Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I don't know if this has been mentioned:

Adobe Acrobat 6.0 (I haven't tried the later versions).

This is saved me from having to fax pretty much ever since I installed it, in fact its saved me from printing reports that require multiple programs and having to walk down the hallway. It's also nice that pretty much anyone can open a pdf with the free reader.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

i actually think that adobe acrobat is one of the worst pieces of software ive ever used. While it is pretty useful, it takes FOREVER to load, always tells me there are updates, takes forever to update. i had always wished there was a better piece of software for this, then i got foxitreader and i am much much happier, so i guess this is a vote for foxitreader.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

This thread has seriously improved my quality of life.

EDIT: Namely Meebo and Memento.

EDIT2: Foxitreader is waay better than Adobe's.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

GCC: http://gcc.gnu.org

Not generally the "best" compiler for many platforms, but it's a darn good compiler for most all platforms it supports. That's nothing short of amazing. It's an enabling piece of software that has done profound things for the spread of embedded technology.

Gaim: http://gaim.sourceforge.net

Cross platform, usable, multi-protocol, actively developed and supported, and free software. What's not to love?

Vim: http://www.vim.org

I spend most of my day in vim. I find new tricks and features all the time that make me more productive. It's great knowing that wherever I go, whatever system I'm developing on, I'll always be able to find an editor that I can use and be effective with.

Google earth: http://earth.google.com

Any program that can be that enthralling is just cool. I've spent hours sending links back and forth with friends from around the world showing cool stuff we know where is. From "here's my house" to "here's a Russian naval base; you can see the rusting hulks of their fleet on the left side of the bay."

Teamspeak: http://www.goteamspeak.com/

Multi-user VOIP. Changes online gaming in more ways than I thought possible. Screw conference calls. This stuff is great.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
to "here's a Russian naval base; you can see the rusting hulks of their fleet on the left side of the bay."

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you post that link please?

I like Google Toolbar. What I like about it is Spell checker, form filler and highlight words specifically.

ExtractNow for .rar extraction, works great and its free.

I used to use AVG antivirus, the new version is annoying though in that it does a scan every night and you can't change the scheduling if your using the free version. Now I use BitDefender, its was about $20 I think. Its supposed to be the best antivirus software out there and it doesn't hog my resources while its running a scan.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Adobe Acrobat 6.0 (I haven't tried the later versions).


[/ QUOTE ]
PDFCreator will print out PDF's and it's free. I use it all the time:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Surprised that no one has mentioned ItunesKeys . Links hotkeys to functions in itunes. Very useful. I have three rating keys and "next song" linked on my mouse.

Also, Acronis True Image is very very easy to use for backing up and restoring disk drives.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
RJ,

In my opinion yes. I like the controls MPC gives me when it comes to audio/video settings. For example it is very easy from within MPC to resize a video file (zoom in/out) change the aspect ratio, change audio speed etc.

I also started using MPC before VLC became popular so I am used to all the keyboard command shortcuts and I see no reason to switch.

MPC + ffdshow + AC3 codec = best for video playback.

One other program I forgot which I use all the time is
utorrent - very sleek fast loading highly customizable bitorrent client.

[/ QUOTE ]

hey kipin, if you like mpc + ffdshow check this out. it's a little more difficult than it seems to get it right, but I get the distinct impression that you have the knowledge and the hardware to tweak your playback until it's perfect, and you can, with this. you're welcome. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Process Explorer

Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have been opened or loaded.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

If you want to know why your machine isn't as fast as you think it should be, look here.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

Source for your GM script plz? <3 Greasemonkey.


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

[/ QUOTE ]

I have also written a Greasemonkey script that fixes the cursor insert location for the "Instant UBB code" links in the replier form.

That way with Firefox, it will not just append it at the end of the text, but insert the UBB code where the caret is.

2+2 Greasemonkey scripts

(as it happens, there is also an image resizer, though Duke's may be better, I don't know)

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

ableton live is the best sequencer I've ever used by a longshot.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Here is another useful bookmarklet - specifying date range for searching the 2+2 archives:

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
javascript:(function() {maxDays=120; archDate=new Date(2006,00,01);
today=new Date(); var interval=parseInt(prompt("What " +
maxDays + " day interval?\n(1 starts back from " +
(archDate.getMonth()+1) +"/" + (archDate.getDate()+1)
+"/" + (archDate.getYear()+1900) + ")", "1"));
if (isNaN(interval)) {interval=1; };
older=Math.ceil((today.getTime()-archDate.getTime())/(1000*60*60*24)) + (maxDays * (interval-1));
document.forms[0]["newertype"].value="d";
document.forms[0]["oldertype"].value="d";
document.forms[0]["olderval"].value=older;
document.forms[0]["newerval"].value=older+maxDays;})()</pre><hr />

Again, copy as one line into the bookmark properties as one line and give it a title like "Specify date range for archive search"

No more trying to figure out "how many months ago was Jan 1, 2006?" and then working back from there.

