geekhack
geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: Will@Drop on Thu, 27 September 2012, 01:25:47
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Every once in a while I find a new piece of software that makes me wonder how I ever got along without it.
For example, I use pandora for allot of my music (since I don't have a proper head-fi setup at my new place yet) and up until recently I was using the web client. I googled "pandora native app" and my life got sooooooo much better.
Use Debian or a *nix os? Pithos.
Use windows? Elpis.
Use mac and insist on buying from the app store? pandabar.
There's one other application that's improved my life intensely as of late. Ever have your laptop on the same desk with your desktop and wish you could just slide your mouse between the two comps? Synergy is software that lets you share peripherals across multiple computers via network connection.
No more reaching over to laptop touch pads or dealing with rubber domes when you're at home. It works across all major platforms and it also copies your clipboard between the two computers so if you need to copy pasta some really good ****, your life got better as well.
So what incredible pieces of software have you found lately? Phone apps, OSs, Desktop apps, anything goes.
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Wow, Elpis rocks man thanks for sharing this! I've heard amazing things about Synergy but I've never had a reason to use it.
One I would like to share is Dropbox. I know a lot of people already know of it and/or use it but for those that don't, it seriously makes my life easier.
https://www.dropbox.com/
"Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. This means that any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website. "
TLDR: Dropbox is awesome. You can share files with all of your computers and simultaneously upload them to a web server just by "dropping" then into a folder.
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Fun fact: I work with the guy that wrote Synergy. I love it too. Great for controlling Mac + PC with one keyboard/mouse.
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Fun fact: I work with the guy that wrote Synergy. I love it too. Great for controlling Mac + PC with one keyboard/mouse.
Are you a programmer too or is it just coincidence that you work with him?
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for linux users: I found at (http://linux.die.net/man/1/at) to be really useful in some situations
from time to time it has to serve as my alarm clock; you can stop the network daemon of a remote machine your working on without worries when you previously scheduled to start it again; ... such things
also, if you don't already know about them: screen, irssi, awesome (a window manager), arch linux (a linux distro), ...
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Fun fact: I work with the guy that wrote Synergy. I love it too. Great for controlling Mac + PC with one keyboard/mouse.
Are you a programmer too or is it just coincidence that you work with him?
Yep, programmer here.
@sirtetris +1 for screen and awesome.
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Fun fact: I work with the guy that wrote Synergy. I love it too. Great for controlling Mac + PC with one keyboard/mouse.
Are you a programmer too or is it just coincidence that you work with him?
Yep, programmer here.
@sirtetris +1 for screen and awesome.
That's awesome man. I've dabbled with a little programming for fun but never taken it beyond that
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tmux > screen.
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Pidgin is also really useful for anyone that uses IM programs like msn or skype etc
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tmux > screen.
Amen, brother.
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Fun fact: I work with the guy that wrote Synergy. I love it too. Great for controlling Mac + PC with one keyboard/mouse.
Not bad at all. Is he still involved in the development?
Also, Sublime Text 2. Best text editor I've used. Its features are incredible and it works on a winrar style license so you dont have to pay if you dont want to.
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I don't think so. I've heard good things about Sublime Text, but I'm a vim man.
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I <3 Vim :)
But *nix is well known. My must-have list for Windows
Notepad++ (#1)
PuTTY (#2)
WinMerge
...among other programming tools, and this gem that most people probably have never heard of...
Agent Ransack (basically grep for windows)
Firefox
Thunderbird
VLC Media Player
7zip
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SeaMonkey didn't get nearly enough love on the Internet Browsers thread. In my experience, it runs faster and more reliably than Firefox, while being a full-featured suite with integrated email, composer, etc.
Also, Just Gestures. As you might guess from the name, it's a mouse gesture program.
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I never understood why email would be integrated into a web browser. Other than being Internet applications, they don't have anything to do with eachother. I like 'em separate.
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VLC Media Player
http://cccp-project.net/ (http://cccp-project.net/), the Combined Community Codec Pack, tends to beat VLC, but is far less well known.
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I used to use the CCCP. Used to.
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Ditch cccp and go with mpc-hc and lav filter and if u have a decent gpu madvr.
O and ditch vlc as well....
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I used to use MPC-HC too, but it doesn't seem to get any real development.
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I used to use MPC-HC too, but it doesn't seem to get any real development.
lol the your not looking in the right places i run the dev build whaich is at the least updated monthly latlely sorta goes in sputs. I can give you the whole package of decoders that was updated fairly recently if you want.
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How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
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I use KVIrc i like it because its a lot like chatzilla but much more fleshed out.
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How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
I standby pidgin, it's always been my go-to program for my IM software
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I use KVIrc i like it because its a lot like chatzilla but much more fleshed out.
Does KVIrc have integration for other chat services? Also, is it friendly for low resolution? I'm working on a 2880x1800 but i've only got a little space left on-screen before I've gotta start using more than one space actively.
