This page is a repository for various Mac and PC shareware
and freeware programs I have written.

NOTE: To download the software from this page, you may need to right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) on the link and choose "Download Link to Disk" or "Save Target As..."

TINYCHAT version 1.0b8

TinyChat is a small, simple Mac and PC chat program. It works over any TCP/IP network--LAN, WAN, or the Internet.

TinyChat is a very simple program, so why on Earth would you want to use it?

Unlike other chat programs, TinyChat is a direct, per-to-peer chat program. There is no server; you connect directly to the person you are chatting with. (With programs such as AOL Instant Messenger, you connect to AOL's big server system, and the person you are chatting with connects to AOL's server; if both of you don't have accounts (or "screen names") on the server, you can't talk to each other.)

It also means your conversations are more private; they don't pass through a central server, so they can't be intercepted and recorded. This version also includes built-in encryption (RC4) for greater privacy, as well.

TinyChat also allows you to exchange pictures with the person you're chatting with, by dragging the pictures from your hard drive to the TinyChat picture window.

The current version is Beta 7. It's easy to install (no special installers or system components or extensions) and easy to remove (just drag it to the trash). Any ideas? Send 'em in! I may implement them in the final version.

1.0b8 Notes:

  • If you are behind a router or firewall, you must enable port forwarding on port 1299 to receive a chat connection.
  • Encryption is now available!
  • This version includes an Address Book feature.
  • A new feature has been implemented to let you know when your partner is typing something.
  • This version fixes a crash-on-start problem in Windows XP.
  • To exchange pictures in the Windows version, please install Apple's QuickTime.

TinyChat is free.

To download the MacOS Classic version, click here

To download the PC version, click here.

To download the MacOS X version, click here.

ZEN version 3.0: Linux x86 version now available!

Zen is cute. Zen is fun. Zen is a simple little application that you can put in your computer's Startup folder, or just run it whenever you want.

What Zen does is search several text files of "fortune cookie" sayings, and display one at random. The fortune cookie files are just plain text; you can use your favorite text editor application to edit them file to include whatever pithy pearls of wisdom you like. Each message can be as long as you want; the messages are separated with two RETURN characters. A large collection of fortune cookie files is available for download from this site.

Zen was inspired by the program "COOKIE," first written in FORTRAN for PDP computers back in the day, and since then ported to almost every computer and operating system on earth. (I myself wrote a version of Cookie for the DECsystem-20 back in 1984, and for the TRS-80 in 1985.) Zen is very simple; on launch, it scans the ZEN.TXT file and chooses one of the entries at random. The "AGAIN" button chooses a different random fortune; the QUIT button quits.

Zen is "neatstuffware." That means, if you like it, send me something neat, in email or snail mail or whatever.

Zen 3 is 100% compatible with MacOS X 10.3 ("Panther") and Windows XP. The Linux version requires Linux for x86 (PC).

To download the Mac version, click here

To download the PC version, click here.

To download the MacOS X version, click here.

To download the Linux version, click here.

AUTOSTART version 1.0 available (June 7)

Autostart is a program designed to help software developers distribute software on Windows CD-ROMs. It is a simple to use but highly customizable autostart program that automatically displays a customizable dialog window asking the user if he wishes to run a setup program each time a CD-ROM is inserted in a Windows machine. It's a quick, painless way for developers to create an automatic front-end for their software installers.

The Autostart window and buttons can be completely customized in size and appearance.You may try it for free; if you use it to distribute software on CD-ROM, you must license your copy. Shareware, freeware, and open source developers may license Autostart for $20. Commercial software developers, please contact me for licensing; you may license versions with custom logos or branding, custom graphics, custom configurations, and so on.

To download the .zip archive, click here.

FIXDATES version 1.6 available (June 6)

FixDates is a simple, fast program designed to search through a folder looking for files with invalid creation or modification dates (such as January 1, 1904). If it finds such files, it sets the creation and/or modification date to the current date. Macintosh only. Freeware.
FixDates 1.6 fixes several bugs in FixDates 1.5, including:

  • A "NilObjectException" error in certain cases when scanning folders containing aliases
  • An out of memory error when scanning a folder that contains an alias to itself
  • FixDates now allows the user to hit Command-Period to stop a scan in progress

To download the MacOS Classic version, click here

To download the MacOS X version, click here.

