Must Have (lesser known) software

Fourstaff · Aug 10, 2011

Would be nice if OP collect all the suggestions and arrange it for sticky vote.

KieX · Aug 10, 2011

Well, thought I'd suggest some stuff for digital music.

dBpoweramp - Swiss army knife of music file conversion/ripping
Mp3tag - Tag editor for mp3. Can embed artwork, rename files according to tags, batch process details...

twilyth · Aug 11, 2011

Fourstaff said:
Would be nice if OP collect all the suggestions and arrange it for sticky vote.

I'll help with that if it's an option. I think we can do basic tables in bb code, so maybe we could create a table for each class of software with the name (and a link to back it up and make it easier to find) and a quick one sentence description.

digibucc · Aug 11, 2011

it's together, adding contributions now

Static~Charge · Aug 11, 2011

BlueScreenView (Free)

Scans all your minidump files created during "blue screen of death" crashes and marks the drivers found in the crash stack so you can easily locate the suspected drivers that might have caused the crash.

CrystalDiskInfo (Free)

HDD/SDD health monitoring utility; displays basic drive information, S.M.A.R.T. values, and disk temperature.

doPDF (Free)

Easily create PDF files by selecting the "Print" command from virtually any application.

FileZilla (Free)

Fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS, and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive graphical user interface. FTP server is available, too.

Metapad (Free)

Small, fast, and completely free text editor for Windows (95/98/NT/XP/Vista/7); similar to Notepad but with many extra (and rather useful) features.

SyncBack (Free / $30 or $50 USD)

Easily backup and synchronize your files to: the same drive; a different drive or medium (CD-RW, CompactFlash, etc.); an FTP server; a network; or a Zip archive.

TrueCrypt (Free / Donation)

On-the-fly disk encryption software for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

uTorrent (Free)

Lightweight and efficient BitTorrent client for Windows or Mac.

Firefox add-ons

Adblock Plus (Free)

Content-filtering extension that removes web site ads (subscribing to a filter list is highly recommended).

Element Hiding Helper (Free)

Companion extension for Adblock Plus that makes creating your own custom element-hiding rules much easier.

BetterPrivacy (Free)

View and delete Adobe Flash Player's "super-cookies" (Local Shared Objects, or LSO's).

NoScript (Free / Donation)

Control which web sites are allowed to run JavaScript, Java, Flash, and other plugins.

El_Mayo · Aug 11, 2011

anyone said VLC player yet?

also www.ninite.com is what I use every time I reinstall. So convenient

Steevo · Aug 11, 2011

twilyth said:
The most powerful editor I've ever seen is the ISPF editor. It was originally written for the IBM mainframe environment but there is a PC version called SPFSE. There's no point in even looking at it unless you're familiar with ISPF.

It's structured so that you issue commands to manipulate the text from a command line above the text and the text is addressed via row and column position. By using pointers to the row an column in your commands, you can treat any block of text of any size like a matrix where each individual element can be accessed independently.

This sort of off topic in the sense that no one who hasn't worked with ISPF would ever use this, but it's certainly "lesser" known and is the most powerful editing software I've ever used.

I use a binary keyboard to directly enter commands on the CPU of IBM mainframes.......

Or I just hack shit together......whatever is faster.

twilyth · Aug 11, 2011

Steevo said:
I use a binary keyboard to directly enter commands on the CPU of IBM mainframes.......

Or I just hack shit together......whatever is faster.

I'm not sure if I should respond to that or not. If you don't believe me and would like to try it for yourself, here is the link to SPF/SE. You can download the demo and try both versions.

The software does have a limit of 64000 characters per line though - in case that would be an issue for you.

Frick · Aug 12, 2011

Ultramon if you're running multiple monitors. Not free, but it's above everything else I've tried.

remixedcat · Aug 12, 2011

Media jukebox--->does more then mediamonkey and everything is free. inc. multicore processing, encodes, full DSP, etc). has an even better version called media center (apprx 40USD) that adds video and zones (sending different songs to different rooms [sets of speakers], and tons more!)
handbrake--->Awesome video converter
virtualdub--->powerful video editor that's free
process explorer--->look more into what's ticking on your system. excellent program
stardock fences--->organizes icons into zones and allows more control and hide with a double click
filezilla--->excellent free FTP program
VMWare (anything from them)--->The best virtualization products!

remixedcat · Aug 12, 2011

newtekie1 said:
oh, what about VMWare Player? I don't see that mentioned a lot in these types of threads, but I used it all the time when I'm testing things that I'm not quite sure how they wil work, or I just want to play around with an OS that I don't feel like loading onto a real machine. Plus it is free, and probably one of the easiest to use virtualization programs I've seen.

