Essential Software & utilities thread

driverace · 13th April 2010, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

I don't make money by using a copy of any software other than learning, so I guess I don't need to pay for any software. Is that right?

Well, If you are really using it to learn/test, you should be able to use it in some evaluation period, or Demo period (which is) given by the Software Co.
In that case you are fine.

But, eh.., otherwise, thats not right (technically speaking)

OT:
BTW, the same point is a strong contending issue wherever we see the wars of Licensed s/w and Piracy.
People claim, that maximum percentage of pirate owners do not use any s/w for commercial gains, and most probably wouldnt pay if they "had" to, to use the particular software, they would switch to some free one instead.!!

anyway, I guess, thats a different story.

Care.

Ace.

Rehaan · 14th April 2010, 10:56

Came across WinToFlash yesterday.

It basically lets you copy Windows XP (or vista?) installer cd onto your USB drive and makes the USB drive bootable, so you can install windows from the thumbdrive itself.

Very SIMPLE way to do it. 6mb file. No installation required.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.faramroze

5. Any video convertor (freeware)

+1. Good one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

I don't make money by using a copy of any software other than learning, so I guess I don't need to pay for any software. Is that right?

"I don't use my car as a commercial vehicle so i haven't paid for it. Is that right?"

Some softwares have a free "educational" version with a few small restrictions. Check those out.

Alternatively, these days there is a freeware alternative to almost every program out there.

cya
R

funda2max · 14th April 2010, 12:11

My list is below

1) Irfanview - Best Image viewer in the world and its free!
2) Winrar - Light and fast file compression utility. Shareware.
3) VLC, WinAMP - Freewares
4) Symantec End point protection - Very good protection if you are always connected to Internet.
5) Notepad++ = Excellent editor, freeware.
6) CCleaner - Freeware.
7) Firefox and Google chrome - As always.

scorpio_fan · 12th October 2010, 00:13

For those who like IE, there a adblocker available now called "simple Adblock". This is a plugin to IE and with minor tweeking i could suppress the ads on tram-bhp

Scorpio Fan

mail4ajo · 13th October 2010, 20:11

Quick question on Mozilla bookmarks. Is there a way to pull the bookmarks from one system to another?

Its possible to copy the favorites files on internet explorer and paste them on the new system. Please help.

Ford_madhan · 13th October 2010, 20:14

^^Yes you can. just copy the folder where firefox saves its bookmarks and paste it in the new system. I have done that and it works just fine.

mail4ajo · 13th October 2010, 22:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford_madhan

^^Yes you can. just copy the folder where firefox saves its bookmarks and paste it in the new system. I have done that and it works just fine.

Yes, What I want to know is the name or location of that folder.

C drive---Program Files---Mozilla----???

Ford_madhan · 13th October 2010, 22:49

C:\Documents and Settings\<USER>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

deepakchiniwal · 13th October 2010, 23:07

avafind: till date the best search tool, I have ever used. Better than Microsoft Search. Tip: Once installed, use Shift+Esc and you have the window for searching. It is insta find as in google search. Ava Find Home Page -- Find Instantly

xobni: best outlook plugin used on Outlook 2007. I no longer use it on Outlook 2010. Not stable yet on 2010. Maybe a later version. Xobni - Outlook Plugin to Search People, Email, and Attachments Instantly

Autopager: Addin for Firefox and Chrome. The browsing is much more simpler and lot less clicks while reading

Oh yea, i read about Autopager here on TBHP posted by some mod, though do not remember where. Thanks to the mod for that.

ampere · 14th October 2010, 06:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakchiniwal

xobni: best outlook plugin used on Outlook 2007. I no longer use it on Outlook 2010. Not stable yet on 2010. Maybe a later version.

+1 to that. Even I have been using it for some time and pretty happy with it.
Ever wondered what is xobni? Opposite of Inbox!

KRRaj · 14th October 2010, 10:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Quick question on Mozilla bookmarks. Is there a way to pull the bookmarks from one system to another?

Its possible to copy the favorites files on internet explorer and paste them on the new system. Please help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford_madhan

^^Yes you can. just copy the folder where firefox saves its bookmarks and paste it in the new system. I have done that and it works just fine.

I am surprised you guys have not installed a Bookmark Manager for Firefox.
Install this addon in Firefox - The Best Bookmark Manager you can get.

Now forget losing your bookmarks for ever. Can be maintained across as many computers as you want

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2410/
Xmarks | Bookmark Sync and Search

Also available for IE

Newpunter · 14th October 2010, 11:35

My favourite software that i install on all my computers :

1. Opera : My favourite browser ( fast, secure, lightweight and has all the features inbuilt without needing addons ) and since it has Opera Sync inbuilt, I can move all my favourites, speed dials, notes, history, etc to all my computers.

