Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

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www.ztrace.com

I don't have it, but it was recommended on these forums. In the case of a stolen laptop, when the thieves access the internet, the address is sent to the police(or whoever). Also wipes the hard drive of all your sensitive files, so your information is secure.

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hammer, while i think such a product could be generally useful, i would strongly advise against this particular company. long story, but several years ago, through a friend of a friend, etc., i was asked to consider making an angel investment in this company. they seem to be a mess. the product design, to put it mildly, was not the best. i remember trying to call their corporate headquarters in the middle of the business day, and i actually got what sounded like a personal answering machine. doesn't bode well for a company that is giving a service-based offering. if you lose your laptop, remember that they need to do work to recover it.

as of now, the web site hasn't been updated in years, there most recent press release is four years old, etc.

anyone who has any experience with these types of early stage companies can tell you that this does not bode well.

there are better products in the marketplace, and i would strongly recommend against this one specifically.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

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Google desktop does the things both of you are talking about and in my experience it does it much better.

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i didn't know that they had added a popup or launch abilities.

i tried it out again, and using 'launchy-like' settings such as defaulting to desktop search, default to launch, etc i've still got a 100% index of my drive. i think i prefer to have more targetted, specific results instead of pulling up a billion potentially unrelated items. i like alt-space more than ctrl-ctrl as a hotkey, and i think systray icons suck. also, there are various security/privacy concerns: full search unless exceptions are noted, text previews, potentially transportable indexes, various remote-enabling default 'advanced' features, etc. for those that aren't in the office or unconcerned at home, this does now seem like a decent alternative with some desirable features.

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I agree on the privacy issues. I only use it on my home pc.

As for the unrelated search results, I've been very happy with the serach so far.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

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As for the unrelated search results, I've been very happy with the serach so far.

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i was referring to typing in 'ses', hoping to pull up my phone system's session manager like i do in launchy, and having google desktop search return a billion ini files on my local machine with those letters in their filename or contents. it wasn't a knock on google search, just an observation that launchy's indexing system is more directed by nature. i can see how some might prefer the kitchen sink approach, though.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

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As for the unrelated search results, I've been very happy with the serach so far.

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i was referring to typing in 'ses', hoping to pull up my phone system's session manager like i do in launchy, and having google desktop search return a billion ini files on my local machine with those letters in their filename or contents. it wasn't a knock on google search, just an observation that launchy's indexing system is more directed by nature. i can see how some might prefer the kitchen sink approach, though.

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Right, I know what you mean. I can see not liking it if I'd been used to another system. As is, I just type until I see what I want. It's really convenient for playing songs, much faster than searching for it in itunes/winamp/explorer.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

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Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

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Yodlee Will probably do what you need. Maybe someone can address any security concerns of an online account aggregator.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I was pretty damn impressed with the apple driver installer you get to set a box up for use with Windows XP. Intercepting all the dialogs and just getting all the drivers turned on was good. Now if the would only not put icons in the tray, I'd be ecstatic.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

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I was pretty damn impressed with the apple driver installer you get to set a box up for use with Windows XP. Intercepting all the dialogs and just getting all the drivers turned on was good. Now if the would only not put icons in the tray, I'd be ecstatic.

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automating installations isn't too tough if you're impressed by it you might find it rewarding to try it yourself.

msi = '/passive', installshield = '/s', nsis = '/S', etc. some more details are available at the 'unattended' project web site. things get trickier if you aren't interested in the app's defaults, because the custom options are often undocumented. and annoyingly, some installers accept unattended flags but then prompt you anyway. i've written quite a few nsis installers, so properly-implemented silent/unattended modes is a subject near and dear to my heart.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

http://fuzlez.com/content/view/50/90

WheelsOfVolume (does it show we have fun when we try to find names for our software?) uses the mouse wheel to control the volume of your computer. When ever you turn the mouse wheel when it is not used by any application (in other words) when it is on the desktop, the volume of your computer will be adapted. When you are in a full screen application you will have the same effect when you move the mouse to the top right corner of the screen. To mute the sound you just have to click the mouse wheel.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

A couple of iPod things:

vPod - A much easier way to transfer songs to your iPod.

http://www.vonnieda.org/vPod/screen1.jpg

Very fast. You load everything to your library, which is little more than a checklist. Everything checked is on your iPod already, all you have to do is check an artist, album, or song to add it. Sync and then quit.

Pod player - a lightweight iTunes look-alike that plays everything that's on your iPod.

They're portable, so you only need the .exe to run it. Put them on your iPod to be able to transfer and play things on any computer without iTunes.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

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They're portable, so you only need the .exe to run it. Put them on your iPod to be able to transfer and play things on any computer without iTunes.

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That's pretty cool.