Useful Programs

[DubSalute]

Paint.NET

http://www.getpaint.net/index.html


Small free open source graphics program. (1.6 MB)
Little brother of Gimp but got some nice features, enough for all your basic and bit more advanced image editing needs.

Runs on Windows XP SP2+/Server 2003 SP1+/Vista
You will need .NET Framework 2.0 but that is probably already installed, if not you can get it at the Windows update website in the Custom updates/Optional section.
http://www.update.microsoft.com/
or on this page:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/r...DisplayLang=en


Latest stable version: Paint.NET 3.22

You can download it here:
http://www.getpaint.net/download.html

(Yahoogle free as all my above posts)

[broxyman]

Here's another one - NetMeter:

http://www.metal-machine.de/readerror/

http://lifehacker.com/software/bandw...ows-244938.php

Great, simple program that measures how much data you're downloading/uploading and keeps a daily/monthy etc record. Useful if your ISP limits your bandwidth. Works very well - have been using it for months without problem.

[nitewalker]

Originally Posted by Leprechaun

LyX
Free professional document processor for windows and linux - the graphical version of LaTex.

A few months ago I changed from Framemaker to LyX because of its more intuitive handling. LyX is great, especially for longer documents.

More Freeware:

http://www.sandboxie.com/ -> Sandboxie allows you to run your browser, or any other program, so that all changes that result from the usage are kept in a sandbox environment, which can then be deleted later. Free for personal use. Win2K and later.

http://www.freecommander.com/ -> FreeCommander is an easy-to-use alternative to the standard windows file manager. Windows 95/98/ME, NT 4, 2000, XP.

http://www.inkscape.org/?lang=en&css=css/base.css -> Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. 32-bit MS Windows (NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes), Linux, OS X.

http://www.virtualdub.org/ -> VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP), licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It lacks the editing power of a general-purpose editor such as Adobe Premiere, but is streamlined for fast linear operations over video. It has batch-processing capabilities for processing large numbers of files and can be extended with third-party video filters.

*new 12-31-2007* ftp://77.236.37.130/windows/microsof...v9VCMsetup.exe -> VCM based version of the Windows Media Video 9 encoder/decoder. Brings WMV9-Support to VirtualDub.

http://www.daemon-tools.cc/ -> Daemon Tools, The free Virtual CD/DVD-ROM-Emulator. Works with nearly all common imagetypes. Emulates nearly all known protections. Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpgravity/ -> Microplanet Gravity is a popular full-featured Usenet news client for Win32 platforms. It is adept at pure reading as well as decoding binaries. Gravity has a rules system, scoring and is highly customizable. Compiles with VisualC++ 6.0 and MFC.

http://red.planetarena.org/ -> Alien Arena 2007 is a freeware online/offline deathmatch game with fast and furious action for Windows and Linux! The game runs on the CRX engine, and features modern game attributes such as real-time lighting and shadows, shaders, light bloom, reflective surfaces and smart single player bots. The game includes a built in, as well as external server browser and chat client. Players can look up their stats online and chat with other players. Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Linux.

http://www.darkarts.co.za/project/vultures -> Vulture's Eye is a graphical version of the popular free single-player roguelike computer game NetHack. Windows, Linux, Mac OSX.

http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/general.cgi?l=1 -> eMule is one of the biggest and most reliable peer-to-peer file sharing clients around the world.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/mrublaster.html -> MRU-Blaster detects and deletes over 30000 MRUs, leaving you with a cleaner and more private PC. Win 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP.

http://www.webbedfeetuk.com/a-simple-diary.html -> A Simple Diary works on Windows '95, '98, '98 SE, ME, 2000, NT & XP. It allows users to schedule their appointments years in advance, manage multiple diaries, set configurable alarms, and it even has a built in to-do list. Of course it can also be used as a basic diary.

http://moonphase.softjournal.com/moon_phase_calculator/ -> Moon Phase Calculator is simple and easy to use tool that allows you to calculate the phase of the Moon for any time in the past or future and to search for the next or previous full moon, new moon or first or last quarter.

