A pair of desktop utilities: calendar, folder merge

2014-09-29 Thread Mark Lutz
A pair of basic tkinter desktop utility programs that others 
may find useful:

1) frigcal  -- a refrigerator style calendar desktop GUI
2) mergeall -- do-it-yourself cloud storage, script + GUI

Both were coded in part as supplements for book readers, but 
have grown useful enough to merit a wider post and broader
user testing.  Feedback welcome; details follow.



1) frigcal -- a refrigerator style calendar desktop GUI

Documentation:  
http://learning-python.com/README-frigcal.html
Download: 
http://learning-python.com/frigcal.zip
Screenshots: 
http://learning-python.com/screenshots/01-win7-main-window.png
http://learning-python.com/screenshots/02-win7-clones-and-images.png
http://learning-python.com/screenshots/

A Python 3.X program that implements a basic personal calendar GUI.  
It uses portable iCalendar files for event storage, and sports Python
coded configuration, persistent events, event colorization, multiple
calendar files, multiple month windows, and automatic calendar backups.  

This program is not an Outlook replacement: it does not implement tools
such as task scheduling, journaling, alarms, invitations, or recurring
or multiday events.  In exchange for its limited utility, though, this
program minimizes code and GUI complexity; reduces the risk of data loss;
and yields a calendar sufficient for most personal needs, that requires 
neither a subscription nor an account log-in.



2) mergeall -- do-it-yourself cloud storage, script + GUI

Documentation:  
http://www.rmi.net/~lutz/mergeall.html
Download: 
http://www.rmi.net/~lutz/mergeall.zip
Screenshots: 
http://www.rmi.net/~lutz/launch-mergeall-GUI-screenshot-main.png
http://www.rmi.net/~lutz/mergeall-desktop-screenshot-tablet.png
http://www.rmi.net/~lutz/mergeall-desktop-screenshot-linux.png

A Python 3.X/2.X script and GUI useful for managing backups and changes
in multiple copies of large directory trees (folders).  Designed to 
quickly synchronize changes in content mirrored across multiple devices
such as laptops, tablets, and USB flashdrives, this program in some 
contexts can provide a manual alternative to cloud-based storage.  

Directory tree synchronization isn't the same as a cloud, of course; 
but together with fast local storage devices, this program might just
help you avoid paying to store your personal data at sites that may 
share it with, or sell it to, both advertisers and government agencies
(who, shockingly, may not have your best interest at heart).



Cheers,
--Mark Lutz  (http://learning-python.com, http://www.rmi.net/~lutz)

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Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler for Python 2.7

2014-09-29 Thread Steve Dower
Microsoft has released a compiler package for Python 2.7 to make it easier for 
people to build and distribute their C extension modules on Windows.

The Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler for Python 2.7 is available from: 
http://aka.ms/vcpython27

This package contains all the tools and headers required to build C extension 
modules for Python 2.7 32-bit and 64-bit (note that some extension modules 
require 3rd party dependencies such as OpenSSL or libxml2 that are not 
included). Other versions of Python built with Visual C++ 2008 are also 
supported.

You can install the package without requiring administrative privileges and, 
with the latest version of setuptools, use tools such as pip, wheel, or a 
setup.py file to produce binaries on Windows.

(Note: This version of Visual C++ is no longer supported by Microsoft, and so 
new features, support, or bug fixes are not available.)
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