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Last post Author Topic: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?  (Read 37711 times)

superboyac

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Has anyone found some interesting third-party utilities for Windows 7?  I really mean for Windows 7, not for Windows in general.

For example, I'd be interested in something that managed all the settings differently, in a more poweruser kind of way.  As many of you know, the settings in Windows 7 are layered in many menus and submenus.  I'd love to see it in something presented in a more efficient interface.

MilesAhead

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2009, 02:39 PM »
The main one I like so far is 7stacks

It will work on Vista and XP but it's targeted at 7. On Vista I use a double height Taskbar with the captions for running programs turned off.  With Taskbar locked that leaves me with a lot of open space.  I also use RocketDock.  But on 7 you don't get the separation between QuickLaunch and Taskbar.  The running app just glows the icon.  I'm not all that thrilled when these giant previews pop up since they obscure RocketDock.

With 7stacks I can create some stacks on the Taskbar of stuff I use most.  Internet stuff, editors, file handling programs, hotkey utilities, etc. to increase the free space in the middle of the taskbar.  On some items it means an extra click but the glass looks cool when it pops up.

Right low it's limited to a total of 10 stacks, but it's free.  I've been using it for a few weeks and I don't see any inherent bugs.  The only proviso would be since you make stacks from a folder of shortcuts, you have to be cautious of creating and endless loop if you put a shortcut inside a folder and it goes to a folder with a shortcut to itself or something.  I tried to use some folders from RocketDock but I think the nesting did me in since when I pressed FARR hotkey I got four explorer folders opening instead.  I put it back the way it was and all was fine.

One comment though, it wants to create a shortcut on your desktop when it makes the stack.  If you are like me and don't want to run with desktop icons anymore, you may want to have a folder of app shortcuts where you can hide stuff away.  Just create the stack, then drag & drop the desktop shortcut to someplace out of sight  To add new items to an existing stack, you just drag a new shortcut into the folder that's the source of that stack.  For example if you created a stack from a folder of Internet program shortcuts and you installed yet another browser, just move the icon to that Internet folder.  It will show up in the stack right away.


« Last Edit: November 09, 2009, 02:46 PM by MilesAhead »

40hz

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2009, 09:52 PM »
I don't know how cool this is, but it's a nice little  "training wheels" type utility. It gives you easy access to a variety of settings that you'd otherwise have to burrow through the various control panels to get to. It's also portable app so it's easy to delete if you decide you don't want it:

Access Panel for Windows 7 & Vista, x86 and x64

Link: www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-access-panel-for-windows-7-vista

We are pleased to release Access Panel for Windows 7 & Vista, x86 and x64. While you can use Control Panel to change settings which control nearly everything about how Windows looks and works, in some cases to access these very controls ,  or the in-built Windows programs, requires you to engage in multiple clicks or know their names.

Windows Access Panel v 1.0 is meant to minimize your trouble in accessing such programs. It has been tested on  Windows 7 & Windows Vista. It can simply be downloaded and used as a portable application. Place it in your Programs Files and Pin its shortcut to your Start menu and you are all set to a faster way of accessing  the “hidden” Windows system utilities.

wapui-600x346.pngHas anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?





SKA

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2009, 08:04 AM »
At the website in 40hz's link above there are 3 other utils that stand out:

Ultimate Windows Tweaker (v2):
http://www.thewindow...-for-windows-7-vista

Fix WU 1.0:
http://www.thewindow...-with-fix-wu-utility

Fix IE (for Win 7/Vista);
http://www.thewindow...-with-fix-ie-utility

SKA


lanux128

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2009, 08:15 AM »
there is the Gmail Notifier for Windows 7 which runs as a task bar application and makes use of the new jump list.

http://windows7cente...gmail-notifier-plus/

superboyac

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2009, 11:12 AM »
Very cool, guys!  These are exactly the kind of things I was hoping for.

Innuendo

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2009, 11:37 AM »
If you are looking for things that take advantage of Win7's jump lists I can recommend PowerArchiver (Professional). All of its major functions are present in the jump list.

sajman99

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2009, 01:05 PM »
Yes, Ultimate Windows Tweaker mentioned by SKA looks good. Another Win7 supported tweaker is XdN Tweaker.

