Quote:
"The ugliest code I ever saw was the junk I wrote two months ago. The greatest code I ever saw is the stuff I'm writing today. This statement will still be true two months from now."
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a good source to reference this quote to.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Showing posts with label program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label program. Show all posts
2013-12-28
My Migration from Dual-Boot Win7/Win8 to only Windows 8
1. Meticulously back up data
2. Download full Windows 8.1 iso to burn to disk
3. Refresh myself on how to factory restore and install new operating system (OS)
4. Factory restore computer
4. Popped in the Win 8.1 disc and with that I deleted all the partitions before installing 8.1. This was a really great experience! It was very fast. Also, the start-up process for Windows 8.1 from nothing was tremendously faster than what I was expecting. Got Windows 8.1 installed
4.1. During the setup process, I also created two addition 50GB partitions separate from Win8 so that I could experiment with different OSes with ease.
5. During setup I logged in with my MS account, and in the Start screen I noticed that my setup was saved from my old Win8 setup. Even the desktop wallpaper carried over! And the position of the Taskbar vertical on the left side.
6. Bug found. During the entire setup/install process, I had my second monitor plugged in. Now, the OS only recognizes the second monitor. I hope a restart without the second monitor plugged in will fix this. (Update: Yes, restarting fixed this problem)
7. Went through all of the Windows settings and personalized it to my liking.
8. Used Internet Explorer to install Google Chrome (plus Java plugin).
9. Add my important files from before the wipe.
10. Install programs
12. Set keyboard shortcuts
13. Reassign file types. E.g. Make sure TXT and XML files open with Notepad++. Here's a Windows Command Line Prompt Cheat Sheet.
And, now I finally have a brand new clean system that I can work efficiently on. Later I will be customizing each of my programs again, to my liking.
It could have been worse. But, there still has got to be a better way of doing all of this...
There's about 100GB of programs and data I've added to this computer that I need for my different work/projects. And, that doesn't even include any of my music, videos, pictures, or 35 extra gigabytes of data from Db which I will be downloading tonight, or maybe not this time. Also, these programs I've installed in the beginning are just most of the ones that I have used in the past month and will need to use within the next month.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2. Download full Windows 8.1 iso to burn to disk
3. Refresh myself on how to factory restore and install new operating system (OS)
4. Popped in the Win 8.1 disc and with that I deleted all the partitions before installing 8.1. This was a really great experience! It was very fast. Also, the start-up process for Windows 8.1 from nothing was tremendously faster than what I was expecting. Got Windows 8.1 installed
4.1. During the setup process, I also created two addition 50GB partitions separate from Win8 so that I could experiment with different OSes with ease.
5. During setup I logged in with my MS account, and in the Start screen I noticed that my setup was saved from my old Win8 setup. Even the desktop wallpaper carried over! And the position of the Taskbar vertical on the left side.
6. Bug found. During the entire setup/install process, I had my second monitor plugged in. Now, the OS only recognizes the second monitor. I hope a restart without the second monitor plugged in will fix this. (Update: Yes, restarting fixed this problem)
7. Went through all of the Windows settings and personalized it to my liking.
8. Used Internet Explorer to install Google Chrome (plus Java plugin).
9. Add my important files from before the wipe.
10. Install programs
- Common Tools
- Notepad++ (with ZenCoding plugin and Compare plugin)
- Paint.NET (with Photoshop plugin)
- VLC Media Player
- Microsoft Office
- Adobe (unfortunately) and/vs Foxit
- Specialized Tools
- AutoHotKey (for creating macros)
- FileZilla (for FTP)
- Audacity (for music editing)
- 7-Zip
- Git
- Inkscape (for editing vector files)
- Skitch (for quick screenshots with overlays and fast getting a link to share)
- Putty
- WinSCP
- App Building Programs
- Android + Eclipse + Java SE Development Kit (JDK)
- Visual Studio 2012 + 2013 + Azure
- Construct 2
- Others
- Dropbox
- Programs NOT installed this time
- iTunes (mainly because I haven't used it in awhile and Apple installs way too many separate things along with it)
12. Set keyboard shortcuts
- Ctrl + Alt + c = Calculator
- Ctrl + Alt + p = Paint
- Ctrl + Alt + Shift + P = Paint.NET
- Ctrl + Alt + n = Notepad (Very rarely used)
- Ctrl + Alt + Shift + N = Notepad++
- Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F = FileZilla
13. Reassign file types. E.g. Make sure TXT and XML files open with Notepad++. Here's a Windows Command Line Prompt Cheat Sheet.
