Author Topic: top 10 freeware apps from "snakeoillabs" (Read 35055 times)

mouser · « **on:** October 04, 2005, 09:45 PM »

as found from lifehacker.

personally this lists seems pretty bad to me, and i don't think a single one of these would come close to my top 10 list, but here it is, i guess different people have different views..

http://www.snakeoill...ware-tools-for-2005/

zridling · « **Reply #1 on:** October 05, 2005, 02:12 AM »

Ha, well, at least he admits "it’s my top 10. If you don’t like it, post your own." Given the large amount of good freeware available, I'd have a hard time keep the list down to ten! Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'd even construct a number at all, but rather something more specific, such as "must-have utilties" or some such classification.

zridling · « **Reply #2 on:** October 05, 2005, 02:22 AM »

Okay, well, here's an attempt:

AutoHotkey
BartPE
FileZilla FTP
Flexible Renamer
Maxthon browser
Process Explorer by SysInternals
PSPad
XNews
XnView
XSite

Of course, more here.

mouser · « **Reply #3 on:** October 05, 2005, 02:27 AM »

wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!
no donationcoder.com apps on that list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mouser · « **Reply #4 on:** October 05, 2005, 02:29 AM »

never heard of xsite... better go check it out..

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #5 on:** October 05, 2005, 03:56 AM »

Okay, well, here's an attempt:

AutoHotkey
BartPE
FileZilla FTP
Flexible Renamer
Maxthon browser
Process Explorer by SysInternals
PSPad
XNews
XnView
XSite

Of course, more here.
-zridling (October 05, 2005, 02:22 AM)

Is the link correct? I just get can't find www.anova.org?

mouser · « **Reply #6 on:** October 05, 2005, 04:17 AM »

link works for me

Mark0 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 05, 2005, 04:18 AM »

Strange, the link seems to be down for me also.

Speaking of top ten... I'm not sure about what apps I will choose, but surely, it will be starting like this:

1. TotalCommander
2. TotalCommander
3. TotalCommander
4. something other...
...

I just use it so much!

Bye!

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #8 on:** October 05, 2005, 04:37 AM »

link works for me
-mouser (October 05, 2005, 04:17 AM)

Must have been a server error (either at their end or my DNS server) - seems to work now.

I notice there are a few recent additions

rjbull · « **Reply #9 on:** October 05, 2005, 05:19 AM »

AutoHotkey

Flexible Renamer
-zridling (October 05, 2005, 02:22 AM)

zridling,

Have you looked at AutoIt *3* vs. AutoHotkey? (not grinding an axe here, just curious).

Also, did you look at 1-4a Renamer http://www.1-4a.com

I particularly noticed your comments about the "reliability" of freeware renamers...

kfitting · « **Reply #10 on:** October 05, 2005, 05:50 AM »

Also, there's Bulk Rename Utility by Jim Willsher. Regex renaming and more!

http://www.bulkrenam...co.uk/Main_Intro.php

Kevin

mouser · « **Reply #11 on:** October 05, 2005, 05:55 AM »

those are some very nice freeware renamers, good finds!

mouser · « **Reply #12 on:** October 05, 2005, 08:52 AM »

i suppose it would be in bad taste to list donationcoder.com apps in my my top 10.. so here is my list after having removed any donationcoder.com apps:

1) Streambox Vcr
2) RealPlayer (i use #1 and #2 to keep up with politics at cspan.org)

3) dev-c++ (c++ ide)

4) inno setup (for building setup programs)

5) xnview or irfanview (graphics viewers)

6) ollydbg (debugger)

7) startup cop pro (probably any startup manager would suffice; this is only semi-freeware, as pc mag utilities are no longer easy to find+download)

AntiVir personal (antivirus, sometimes i use this instead of nod32)

9) perl+php (scripting languages)

10) smf forum software (ok not a windows program but still it deserves mentioning)

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #13 on:** October 05, 2005, 08:59 AM »

Only one I would change is RealPlayer. What's wrong with RealAlternative?

mouser · « **Reply #14 on:** October 05, 2005, 09:14 AM »

nothing wrong with real alternative, but i'm just not a real player hater

i'ts always done right by me (once you turn off all the annoying stuff).

rjbull · « **Reply #15 on:** October 05, 2005, 09:20 AM »

4) inno setup (for building setup programs)
-mouser (October 05, 2005, 08:52 AM)

I've had a good recommendation for NSIS, the Nullsoft installer
http://www.nullsoft.com

zridling · « **Reply #16 on:** October 06, 2005, 01:02 AM »

1-4a Renamer looks mighty fine, but I love BULK RENAME UTILITY! Hey, and I'll add Screenshot Captor on the next list, since I only use BartPE if a HD fails.

zridling · « **Reply #17 on:** October 06, 2005, 01:06 AM »

Oh, and RJ, yes, I started out with AutoIt 2 and 3 early this year, but switched to AutoHotkey to suit my own uses for it. I use AutoHotkey mainly as an autocorrect and hotkey application. I have other scripts, some thanks to skrommel, but mainly for those two uses, which AutoHotkey makes easy and fast. If I'm correct, AutoHotkey is based on AutoIt.

m_s · « **Reply #18 on:** October 06, 2005, 04:02 AM »

(The numbers are not a ranking)

Security & privacy related:
1) Kerio Personal Firewall (I use Outpost now, but recommend KPF as best free firewall)
2) Spybot Search&Destroy
3) CCleaner (this has become one of my all-time fave apps)
4) SpywareBlaster

Browsing:
5) Opera
6) Firefox

Video & sound:
7) tMPGenc - brilliant free MPG encoder (I might have my choice of caps and lower case confused!) - absolutely essential in some aspects of my work (there are times when I have it encoding for 6 hours in a day).

