A call to reject software bundles (e.g. browser toolbars)

As a developer AND a user, I get frustrated with some trends in the shareware software industry. One particular gripe is in the bundling of toolbars, and I've mentioned it before. I must have accidentally installed Yahoo Toolbar at least 5 times during this PC's history, lol. I mean, come on... Sure, you can opt out, but most people just click through an install, perhaps not even noticing what else was installed.

After a while, you end up with so much crap installed that the PC runs sluggishly, especially for those Internet Explorer users for whom most add-ons are written for. Now you see the reason for Google's initial reluctance to allow any plug-ins with their Chrome browser.

I feel if you are downloading a program you have the *singular* intention to install that *specific* software, not anything else. I don't care how much they would pay, I will always and forever refuse bundling my software with free toolbars on ideological grounds. I will literally go out of business first.

I call all software developers to follow my lead here. It is not worth it. Please, no more freaking toolbars, browser add-ons, or other bundles! Your users will appreciate it. Take my advice for what you will - if you need convincing, I probably stand no chance of convincing you ;o.

I am certainly not perfect myself. After all, my software has a 'nag' screen. I don't mean to sound holier than thou. I simply mean that bundles are deceptive in nature and end up hurting the end user. The number one rule should always be "do no harm".

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TrialPay extended to all home license types

I now have TrialPay set up for all home license types (Lifetime Updates and Entire Home with Lifetime Updates). So far, no takers. I guess we'll see... I honestly don't know about it. You guys let me know.

As far as which is best for ME, simply buying the product is preferable to TrialPay.. so please don't use TrialPay unless it benefits YOU. Either way, as always I appreciate those who do support my small company in any form. The links are here: http://www.bitsum.com/prolasso_home_purchase.php

Now, back to development work. There is much left to do for version 4, and I'm eager to do it.

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A new way to 'buy' Process Lasso Pro for 'free'

If such a contradictory topic doesn't get your attention, nothing will, lol. I am speaking of TrailPay. I have seen it used by more and more software vendors. Sometimes being the last to catch on to a growing trend, I investigated and it does seem like a compelling solution.

It works like so: You get Process Lasso Pro without any monetary payment for it. However, you must 'try or buy' a 'deal' offered at TrialPay's web site. Since they have lots of deals, you may very well find something you were already going to buy. For instance, new PC hardware or a Netflix subscription. When you make a purchase of one of these deals, you then get Process Lasso Pro for free. The advertiser pays TrialPay, and TrialPay pays me.

This is all very experimental. I still need to set up other license types, as currently only the standard Process Lasso Pro license /w 1 year of free updates is offered. I did complete automated integration with the order system, so licenses are fulfilled immediately.

We'll see how it goes, and I am open to user input on this. I figure there must be something to it, for so many vendors to now be using it. I do put 'free' in quotes because we all know you aren't really getting it for free, you are getting it as part of a bundle offer (in essence). This works if you were going to buy the other item anyway... For those cases, it is absolutely a great value.

Get the standard Process Lasso Pro Home Single PC license ($24.95) for 'free':


More accurate and complete info about how TrialPay works (video):
http://www.trialpay.com/shoppers/

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v3.99.3 alpha released

This new ALPHA build cleans up the governor crash seen in v3.99.2 (only) on some 32-bit systems. Yes, they are alpha versions, but I just don't like my software crashing under any circumstances. The good news is it was taken care of quickly, within 24 hours.

This build makes other continued improvements, as you would expect. It also adds a brand new Spanish translation. Yes, more languages come every day thanks to volunteers. Those who use these translations should really send them your thanks.

So.. there it is. As another alpha, I have not fully regression tested, so am therefore nervous about proclaiming any sort of victory here. Yes, I'm more relaxed than I was after waking up yesterday, but I'll only say a new build is here. I would not be surprised to discover more problems due to the migration to the newer Visual Studio 2010, nor would I not be surprised to see minor anomalies in the new Task Scheduler code.

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v3.99.2 ALPHA released with Task Scheduler 2 integration - no more UAC prompts at login when using 'Highest' rights! About time, eh?

One of my largest blunders has been putting off the work necessary to properly integrate with the Windows Task Scheduler 2.0. I've corrected this now, though some polishing definitely remains -- v3.99.2 alpha is still very alpha.

Now, all this applies ONLY to those who have a reason to need to run Process Lasso in its elevated state (Highest rights) and are running Windows Vista or above (e.g. Windows 7). Otherwise, you can ignore this stuff.

If you are one of those who wants to run Process Lasso with Highest Rights, then be sure to select that during install and all should be good. Selecting it post-install probably works just fine too, but I did not fully evaluate that pathway yet. The next alpha will be more polished, naturally.

