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Favorite tools to use?


SonicDragon

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SonicDragon

I've been using Baden's SlickRun (http://www.bayden.com/SlickRun/) and think it's pretty neat. Its a very small box that floats in the corner (or minimizes to the system tray) that lets u type in keywords that u assign to open programs or webpages. For example, when i wan't to come here, i type in scot. when i want to open trillian, i type trillian. want to read tech news, i type in rss. It's very handy. It also has a jot function in which you can write your self notes.Plus, it doesn't seem to slow my computer down at all.

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Anyone use any helpful little apps that they'd like to share with the rest of us? I'm always looking for tools to make day to day computing a little easier. Freeware, shareware, etc.--doesn't matter. I'll even start with one:Convert and Open(freeware):"No more copy and pasting of incorrect/invalid URLs. Convert & Open automatically repairs bad links such as h**p, f*p, htp:site.com, and converts back slashes to forward. Removes blank spaces, link breaks, tabs and bad characters. Also restores missing slashes and repairs bad emails. "Adds a right-click context menu, so all you need to do is highlight a url(works great if it wasn't posted as an active link), right click, and select convert and open. Opens up the link in a new browser window.http://camtech2000.net/Pages/Useful.html Scroll down towards the bottom of the page. Check out the main site too, lots of useful items here.

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I have 2 programs that go on every box I build/buy. Both are written by Mike Lin, they are Startup Control Panel and Startup Monitor.Startup Monitor monitors if anything tries to set itself to run at startup and asks you if you want it to happen. Startup Control Panel is similar to msconfig - allows selective startup. You select which programs run at startup, thus allowing you to troubleshoot problems, or keep everything from booting up to allow defragging, etc...Both very handy and don't seem to make any hit on the system.d|:^)Dick

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AI RoboForm (freeware) is a very powerful tool that combines a password manager and one-click Web form filler.No more hassle with memorizing and filling passwords or forms in websites.I love it!Microsoft XP's Power Toys includes a multiple desktop app, but it sucks!Better performance and more flexibility with a shareware ($25) program called FlashDesktops: FlashDesktopsI have used it with Windows 2000 and Windows XP and I'm very satisfied.Well worth the money!K9 (freeware) uses intelligent statistical analysis (Bayesian) to filter e-mail with POP3 email programs. It learns filtering rules from your own mails!Chameleon Clock (freeware) is a clock, calendar and alarmer with multiple skins.Tardis (freeware) corrects your system time by web atomic clocks in intervals you choose.With AutoIt (freeware) you can automate almost everything including mouse clicks.Words (freeware) is a neat and complete latin dictionary.These tools smooth out my days! B)
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jbredmound

I use Pc Magazines Unclean instead of Add/Remove most of the time. It does a better job, and it gives me more info about what I am about to remove.I have really enjoyed having the free personal version of Belarc Advisor on board, as it gives me info on all my software licenses, what is installed on my box, where it is, etc, etc. It keeps me from digging in the "archive box" to find info about software.Since I don't utilize any programs with built-in pop-up protection, I have had PopUp Stopper installed for years. I periodically think, "the next time I'm going to buy some software, I should upgrade to the paid version",but the free one has worked so well for so long that I just can't get motivated to do it.I have used the command line function to tie my computer clock to a standards system, but I had to go in and repgm it several times, and got tired of that. I went back to my old favorite, Atomic Clock Sync, and I have more confidence that my clock is right.I use Red Strike's Ultrawipe as my standard disk cleaner. It takes longer than Scan Disk, but it is an over-write program, so it really cleans things up. In fact, it even has an option to clean the empty space in your drive. If you're in a hurry, it will just wipe the cluster tips for you, which will speed you up until you can get around to a more thorough cleaning.Well, I'd better get to the chores, but I have a few more that I'll post later.

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Here's a heavy and a light program:Heavy: Si Sandra software, Sandra then head to Download. This is a great diagnostics tool. Full version costs, but the basic free download is very functional. You can learn much about your system with it, as well about computers. If you don't like it, it removes cleanly with uninstall. This program will give anyone complete information about their system configuration if they don't know otherwise where to find it. check it out.Light: I posted it this as a "link of the week" suggestion not long ago, but I think this is more the thread for it. This "file manager" (don't know what to call it) gives a graphic representation of your drives (one at a time) so you can see a large, space-wasting file at the blink of an eye. SequoiaView. A very cool tool.

