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[Spasm]

CamStudio - Desktop video recording.

Ohyeah, that reminds me. You should check out Jing. It's by the same guys who make Camtasia, but it's a lot more lightweight. It's multiplatform. You can capture pictures (add arrows, notations), or audio/video (SWF is free, MP4 you gotta pay for), and can even automatically save/upload all your captures to FTP, popular video sites, etc.

Digsby. I got it from someone here in another thread. It's a multi-messenger, like Trillian, but isn't so old and dusty.

 

[Slavik81]

Also, I just noticed (while installing a few programs recommended here) that I was running low on hard drive space.

WinDirStat - Lets me find which files and folders are consuming most of my hard drive space. (The answer: WoW and EVE)

Ohyeah, that reminds me. You should check out Jing. It's by the same guys who make Camtasia, but it's a lot more lightweight. It's multiplatform. You can capture pictures (add arrows, notations), or audio/video (SWF is free, MP4 you gotta pay for), and can even automatically save/upload all your captures to FTP, popular video sites, etc.

Digsby. I got it from someone here in another thread. It's a multi-messenger, like Trillian, but isn't so old and dusty.

The fuck? Somebody already has Slavik81 as their digsby account?
Goddamn. That NEVER happens to me.

 

[vertopci]

Get AIMP for listening to music. Shits all over Winamp

 

[No_Style]

For codec packs, I use K-Lite Codec Pack. Customizable and comes in a number of bundles including, Mega - Full - Standard - Basic - Corporate.

 

[Cheeto]

How about Virtualbox by Sun?

Lightweight, free, and overall a much better virtualization app(imo) than VMWare.

 

[joelseph]

Is there a version of Digsby that does not come with the Freeze spyware installer?

 

[Threi]

If you guys are using digsby then i suggest you try out pidgin as well.

 

[andycapps]

Is there a version of Digsby that does not come with the Freeze spyware installer?

I wish there was one that was compatible with Skype.

 

[joelseph]

If you guys are using digsby then i suggest you try out pidgin as well.

I use Pidgin, thought I would finally check out Digsby. Fuck that. The Freeze shit still dropped crap onto my machine even after canceling the install before agreeing to that bullshit. GAIM/PIDGIN for life.

I did find the Digsby setup without the spyware, but still, I can't trust a company that does this kind of crap.
http://update.digsby.com/install/digsby_setup.exe

 

[DRock]

Any suggestions for a good FTP prog?

 

[Spasm]

I use Pidgin, thought I would finally check out Digsby. Fuck that. The Freeze shit still dropped crap onto my machine even after canceling the install before agreeing to that bullshit. GAIM/PIDGIN for life.

I did find the Digsby setup without the spyware, but still, I can't trust a company that does this kind of crap.
http://update.digsby.com/install/digsby_setup.exe

http://www.installadmin.com/InstallQ/installiq_learnmore_w.html
Seems pretty easy to get rid of it, but yeah... Annoying.

 

[Swag]

Are there any good alternatives to Caledos, I tried it out but it doesn't seem to recognize a lot of my wallpapers

 

[jakershaker]

I use Pidgin, thought I would finally check out Digsby. Fuck that. The Freeze shit still dropped crap onto my machine even after canceling the install before agreeing to that bullshit. GAIM/PIDGIN for life.

I did find the Digsby setup without the spyware, but still, I can't trust a company that does this kind of crap.
http://update.digsby.com/install/digsby_setup.exe

Protip: When free programs want to install search bars and stuff like that, decline.
(And no it doesn't install anything if you don't click on Accept)

It is however an annoyance but at the end of the day Digsby is still the best IM out there. Hoping they stop bundling ad stuff with the installer but lots of apps seems to do this these days.

 

[The Frankman]

Already mentioned a lot of times but:

PS3 Mediaserver

The BEST mediaserver and transcoder for PS3 and Xbox360. Everything just works and has support for all fileformats, none of the hassle of the other competitors. For PC/MAC/Linux. A must try for anyone streaming media to their console.

What does this do/is used for? I still don't get the application.

 

[Spasm]

Protip: When free programs want to install search bars and stuff like that, decline.
(And no it doesn't install anything if you don't click on Accept).

