Some of the most valued software on my pc are freeware/shareware apps. Not having 3rd party apps to 'right windows wrongs' would be sad indeed....although MS is trying their best, with LiveOneCare and the like...

Just a few RULES for in here:
*PLEASE restrict this discussion to freeware/shareware apps, as we dont want this to become an advertising thread!!

*ONLY link to freeware/shareware sites. Do NOT directly link to another forum. Feel free to mention it and what it can help with :)

*If you really really want to mention a commercial program(as a comparison for example), mention it by name(do not link to it) and mention that is isnt free.

* * *

These are my all time faves. Im interested in hearing about others' fave apps and what they're good for.

My ALL TIME number one 'killer app' is Network Magic (http://www.networkmagic.com/). I have a mildly complicated wired+wireless 802.11b/g network and was having alot of grief with the ridiculous windows 'wizards' in xp. This app turned up in a pc magazine and I gave it ago.....It does all the work configuring your modem and suddenly all your devices become apparent :) It also flawlessly integrated my PDA and PSP when I had them and even played nicely with Vista machines that were thrown into the mix. Here's a screenie of my home network. Highly recommended. Give the free version a trial if youre interested :)
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6789/nwmagickx2.jpg)

Second is Avast Antivirus. (http://www.avast.com) After living in misery for years with Norton Bloatware Security I went in search of of lighter app that could achieve the task. I came across avast :) It's great, totally free(home edition) and updates program and virus definitions *very* regularly...which is something you have to pay for in most other proggies. Great for home users IMO. Integrates with outlook/exchange which is very useful to me, and is skinnable !! (http://www.avast.com/eng/skins.html) (has a great looking vista or mac-style skin)

of course I will quickly mention the great freeware proggies Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoft.de/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php) and Spybot (http://www.spybot.com/) though most tech-heads will know about these already :)

as for fave sites I can never go past Videohelp (http://www.videohelp.com/) as the ULTIMATE resource for info and guides about multimedia tools and conversions.

For system builders, I cant start project without plugging specs into eXtreme Outervision's Power Supply Calculator (http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp)

mtfbwya

NegSun - Edit: Now comes a comprehensive and alphabetical list of all the programs/sites that have been mentioned in this thread, enjoy :)



7Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/)

Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoft.de/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php)

AlienGUIse Desktop Theme Manager (http://www.alienware.co.uk/standalone_pages/invader.aspx)

Any Video Converter (http://www.any-video-converter.com/download/)

ASC Gen.NET (http://ascgendotnet.jmsoftware.co.uk/)

ATI Tray Tools (http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/)

Avast Antivirus. (http://www.avast.com)

AV-Comparatives (http://www.av-comparatives.org/)

AVG Free (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1)

AVI Recomp (http://www.videopedia.pl/avirecomp/download.php?list.4)

AVI Trimmer (http://solveigmm.com/?Products&id=AVITrimmer[/url)

BurnAware (http://www.glorylogic.com/)

CCCP (http://www.cccp-project.net/)

CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/)

CDisplay (http://www.geocities.com/davidayton/CDisplay)

Daemon Tools (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php?mode=ViewCategory&catid=5)

DeskSpace. (http://www.otakusoftware.com/deskspace/index.html)

Dirlot (http://www.programurl.com/dirlot.htm)

DNSstuff (http://www.dnsstuff.com)

DOSBox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1)

Driver Agent (driveragent.com)

DynDNS (http://www.dyndns.com/)

DynAdvance Email Notifier (http://www.dynadvance.com)

Email Effects (http://www.sigsoftware.com/emaileffects/)

eXtreme Outervision's Power Supply Calculator (http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp)

FairUse Wizard (http://www.fairusewizard.com/lang_en/fairuse_wizard_dvd_divx_xvid_backup_tool_light_edi) tion.html)

Firefox (www.getfirefox.com)

Foobar2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/)

FRAPS (http://www.fraps.com/)

Free Hide Folders (http://www.cleanersoft.com/hidefolder/free_hide_folder.htm)

"Get n Set affinity" (http://www.geocities.com/edgemeal_software/SetAffinity/index.htm)

Giveaway of the Day (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/)

Google Earth (http://earth.google.com)

Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/)

InternetFileSize (http://www.topshareware.com/InternetFileSize-download-38670.htm)

IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/)

ISO Buster (http://www.isobuster.com/)

