMem, Rhyme, SuperShredder, SimpleServer WWW, ScriptDefender, Virtual Piano, and Vocoder. Probably even more that I just can't think of right now.

The cool thing about software like this is that it's small, it's specific to one purpose, and if you like the purpose of the other applications you can get them, too. But if you don't have a use for them, you're not forced to download extra features that as a user you would consider useless bloat.