Author Topic: NANY 2009 Release: JustCloseSomeTasks 1.21 (Read 161,491 times)

justice · « **Reply #25 on:** December 17, 2008, 11:22 AM »

Version 1.10
* No longer just shows tasks activated after starting - all tasks are shown (thx Perry Mowbray)
* NEW: Exclude Process this session - excludes until JCST quits - process never gets checked
* NEW: Exclude Process permanently - see above but saved across sessions (thx PhilB66)
* NEW: Show/Hide excluded processes from the list
* NEW: Added bring to front / back (thx PhilB66)
* NEW: Run at startup preference (disabled by default - current user)
* wider main window

Version 1.11
* NEW: Exclude by Title (session and permanent): this allows you to exclude for example "Floating Toolbar" the roboform addin that uses the firefox.exe process.

Would be cool if it could detect when you've closed programs the normal way (outside JCST - using the taskbar or via the program itself), and use those stats, but I'm afraid this will probably be the final NANY release - however I'll be developing this program on a slightly slower pace after the contest. Thanks everyone for testing and supporting and big thanks to DC.

By the way, a nice tip: if no tasks are selected (for example after you closed several), clicking the Close Tasks button will hide JCST itself.

PhilB66 · « **Reply #26 on:** December 18, 2008, 08:22 AM »

@justice

This is shaping up as a very useful little utility. Thanks.

A few more suggestions...

- An option to set the "JustCloseSomeTasks" GUI "Always on Top"
- Add an option to maximize minimized tasks
- I would change "Exit" to "Close/Terminate" (on the right click menu)
- Would it be possible to add a history list of closed tasks from which one can restore a closed window/task?

Also, have you considered a "move to next monitor" option?

Cheers.

justice · « **Reply #27 on:** December 18, 2008, 09:36 AM »

Thanks Phil great ideas to increase its usefulness. With regards to:

"Would it be possible to add a history list of closed tasks from which one can restore a closed window/task?"
You should look at GoneIn60s, Skrommel's AHK utility that recovers closed windows. I don't see why it wouldn't work well with this program.

I don't have another monitor currently - but I've looked at another AHK script and JCST is already recognising the amount of monitors on the system, it's not doing anything with it at the moment. (but I'll try and add it in)

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #28 on:** December 18, 2008, 11:23 AM »

Hey justice: I was wondering about minimised windows. Do you think it's possible to score them higher so they are tagged for closing sooner? My logic is that if I've minimised a window then I'm not using it, so may I'd be happier to get rid of it sooner.

I'm not totally sure that that logic is correct: but it sounded right.

I also wondered about learning per Application. I think you're using the average wait? But... not all applications were created equal: I may like to wait longer for some than others before closing (actually, I'm sure that's true, but I don't have the data to prove it

).

justice · « **Reply #29 on:** December 18, 2008, 11:52 AM »

Good suggestions thanks Perry.
re minimizing: I'd like to try a scoring system for a major version update actually! Think I can actually add something in before that happens though now I think about it more.

re per application learning: Sounds good on paper Id need to track application closures outside JCST too to get enough data for this. And management options per application.

At the moment I'm just calculating by "total tasks closed"/"total inactive seconds" but as you experience for edge cases although simpler it's not as accurate as a scoring system like FARR. Should have called it Find and Close Robot

So good ideas keep them coming

Today's release

v1.12
* JCST now will always take averages to calculate Expiry time, but it's always changeable in preferences. If you experience weird expiry / stats values, please reset training data in the Preferences. This means that its behaviour is more consistent and predictable.
* Always on Top feature (view menu)
* maximize task (right click)
* Hide option (file menu)
* Updating Expiry time fixes
* Expiry time now correctly updates after closing a single task via right click menu. oops.
* layout fixes

Background Info
When no tasks have ever been closed or after Reset it starts as if 20 tasks that have been inactive for 3 minutes each have been closed, the first task closed is task 21, meaning it will slowly adjust to your behaviour.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #30 on:** December 18, 2008, 12:08 PM »

Quote from: justice on December 18, 2008, 11:52 AM

re per application learning: Sounds good on paper Id need to track application closures outside JCST too to get enough data for this. And management options per application.