VMWare FTW!!!! Love that company and thier Virtualization products!!!

digibucc · Aug 12, 2011

I have been organizing them into the op, and i will continue that today. If you have any ideas to make it cleaner let me know, other than that keep the contributions coming!

El_Mayo · Aug 12, 2011

Installed this yesterday:
http://download.cnet.com/Fences/3000-2072_4-10909535.html

It's called Fences and it's rather neat

digibucc · Aug 12, 2011

El_Mayo said:
Installed this yesterday:
http://download.cnet.com/Fences/3000-2072_4-10909535.html

It's called Fences and it's rather neat

someone else mentioned this, probably remixed. i can't believe i didn't! i personally use this and it is friggen awesome.

the fences are great and all, but it also has double click to hide desktop icons, which i love.

i will get it (and the rest of yours remixed

) added today sometime.

remixedcat · Aug 12, 2011

yup I am the one that mentioned it LOL. and yeah I love it.

El_Mayo · Aug 13, 2011

Oh yeahhh shoulda read the OP xD

digibucc · Aug 13, 2011

El_Mayo said:
Oh yeahhh shoulda read the OP xD

it wouldn't have been there... i added it after you suggested it

FordGT90Concept · Aug 13, 2011

GreenFish Icon Editor Pro|Free|Powerful image/icon editor.|
EditPlus|Trial/$35USD|Powerful text/script editor. It can even find in files and has its own integrated browser.|
Hex Workshop|Trial/$90USD|Powerful binary file editor.|
Microsoft Visual Studio Express Editions|Free|Everything you need to make non-commercial applications.|

The only one on there that might not qualify is VS EE but, I think a lot of people aren't aware they offer a free version (as opposed to $1000+) for non-commercial use. It's great for those that want to test the waters of programming.

scaminatrix · Aug 13, 2011

You know the two apps I posted yester-page fit the criteria

El_Mayo · Aug 14, 2011

If we're posting APPS as well, this is nice (for Chrome):
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji

RoutedScripter · Aug 14, 2011

Programmers notepad

Derek12 · Aug 14, 2011

El_Mayo said:
Installed this yesterday:
http://download.cnet.com/Fences/3000-2072_4-10909535.html

It's called Fences and it's rather neat

WOW now my desktop is tidy and neat excellent program

El_Mayo · Aug 14, 2011

Picasa

It's like free photoshop, and easier to use than GIMP

I recommend it for basic editing

twilyth · Aug 16, 2011

WinHTTrack - for downloading entire web sites.

I use this all of the time to do some serious leeching. It even has settings so you can do stealth leaching - IOW, leech from a site without impacting their bandwidth or response times.

Here is my favorite desktop gadget - AGS Digital Multi-Clock
You can have as many clocks as you want for all different time zones. You can label each one and set a background just for that clock. I think it comes in very handy.

Derek12 · Aug 16, 2011

I would add Free MP3 WMA converter, it can convert almost all audio formats to each one

http://www.koyotesoft.com/

MP3Gain to normalize volume through songs

http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/

System Name	Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor	3570K // 10400F
Motherboard	ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
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Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
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Power Supply	Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w

System Name	Slick
Processor	Intel i5 2467M
Motherboard	Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook
Memory	8GB Corsair Value
Storage	Crucial M4 7mm 256GB
Display(s)	13"
Software	Windows 8 Pro x64

System Name	i7-PC / HTPC / iMac
Processor	i7 3820 / Phenom II 940
Motherboard	GIGABYTE G1.ASSASSIN2 / M3A79-T Deluxe
Cooling	Corsair Hydro H100i / Scythe II (HS only)
Memory	G.SKILL Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600mhz / 4GB DDR2 1066 (@800) Corsair Dominator
Video Card(s)	GB Radeon HD 7950s 3GB / GB Radeon HD 7950s 3GB
Storage	2x 80GB Intel X-25, 2x600gb SATA, 1x1tb 5400RPM storage /1x600GB, 3x500GB,1x160,1x120 SATA
Display(s)	1x 27" Yamakasi / Vizio 42" HDTV
Case	Lian Li Lancool PC-K58 / Antec 900
Audio Device(s)	HT Omega Striker 7.1 / Onboard and HDMI from ATi Card
Power Supply	PC Power & Cooling 750W / 610W
Software	Ubuntu / Windows 8.1 Pro / OS X / PHPStorm / Gaming

Processor	Intel Core i3-8100
Motherboard	ASRock H370 Pro4
Cooling	Cryorig M9i
Memory	16GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4-2400
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WindForce OC 3GB
Storage	Crucial MX500 512GB SSD
Display(s)	Dell S2316M LCD
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC892
Power Supply	Corsair CX600M
Mouse	Logitech M500
Keyboard	Lenovo KB1021 USB
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