Not exactly. It does leave a cookie, and a registry entry to uniquely identify you, no matter what you chose during install.

Just delete any cookies AND registry entries for freeze.com.

 

[jakershaker]

What does this do/is used for? I still don't get the application.

Streams all your files to your 360/PS3 regardless of support. Adds things like subtitles.

 

[surrogate]

A few I've used that I haven't noticed mentioned

CoreFTP LE - http://www.coreftp.com/
Unlocker - http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
Eraser - http://www.heidi.ie/node/6
Synesis Windows Shell Extensions - http://shellext.synesis.com.au/
GSpot - http://www.headbands.com/gspot/
GiPo@FileUtilities - http://www.gibinsoft.net/
Free Hide Folder - http://www.cleanersoft.com/images/hidefolder/maininterface.jpg

 

[hateradio]

Another for the CCCP.


Here are a few ones:

WinRoll http://www.palma.com.au/winroll/

Similar to Linux's ability to collapse the window to its title only, but with this all you have to do is Right-Click and it will collapse almost all windows, some programs won't work though, but it's okay.

M8 Free Clipboard http://m8software.com/clipboards/freeclip/freeclip.htm

Stores 25 clipboard items at once, I bet there are other better ones out there, but it works

Foobar2000 http://foobar2000.org

Music player, I love.

XAMPP http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

Best thing to use instead of installing Apache/PHP/MySQL/phpMyAdmin for web developing on a local machine.

Debut Video Capture Software http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html

Works with my easycap capture usb card, easiest thing to use really.

 

[bigmit3737]

vlc < media player classic

This.

 

[Cheeto]

Any suggestions for a good FTP prog?

Filezilla

 

[hateradio]

You could also just use FireFTP extension on Firefox, which is nice since you don't have to install any new program or anything.

Only thing is to change to auto detect the transfer mode, since it's set up to Binary on default I think, which screws with PHP, and other scripts I think.

 

[Spasm]

XAMPP http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

Best thing to use instead of installing Apache/PHP/MySQL/phpMyAdmin for web developing on a local machine.

Thanks for this. I've been looking to host my own server for a while.

I know it's not secure out of the box, but it can be locked down enough to go live on the interweb, can't it?

 

[hateradio]

Thanks for this. I've been looking to host my own server for a while.

I know it's not secure out of the box, but it can be locked down enough to go live on the interweb, can't it?

XAMPP doesn't encourage you openly serve things to the public, it's mostly a tool to run your websites/apps offline as you code/develop, I don't think it's efficient for high traffic or anything like that. If that is what you want, then it's recommended you go and install all the things individually.

 

[neight]

Unlocker, for the pesky files that won't fuck off.
7zip, no need to pirate Winrar.

 

[ltse1]

Anyone know any good software for recording streaming audio? There are a few local bands that have put their music on Myspace, then broke up. Then they don't have the download option enabled!

 

[FirewalkR]

Oh man oh man oh MAN! I'm gonna install ALL of this stuff, my machine is gonna be a temple of performance!!!

 

[Shoogoo]

A defragmentation tool from the makers of ccleaner:

Defraggler

The best thing about it is that you can choose which files you want to defragment as opposed to having to defragg the entire hard drive.

Thanks my lord.

 

[scorcho]

How about Virtualbox by Sun?

Lightweight, free, and overall a much better virtualization app(imo) than VMWare.

Awesometastic. Even better, the latest 2.2 release supports OpenGL in linux, meaning the guest OS can run compiz using existing 3d hardware.

No excuse not to try the latest ubuntu now.

 

[Minsc]

I used to be a huge WMP Classic fan. The new VLC blows it away performance wise. 1080p MP4 files & quicktime movies play drastically better under VLC with my hardware. VLC is just all around better these days, and not having to install stupid codec packs is another huge advantage.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Oh man oh man oh MAN! I'm gonna install ALL of this stuff, my machine is gonna be a temple of performance!!!

Or you'll just be like me and be sorely disappointed there's nothing left to download.:lol

 

[Dot50Cal]

Has Media Player Classic been updated to allow for use of multiple cores? Also, it seems like a default install of it has the gamma pumped up too high. Anyone else notice this?