This build also switches compilers and was built on a freshly installed Windows OS, so has to be evaluated even closer for strange errata.

Still, it should work, and does in preliminary testing. So, have fun with it guys and girls ;)

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v3.99.1 alpha released

Late last night I released v3.99.1 alpha. Apparently the registered 32-bit build failed, so registered users may need to re-download it now, as you were getting v3.99.0 up until a few minutes ago. I apologize for this. I had experimenting with doing more project builds in parallel, and I think this caused a failure in the build that I didn't notice at 5am. I am now looking for the dependency error that probably caused the timing issue in the parallel builds. Please accept my apologies.

It is an alpha, so I am experimenting with all sorts of things to improve build time. With all the different editions of Process Lasso, each version now takes considerable time to build - especially on my low-end AMD 9150e (1800mhz quad core). It is great for multi-tasking, but not so great for CPU intensive single threaded activities like compiling. Now you see why I wanted to increase the maximum parallel project builds -- to make better use of the additional cores ;).

Anyway, v3.99.2 alpha will be coming rapidly. This last release was to 'clean up' v3.99.0 alpha, which had issues in the new watchdog config dialog. The watchdog itself works fine afaik, but as usual I was too focused on core functionality to notice basic user interface problems ;o.

I have been working non-stop, every day, no breaks. If I do not die before its done, Process Lasso v4 should be quite nice ;).

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v3.99.0 alpha released

I have further increased the version number and changed the official development status to 'Alpha'. The result is v3.99.0 alpha. I'm rapidly approaching v4 final. It is late, and I'll announce the many improvements when my mind is fresher.

There is considerable more work to do before v4 final. Therefore, nobody should take this version number increase as a sign that new feature additions have slowed.

Here is a quick visual recap of some things done so far. Registered/paid users: YOU are what allows continued development. Thank you!

Context menu for new watchdog feature:

The latest watchdog configuration dialog:

Decrease priorities of Process Lasso components:
(just one more option for specialized situations)




Disable logging completely:

Disable ProBalance when PC idle:

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Disable logging completely

I've added SO MANY new features to the latest internal version (next public beta), that it is hard to announce them all. Still, I'll announce a few as I think about it. Mostly, I'll stay busy programming, working towards v4 - the massive evolution of Process Lasso.

Here's a minor one:

Some users desired the ability to turn the log off completely. Here it is ;).

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v3.89.1 beta released

After another long night of work, Process Lasso v3.89.1 beta is released. It largely completes the new watchdog function, greatly improving the functionality and capabilities of the configuration dialog and core engine. Further improvements will be made as the series progresses, but the basics are all there now (in contrast to the last build). Those waiting for the memory watchdog function (disabled last build) will be happy to know it is available now and should work well.

I've created a thread to discuss this beta series, which is actually the v4 beta series. This thread is here: http://www.bitsum.net/forum/index.php?topic=544

Well, enjoy ;). I've now got some PECompact maintenance to complete...

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Something to get excited about - NEW process watchdog feature

This is the new core engine feature I was speaking of. As you can see, it is quite powerful. It allows you to restart or terminate a process if it utilizes too many CPU cycles or memory for too long a period of time. This happens in live-locks and memory leaks, both of which are unfortunately common in the Windows application world.

I am going to be releasing this new beta v3.89.0 very soon now (within hours). It is an EARLY beta, so considerable polishing remains and there are incomplete features. It probably should actually be classified as an ALPHA release. For this reason, I did re-enable the extra beta/alpha warning, which you'll see at program startup (unless you've previously chosen to not show it again).

Note that more options will be added to this watchdog in the future. Also, as a side note, a heck of a lot more has changed in this beta. I am making rapid progress to v4. Expect to see continued rapid progress. This is one of those periods where the software evolves considerably in a short period of time. I then spend the majority of my time afterwards doing maintenance and polishing, which is equally important in the end.

I expect that power users and server administrators will find this new process watchdog most useful. Enjoy ;). Do leave a comment if you like this feature. I like to know I'm headed in the right direction.

Click HERE for discussion on this feature (Bitsum Forums)

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Dialog usability improvements

Ever enter a process name in one of Process Lasso's configuration dialogs, then hit OK without adding it to the new process to the list first? For some of the dialogs there are warnings. I am extending these warnings, BUT more importantly re-arranging all the dialogs. The process addition is now at the top of the dialog, above the list. This will make forgetting to Add the process before clicking Ok MUCH less likely. These changes will appear in the next beta, which is (again) jumping to v3.89.0 beta due to the inclusion of some yet unannounced new capabilities.

For example:

Old style:

New style:

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