DBPowerAmp - encode from WAV to MP3 or MP4 or OGG or whatever - I use it almost every day.
9) iTunes

Launcher:
10) F&RR

Very close, but no cigar, though I wouldn't be without you:
Konfabulator
Trillian
Gmail notifier
MRUblaster
WallPaper Master

m_s · « **Reply #19 on:** October 06, 2005, 04:15 AM »

(Oh look, 8bracket became

)

rjbull · « **Reply #20 on:** October 06, 2005, 05:06 AM »

1-4a Renamer looks mighty fine, but I love BULK RENAME UTILITY!
-zridling (October 06, 2005, 01:02 AM)

The requirements are resolution at least 800 x 600. Currently I'm stuck in 640 x 480. Talk about "Worst. Interface. Ever."

rjbull · « **Reply #21 on:** October 06, 2005, 05:12 AM »

Oh, and RJ, yes, I started out with AutoIt 2 and 3 early this year, but switched to AutoHotkey to suit my own uses for it. I use AutoHotkey mainly as an autocorrect and hotkey application. I have other scripts, some thanks to skrommel, but mainly for those two uses, which AutoHotkey makes easy and fast. If I'm correct, AutoHotkey is based on AutoIt.
-zridling (October 06, 2005, 01:06 AM)

Thanks, zridling... I've steered clear of AutoHotkey partly because its autocorrect feature doesn't work in Win98, IIRC, and I still use some Win98 computers.

Rover · « **Reply #22 on:** December 01, 2005, 11:31 PM »

I subscribe to a nifty (moderate traffic) PowerTools forum on Yahoo.
Their web site, http://www.powertoolsforum.com/, has a nice Top 50 list based on popularity.

Catalin · « **Reply #23 on:** December 02, 2005, 03:20 AM »

Quick observations:

a) it might have been interesting to have a "top 5 of all time" and a "top 5 this year", and eventually to place things in another 2 "dimensions" with "simply free" and "open source"!

For instance my suggestions:

top 5 of all time
- all stuff from Mozilla
- Linux
- all stuff from Sysinternals
- Pegasus Mail
- IrfanView

top 5 this year (first launched or seriously expanded):
- Firefox
- Opera 8.5
- ... (still researching)

b) "snakeoillabs" seems to be a little obsessed with encryption and hiding

Hirudin · « **Reply #24 on:** December 02, 2005, 07:54 AM »

So far I really like the list! I'm going to give several of the programs listed a try (need to get rid of slow stupid adobe acrobat retardedness).

I find it interesting that the author of the article put VLC Player at #5 partly because it doesn't need codecs, then has the K-Lite Codec Pack as #6. I do like the fact that he specificly mentions BSPlayer in #6 though, so that makes up for it.

[edit]CoolMon and Konfabulator are actually NOT similar, I was wrong[/edit]

Man, I gotta try this Total Commander thing! It seems like I'm in Windows Explorer half the time I'm at my comp (which is half the time of my life practically). Win + E is so natural for me I hit it a few times last night when I ment to hit Ctrl + Z...

WOW! I'm glad to see the mass renamers being discussed. I'm using "Rename-It" right now, which does work, but is a little unpollished. I'm going to check out Bulk Rename Utility and 1-4a though. Thanks for the tips!

As for IrfenView and XnView, which one is "better" in y'all's opinion? I'd hate to have some images default to open with one and the rest open with the other.

3) CCleaner (this has become one of my all-time fave apps)

Hmmm... What's CCleaner..? Crap-Cleaner?! LOL (actually)
Sounds like my kind of program! Thanks m_s!

As for my list, it'll be my fav apps that don't need to be installed (say, after a format). I love not having to reinstall stuff!!

1. Beyond Compare (I'm pretty sure this one will keep working after a format) - if you deal wit' new & old files a lot, this is a must have. If you're a member of donationcoder and you haven't tried it, do yourself a favor and read this.
2. BSPlayer - it be good video player
3. Exact Audio Copy w/ LAME - perfect CD ripping with very good (and compatible) music encoding (without reinstalling)!
4. mIRC - I *still* haven't tried the competition, but most people agree it's the best IRC client
5. mp3Trim Pro - nice to have around if you ever need to chop an mp3 or 2
6. Pocomail 3 - it's cool to have your e-mail client live through a format (and be ready to use as soon as you have an internet connection), I wonder if "The Bat" needs to be reinstalled...? They've released v 4, but I haven't tried it as I can't afford it, even with their pathetic upgrade discount.
25. Rename-It - renamer app (this one may not have much longer on my comp)... It's got a context menu link that may be hard to get back after a format though.
8. The GodFather - it be good audio managing app
9. Winamp - it's good, if you don't already use it you probably either use one of the "I take over your system" apps like iTunes/Quicktime, RealOne, or WMP or you use foobar2000 (which I just can't get into)
10. WinRAR - How great that it doesn't need to be reinstalled? That way, you can unzip all the drivers and whatnot right away. Just go to the options to restore the context menu settings to get full functionality. (ALZip may take this slot, since it seems to work and doesn't cost money, I wonder if it'll survive my next format.)