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How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
adium if you don't need a/v, it's a highly customizable text-only chat program with tons of skins and interface mods available. irc + most IM protocols supported
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How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
adium if you don't need a/v, it's a highly customizable text-only chat program with tons of skins and interface mods available. irc + most IM protocols supported
Thanks sth! I saw that but I'm a bit of a sucker for eyecandy xD. Know anything that looks good and does something similar?
How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
I standby pidgin, it's always been my go-to program for my IM software
Pidgin doesnt have any default packages for OSX on their site : (
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How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
adium if you don't need a/v, it's a highly customizable text-only chat program with tons of skins and interface mods available. irc + most IM protocols supported
Thanks sth! I saw that but I'm a bit of a sucker for eyecandy xD. Know anything that looks good and does something similar?
How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
I standby pidgin, it's always been my go-to program for my IM software
Pidgin doesnt have any default packages for OSX on their site : (
Eek! My bad man, I guess I tunnel visioned through the "mac" part of your post lol
Edit: Looks like Adium is what pidgin recommends if you go to mac link on their site, "For a native Mac OS X experience we recommend Adium, which uses libpurple (the core of Pidgin) for much of its protocol support."
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I use a program called everything, it's a search engine for Windows, very quick. Written by a friend of a friend :D.
http://www.voidtools.com/ (http://www.voidtools.com/)
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There are so many but I will pick just one if I have 2.
Files 2 Folder
Description: A right-click shell extension that will automatically create a folder based on the selected filename and move that file into that folder. If you select multiple files, a box will pop up asking for a folder name. That folder name will be created and all selected files will then be moved into the new folder.
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There are so many but I will pick just one if I have 2.
Files 2 Folder
Description: A right-click shell extension that will automatically create a folder based on the selected filename and move that file into that folder. If you select multiple files, a box will pop up asking for a folder name. That folder name will be created and all selected files will then be moved into the new folder.
You... You sir, have won the thread. Don't limit your suggestions if they are all that good.
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Wow. That is some praise indeed.
Ok how about some software in the same vein as the last. Freeware of course. If you want my fave awesome non freeware programs we can go there too:)
Text 2 Folders
Description: Text 2 Folders is a small utility designed to quickly create (sub)folders.
Pysort
Description: PySort is an application for people that helps people who do not have the time, nor patience, to sort through a messy folder. It will scan through the selected folder and place all known files in appropriate folders and those that are unknown to the program will simply be placed in an "Unknown" folder.
At one time or another I use or have used all the programs I recommend.
Truly there are so many fantastic programs out there it could take weeks to list them.
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I tend to praise Chrome, couldn't do without it. I love the syncing features of it. I also +1 for Dropbox.
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I use KVIrc i like it because its a lot like chatzilla but much more fleshed out.
Does KVIrc have integration for other chat services? Also, is it friendly for low resolution? I'm working on a 2880x1800 but i've only got a little space left on-screen before I've gotta start using more than one space actively.
na its just an irc client most of the good ones are just that.
I recommend MediaInfo right click most media files and itll tell you just about everything about them.
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windirstat
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I never understood why email would be integrated into a web browser. Other than being Internet applications, they don't have anything to do with eachother. I like 'em separate.
Given that you can open the program directly into either one, you lose nothing by having them combined, and gain efficiency, interface consistency, convenience (just press a hotkey and there's the email), easier interconnection with other features, etc.
How about IRC/Chat clients? Right now I really want something that I can use for all my chat related needs.
Looking for OSX software but its always cool to learn about new stuff regardless of platform.
SeaMonkey has IRC functionality as part of its suite, and is available for Mac. Back when I had a Mac, I liked the SeaMonkey browser better than Safari, too.
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windirstat
great program especially when you dont know whats hogging up all your storage.
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Alfred+powerpack in OSX is also amazing. Productivity apps are my fav.
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I use Alfred all the time. So useful!
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'Miranda IM' (prefer not to run GTK on Windows, otherwise Pidgin would be fine)
'FreeFileSync' is very cool if you want to strictly do manual backup and folder sync.
'HexChat', formerly XChat-WDK, is the freeware Windows variant of the popular IRC client, if you need a dedicated one.
'Everything' is a superior Windows Search tool that utilizes the MFT to build its database.
'NTREGOPT' defragments registry files like lots of other programs do, but this one has no baggage. Works with vintage Windows too.
'SumatraPDF' is the leanest, fastest PDF reader IMO.
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I'm a big fan of ditto. It's a clipboard manager that keeps your last 500 (or more) clips. You can use it to copy and few times and then paste a few times - Saves a ton of clicking around.
Another favourite is launchy. Alt-space to bring up a dialog, type in a few letters that are in the name of a program you want to run and away you go. No need to reach for the mouse.
I wrote a little program a while back, a simple context menu thingy, that copies the full path of a file to the clipboard.
Tempted to recreate the context menu idea of select a file and it will create a folder and move the file into it...
