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Handy tools and applications

Off Topic » Handy tools and applications (Posts 1 to 30 of 37)

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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2008 edited
    Because of the Acrobat Reader problem of Anthony, I just thought to setup a topic which can a source for alternative and handy programs an applications for any function.

    So

    FoxitReader
    Use this tool to read PDF's ((only 2MB, instead of the endlessly block bytes Adobe Reader is, beware, not integrated in the browser, but that should not be a reason to not get it). After installing this, uninstall Acrobat and be free!
    http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
    Kazoo
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2008
    VideoLAN
    Plays almost all video files and types, extensive list of options for sound tracks in video, subtitles, includes error corrections of broken video files, can handle dvd's (to a certain level), ... Open source. Also plays audio, although that is not the main goal.
    http://www.videolan.org/
    Kazoo
  3. Bregt wrote
    ...not integrated in the browser...

    And this means?
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2008 edited
    FalkirkBairn wrote
    Bregt wrote
    ...not integrated in the browser...

    And this means?

    That when you click on a link that points to a .pdf file, it will not open in the browser, like the reader is integrated in the browser. You'll have to just save the pdf to a folder (just like you download any other file) and then open it with Foxit. Nothing really strange. But opening a pdf in the browser (which happens when using Acrobat) is always struggling.
    Kazoo
  5. Cheers, Bregt!

    My fogged mind was coming around to the idea that that was what you meant.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    • CommentAuthorAnthony
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2008 edited
    winLAME

    The best MP3 encoder I've found so far. wink

    Bregt wrote
    FalkirkBairn wrote
    Bregt wrote
    ...not integrated in the browser...

    And this means?

    That when you click on a link that points to a .pdf file, it will not open in the browser, like the reader is integrated in the browser. You'll have to just save the pdf to a folder (just like you download any other file) and then open it with Foxit. Nothing really strange. But opening a pdf in the browser (which happens when using Acrobat) is always struggling.


    With most browsers however you can set which program opens a specific file type by default. Just set the program that opens PDF files to Foxit and you're done! cheesy
    •  
      CommentAuthorNunoM
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2008
    Bregt wrote
    Because of the Acrobat Reader problem of Anthony, I just thought to setup a topic which can a source for alternative and handy programs an applications for any function.

    So

    FoxitReader
    Use this tool to read PDF's ((only 2MB, instead of the endlessly block bytes Adobe Reader is, beware, not integrated in the browser, but that should not be a reason to not get it). After installing this, uninstall Acrobat and be free!
    http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php


    Bregt, I use this add-on for Firefox to read pdf files.
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/636

    It allows you to download the pdf file, or open the file directly on your pdf reader, or just read the pdf integrated in the browser. It's free and only 121 KB size.
    Give it a try.
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2008
    Thank you very much!

    How is it possible I didn't knew this!?
    Kazoo
    •  
      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
    www.filehippo.com

    The bible of all free, handy tools.

    Recommended:

    CCleaner 2.04.543 (what will this cleaner do to your PC, you won't believe until you've tried it yourself!)

    CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free.

    http://filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

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    AVG Free Edition     7.5.516 (best free antivirus out there, been using it for a couple of weeks now replacing another payware antivirus that screwed me over and it works wonders!)

    AVG Free Edition is the well-known anti-virus protection tool. AVG Free is available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product! Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high-level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements).

    http://filehippo.com/download_avg_antivirus/

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    uTorrent 1.7.6     (best, smallest (only 215 kb) torrent client out there, nothing more to say)

    uTorrent is an efficient and feature rich BitTorrent client for Windows sporting a very small footprint. It was designed to use as little cpu, memory and space as possible while offering all the functionality expected from advanced clients.

    http://filehippo.com/download_utorrent/

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    GOM Player 2.1.8.3683

    GOM is a FREE media player with popular audio & video codecs built-in

    http://filehippo.com/download_gom_player/

    ----

    and the best complete codec pack out there, you'll never need anything else installed:

    K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 3.70

    http://filehippo.com/download_klite_mega_codec/

    ----

    Real Media (real player) alternative. Very small and handy, does the job perfectly.