System Name	N/A
Processor	i7-4790K
Motherboard	Asus Z97-A
Cooling	Thermalright True Power 140
Memory	2 x 8GB GeIL Potenza 2400Mhz
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 970 Gaming
Storage	2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	24" Samsung 1080p LED Monitor
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro
Power Supply	Corsair TX650W
Mouse	Logitech MX518
Keyboard	Corsair K70 (Brown MX)
Software	Windows 8.1

Must Have (lesser known) software

Fourstaff

Moderator

KieX

twilyth

Guest

digibucc

Static~Charge

El_Mayo

Steevo

twilyth

Guest

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

remixedcat

remixedcat

digibucc

El_Mayo

digibucc

remixedcat

El_Mayo

digibucc

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"

scaminatrix

El_Mayo

RoutedScripter

Derek12

El_Mayo

twilyth

Guest

Derek12

System Name	Compy 386
Processor	7800X3D
Motherboard	Asus
Cooling	Air for now.....
Memory	64 GB DDR5 6400Mhz
Video Card(s)	7900XTX 310 Merc
Storage	Samsung 990 2TB, 2 SP 2TB SSDs and over 10TB spinning
Display(s)	56" Samsung 4K HDR
Audio Device(s)	ATI HDMI
Mouse	Logitech MX518
Keyboard	Razer
Software	A lot.
Benchmark Scores	Its fast. Enough.

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	RemixedBeast-NX
Processor	Intel Xeon E5-2690 @ 2.9Ghz (8C/16T)
Motherboard	Dell Inc. 08HPGT (CPU 1)
Cooling	Dell Standard
Memory	24GB ECC
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Nvidia RTX2060 6GB
Storage	2TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD//2TB WD Black HDD
Display(s)	Samsung SyncMaster P2350 23in @ 1920x1080 + Dell E2013H 20 in @1600x900
Case	Dell Precision T3600 Chassis
Audio Device(s)	Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 // Fiio E7 Amp/DAC
Power Supply	630w Dell T3600 PSU
Mouse	Logitech G700s/G502
Keyboard	Logitech K740
Software	Linux Mint 20
Benchmark Scores	Network: APs: Cisco Meraki MR32, Ubiquiti Unifi AP-AC-LR and Lite Router/Sw:Meraki MX64 MS220-8P

System Name	BY-2021
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard	MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling	Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory	2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s)	Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case	Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply	Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse	Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard	Tesoro Excalibur
Software	Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.

System Name	Benny
Processor	Phenom II 1055t @ 3.3GHz; 300x11; 1.380v; NB 2700; HT 2400
Motherboard	ASUS Crosshair IV Formula (2002 BIOS)
Cooling	Thermalright TRUE 120 Black + 2 Xilence Red Wing PWM 120mm (push/pull) + polycarbonate fan holders
Memory	8GB GeIL Ultra 2133MHZ C9 running at 1600MHz @ 7-7-7-21 1T 1.5v
Video Card(s)	MSI Twin Frozr II GTX470 @ Stock w/CPU fan cable-tied on, as one of the GPU fans broke.
Storage	60GB OCZ Agility3 (OS);500GB WDC Grn; 1x1TB WDC Blk (Backup)
Display(s)	ASUS PA823Q
Case	Silverstone Raven 2 (all cables custom sleeved with velcro mod on side panel...)
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi (Onboard) + Harmon Kardon HK6100 amp powering JVC HA-RX700's with Zalman mic
Power Supply	Corsair HX650W
Software	Win7 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	No benchies so making this space useful! Corsair M90, Logitech G19. Phobya FlexLight LED's (gawjus)

System Name	Multiple - Win7, Win10, Kubuntu
Processor	Intel Core i7 3820 OC@ 4.0 GHz
Motherboard	Asus P9X79
Cooling	Noctua NH-L12
Memory	Corsair Vengeance 32GB 1333MHz
Video Card(s)	Sapphire ATI Radeon RX 480 8GB
Storage	Samsung SSD: 970 EVO 1TB, 2x870 EVO 250GB,860 Evo 250GB,850 Evo 250GB, WD 4x1TB, 2x2TB, 4x4TB
Display(s)	Asus PB328Q 32' 1440p@75hz
Case	Cooler Master CM Storm Trooper
Power Supply	Corsair HX750, HX550, Galaxy 520W
Mouse	Multiple, Razer Mamba Elite, Logitech M500
Keyboard	Multiple - Lenovo, HP, Dell, Logitech

System Name	Custom Built
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard	Asus PRIME A520M-A
Cooling	Stock heatsink/fan
Memory	16GB 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI 1050Ti 4GB
Storage	KINGSTON SNVS250G 256GB M.2 + 2 data disks
Display(s)	Dell S2421NX
Case	Aerocool CS103
Audio Device(s)	Realtek
Power Supply	Seasonic M12II-520 EVO
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2S
Keyboard	Logitech
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-bit