And, now I finally have a brand new clean system that I can work efficiently on. Later I will be customizing each of my programs again, to my liking.
It could have been worse. But, there still has got to be a better way of doing all of this...
There's about 100GB of programs and data I've added to this computer that I need for my different work/projects. And, that doesn't even include any of my music, videos, pictures, or 35 extra gigabytes of data from Db which I will be downloading tonight, or maybe not this time. Also, these programs I've installed in the beginning are just most of the ones that I have used in the past month and will need to use within the next month.
- About 7.5 GB of program installers in my Downloads folder
- About 1.0 GB of data on my Desktop
- About 0.3 GB of data in my Documents folder
- About 43 GB of data in my Developer folder
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-12-24
Terrible User Experience - There's Only One Major Application I Know That Does This
Perhaps the most terrible example of all user experience (UX) an application/program can give to users, is to shut down the program when the user is in the middle of working. Case study: Windows. I just got auto-updated.
In Windows 7, there is a small window that pops up that says the computer will restart in 15 minutes, in order to install updates. After that message is postponed, it doesn't pop up in the front any more. In my multiple monitor setup, I don't always pay attention to all of them. There is just typically one main monitor I work with. My current work involved having about 20 tabs in a browser open and a few more large RAM-hungry application, so I didn't want to have to re-setup my workspace. So, I was able to postpone the auto-update a few times. But, when I was really into my work on one monitor, the auto-shut-down prompt I assume was ominously counting down on my other monitor, behind everything. In the middle of typing, sudden the document disappears. There goes all the work (if I was working in a program without autosave).
I am a UX designer and have many recommendations to improve this "feature" in Windows 7. I'm glad my biggest recommendation is taken care of in Windows 8: Make the death prompt more visible. Just having that one change would save me from more trouble.
I understand where Microsoft and other companies are coming from. They want to make sure that updates are installed so that users are protected from even worse virus/malware attacks. I'm sure they've done their research to learn that many people unfortunately don't install the updates in a timely manner, if at all. So, in order to protect users from worse troubles, Microsoft has by default decided to be more aggressive in getting the updates installed.
I had to throw in that "by default" in the last sentence because I know there is the option to disable all automatic updates. But, good UX and good customer service wouldn't put the blame on the user/customer. If the user does something "wrong", then it is only because the application allowed the user to do so.
Bonus: Here's a copywriting tip: Never have long chunks of words/paragraphs.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
In Windows 7, there is a small window that pops up that says the computer will restart in 15 minutes, in order to install updates. After that message is postponed, it doesn't pop up in the front any more. In my multiple monitor setup, I don't always pay attention to all of them. There is just typically one main monitor I work with. My current work involved having about 20 tabs in a browser open and a few more large RAM-hungry application, so I didn't want to have to re-setup my workspace. So, I was able to postpone the auto-update a few times. But, when I was really into my work on one monitor, the auto-shut-down prompt I assume was ominously counting down on my other monitor, behind everything. In the middle of typing, sudden the document disappears. There goes all the work (if I was working in a program without autosave).
I am a UX designer and have many recommendations to improve this "feature" in Windows 7. I'm glad my biggest recommendation is taken care of in Windows 8: Make the death prompt more visible. Just having that one change would save me from more trouble.
I understand where Microsoft and other companies are coming from. They want to make sure that updates are installed so that users are protected from even worse virus/malware attacks. I'm sure they've done their research to learn that many people unfortunately don't install the updates in a timely manner, if at all. So, in order to protect users from worse troubles, Microsoft has by default decided to be more aggressive in getting the updates installed.
I had to throw in that "by default" in the last sentence because I know there is the option to disable all automatic updates. But, good UX and good customer service wouldn't put the blame on the user/customer. If the user does something "wrong", then it is only because the application allowed the user to do so.