REGISTRY PERMISSION TOOL

Registry Permission Tool is a freeware tool to enable and disable Registry editing on Windows systems. The Windows Registry contains a key which, when set, prohibits the user from modifying the Registry with RegEdit. If the key is set, you'll see a message saying "Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator".

Registry Permission Tool ("rpt.exe") will reset this flag, so you can edit your Registry. This is useful because many common computer viruses, such as W32/Gibe and W32/Swen, modify your Registry, then set the flag to prevent you from undoing the damage. Commercial antivirus tools will remove the virus, but they cannot restore the Registry because they have no way to know what the original Registry settings were. Registry Permission Tool can be used to lock or unlock Registry editing, making manual cleanup after a virus infection much easier.

Windows only. Freeware.

To download the .zip archive, click here.

RANDOMIMAGE

RandomImage is a Perl script that allows a Web programmer to write a Web page that loads a random image when a user visits the page. Freeware.

To download the Stuffit archive version, click here

To download the .zip archive version, click here.

Additional Zen Fortune Files

These are additional "fortune cookie" files you can use with Zen (or other fortune cookie programs). Each one is a plain-text file that you can edit with your favorite text editor or word processor, and each one covers a different "theme." These files are saved as .ZIP archives for PC and as .SIT archives for Mac, and each includes a readme file with instructions and a Zen Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list. To download, click on the "Mac" or "PC" next to the one you want. To use, uncompress the archive and place the fortune file in the FORTUNES folder within the Zen folder.

NOTE: Linux users should download the "PC" (.zip) archive.
Art A Zen file filled with commentary about the arts. Example: "Acting is an art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing." Mac PC
Cookie Fortune cookie classics. Example: "A person with one watch knows what time it is; a person with two watches is never sure." Mac PC
Platitudes The wisdom of the common saying. Example: "A day without sunshine is like night." Mac PC
Random Thoughts Random sayings collected from far and wide. Example: "If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality comes from morons?" Mac PC
Star Trek Quotes from the original Star Trek series. Example: "Violence in reality is quite different from theory." Mac PC
Eastern Thoughts A Zen file filled with wisdom from the Far East, Japan, China, and even Frank Herbert's Dune. Compiled by Jef Sneider. Example: "Water flows continually into the ocean but the ocean is never disturbed; Desire flows into the mind of the seer but he is never disturbed." Mac PC
Book of 5 Rings
 A Zen file filled with exerpts from samurai Myamoto Musashi's famous guide to the warrior arts, A Book of Five Rings. Example: "See through the enemy’s spirit so that you grasp his strategy and defeat him." Mac PC
DEFINITIONS I A file full of humorous definitions. Example: "Ambiguity: Telling the truth when you don’t mean to." Mac PC
DEFINITIONS II Second file full of definitions. Example:
Hardware, n.: The parts of a computer system that can be kicked.		 Mac PC
FORTUNES Predictions for your future. Guaranteed to be at least as accurate as a high-priced psychic. Example: "A long-lost loved one will appear in your life soon. Buy the negatives at any price." Mac PC
LOVE Some musings on the nature of love. Example: Finish the sentence below in 25 words or less: 'Love is what you feel just before you give someone a good ...' Mac PC
MEN-WOMEN I
 The Battle of the Sexes, replayed in amusing anecdotes on your desktop. Mac PC
PEOPLE I
 People are stranger than Anybody! The first installment. Mac PC
PEOPLE II
 People are stranger than Anybody! The second installment. Mac PC
PEOPLE III
 People are stranger than Anybody! The third installment. Mac PC
WISDOM
 All the wisdom of the ages, distilled for your pleasure into a few small Zen snippits. Example: And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
-- Kahlil Gibran		 Mac PC