IZArc (http://www.izarc.org/)

K-Lite Codec Pack (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm)

KeyTweak (http://webpages.charter.net/krumsick/)

Koepi's XviD Codec (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Koepi_XviD.htm)

Komodo Edit (http://www.activestate.com/Products/komodo_edit/features.plex)

Lolifox (http://lolifox.com/)

Madotate (http://davc73.free.fr/madotate/Madotate_2.02.02.zip)

Maxthon (http://www.maxthon.com/)

Media Player Classic (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Media_Player_Classic.htm)

MicroAngelo Icon Editor (http://www.microangelo.us)

Miranda IM (http://www.miranda-im.org/)

Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/)

Network Magic (http://www.networkmagic.com/)

Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm)

ObjectDock (http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/downloads.asp)

OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org/)

Paint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net/)

Power Menu (http://www.veridicus.com/tummy/programming/powermenu/)

QuickTime Alternative Lite (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm)

RAD Video Tools (www.radgametools.com/bnkdown)

RAM-Booster (http://rambooster.net/)

Real Alternative Lite (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm)

RealVNC - Virtual Network Computing (http://www.realvnc.com/what.html)

Scribus (http://www.scribus.net/)

Site Advisor (http://www.siteadvisor.com/)

Spybot (http://www.spybot.com/)

Sysinternals Monitoring Utilities (http://www.sysinternals.com)

Task List Programs (http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm)

Taskbar Shuffle (http://www.freewebs.com/nerdcave/taskbarshuffle.htm)

TCP Optimizer (http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php)

Terragen (www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/)

The Core Media Player (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/The_Core_Media_Player.htm)

The GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/)

The Open CD (http://theopencd.org)

Thunderbird (http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/)

Tom's Hardware (www.tomshardware.com)

TreeSize Professional (http://www.jam-software.com/treesize/)

TUGZip (http://www.tugzip.com/)

Ultravnc (http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net)

Unlocker (http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/)

uTorrent (www.utorrent.com)

Videohelp (http://www.videohelp.com/)

VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/)

VirtualDub (http://www.virtualdub.org/)

VirtualDubMod (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=65889)

Vista Codec Pack & Vista x64 components (http://shark007.testbox.dk/)

Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions (http://www.microsoft.com/express/2005/)

VLC media player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/)

WavePad (http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/masters.html)

Winamp (http://www.winamp.com/)

WinCustomize (http://www.wincustomize.com/)

XP Codec Pack (http://www.xpcodecpack.com/)

Zidrav (http://sourceforge.net/projects/zidrav)

ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=nav_za)

Second is Avast Antivirus. (http://www.avast.com) After living in misery for years with Norton Bloatware Security I went in search of of lighter app that could achieve the task. I came across avast :) It's great, totally free(home edition) and updates program and virus definitions *very* regularly...which is something you have to pay for in most other proggies. Great for home users IMO. Integrates with outlook/exchange which is very useful to me, and is skinnable !! (http://www.avast.com/eng/skins.html) (has a great looking vista or mac-style skin)I use avast also, it's very good I think. It updates automatically all the time so I never have to worry about it.

TCP Optimizer (http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php)-) Good for speeding up network connections
VirtualDub (http://www.virtualdub.org/)-) Free program to encode video (mainly AVIs) with whatever codecs are on your system
VirtualDubMod (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=65889)-) Has some features VirtualDub does not, this is the program I usually use for encoding
ObjectDock (http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/downloads.asp)-) OSX-like dock for Windows
Koepi's XviD Codec (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Koepi_XviD.htm)-) Allows you to play XviD, MPEG, and DivX movies, as well as encode XviD movies
Real Alternative Lite (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm)-) Yay for playing RealMedia files without RealPlayer
QuickTime Alternative Lite (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm)-) Yay for playing QuickTime files and being able to play MP3s, etc in Firefox without installing QuickTime
Media Player Classic (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Media_Player_Classic.htm)-) Lightweight media player with a ****load of features that uses very little memory and plays anything you have a codec for

KeyTweak (http://webpages.charter.net/krumsick/) - Keyboard Remapper (Freeware)
I'm shameless. :xp:

DynAdvance Email Notifier (http://www.dynadvance.com) - Tray application for getting notifications from MSN, Yahoo!, and Google email accounts. (Shareware)

MicroAngelo Icon Editor (http://www.microangelo.us) - A very nice icon editor. (Shareware)

Sysinternals Monitoring Utilities (http://www.sysinternals.com) - This site has a slew of monitoring utilities including FileMon, RegMon, DiskMon, PortMon... (Freeware)

Google Earth (http://earth.google.com) - Who doesn't love having the globe on your PC? (Freeware)

Email Effects (http://www.sigsoftware.com/emaileffects/) - An excellent ASCII art generator. (Nag-ware)

Here are a bunch of the freeware applications I use fairly often:


AVG Free (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1), free anti-virus software.


ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=nav_za), free software firewall that can block both incoming and outgoing connection attempts.


ATI Tray Tools (http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/), ATI Radeon configuration tool, I use it instead of the bloated Catalyst Control Center. Can also take screenshots of DirectX/OpenGL applications and games, show FPS rate and GPU temperature on-screen and record audio.


Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/), allows you to check the temperature of your CPU and Motherboard, voltages and fan speed. A bit old by now, but still works, and useful when you get paranoid after your computer overheats once due to a malfunctioning fan. :)


Miranda IM (http://www.miranda-im.org/), very nice instant messenger client, which unlike all others I've looked at is fairly lightweight, requiring very little memory and CPU resources, and doesn't contain any unremovable bloatware or spy/adware. Supports a variety of different protocols, with plugins support to allow handling many others.


7Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/), free file compression/decompression utility that can unpack most formats, and integrates with the Windows shell context menu for easy use.


OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org/), free Office suite, similar to MS Office. Not quite as advanced, but more than enough for someone like me. And it doesn't cost anything. :)


IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/), image viewer application that can handle most image formats. Also contains some rudimentary editing functionality and can mass-convert images between different formats. Perfect for fixing up screenshots and such. :)

The only things I can think of are:
WavePad (http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/masters.html), great program to edit and convert audio files without to much hassle, cut annoying sounds out or edit a song to make it you ringtone for example...

AlienGUIse Desktop Theme Manager (http://www.alienware.co.uk/standalone_pages/invader.aspx), an absolutely free desktop theme manager with 4 different themes and icon packages, looks very cool and is very easy to use...



I use AVG, is it just as good as Avast Antivirus?

I use AVG, is it just as good as Avast Antivirus?

I myself wasnt happy with AVG and easily prefer avast, especially with its Vista skin ;) It updates it defs almost daily(automatically if you set it) and isnt a resource hog.

@stoffe - Irfan View !! yes. lite imager viewer. Ive been using it for years and eben though Ive got a decent system I cant go past it... I like apps that are quick loading, versatile and easy to use. I wish theyd change their main icon...what is that red thing!??

mtfbwya

I myself wasnt happy with AVG and easily prefer avast, especially with its Vista skin ;) It updates it defs almost daily(automatically if you set it) and isnt a resource hog.

@stoffe - Irfan View !! yes. lite imager viewer. Ive been using it for years and eben though Ive got a decent system I cant go past it... I like apps that are quick loading, versatile and easy to use. I wish theyd change their main icon...what is that red thing!??

mtfbwya
But AVG updates almost daily as well...and what do you mean by resource hog?

But AVG updates almost daily as well...and what do you mean by resource hog?

means it runs quietly in the backgound but doesnt use up heaps of processing power doing so, thereby not interefering with other things. I imagine AVG is pretty light from that aspect too. The only way to see which you like more is to try the other ;)

mtfbwya

I supposed it couldn't hurt to have an extra antivirus program installed...

I use AVG, is it just as good as Avast Antivirus?
Avast is by far supior to AVG. Avg only has a residential on access scanner.

Avast also does the following on less resources than AVG takes to run.
Web Access scanner (scans incoming internet trafic for viruses and malware)
Internet email scanner (as the name suggests)
network scanner (scans incoming network trafic for viruses and malware)
Residential on Access scanner (scans everyfile you access for viruses and will stop you from opening one if it contains a virus)
excange/outlook scanner (you get the picture by now
P2P scanner
IM scanner

web browser Firefox (www.getfirefox.com)
email program Mozilla Thunderbird (http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/)
alternative browser Lolifox (http://lolifox.com/) - firefox based browser for anime fans

windows hacks (sorta)
boot skin, logon studio (http://www.wincustomize.com/software.aspx) - both free: they let your replace your default boot screen, and logon screen respectively.

all my other programs people have linked to already as no sense in mentioning them

RAM-Booster (http://rambooster.net/)-) this app does a number of things for the RAM with its chief advantage of just simply doing a better job of freeing up RAM for memory hungry apps than Windows can. if you have 1.5GB of RAM or more, you won't see much of a difference at all. however, if you're under that level, you can notice a slight difference in how your computer runs.