http://www.openoffice.org/index.html -> OpenOffice is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite. It includes Writer (word processor similar to Word), Calc (spreadsheet similar to Excel), Impress (presentation program similar to PowerPoint), Base (database program similar to Access), Draw (vector graphics editor comparable in features to CorelDRAW), Math (tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor) and a Macro Recorder.

http://www.pdfcreator.de.vu/ -> PDFCreator is a free tool to create PDF files from nearly any Windows application.

http://www.blender.org/ -> Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems

*new 12-28-2007* http://www.aignes.com/lwa.htm -> Local Website Archive offers a fast and easy way to store information from the web on your hard disk. Archived web pages and documents are stored in their original file format and can also be opened with associated applications or found by desktop search engines. Win9x/Me/NT4/2000/2003/XP/Vista.

[DubSalute]

This one was still missing:

Image Grabber II:

Nice free tool to make screenshots from video files and save them as customisable multiple thumbnail previews with file info and timestamps. You also can automate the grabbing of the screens by pressing the little 'Monitor' icon and fill out the number of screens you want.

Example: (plus a screen of the automated grabbing option)



100% clean Freeware
Size: 1MB
Runs on Windows: 98/2000/Me/XP

Site of the author: (oft down because of exceeded daily bandwidth limit)
http://www45.brinkster.com/antworkz/

English mirror downloadsite:
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/ImageGrabber

German mirror downloadsite:
http://www.chip.de/downloads/Image-G..._17361088.html


Basic how to use: (the small ImageVenue preview hanging on to the right is sharper)
Don't make the previews to width/broad otherwise people would have to scroll from left to right to see it complete, about 980 pixels max will make it fit on a 17 inch resolution (1024x768 pixels). Note make your preview 800 pixels max width when you are going to post it as a fullsize preview (so not as clickable thumbnail) in your post.

[IMG]http://i40.*******.com/rbh1kn.jpg[/IMG] >

When done you can add the preview to your post by using a imagehost like ImageVenue look at this post how you can post using ImageVenue.

Note that 'ImageGrabber II' can grab from more uncommon file formats and/or files with more uncommon file extexions like .divx with no problems, only thing is that it does not recognise and list it in the files it can open ... when you however, while opening a file, select it to show "All Files" instead of "All Movies" they will get listed and can be opened to makes caps of that format.

[IMG]http://i36.*******.com/2yju0ir.jpg[/IMG]


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[DubSalute]

Made the thread sticky hope everybody agrees with that. Will add a few more technical programs all freeware:

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HashCalc 2.02 (Hash, CRC and HMAC calculator) (Size: 468 KB)



Freeware
Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP

A fast and easy-to-use calculator that allows to compute message digests, checksums and HMACs for files, as well as for text and hex strings. It offers a choice of 13 of the most popular hash and checksum algorithms for calculations. Note that you can drag and drop files on the program to get the selected hash and checksum algorithms calculated

http://www.slavasoft.com/hashcalc/index.htm

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MediaInfo version 0.7.6.0 (Size: 1,3 MB)



Freeware
Runs on Windows 32bit (x86) and integrates with MS-Windows shell so you can right click on a file to open it in MediaInfo.

MediaInfo supplies technical and tag information about a video or audio file.

http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/

What information can I get from MediaInfo?

• General: title, author, director, album, track number, date, duration...
• Video: codec, aspect, fps, bitrate...
• Audio: codec, sample rate, channels, language, bitrate...
• Text: language of subtitle
• Chapters: number of chapters, list of chapters
• DivX, XviD, H263, H.263, H264, x264, ASP, AVC, iTunes, MPEG-1, MPEG1, MPEG-2, MPEG2, MPEG-4, MPEG4, MP4, M4A, M4V, QuickTime, RealVideo, RealAudio, RA, RM, MSMPEG4v1, MSMPEG4v2, MSMPEG4v3, VOB, DVD, WMA,

VMW, ASF, 3GP, 3GPP, 3GP2
What format (container) does MediaInfo support?

