Author Topic: Your most used SPECIAL programs (Read 168733 times)

tomos · « **Reply #75 on:** March 23, 2009, 09:49 AM »

Well,

Reshade Image Enlarger
- Resize Images Without Quality Loss
-Bits du Jour
-Curt (March 23, 2009, 09:30 AM)

Enlarge Images Without Quality Loss doesnt exist as I'm sure you're fully aware

Have you looked at Qimage -
I tried it out a couple of times for printing images it's great. I did a mini-review of the trial (which was then limited in that the second printed page would have a grid superimposed - you had to restart)

Mini-Review here
Home-page http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/

If you only want to work with JPEGs it's $50 or $35 for a not so good version (limited interpolation method). To compare versions:-
http://www.ddisoftwa.../qimage/editions.htm

tinjaw · « **Reply #76 on:** March 23, 2009, 12:19 PM »

So I came to ask if any of you guys know about a more reasonable priced IMAGE ENLARGER that is far better than average? :tellme
-Curt (March 23, 2009, 09:30 AM)

Ask all the people in TV and Movies that seem to have a 1-click application to enlarge images with higher fidelity than an electron microscope.

Queue actor: "Can you enhance that?"

Curt · « **Reply #77 on:** March 23, 2009, 02:20 PM »

- you are so right, tinjaw. It is amazing what they seem to be able to enhance!

What goes for the Qimage, well, I tried it a year or so ago and didn't like it. I use my images for screensavers and wallpapers only, and have very little need for printing - I don't even have a printer for the best photo qualities. Furthermore, IIRC, it is difficult or even impossible to merely bulk resize image files if the images don't have standard paper sizes.

CWuestefeld · « **Reply #78 on:** March 23, 2009, 02:25 PM »

OK, I'm being pedantic.

Enlarge Images Without Quality Loss doesnt exist as I'm sure you're fully aware
-tomos (March 23, 2009, 09:49 AM)

Actually, enlargement is perfect 100% fidelity. No information is lost when enlarging, at least for a naive algorithm. If you do straight scaling, you will be able to increase the resolution and then decrease it to the exact original size, and the output will be identical to the input. (some interpolation algorithms may, however, introduce changes)

I suppose that what you meant is that the quality can't exceed 100% in that it can't add detail that wasn't in the original (smaller) image. Various algorithms can interpolate to make the image appear to be more detailed, but this is just a trick of perception.

On the other side of the coin, it's shrinking image resolution that is necessarily lossy.

And btw, I'm a fan of Qimage, I use it all the time for printing. Keep in mind that it's useful not only for boosting (perceived) resolution, but also for applying color and broghtness corrections, for example.

Curt · « **Reply #79 on:** March 24, 2009, 08:58 AM »

..., but when I tried Reshade Image Enlarger I came to realize the difference between being fairly good and being the best. I have been very impressed with Reshade. And shouldn't I: The normal asking price is $150 !!! ...
-Curt (March 23, 2009, 09:30 AM)

I've just tested it again, and I now remember why I didn't keep it the first time, aside from the cost. In some ways it is plain stupid! The author seriously needs some help on how to make a userfriendly program!

But still I am mighty impressed with the picture quality! I just want to remind 'you' not to purchase Reshade before testing!

40hz · « **Reply #80 on:** March 24, 2009, 09:07 AM »

So I came to ask if any of you guys know about a more reasonable priced IMAGE ENLARGER that is far better than average? :tellme
-Curt (March 23, 2009, 09:30 AM)

Ask all the people in TV and Movies that seem to have a 1-click application to enlarge images with higher fidelity than an electron microscope.

Queue actor: "Can you enhance that?"
-tinjaw (March 23, 2009, 12:19 PM)

Yeah! And why are all those forensic labs swathed in shadows and mood lights? You never once see overhead florescents and 'institution green' walls on these shows.

I once got a tour of a state forensic lab. It looked just like where I went to grammar school: beige cinderblock walls, yellowed linoleum floors, garish overhead fluorescent lights, doors with 200 coats of dark green paint...

And it didn't smell all that great either...

(Now there's something you won't get watching those movies and TV shows.)

Lashiec · « **Reply #81 on:** March 24, 2009, 05:48 PM »

I once got a tour of a state forensic lab. It looked just like where I went to grammar school: beige cinderblock walls, yellowed linoleum floors, garish overhead fluorescent lights, doors with 200 coats of dark green paint...
-40hz (March 24, 2009, 09:07 AM)

So we can't expect to find a Temperance Brennan working there as well

40hz · « **Reply #82 on:** March 24, 2009, 06:34 PM »

I once got a tour of a state forensic lab. It looked just like where I went to grammar school: beige cinderblock walls, yellowed linoleum floors, garish overhead fluorescent lights, doors with 200 coats of dark green paint...
-40hz (March 24, 2009, 09:07 AM)

So we can't expect to find a Temperance Brennan working there as well
-Lashiec (March 24, 2009, 05:48 PM)

Well, there was one very attractive 30-ish woman (who had the whole Elizabeth Mitchell* thing going for her) walking around with a lab coat on. But she was also sporting a large diamond wedding ring, so...

