Newsletter for August 21st, 2011 - "What's New With You?!"

[KynloStephen66515]

Newsletter for August 21st, 2011

"What's New With You?!"

1. Newsletter Editorial - A New Editor?

Good day fellow DonationCoder members (or Docodians as I like to say), I hope this epistle finds you well.  Mouser has tasked me with preparing the newsletter this month, so here I am sitting at my desk on a Saturday night, composing this circular so you can enjoy the very latest, and most informative subject-matter from the DonationCoder forum.

If this is the first of our newsletters that you've received, let me explain a bit how we create the newsletter.  Each month we go through our forum and try to select noteworthy topics and discussions and compile them into newsletter form.  If you have any suggestions for ways the newsletter might be improved in the future, please let me know.


2. User-to-User: Your Input Requested

We welcome everyone to participate on the forum, regardless of your level of computer knowledge or how long you've been a DC member. If you're still waiting to make your first post, see the links below for some good places to get started.

• What special character do you use to have a file sorted at the top?
• Are we allowed to avoid the "My Docs" mess in Win7?
• Win 7, XP mode, & other first install queries?
• Flashcard Creator w/ caveat?

3. Hardware Hangout

DonationCoder is not just about software!  Quite often our members like to discuss their new computers, or ask for help.  This month we had quite a few hardware related threads, including several by DC member Nudone, the well known curmudgeon and creator of the DC Mascot (Cody the Bird).

• Why My Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
• Yet Another Help-Me-Build-a-New-Computer Thread
• What are the merits and limitations of the different types of flash memory?
• When is a cable not a cable - when it's a DVI-D
• I was wrong - again! (cheap monitor theory invalid)
• Teflon pressing sheet as mouse pad?
• Problem: I can't understand how to get a W7-64 machine into an XP-32 network
• Undervolting -- my hands are thanking me

4. DC Community Mini Reviews

We love it when readers post new mini-reviews.. and are thrilled that a couple of new ones have been posted since the last newsletter:

• SageThumbs - Thumbnails all over the Windows
• Captcha Brotherhood

5. DC App Updates, Screencasts

Mouser released several small updates to some of his larger programs this month:

• MultiPhotoQuotes 1.33.01 - Autowatching directories for changes
• Screenshot Captor 2.96.01 - Bug and a bunch of small features
• Clipboard Help+Spell 2.03 - Bugfixes
• Little Voice Commander Review - Mouser's app for toddlers

6. Coding Snacks, and DC Member Software Threads

One of the best areas of our forum is the Coding Snacks section, where people can request small, free, custom-utilities to be written by volunteer coders.

• DONE: Make folder with current date
• DONE: EXE File Version
• IDEA: File replacer
• IDEA: Mute sound from all windows/applications except Whitelisted
• DONE: Tell me who said what first!
• Launcher local area network folders
• Copy (and Auto-Paste) Directly to New Excel Worksheet
• Work Estimating Tool
• Auto-renumbering email attachments
• Windows management script
• Controlling Windows w/ gamepad like a PS3 or XBOX
• Mircryption (CBC-Mode) compatible clients for MacOSX (Lion)?
• Gridmove showcased on hak5

7. Fun, Humour and Amusements on the Web

If you've read the newsletter up to this point, take a break and check out the lighter side of the forum - humour, videos, and games..

• Fake Apple Store
• Top 10 Survival Tricks for When the Zombie Apocalypse Hits :: Lifehacker
• Flash TD Game of the Month: Kingdom Rush
• A Cat and Dolphin Love Story
• Cool Web Comic - Developer Centric
• Amazing algorithms to enhance or transform images
• Steam: Savior or Slayer of PC Gaming?
• It's official: IE users are dumb as a bag of hammers
• 50 Typografical pieces of art

8. General Software Discussion

Almost half the posts on the DC forum take the form of general software discussions, questions, recommendations, etc. These posts wind up in the General Software Discussion section and make it one of the most active sections of the DC forum. This is a great resource if you're trying to solve a software or hardware-related problem. We get so much traffic on this board that we split the recent content into two sections in the newsletter - general software and specific software discussions.

• How necessary is the UAC in Windows 7?
• Speech to Text Software?
• Software Patent Absurdity Catching On
• Software Hall of Fame
• Realtime backups
• File system monitoring utilities?
• In search of alternative wifi management software
• Any Software that would record the Activity in a PC

9. Specific Software Discussion

Here you'll find some of the standout discussions about specific programs that have been started since the last newsletter.

