Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

Also, in return I give you the greatest thing to happen to gigantic pictures on 2p2.

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>javascript:maxwidth=800;pi=document.getEleme ntsByTagName
("img");for(var%20i=0;i&lt;=pi.length;i++){var%20a spectratio=
(pi.item(i).height/pi.item(i).width);if(pi.item(i).width&gt;maxwidth)
{pi.item(i).width=maxwidth;pi.item(i).height=aspec tratio*maxwidth;}}
</pre><hr />

Copy this, make it one line, make it a bookmark. Any time there is a thread with a gigantic picture, click the bookmark and it will resize every picture bigger than, in this case, 800 pixels wide. You can change the number to whatever you see fit.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I tried gimp years ago and what I really disliked is that the interface seemed really obtuse. Or maybe it was just me being obtuse. In photoshop it always seemed really easy to figure out how to do stuff, but in gimp, I think I had a hell of a time drawing a circle.

Has the interface improved over the years?

[/ QUOTE ]

try paint.net. it's been mentioned, but not hyped. i only do simple crap, but i like it a lot better than gimp.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks. This is exactly what I've been looking for.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

[/ QUOTE ]

you could try acemoney lite

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

FAR manager

Maybe I'm just too old, but I can't imagine my life without this which is basically Norton Commander-like interface for working with files in Windows. Probably not the easiest piece of software to immediately pick up and use but it's very small frame, extremely fast and does pretty much anything, especially with many plugins available for all purposes. I have never been successful in converting normal people into using one but my life without it would be pretty much miserable.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

Also, in return I give you the greatest thing to happen to gigantic pictures on 2p2.

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>javascript:maxwidth=800;pi=document.getEleme ntsByTagName
("img");for(var%20i=0;i&lt;=pi.length;i++){var%20a spectratio=
(pi.item(i).height/pi.item(i).width);if(pi.item(i).width&gt;maxwidth)
{pi.item(i).width=maxwidth;pi.item(i).height=aspec tratio*maxwidth;}}
</pre><hr />

Copy this, make it one line, make it a bookmark. Any time there is a thread with a gigantic picture, click the bookmark and it will resize every picture bigger than, in this case, 800 pixels wide. You can change the number to whatever you see fit.

[/ QUOTE ]

You shouldn't need to specify the aspect ratio. Setting a width should get them scaling correctly (my greasemonkey script is similar, and I don't specify height at all).

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

Also, in return I give you the greatest thing to happen to gigantic pictures on 2p2.

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>javascript:maxwidth=800;pi=document.getEleme ntsByTagName
("img");for(var%20i=0;i&lt;=pi.length;i++){var%20a spectratio=
(pi.item(i).height/pi.item(i).width);if(pi.item(i).width&gt;maxwidth)
{pi.item(i).width=maxwidth;pi.item(i).height=aspec tratio*maxwidth;}}
</pre><hr />

Copy this, make it one line, make it a bookmark. Any time there is a thread with a gigantic picture, click the bookmark and it will resize every picture bigger than, in this case, 800 pixels wide. You can change the number to whatever you see fit.

[/ QUOTE ]

You shouldn't need to specify the aspect ratio. Setting a width should get them scaling correctly (my greasemonkey script is similar, and I don't specify height at all).

[/ QUOTE ]

Source for your GM script plz? &lt;3 Greasemonkey.


Also, to contribute, I love TrayIt! for resident apps I don't want cluttering my toolbar.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Since I am in the process of converting all my CDs to FLAC (lossless), I'll add the following (all freeware):

FLAC
Exact Audio Copy (see this thread for help configuring EAC for FLAC)
Accurate Rip (helps ensure perfect rips)

Also, for anyone using a Roku SoundBridge, I highly recommend Firefly. It's open source, multi-platform, lightweight, and super fast.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I decided to make the step when a reviewer said office 2007 docs wouldn't be readable in old offict.