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Guest genaldar

Jeeze I have so many, here they go;monoff it puts the monitor into standbye mode. Comes in handy since my monitor is so bright it makes that five minutes before it goes to standbye ****. At least when I'm in my dorm room, don't use it much at home.convert handy conversions calculator.enditall 2 from pc magazines. Task killer works with all windows.3dmark I use 2001 and 2003 for benchmarking for game performance. Great running in a loop to test for stability.Aida32 similar to sandra, but lighter. I also use sandra of course.Fresh Diagnose similar to aida, I like to keep my bases covered. Requires free registration key.Artifact Tester Tests for artifacts to make sure you haven't gone overboard when overclocking your video card (btw link is just to major geeks search for artifact).Regcleaner the name says it all. Stores backups of deleted strings. very handy.Script Sentry keeps malicious scripts and registry additions from running.Ad-Aware The standard in adware detection.Spyware Blaster Prevents known spyware active x controls from being installed.Spybot same thing as ad-aware, man I'm redundentUnfrag from pc magazines, unfrags individual files and saves space. Not much space by todays standards but I'm a cheapskate when it comes to hard drive space.Clean XP cleans out unneeded files from xp, from Fred Langa (he also has a 9x version and this one can be edited for 2k).Powerstrip display adjuster, also great for overclocking video cards.X-Setup its like tweak ui on steroids. Downloadable updates make it all the better.Yahoo! Pops lets you check yahoo! mail with a pop3 email client (like eudora, outlook, etc.)D4 Same thing as atomic clock synch, but its a little better imo.Weather Watcher its like weatherbug but all it does is connect to weather.com and uses their forcasts. No ads.Intellisynch for yahoo!, sinks up yahoo! and outlook or any other number of programs. I use it to synch up stuff on my desktop and my laptop, since my laptop uses an exchange server I can't just share the files.I've got 10 or 15 more I use a lot, but I'm rather lazy. I may add them later, but probably not. They all have to do with media or communication.

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nlinecomputers

I just found this thread so most of my favorite tools have allready been mentioned.I'll toss in POPfile which IMO is the best SPAM tool to be found. It also works much better if you an OUTLOOK user with the OUTclass Plugin.I use Mozilla as my browser. That is really too big of a program to call a tool but it deserves mention in my book because it eliminated the need for several tools I used to use. I use to have pop up killers and tab brower plug ins. All dead now. I use Word Web for on command spell checking. I use AVG Anti-Virus for my Anti-virus program.I use TightVNC for remote access combined with No-IP.com so that I don't have to find an IP address. Great for remote administration of clients on DSL or cable modems that have dynamic IPs that change every few days.(Like mine at 2 am every morning!)I use Eraser for secure erasing of hard disks. (God the things you find on clients old Hard drives...)

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Guest ThunderRiver

Hehe here is my listPuTTy Free SSH client for WindowsNetwork Stumbler WiFi scanner for WindowsDaemon's Tools Virtual SCSI DVD rom drive for mounting cue/bin, iso, and other types of image filesSMAC Spoof MAC....not necessarily a hacking tool, but it allows you to change the MAC address on your NIC with easeNero Need more to say? The best CD burning software around the cornerPGP Personal PGP the best encryption for encrypt/decrypt your personal data. StatBar The thin bar that displays all your system information, from CPU power usage to your system configuration display.Rainlendar What's better than having a nice nifty calendar right on your desktop? B) FREE like alawysWarFTPd The Best Free FTP server around the net.Dynu Basic The free Dynamic DNS service.JetAudio You hate RealPlayer? Yep me too, and that's the right replacement for you if you only use it to play Real Audio. Currently Real Video is not fully supported...but hey it is free.. and spyware free

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  • 2 weeks later...

My additions to the Favorite Tools thread:PaneKillerShareware (inexpensive at $10, and worth every penny).One of those program launcher buttons, but can replace the Windows Start Button, and is far more useful. For example, items are once again automatically sorted alphabetically. One of my favorite features is the "Recent Items" submenu, so that once you find a program buried in your Start -> Programs tree, it's only two clicks away thereafter. Any submenu can be torn off and left open, and can even survive a reboot. The menus can be displayed using numerous visual effects if you're into that kind of thing. It also has all kinds of features I have yet to get into. I won't use Windows without it.Yankee Clipper PlusFree. Nice clipboard saver tool, where stuff sent to the clipboard is retained, even after a reboot. Has saved me much frustration.The ProxomitronFree internet proxy. Supports scripting so you can implement your own content filtering. Out of the box it kills nearly all popups, ad banners and animations, and makes surfing the 'net a far more enjoyable experience. Easily disabled with a click on the system tray icon when necessary, although I find I rarely need to do so. I won't surf the web without it.UltraEditShareware, $35. Great programmer's editor, with customizable syntax highlighting, macro support, and gobs of other features. There are some free programmer's editors out there, but there weren't any good ones available when I found this one, and I've just stuck with it.Exodus - Jabber clientFree, simple, works. I love being able to be online with multiple chat systems (AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, etc.) all at once with a single app.File TargetsFree. Nice explorer context-menu add-on, allowing easy "Copy to" or "Move to" operations. You can browse for a directory, or save destination paths in the menu by path or by group.PowerDesk Pro 5.0$40, but well worth it IMHO. Far better than Windows' file explorer, and better than any file manager I've tried. (Well, the long-extinct Norton Navigator is right up there, but has not been available since the days of Windows 95 for whatever reason.) If I was writing my own file explorer, this is pretty much what it would be.Path CopyFree explorer context menu add-on that allows you to copy the current filename and/or path to the clipboard, in several formats.OpenExpertAnother free explorer context menu add-on. Similar to "Send to", but allows you to choose what apps appear for what types of files.MP3-Info ExtensionFree MP3 tagger that appears as a tab on the property sheet of MP3 files. A nice feature is the ability to scan the filename to fill in the tag fields, and to copy tag fields to all highlighted files. Also shows the file count and total elapsed time for all highlighted files.WinTabsFree tool that adds tabs to an app's title bar for other windows (stand-alone windows or embedded MDI windows) of the same app. Great for apps that don't support such a feature. If it's not working with a particular app, the author tells you how to get the info he needs to make it work for you. There is a for-pay version with more capabilites (certain programs are not supported in the free version), but the free one works for everything I need.File-ExShareware. This file dialog box tool makes Windows so much easier to use. You can store favorite files or paths for a particular app and for all apps, force the dialog to show in Details view automatically, specify a default size for the dialog box, force the path to the last used path for that app, and more. This is another shareware tool well worth its price, a tool I will not use Windows without.PC ShorthandThis shareware app has a fairly hefty price ($90). It automatically expands typed shortcuts, and I find it extremely useful in my programming job. It's great to be able to type a few letters and have a whole programming language construct appear on screen. And, unlike most such tools I've seen, this one can automatically do the expansion -- no need to hit some convoluted keystroke trigger to get it to do its thing. This makes even handier. Current version allows programming via TCL scripting. While I bought it years ago when it was just $50, this tool has saved me may hours of time over the years, and was money well spent. I won't program without it.PowerMarksShareware, $25. Nice bookmark organizer, with incremental filtering as you type. Insert a new bookmark into it via the Insert key (grabs from current browser window) or via drag-and-drop. Can scan bookmarked pages for changes on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. You can select a default browser other than the one defined in the OS. It can also open a bookmark in IE, Netscape, Mozilla or Opera at any time. Supports importing and exporting bookmarks for all those browsers. Will even synchronize with a browser's bookmarks. (Does not yet support Phoenix/Firebird in this manner, and I've tried to ask for this feature, but the web site's published e-mail address appears to no longer be in service. That's not a good sign. You can fake it, though, by specifying the Phoenix.exe path for one of the other browser's configurations.)NetStat LiveNice free network connection monitor. Author has a lot of other cool, free software, too. I think I read he's now collaborating with PC Magazine in writing their (no longer free, even for magazine subscribers) utilities.MouseImp Pro 1.2.0.49(search Google for the newest version 1.2.0.49; no longer available from original author)Originally shareware, but appears to be abandoned and is not crippled in any way. This little gem emulates a mouse scroll wheel via a click-and-drag of the right mouse button. This was great for my wheelless Logitech TrackMan trackball. Even with my current wheel-endowed mouse, I find the click-and-drag motion far more intuitive that the jerky motion from the wheel scrolling. Alas, MouseImp only works with native Windows objects -- it does not work on Mozilla, Netscape 7, Opera 7, or Phoenix. (This functionality is the only thing that keeps me clinging to Opera 6 as my browser for now.)