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Sandboxie (http://www.sandboxie.com)
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VIM-style keyboard shortcuts in Chrome/Chromium
http://vimium.github.com/
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VIM-style keyboard shortcuts in Chrome/Chromium
http://vimium.github.com/
Honestly im surprised you didnt suggest amarok xD
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How about terminal emulators? I'm a big fan of iTerm and terminator but I wish there was a way to integrate them with my sublime text.
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Just had a look through some of the key apps I set up on a fresh install:
1Password (https://agilebits.com/onepassword). Secure password vault/generator. It's cross-platform, and has the best browser integration I have seen. You can also access your keychain via any regular browser if you quickly need to get a password out of it on a system 1Password is not installed/set up on.
ResophNotes (http://resoph.com/ResophNotes/Welcome.html) (Win) nvALT (http://brettterpstra.com/project/nvalt/) (Mac) Great apps based on Notational Velocity for taking quick notes and searching through them. Notes are saved as plaintext, which I sync via Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/) to access them in text editors on mobile devices.
For gamers with an SSD, SteamTool (http://www.stefanjones.ca/steam/) is great for moving games to/from a larger storage drive (automatically creates/manages NTFS Junctions) and SteamCleaner (http://steamcleaner.tikione.fr/en/) clears out all the unnecessary DirectX installers and other packages that are only run when you first install a game, to save a few hundred MB per game. (it adds up when you have tens or hundreds of games and a small SSD)
Similarly, Link Shell Extension (http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html) is useful with an SSD.
WizMouse (http://antibody-software.com/web/software/software/wizmouse-makes-your-mouse-wheel-work-on-the-window-under-the-mouse/). Lets you scroll any window under the mouse cursor even if it's not the active window. This is standard behaviour on OS X, and something I really miss when I use Windows. I've tried a few of these utilities, and while I don't like the UI (looks like a shady app, but it's fine) it's the one that worked best in my experience.
dBpoweramp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/) is great if you still have a CD collection to rip. (or still buy CDs) EAC (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/) works, but the interface isn't great, it requires a bit of manual setup, and metadata isn't all that good. dBpoweramp combines a bit-perfect CD-ripper, automatically searches and compares multiple databases for metadata, makes it easy to find good quality cover art, supports just about any format you could think of, has good file renaming/conversion options. Worth spending the money if you have a lot to get through.
I think most of the other apps I run are either going to be very common (things like 7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/)) or too obscure/specific/complex to set up to be worth mentioning. (e.g. MPC-HC (http://xhmikosr.1f0.de/mpc-hc/)+madVR (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146228)+LAV Filters (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=156191)+ReClock (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=156191) combination for media playback)
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WizMouse (http://antibody-software.com/web/software/software/wizmouse-makes-your-mouse-wheel-work-on-the-window-under-the-mouse/). Lets you scroll any window under the mouse cursor even if it's not the active window. This is standard behaviour on OS X, and something I really miss when I use Windows. I've tried a few of these utilities, and while I don't like the UI (looks like a shady app, but it's fine) it's the one that worked best in my experience.
What a nice application! I just installed that since I miss that when switching from my Mac to my PC.
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TMUX(Beats screen), awesome, weechat(beats IRSSI), rtorrent(hands down, best torrent client ever.)
Vimperator(for firefox), MUTT + hushmail/lavabit(best mail client ever!)
OT: OpenBSD is awesome.
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WizMouse (http://antibody-software.com/web/software/software/wizmouse-makes-your-mouse-wheel-work-on-the-window-under-the-mouse/). Lets you scroll any window under the mouse cursor even if it's not the active window. This is standard behaviour on OS X, and something I really miss when I use Windows. I've tried a few of these utilities, and while I don't like the UI (looks like a shady app, but it's fine) it's the one that worked best in my experience.
What a nice application! I just installed that since I miss that when switching from my Mac to my PC.
Arrhh... too late for my WizMouse suggestion. Should be a standard feature on every OS.
What about Launchy??
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I just use the Windows search bar in the start menu. I don't have any problems with it...though Launchy does look cool!
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How about terminal emulators? I'm a big fan of iTerm and terminator but I wish there was a way to integrate them with my sublime text.
just learn vim :)
iterm2 is probably the best terminal emulator option on OS X outside of the native app and any x11 terminal emulators out there.
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So much love for Dropbox, but I hate it compared to Google Drive. I can view and edit my files on foreign computers without downloading anything and everything (well, select parts here and there) between my server, desktop, and laptop.
FileZilla is pretty awesome, too, for managing my FTP server files that don't go through Google Drive for size and usage frequency reasons.
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I really need an FTP server! Thanks for reminding me!
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I <3 Vim :)
But *nix is well known. My must-have list for Windows
Notepad++ (#1)
PuTTY (#2)
WinMerge
...among other programming tools, and this gem that most people probably have never heard of...
Agent Ransack (basically grep for windows)
Firefox
Thunderbird
VLC Media Player
7zip
Notepad ++ is a life saver, use it all time time at work.
Gonna go a step further, superputty. You won't go back.
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So much love for Dropbox, but I hate it compared to Google Drive. I can view and edit my files on foreign computers without downloading anything and everything (well, select parts here and there) between my server, desktop, and laptop.
