Status update and fix

Note!  Found a bug in my config for the Sylpheed e-mail client.  See the "how to extract" part of the official portablefreeware entry.  Create a "Profile" directory and add the " --configdir profile" to the "command line parameters" portion of the PStart menu.

The next version of Kitchen Sink is coming up rapidly.  After more than 100 changes, I've admittedly lost track.  Expecting the next release in the next few weeks, which falls against my monthly release date plans.

Additionally, a source code web site should be available in the next few weeks that will contain a huge archive of all the source for all the included software.  I also hope to have a wiki online soon to help encourage participation beyond the portablefreeware.com forums.

Software list updated

A new software list is now online.  As requested, it contains programs that were in the list previously but removed (listed as "CUT"), and includes information on why they were removed.

1318 downloads from 71 different countries!

Today's statistics straight from Mininova!

Wow, just wow.

September update

1. License cleanup progress - I'm about 3/5ths way through. As I'm seeking employment at the same time I do this, its slow going.
2. Mac/Linux version - considering creating a non-Windows version for use in WINE and Crossover. I think a freeware package for those software tools would be very popular and those projects might even send users to me as a way to get started right away with some free software. Not containing Firefox wouldn't be a problem, since users would probably already have it. Seems like a good idea but easily 6 months away.
3. No ads - After a discussion with a friend of the project (thanks Wes) I've decided to disable advertisements for this page. There are a number of licenses included that claim their software cannot be distributed for commercial gain and we decided even advertisements fit that criteria.

Timetable for the 1.1.2 release looks like it will be what the 1.5 version was going to be: October 1st.

Update: After spending a huge chunk of my week on the latest update, I decided to bring back the ads.  It was only a few dollars and I decided Google would just make the money if I don't.

Still not dead ...

Still working on the Kitchen Sink license cleanup -- having started
with a temp job and not having much time, this is moving slowly.
Combined with updating all the increasingly old software, I hope to
have a fresh, license-friendly release sometime mid-September.

Move to MediaWiki and apology

As Kitchen Sink has increasingly become a Documentation project rather than a software project, I'm moving away from Google Docs.  Instead I've moved the whole project over to MediaWiki on Sourceforge:

• sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/kitchensinkport

This was partly spurred by problems giving people interested in helping out something to do and also because I found an HTML to Wiki conversion tool.  Although I was annoyed that you have to be logged on to edit the sourceforge wiki, I suppose that will avoid problems with spam.

Also, I would also like to apologize for the recent political link posted here: its presence was purely by accident and this is not a forum for my views.  I am very interested in the Kitchen Sink transcending that sort of thing.

Look and feel update

Version 1.1 will be posted sometime tomorrow. Although there are over a hundred changes, one of them is the icon set:

Shortcut keys

Here are my tentative key combos for the next release. I decided Internet programs would probably be the most frequently used so I assigned number keys to them. The common thread is:

Windows key + Alt + _

Pstart menu (these are defaults with the program itself - I didn't set these)

m = menu (the smaller, simpler one)
p = panel (more options, tabs at the top)

System applications

q = Close all kitchen sink programs and eject all usb drives
o = Start cafe - open any file config
s = SearchMyFiles
e = Everything search
x = Poweroff system power scheduler

Internet applications

1= Firefox
2= Firefox Secure
3= Iron Browser (cleaned up Google Chrome)
4= Thunderbird - Mail
5= Pidgin - Chat
6= Feedreader - RSS
7= Filezilla - FTP
8= Screamer - web radio
9= Weathermate
0= uTorrent

Note that if you use a Mac keyboard, the "Windows" key is the "Command" key.

Sound good?

PeaZip and SearchMyFiles

Two new programs added to the Kitchen Sink:

• After finding out that PeaZip could open many more compression formats than 7Zip, I added that program as well. Using CAFE, can now open 640 file formats just by double-clicking.
• Also just added SearchMyFiles, an advanced, non-indexing search program.

Other notes:

• After losing some data recently and getting really furious about it, I took another look at the Kitchen Sink and its autosave features. I updated TED notepad since the latest version now has an autosave feature. I also enabled autosave in PNotes, Task Coach, Notepad++, and Abiword. Finally, because it doesn't have any autosave capability, I removed QJot entirely and replaced its functions in CAFE with Abiword.
  
• Tested out ReactOS for VMware with poor results. Not going to bother with it in the future.
  

Other updates

• Added around 50 more filetypes to CAFE from all across the Kitchen Sink.  Can now open 536 different file extensions!
  