Bonus: Here's a copywriting tip: Never have long chunks of words/paragraphs.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2012-12-30
Random Ideas and Thoughts - 20121230
[0] First thing, a little blurt about the number in the title. It is the date format that I'm using and liking very much to organize all of my folder and files. They are all automatically sorted in chronological order because of the name. One example, I used to label my school folders as "USF 2012 Spring" and "USF 2012 Fall" and "USF 2012 Summer." But, first of all it is not in an efficient order. And secondly, it doesn't look very neat. Within the past six months I've transitioned everything to the style of "USF201201", "", and "". It is more efficient, neater, and doesn't lose much readability if you can recognize the 2012 year in there.
..Remember, all of the following are fragmented thoughts, random, and does not have a reason... completely unlike what I try to accomplish above with the year-month-day format. =b
[1] A rollercoaster ride that feels like it is broken (and may fall at any moment). When there is a real problem with the ride (how would they know?), the ride tells the potential riders that workers must break the ride more before riders can ride again.
[2] Full theme park that is purposely seemingly empty. Some park goers are actors/hires (theme park goers would never know about this part). Couples may want to team up randomly in the park with others so that they are not totally alone, but that might just be their mistake.
[3] What birds are poisonous? [I was playing a quiz game and was the first to know that platypus was poisonous. The question was something like, "Which of the following is poisonous?" Egret was one of the answers, then this thought occurred]
[4] Are there fish ball/cages like there are hamster balls/cages? Maybe the fish can learn to travel by shifting their weight?
[5] "I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man with no feet." [A quote I saw in a book. A good thought provoker]
[6] Hobby: Making lists with only one item. ["Hobby:" - kind of like xkcd style]
[7] App for how long you have been away from Facebook and/or Gmail. [There should be a high scores list also (and the ability to share with friends?)]
[8] Dubstep without echo is kinda like classical music. And vise-versa.
[9] Write a book called, "Dan Writes a Book"
[10] Redit for Research Papers. Thumb up and thumb down. [I believe there are social medias revolving around research..]
[11] Proxy for Twitter API calls. Twitter limits the number of calls a day from an IP, but if you keep switching the IPs when they fail, then you have have a whole lot more available API calls. This service can be made into an API.
[12] Web App: Display the bibliography for every page of the internet. Choose type from a dropdown menu. (20121201)
[13] Cloth that you can put on when you are wet, and stay dry and warm without worrying about the inside of cloth getting/staying wet.
Feel free to comment, email me, make use of these ideas (let me know how it goes), or brainstorm other things from these. Please try not to draw conclusions from this post, it is purely a thinking exercise, half of it unconsciously thought of. Words in square brackets, [], are what I added at the time of writing.
~ Simply Advanced ~
ps - Doing this also allows me to clear out much of my ideas folder, thus, forcing me to come up with new awesome random things. The several ideas I didn't share are ideas are ones that I have for a thesis/paper that I'm currently working on. They will be shared in a year or few.
..Remember, all of the following are fragmented thoughts, random, and does not have a reason... completely unlike what I try to accomplish above with the year-month-day format. =b
[1] A rollercoaster ride that feels like it is broken (and may fall at any moment). When there is a real problem with the ride (how would they know?), the ride tells the potential riders that workers must break the ride more before riders can ride again.
[2] Full theme park that is purposely seemingly empty. Some park goers are actors/hires (theme park goers would never know about this part). Couples may want to team up randomly in the park with others so that they are not totally alone, but that might just be their mistake.
[3] What birds are poisonous? [I was playing a quiz game and was the first to know that platypus was poisonous. The question was something like, "Which of the following is poisonous?" Egret was one of the answers, then this thought occurred]
[4] Are there fish ball/cages like there are hamster balls/cages? Maybe the fish can learn to travel by shifting their weight?
[5] "I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man with no feet." [A quote I saw in a book. A good thought provoker]
[6] Hobby: Making lists with only one item. ["Hobby:" - kind of like xkcd style]
[7] App for how long you have been away from Facebook and/or Gmail. [There should be a high scores list also (and the ability to share with friends?)]
[8] Dubstep without echo is kinda like classical music. And vise-versa.