Depends what you're looking to sync it with. Virtually no iOS apps have support for Google Drive, when a ton have support for Dropbox built in.
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I can't live without, SciTE. So I thought I would share it, and I prefer it over notepad++.
http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html
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I really need an FTP server! Thanks for reminding me!
same thing iwas thinking any interest in shareing one or something like that?
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I can't live without, SciTE. So I thought I would share it, and I prefer it over notepad++.
http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html
ive sceen scintilla before though i for get in what form what is it?
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How about terminal emulators? I'm a big fan of iTerm and terminator but I wish there was a way to integrate them with my sublime text.
just learn vim :)
iterm2 is probably the best terminal emulator option on OS X outside of the native app and any x11 terminal emulators out there.
I'm quite sure URXVT works on OS X.
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For IRC clients you want to run irssi and byobu (or screen, or tmux, but byobu is better imo).
Linux folk, check out autojump and terminator is a good terminal. I also really like using zsh, with the oh-my-zsh customisations.
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I run xchat through ZNC. I do need to get a better IRC client though. Any recommendations for Android?
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also, if you don't already know about them: screen, irssi, awesome (a window manager), arch linux (a linux distro), ...
+1 love it! make sure you get meat-git, makes getting stuff from AUR easy.
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Blender, Paint.Net, Net Beans IDE, and Vegas Pro 11. I use Vegas Pro 11 all the time editing vids, much easier for me to use that Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.
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Rainlendar + Dropbox for across desktops calendar/reminder sync.
http://lifehacker.com/5260747/use-dropbox-to-synchronize-multiple-rainlendar-calendars
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If you encode i have lists of great programs but their very specialized.
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Launchy is another favourite of mine.
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I use Teamviewer about once a week to rescue my incompetent boss.
Google Docs was our go-to place but Drive drives me insane.
Is it just me or is it insanely more difficult to navigate and control?
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For the networking control freaks like me, you should also take a look at NetLimiter (windows).
It has process-by-process bandwidth viewing, control and logging. Also has a built-in firewall and remote control for other instances.
This way, you can keep track, control and measure bit-by-bit connections at home or shared connection.
I use it to know exactly what kind of process is communicating and how much of my bw cap I've used.
http://www.netlimiter.com/ (http://www.netlimiter.com/)
They offer free, obviously limited, versions and also paid ones.
Looks like after a long silence period they decided to get back in business and recently announced the fourth version.
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Wow netlimiter still around, eh? I used that way back when.
These days all I need are ipfilter and altq in the NetBSD kernel ;D
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Thanks for posting that. I have been looking for something like that for ages after missing Little Snitch (http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html) when switching back to Windows from OS X.
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Thanks for posting that. I have been looking for something like that for ages after missing Little Snitch (http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html) when switching back to Windows from OS X.
From what I've seen on the site, NetLimiter doesn't seem to be so intuitive and user-friendly, but it is pretty advanced when it comes to features.
If you're going to buy it, I'd recommend doing this now - you can get the price of the old version and still get an upgrade when the new version comes out.
Usually, they are launched 10~15 bucks more expensive than the previous version.
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Even thought its pricetag is a bit against it, Directory Opus is probably my best software purchase so far.
It's a file manager with every option you can think of, and is the most customizable file manager yet!
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WOW!
Just trying Dopus and this guy is a real lifechanger!
@tillertow Thanks a lot !
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I do some recovery, etc. at work, so I can't help but recommend:
NT Offline Reset (http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/) (If you forget your windows password, or need to get into a computer for some reason)
Testdisk/photorec (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec) (For recovering partitions and files, respectively. Photorec does take forever to run on a HDD, though.)
Slitaz linux (http://www.slitaz.org/en/) (35mb, runs in RAM. I use linux mainly for file copy, and this boots quickly and frees up a USB port. Booting mint into RAM takes minutes.)
I use Geany]http://www.geany.org/]Geany (http://www.geany.org/) for text-editing, 'cause it came with my OS. I prefer it to gedit, once I installed the spellcheck plugin.
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I do NOT recommend VLC. I've been using it for years, and it's always been horrible. For some reason it plays the audio and video at different speeds, so every few minutes, I have to pause/unpause to resynch them. I've had this problem on multiple computers (5 at least) and multiple OS's. I also have issues with decoding audio, both FLAC and MP3. I only use windows for media nowadays, and have been using SMplayer (Mplayer frontend) in the meantime, though I will look at other suggestions here. I will look into cccp and mpc-hc, though, since smplayer wants to crash every once in a while (like 10% of the time, maybe).
Wizmouse looks good, I'll have to look into that for sure.
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Thanks for posting that. I have been looking for something like that for ages after missing Little Snitch (http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html) when switching back to Windows from OS X.
From what I've seen on the site, NetLimiter doesn't seem to be so intuitive and user-friendly, but it is pretty advanced when it comes to features.
If you're going to buy it, I'd recommend doing this now - you can get the price of the old version and still get an upgrade when the new version comes out.
