Incredible software that needs more exposure

[Batmann]

This 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

[alaricljs]

Yeah, that's one of my AHK combos... always on top, minimize window, media controls, and a few other things

[1uckyNumb3r7]

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

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 

[davkol]

Tiling on MS Windows, say WOW!

[Amarok]

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.

[vbrenny]

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?

[quadcricket]

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)
- 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

[metalliqaz]

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!

[alaricljs]

In what way is it terrible?  I use it all the time on Windows and Linux.

[quadcricket]

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.

[NKRO]

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.

[davkol]

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).

[kouryuu]

I personally really like to use Guake, a drop-down terminal for Linux.

I find it really handy !

[deegaf]

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)

[domoaligato]

tail for windows
http://tailforwin32.sourceforge.net/

[csloan1218]

I just learned about this a few days ago

http://www2.raidcall.com/v7/index.html

Free voicechat servers

[CommunistWitchDr]

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.

[codyeatworld]

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

[Bencze]

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

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.

[domoaligato]

I also use start8 by stardock. I was so impressed with it that I bought a stardock subscription and also run fences and modernmix.

[Lighthouse1]

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

[Tarzan]

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!



 

[cytoSiN]

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!

[IvanIvanovich]

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.

[Tarzan]

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

[cytoSiN]

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!

[davkol]

I love the pandoc + gitit + DZSlides combo.

Also, Redshift (f.lux-like stuff that actually works).

[Tarzan]

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.