FRAPS (http://www.fraps.com/)-) the ultimate gaming benchmark tool. its free, easy to use, and it doesn't use much RAM. i use it for benchmarking the framerate in most of my games, and i also use it for screenshots. you can also record your gaming session onto video straight to .WMV format.

Maxthon (http://www.maxthon.com/) Just a web browser. :) I tried firefox again recently, I really gave it an honest chance, but in the end I just went back to Maxthon.

I can't live without Mouse gestures, Web groups, easy tabbed browsing( I know firefox has tabbed browsing but I find it clucky in comparison)can't beat click and drag links to open them in a new tab, Quick button to turn on and off the pop-up and addblocking wich some safe sites don't like.

Winamp (http://www.winamp.com/) Need I say more.

The others I would have mentioned have already been mentioned :)

RAM-Booster (http://rambooster.net/)-) this app does a number of things for the RAM with its chief advantage of just simply doing a better job of freeing up RAM for memory hungry apps than Windows can. if you have 1.5GB of RAM or more, you won't see much of a difference at all. however, if you're under that level, you can notice a slight difference in how your computer runs.

FRAPS (http://www.fraps.com/)-) the ultimate gaming benchmark tool. its free, easy to use, and it doesn't use much RAM. i use it for benchmarking the framerate in most of my games, and i also use it for screenshots. you can also record your gaming session onto video straight to .WMV format.

Fraps isn't free though O.o well atleast if you want all the capablities.

I guess I forgot those 2. but I do notice some difference when runing over 900 MB of ram usaged but unitll you hit that level with rambooster you really can't tell.

the core media player (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/The_Core_Media_Player.htm) free media player that plays pretty much any vidieo type including ogm and mkv

K-lite codec (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm) free all in one codec pack

oh, and since we're talking about cool tech sites: Tom's Hardware (www.tomshardware.com)-) its where i get a lot of my hardware info. their product reviews are done from a purely objective standpoint. in other words, they do a lot of different benchmarks to test things out and then offer an excellent explanation as to the various outcomes. great website if you're looking for hardware info and recommendations that are absent of any fanboy bias.

Most of my "Killer Apps" have already been listed, but some others are:

TreeSize Professional (http://www.jam-software.com/treesize/) - A good app to show how much of your memory is where. It is complete with charts and such, to show just which part of your hard drive is taking up the most space. A very nifty tool.

uTorrent (www.utorrent.com) - A brilliant bitTorrent client that does what most others do. Its added bonus is that it is unbelievably tiny in size and takes up hardly any RAM.

The GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) - The GIMP is a modest little program with capabilities parallel to Photoshop. It has a steep learning curve and is a resource hog, but its a good thing when you don't have the sort of money Photoshop needs.

Terragen (www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/) - The tried and true photorealistic scenery generator.

RAD Video Tools (www.radgametools.com/bnkdown) - A helpful app to convert Bink and Smacker format videos vice-versa. Great for playing most video-game FMV sequences out of the game.

Unfortunately the link I'm posting does have an advert to a program, but that's not the intention ;)

What is very helpful about the site is that it contains an indexed, alphabetical list of Task List Programs.. you know, those often un-decipherable 'codenames' for background processes (svchost.exe, systray, cidaemon, etc.) ;)

The list tells you exactly what those funky named files are :D

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm)

----------------------

I know it's not really a "program" but I didn't think this site was worth a thread, especially since it mentions a pay program, TUT...

Just posting about the index, ignore the prog.. hehehe...

Motherboard Monitor (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/), allows you to check the temperature of your CPU and Motherboard, voltages and fan speed. A bit old by now, but still works, and useful when you get paranoid after your computer overheats once due to a malfunctioning fan. :)

The problem with MbM is that it has not been developed for over two and 1/2 years. Any of the motherboard chiptsets that have come out since then are not supported. It is too bad that he could not get the support and information that he needed to continue to develop the program.