Usually, they are launched 10~15 bucks more expensive than the previous version.
You're right, it doesn't seem like this is what I was looking for after all.
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You're right, it doesn't seem like this is what I was looking for after all.
Really?
I used to control all the processes who were trying to upload anything, and this way I've found uploads that should not happen. Twice.
I understood this was the main purpose of the Snitch. Maybe if you explain what you want to do I might be able to help.
I do some recovery, etc. at work, so I can't help but recommend:
NT Offline Reset (http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/) (If you forget your windows password, or need to get into a computer for some reason)
Testdisk/photorec (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec) (For recovering partitions and files, respectively. Photorec does take forever to run on a HDD, though.)
Slitaz linux (http://www.slitaz.org/en/) (35mb, runs in RAM. I use linux mainly for file copy, and this boots quickly and frees up a USB port. Booting mint into RAM takes minutes.)
I use Geany]http://www.geany.org/]Geany (http://www.geany.org/) for text-editing, 'cause it came with my OS. I prefer it to gedit, once I installed the spellcheck plugin.
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I do NOT recommend VLC. I've been using it for years, and it's always been horrible. For some reason it plays the audio and video at different speeds, so every few minutes, I have to pause/unpause to resynch them. I've had this problem on multiple computers (5 at least) and multiple OS's. I also have issues with decoding audio, both FLAC and MP3. I only use windows for media nowadays, and have been using SMplayer (Mplayer frontend) in the meantime, though I will look at other suggestions here. I will look into cccp and mpc-hc, though, since smplayer wants to crash every once in a while (like 10% of the time, maybe).
Wizmouse looks good, I'll have to look into that for sure.
When it comes to maintenance, I like Spinrite http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm (http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm) and also HBCD.http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/ (http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/)
Spinrite recovers data from almost any kind of physically damaged HD. If it spins and is recognized by the computer, it is almost certain that it will be able to recover data from it. OS-independent.
HBCD has absolutely everything you want to make maintenance. RAM Testing, File recovery, Antivirus, NTLDR fixer, all kinds of hardware testing and much more.
There was also an image called RoadRunner that had WinXP bootable, Linux bootable and also HBCD inside, but it has been long since I've seen the last version and now its HBCD is pretty old.
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Not exactly a software but the search engine:
http://duckduckgo.com/ (http://duckduckgo.com/)
is quite cool (besides the name and the logo which could have been both more catchy but that's just an opinion).
No tracking. No cookies. I'm beginning to use it more and more.
It's been mentioned here one or twice...
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http://duckduckgo.com/ (http://duckduckgo.com/)
+1
Real privacy, no "search bubble", zero-click results, and !bang syntax searches. I switched and never looked back.
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Programs that I need...
Windows
- PuTTY (http://"http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/")
-Eclipse (http://"http://www.eclipse.org/")
Ubuntu
-Drawers (Lets you 'group' programs together in the Unity Launcher thing. Total lifesaver)
All of the operating systems!
-Mumble (http://"http://mumble.sourceforge.net/") (recently started using Mumble in place of Ventrilo for VOIP stuff. Big improvement, IMO)
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You're right, it doesn't seem like this is what I was looking for after all.
Really?
I used to control all the processes who were trying to upload anything, and this way I've found uploads that should not happen. Twice.
I understood this was the main purpose of the Snitch. Maybe if you explain what you want to do I might be able to help.
I have now found something that is a lot more like what I wanted: Windows 7 Firewall Control (http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html).
The free version is enough for me, and while it doesn't have as nice an interface, or proper monitoring options compared to LittleSnitch, it's enough for me to control what applications can/can't upload things from my system with ease, and it does it through the built-in firewall, which is even better.
Not exactly a software but the search engine:
http://duckduckgo.com/ (http://duckduckgo.com/)
is quite cool (besides the name and the logo which could have been both more catchy but that's just an opinion).
No tracking. No cookies. I'm beginning to use it more and more.
It's been mentioned here one or twice...
I've tried DuckDuckGo and others such as Ixquick (https://www.ixquick.com/), or even more mainstream alternatives that have better privacy policies like Bing, but I've yet to find anything that is comparable to Google in terms of relevance and presentation. With other search engines, I am often looking through pages of results to find what I want.
That's not to say that Google is perfect, but any time I've done a comparison, or try forcing myself to use something else, I end up back with Google.
As far as privacy is concerned, you can't beat Firefox running:- Adblock Plus (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus) to block ads (use the EasyList and EasyPrivacy lists (http://easylist.adblockplus.org/en/))
- BetterPrivacy (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy) to take care of Flash Cookies
- Cookie Monster (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookie-monster) to only allow white-listed cookies to be stored.
- NoScript (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript) to only allow whitelisted sites to run scripts (javascript, flash, silverlight etc.)
- RequestPolicy (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/requestpolicy) to only allow whitelisted cross-site requests
Some of these add-ons can be a bit of a nuisance when you first start using them before you have whitelisted things on the sites that you frequently visit, but it's also surprising to see just how many cross-site requests and scripts sites are running in the background that you would never have been aware of before.
