foxfire Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 There seems to be a favorable consensus regarding Irfanview, in which I concur. The only other media player I use is JetAudio. These two programs handle all of the media files I have ever come across, including Real. No more WMP; even WinAmp lies idle. JetAudio supports recording streaming audio, burning, file conversion, etc. Maybe my needs are too simple. Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I'd like to nominate Winamp 2.9x (not 3.x series!)this might come as shock to some that know me as I bashed Winamp in a previous old post, and said Media Player 9 is the best and winamp has silly small fonts. but i take it all back and pick Winamp 2.9x as best. why?well, mostly because WMP9, as i found out, really bites. it takes ages to load up, and many times my mp3s playing do a mini-freeze or the scroll bar gets stuck for a couple of seconds. no crashes, just really drags to a halt.so i got so frustrated i loaded up Winamp 2.91 (they're developing v2 more than v3). well, first, i loaded v3, and found it to be horribly slow to load. all the criticism is warranted for v3. but v2.91 is amazing! it loads in a split second, and has a smooth 'blending' when you're skipping thru the music with scroll bar. and about its interface, as long as you download a nice looking skin, you can't say anything bad other than it's still a bit small. but the music never skips even when loading a big program at same time. love it!p.s. - winamp's SHOUTCAST internet radio is second to none, by the way. listened to 5 hours of hi-quality music from XTC London Underground and not a single buffer-reload! sweeet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I added the following in a Hall of Shame posting:My hall of fame would include: MS Excel, MS Word, Adobe Photoshop, ColdFusion Studio (aka Homesite), ColdFusion Server 5 and MX, MS SQL Server 7 and 2000, Mac OS X v10.2, MS Windows 2000, Apache, TextPad, Windows 2003 Server/IIS 6.Software that I may consider for the hall of fame are: Zone Alarm (free version), Trillian (free version), AdAware (free version), Eudora, Dreamweaver MX, Serv-U (ftp server)Some I forgot to mention:Roxio Toast (Mac), Virtual PC (Mac), MS Entourage (Mac), iTunes (Mac) and Conflict Catcher (Mac). Although Conflict Catcher is not used much anymore, it was great for Mac OS 9. Roxio Toast has been the best CD burning software on any platform ever since it first came out. Virtual PC gives Macs much greater capabilities, MS Entourage is giving Eudora some competition, and iTunes is a great way to introduce someone to MP3s.InfranView is also one to consider for Windows. NetCaptor is one of the best browsers, but it costs too much money. PC Anywhere and Timbuktu are decent. FileMaker Pro is consistently rated as being the best personal database on the market. I have never seen MS Access reviewed more favorably than FileMaker Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertM Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 and about [Winamp's] interface, as long as you download a nice looking skin, you can't say anything bad other than it's still a bit small.Can you point me to a good-looking skin? I've tried, and they certainly are small, which I don't like. A few of my favorites are SmartAmp, a Winamp3-ish skin, "Windows 2" (a Windows 98-ish skin--except I'm on XP!), and XPAmp 1.1 (created when XP's visual style was Watercolor, not Luna--so that's what this one is). By turning off bitmapped fonts in preferences I gained a little, but none of these are big enough, and I forget what this one I tried was called, but it was HUGE. I didn't like that, either. I just want one that looks like my operating system, and none of the "XP" skins have done that. They don't seem to understand the difference between a normal button and a title bar button, or that I don't want my XP title bar the size of Winamp's default one...I have both version 2 and version 3. I don't know which one I'll keep. The only good thing about 3 is its slightly better media library and freeform skins (so maybe someone *can* make one that looks good), but they didn't seem to care much that it wasn't backwards compatible except with normal skins. Right now I'm sticking to version 2, but so far I like WMP better than either. Maybe I just need to get used to it, though, so by making it my default for a while that's what I'll hope to do and see if I like it any better.But if you have any really nice skins, feel free to tell me about them. I can't fine any. :-) I have a *small* talent for graphics design, so maybe I can *make* one that I like, but I normally get bored due to my actual lack of skill after not too long... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Here's my favourites: (note: I like colour BLUE, in case you didnt' notice )NucleoiGaudoAqua XMetrixJadedCold MettleMy current favourite: Glacial Ageand a couple of weird/unique/funny ones: Super MarioHand Written For Winamp 3, here's one's I like the most (some have big buttons which you seek) though I'm mainly a v2 user:MMD3D-ShockOHE3NeptuneXP Metallic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbo Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 My nomination is Acronis TrueImage. It's the friendliest back-up ap I have found. It runs within Windows as well as a host of other OS's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Because I´m a romantic fool, I like to look at the stars at night ! One of my favorite programs ( in Linux ) was recently released in a Windows version: Celestia ( The Linux version is there too in tarball, SuSE rpm or Mandrake rpm )The demo is breath-taking, just start the program and press the ¨D¨ key and off you go into space; a tour of the galaxy ! Of course it can do a lot more then running the demo . . . . just enjoy the fun playing with it ! BrunoPS: You do need at least 1000mhz for a good effect.3D acceleration does help but is not absolutely needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrainey Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I'm agreeing that Slim Browser is worthy of consideration. I've used it exclusively for the past two months, and have come to like it so much that I uninstalled Opera 7. I like simple and uncluttered, and fast and reliable don't hurt either. Seems to have good support and very frequent updates. Even though it's free, I chose to donate ten bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengeek Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I've got Celestia running on my Compaq Celeron 633 with onboard 8MB video and it runs great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShiksaGrrrl Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Ahh, besides GSpot Codec Information Appliance, another one I find I cannot live without, is a a program named Ant Movie CatalogAnt Movie Catalog is a freeware program made to manage your collection of movies DVD, CD (VideoCD, DivX, ...) and tapes. FeaturesUser interface translated in several languages: English (default), Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish Can store catalog in two file format: its own binary format or XML Import information from Internet (using scripts); by default it includes scripts for IMDB (US), Allociné (FR), DVDFR (FR), Monsieur Cinéma (FR), Culturalia (ES), OFDb (DE), and lots of others User-customizable links to do a search on movie websites Information importation from avi/divx files (audio & video codec, bitrates, resolution, framerate, size) Scripting technology, using Object Pascal language, allowing to modify catalog: Find & replace, moving field values, ... Printing, using customizable templates Export to other formats: HTML (based on a template that you can modify or create yourself), SQL commands (to re-import data in a DBMS such as MySQL), CSV (text files, can be used as tables with Microsft Excel for example), Origons.com Import from other formats: CSV (Microsoft Excel can create such files, but a plain text file can be used too), Divx Manager, BaseDVDivx, Origons.com Can store pictures inside catalog or link to external files (recommended for large pictures) Supports PNG, JPEG and GIF Loans management Statistics with chart and pies Can display the list as a tree, where movies are grouped by a specified field Tested successfuly under Windows 95 & 98 (avec quelques mises à jour), Windows NT4 Workstation (SP4 required), Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional It is so hard of course, to pick just a few, if like most of us, I assume, you have 100+ pieces of software to choose from?Another one I just cannot live without, nor should anyone if they are particular about their MP3 Tags, is, MP3-Info Extension MP3Ext is an extension for the Windows Explorer. It enhances it, so you can get information in many ways: A PropertyPage is installed, where you can fully edit the ID3-Tag An icon-handler for individual icons is included too Tooltips, when you simply leave the mouse over the MP3-file (only with IE4.0 Active Desktop) The features in more detail are: install/uninstall feature running on Win95 / WinNT 4.0 multithreaded easy to use GUI editing of multiple files ID3v2 support: this includes unlimited strings, classic support, ... automatic generation of the ID3-tag from the filename exporting the information in a file or clipboard customizable Tooltips it's giftware Although I have a few different programs installed, such as EncSpot, MP3 Tag, etc, etc, I find that I reach for this one the most.It is just a simple right click on properties of the song, or folder and you can tag single or albums in a pinch.This is a must for the real MP3 user. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 shiskagrrrl: thanks for those links. i'm a big divx / movie buff myself and its a pain to go thru and manage which codecs, id3s, etc, some files use. i'm downloading all the links you mentioned.so thank you for that, and for that hilarious avatar too :DEDIT: let me also add Dapyx MP3 Explorer to the list of must-have for anyone with lots of mp3s. great way to manage them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpeary Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Irfanview and Textpad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquex Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 I can't believe no one has suggested Total Commander for the hall of fame. It is a _de facto_ ultimate file manager which has proven itself for being on the market for more than 10 years now and not to mention - it is a tool I can't live without. Extremelly powerfull, yet simple. I think file management is the core thing in using computers and I just can't imagine using Windows Explorer for the purpose. Some of my other favourites (they are mostly already on the list) that make my life easier:UltraEdit (kind of like Textpad but better )Opera (now, I really tend to like Mozilla, but Opera beats it...)The Bat & MulberryXNewsIrfanViewTreepad LiteAgnitum Outpost Firewall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 I can't believe no one has suggested Total Commander...Agreed - this is an incredibly versatile, powerful and stable tool. It handles mass renaming and directory synchronization with aplomb. In addition to being a superb file manager, it's an excellent FTP client.With Total Commander, I never use Windows Explorer and don't miss it for a moment. Total Commander (formerly Windows Commander) is also an incredible bargain. I registered it years ago and I don't think the price has ever gone up. The author has never charged for upgrades. This is truly friendly shareware - no nagging and no limitations for trying it out.Also, another vote for Irfanview.I'm a long time user of UltraEdit as well, although I don't like it as much since version 9.x. It takes much longer to load and now writes lots more stuff to the registry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacky Packs Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 Forte Agent: Still the best newsreader and email clientRemove-It 95: Unfortunately, Symantec killed itNero: Luckily Ahead wrote this program, otherwise we'd all be burning coasters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tijsco Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 My nominees:* Pegasus Mail v4.12 (The best! Most feature rich and small email client.)* OpenOffice.org 1.1b2 (why pay 300 $ for something you can get for free??? And a very nice new feature: PDF-export!)* The GIMP (Photoshop alike, but then for free!!!)* GAIM (The best Instant Messenger: compatible with MSN, ICQ, Yahoo etc. at the same time)* Avant Browser (good browser, with tabs, add blocking, active x blocking etc.)* Irfan View (best picture and movie viewer)* Hard Copy (best screen capture software ... and much more!!!)* Agent Ransack (very good search program)* JV16 Powertools (best 'all in one tool' - file/registry)* Total Uninstall (best uninstall!!!)* foobar2000 (very good minimalistic audio player) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition running on an 8-way box with 32GB of RAM with IIS6... sweet! But sweeter still add Windows 2003 Resource Manager and dial in CPU and Memory priorities... SWEET!DiskeeperSQL 2000 EnterpriseExchange 2000MS CRMWM Streaming ServicesHyperSnap-DXOutlook 2003Front Page 2003Remote Desktop (throw away the KVMs)Active Sync 3.7PPCPE 2003Pretty much anything else not made, developed, or other wise touched by Adaptec or Roxio... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trapdoor Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 My Nom'sMNG / PNG - the better alternative to GIF's (Stop using gifs! and their copyright problems) .. FREEVim for both windows and Linux. Great text support, better than notepad and very very powerful. ... FREEDaemon Tools great for simulating CD's ... FREEMozilla Firebird FREEO&O DefragADAWARE !!!! - the gator killer and other spy / lame / ad-ware killer FREEOpenOffice - the free alternative to office software, while the presentation software isn't as good as MS Power point, the rest is definitely great. And best of all.... FREETrillian ... FREEFlash FXP for ftp clients or even fxp clients (site to site)GIMP it's FREE and very similar to PhotoshopCoolmon - a nifty little text program that display info on your system. FREEPutty - for all your SSH needs. FREEAs you can see i'm a big supporter of free programs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Front Page 2003i disagree with FrontPage. how dare you add that to hall of fame this program single-handedly dumbed-down and incompatibalized (if thats a word) the entire WWW community. loading useless frontpage extensions that need to be hosted on frontpage-enabled web servers and most effects only work on IE browser. its a disgusting monopoly machine, not a web design tool. for web design, nothing comes close to Macromedia's Dreamweaver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaflady Posted July 6, 2003 Share Posted July 6, 2003 Well I'm late to this party - but I've been traveling - no computers at all - very cool. Wanted to cast my vote for the absolutely fabulous freeware product:Irfanview. I have been using for years and the programmer just keeps making his product better and better with every version and it absolutely never causes any problems and always "just works". The slide show option is great as well. Many kudos.For newer paid stuff - as an editor Adobe Elements is easy to use with half the learning curve of any of the others-you can go very simple or get pretty complex - fast editing for all those vacation pics.I really have no complaint on Outlook Express. It does what I want ok.NoteTab Lite and Metapad are both excellent freebie text editors with lots of functions.I find ZoneAlarm very usefull - has caught all kinds of sneaky programs and either free or paid works.I have love/hate with Norton AV. I simply hate most of the others. One thing, Norton AV often does not play well with Win2000 and Zone Alarm all together - depends on versions of each.Other utilities: most anything from KAREN WARE. WinZip (which I do pay for even though they don't make you) and Belarc's system info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scot Posted July 7, 2003 Share Posted July 7, 2003 I have to concur with Prelude76 about FrontPage, and for the same reasons. For me, that program should be on the Software Hall of Shame list.I also agree that Dreamweaver belongs on the Hall of Fame list, and as I recall it's already there (I may have put it there myself, can't remember now).