As part of your timer procedure could you poll all the open windows each time and see which ones have been closed outside of JCST?

Quote from: justice on December 18, 2008, 11:52 AM

At the moment I'm just calculating by "total tasks closed"/"total inactive seconds" but as you experience for edge cases although simpler it's not as accurate as a scoring system like FARR. Should have called it Find and Close Robot

That has a nice ring to it!

Have you thought about notification? I'm wondering about a setting where the user can set the number of Inactive Tasks before the window pops up?

Also wondered about immediate mode where a smaller window pops up when each task goes over the expiry. Many applications are using this method of updating the user now, and it's handy (proactive programmes are very usable).

With Always On Top: should the interface be updated regularly? I also wondered about a smaller window for Always on Top, and maybe Transparent if I was going to leave it open.

PhilB66 · « **Reply #31 on:** December 19, 2008, 10:47 AM »

JCST was mentioned by Martin of gHacks.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #32 on:** December 19, 2008, 11:08 AM »

Quote from: PhilB66 on December 19, 2008, 10:47 AM

JCST was mentioned by Martin of gHacks.

Are they related to Technology Blog? $:-\$

or Telephone Issues?

PhilB66 · « **Reply #33 on:** December 19, 2008, 11:32 AM »

Quote from: Perry Mowbray on December 19, 2008, 11:08 AM

Quote from: PhilB66 on December 19, 2008, 10:47 AM
JCST was mentioned by Martin of gHacks.

Are they related to Technology Blog? $:-\$

or Telephone Issues?

Did a quick WHOIS search and AFAICT they are not related. Looks like these two sites are ripping content off of gHacks.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #34 on:** December 19, 2008, 11:36 AM »

Quote from: PhilB66 on December 19, 2008, 11:32 AM

Did a quick WHOIS search and AFAICT they are not related. Looks like these two sites are ripping content off of gHacks.

And they are all claiming copyright

PhilB66 · « **Reply #35 on:** December 19, 2008, 11:49 AM »

Posted a coment on gHacks.

ghacks · « **Reply #36 on:** December 19, 2008, 12:06 PM »

Guys it is actually not as bad as it sounds, the content stealing I mean. At least if they have the decency to link back to my website. If they do not I usually report them to Google Adsense and every other advertiser that they have. Most of these sites do not have means of contacting the owner. Telephone Issues are linking back to my site with the right keyword, that's nice. Technology Blog on the other hand is not.

app103 · « **Reply #37 on:** December 19, 2008, 12:14 PM »

Quote from: Perry Mowbray on December 19, 2008, 11:36 AM

Quote from: PhilB66 on December 19, 2008, 11:32 AM
Did a quick WHOIS search and AFAICT they are not related. Looks like these two sites are ripping content off of gHacks.

And they are all claiming copyright

These are what is known as splogs. They rip off content of other blogs in order to make money off of ad revenue without having to do any work themselves. Most have it automated by using the RSS feeds of the multiple sites they steal content from.

Their posts will sometimes show tell-tale signs of RSS snatching, such as footers that are added that link back to original site, related links that link back to original site, and various social media links that show the feedburner urls from the original site.

This is why if you have a blog, you need to add a footer to your feeds, containing a copyright notice and a link back to your blog, to alert people where the content really came from.

Now if you do things right, the sploggers that steal your content will be linking to you, driving your site higher in the search engines, and anyone that lands on the splogger page will know they are sploggers because of your footer, and you will have a line of text to do a Google search with, to easily find all the sploggers stealing your content.

Then if you choose to, you can spend all day sending out DMCA notices and have very little time left to do much else in your life, and that includes blogging. Most large popular blogs give up and just accept it as a futile battle and tell themselves that all the inbound links the sploggers are giving them just makes their blog more successful, in the long run, because in reality, it does.