Perhaps not earth-shattering but nonetheless cool--you can personalize your Win7 computing experience with these logon changers:
http://tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon
http://www.julien-ma...n_background_changer

Also, 360desktop is "free software that extends Windows as a 360° workspace, plus an online environment for creating interative 360° wallpaper, with a gallery and a widget platform, for sharing your favorite 360's with everybody." Very recently they announced Win7 compatibility.

40hz

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2009, 05:26 PM »
You can currently get a fully licensed copy of Ashampoo's WinOptimizer 2010 v6.50 for free (e-mail address registration required) courtesy of a find by the folks over at for-free-on-internet.com

This product lists for around $50 if you were to go out buy it.

Link to info:

http://for-free-on-i...latest-v-650-4-free/

If you're looking for an all-in-one optimizer/general utilities package, Ashampoo does one of the better ones.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDENDUM:

Running into a problem with this offer. Despite Ashampoo saying this can be used with Windows 7, several people (myself included) are getting this error when they attempt to install WinOptimizer 2010 from the above :

Ashampoo.gif

I've got a query in to their Tech Support people. Hopefully this is a minor glitch.

Apologies to anybody who was inconvenienced. :-[


[UPDATE}


Supposedly, the issue is with the installer and not WinOptimizer itself. The published workaround for the above problem is to run the installer after changing it's file properties to use the WindowsXP-SP3 compatibility setting.

I tried it, and it works just fine.




« Last Edit: November 16, 2009, 11:13 AM by 40hz »

superboyac

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #9 on: November 12, 2009, 05:30 PM »
You can currently get a fully licensed copy of Ashampoo's WinOptimizer 2010 v6.50 for free (e-mail address registration required) courtesy of a find by the folks over at for-free-on-internet.com

This product lists for around $50 if you were to go out buy it.

Link to info:

http://for-free-on-i...latest-v-650-4-free/

If you're looking for an all-in-one optimizer/general utilities package, Ashampoo does one of the better ones.


Cool!

jeromg

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2009, 10:35 AM »
Hi there,

You might want to have a look at this list by Scott Hanselman:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/LightItUpListOfApplicationsThatUseNewWindows7Features.aspx

Some tools have already been mentioned here (Gmail notifier) but there are some good finds as well.

Cheers  /jerome

40hz

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #11 on: November 16, 2009, 01:09 PM »
A friend of mine pointed me to an audio format converter called FanVista. ( http://fanvista.net )

fanvista_scr4.jpgHas anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities? fanvista_scr5.jpgHas anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?

Main features:

  
  •     Converting between 12 audio formats: MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, AC3, AMR, MMF, MP2
  •     Extracting and converting audio tracks from video files: AVI, WMV, 3GP, 3G2, ASF, FLV, MP4, MOV, MPG, MPEG,  SWF, RM, RV, DIVX, M1V, M2V, MKV, MPE, MPV, VOB, WM
  •     Reading end converting audio tags: ID3V1, ID3V2, MPC, MPEG, MPEG4, OGG, RIFF, APE, ASF, WavPack
  •     User friendly interface
  •     Fast Converting Speed. Audio format converting is performed directly without any temporary files and thus enables high converting speed and economy of hard disk resource
  •     Built-in player
  •     Flexible and customizing interface
  •     Tray icon
  •     Drag&Drop interface
  •     Auto format settings for each file
  •     Additional features of Windows 7 (progress in taskbar, jumplist in taskbar, special open file and folder dialogs, status icon in taskbar)
  •     System requirements: Microsoft Windows XP (with .NET Framework 3 or higher) or Windows Vista or Windows 7, Pentium 4 1.8Ghz or better, 256 MB RAM, 15 MB hard drive space

I haven't gotten a chance to work with it too much, but (so far) it seems to do what it does very well. OGG converts to MP3 with very good quality so I'm happy.  But that's all I really wanted it for anyway. :mrgreen:

Also has a nice glassy/modern look to it if you're into the whole Windows blingy thing. (I'm not. :P)

---

Note: I've been told erightsoft's SUPER media converter utility (my favorite :up:) also works under Windows 7 but I haven't had a chance to verify how well it works. Has anybody tried SUPER using Win7 yet?