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Here's some software that I have/use on my system. I've tried to pick some unusual items that you don't hear about much (if at all):---------------------------------------------------------------PocketKnife Peekhttp://www.xintercept.com/pkpeek.htmIf you want to look at a message in Outlook (including the header) without opening it and triggering a web bug use PocketKnife Peek.---------------------------------------------------------------Rainbow FoldersRainbow FoldersCustomize folders in Windows---------------------------------------------------------------DeadMan's Switchhttp://daisyman.arsware.org/dms/Planning on buying the big farm in the sky? Worried about the terrorism police? This app may be the solution! :blink: ---------------------------------------------------------------Pixiahttp://www.ab.wakwak.com/~knight/IntroductionPixia is a famous, powerful, excellent and very user-friendly 2D graphic editor created by a Japanese, Isao Maruoka. In addition, Pixia is a FREEWARE. Nowadays, there is a huge number of Pixia user all over this world and number of user is still increasing from time to time. ----------------------------------------------------------------DzSoft Favorites Searchhttp://www.dzsoft.com/favseek.htmInternet Explorer plug-in that adds a convenient explorer bar to search in Favorites. If you are an active web surfer and have tons of stuff in Favorites, try DzSoft Favorites Search and soon you can't imagine how you lived before you found it!-----------------------------------------------------------------Link Checkerhttp://www.mihov.com/eng/lc.htmlMihov Link Checker is a program, that can check multiple links on the internet. It reports you each link is valid or missing, forbidden or otherwise not accessible. Enter all the links in one text file or check each link separately for HTML server response. Or check all the links on one page, saved on your disk. You can also check live sites - just enter the site's address and let Mihov Link Checker do the work for you. Your visitors will never see '404 Not Found' error on your home page again! --------------------------------------------------------Moon Softwarehttp://www.moonsoftware.com/freeware.aspVariety of freeware programs--------------------------------------------------------CopyTexthttp://www10.pair.com/vsap/A very useful program for copying messages from Windows message boxes---------------------------------------------------------UpTimehttp://opus80.com/discnode/uptime2000.htmHow long has it been between boots? Win2k & XP only.---------------------------------------------------------Total Uninstallhttp://www.softnews.ro/public/cat/12/8/12-8-9.shtmlUninstall an application--------------------------------------------------------Registrar Litehttp://www.resplendence.com/regliteWithout question, the best registry editing program available!--------------------------------------------------------

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Guest genaldar

Did they finally fix the jabber network problems? I used it a couple of years back and it was being blocked on and off by aol and icq. It was so frustrating that I went looking for a new program. And thats when I found trillian.