You can save as 97-03 in the save as options.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

Also, in return I give you the greatest thing to happen to gigantic pictures on 2p2.

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>javascript:maxwidth=800;pi=document.getEleme ntsByTagName
("img");for(var%20i=0;i&lt;=pi.length;i++){var%20a spectratio=
(pi.item(i).height/pi.item(i).width);if(pi.item(i).width&gt;maxwidth)
{pi.item(i).width=maxwidth;pi.item(i).height=aspec tratio*maxwidth;}}
</pre><hr />

Copy this, make it one line, make it a bookmark. Any time there is a thread with a gigantic picture, click the bookmark and it will resize every picture bigger than, in this case, 800 pixels wide. You can change the number to whatever you see fit.

[/ QUOTE ]

You shouldn't need to specify the aspect ratio. Setting a width should get them scaling correctly (my greasemonkey script is similar, and I don't specify height at all).

[/ QUOTE ]

Source for your GM script plz? &lt;3 Greasemonkey.


Also, to contribute, I love TrayIt! for resident apps I don't want cluttering my toolbar.

[/ QUOTE ] Duke's 2p2 greasemonkey script.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I really like Nero for burning things.. I was able to split aand burn a movie my first time without really reading anything.. very easy to use

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I like Metapad as a replacement for notepad - but it won't do AHK's. http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/

Powertoy Calculator when you need a calculator: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...powertoys.mspx

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Does anyone know of a good and easy way to rip DVDs to yr computer? I've found it hard to find one that's easy for newbs.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Although we're 98% resigned to top-posting e-mails thanks to M$ setting the standard of putting the cursor above the header so long ago (as well as so many people choosing HTML as their default format), if you're a geek or wannabe geek who uses plain text format and likes to reply below the quotes (as is our standard in these forums, for example), here is a free download you may enjoy. I've used it for years. It automatically "fixes" the headers in Outlook when you hit reply, and you can also customize them to your liking. Note that this has no effect on HTML e-mails.

Not sure many will benefit from this, but for the few that will they'll find it pretty cool.

[/ QUOTE ]
I work at a university, and the majority of my e-mails are in plain text. This software is a piece of GENIUS!!!! Thanks ever so much, PM me for free cybersex.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]

Exact Audio Copy

[/ QUOTE ]

i have used the program like a billion times. it absolutely owns everything else for ripping cd's. use the LAME codec for super awesome mp3 ripping.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

[/ QUOTE ]

you could try acemoney lite

[/ QUOTE ]

This looks very nice. However, now that I've played around with it some, I really want to be able to have account files for both my checking accounts, my savings account, and my 2 credit cards.

Is buying AceMoney the best way to do this or should I pay for something else?

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone know of any good, and preferably freeware, Quicken-type programs for tracking expenses and whatnot?

[/ QUOTE ]

you could try acemoney lite

[/ QUOTE ]

This looks very nice. However, now that I've played around with it some, I really want to be able to have account files for both my checking accounts, my savings account, and my 2 credit cards.

Is buying AceMoney the best way to do this or should I pay for something else?

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah I had the same problem. the thing is for $30 you can get basic quicken which has a lot more to it.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

i may get flack for this, but Facebook is an awesome website. The interface, speed, reliability and the overall features really do make it a great site.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

is there an open-source alternative to photoshop by anychance??

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Gimp, it's been mentioned earlier in the thread.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Not enough love for emacs, I can't stand vi/vim at all, and I really like AUCTeX for LaTeX which is another thing I basically cannot live without. LaTeX is great for documents with a lot of math in them, or if you need to publish to multiple mediums. It is also open and does not lock you into a specific editor.

Dids mentioned Gaim, another tool I use every day. I like it more than trillian, and it is free.

Firefox obviously.

Subversion. Way better than CVS, and having access to my code wherever I am is a lifesaver. Plus apache mod for it is great, I love being able to easily grab the latest revision of a code file without knowing exactly where it is or checking out the whole repository.. and all from a web browser.