    Real Alternative 1.75
    5.69MB (Freeware)
    Real Alternative allows your system to play Real Media files (.ra .ram) without having to install the full version of RealPlayer

    http://filehippo.com/download_real_alternative/

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    QuickTime Alternative 2.3.0
    12.13MB (Freeware)
    QuickTime Alternative allows your system to play QuickTime movie files (.mov) without having to install the full version of the Quicktime Player.

    http://filehippo.com/download_quicktime_alternative/

    ------

    More soon!
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMarselus
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
    Christodoulides wrote
    CCleaner 2.04.543 (what will this cleaner do to your PC, you won't believe until you've tried it yourself!)

    CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free.

    I´m using Ad-Aware 2007. Is CCleaner better?
    Anything with an orchestra or with a choir....at some point will reach you
    •  
      CommentAuthorBobdH
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008 edited
    Marselus wrote
    Christodoulides wrote
    CCleaner 2.04.543 (what will this cleaner do to your PC, you won't believe until you've tried it yourself!)

    CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free.

    I´m using Ad-Aware 2007. Is CCleaner better?


    My computer managed to crash full of spyware while I was using Ad-Aware, so I guess it is, yeah, although I have no experience with CCleaner wink

    EDIT: Just downloaded and run CCleaner. Got a full 3GB back shocked
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
    Crapcleaner cleans your pc. (registers, temporary (internet) files, caches, ... you have no idea what is kept cached on your pc)

    AdAware checks for malicious documents, like adaware/spyware, or dubious cookies and files.

    So, both are not the same at all.
    But both should be used indeed.
    Kazoo
  13. Isn't something like CCleaner likely to clear out cookies for websites (including automatic sign-ins) & temp files that may be being used by applications?

    I use AVG Free Edition as my antivirus software after previously paying for Norton and then another package (that I can't remember the name of). But these paid-for packages were so bloated and significantly slowed my PC I decided to go for something leaner. I like how AVG incrementally updates it's databases rather than completely downloading the virus checking databases.

    I also like the free Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    • CommentAuthorAnthony
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
    I use PrivacyGuardian and RegistryMechanic. I'll have a look at Crap Cleaner too though. wink
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      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008 edited
    Essential software for everyone (at least that's what i use and i heave my head clean)

    AVG Free Edition antivirus
    zone alarm free edition firewall
    ccleaner
    ad-aware 2007 or spybot search and destroy

    These are crucial!

    Also recommend REGVAC registry cleaner (payware) and for those who like to tweak things up (advanced users only, be careful with those)
    tuneUp utilities 2008 and / or
    winxp manager (or vista manager if you're using vista)
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
  16. Christodoulides wrote
    zone alarm free edition firewall

    I use Sygate Personal Firewall. Seems to do a good job.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2008
    And of course, any other browser then Internet Explorer lifts your computer up to a higher level.

    Firefox (http://www.mozilla-europe.org/nl/products/firefox/)
    Opera (www.opera.com)

    I'm glad to see in statistics of this website, that Firefox is the leading browser. Opera also has 10%, as well as Safari. punk
    Kazoo
  18. FalkirkBairn wrote
    Isn't something like CCleaner likely to clear out cookies for websites (including automatic sign-ins) & temp files that may be being used by applications?

    Anyone have addtional info on their experiences with CCleaner?

    I want to do a bit of cleaning but I don't want to do something that's likely to mess things up.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2008
    Everything you need to know about ccleaner:

    http://www.ccleaner.com/help
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
  20. Christodoulides wrote
    Everything you need to know about ccleaner:

    http://www.ccleaner.com/help

    Thanks, Demetris. But I've been through the help: the FAQ and the forum (scary!) but I'd like some local experiences.
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2008
    There are two buttons, one for the temp fils and caches/cookies/browser files, and one for unused or wrong registry keys. The first one is harmless, the second one mostly harmless. Before you clean the registry (after first scanning it), it asks to backup the registry, which I always do. But so far, I never had any problems cleaning all registry entries CCleaner proposes to remove. smile

    Then there's also a third mode, that checks which programs start up when starting Windows. Very handy because some things are unnecessary (Quicktime for example).