Power Menu (http://www.veridicus.com/tummy/programming/powermenu/) - Power Menu is a small application that adds "Always On Top", "Minimize To Tray", "Priority" and "Transparency" sub menus to all top level system menus.

Unlocker (http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/) - Unlocker overrides window's 'this file can not be deleted because it is being used by another program' type errors

Taskbar Shuffle (http://www.freewebs.com/nerdcave/taskbarshuffle.htm) - Reorder the programs/buttons on your taskbar exactly how you like.

CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/) A good registry and privacy cleaning tool.

Foobar2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/) - an advanced audio player for the Windows platform

VLC media player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) Will play any type of media you want to throw at it.

IZArc (http://www.izarc.org/) - A great compression utility IMHO

Diskeeper is bad for you!!!


I'm sorry to hear that Negative_Sun.
I guess it really was a killer app. :(


^^What he said!

Giveaway of the Day (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/) is a site that lets you download a program for free that would otherwise cost you money, today's app is a good one if you're interested!

The thing that I really love is "Site Advisor" by McAfee...it is a free program that can be added to your browser (Firefox I think you have to get it off of Mozilla add-ons, but I'm not sure). This little tool helps you stay away from possibly dangerous sites. It is backed by professional site raters, and you can also join in and rating certain sites...it's all explained on the website...but it just helps you when you're searching for something, and you really have no idea where to look...just try it out.

http://www.siteadvisor.com/)

Got a new one today courtesy PCWorld magazine. Free Hide Folders (http://www.cleanersoft.com/hidefolder/free_hide_folder.htm) utility will hide any folder on your hard drive. The interface is password protected. These folders are hidden from both the GUI (Windows Explorer) and the console. You cannot enter the file path in Explorer bar or even "cd" into the directory. Very cool. And free.

Another one I stumbled upon. RealVNC - Virtual Network Computing (http://www.realvnc.com/what.html) server/client software. For those of you familiar with Windows' Remote Desktop service, you may have run into some its limitations -- like not being able to connect to Windows 2000 Workstations. This application solves that problem and then some. You can terminal-in to a Linux or Mac from Windows for example. Plus it's free.

ok, i found this one a while ago. its downright handy for anyone that has to reinstall Windows as it will at least tell you what hardware needs the drivers. it isn't entirely free, but it is handy to figure out exactly what hardware to look for. yes, there are better programs out there for that, but this one is much more simple to use.

i've used it several times on the job, and it doesn't have anything malicious built into it. behold, Driver Agent!! (driveragent.com).

Zidrav (http://sourceforge.net/projects/zidrav): Fix file corruption/missing bytes by making check/patch files. Useful for dialup junkies like myself to save from having to download large files multiple times (provided you have someone with a working file to make a patch file against). See my post on the work bench to see it in action (corrupt models.bif).

Firefox/Thunderbird, Miranda, free download manager, spybot s&d/spywareblaster, avast, speedfan, autohotkey, d-tools...Go check out The OpenCD (http://theopencd.org).

@tk102: check out ultravnc (http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net)

DOSBox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1): Allows you to play DOS games on current OS' like XP. I can play games like Dune 2 and Duke 3D on my XP! :)

Whoa, how did I miss this earlier. My favorite IDE of all time, ActiveState Komodo, has a a free version called Komodo Edit (http://www.activestate.com/Products/komodo_edit/features.plex).

Here is a review of Komodo Edit (http://www.h3rald.com/articles/komodo-edit-review).

ActiveState is going make some this code open source in their new Open Komodo code base. And from there a new project is in the works...
Open Komodo is an open-source code base upon which IDE software packages
can be developed. The initial open source code for Open Komodo will be a
portion of ActiveState's Komodo Edit.
...
The first tool the Open Komodo Project aims to create on the Open Komodo
code base is a full-featured client-side web development tool. Currently
codenamed Komodo Snapdragon, it will be integrated with Firefox and
based on Komodo IDE, and developed in collaboration with the open source
community
...
Komodo Snapdragon will focus on JavaScript, CSS, HTML, XML, and other browser-side languages. It will also include integration with other Mozilla-based applications, such as Firefox and Firebug, to further improve the web development cycle.

I'll have to check out this Snapdragon as soon as it makes itself available. :D

****
Irfan View !! yes.
I have to puke all over Irfanview. I've had it for about a year but it keeps getting the way since I foolishly let it consume my file associations. Uninstall. Gimme Photoshop, I'll wait for it to load.