VMWare Server is nice, I don't use it that much, but it is great to have around.

Synergy has made my desk much cleaner. Not having 3 keyboards and mice on my desk is nice. And not having to move my hands to change computers is nice too.

TikiWiki is pretty great, I use it for information pages on a few software projects. It has a lot of stuff built in and is somewhat user friendly, I have not set up and used any other wiki products to know if they are easier or better though.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I dislike gimp for the same reason. I read that when developing gimp, they set out to arrange the ui in such a way that it was as far from ps as possible, due to how much they hate adobe.

there is supposedly a plugin for gimp that rearranges everything to how ps is setup, i have been unable to find it though. laziness ensued.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Mediamonkey is an excellent and powerful music jukebox. The organization tools are top notch.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Pandora when I could use it at work. Streaming music all day and it makes suggestions based on my choices.

Firefox, as mentioned before.

[/ QUOTE ]

Similar to Pandora
Last.fm is good for discovering new music. Especially if you're an indie kid. It also has a larger music library than pandora featuring pretty much every piece of music on amazon, including classical, jazz, latin etc. Not as easy to use as pandora though, but not hard either.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Newsleecher - Great program for downloading from newsgroups
Reget - Similar program except for downloading from websites

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I tried gimp years ago and what I really disliked is that the interface seemed really obtuse. Or maybe it was just me being obtuse. In photoshop it always seemed really easy to figure out how to do stuff, but in gimp, I think I had a hell of a time drawing a circle.

Has the interface improved over the years?

[/ QUOTE ]

try paint.net. it's been mentioned, but not hyped. i only do simple crap, but i like it a lot better than gimp.

[/ QUOTE ]

Also, I've read that gimpshop really makes life easier, especially if you're already familiar with photoshop. I haven't tried it, but I figured it would be worth mentioning.

Acronis True Image: Backup software. It's shareware, but I used the free trial period to make an exact backup of a damaged hard drive I use for my business, and it worked like a charm. I plan on purchasing the full-version very soon.

Edited to add: For those people who delete sensitive information from their computer regularly, eraser is a great program for all those paranoid people out there.

Lastly, Digg.com has pretty much got me hooked. It's a great place to catch up on news of all topics, and it has recently added a video section which seems to be growing fast.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

For those who own color printers and print their own digital photo's, QImage is a must-have.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

As I read down the thread some of my beloved programs have already been listed but I'll still list them [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Usually when I do formating I end up with these:

Opera
Best web browser imo.

Firefox
As a backup

Winamp
Audio/video player. I use it for video streaming purposes &amp; audio-listening.

Media Player Classic
IMO the best media player out there.

Ad Aware
A good spyware / adware cleaner.

Sfv-Check
To check my fellow stuff is not broken.

utorrent
The best [censored] client I've ever used.

HashCalc
To hash files and see they are legit/not broken.

Daemon tools
To mount images [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

FlashFXP
Ultimately the best ftp-client I've ever used. Give it a try.

mIRC
Meh, I don't like mirc but you got to have it [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] for all your ircing needs!

Avast or AVG
Both are good, I've used them both. I'm not sure which I prefer [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] both do their job.

CCCP
Best codec package that I've stumbled upon.
http://www.cccp-project.net/

These were the ones' that came to my mind quickly. I really love all the programs that I listed.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Picasa - Now useful to me cause of web albums

Audacity - free multi-track sound editing

Synergy2 - Control two computers with 2 monitors with one keyboard and mouse. Especially useful for home computer + laptop.

WinSCP - To hell with FTP!

Newsbin Pro - Best NNTP binary program evar

Calc - there when you need it

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Bump because I'm still looking for a good software to keep track of 5 or 6 checking/savings accounts, credit cards, and loans. I am willing to pay for it.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
dids, have you checked out launchy?