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Bumpage.
Google Drive is just ridiculously flaky to me. I never had much problem with Google Docs, but Drive freezes and crashes pretty often, especially in spreadsheets.
Are any of you having these problems?
I set up our small business on Google Docs and it is very frustrating to lose reliability.
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I really like Augus Monitor http://www.argotronic.com/en/index.php (http://www.argotronic.com/en/index.php), among other things it's a cpu/gpu/HD temp monitoring program, I like it because you can control the GPU fan speed manually without having to add a service.
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Rainlendar + Dropbox for across desktops calendar/reminder sync.
http://lifehacker.com/5260747/use-dropbox-to-synchronize-multiple-rainlendar-calendars
I do this but with Google Drive, great stuff!
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My dad used to use Fences on his work laptop, seems a lot like Drawers, linked above.
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Universal stuff I install on all my machines:
irssi
Dropbox
VLC
Vim
Gimp
Inkscape
Prey
Chrome
Steam
7zip
git
Windows:
Cygwin
Console2
Sandboxie (for those PDFs you're unsure of...)
QuickTime Alternative
Real Alternative
Exact Audio Copy
Virtual Clone Drive
Microsoft Security Essentials
CS6 Master Collection
OS X:
iTerm2
Growl
zsh
CS6 Master Collection
Other *nix:
Fluxbox
URXVT
zsh
growl
I'm sure I'm missing something, but that's generally what I install and use pretty regularly.
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Seriously people drop VLC and go with MPC-HC already...
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Seriously people drop VLC and go with MPC-HC already...
As far as I am aware that software is windows only.
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Seriously people drop VLC and go with MPC-HC already...
As far as I am aware that software is windows only.
yep relies on directshow and depending how you have it setup direct3d also
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VLC > MPCHC
I switched to VLC after MPC made me mad one too many times.
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VLC > MPCHC
I switched to VLC after MPC made me mad one too many times.
Idk when you last used it buit now its far superior especially with it ability for external decoders
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I put a tip of the hat to the KMAC program. Super easy to use!
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I put a tip of the hat to the KMAC program. Super easy to use!
agreed as long as you dont have spaces in your directories
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I put a tip of the hat to the KMAC program. Super easy to use!
agreed as long as you dont have spaces in your directories
Lul!
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VLC > MPCHC
I switched to VLC after MPC made me mad one too many times.
VLC has a horrible interface, is bloated, and has a tendency to crash.
MPC-HC is light, has a nice UI, and is stable.
It requires some configuration, but if you disable the internal filters and combine it with LAV Filters (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=156191), MadVR (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146228), and Reclock (http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?s=9dfac1e956fc454bead33a00de18a69d&t=52203), you now have reference-quality video playback on your PC.
With the possible exception of broadcast-quality hardware scalers (tens of thousands of dollars) there is nothing comparable to madVR's scaling algorithms & implementation. Jinc 3 combined with the anti-ringing filter is better than anything else I have seen, including the Lumagen Radiance. (which only processes video in 4:2:2 resolution)
I'm not aware of anything else that can also play back both NTSC DVDs (59.94Hz) and PAL DVDs (50Hz) at the original film rate of 24fps. (Reclock in conjunction with MadVR does this) Most people only get 24p when playing back Blu-ray discs. (and even then, it's usually the slowed-down 23.976 fps used for legacy NTSC compatibility)
But if you don't want any configuration, maybe VLC is better. I've never used MPC-HC in its stock configuration.
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VLC > MPCHC
I switched to VLC after MPC made me mad one too many times.
VLC has a horrible interface, is bloated, and has a tendency to crash.
MPC-HC is light, has a nice UI, and is stable.
It requires some configuration, but if you disable the internal filters and combine it with LAV Filters (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=156191), MadVR (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146228), and Reclock (http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?s=9dfac1e956fc454bead33a00de18a69d&t=52203), you now have reference-quality video playback on your PC.
With the possible exception of broadcast-quality hardware scalers (tens of thousands of dollars) there is nothing comparable to madVR's scaling algorithms & implementation. Jinc 3 combined with the anti-ringing filter is better than anything else I have seen, including the Lumagen Radiance. (which only processes video in 4:2:2 resolution)
I'm not aware of anything else that can also play back both NTSC DVDs (59.94Hz) and PAL DVDs (50Hz) at the original film rate of 24fps. (Reclock in conjunction with MadVR does this) Most people only get 24p when playing back Blu-ray discs. (and even then, it's usually the slowed-down 23.976 fps used for legacy NTSC compatibility)
But if you don't want any configuration, maybe VLC is better. I've never used MPC-HC in its stock configuration.
Whoot someone knows their stuff though you forgot xy-vsfilter for the subs!
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I just downloaded Vimium (one of the Pentadactyl-like equivalents for Chrome), pretty neat. Anyone else using Chrome with this or things like Vrome, etc?
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Whoot someone knows their stuff though you forgot xy-vsfilter for the subs!