Strange that no one has said this yet...

Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) - A stellar vector graphics editor that's easy to use, completely free, open source - you know, all the good stuff. :)

Scribus (http://www.scribus.net/) - A very similar Desktop Publishing app for Linux/OSX/Windows that does the job nicely. ;)

Just found a nice little freeware application that does one thing and does it well.

InternetFileSize (http://www.topshareware.com/InternetFileSize-download-38670.htm)

Have you started downloading some big file but you have no idea how big it is? This little application will let you paste the URL into it and it will do a size/type query of the file for you.

Just found a nice little freeware application that does one thing and does it well.

InternetFileSize (http://www.topshareware.com/InternetFileSize-download-38670.htm)

Have you started downloading some big file but you have no idea how big it is? This little application will let you paste the URL into it and it will do a size/type query of the file for you.
FF usually tells me the size of the file when I start downloading it, but I can't remember what IE does it's been too long since I've used it :)

^^ Usually it does that's true, but sometimes with DownloadThemAll plugin, I get the ??? file size listed. It makes a big difference when you don't know if you've got a 20MB or 2GB on the end of your fishing pole.

Hmmm never used DownloadThemAll so I can't judge on that...

Here's a goodie:
VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/)

This is an amazing program that creates one or several virtual machines on your own PC (Win, Mac, Linux, whatever) and allows you to install an entire OS on it within your host system and it's just brilliant!
You get to set up a virtual HDD for your guest OS and the good thing about that is: no partitioning! Another good thing is it's not a fixed amount of space it steals from your actual HDD but it's a dynamic space that'll shrink or expand to what you are doing on the Virtual Machine...It's been good for me to take the plunge into Linux and tinker around with a few distros until I find one that I really like and then switch to it and run WinXP in a Virtual Machine if I really need to access it.

Oh and have I mentioned it's free and Open Source? ;)

Look out for a thread by me on this subject cause I'm gonna need some help if folk would be so kind...

Here's another good yen:

Paint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net/)

A free image editing proggie that's way better than the Gimp cause it's not a resource hog (especially on older machines like mine) and it's very easy to use, even tools like magic wand and such, just brilliant...A little info about photo editing won't hurt you to get started though, but it's the easiest and fastest photo editing program I've ever used...

Just found a nice little freeware application that does one thing and does it well.

InternetFileSize (http://www.topshareware.com/InternetFileSize-download-38670.htm)

Have you started downloading some big file but you have no idea how big it is? This little application will let you paste the URL into it and it will do a size/type query of the file for you.
That's hardly worth making an application for, IMO. That'll fit nicely as a Firefox extension, or better yet, a native feature for the next Firefox.

That's hardly worth making an application for, IMO. That'll fit nicely as a Firefox extension, or better yet, a native feature for the next Firefox.Whatever man. It came in very handy for me. The whole idea of freeware is fulfill a need (usually a minor need) where it exists.

And to keep on topic of this thread, here's another one. I was just noticing how my hard drive was getting full and wanted to know which folders were storing the most stuff. Dirlot came in handy for that.

http://www.programurl.com/dirlot.htm)

Sure, most of the results could've been determined from a Windows search for big files, but that wouldn't have found the the folder of extracted XP Service Pack 2 files (many small files) which I had kept for some reason.

Also worth pointing out: bgbennyboy's USB Ejector for the sake that it responds to commandline switches, thereby saving you at least one click if you create a shortcut that incudes them.

And to keep on topic of this thread, here's another one. I was just noticing how my hard drive was getting full and wanted to know which folders were storing the most stuff. Dirlot came in handy for that.

http://www.programurl.com/dirlot.htm)

Sure, most of the results could've been determined from a Windows search for big files, but that wouldn't have found the the folder of extracted XP Service Pack 2 files (many small files) which I had kept for some reason.
Very handy little program, and very light too!

On a totally different note: I love this thread!