• Video: MKV, OGM, AVI, DivX, WMV, QuickTime, Real, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DVD (VOB)...
• (Codecs: DivX, XviD, MSMPEG4, ASP, H.264, AVC...)
• Audio: OGG, MP3, WAV, RA, AC3, DTS, AAC, M4A, AU, AIFF...
• Subtitles: SRT, SSA, ASS, SAMI...
• multiplexer, demuxer, mixer, muxer, video decoder, audio decoder, PAL, NTSC

What can I do with it?

• Read many video and audio file formats
• Different methods of viewing information (text, sheet, tree, HTML...)
• You can customise these views
• Exporting information as text, CSV, HTML...
• Graphical Interface, or Command Line, or DLL
• Integration with MS-Windows shell (drag 'n' drop, and Context menu)
• Internationalisation: any language display on any version of your Operating System

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SysExporter v1.35 (to make a.o. txt lists of what is inside a windows directory) (Size: 40 KB/70 KB)



Freeware
Windows NT/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista (works also but limited on 9x/ME)

SysExporter utility allows you to grab the data stored in standard list-views, tree-views, list boxes, combo boxes, text-boxes, and WebBrowser/HTML controls from almost any application running on your system, and export it to text, HTML or XML file.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/sysexp.html

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GSpot v2.70a (Size: 402 KB)



GSpot is a video codec identification utility - identifies which video codec and audio compression method is used on media files, whether the matching codec is installed, and more.

Freeware
Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2K/XP/Vista Compatible (tested on 32-bit version only)

http://gspot.headbands.com/


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[DubSalute]

Bulk Image Downloader (BID) (updated on a regular basis)

UPDATE: (04-10-2008) just found out that in the recent versions they build in a timer, the program is still useable as unregistered user but every time you now open the program you have to wait a few seconds before you can continue and use it also every time the wait gets a few seconds longer

UPDATE: (04-12-2009) lately Bulk Image Downloader 1.27 was no longer working for me on imagebam so i tried a newer version and that one did work again and also no longer has the timer integrated as it looks, so i advice everybody to leave the older 1.27 for what it is and to download the current version of BID. The new version looks slightly diferent then on the images in this post but functionality is the same.

UPDATE: (04-24-2009) timer is still integrated in the newer version it only became active somewhat later

UPDATE: (20-08-2009) just found that latest versions expire after a 30 day trail period, so i added the older Bulk Image Downloader 2.05 version that has a timer but it will not expire, maximum waiting time will become 60 seconds before you can use the program. It supports imagebam.

I added for who is interested a download link for the older Bulk Image Downloader 1.27 without the timer, i switched back to it from the later version myself, it works just as good but then without the ever increasing waiting periods. (When you use this version then don't update the program when it says there is a newer version available)



Bulk Image Downloader is designed to automatically download and save images from thumbnailed image galleries, bypassing all annoying popups and adverts. Almost all popular image hosting sites (such as imagefap, imagevenue, flickr and shareavenue) are supported.
Integrates in: Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera enabling you to download entire thumbnailed image sets with a click of the right mouse-button and then clicking "Open current page with Bulk Image Downloader" ... I use it with Opera. All you need to do is set the download directory and from then on right click on the pages where you want to download the images from :



There is also a 'Bulk Image Downloader Firefox Extension' scroll down on the download page to find it, note that it needs the program installed to work.

Requirements:
Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Shareware (does expire after 30 day trail period)
Limitations in unregistered version:
Max 200 images per batch (60 for imagefap), max 2 instances, max 2 simultaneous downloads, max 2 queued downloads (Queue Manager), but that will do for normal use. Very few posts are 200+ images.