I only use original DVDs and Blu-rays, so there's no need for it? I think that only applies to pirates.
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The first thing i install when I format the comp is;
coretemp
mumble
nbs-irc
steam
CHROME, the best browser, saves the bookmarks and addons through your account :D
and ofc spotify
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This (http://www.labnol.org/software/tutorials/keep-window-always-on-top/5213/) is something I can't imagine not using
an always on top tool like you have on Gnome
this might not be helpful for people with multiple screens though
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Yeah, that's one of my AHK combos... always on top, minimize window, media controls, and a few other things
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I'm kinda OCD when it comes to the size and placement of windows on my screen. Therefore I have to use this program calledWinsplit Revolution (http://winsplit-revolution.com/)
Same function could probably be added to AHK as I already have a media key script running.... But I am lazy when it comes to things like that ;D
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Tiling on MS Windows, say WOW!
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I just downloaded Vimium (one of the Pentadactyl-like equivalents for Chrome), pretty neat. Anyone else using Chrome with this or things like Vrome, etc?
I use Vimium. I love it.
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I started using it after I saw it here.
It really helps a lot - only thing I miss is the ability to map some clicks to shortcuts.
I.e. map 'show unread posts' to c-u or something like that.
Does anybody know about something that could help with this?
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Browser:
- Opera (Been using it for years and never looked back.)
Linux:
- Slackware
- Desura (until steam comes out)
- fluxbox or xfce (the new KDE is not that bad however)
- Vim in terminal with Solarized theme (http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized (http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized))
- vlc
- irssi
Windows (7):
- Avast (best free in my experience next to Avira)
- Malwarebytes Antimalware (Amazing)
- ccleaner (dump temp files/history/etc clean registry (only one I trust))
- autoruns (please stop using msconfig ;)
- filezilla
- steam
- desura (for mod management)
- The Typing of the Dead (gotta up that WPM somehow)
- winamp (old version before it bloated)
- furmark (graphics benchmark)
- utorrent
- LibreOffice
OSX:
- filezilla
- steam (for simple games on my air)
- Missing Sync (pay to use but a must have for Palm/Android)
- MacVim
- Pages (better than any Office IMHO)
- Adium
- InkScape
- Simple Comic
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I'm sorry but LibreOffice on windows is just terrible. Now I use it because its the best free alternative to office, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!
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In what way is it terrible? I use it all the time on Windows and Linux.
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I'm sorry but LibreOffice on windows is just terrible. Now I use it because its the best free alternative to office, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!
It works fine for everything I've ever had to use it for (mainly viewing email attachments).
I do most work/content creation on my mac. The mac programs (Pages/Numbers/etc) are far superior in terms of productivity and polish.
I put it here since many have no idea that there is a free Microsoft Office alternative.
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Tiling on MS Windows, say WOW!
There has always been tiling functionality in Windows, and with Windows 7 (or was it Vista?) Aero Snap with Win+Arrow is very useful. It's too bad that Aero Snap is not customizable, that's something I would really have liked to see added to Windows 8, rather than relying on third-party programs. I think a 70/30 split would work much better for me than the 50/50 default.
Does anyone know if there are keyboard shortcuts for the "show windows stacked" and "show windows side by side" options? (accessed from right-clicking the taskbar) I'm really trying to minimize the number of little utilities I have running on my system. (I recently ran into some problems with some things, and had a hell of a time tracking down what the cause was)
- Avast (best free in my experience next to Avira)
- Malwarebytes Antimalware (Amazing)
Personally, I have found Microsoft Security Essentials to be the best "free" option (technically, your Windows license is paying for it) as it's very light, and has never caused me any problems. It always seems to do well on tests, and is now integrated into Windows Defender in Windows 8.
- autoruns (please stop using msconfig ;)
What is wrong with msconfig? (actually, I normally used msconfig to locate the registry key, and remove them myself) In Windows 8, this can just be done via the task manager, and it seems to also prevent applications adding themselves again once they have been disabled.
I'm sorry but LibreOffice on windows is just terrible. Now I use it because its the best free alternative to office, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!
Could you elaborate on that? I've never had any problems with it, though I mainly use Calc, and sometimes Writer. (I rarely need anything more than plaintext, just the occasional letter)
I do most work/content creation on my mac. The mac programs (Pages/Numbers/etc) are far superior in terms of productivity and polish.
That's interesting, because I find Pages and Numbers to be very unproductive. Pages feels more like a page layout tool (for doing more magazine/newsletter style designs) than a document editor, and don't get me started on Numbers compared to something like Calc/Excel.
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Tiling on MS Windows, say WOW!
There has always been tiling functionality in Windows, and with Windows 7 (or was it Vista?) Aero Snap with Win+Arrow is very useful. It's too bad that Aero Snap is not customizable, that's something I would really have liked to see added to Windows 8, rather than relying on third-party programs. I think a 70/30 split would work much better for me than the 50/50 default.
