Last update : March 7, 2013
A regular expression (regex) is a specific pattern that provides concise and flexible means to match strings of text (particular or patterns of characters, words, …). A regular expression is written in a formal language that can be interpreted by a regular expression processor.
The following list provides links to some regex test tools :
With modal dialogs (overlays), users don’t have to deal with multiple windows. When a modal window opens, it opens inside the current page and users don’t have to deal with extra windows popping up.
When a modal dialog is shown, the content beneath the overlay cannot be acted upon until the overlay is dismissed. Modal overlays don’t allow you to refer back and forth between two sources of information, or move fluidly between two actions.
Today it is good practice to darken the parent window to provide a visual indicator to the user that the main window is inactive. This technique is usually called Lightbox.
The following list provides some links to blogs about the con’s and pro’s of modal overlays:
Last update : July 5, 2014
Early 2006, Lokesh Dhakar introduced Lightbox, a unobtrusive script used to display large images using modal dialogs over a black faded background. Six years later, there were hundred of scripts available to create slideshows, carousels, sliders and image galleries on the web. I evaluated the following responsive javascript slideshows for different projects:
Today, some of these scripts are outdated and I included them only for historical reasons. Some scripts are standalone, but most are based on jQuery, a fast, small and feature-rich JavaScript library. Most of them are also available as WordPress plugin.
My favorite script is the …
I use the following code :
...See the demo
The following list provides links to websites with additional informations about slideshows and related topics :
BB ScreenShooter by Oppitronic
To take screenshots of Blackberry screens, I use the GUI applications BB ScreenShooter and BB ScreenStream created by Oppitronic. I installed both programs in a folder together with the javaloader.exe included in the RIM Desktop Manager.
Additional tools to take screenshots from BlackBerry devices are presented at the website Binary Head.
Last update : March 2, 2013
NirSoft USDDeview Tool
I recently discovered the unique collection of small and useful freeware utilities and tools, available on the website NirSoft, created in 2001. The name NirSoft is the combination of the developers first name Nir and the prefix of the word Software, respectively the last name of the developer, Sofer.
Nir Sofer is an experienced developer with extensive knowledge in C++, .NET Framework, Windows API, and Reverse Engineering of undocumented binary formats and encryption algorithms.
The domains covered by the more than 100 tools of NirSoft are various : Password Recovery, Network Monitoring, Web Browser, Video/Audio, Internet, Desktop, Outlook/Office, Programming, Disk, System, …
All of the utilities are fast, small, portable and effective. Most are developed in C++ and don’t require any installation.
My favorite Nirsoft tools are the following :
Nir Sofer provides also tips and tricks about computers and software as well as code samples.
Dernière mise à jour: 24 février 2020
Medion Combirecorder DVD – VHS
J’utilise l’enregistreur DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) & magnétoscope VHS (Video Home System) MD 83425 de MEDION pour copier des cassettes VHS sur un DVD et ensuite le convertir en format mpeg 4.
Le mode d’emploi est le suivant (avec télécommande) :
Pour parcourir une cassette VHS en vitesse, on peut activer F.FORWARD pendant le PLAY.
Ember Media Manager
A Media center, also called Home Theater PC (HTPC) or Home Cinema, refers to a home entertainment system that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood, with the help of video and audio equipment, in or outside a private home.
A list of some renowned media centers is shown hereafter :
A Media Manager is an application that catalogs your media and writes images and metadata to the directory the media is stored in so that the media center can access that data in order to display the correct information for the media files. Most media centers do have some sort of scraper built in to look for media matches in Internet online media databases. Media Managers usually provide extended and more reliable tools to catalog your media.
A list of some renowned media managers is given below :
The most renowned online media databases usually scraped by media centers and by media managers are listed herafter :
Last update : May 8, 2013
Serviio is a free media server allowing you to stream media files (music, video or images) to DLNA renderer devices on your connected home network. Serviio is based on Java technology and therefore runs on most platforms. A pro version was launched in July 2012 when the 1.0 version was released.
The relevant features of Serviio are :
Serviio uses a priority-based metadata extraction to describe your media files :
The performance and high quality of the Serviio DLNA server has been documented by the fact that Sony UK first recommended Serviio for Sony devices and recently licensed Serviio to create their own customized Homestream server. Sony started the DLNA initiative in 2003.
Serviio is developed by the freelance Java consultant Petr Nejedly (alias ZIP). The current version 1.2.1 was released on March 22, 2013. Serviio is supported by a strong on-line community, active on the main forum and on the numerous sub-forums. There are also various third party tools available, for example a web user interface in php or AJAX, consoles (ServiiDroid, …), a database for storing information about online sources (ServiiDB).
Patters created a DSM package to install Serviio on a Synology NAS.
Here is a small list of some other DLNA servers to allow you to compare the Serviio features with other projects.
Last update : August 25,2013
ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, and other information about the file to be stored in the file itself.
There are two unrelated versions of ID3: ID3v1 and ID3v2. They are de facto standards, because no standardization body was involved in its creation nor has given it a formal approval status.
A tag editor is used to read or write ID3 metadata. Many media players, including the standard players iTunes and Windows Media Player, provide tagging features.
The most common fields displayed in a DLNA renderer are the following :
Sometimes the track number is also shown. Less usual are the Album Artist, the Composer or the Disc Number.
Widely used tag editors are Mp3tag (current version 2.57 released on July 6, 2013, created by Florian Heidenreich) and Easytag (current version 2.1.8 released on February 10, 2013, created by Jerôme Couderc).
The ID3 standard is very flexible with regards to the type and number of images that can be embedded in a MP3 single file (21 types are specified : icons, leaflets, cover art, artist, composer, conductor, location, …). In practice only one picture is used and displayed by the player. More informations about embedding album art in MP3 files are available at the weblog of Richard Farrar.
Informations about metadata editors for image files are available in the following post.
Groovy is an agile and dynamic language for the Java Virtual Machine. It builds upon the strengths of Java but has additional power features inspired by languages like Python, Ruby and Smalltalk. Groovy seamlessly integrates with all existing Java classes and libraries and compiles straight to Java bytecode so you can use it anywhere you can use Java. A set of Eclipse plugins that provide Eclipse support for Groovy projects is available (Groovy-Eclipse).
The current stable version is 1.8. Groovy is used among others for the development of plugins for the DLNA media server Serviio.