Download:
http://antibody-software.com/web/index.php

Bulk Image Downloader 1.27 (without timer but does not work on imagebam)
http://rapidshare.com/files/10627087...1_27_setup.zip

Bulk Image Downloader 2.05: (with timer but does not expire and supports imagebam)
http://rapidshare.com/files/26797510...2_05_setup.rar

Small but usefull tips:

As unregistered version it is limited to 200 images max per download, when there are many (200+) images in a thread or you only want to save images from a specific reply then open a post as single post by clicking on the post number of the reply, this will open the post in a new window allowing you to only grab the images from that reply. Right click on the page and 'Open current page with Bulk Image Downloader' to download the images.



On some pages it looks if Bulk Image Downloader (BID) doesn't work although the page contains imagevenue alike thumbnails, what you then need/can do is save the page with the thumbnailed images as .html (without images) to your computer. Then open Bulk Image Downloader and choose the option 'Load From File' (see image) and browse to and open the just saved .html file. That will do the trick in most cases ...





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[Jism Jim]

Originally Posted by DubSalute

Bulk Image Downloader 1.27

If you use Firefox, you can also use the following extensions:

-Downthemall: https://addons.mozilla.org/nl/firefox/addon/201
Downthemall will download linked pics and other files and direct pics from websites. I also found out that it's a great tool for downloading from paysites.

-Imagegrabber: http://cybormatt.googlepages.com/
A truly great tool for downloading thumbnailed pics from imagehosts like Imagevenue etc.

-Getpictureslist: http://gpl.tracking-celebs.info/
Also for downloading thumbnailed pics from imagehost, but with a different feature set. Works in other browsers too.

[Gemini37]

I have been replacing my bookmarks that I lost and found this really cool prog for downloading Youtube vids which can be played with VLC Player in .flv format.

YouTube Downloader v2.1 (freeware)

It's software that allows you to download videos from YouTube and many others and convert them to other video formats.
The program is easy to use, just specify the URL for the video you want to download and click the Ok button!
It also allows you to convert downloaded videos for Ipod, Iphone, PSP, Cell Phone, Windows Media, XVid and MP3.
You can use YouTube Downloader to download the videos of your choice from home, at the office or in school.
Download YouTube Downloader now and get started downloading your favorite videos from YouTube.

[DubSalute]

To backup/encode a DVD to .avi you can also use Gordian Knot a freeware all inn one solution, but i can asure you that you will also get the headaches for free to get familiar with it. When you want to give it a go here are some usefull links:


Sytem Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003
minimum 1 GHz Processor 512 MB RAM (you will also need +5/10 GB of free diskspace for the encoding)

Auto Gordian Knot (the most user friendly)

http://www.doom9.org/autogk.htm
+: high quality, designed specifically for beginners
-: If you want to play with every switch XviD has to offer, this tool is obviously not for you
second tutorial Auto Gordian Knot:
http://www.autogk.me.uk/modules.php?name=TutorialEN

Gordian Knot - XviD 1.x

http://www.doom9.org/gknot-main4.htm
+: High quality, rather easy to use unless you want to configure every parameter
-: Not quite a one click solution as AutoGK

Gordian Knot / Virtualdub (the one i use, includes a.o. Virtual Dub (VirtualDubMod1.5.10.2))

http://www.doom9.org/xvid.htm
+: High quality, detailed explanation of each codec setting
-: relatively complicated

You can find more related info, free programs and tools here:

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/secti...-avi-divx-xvid

[DubSalute]

Found the link to this Mac OS X preview maker posted by jenny48549.
Might be usefull for the Mac users to create previewscreens.

Screen Grabber - 2.0.2 (Freeware)(220KB)

Screen Grabber 2.0 is a Mac OS X application for grabbing screen shots at even timeintervals from a movie. Very useful for creating previews, and thumbnails.

Operating System Requirements:

Mac OS X 10.4 Intel/PPC or later.
Additional Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.4 or later is required to run; this application is a Universal Binary. The application is a quick hack using the QuickTime API, so proper codecs for QuickTime for the media files you want to work with is also required.

Download:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/30613