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littlebone

IrfanviewThe Bosnian Army Knife of graphics viewers.Visual Slick EditI use this instead of notepad as the default viewer for text files. I also love the fact that this is a program that loads all of its files and DLLs into its own directory, not all over my hard drive.WS FTP-ProI like the intuitive explorer for remote sites.MusicMatch Jukebox PlusI use this to play .wmp files, which lets me get live capture from my local public radio station. Also use it as my default CD and MP3 player and to rip mp3s from my CDs for playing on a portable MP3 player.I think that some of the DLLs used by irfanView and MusicMatch are from the windows media player. So, although I don't use the winMP, it is installed.Drive Image 2002, Partition Magic 8.0"Darn! There goes another one.""What's the matter?""Look. I just put my finger near this rip-saw and...Darn! There goes another one."I wiped out my registry twice while testing a third party plug in component. Then I realized that I had better 1) test in a different bootable partition (PM 8.0) and 2) be able to restore that partition if anything went wrong (DI 2002).Norton AV, Pop-up Stopper, ZoneAlarm, Spybot, Ad-Aware"And Hey!...Be careful out there!."4DOSWhen I need a command prompt, this is the one I have used for years. Note: I need a command prompt less and less these days.

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Here are a few from my list of favorites that I have not seen mentioned much. DlgXRSizer http://www.gajits.com/dlgxrsizer.asp Shareware - $10-$20 depending on OS This little ditty does something I searched long and hard for. It gives you control over your system's file requesters. In my old Amiga days (sigh) one not only could control the system file requesters, you could replace them altogether! DlgXRSizer allows you to set the size and position of most file requesters and also gives you a few new gadgets to easily pull up most-used directories. A real frustration-saver! Text Padhttp://www.textpad.com/ Shareware - $27 TextPad is arguably one of the best text editors on any platform. It's fast, feature-rich and very user-oriented. For most people, Notepad is all they ever need. But for many of us who edit a lot of text or write source code for programs or web pages, TextPad eases the pain in a big way. There are too many features to even start mentioning here but just suffice it to say that everyone I know who uses TextPad LOVES the darn thing. MacroExpress http://www.macros.com/ Shareware - $40 MacroExpress automates just about anything on your PC. It includes a very powerful macro language and recorder that allows you to simulate keystrokes, mouse movements and clicks, execute programs...almost any Windows action you can think of. The latest versions of MacroExpress includes a wonderful little function called "ShortKeys" which lets you program text snips of any length into your keyboard which can be typed-out with just three keystrokes. This is a real time-saver for filling out online forms or storing entire pages of text. MacroExpress is a monster in terms of features and controls, yet it takes very little of your system's RAM or processor load. ZMover http://www.basta.com/ProdZMover.htm Shareware - $10 I am so happy I finally found ZMover. It's a simple little utility that lets you control the size and positions of all your applications' windows. If all applications behaved properly, there would be no need for this program but a few critical apps--like Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Explorer--are notorious about forgetting where you put them. ZMover keeps these apps' windows where they belong and put you back in control. SpamPalhttp://www.spampal.org.uk/FreeWareSpamPal is a simple yet super-effective spam identifier. Unlike other solutions, SpamPal doesn't actually kill spam--it allows you to easily identify it and use the rules options in your e-mail client to dispose of it. Scot wouldn't like it too much since it's a blacklist-based program but it does include a whitelist (and auto-whitelisting, too) so, your newsletters will always make it through.