 

[Tashi]

Paint.net

I love Paint.net

 

[proposition]

Songbird

From Wiki:

* Cross-platform compatibility with Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X v10.5 (x86, x86-64) and Linux (x86, x86-64). Mac OS X v10.4-10.5 (PPC) and Windows 2000 are unofficially supported by either 1.0 for PPC[3] or using the official Win32 version to run on 2000.
* Ability to play multiple audio formats, such as MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Apple Lossless and WMA
* Ability to play Apple FairPlay-encoded audio on Windows and Mac platforms via hooks into QuickTime (authorization takes place in iTunes)[4]
* Ability to play Windows Media DRM audio on Windows platforms[4]
* A skinnable interface, via feathers
* Media files stored on pages viewed in the browser show up as playable files in Songbird
* MP3 file download
* Ability to subscribe to MP3 blogs as playlists
* User-created bookmarks
* Ability to build custom mixes
* Ability to scan the user's computer for all audio files and add them to a local library
* A configurable and collapsible graphical user interface similar to iTunes, and mini-player mode
* Keyboard shortcuts and media keyboard support
* Automatic updates
* Last.fm integration via a plugin, complete with love/hate buttons
* Insound.com and HypeMachine integration
* Microsoft MTP compatible device support
* Ability to edit and save metadata tags

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Has Songbird toned the memory usage recently? shit sucked up memory like a vaccuum when I used it, but that was like 0.6 edition.

 

[proposition]

It's still kinda sluggish, and prone to hanging, but it's all still Alpha so I can put up with it.

For reference, it's using slightly more than Firefox right now.

 

[sefskillz]

For those of us who have to use a few different computers, for whatever reason, carry these free apps with you on a thumbdrive...

http://portableapps.com/

Now you can carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind.

PortableApps.com provides a truly open platform that works with any hardware you like (USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive, etc). It's open source built around an open format that any hardware vendor or software developer can use.

 

[Souldriver]

Everything - really fast, responsive search engine that searches...everything, easy.

How the hell is this possible? This thing is blazing fast, super lightweight and doesn't need any indexing at all. That's like...impossible.

How come a freeware app like this does what "professional" desktop search engines like Copernic and Google Desktop can't?

 

[deadhorse32]

How the hell is this possible? This thing is blazing fast, super lightweight and doesn't need any indexing at all. That's like...impossible.

How come a freeware app like this does what "professional" desktop search engines like Copernic and Google Desktop can't?

There is a small index file created at the executable location but yeah it rocks

 

[Schrade]

Has Media Player Classic been updated to allow for use of multiple cores? Also, it seems like a default install of it has the gamma pumped up too high. Anyone else notice this?

It's not the gamma. If you have nVIDIA drivers your video playback might be set to PC -> TV levels rather than RGB (0-255).

You can either set it properly in the nVIDIA control panel or use Media Player Classic Home Cinema's shaders to achieve the same thing. The color settings are in the Video & Television -> Adjust video color settings -> With the NVIDIA settings -> Advanced tab section of the control panel. The setting is called "Dynamic Range"

You can get Media Player Classic Home Cinema daily builds here:

http://www.xvidvideo.ru/content/category/1/1/2/

As for the multiple cores thing, that can be achieved by using ffdshow-mt. You're a member of doom9 so you might want to just visit the ffdshow thread there.

Or, if you just want daily builds you can get them here:

http://www.xvidvideo.ru/content/category/1/40/30/


Also, for those advocating codec packs... you really don't need any if you use Media Player Classic Home Cinema. It's got support for everything. They are using a slimmed down ffdshow built into it. It doesn't support all the formats that ffdshow supports but for that you can just install ffdshow and use it inside MPC-HC.

 

[Schrade]

Anything i can use to check out Google reader without opening a browser?

Mozilla Prism is a good option, too.

http://labs.mozilla.com/projects/prism/

Allows you to pick any website and install it as a separate app.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Maybe this is a good place to ask.

In under a year, I'll probably be looking for a computer tech job. I was wondering, what are some good tools to have handy for this type of work?

