Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Must-have Windows Programs
cyberdiva:
All my computers' desktops are just empty areas filled with a solid color, no icons, no pictures. Since then my systems are more responsive, which was the primary reason to get rid of everything there.
-yksyks (December 29, 2009, 08:20 AM)
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Are you saying that simply putting the icons on the desktop slows down a system? I have a bunch of icons on my desktop, mostly for programs I want to be able to access even if for some reason LaunchBar Commander fails to load. However, I also have shortcut icons to 17 folders that I access frequently. If I were to remove the 17 folder icons, would there be a noticeable speedup, or would I simply be shaving a second or two off the startup time? Is it documented somewhere that icons on the desktop slow down a system? I'm currently thinking about my desktop computer, which runs WinXP Pro SP2, but I'd be interested in knowing whether this is also true in Windows 7.
yksyks:
To cyberdiva:
I began experimenting with the desktop icons on my old Win2000 machine, where the delay of redrawing all the icons was really serious. The icons are cached by the system, but sometimes, usually after not displaying the desktop for some time, the cache gets refreshed. On startup they are usually read from the cache, though.
I don't think there's a significant delay caused by displaying the folder icon, but for many different applications scattered all over the disk the delay was noticeable even on newer WinXP machine, so I decided to get rid of them all. Since then I'm quite happy and used to the tidy desktop, and FARR does the rest.
Maybe on Win7 the caching mechanism is better. I just tried to enable the desktop icons temporarily and on my WinXP machine it took over 30 seconds of heavy disk activity to display them all (some 150, or so), and on my Vista notebook about 15 seconds (some 100 icons).
(Sorry for off-topic.)
Dormouse:
I have some difficulty with the concept of a 'must have' prog since I nearly always two or more alternatives in every genre of software I use.
USB Safely Remove is one I always use and would miss. I haven't seen an alternative that I would use instead. Works simply, saves me time.
Most of my digital music is from CDs that I have ripped, but I haven't bought that many since I started to use Spotify. I know most readers won't be able to access it and invites to the free version are also less available than they were, but I'm sure that will change in the near future. For me, it works better than the alternative streamers I have tried. I don't know if this sort of service is the future of music, but there's a lot more development possible, and it is much better than the previous options. The big risk is the music I like disappearing - but then what disappears can only be what I didn't have in the first place. I don't have quite so much control or searchability as on my own music - but then I have a lot more music I can try. I use Spider for music I have as mp3s or flacs and do listen to internet radio too when I'm in the mood to hear the unexpected. I also use Replay Music as a way of time shifting streams or getting details of what was played (when I don't want to interrupt what I'm doing to look), but most of the time now I just listen via Spotify.
I also use TrueCrypt and Hashcalc fairly constantly too. And Lastpass and RoboForm.
I still use Calimanjaro for my calendar - mostly because of its 1year + year planner. I do not understand why digital calendar programs mostly can't show their data in a year or 2 year view; how can you plan if you can't see over that sort of period?
Out of the vast number of text editors/word processor/note making programs I have (or have tried), I use TreeDBnotes virtually all the time for writing and note keeping. I also use AbstractSpoon's ToDoList2 as my main ToDoList; and ListPro as my main instant list (frequently shopping list) type prog - partly because it syncs so well with my mobile phone.
cyberdiva:
Thanks, yksyks, for your response. Since I don't have anywhere near the number of icons on my desktop that you did, I guess I won't worry about keeping them there.
And now back to our regularly scheduled topic :) .
Curt:
USB Safely Remove is one I always use and would miss. I haven't seen an alternative that I would use instead. Works simply, saves me time.
-Dormouse (December 29, 2009, 04:02 PM)
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Can someone explain to me the need for such a program? If I want to add some USB drive / stick / printer, etcetera, I put in the plug, and if I want to remove the thing, I pull out the plug - and has done so for many years. To my understanding this is the very concept of Plug&Play. What is the problem with this?
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