• The "shred" trick has been present in the software since the February '09 release, but I've expanded it.  Renaming a file with the ending ".xxxx", ".xxx", or ".wipe" makes it auto open with cybershredder and self-wipe just by double-clicking.  Here's the CAFE entries to make that happen:
  

xxx=..\cshred\CyberShredder.exe
xxxx=..\cshred\Cybershredder.exe
wipe=..\cshred\CyberShredder.exe

• Finally got the autorun tool to run correctly.  This is the autorun script that actually works that will go out in the next release:

[autorun]
OPEN=StartKitchenSink.exe
ACTION = Kitchen Sink Freeware Collection
ICON=StartKitchenSink.exe
LABEL=Kitchen Sink Freeware Collection

• Found out Keepass has an excellent password generator.  Currently evaluating whether this should replace the present software "Strong Password Generator".
  

Next step: put everything in a /data/ subdirectory except for a few necessary files.  Lots of work ahead.

Changes to Firefox - Secure

Still considering adding WoT (Web of Trust), but for right now here are some updates:

• Set the homepage to Scroogle (https://ssl.scroogle.org/) ... not as pretty, but much more secure.
  
• Added firefox plugins:
• Locationbar2 - really simple anti-phishing trick
  
• BetterPrivacy - an advanced cookie cleaner
• Panic Button - quickly minimize firefox to help prevent shoulder-surfing.  Set the icon to something that looks like a minimize button, which seemed to make more sense.
  
• For simplicity, I put up the "temporarily allow this page" button up for the NoScript plugin.  This allows users to -- if they decide they trust a page -- to allow the website to fully render.
  
• Just for consistency put the Adblock Plus (for disabling ads) and TorButton (for anonymous browsing) in the top bar as well.

Software list cleanup and additions

Major updates to the software list today. Filled in quite a few more fields and referenced my portable freeware reviews site directly. Slowly the holy trinity of reviews, software, and information is all coming together.

Hopefully a year from now it will be a really stellar project.

Software addition: Testdisk

After a number of stellar reviews, I'll be including this in my next release. Probably Photorec too.

Legal stuff

Updated the disclaimer to hopefully be better and more complete. I am not a lawyer, I just drew this from other disclaimers.

March 30, '09 updates

• Added Core Temp
• Added Kitty instead of PuTTy
• Added Artweaver, which I decided I really like
• Added a CD recovery program and created a Data Recovery subfolder
• Moved ZipRepair, which for some reason was under the Sysinfo/Testing folder
  

XnView shortcuts

Been slowly making the transition over to XnView and annoyed at how the controls aren't obvious and aren't very laptop keyboard friendly.  This is annoying but the benefits so far outweigh the problems.  Here's the rundown on view mode navigation (what I have set as default):

• First File - Home
• Last File - End
• Next File - PageDown
• Next Page - Shift+PageDown
• Previous File - PageUp
• Previous Page - Shift+PageUp
• Zoom in (make larger) - + (plus)
• Zoom out (make smaller) - "-" (minus)
• Zoom to original size * (asterisk)
• Zoom lock (for next image) - Ctrl+/
• Fit image to window, all - / (slash)
• Fit image to window width -Numpad 1
• Fit window to image - Ctrl+T
• Fit image to window height - Numpad 3

Portablefreeware contribution

Updated all these programs in my own collection and sent them on to the good folks over at portablefreeware.com.

The process continues.

Delays, delays

The current release is all set but I'm having some kind of mysterious error.  I apologize to those of you that have been waiting on this.  The breakdown:

• OpenOffice works fully.
  
• The autorun feature either doesn't work or doesn't work under VMware.
• The compressed archive takes up HALF the space of the previous one.  Since they both used similar compression levels, I'm looking into if something got deleted.  This is going to take time to iron out.
  

Programs added, subtracted, and updated

Added

• Everything is a terrific search tool that I added almost immediately to the archive. Anything faster than LookDisk is very welcome. More info on this program soon, as well as some customizations I figured out.

Subtracted

• Threw out the MLA generator. Programs like Zotero have killed any need for this.
• Replaced GNUCash with Money Manager Ex. Both programs are fully GPL'd and Money Manager is a little cleaner. I'm still not sure which I prefer but I decided space and fewer files was an advantage so I swapped.
• DeepBurner - didn't seem to work as well as other programs and certainly less updated.

Updated

• 7-zip
• SMPlayer
• xpass
• Bonkenc (NOT the portableapps.com version)
  
• Toucan
  

Get e-mail release notices

New announcement-only email list for people that just want to know when the next version comes out. (Basically trying to make sure discussion list members aren't getting a lot of useless inbox clutter.)