 

[Schrade]

Maybe this is a good place to ask.

In under a year, I'll probably be looking for a computer tech job. I was wondering, what are some good tools to have handy for this type of work?

Depends on the situation, usually. I've got a huge list and archive of tools that I use but there's so many situations where you need specific tools it's hard to narrow it down. Maybe one day I'll put it all on page or a forum post.

Here's a great site full of tools for Windows: http://www.nirsoft.net/

In the meantime, it's better to just post about the situation you're having and then a tool will be recommended.

Sites I recommend to check out the latest and coolest apps:

http://www.ghacks.net/
http://lifehacker.com/
http://elitefreeware.blogspot.com/
http://cybernetnews.com/
http://www.downloadsquad.com/
http://www.freewaregenius.com/
http://www.shellcity.net/
http://tinyapps.org/weblog/

 

[WickedAngel]

Maybe this is a good place to ask.

In under a year, I'll probably be looking for a computer tech job. I was wondering, what are some good tools to have handy for this type of work?

It's too bad you didn't say this before the Computer Repair Utility Kit was removed from distribution. It's an awesome, customizable tool that comes with a great deal of diagnostic/troubleshooting software and allows you to add more programs that you deem necessary to the launch GUI.

Aside from things like that, you're definitely going to want UBCD, UBCD4WIN, and perhaps a lightweight Linux distro to load up when Windows is completely destroyed. You'll likely want a Windows multi-disk as well (The legality of these is questionable though; I'm not entirely sure that they're legal even if you do use legitimate installation keys).

 

[Schrade]

Oh, and for those recommending VirtualBox, here's a site that makes a portable version of it:

http://www.vbox.me/

Very handy.

 

[Schrade]

I used to be a huge WMP Classic fan. The new VLC blows it away performance wise. 1080p MP4 files & quicktime movies play drastically better under VLC with my hardware. VLC is just all around better these days, and not having to install stupid codec packs is another huge advantage.

That may be the case for Media Player Classic, but not Media Player Classic Home Cinema on its own.

Couple MPC-HC with CoreAVC and it leaves VLC in the dust by a mile.

 

[Minsc]

That may be the case for Media Player Classic, but not Media Player Classic Home Cinema on its own.

Couple MPC-HC with CoreAVC and it leaves VLC in the dust by a mile.

CoreAVC is not free though right? I've never tried MPCHC, but VLC > MPC (vanilla).

 

[Firestorm]

Everything I want to contribute has already been contributed. Even CamStudio!

For codec packs, I use K-Lite Codec Pack. Customizable and comes in a number of bundles including, Mega - Full - Standard - Basic - Corporate.

Not a fan of this. Combined Community Codec Pack has everything necessary and nothing unnecessary. Best codec pack by far and used in combination with Media Player Classic makes it much better than VLC.

VLC's biggest problem is when you try and view something that is softsubbed. Lines intersect and you can't tell who the hell is talking. Ugh.

 

[sykoex]

Already mentioned a lot of times but:

PS3 Mediaserver

The BEST mediaserver and transcoder for PS3 and Xbox360. Everything just works and has support for all fileformats, none of the hassle of the other competitors. For PC/MAC/Linux. A must try for anyone streaming media to their console.

This is... amazing. It just works. Thank you sooo much.

 

[ltse1]

Anyone know any good software for recording streaming audio? There are a few local bands that have put their music on Myspace, then broke up. Then they don't have the download option enabled!

Can anyone help? I'm tired of listening to music on Myspace and fearing my boss looking over my shoulder and thinking I'm a socially-needy individual with the urge to check my Myspace page, even at work.

 

[itxaka]

Awesometastic. Even better, the latest 2.2 release supports OpenGL in linux, meaning the guest OS can run compiz using existing 3d hardware.

No excuse not to try the latest ubuntu now.

And now it can import/export machines without having to fiddle with the xml files.

My 5 CentOS machines are running on it and it's awesome.


What I don't understand is why it doesn't get word of mouth compared to Xen/VMWare. I can understand that VMWare server is awesome (Been working on it a bit lately) and Xen has a Linux kernel ready from the start but for consumers is the easiest, free best virtualization software out there.