I've never found anything like this in MS Windows (except 1.0), only poor pseudo-tiling. I wish there was something that would compare to at least PyTyle (nice tool, if you want basic tiling in a non-tiling window manager such as Openbox BTW).
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I personally really like to use Guake, a drop-down terminal for Linux.
I find it really handy !
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These are my must haves for any OSX installation--
iTerm (for the split windows and tabs although I could use tmux)
Alfred (for my main launcher
Flux (for auto dimming/shading monitor at certain times)
OmniGrowl (the all-seeing eye of notifications)
TrashMe (self-explanatory)
Caffeine (to keep computer awake without screensaver interruption)
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tail for windows
http://tailforwin32.sourceforge.net/
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I just learned about this a few days ago
http://www2.raidcall.com/v7/index.html
Free voicechat servers
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I just downloaded Vimium (one of the Pentadactyl-like equivalents for Chrome), pretty neat. Anyone else using Chrome with this or things like Vrome, etc?
Firefox with Vimperator. Never did like Vimium, there isn't even a bloody : bar.
I'd switch to Chrome, but there isn't a truly good vim plugin for it.
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My must haves for OSX development:
Flux - Your eyes will thank you.
Textexpander - Sublime and Viming faster
Alfred - Alt + Spacebar to search for all kinds of things quickly
ClipMenu - Clipboard history
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One of the cool tools I use is Fences (briefly mentioned before).
It lets you group icons, reminds me of program group in win 3.1 a little :) There's 2 major benefits: 1) my desktop is not so messy since then, and 2) if for any reason you change your resolution (change resolution, change video driver, clone display to another monitor with different resolution etc.), Windows creates a mess with your icons. But with Fences when you set resolution back they go back where they were.
Here is a screenie (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gfo3y27l3565377/fences.jpg)
Second thing I'd share is Sandboxie. It is a tool for isolating applications from the OS. If you start something from Sandboxie that program will not be aware of the outside operating systems. I actually used it to play diablo 2 in 2 windows on the same pc. :) but I'm sure it's useful for more, ehm, productive purposes, too (like a program you'd want to try but suspect it being malware). I guess no guarantees, but it appears to do its job.
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I also use start8 by stardock. I was so impressed with it that I bought a stardock subscription and also run fences and modernmix.
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Not free but if you write / compile articles / have anything academic to push out and want something better than MS Word, this is well worth a look. Had it recommended to me when I was doing my first MA and never looked back with it since. Versions for MS and OSX. All its tools allow you to organise everything really neatly. Love the thing.
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php
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I was sorting video files into folders last evening, and based on recommendations from Profosist and metalliqaz in this thread, I decided to try installing MPC-HC.
Oh... my... gosh...
I never knew videos could look so sharp on my laptop! Runs perfectly under Windows 7, I installed it with LAV Filters and MadVR, and now I'm seeing more detail (especially in shadows) than I ever saw using VLC.
Major thumbs up for this video utility!
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I was sorting video files into folders last evening, and based on recommendations from Profosist and metalliqaz in this thread, I decided to try installing MPC-HC.
Oh... my... gosh...
I never knew videos could look so sharp on my laptop! Runs perfectly under Windows 7, I installed it with LAV Filters and MadVR, and now I'm seeing more detail (especially in shadows) than I ever saw using VLC.
Major thumbs up for this video utility!
/agree
I've been using VLC for a while and finally got tired of it crashing and just being bloated and quirky in general. Luckily I stumbled on this thread and installed MPC-HC. Loving it so far...thanks!
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Sagethumbs (http://code.google.com/p/sagethumbs/). Makes pretty thumbnails of lots of other image file types not natively done in Windows and .psd, .ai, .eps, .pdf, etc which I find to be useful.
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I was sorting video files into folders last evening, and based on recommendations from Profosist and metalliqaz in this thread, I decided to try installing MPC-HC.
Oh... my... gosh...
I never knew videos could look so sharp on my laptop! Runs perfectly under Windows 7, I installed it with LAV Filters and MadVR, and now I'm seeing more detail (especially in shadows) than I ever saw using VLC.
Major thumbs up for this video utility!
Forgot to add; I used Niyawa's MPC-HC installation guide, very clear instructions and explanation of optional add-ons as well. Worked perfectly the first time.
http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=516729
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I used this one: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1357375/advanced-mpc-hc-setup-guide
Also useful, but the OP is older and you have to scroll through some newer posts to find more detail. Should have used the one you posted!
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I love the pandoc (http://johnmacfarlane.net/pandoc/) + gitit (http://gitit.net/) + DZSlides (http://paulrouget.com/dzslides/) combo.
Also, Redshift (http://jonls.dk/redshift/) (f.lux-like stuff that actually works).
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I used this one: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1357375/advanced-mpc-hc-setup-guide
Also useful, but the OP is older and you have to scroll through some newer posts to find more detail. Should have used the one you posted!
Does MPC-HC work under Mac OS, or is there another video utility that's recommended? I've used Handbrake to convert video files for my spouse's Airbook, but it's tedious to do for multiple files.