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PowerMarksShareware, $25.  Nice bookmark organizer, with incremental filtering as you type.  Insert a new bookmark into it via the Insert key (grabs from current browser window) or via drag-and-drop.  Can scan bookmarked pages for changes on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  You can select a default browser other than the one defined in the OS.  It can also open a bookmark in IE, Netscape, Mozilla or Opera at any time.  Supports importing and exporting bookmarks for all those browsers.  Will even synchronize with a browser's bookmarks.  (Does not yet support Phoenix/Firebird in this manner, and I've tried to ask for this feature, but the web site's published e-mail address appears to no longer be in service.  That's not a good sign.  You can fake it, though, by specifying the Phoenix.exe path for one of the other browser's configurations.)
I second your Powermarks recommendation. This is one of my favorite programs. I used to go nuts trying to arrange bookmarks into categories, and then I could never remember what category I had used. With Powermarks, I never have to worry about categories. I just start typing anything I can remember, and usually it comes up with what I'm looking for in a second or two. It works with Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, and IE. I LOVE it!By the way, I had a question about how Powermarks was interacting with Opera, and I wrote very recently to the normal email address and got a helpful reply, so I think the company is alive and well and continuing to develop the software. Cybernut
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Cluttermagnet
Here's a heavy and a light program:Heavy:  Si Sandra software, Sandra then head to Download.  This is a great diagnostics tool.  Full version costs, but the basic free download is very functional.  You can learn much about your system with it, as well about computers.  If you don't like it, it removes cleanly with uninstall.  This program will give anyone complete information about their system configuration if they don't know otherwise where to find it.  check it out.Light: I posted it this as a "link of the week" suggestion not long ago, but I think this is more the thread for it.  This "file manager" (don't know what to call it) gives a graphic representation of your drives (one at a time) so you can see a large, space-wasting file at the blink of an eye. SequoiaView.  A very cool tool.
Those are both great! A good substitute for Sequoia View is a small, 162K, freeware utility called Scanner 2.6 by Steffan Gerlach. It does a surprisingly good job of showing relative file sizes on your HD as a pie chart. Hover the mouse over the larger folders and you get an info window with the folder name. Left click and most are expanded so that every sub folder is shown. Hover the mouse again and you can click down yet again. You can drill down 4-5-6 levels as necessary to view all individual files as pie wedges with their size. Quick, intuitive to use, and powerfully visual. I like this one a lot.Another good utility for a quick overview of folder sizes is Treesize . This is another small, 253K, freeware utility that shows an Explorer style folder view with folder sizes. Fast and easy to use and can scan floppies, CD's, HD, etc. Faster and easier to use than Explorer and similar programs. Gives you a quick look at which folders are getting big. Displays by decreasing order of size or by name. Very handy to get a quick read of where disk cleanup would be the most helpful.
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4DOSWhen I need a command prompt, this is the one I have used for years. Note: I need a command prompt less and less these days.
4DOS -- yes, an oldie but goodie. In a former job I could not have worked all the magic I did without that COMMAND.COM replacement. Nowadays I use their GUI version of the product, called Take Command. I'm the kind of guy that would rather fire up a command prompt in Take Command, use a command alias to move to a particular directory, and do a quick "dir" command to see a file's date and time -- rather than mousing around with Explorer to get what I need. The functions, variables, new statements and options (over above what COMMAND.COM offers) makes writing batch files a joy.4DOS and Take Command are not inexpensive, but I have found them quite valuable and real time savers in my work.
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Daemon's Tools Virtual SCSI DVD rom drive for mounting cue/bin, iso, and other types of image filesRainlendar What's better than having a nice nifty calendar right on your desktop? B) FREE like alawys
Another great free calendar-on-desktop program is Webshots. It also cycles your desktop background and has a nifty photo gallery screen saver. but the best feature is the calendar with current date circled, plus smaller size previous and next month optionally shown.I was looking to try Daemon-Tools, as i want a way to try out ISOs without wasting a blank CD, but the link doesnt work. is it anywhere else on the net?
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Did they finally fix the jabber network problems?  I used it a couple of years back and it was being blocked on and off by aol and icq.  It was so frustrating that I went looking for a new program.  And thats when I found trillian.
never tried jabber. I have Trillian Pro, complete with POP checking, News RSS readers for BBC news, Lockergnome, CBC and Wired, plus a weather forecast plugin. the program is so much more than IM it shouldnt even be called just an IM. Just forget Jabber and stick with Trillian. B)
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There are definately some handy programs on the web that could use mentioning...Araneaehttp://www.araneae.com/(freeware)OK, all together now "U-ran-eee-a". No one, I mean, no one can pronounce that one correctly the first time (just try it without the pronounciation key :rolleyes:). This program is not only the best ASCII text editor on earth -- it's free! (with a request for an optional donation, but there are no banner ads or anything). And, it's only getting better. The current version is 4.5.2 and I am very eagerly awaiting the realease of version 5. Also see http://ornj.net/forums for more info on AraneaeSmartFTPhttp://www.smartftp.com/(free for personal/eductaional use, $30 for single business license)I actually don't use this (I used to, but I quit after I discovered it was conficting with another program of mine). Despite its lowsy support for Win9x, it's a pretty good FTP client if you use Win2000 and up. I think it's coolest feature is its multithreading and MDI capabilities. Not only that, but it is PACKED full of features, including explicit and implicit SSL, TLS, etc., regex for file filters, stats reporting, file selection masks; ident, proxy and firewall support; custom keep-alive command parameters, custom LIST selections, auto-transfer mode, GUI customization, language packs, toolbar customization, global and session queue, and much, much more! If you are an FTP poweruser, this program is for you!Citrus Alarm Clockhttp://www.ornj.net/software/citrus/index.html(freeware)This nifty little tool resides in your system tray as a little alarm clock for which you can set unlimited alarms for the time and day, and a note by each one. You can have it play the default Windows "ding" repeatedly upon sounding the alarm, or select you own media to play (mp3, wav, or m3u)Eudorahttp://www.eudora.com/(freeware with ads, light with less features without ads, $30 for full featured without ads)Only the best e-mail client on Earth. If you are finding that your e-mail is controlling you rather than you controlling your e-mail, try Eudora. It offers seamless integration for import filters from Outlook (Express) and Netscape mail clients. Personally, I use the free (with ads) version, as it does a good job of placing the ads very unintrusively. Eudora is packes full of features for IMAP and POP e-mail accounts. It also allows easy-to-use, regex-capable filters. It's multiple document interface lets you keep your taskbar uncluttered and lets you view several mailboxes, messages, and option screens at once (unlilke Outlook [Express] mail clients that place every message on a new taskbar icon, and only allow you to view one mailbox at once).

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ClipCache Plus (30 day trial period) - http://www.xrayz.co.uk/The one program I can't do without. I created several, project specific databases and switch between them."ClipCache Plus is an easy to use and powerful clipboard extender and a whole lot more! It monitors clipboard activity and aids not only in the management of saved clips, but in cleaning up and modifying those clips in many, many useful ways. Now you can copy and store clips from emails or webpages and remove the annoying ">>>>" marks or huge gaps and spaces left when copying from webpages constructed with webtables."PT Profiler (free) - http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptprofiler.asp"Learn more than 200 interesting facts about your computer. Details about your CPU, memory, operating system, even your computer's power source, are all displayed. You can also copy the information to the Windows clipboard, and paste it into a document for permanent storage."PT Replicator (free) - http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp"Automatically backup files, directories, even entire drives! Karen's Replicator copies selected files from one drive/folder to another. Source and Destination folders can reside anywhere on your network. Files larger than 2 GB are supported."File2File (free) - http://www.cryptomathic.com/file2file/index.htmlEncrypt files & email.MailWasher (free version) - http://www.mailwasher.net/index.php"Check and manage your e-mails before you download them."IE-Spyad (free) - http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~ehowes/resource.htm#IESPYAD"A Registry file (IE-ADS.REG) that adds a long list of known advertisers, marketers, and crapware pushers to the Restricted sites zone of Internet Explorer. Once IE-ADS.REG is "merged" into your Registry, most direct marketers and crapware pushers will not be able to resort to their usual "tricks" (e.g., cookies, scripts, popups, et al) in order to monitor and track your behavior while you surf the Net."