When you use the bookmark a dialog will come up asking you to select the interval. Use "1" for the 120 days previous to 1/1/2006, "2" for the 120 days before that, and so on.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Not strictly software but the trio of:

Newsleecher (Usenet download software, free with Giganews unlimited account)
Newzbin.com account (Usenet cataloguer / organizer)
Giganews.com subscription (Best Usenet server)

Is the absolute holy-grail of getting anything for free. For example, if I want to watch the latest episode of 24 (we're way behind in Aus), I goto Newzbin and search for "24 6x13", and choose the resultion and encoding format I want. With one click the episode starts download at absolute full throttle, automatically repairs and unpacks itself, and two minutes after my whim I am watching the episode. All this in SSL too, if you're really security conscious. Absolute solid gold.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Not strictly software but the trio of:

Newsleecher (Usenet download software, free with Giganews unlimited account)
Newzbin.com account (Usenet cataloguer / organizer)
Giganews.com subscription (Best Usenet server)

Is the absolute holy-grail of getting anything for free. For example, if I want to watch the latest episode of 24 (we're way behind in Aus), I goto Newzbin and search for "24 6x13", and choose the resultion and encoding format I want. With one click the episode starts download at absolute full throttle, automatically repairs and unpacks itself, and two minutes after my whim I am watching the episode. All this in SSL too, if you're really security conscious. Absolute solid gold.

[/ QUOTE ]

couldn't agree more. NNTP is the filesharing of the future (and past, really).

Nothing like maxing out a 12meg pipe.

At my last job, I ask my IT guy "So can I download newsgroups uncapped, or should I limit it?"

He responded with "We've got a 10 meg dedicated pipe... you can do whatever you want"

I said "I'm downloading at about 9.8Mbps..."

He said "Yeah, keep it under 5 from now on"

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Anyone who likes pandora really should check out www.last.fm. I think it's far better.

Mac users should all check out:

Vienna - Open source rss reader. Very nice.

and

Adium - Open source messenger (like trillian but i think much nicer)


Also VLC media player is the [censored].

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Check out Slacker , an internet radio service with new and old song, lots of customizable options, with a hook of portable players that will have Wifi for streaming internet radio, and also car kits for satellite streaming internet radio. It sounds badass. The web service is good too, I've just been fooling around with it, but you can ban songs from your personalized stations, which I like....

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

any other recommendations of good usenet download software?


(Outlook Express just doesn't cut it for me)

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Enthought edition Python. It's a full Python install with all the possible scientific computing packages and libraries you could want included. Very handy. Everyone at the beginning of the thread concerned about the price of Matlab might want to check it out (and this) as a possible replacement. It's as close as freeware gets.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone who likes pandora really should check out www.last.fm. I think it's far better.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just read this pretty interesting blog entry/discussion here regarding Pandora versus last.fm.

Right now this old guy is fooling around with both.

~ Rick

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
any other recommendations of good usenet download software?


(Outlook Express just doesn't cut it for me)

[/ QUOTE ]

Really Newsleecher is the way to go IMO. It's extremely powerful, easy-to-use and pretty too, easily the best of the bunch. They have just implemented an automatic "PAR and UNRAR" feature into the core software, which otherwise you are either doing manually or fiddling with a temperamental plugin. Also it's free with a Giganews unlimited account, which if you download &gt; 25GB per month you'll be getting anyway.

Make sure you learn to use NZBs too, which is what Newzbin us all about (basically they're like .torrents but for useNet).

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

SABnzbd (http://sourceforge.net/projects/sabnzbd/ )+ FF + Newzbin + Greasemonkey one-click script/SAB-tab for newzbin is the way to go. Also, SABnzbd supports RSS feeds. Go buy a new HDD [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I can't believe no one has mentioned PokerStove.

And Emacs is probably the greatest text editor.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I havn't tried any of these yet, but here are three web services that might prove super useful to participants in this community. Reviews are appreciated from anyone who has used these sites.

Zecco.com Offers up to 40 free stock trades per month. Zero rake action is every gamblers dream. I will likely be opening an account very soon.

Circle Lending This service formalizes the contracts and payment terms for loans between friends and family. Now when your friend goes Busto! you can formalize the terms of your staking arrangement. It looks like even have documents to collateralize loans. Mark Newhouse take note.