But watch out... If you have a badge on your blog that states a Creative Commons license of any sort, you become fair game for sploggers and don't have a legal leg to stand on as long as the reposting of your content contains the elements required to comply with your chosen CC license. (Although if you choose noncommercial, you will have something to get them on, if the splog is plastered with ads/for-profit)

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #38 on:** December 19, 2008, 12:31 PM »

Quote from: ghacks on December 19, 2008, 12:06 PM

Telephone Issues are linking back to my site with the right keyword, that's nice.

You're right: I missed first time through, the orange was faint and I didn't roll over the link; and the links do link back to your site's tags!

justice · « **Reply #39 on:** December 22, 2008, 10:30 AM »

Woo thanks ghacks! I noticed some confusion in the terminology that's used - and I have originated that by maybe not choosing the best words to describe things.

Active tasks are interpreted as 'the window you are working with' - from a person's view not the system's view (not processes that use resources at a point in time). Which is why background processes would still be marked as inactive - the user hasn't worked with that window for a while. Task manager and the taskbar seemed to indicate that this is the terminology, and on windows systems there's a 1:1 relationship from windows to processes (not like mac os x). Autohotkey however calls it windows and processes - and I see how system administrators would see a task as a process not as a window - and if that's the view then the application doesn't behave as you expect a process/resource manager would.

Argh the confusion

justice · « **Reply #40 on:** December 26, 2008, 02:42 PM »

Version 1.12 is the final NANY release. I have enclosed the zip to the opening post for archiving. I'll keep developing it with your suggestions - so watch this space, the latest version link will keep working as well as dcupdater.

justice · « **Reply #41 on:** January 07, 2009, 05:43 PM »

Welcome all CybernetNews readers!!

Quote from: http://cybernetnews.com/2009/01/07/donationcoders-35-free-new-year-apps/

And I’ll save what I consider to be the best for last. It’s called JustCloseSomeTasks ... . This is a great tool for anyone who finds themselves overwhelmed with the number of windows they have open.

justice · « **Reply #42 on:** January 08, 2009, 10:31 AM »

I'd like to encourage people to give something back if they like the program, if they find it useful there should be the opportunity for them to contribute and make it more useful for others. So I thought maybe a nice textbox that would allow people to send feedback to me directly from the program, from the about box.

Question is:
1) Would that encourage you to fill it in? no other information will be sent with the feedback.
2) are there other ways which you have in the past contributed back to free programs?

PhilB66 · « **Reply #43 on:** January 08, 2009, 04:33 PM »

1. Here's how I'd do that...

[attach]

justice · « **Reply #44 on:** January 08, 2009, 04:37 PM »

Hey thanks again Phil! cheers and thanks for reminding me about adding it to the site.
I guess it's ok to load a webpage when asked for - for a program downloaded from the net anyways

mouser · « **Reply #45 on:** January 19, 2009, 10:09 PM »

Featured on DownloadSquad today:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/01/19/monitor-and-close-inactive-windows-tasks-with-justclosesometasks/

cmpm · « **Reply #46 on:** January 19, 2009, 10:33 PM »

http://www.downloadsquad.com/

2nd one on the list at this moment!

Congratulations!!!

This program as well as many 'NANY' programs are getting around!

Ryan_S · « **Reply #47 on:** January 22, 2009, 02:37 AM »

Found it's way to Lifehacker!

Good work!

justice · « **Reply #48 on:** January 22, 2009, 09:11 AM »

It also seems to pop up on software download sites like Softonic, which actually made their own review and puts the philosophy across perhaps even better than I ever have.

Quote from: http://justclosesometasks.en.softonic.com/

Do you sometimes find you are making your PC multitask a little too much? It's great being able to run lots of programs at the same time, but it affects performance. JustCloseSomeTasks is designed to help out by letting you close inactive apps with a hot key command.

Excellent couldn't have put it better than that. Although I have to add i'm not sure about any benefits performance wise, it's made just to declutter.

Nod5 · « **Reply #49 on:** January 27, 2009, 06:28 PM »

[edit: posted in wrong thread :-[]