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Cluttermagnet
ClipCache Plus (30 day trial period) - http://www.xrayz.co.uk/The one program I can't do without. I created several, project specific databases and switch between them."ClipCache Plus is an easy to use and powerful clipboard extender and a whole lot more! It monitors clipboard activity and aids not only in the management of saved clips, but in cleaning up and modifying those clips in many, many useful ways. Now you can copy and store clips from emails or webpages and remove the annoying ">>>>" marks or huge gaps and spaces left when copying from webpages constructed with webtables."(snip)
ClipCache Plus sounds very good. I have seen a number of these Windows Clipboard extender utilities, each with their own unique set of 'extras'. My personal favorite is Clipboard Plus 1.7 This little freeware utility, a 142K zip file download, is simple and easy to use. It does everything I need it to do, and will hold quite a number of files created by 'copy'. I have mine set for 200 max- I'm not sure what the upper file size/number limit is, if any. It's well behaved and hides in the background, displaying only a tray icon. You can download it from winsite.com Unchanged since 1996, this is definitely a 'finished' work. It does exactly what it is designed to do, and does it very well. To remove those annoying right arrows from emails, there is another excellent 265K freeware utility called Stripmail This one is so good, it is among the few I have offered to my personal computer 'guru' that he actually liked and kept. :lol:To clean up ragged text with big spaces from linewrap and other problems, eCleaner does a great job. Both v1.02 (159K zipped) and v2.01 (443K zipped) are freeware and work fine for me in Win98. I prefer v1.02 for some reason. You will still have to do a little manual editing after running this utility, but it is nevertheless worthwhile and a great timesaver.I enjoy finding entirely freeware means of doing various tasks in Windows.
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ClipCache Plus (30 day trial period) - http://www.xrayz.co.uk/The one program I can't do without. I created several, project specific databases and switch between them."ClipCache Plus is an easy to use and powerful clipboard extender and a whole lot more! It monitors clipboard activity and aids not only in the management of saved clips, but in cleaning up and modifying those clips in many, many useful ways. Now you can copy and store clips from emails or webpages and remove the annoying ">>>>" marks or huge gaps and spaces left when copying from webpages constructed with webtables."PT Profiler (free) - http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptprofiler.asp"Learn more than 200 interesting facts about your computer. Details about your CPU, memory, operating system, even your computer's power source, are all displayed. You can also copy the information to the Windows clipboard, and paste it into a document for permanent storage."PT Replicator (free) - http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp"Automatically backup files, directories, even entire drives! Karen's Replicator copies selected files from one drive/folder to another. Source and Destination folders can reside anywhere on your network. Files larger than 2 GB are supported."File2File (free) - http://www.cryptomathic.com/file2file/index.htmlEncrypt files & email.MailWasher (free version) - http://www.mailwasher.net/index.php"Check and manage your e-mails before you download them."IE-Spyad (free) - http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~ehowes/resource.htm#IESPYAD"A Registry file (IE-ADS.REG) that adds a long list of known advertisers, marketers, and crapware pushers to the Restricted sites zone of Internet Explorer. Once IE-ADS.REG is "merged" into your Registry, most direct marketers and crapware pushers will not be able to resort to their usual "tricks" (e.g., cookies, scripts, popups, et al) in order to monitor and track your behavior while you surf the Net."
Yup, Clip Cahe Plus is a wonderful program if you're easily satisfied with three year old technology and poor support. ClipMate far exceeds anything Clip Cache offers....Replicator? Another good one ;) . Too bad it doesn't back up open files like native Win/XP backup and it doesn't even tell you when it DOESN'T back something up because it was open. Ever try to do a restore from your backups?Mailwasher? More old technology. If you like to get manually intensive with your email, Mailwasher will accomodate you and help you waste a lot of time.Spyad? I've used this also. While good in concept, wait until some sites don't work and you spend hours trying to figure out why. Then you find that it is in the spyad list. To use this effectively, you have to go through it with a fine-tooth comb and remove the sites that YOU don't have a problem with (but others do). Then you have to do it again and again each time there is a new list...
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Thanks, ibe98765, for bringing me up to date ;). One of the reasons I joined this forum is to get some positive feedback.ClipCache Plus - You're right, it's old, and I've been using it for years. Never needed tech support, and had no reason to look for something better. I'm using it now to compose this. I appreciate your recommendation of ClipMate 6.1 - http://www.thornsoft.com/index.htm - I'll keep this one in mind, when it's time for me to upgrade. I have close to 1 GB of data and images stored in ClipCache databases. If I was starrting from scratch, I'd probaly opt for ClipMate. May give it a 30 day test run, anyway. By the way, can you merge databases, or copy full groups of clips from one database to the other, with ClipMate? This is my major wish/need.Replicator - I like this tool for a quick click, "manual" backup of my basics; while the files are inactive (docs, favorites, templates, OE mbx). I don't use it, or any other utility, for automatic backups. I also hand copy my critical files and downloads, on a regular basis. I rely on Ghost (included with my NSW Pro) and DriveImage, for serious backup protection.I don't restore by using Replicator, but by copying directly from the backup. Yes, I've restored from my Replicator backups. I just finished my third full, re-install of Win XP Home; and 4000+ Favorites, 30+ Templates, 100+ MB of Documents, and my OE mbx folders. But, again, I only use Replicator for minor, quick backups while files are inactive. Maybe I'm missing something I'm not aware of?MailWasher - This works for my basic needs, and probably wouldn't be of much use to a heavy email user. Actually, I have an even older, free version 1.32.9, that allows for more than one pop email account; not Hotmail. I have no need for the new, MailWasher Pro, at $29.95.IE-Spyad - You're right, there are sites that cause problems. I had a hastle downloading an upgrade because it was stored on a Restricted site. And, sites that use MetaRefresh cause me to make adjustments, because it's disabled. I decided to deal with a few inconveniences, rather than having to hand load my block list. If you know of a way to auto-load hundreds of Restricted sites, I'd welcome the tip. My list was getting out of hand.Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