    It's a mostly harmless program (even harmless for me so far, but well, you never know. smile ).
    Kazoo
  22. Thanks, Bregt.

    So, as long as I backup the registry there should not be too difficult to sort out any damage?

    If I did a system restore before doing a clean up, would this also save my setup if there's any problems as a result of inappropriate registry deletions?
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2008
    And there's an uninstall programs mode as well, kinda like the "add remove programs" function of windows but only better. Overall, you can tick-out programs you don't want it to touch, like your internet explorer / firefox cookies and cache and stuff but i can tell you, from my own experience and tested on my 2 pc's (one desktop, one laptop) that i've been using it daily, non-stop and in combination with other programs for over 2 years that i never, never had the slightest problem with it. Besides the usual stuff - i am also using advanced music / video editing software plus the simulator which is by itself a programmer's nightmare. It cleans the hell out of your pc and along with stuff like REGVAC, TUNE UP UTILITIES 2008, ULTIMATE DEFRAG or O&O DEFRAG and PC BOOSTER, can do real wonders on your system.
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
    •  
      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2008 edited
    System restore is - imo and from own experience - the biggest mess-up to your system you can ever perform. I have it turned off on all my pc's by default. Just make sure you have backups of the stuff you want on External HDD or DVD's (or both) and there's nothing an F8 during start-up and a start windows with "the last known good configuration that work" won't fix, again, in my own experience.
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2008
    I've saved my pc (before then cleaning it up) a few time using System Restore, so I don't think it's that unhandy.

    Alan, that's a good idea if you want to be sure. smile
    And if after the cleanup, everyhing still works, make another System Restore Checkpoint. smile
    Kazoo
  26. Christodoulides wrote
    And there's an uninstall programs mode as well, kinda like the "add remove programs" function of windows but only better. Overall, you can tick-out programs you don't want it to touch, like your internet explorer / firefox cookies and cache and stuff but i can tell you, from my own experience and tested on my 2 pc's (one desktop, one laptop) that i've been using it daily, non-stop and in combination with other programs for over 2 years that i never, never had the slightest problem with it. Besides the usual stuff - i am also using advanced music / video editing software plus the simulator which is by itself a programmer's nightmare. It cleans the hell out of your pc and along with stuff like REGVAC, TUNE UP UTILITIES 2008, ULTIMATE DEFRAG or O&O DEFRAG and PC BOOSTER, can do real wonders on your system.

    That's exactly the sort of experience info I was looking for, Demetris. Thanks!
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  27. I ran CCleaner. My PC must have needed it as it ran for almost 5 minutes - and cleared out 4Gb!!

    And I scanned for Registry issues and it must have come up with >400 issues! Lots of "Missing Shared DLL", "Unused File Extension", "Active X/COM Issue", "Open With Application Issue", "Installer Reference Issue", "Unistaller Reference Issue", "Obsolete Software Key" & "Missing Startup Software" items!!

    I'm always reading that you shouldn't dabble with the registry which is why I am loathe to fix these issues.

    Will this level of registry issues likely to affect the performance of my PC at, say, startup?
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2008
    do a backup and try it out, you'll be amazed!
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
  29. Christodoulides wrote
    do a backup and try it out, you'll be amazed!

    Well, I did it...and I can still see something on-screen. And the keyboard still works!

    Let's see how things go!!
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
    •  
      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2008 edited
    4GB!!!! Dear god. shocked biggrin

    You now should do a defragmentation of your system and it'll be quicker indeed.
    (here to see how, very simple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD1lFiXsZNE )
    Kazoo

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