2. VLC media player : Light weight and plays all video formats.

3. Jet Audio : Light weight media player for listening to audio. Earlier, I used to use Winamp during Winamp 2 days but since the release of version 3 and then 5, it has become very heavy on resources. So i dont use it anymore.

4. Foxit PDF reader : Again, I dont use Adobe Reader since it is slow and bulky ( 80MB for just reading PDF files? ) . Foxit on the other hand is lightweight and doesn't use much resources.

5. Open Office : This is probably the only software I use that is a bit heavy on the resources, but it is free, so i recommend it to everyone who cannot afford to get a license for Microsoft Office. This has most of the features necessary for normal users.

6. WinRAR : For archiving requirements.

mail4ajo · 14th October 2010, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford_madhan

C:\Documents and Settings\<USER>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

Thanks. Got it. I guess this for Windows 7. What should the path for XP be?

lalaji · 14th October 2010, 13:10

For Windows XP it will be:
C:\Documents and Settings\<USER>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\XXXXXXXX.default
Xs represent 8 random letters unique to your computer.

2500cc · 14th October 2010, 21:01

I know this is a sick and stupid question, is there a software which can increase the screen resolution ?

-Rajesh

14th April 2010, 12:11	#48
funda2max BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 377 Thanked: 26 Times	My list is below 1) Irfanview - Best Image viewer in the world and its free! 2) Winrar - Light and fast file compression utility. Shareware. 3) VLC, WinAMP - Freewares 4) Symantec End point protection - Very good protection if you are always connected to Internet. 5) Notepad++ = Excellent editor, freeware. 6) CCleaner - Freeware. 7) Firefox and Google chrome - As always.
	() Thanks

12th October 2010, 00:13	#49
scorpio_fan BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 186 Thanked: 242 Times View My Garage	For those who like IE, there a adblocker available now called "simple Adblock". This is a plugin to IE and with minor tweeking i could suppress the ads on tram-bhp Scorpio Fan
	() Thanks

13th October 2010, 20:11	#50
mail4ajo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 1,957 Thanked: 331 Times View My Garage	Quick question on Mozilla bookmarks. Is there a way to pull the bookmarks from one system to another? Its possible to copy the favorites files on internet explorer and paste them on the new system. Please help.
	() Thanks

13th October 2010, 20:14	#51
Ford_madhan BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 147 Thanked: 24 Times	^^Yes you can. just copy the folder where firefox saves its bookmarks and paste it in the new system. I have done that and it works just fine.
	() Thanks

13th October 2010, 22:49	#53
Ford_madhan BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 147 Thanked: 24 Times	C:\Documents and Settings\<USER>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
	() Thanks

13th October 2010, 23:07	#54
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	Ava Find avafind: till date the best search tool, I have ever used. Better than Microsoft Search. Tip: Once installed, use Shift+Esc and you have the window for searching. It is insta find as in google search. Ava Find Home Page -- Find Instantly xobni: best outlook plugin used on Outlook 2007. I no longer use it on Outlook 2010. Not stable yet on 2010. Maybe a later version. Xobni - Outlook Plugin to Search People, Email, and Attachments Instantly Autopager: Addin for Firefox and Chrome. The browsing is much more simpler and lot less clicks while reading Oh yea, i read about Autopager here on TBHP posted by some mod, though do not remember where. Thanks to the mod for that.
	() Thanks

14th October 2010, 11:35	#57
Newpunter BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 744 Thanked: 336 Times	My favourite software that i install on all my computers : 1. Opera : My favourite browser ( fast, secure, lightweight and has all the features inbuilt without needing addons ) and since it has Opera Sync inbuilt, I can move all my favourites, speed dials, notes, history, etc to all my computers. 2. VLC media player : Light weight and plays all video formats. 3. Jet Audio : Light weight media player for listening to audio. Earlier, I used to use Winamp during Winamp 2 days but since the release of version 3 and then 5, it has become very heavy on resources. So i dont use it anymore. 4. Foxit PDF reader : Again, I dont use Adobe Reader since it is slow and bulky ( 80MB for just reading PDF files? ) . Foxit on the other hand is lightweight and doesn't use much resources. 5. Open Office : This is probably the only software I use that is a bit heavy on the resources, but it is free, so i recommend it to everyone who cannot afford to get a license for Microsoft Office. This has most of the features necessary for normal users. 6. WinRAR : For archiving requirements.
	() Thanks

14th October 2010, 13:10	#59
lalaji Newbie Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 2 Thanked: 0 Times	For Windows XP it will be: C:\Documents and Settings\<USER>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\XXXXXXXX.default Xs represent 8 random letters unique to your computer.
	() Thanks

14th October 2010, 21:01	#60
2500cc BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 734 Thanked: 349 Times	I know this is a sick and stupid question, is there a software which can increase the screen resolution ? -Rajesh
	() Thanks