• SoftMaker Office 2012 BETA testing
• ColorSchemer ColorPix
• Jello Dashboard + OneNote as PIM/GTD tools - user experience/feedback/advice?
• Google Apps vs. MS Office 365: Your Choice
• DotNetNuke 6 RC is SEXY!
• Opera wand. Does it work well? Enough to abandon lastpass?
• Firefox fixes the version number problem
• Mac OS Lion opinions
• CDF interactive document file format from Wolfram / Mathematica
• Full-screen calculator (free and portable)

10. Developer's Corner

The title of this section shouldn't scare you off - there is definitely something of interest for everyone here! It's more than just a section for the discussion of software development, it's also where we discuss web design, entrepreneurial ideas, and general productivity issues.  It's great to see that the section has been pretty active recently.

• Free CryEngine 3 SDK Released!
• Want to be in Amazon's App Store? Think again!
• The Most Expensive One-byte Mistake: Nice article about programming design goofs
• Aviation Business Project using a Flight Simulator
• Next step up from Autohotkey
• HyperNext, anyone?
• In search of ... opinions/reviews of IDEs & Editors for Web code
• Stupid question ... what is the difference between != and <>?
• Implement features that are known to be loved in other programs, on your own

11. Website Discoveries, Debates, 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..

• BoingBoing Update on Bitcoin Alternatives
• Block a FOSS release because being free interferes with commercial interests?
• How to Build a 'Paywall' That Doesn't Break the Web
• Kick procrastination's ass: Run a dash
• FBI Arrests 12 in 'anonymous' raids
• HP announces it's discontinuing all WebOS device development
• Sites we like: GeekMom

12. Announce your Projects

We love it when long-time DC members to post about projects they are working on.

• Edit Text Anywhere with Your Favorite Editor [Freeware]
• Announcing our new company: Complex Imaginary
• A new web project: YUMPS
• Doc Report Ep. 1 - Interview with Nico Westerdale of Bits du Jour
• GameManagerV2

13. NANY 2012

At the very end of each year DonationCoder runs an event called NANY (New Apps for the New Year), where we invite the programmers who hang out on our site to release a brand new (free) application to the world.  Long time NANY organizer Perry Mowbray will be on vacation for most of NANY this year, but DC member Kyrathaba has been extremely generous in volunteering to shepherd this year's NANY through to completion. Three cheers for Kyrathaba!

In an attempt to encourage larger applications we've started banging the NANY drum a little earlier this year, and we're encouraging people to start pledging application ideas or start requesting help for beta testing or coming up with ideas.  NANY is open to coders of all backgrounds, so please help us spread the word to anyone you know who needs some encouragement to release something new.

• NANY 2012 Pledge: Dungeon AI
• NANY 2012 Pledge and Early Beta: Found Money
• NANY 2012 Pledge: You Have Files

[cranioscopical]

Nice to see you create this for us, Stephen66515: well done 

[KynloStephen66515]

Being my first one, I must credit Mouser for most of the work, I had missed a fair few topics that should have been in

[Deozaan]

Thanks to you, Stephen for taking the time to learn how to do this. And of course thanks to mouser for his continuous hard work behind the scenes.

[wraith808]

Being my first one, I must credit Mouser for most of the work, I had missed a fair few topics that should have been in

Ah... but what matters is that you stepped up to help! 

[NinJA999]

Thanks for doing this!

I'm not sure if this is something mouser is supposed to do or not, but in the header (the rotating messages) it still says that the latest newsletter is June's "Summer Server".

[mouser]

I'm not sure if this is something mouser is supposed to do or not, but in the header (the rotating messages) it still says that the latest newsletter is June's "Summer Server".

Thanks for the heads up -- fixed.

[justice]

Didn't see the name of the author in the email, I had to click through here to find out it was you Stephen! Don't be shy! Nice job.

[mouser]

Didn't see the name of the author in the email, I had to click through here to find out it was you Stephen!

oops, i didn't even think about that.. well i suppose it added unintented incentive to click to visit the web version to find out who was writing to you.. it seems  a new marketing strategy is born!! 

[Deozaan]

I could tell it was Stephen because I recognized his writing style. Maybe I need to stop using IRC so much.

[KynloStephen66515]

I could tell it was Stephen because I recognized his writing style. Maybe I need to stop using IRC so much.

Or I should? 

[anandcoral]

Thanks Stephen for the Newsletter.

I am sorry to say that I abandoned the "You Have Files" NANY 2012 pledge, as I found that many similar exist and no point in making the same.

But do not worry, I am testing a totally different App right now, and may be this will prove more useful that the above. Hope to make a beta in 1/2 weeks.

Regards,

Anand

[KynloStephen66515]

Thanks Stephen for the Newsletter.

I am sorry to say that I abandoned the "You Have Files" NANY 2012 pledge, as I found that many similar exist and no point in making the same.

But do not worry, I am testing a totally different App right now, and may be this will prove more useful that the above. Hope to make a beta in 1/2 weeks.

Regards,

Anand

Thanks for letting us know! 

[grandpastan]

Great job Stephen. Thanks

[KynloStephen66515]

Great job Stephen. Thanks

Glad to be of service