« Last Edit: November 16, 2009, 01:19 PM by 40hz »

MilesAhead

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #12 on: November 16, 2009, 04:36 PM »
There are some software lists here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/software/

It'oriented to Seven compatible rather than Seven required though.


40hz

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #13 on: November 16, 2009, 10:52 PM »
There are some software lists here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/software/

It'oriented to Seven compatible rather than Seven required though.



Just out of curiosity...has anybody run into an app or utility that is Windows 7 specific - or is it too early for that?


MilesAhead

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #14 on: November 17, 2009, 01:39 AM »
There are some software lists here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/software/

It'oriented to Seven compatible rather than Seven required though.



Just out of curiosity...has anybody run into an app or utility that is Windows 7 specific - or is it too early for that?



I haven't other than tuners. The only thing I've seen is Jump List support.

sajman99

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #15 on: November 17, 2009, 02:55 PM »
Yep, the tweaker/tuner folks seem to be on the Win7 bandwagon, but I haven't really seen much else for Win7 only. For example, Stardock has their Tweak7 and Totalidea has their Tweak-7.

Curt

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #16 on: November 18, 2009, 11:01 AM »
regarding "tweakers", there really is only one: http://www.x-setup.net/

Darwin

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #17 on: November 18, 2009, 02:22 PM »
regarding "tweakers", there really is only one: http://www.x-setup.net/

Except that it doesn't fully support 64 bit OS...  :(

superboyac

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #18 on: November 19, 2009, 12:02 AM »
regarding "tweakers", there really is only one: http://www.x-setup.net/
Wow, just quickly looking over the features, this is a pretty darn cool program.  It offers TONS of features collected in a reasonably user-friendly way.  Kind of like a GUI for the registry, if that makes sense!

Innuendo

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #19 on: November 19, 2009, 09:25 AM »
Wow, just quickly looking over the features, this is a pretty darn cool program.  It offers TONS of features collected in a reasonably user-friendly way.  Kind of like a GUI for the registry, if that makes sense!

And X-Setup has been around a very long time. It's a very respectable program & these guys know what they are doing.

superboyac

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #20 on: November 19, 2009, 10:31 AM »
Wow, just quickly looking over the features, this is a pretty darn cool program.  It offers TONS of features collected in a reasonably user-friendly way.  Kind of like a GUI for the registry, if that makes sense!

And X-Setup has been around a very long time. It's a very respectable program & these guys know what they are doing.
Good to hear.  I'm very impressed!

40hz

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #21 on: November 19, 2009, 12:51 PM »
It was bound to happen.

Somebody came up with a 'classic' start menu for for all those people who don't like the new one. It's called CSmenu, and it can be found here: www.csmenu.com

CSMenu v1.1

CSMenuCSMenu is a little application which acts like the classic start menu. It's designed for Windows 7, which doesn't have a classic start menu.

CSMenu1.jpg


Check out how they even managed to include some aero bling while they were at it! :Thmbsup:

I'm not sure why anybody would want something like this. IMHO Win7's new menu system is a definite improvement once you get used to it. But not everyone will agree with me on that point - so here ya go! ;D


« Last Edit: November 19, 2009, 12:55 PM by 40hz »

JavaJones

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #22 on: November 19, 2009, 12:57 PM »
WOOOOHOOO! Thanks 40hz. ;)

- Oshyan

superboyac

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #23 on: November 19, 2009, 01:05 PM »
Thanks 40hz.  You're the man.

azgarth

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Re: Has anyone discovered any cool Windows 7 third-party utilities?
« Reply #24 on: November 21, 2009, 09:14 AM »
for fans of taskbar shuffle that have been missing the middle-click to close function in win7, there exists 7 taskbar tweaker. this has similar functions, and some win7 specific ones.