[9] Write a book called, "Dan Writes a Book"
[10] Redit for Research Papers. Thumb up and thumb down. [I believe there are social medias revolving around research..]
[11] Proxy for Twitter API calls. Twitter limits the number of calls a day from an IP, but if you keep switching the IPs when they fail, then you have have a whole lot more available API calls. This service can be made into an API.
[12] Web App: Display the bibliography for every page of the internet. Choose type from a dropdown menu. (20121201)
[13] Cloth that you can put on when you are wet, and stay dry and warm without worrying about the inside of cloth getting/staying wet.
[14] Moving shade. Ex: when sunbathing and you want to keep the sun out of your eyes only. [But, not touching you, I guess?]
[15] Clothes that don't turn inside out in the wash. A temporary solution would be to either stitch the main (large) opening clothes, or by just using a pin to keep it closed, that way the smaller parts of the clothes won't be able to go through and turn the entire cloth inside out.
[16] App using Windows live tiles: Simply Advanced Countdown Tile. Days until whenever.. Or weeks until whenever.. Or years until whenever.. Ability to add picture relating to event like birthday, holiday, anniversary..
[17] App for Windows 8: A piano lock screen. Play a song to unlock the screen. Future version (or paid version) would include different instruments.
[18] App: Top-down, zoomed out game. In order for your avatar to get from one town to another, the user must actually go on a physical run or walk for a certain distance to get there. Start off with small distances, gradually get longer for more advanced areas of the game.
[19] App: What if you could see/visualize smells, smell colors/sounds app. Hearing colors is possible to do now... Synesthesia. [Slogan: "Synesthesia, now available on your smartphone!" Introduce it during Synesthesia Awareness Month?]
[20] Going to do dishes in the sink? Then get energy back from the water you use! Same for shower heads, or any other place that you run water. Perhaps the base of a hose line?
~ Simply Advanced ~
ps - Doing this also allows me to clear out much of my ideas folder, thus, forcing me to come up with new awesome random things. The several ideas I didn't share are ideas are ones that I have for a thesis/paper that I'm currently working on. They will be shared in a year or few.
2012-12-18
How to Create a Hotkey to Double Click Using AutoHotkey
Just created a hotkey to double-click so that I don't have to use the mouse! It is very much worth it and will speed up coding. There are other areas that I will be more productive in also. Just can't think of them right now.
I used an awesome program called AutoHotkey to achieve this and many other create keyboarding shortcuts/hotkeys/scripts. The following code basically says, "if ctrl is pressed twice consecutively in less than 500ms, then click two times at the caret position."
Let me know if this helps. =]
Disclaimer: I have not done an extensive test on all programs to see if this works. But, I know that it works in Notepad++, Eclipse, Notepad, and MS Word 2010. While typing this, the hotkey seems to return (aka double click) the top-left corner.
~ Simply Advanced ~
I used an awesome program called AutoHotkey to achieve this and many other create keyboarding shortcuts/hotkeys/scripts. The following code basically says, "if ctrl is pressed twice consecutively in less than 500ms, then click two times at the caret position."
Ctrl::
If (A_PriorHotKey = A_ThisHotKey and A_TimeSincePriorHotkey < 500) {
MouseGetPos X,Y
Send {Click %A_CaretX%,%A_CaretY% 2} ; Moves the cursor
MouseMove (X),(Y) ; Moves back the cursor
}
Return
If (A_PriorHotKey = A_ThisHotKey and A_TimeSincePriorHotkey < 500) {
MouseGetPos X,Y
Send {Click %A_CaretX%,%A_CaretY% 2} ; Moves the cursor
MouseMove (X),(Y) ; Moves back the cursor
}
Return
- Instead of using "%A_CaretX%,%A_CaretY%", it is possible to hardcode an x and y value to click on.
- If you remove the line starting with MouseMove, then the cursor will move to the position the caret is at.
Let me know if this helps. =]
Disclaimer: I have not done an extensive test on all programs to see if this works. But, I know that it works in Notepad++, Eclipse, Notepad, and MS Word 2010. While typing this, the hotkey seems to return (aka double click) the top-left corner.
~ Simply Advanced ~
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