---
*

In case you're wondering:

Shades · « **Reply #83 on:** March 24, 2009, 09:03 PM »

The camera guy from the TV-series Bones doesn't like 'Tempie' all that much. She is a rather nice looking woman, but in a lot of shots throughout the first seasons they made her jawbone look like a "glass jaw".

I couldn't help note that...was also a major turn-off for me. The female boss of the whole forensic team of Bones, now that is a very nice example of a good looking woman

SKesselman · « **Reply #84 on:** March 24, 2009, 11:44 PM »

The camera guy from the TV-series Bones doesn't like 'Tempie' all that much. She is a rather nice looking woman, but in a lot of shots throughout the first seasons they made her jawbone look like a "glass jaw".

I couldn't help note that...was also a major turn-off for me. The female boss of the whole forensic team of Bones, now that is a very nice example of a good looking woman
-Shades (March 24, 2009, 09:03 PM)

What does "glass jaw" mean in this context? Just curious. Her jaw is quite prominent...

Shades · « **Reply #85 on:** March 25, 2009, 12:21 AM »

The net gave me all kind of sporting related explanations, those were not the ones I was looking for.

So, let's explain myself a bit. In my youth I always saw TV-series addressed to my age-group. Over the course of years several times an actor appeared who had an enormous chin, shaped like the lower part of a motor helmet. His name I cannot remember but he was always cast in a bad guy's role that ended up in a fail, whatever he did.

People always told me that anybody with that kind of facial feature had a "glass" jaw'. Hence my association with that word and the facial feature from 'Tempie'.

But I do like the series though.

wraith808 · « **Reply #86 on:** March 25, 2009, 09:48 AM »

Back on topic

* Another vote for The Journal
* I also use The Keep for organizing my PbEM notes and resources
* Benubird Pro. Just started using it recently, but its amazing how I don't even want to get things in 'dead tree' format anymore after I can organize my pdfs so easily.
* geek.Menu, which allows me to organize everything on the go.
* Evernote
* WordWeb
* Zulupad Pro
* Ideamason

And then on my iPhone
* Stanza
* Evernote
* Spreadsheet

Curt · « **Reply #87 on:** March 25, 2009, 12:14 PM »

* I also use The Keep for organizing my PbEM notes and resources
-wraith808 (March 25, 2009, 09:48 AM)

"The Keep" ?

The Keep is a 1983 horror film directed by Michael Mann and starring Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne, Jürgen Prochnow and Ian McKellen. It was released by Paramount Pictures. The story is based on the F. Paul Wilson novel of the same name, published in 1981 (1982 in the United Kingdom).

-Wikipedia

The KEEP Toolkit is a set of web-based tools that help teachers, students and institutions quickly create compact and engaging knowledge representations on the Web. With the KEEP Toolkit you can:

* select and organize teaching and learning materials.
* prompt analysis and reflection by using templates.
* transform materials and reflections into visually appealing and intellectually engaging representations.
* share ideas for peer-review, assessment, and collective knowledge building.
* simplify the technical tasks and facilitate knowledge exchange and dissemination.

http://www.cfkeep.org/static/index.html

-KEEP Toolkit

The Keep

Between 1990 and 1996, I amassed a large collection of files, mostly related to RPGs (Role Playing Games), which were posted to various Usenet newsgroups. Since then, most of this type of material has been posted to the web instead and it's just too hard to keep up with it all. Plus it's readily available where it is.

What's more, now that Google is making all of the historic news postings available, this archive is more and more obsolete. I am not actively working on it, and don't expect to any time soon (if ever), but I am leaving it here as-is for those who use it.

The list is divided into eight sections, listing RPG systems, rule supplements, information about or for campaign settings, adventures and ideas for adventures, other GM aids, fiction, humour, and miscellaneous RPG material.

You can follow the links here to see complete sections, or you can search. All fields are searched, so you can find works by particular authors, related to specific game systems, and so on. If this is your first time searching here, please see the list of search tips.

Not everything that I have archived is on these lists; much is of limited interest, and not worth the effort it would take to list it all. Also, there is a lot of "incoming" stuff that I have saved but not yet sorted out. You can use the FTP site and poke around to your heart's content. (The incoming directory is pretty disorganized and willy-nilly, but there's lots of gold in there if you care to do a little mining.)