Reputation Defender This service will perform periodic searches of the Internet, including message boards, social networks and blogs, for information about you or your child. If scandalous information is found you can pay extra and a friendly staff member will go about removing the offending posts using "proprietary methods". I wonder if any of the mods have been contacted by a representative of Reputation Defender? I think we all know a few people who would find this service very useful.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

shiira:
best webbrowser evah. how can you not love this:
http://shiira.jp/English/res/mov_tabExposeL.mov

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Music Production:
Ableton Live!
Reason 3.0 (the best thing I have)
Audacity - great free program

Internet:
Firefox (videodownloader, SEO plug ins)
youtube
torrent
Full Tilt

Other Programs:
VLC media player
AIM v5.1.3
Windows XP

I'm not big on having hundreds of apps that do cool things. SO this is just a few programs I like. Mainly I deal w/ music when I'm not on the net or playing games.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

are there sites to search for nzb files?

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
are there sites to search for nzb files?

[/ QUOTE ]

Binsearch.info

Also I use Newzbin.com

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

For anyone that uses google calendar this is an awesome little hack that allows you to quick add events from any page in firefox (gcal doesn't even have to be open).

http://torrez.us/archives/2006/04/18/433/

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
GCC: http://gcc.gnu.org

Not generally the "best" compiler for many platforms, but it's a darn good compiler for most all platforms it supports. That's nothing short of amazing. It's an enabling piece of software that has done profound things for the spread of embedded technology.


[/ QUOTE ]

GCC is probably the most amazing piece of software on the planet. It compiles well for many platforms, and is very well supported for the main target platform x86 or x86_64 (is that what they call it these days?) I do not think that GCC is a killer app though... so many people use it without knowing that it really kills its appeal.

I do disagree with you on vim though. Vim is gross.. I used to use it until for some reason I had inconsistencies in my configuration file between the linux platform at school, my linux platform at home, and my windows platform. Turned me off of vim forever.. if I am using the same version and I get different results something is obviously [censored] up.

Which is why I recommended emacs earlier. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] And an emacs user has to defend his choice against vim users.. I think that is in the bible.

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I know their slogan is No Software but whatever it is I think Salesforce.com is crazy for the amount of problems it can solve.

Looks like Microsoft might surpass this soon tho...

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Bump, is anyone familar with Department of Defense standards for file deletion (DOD 5220.22)?

I want to be able to delete files running a drive as slave, rather then using floppys like: http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Great thread ...

Multiplicity ... http://www.stardock.com/products/multiplicity/.

If you like multiple monitors, this is the same thing but with multiple computers. I use three computers and 4 monitors at work ... this program makes it so that I can move from computer to computer, monitor to monitor, seemlessly using a single keyboard and mouse. Like a KVM switch, but with no switch. Couldn't live without it.

PSPad as a text editor. Free and really good, especially for programmers.

NCAces

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

I love this thread. After getting sick of slow loading times in firefox 2, I tried http://www.opera.com/

What a great browser! Faster and less memory intensive than firefox and the tab functionality is more smooth.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

OpenDNS writeup in Tech Crunch
OpenDNS website

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

For connecting machines at home so they can talk to eachother, share files, make backups easy...

Network Magic

Hands down, the best piece of software I've put my hands to in the last couple of years. And cheap!

Can't describe the hassles that just went away when I installed this on my 4 machines at home.

[Disclosure: I'm programmer/geek type]

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

firefox (would love to see operas mouse gestures implemented)
antivir (german free antivirus)
ad aware (free)

utorrent
pokertracker
daemon tools

mbm / rivatuner (for overclocking)

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
Well, while we are prattling off Google apps, I'll give Google Desktop a mention. I use it mainly at work, but it useful for home users too.

My favorite feature is the quick-search window that can be popped up by tapping control twice. It searches files, emails, etc, on your PC and/or any network drives that you choose to index.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just be careful on this one. I had linked my home computer and work computer through google desktop and one day I was searching my work desktop for something and my home results had porn websites I'd visited that for whatever reason had that phrase on the page somewhere.

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

Atomix - DJ software

lets any amateur mix songs .. can also record mixes .. tons of features

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
LAUNCHY

want to open paint? alt-spacebar, type 'pa', and hit enter.

want to open notepad? alt-spacebar, type 'no', and hit enter.

want to calculate 467823 * 463? alt-spacebar, enter the expression and it's calculated inline.

it indexes your start menu by default, but you can make it do other things. i added my documents to its directory list and pdf as a filetype. now if i want to pull up my nutritional data pdf from subway i hit alt-spacebar, type 'sub', and hit enter. this will work for any type of file that can be executed/opened: word documents, excel spreadsheets, etc. it can also index ie and firefox bookmarks.

http://umn.dl.sourceforge.net/source...hySetup103.exe

[/ QUOTE ]

whoaaaaaaaaaaa AMAZING!!! it pays to read something else than BBV lol! thanks for sharing

Re: Software products that you think are really good
 

[ QUOTE ]
firefox (would love to see operas mouse gestures implemented)

[/ QUOTE ]

http://optimoz.mozdev.org/gestures/