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't. That said, the way I use my computers is more mouse heavy than typing, so your initial description turned me off a bit. I used to be MUCH more keyboard heavy back when we ran a dos based db at work, but since we lost that in 2001, I'm a mouse slave now.

[/ QUOTE ]

dids, do you have a link to rocketlaunch download?

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Isura,

I don't, but the last time I needed it, I googled it and I think what I wanted was the was the first hit.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Bump because I'm still looking for a good software to keep track of 5 or 6 checking/savings accounts, credit cards, and loans. I am willing to pay for it.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm assuming you've tried and don't like MS Money or Quicken?

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

There are 3 different versions of Quicken Personal, so I don't even know which one to start with. Even the most basic one seems to have a bunch of unnecessary stuff though, like ways to pay your bills. I really don't want to link up my bank accounts to other programs.

I have used MS Money in the past and did not like it at all. Unless a lot of people suddenly swear by it, I don't think I would give it another shot.

I just want something simple really. Different accounts. How much in and out. Categorization into any sets I so desire.

I might just do it with some macros in excel if everything else is going to be all bells and whistles.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Hey guys, I'm wondering if there is some music-related software that can do what some of the following stuff?

-Since I've downloaded a lot, some is mp3, some is m4a, some is 128KBPS, some is 192, etc. Is there anything that I can use to convert between these formats or possibly make it 192KBPS or whatever?

-In iTunes, is there any way I can use a program to search my list of albums for the years they came out and tag them that way? I have over 1,000 albums and this would be a pain to do...

Any other good sound-related programs you guys recommend?

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

MusicIP Playlist maker

Thread in OOT

-G

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

i just want to thank everyone who pointed out launch. taht thing is going to make me like twice as productive at work.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
There are 3 different versions of Quicken Personal, so I don't even know which one to start with. Even the most basic one seems to have a bunch of unnecessary stuff though, like ways to pay your bills. I really don't want to link up my bank accounts to other programs.



[/ QUOTE ]

I have Quicken 2004, and I use it only as a basic checkbook register, albeit for four different accounts--three of which I have since closed but were on earlier versions of Quicken that carried over.

FWIW, even the Geico cavemen could quikly master Quicken's basic checkbook register functions.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There are 3 different versions of Quicken Personal, so I don't even know which one to start with. Even the most basic one seems to have a bunch of unnecessary stuff though, like ways to pay your bills. I really don't want to link up my bank accounts to other programs.



[/ QUOTE ]

I have Quicken 2004, and I use it only as a basic checkbook register, albeit for four different accounts--three of which I have since closed but were on earlier versions of Quicken that carried over.

FWIW, even the Geico cavemen could quikly master Quicken's basic checkbook register functions.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes Quicken is very good. I've used it ever since I got my first Windows machine in the early 90's, which came with Quicken preinstalled. I haven't kept a check register in about 15 years.

Just get the most basic version. The online bill paying and account linking stuff is all optional. The only thing I use that for is to import my Interactive Brokers statements. It's good at tax time because I can just print a report with all my trades, cost bases, and profit and loss in the same format it needs to be on my tax forms.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Syncback SE. Another poster on the tech help forum turned me on to this and it is the nuts for automated data backup. I have a two hard drive system with partitions and SyncBack easily and automatically backs up everything that matters (e.g., My Docs, Firefox profiles) on boot and the big stuff (60 gigs of music to an external drive) once a week. Well worth the $20 or $30 bucks.

MultiMon Taskbar is free and IMO a lot better than the paid multi-monitor support tool mentioned elsewhere.

~ Rick

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

A question and a program:

Adobe Photoshop (I have Elements 3.0) for organizing photos on my hard-drive.

I like how there's a timeline at the top with a histogram of how many photos you take each month, and how you can add descriptions / labels to photos and search etc.

Are there other programs like this? I'm sure there must be better ones. I need something to label, organize, and search... I have about 12K photos and growing and it's a real pain to organize them in the traditional folder method, since I want to do so much cross indexing.