-- Scot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 The first one will go down like a lead balloon with some people.DirectCD. Brilliant program. Install it and forget it. It just sits there and WORKS. (Unlike InCD, which sucks big time)IrfanView Windows Commander (dual-pane Windows Explorer replacement - shareware)2xExplorer (as above - free)Notepad+ (Yep, it's a Notepad replacement)Paintshop Pro 6 (at the level I need, it's fine)CoolEdit 2000 (wav/mp3 editor)WinAmp 2.8x (no higher)WinMXI may add more when I get home tonight, but that'll do for starters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quint Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Hi PaulD,Welcome, glad you arrived. Though I haven't used WinXP for some time now, I remember having most of the excellent choices you listed, but always used Nero, in lieu of Roxio (but I never did have the problems with Roxio that others here have). It's just too bad that there is no Windows version of "K3b" - a Linux CD burning program...the finest I've ever used, bar none!Good to have you aboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 nothing comes close to Macromedia's Dreamweaver.I still have never tried Dreamweaver It's definately something i want to look into though. Not like i could ever afford it .For now, it's still HTML-Kit, which i guess i will nominate in the Hall of Fame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 nothing comes close to Macromedia's Dreamweaver.I still have never tried Dreamweaver It's definately something i want to look into though. Not like i could ever afford it . make sure you try it together with Macromedia Fireworks. you could make any sort of image splicing into tables with mous click hot spots, just like the pros do it. i started off with WebEdit which is just a fancy colour-coded version of NOTEPAD but now some of the sites i've designed with dreamweaver and fireworks, when i take a peak at the final HTML code with tons of onMouseOver javascript and tables into tables into tables codes, i'd go nutz if i ever tried to code it by hand and split pictures pixel by pixel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Here are a few more:-Aida32 - System info, better than BelarcStar Downloader - free download enhancer (I prefer that term to accelerator)Spybot S&DStartup Cop - take control of what starts automaticallyEnditall - version 1, not 2FontPage - Font handlerDup Detector - great if you have lots of image filesFavorg - A brilliant little app that checks all your favorite links for validity, and also saves favicons so you don't lose them when you clear your cache.Create Favorites Home Page - turns your IE Favorites into an HTML home page.AddAButton - add custom buttons to your IE toolbar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertM Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 I still have never tried Dreamweaver make sure you try it together with Macromedia Fireworks. you could make any sort of image splicing into tables with mous click hot spots, just like the pros do it. i started off with WebEdit which is just a fancy colour-coded version of NOTEPAD but now some of the sites i've designed with dreamweaver and fireworks, when i take a peak at the final HTML code with tons of onMouseOver javascript and tables into tables into tables codes, i'd go nutz if i ever tried to code it by hand and split pictures pixel by pixel. ::cringes at the word "table," especially when it's mentioned THREE times deep:: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prelude76 Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 ::cringes at the word "table," especially when it's mentioned THREE times deep:: i hear you, but [TABLE] beats any [FRAME] layout anyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 i hear you, but [TABLE] beats any [FRAME] layout anydayYea, but css is the best way to go No tables needed with CSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsden11 Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 I must be in Betty Crocker mode...I used to think the same way about FrontPage but we have been using the latest from MS and it does everything DreamWeaver does and then some. In fact it does some things now that DreamWeaver is still dreaming about... I don't wish to get in a flame fest about this... My advice is, try the new FrontPage out... you may just be pleasantly surprised... It costs way less as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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