I'm always going "hmmm I used to have this app that did this or that before my HDD crashed", and I always find it in here somewhere lolz

Madotate. (http://davc73.free.fr/madotate/Madotate_2.02.02.zip) Screen:

http://i2.tinypic.com/89t6f6f.jpg)


DeskSpace. (http://www.otakusoftware.com/deskspace/index.html) Screen:

http://i1.tinypic.com/72ie0xh.jpg)

Wow. :o
*hands trophy to jmac*
I wish Deskspace was free. I'm an icon horder.

hmm..might give that deskpace a go - I wonder if it will allow me to run vista media center on a second virtual desktop... EDIT: It does ! great stuff jmac >>works great on Vista x64 too :D

Ive got a couple:

Any Video Converter (Free Edition lower down on page) (http://www.any-video-converter.com/download/)
Free, highly tweakable - I use it for all my HDTV archving, converting all my recorded/edited mpeg2 > H264. VERY easy to use, more reliable than super(esp on x64) and prettier too :D
http://www.any-video-converter.com/images/any-video-converter.gif)

Vista Codec Pack & Vista x64 components (http://shark007.testbox.dk/)
any serious multimedia fan/hoarder will already know about this. Also, a MUST INSTALL for anyone planning to use a vista rig as a mediacenter pc. An entirely comprehensive package of codecs/tools, customisable. Includes ffdshow, vobsub, haali/matroska etc

Even better for x64 users is that the compiler has created an x64 components add on, allowing all files to work across WMP and Mediacenter(sometimes a file/codec is x86 specific and will open in WMP but not mediacenter, this addresses this for all relevant filetypes)

check the site regularly as the compiler keeps codecs/filters versions meticulously up to date

see screenie >> there is simply nothing as wonderfully comprehensive
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc288/Astrotoy7/VCPs.jpg)

Last but not least (not sure if Ive mentioned it here...)
FairUse Wizard (http://www.fairusewizard.com/lang_en/fairuse_wizard_dvd_divx_xvid_backup_tool_light_edi) tion.html)
Light Edition = FREE, fast and very easy to use! The ultimate DVD>AVI(xvid, divx, x264) converter. Intuitive GUI, not a messy dogs breakfast like Auto GK :p Tweakable if you need it, or basic/auto modes. Supports batch encoding, as well as encoding from .isos. Best to have the latest divx/xvid/h264 codecs installed in the background. (or you could use the vista codec pack listed above - which includes all these)

http://www.fairusewizard.com/lang_en/images/range.jpg)

piccie en francais,but proggie can be installed in english as well of course :)

mtfbwya

Some nice finds here! VirtualBox in particular looks interesting. Here's some of my favorite programs that haven't been mentioned yet (all of them are freeware):

TUGZip (http://www.tugzip.com/) - My favorite compression/decompression program; it can handle a ton of different file types, including zip, rar, 7zip, tarballs (the reason I originally got it), and even bin, img, and iso files.

CDisplay (http://www.geocities.com/davidayton/CDisplay) - Calls itself a "sequential image viewer," and what it does is makes it easy to look at a bunch of images in sequence, like a manga or comic; with just one button (spacebar) you can scroll through an image and jump to the next one in line. Also, it makes the picture fill the whole screen, for a more "immersive" experience.

Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm) - An alternative to the Notepad that comes with Windows; it has features like spellcheck and column numbering, and will color code html and other coded files when you work on them. It's a lot easier to keep track of what I'm doing in an HTML file in Notepad++ than it is in regular Notepad.

Daemon Tools (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php?mode=ViewCategory&catid=5) - Emulates a virtual CD/DVD-ROM drive on your computer; nice when used in conjunction with ISO Buster (http://www.isobuster.com/) because you can copy a CD to your computer's hard drive and stick it in the virtual drive, and don't have to worry about damaging the original CD (something I'm a little paranoid about).

ASC Gen.NET (http://ascgendotnet.jmsoftware.co.uk/) - A nifty little program that can convert any image to ASCII. I guess it's kinda like Email Effects, but I hadn't heard about it before... Also, it's completely freeware, so no "nag-ware"...

CDisplay (http://www.geocities.com/davidayton/CDisplay) - Calls itself a "sequential image viewer," and what it does is makes it easy to look at a bunch of images in sequence, like a manga or comic; with just one button (spacebar) you can scroll through an image and jump to the next one in line. Also, it makes the picture fill the whole screen, for a more "immersive" experience.
Just thought I'd mention that Comix (http://comix.sourceforge.net/) is a great replacement for this, if you're using Linux. Comical (http://comical.sourceforge.net/) is also a great alternative for cbr and cbz files, and it works across Windows, Linux and Mac (and I'm using it right now! :) )

Regarding a favorite tech sites, I guess I forgot to mention this...

http://www.dnsstuff.com)

I've never used this since I've always payed for the entire thing but if you don't want to spend upwards of 500 bucks for Visual studio's .Net here is a free version

http://www.microsoft.com/express/2005/)

not sure if I mentioned this before DynDNS (http://www.dyndns.com/) offers some great services for static and dynamic IPs.