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Thanks, ibe98765,  for bringing me up to date :angry:. One of the reasons I joined this forum is to get some positive feedback.ClipCache Plus - You're right, it's old, and I've been using it for years. Never needed tech support, and had no reason to look for something better. I'm using it now to compose this. I appreciate your recommendation of ClipMate 6.1 - http://www.thornsoft.com/index.htm - I'll keep this one in mind, when it's time for me to upgrade. I have close to 1 GB of data and images stored in ClipCache databases. If I was starrting from scratch, I'd probaly opt for ClipMate. May give it a 30 day test run, anyway. By the way, can you merge databases, or copy full groups of clips from one database to the other, with ClipMate? This is my major wish/need.Replicator - I like this tool for a quick click, "manual" backup of my basics; while the files are inactive (docs, favorites, templates, OE mbx). I don't use it, or any other utility, for automatic backups. I also hand copy my critical files and downloads, on a regular basis. I rely on Ghost (included with my NSW Pro) and DriveImage, for serious backup protection.I don't restore by using Replicator, but by copying directly from the backup.  Yes, I've restored from my Replicator backups. I just finished my third full, re-install of Win XP Home; and 4000+ Favorites, 30+ Templates, 100+ MB of Documents, and my OE mbx folders. But, again, I only use Replicator for minor, quick backups while files are inactive. Maybe I'm missing something I'm not aware of?MailWasher - This works for my basic needs, and probably wouldn't be of much use to a heavy email user. Actually, I have an even older, free version 1.32.9, that allows for more than one pop email account; not Hotmail. I have no need for the new, MailWasher Pro, at $29.95.IE-Spyad - You're right, there are sites that cause problems. I had a hastle downloading an upgrade because it was stored on a Restricted site. And, sites that use MetaRefresh cause me to make adjustments, because it's disabled. I decided to deal with a few inconveniences, rather than having to hand load my block list. If you know of a way to auto-load hundreds of Restricted sites, I'd welcome the tip. My list was getting out of hand.Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.
I ran into a lot of bugs and weaknesses with CC and when I needed support, it wasn't there. CM is far more robust. You have 1GB of data in CC? That's amazing! I have ONLY :unsure: about 5MB in CM. CM is SQL based, so potentially, you should be able to do a lot more in terms of storing data. CM has a built-in spellchecker, can massage text and more. All I can say is try it and see first hand if it can work for you. Of course, the real issue will be moving your data. Before I tried CM, I tried about 5 or 6 of this class of products and you basically can't easily move data between them. I don't know how anyone who uses a computer can get along without a robust clipboard program.I got burnt by Replicator where I thought (because I wasn't getting any messages to the contrary) that it was backing up open files. In fact, I think that once it hits an open file in a folder backup, it stops backing up anything else in the folder. There wasn't even a log entry saying that it DIDN'T backup the folder because it was open.Try K9 (http://keir.net/k9.html) to replace Mailwasher. It's one of the new Bayesian spam filters and I've been using it for a week now with very good results (with 536 emails so far this week (420 spam), I'm getting about 95% automatic accuracy in identifying the spam. ). I tried MW about 1 year ago but found it too much manual work. I don't want to always review my list of mail on the server and decide what is or is not spam. One nice feature of MW was the ability to bounce spam mail back to the sender. But I couldn't use this because this only worked for one primary email account and address. I have multiple email addresses/accounts. Receving mail on one account and bouncing back from another account just gives the spammer an new address to play with.If you use a good ad blocker, you don't need to worry about restricted sites or host file crapola. The program takes care of that stuff for you. I use Filtergate (http://www.filtergate.com). Filtergate blocks ads, web bugs, pop-ups, etc. Also, alternate browsers like Slim Browser (http://www.flashpeak.com/sbrowser/sbrowser.htm) or Firebird can automatically block pop-ups and supplement your ad blocker. Finally, try using My Way )http://www.myway.com) as your home page. It is a Yahoo copy but doesn't have ads or pop-ups.
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I appreciate your recommendation of ClipMate 6.1 - http://www.thornsoft.com/index.htm - I'll keep this one in mind, when it's time for me to upgrade. I have close to 1 GB of data and images stored in ClipCache databases. If I was starrting from scratch, I'd probaly opt for ClipMate. May give it a 30 day test run, anyway. By the way, can you merge databases, or copy full groups of clips from one database to the other, with ClipMate? This is my major wish/need.
Ibe beat me to it in recommending ClipMate. It's my favorite piece of software. Years ago, someone said "once you use it, you'll wonder how you lived without it." I thought that was hype. It's not!! You can certainly take one database and merge it with another, and I would imagine that you could also copy groups of clips from one database to another, and you can search your databases, though these are not what I use ClipMate for. It has all the features mentioned in the other clipboard software programs, but it has a couple of features I use all the time that I haven't seen mentioned. One is PowerPaste: if you copy a series of items into the clipboard, you can then use PowerPaste to enter them in order (starting first to last or last to first) anywhere you choose, just by clicking on Paste (or CTL-V). Each time you click Paste, the next clip will be pasted. You can also use AutoAppend, where all the clips you make are added into one big clip that you can then paste anywhere in one fell swoop. You can also use Append to gather clips you already have into one large clip.ClipMate also has added all kinds of screen capture capabilities, though I still prefer HyperSnap-DX for any but the most routine screen captures.And ClipMate has more text editing features than some dedicated text editors.All in all, it's one fantastic piece of software. It's not free, but it's the best $24.95 you're likely to spend. And you can try it out for free. For some rave reviews, see http://www.thornsoft.com/trophy_case.htm .Cybernut :unsure:
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I agree with your comment about getting along without a clipboard manager. I surely wouldn't want to.I program all day long. The clip manager I've used heavily for the past three years is Classic Clipboard Pro. It has space for 29 libraries, each containing 32 groups, each of which can hold 96 clips. A clip can be of (apparently) unlimited length. It has an unusual interface and a ton of features which I won't describe here. It's never crashed or trashed my data. It's fair to say that I'd have a hard time working without it. I'm addicted. :unsure: I use Classic Clipboard for programming, as a form filler, to hold all my internet links, to capture tidbits of interest I run across on different web sites, and to hold email addresses. My wife is not a "computer person", but she was quick to embrace the program and recommends it enthusiastically to all her friends.I believe it's been sold and is now called WinM8, and is available for trial at:http://winm8.com/default.htmIt's one of the five or ten most generally useful programs I've run across in 23 years of computing. Classic or an equivalent program should be considered by anyone who needs fast, organized access to lots of pieces of data.