Administrivia
If there is something you would like to see archived here, please send it to thekeep at trawna dot com and I will consider it. Ditto for bug reports, or if you have copyright-free graphics, or suggestions for graphics, that would work well as icons for the sections ...

http://keep.trawna.com/
-The Keep

The Keep is dedicated to the Fan Missions created for the classic games Thief: The Dark Project, Thief Gold, and Thief 2: The Metal Age.

http://www.keepofmetalandgold.com/

-The Keep of Metal and Gold

The KEEP BBS has been online and operational since 1983. We started on a TI-99/4a home computer running software called "TI-Net" (which is ironic, since it never networked to anything) and now we are a 32-channel MULTI-USER Worldgroup 3.13 system.

What does this mean to you? The internet has brought about the demise of many BBS systems. Why? Because nobody out there knows what a BBS is anymore. And those of us who know about BBS's have found our favorite systems shut down due to lack of participation or support from members.

For those of you who are new to this, a BBS is an abbreviation for Bulletin Board System. Which is exactly what the first BBS's were - an electronic bulletin board where computer users could leave messages in public "Forums" for other people to read and respond to. We had a GREAT time communicating via our computers with people we'd never meet in person.

BBS systems have evolved since then; now they feature more ...

http://www.thekeep.net/

-The KEEP BBS

Maybe a link to the right The Keep? I assume it has to do with some game? Other than that I am totally in the dark on this subject!

Title:    Golden Heroes PBeM
Description:    Notes from a play by email campaign. Includes heroes, setting, archived sessions, and rules.
Location:    http://gh.avigne.org/
-Golden Heroes

wraith808 · « **Reply #88 on:** March 25, 2009, 01:23 PM »

http://www.nbos.com/...oducts/keep/keep.htm

Finally there's a personal information manager designed specifically for gamers... The Keep v1.0 from NBOS Software. Use The Keep to organize and track all your gaming information. Use it for your campaign notes, campaign logs, maps, handouts,... all the information you need to track for a successful campaign!

http://www.drivethrurpg.com has a bundle with this and fractal mapper (another good program, though I don't use it as much) for $52. Pretty good deal considering the fact that The Keep by itself is 34.95.

http://rpg.drivethru...3504&from_home=1

40hz · « **Reply #89 on:** March 26, 2009, 09:34 PM »

Back on topic
-wraith808 (March 25, 2009, 09:48 AM)

Spoilsport!

rpp · « **Reply #90 on:** May 28, 2009, 02:33 AM »

Hi Wraith808 and the rest,

Is anyone having problems with the recent shutdown of Ideamason? Even following the instructions in their blog I cannot open my program (and all my information is locked there!!!). I'm desperate and would appreciate any help.

Thanks and regards,

Back on topic

* Another vote for The Journal
* I also use The Keep for organizing my PbEM notes and resources
* Benubird Pro. Just started using it recently, but its amazing how I don't even want to get things in 'dead tree' format anymore after I can organize my pdfs so easily.
* geek.Menu, which allows me to organize everything on the go.
* Evernote
* WordWeb
* Zulupad Pro
* Ideamason

And then on my iPhone
* Stanza
* Evernote
* Spreadsheet
-wraith808 (March 25, 2009, 09:48 AM)

wraith808 · « **Reply #91 on:** May 28, 2009, 06:51 AM »

I just downloaded the program from the link in their blog and installed over my current version and it worked. I thought perhaps the installer didn't work on a new install, but I just tested that and it does- you have to start the program once on a new install, then start it again to get it to open. But from there you're golden. If you're having problems on your computer, I'd try a different one if possible. If not, you might try to uninstall and re-install. But I don't know why you'd be having a problem.

Wish I was more help.

Curt · « **Reply #92 on:** September 09, 2010, 11:03 AM »

..., but when I tried Reshade Image Enlarger I came to realize the difference between being fairly good and being the best. I have been very impressed with Reshade. And shouldn't I: The normal asking price is $150 !!! ...
-Curt (March 23, 2009, 09:30 AM)

I've just tested it again, and I now remember why I didn't keep it the first time, aside from the cost. In some ways it is plain stupid! The author seriously needs some help on how to make a userfriendly program!

But still I am mighty impressed with the picture quality! I just want to remind 'you' not to purchase Reshade before testing!
-Curt (March 24, 2009, 08:58 AM)

My complaint concerned version 1.5 only. Version 2 (Beta) is not stupid in any way. I would recommend it if I thought it would be maintained / updated. But I don't think so. In fact, I think Reshade Image Enlarger has been abandoned; No updates since 2 September 2009!

However, I use Reshade Image Enlarger almost every day, and have merely found one minor bug.