Not sure what it is ? Let me give an example of what I used it for.

*I assigned my mediacenter pc a static (internal) IP, via networking properties
*I then set up a dyndns account and installed the dyndns service on that pc.
*It then maps the external IP for that pc to some easy to remember words you chose eg. whatever.homeip.net >>> so anywhere on the web, when you type in that it allows you to access that pc directly. If you mab a web server proggie or app to a particular port in your router, it will give you direct access to that

great for things like >
>remote access/control of pc. in a media center context I used webguide to schedule recordings, access my music from overseas etc !
>remote access/control of utorrent. check how its all going/add torrents from anywhere on the web :)

Please note, there are some modem/routers which have this service built into them, but for those that dont, this(and there are similar others) are a great option.

mtfbwya

I found this site in SmartComputing magazine the other day. It's an independent company that tests and ranks AV programs, called AV-Comparatives (http://www.av-comparatives.org/). Thought you all might find their reviews interesting.

Astro--could you set up an index in your first post perhaps? There's so many good things in this thread, and an index will make the programs/sites easier to find (and to check to see if the site/program has been mentioned by someone already. :) )

Astro--could you set up an index in your first post perhaps? There's so many good things in this thread, and an index will make the programs/sites easier to find (and to check to see if the site/program has been mentioned by someone already. :) )
Great idea, saves me digging through this thread going: "where on earth is that post about this program dammit!"

Found a couple more cool programs:

BurnAware (http://www.glorylogic.com/) - a free CD/DVD/Blu-ray burner, nice alternative to the expensive Nero Suite.

K-Lite Codec Pack (http://www.codecguide.com/about_kl.htm) - a complete (and free) video and music codec pack that allows you to play all the different file types you'd ever use, including Real and QuickTime.

K-Lite Codec Pack (http://www.codecguide.com/about_kl.htm) - a complete (and free) video and music codec pack that allows you to play all the different file types you'd ever use, including Real and QuickTime.
How does it play QuickTime stuff cause I'm trying to get rid of QT but I can't see the codec for it in the list, even in the "Mega" version of it...

To stay on the same topic, I dunno if I've posted it here before but I'll mention XP Codec Pack (http://www.xpcodecpack.com/) which includes the awesome Sherlock Codec Detective, which you can see in action here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/Jimmie/Sherlock.jpg)

How does it play QuickTime stuff cause I'm trying to get rid of QT but I can't see the codec for it in the list, even in the "Mega" version of it...

Negsun - IIRC - youre a vista user - if so - you cant go past the vista codec pack (http://shark007.testbox.dk/) :) Everything the k-lite pack has, and more, I can verify it has quicktime filters ;) Even a superb x64 add on if you are using vista x64.

if you want to unload just QT, and not install anything else > there is also Quicktime Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm) (basically just the QT filters on their own, so you can open them in other players.)

for xp users, apart from using something like vlc player, if you like the control that codec packs allow(they do if you know what youre doing!) then the most comprehensive is the CCCP (http://www.cccp-project.net/)

mtfbwya

Negsun - IIRC - youre a vista user - if so - you cant go past the vista codec pack (http://shark007.testbox.dk/) :) Everything the k-lite pack has, and more, I can verify it has quicktime filters ;) Even a superb x64 add on if you are using vista x64.

if you want to unload just QT, and not install anything else > there is also Quicktime Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm) (basically just the QT filters on their own, so you can open them in other players.)

for xp users, apart from using something like vlc player, if you like the control that codec packs allow(they do if you know what youre doing!) then the most comprehensive is the CCCP (http://www.cccp-project.net/)

mtfbwya
hehe sorry Astro, I was still editing my other post when you posted this (duh)

It's XP I've got and I use XP codec pack like I posted, but it was that Quicktime Alternative that I was looking for, thanks ;)

It's just that QT has been making my FireFox or IE crash whenever I try to open QT media, so I just want to get rid of it and still be able to browse the media and such.