Great programs that most people might not think to get or have heard of?

I think i'm going to try to install this tonight. Currently I'm using WMP to stream content to my PS3.

Can TVersity stream flac compressed music files? Also it is 64-bit compatible?

 

I'm not sure, since i don't have any flac files. If you can't by default, I'm sure there is something you can download to make it play flac. For .mkv files, it couldn't play that by default, but all i had to do was download a mkv splitter.

And yea it works on 64 bit. My desktop is Vista x64.

 

Im a lazy idiot, so im not gonna read thru all the pages right now, so i dont hope someone already mentioned this:

Everything
www.voidtools.com

Extremely useful app to find files.. you can hotkey it and its just friggin instant.. i cant explain how addicted i am to this program now.. try it out! (I definitely think it replaces vista's indexing bigtime)

 

So it's like Launchy?

http://www.launchy.net/

The UI on Launchy can't be beat since their are skins.

 

Heh, ironically a lot of the requests are for things that are already in Vista

Windows search and Snipping are so handy.

 

Snipping Tool is probably the Vista feature I use most.

 

One of the programs I mentioned, Jing, allows you to use a shortcut key (say Shift + PrintScreen) to save a screenshot. It then gives you options to save it to your HDD or upload it to various accounts (I know Flickr and Screencast are two of them.) It also allows you to add annotations and whatnot before saving/uploading.

 

(haven't caught up yet) but

microsoft streets and trips.. I think you can buy with a GPS device which you don't need any service/internet connection for, right? 60 day trial from microsoft... it's like mapquest but offline

 

does OS X count?

 

No, because you don't have the Macbook laptop so you can look cool in Starbucks, and you can only take 1000s of pictures of yourself.

 

Thanks thats exactly what i wanted.

Vista snipping tool is a bit meh xD

 

Thanks for this thread. I've just installed BatteryBar, and by the looks of it, I think it'll be a keeper.

I've been playing around with f.lux recently. It's a little program that simply adjusts the colour display of the screen depending on whether it's day or night -- brighter during the former, warmer during the latter. It seems a bit trivial at first, but after using it for a week, I'm firmly convinced of its worth, especially since I tend to pull late-night sessions on the comp.

 

It would be no good for me as my photoshop work would all be the wrong colours :O

 

Not sure if anyone will find these useful:

1) UltraDefrag:
- works with 32/64-bit Vista
- visual feedback on progress
- doesn't defrag all volumes like Vista's utility
- built-in scheduler

2) TrueCrypt
- volume/partition encryption program
- supports a LOT of encryption logarithms
- fairly easy to use

 

Imgburn.com Best iso burner around. 100% free.
J23

 

Poweriso is my personal favorite iso burner not free but the trial is unlimited time and you can do most features

 

FinePrint. It allows printing up to 8 up per page, booklets, letterhead, etc. Saves a lot of paper.

 

http://www.xirrus.com/library/wifitools.php

Xirrus has a very nice wifi scanner--don't see this on too many lists of cool software

 

Brilliant.

 

i love this thread its going n my favs but does any1 know of a driver program that will give u the drivers for like a harddrive and lsit it for different os's

 

Has anyone mentioned Desktop Media yet? It allows Windows users to emulate the feature of OS X where removable drives (CD/DVD included) appear on the desktop when inserted, and disappear when removed. Beats going to My Computer and searching the specific drive being used.

http://www.ianandmonica.com/desktopmedia/

 

i don't see how people always use the desktop for stuff. it's not like it's always easily accessible. startmenu is accessible without touching any window. explorer is just as well (win+e) as the desktop (win+d).

anyways, i tried desktopmedia and after uninstallation, i don't get my shortcuts away anymore now i have to get a tool to remove hard links

 

No one has mentioned Rainmeter yet?
It's the best performance monitor I've used for nearly 2 years now. Always looking for better skins~

 

you can installed the word clock in the computer.

you can installed the weather bugs which informs you about the weather.

its helpful for you.

 

How about a bump? Some of the mentioned programs has turned out being really useful, so keep the tips coming!

 

Boxee now on Windows. The Windows version has some glitches, but it is really good anyway.

 

Pidgin for IM, PGP for file email instant messenger and hard drive encryption, auslogics disk defrag for a better defrag tool for vista (no gui), AeroSnap (adds this feature into vista and xp), Vistumbler for network mapping and discovery, the list goes on.


ev

 

Yes, give WinAudit a try. its free, and will do more than just drivers.

 

Snipping Tool actually debuted in XP Tablet PC. What I can't figure out is why they limit it to Tablet/Vista Business/Win7 Pro. I thought it was pretty nifty in Win7 Beta and that was just using it for home use with no tablet functionality whatsoever. But since it's limited, I use ImageShack QuickShot for screenshots. Can't choose the area right when you take it, but it automatically saves the screenshot when you press the hotket, so it's great for action shots. You can upload to ImageShack, too, of course, but I'm partial to Photobucket of the big two.

I'm interested in recommendations for a hex editor (ideally free, but it doesn't have to be). I tried AXE's trial and generally liked it; Notepad++'s Hex plugin is nice but not quite as feature-rich as AXE (displaying the byte equivalent of numbers, etc.). Having a nice Windows GUI is essential; same with low-endian 4-byte integer support (if it doesn't have the latter, Notepad++ is sufficient).

This page on Lifehacker has some neat suggestions, too.

edit: This is a pretty neat program, too - QTTabBar. Adds a whole bunch of functions to Windows Explorer, most notably tabs. But the other abilities are pretty cool, too - Start Menu Programs-style navigation down a directory tree, Recently Closed functionality, etc. Definitely a keeper.

 

great thread... found a few programs listed here that'll be useful....

Super ( www.erightsoft.com/Super.html) that converts everything that i've thrown at it...

 

HashTab.

Easiest way to check file hashes.
The program adds another tab in Explorer file properties.
Probably not often used but very convenient.

 

Try Bumptop - http://bumptop.com/

totally uber desktop management software!!