Curt · « **Reply #93 on:** December 17, 2010, 01:16 PM »

I still use Bulk Image Downloader ~~almost~~ every day, and the above mentioned (abandoned?) Reshade Image Enlarger. For editing my pictures, I have come to *love* both PhotoFiltre Studio X for the "normal" jobs, and Dynamic-Photo HDR for fake HDR jobs (of course they don't have to be fake; I just don't have any genuine HDR series). The main reason I am posting 'now' is that Dynamic-Photo HDR just was updated to version 5.

Dynamic Photo-HDR is a next generation High Dynamic Range Photo Software with Pin-Warping, Anti-Ghosting, Fusion and Color Matching.

Watch Interactive Demo

Full key: $55
Upgrade: $24

Versions for both Windows and Intel-MAC.

http://www.mediachance.com/

Features In a Nutshell:

   * Easy to understand software with super fast preview
   * Powerful Auto-Aligning, Manual or Auto-Assist Aligning of images with an innovative Pin Warping that can correct all types of misalignment, including camera roll, pitch or yaw
   * Various tone mapping procedures that can create a whole range of images - from smooth photographic tone mapping to very dramatic images
   * Fusion process for realistic looking photography
   * Load and save HDR files

   * Support for 360 Panoramic images
   * Batch Processing to add images to queue and then process them all at once
   * Live HDR preview during various steps, you can see tone mapped image preview even before you create HDR!
   * Real-Time Preview - as you move the sliders you see the changes in real-time
   * Paint the tone-mapping strength where you want it with a brush

   * Many effects like Orton, Sepia, Black/White, Vignette, Mysterious Light
   * You can use Pseudo-HDR process on a single 8-bit source
   * Our new real-time Light Tuner will let you change the Tone-Mapped effect and see the feedback result immediately as you move the Light Orb, without any calculation
   * Color Correction using Kelvin parameters with preview table
   * Match Color will allow you to match your new tone mapped image to any other photo or painting.
-Dynamic Photo-HDR

timns · « **Reply #94 on:** December 17, 2010, 04:36 PM »

My list would have to be something like:

PowerGrep. Probably the most complete RegEx search and replace tool out there, but with an interface that takes some getting used to.

Check & Get. I bought this and also Website Watcher to compare. For me, personally, Check & Get seems to do a much better job. I gave up on WW when I realised that only the first tab could only really be used. To be honest, a bit of a disappointing program.

TrueCrypt. I use this to keep a secure virtual disk for backup copies of all the code we work on, and a lot of client data.

Frink. Open literally the whole time for those off-the-cuff conversions.

And to keep my desktop pretty: SharpClock, ObjectDock, Rainlendar and Rainmeter.

Oh one other thing worth a mention, that you guys should take a look at: FARR

Crush · « **Reply #95 on:** December 17, 2010, 05:10 PM »

SWV to install and export/import temporary games and programs without changing my system directly.
Sequoia View to get my HD under control.

Curt · « **Reply #96 on:** December 17, 2010, 06:48 PM »

PowerGrep, Frink and FARR... timns clearly is a keyboard man ;-) (which I am not), but thanks for telling about Rainmeter; I didn't know about that one.
For unit conversions, I prefer ESB. I use the free version 7.2
-----

I never dared to touch SWV because of the Symantec connection. I instinctively fear it is too complicated for me... But of course it is much more complicated having to re-install the OS because I didn't use SWV or similar... haha.

-----
I just wanted to show an example of what Dynamick-Photo HDR (& PhotoFiltre Studio) can do with a single picture (= "fake HDR"):

original (1024x685 pixels):
Fake HDR (1024x685 pixels):

Edited:
Oops, I forgot: "all rights reserved"! Sorry! Photos removed.

mouser · « **Reply #97 on:** December 17, 2010, 02:32 PM »

very nice.. just another example of how the coolness of "HDR" is 90% just another cool image effect and only 10% the benefit from combining images.

there are going to be cases where real HDR, combining images at different exposures, really does make a difference, when you have really dark and lit areas in a photo that simply can't be adjusted (or not without a ton of manual work) from one photo. that's when HDR really shines -- when you have half the scene exposed properly in one photo, and the other half of the scene exposed properly in another.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #98 on:** December 18, 2010, 08:09 AM »

Check & Get. I bought this and also Website Watcher to compare. For me, personally, Check & Get seems to do a much better job.
-timns (December 17, 2010, 04:36 PM)

Looks interesting. Did you get the Personal or the Professional edition?

Darwin · « **Reply #99 on:** December 18, 2010, 09:13 AM »

Check & Get. I bought this and also Website Watcher to compare. For me, personally, Check & Get seems to do a much better job.
-timns (December 17, 2010, 04:36 PM)
Looks interesting. Did you get the Personal or the Professional edition?
-cyberdiva (December 18, 2010, 08:09 AM)

Personally, I bought the Pro edition and love it (haven't tried/used Website Watcher, though).