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Ibe & Cybernut; Double WOW!! It's good to find people excited over a good product. I'll definitely give ClipMate a try!Like Cybernut said, "once you use it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it." And like MRainey said, "getting along without a clipboard manager. I surely wouldn't want to." That's the way I've been with ClipCache; can't live without it. Now I have something even better to get hooked on.Backup Utilities - You have me looking for something more reliable than Replicator for simple copy & paste backups. I don't want a program that makes it necessary to use it for restoring a backup (like Backup4All, or Win XP's), or one that runs in the background.K9 is already on my list of tools to try. Thanks for reminding me.IE-Spyad - I delayed installing it after my recent XP re-installation. Wasn't sure I wanted to use it anymore. Will take your advice and remove it, and go back to my list; and try to back mine up from the registry. I dropped AGNIS just for the reasons you mentioned; too much hastle. I use NIS, and the popup-blocker and ad-blocker have been exceptional, ever since it was At-Guard. Got hooked on IE-Spyad when I had dial-up and stayed with it out of habit. Fewer ads loaded on some websites. I use blank for my home page.So much for my old list of favorite tools. Only thing left is File2File encryption, and Karen's PT Profiler. My new one starts with ClipMate. Looks like we have enough people in this thread to start a Clipboard Manager Club B).Thanks again.

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One nice feature of MW was the ability to bounce spam mail back to the sender.
For people like me who still use Mailwasher (or who want to try it out), there was quite a long discussion in the USENET freeware group about whether MW's bounce feature is really a very good idea. The general consensus ended up being that it is not.The MW bounce message is supposed to trick the spammer into thinking your email address is invalid; however, most ISP bounce messages are generated almost immediately after the mail that is being bounced has been sent. If spammers get a bounce message 12 hours after the spam was sent, they are going to know that it wasn't auto-generated -- in other words, they're going to know you're trying to trick them, and that your email address is valid.The more conservation-oriented opponents of the feature thought it was just wasteful to generate all those bounce messages -- i.e., it's bad enough that so much bandwidth is wasted on spam, wasting more on fake bounce messages just makes the situation worse.And many people pointed out that spammers don't actually sit there and read your bounce messages -- even though it might give you a certain sense of satisfaction to send them B) , it's not like you're really inconveniencing the spammers.Some people said they would continue to use the bounce feature anyway; I decided not to.Mailwasher suits my needs just fine and does a good job of automagically identifying most of the spam I get (plus I like the friends list feature, and I like deleting the junk right off the server rather than wasting time downloading it to my computer just to delete it), but I use an earlier free version (2.0.14 beta) that works with multiple POP3 email accounts. I don't really need the extra features in the pro version.--Michael
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