Recently Installed

Theres a thread for films and games, so I though a thread for programs would be good.

Anyway I recommend to anyone to get O&O defrag pro- great defragger which can do multiple drives at the same time.

Also AutoPatcher 5.1 - search on google for it. Basically its like windows update, but you can use it on versions of windows which are pirated to get all security updates, and it also tweaks your whole system for you to make it faster. My flatmate did it on his PC which took 3 mins to load the start bar (thats how bad it was, and neither of us could fix it). Now his PC is just like it was when he first installed windows!

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-[Better to be Honest than Kind]-

took 3 mins to load the start bar

Man, how did he let it get to that point in the first place? That's computer abuse. I gotta report him to the authorities.

I seldom install new programs anymore. I find that my computer does everything that I ever want it to do, so there is rarely a need to install something new.

On the other hand, installing new programs is one way to destablize a computer. So I am always wary when it's time to install something new. Some programs can irreversibly damage a fully functional machine, bringing it to its knees.

And yes, my computer has knees.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

Talk about paranoia satchmo :razz:

Like Satch, I rarely need to install anything these days. Its that
point in my current setup's life that it has pretty much everything I
could need on it. Typically that means its about time to get rid of it
all in a format too :biggrin:

Newest thing I installed was that audioscrobbler plugin for Winamp 5,
which
other
people should do.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

For me it was G-max, after crashing windows last monday i had to
reinstall most of my programs. Much more to do but G-max is high in the
list.

---

RUST Gamedesign
pepper design

The strength of the turbulence is directly proportional to the temperature of your coffee.

My machine is fairly new (just got everything essential installed two months ago), and everything is running very smoothly. Nothing is clogging its arteries yet.

I'm going to be very careful and keep it on a lean diet, plus a regular exercise routine (defrag/virus scan). I hate an obese computer. It can get so sluggish.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

My laptop will be on the next Jenny Jones show for freakish obesity.

But seriously, I installed audioscrobbler and I like it a lot. I recommend it.

That's okay. There is a solution for the poor computers: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/m-surgerytypes.phtml

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

Hmm... One program I trusted ever since I had my own computer (4 years ago when i moved from Russia) is IrfanView. Good image viewer with some artistic filters and a big list of openable and save-able file types. The first use i found for it was to convert BMPs to JPGs on my old Windows 95 comp... yeah.

---

The Plane, my ongoing HL2 comic.

I use Paint Shop Pro for the same purpose, and it's got a better
interface in my opinion. It's more powerful, and it's easier to
use than Photoshop. In addition, it doesn't cost a million
dollars.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

I use Paint Shop Pro for the same purpose, and it's got a better
interface in my opinion. It's more powerful, and it's easier to
use than Photoshop. In addition, it doesn't cost a million
dollars.

I think as far as most of us are concerned, the price is pretty irrelevant. :smile:

Err, so, yeah. About the only programs I use are Photoshop, Winamp,
Firefox, Limeware, Steam, and the occasional game. I usually uninstall
most games after I'm done with them though, and I defrag weekly.

yeah, similar to him, but firefox, winamp, steam, motherboard monitor, and samurise for some misc stats.

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I need a new sig

Adobe Premiere 6.5 (for audio & video editing)
Adobe Photoshop 6.0 (for image editing)
Winamp (for listening)
Keyhole (for globe searching
AnyDVD (for DVD/CD decoding)
CloneDVD (for DVD backup)
CloneCD (for DVD or CD games/music backup)
CCE SP (for converting video to MPEG-2 'DVD' format)
Spybot Search & Destroy (for Spyware and file shredding)
WavStudio (for editing music)
PowerDVD (for watching/decrypting DVDs)
VirtualDubMod (for video editing and wav extraction)
DVD-Lab Pro (for DVD authoring)
G-Spot (for audio/video codec detection)
Ultimate Webshots Converter (for converting webshot image files to bmp)
SmartRipper (for decoding DVDs that can't be done by AnyDVD or PowerDVD)
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Pro (for programming)
FlaskMPEG (for converting .VOB 'raw DVD files' into .AVIs)
IconExtractor (to extract .ico's from any file)
Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 (for making quick VCD's)
Acoustica CD & DVD Label Maker (for making CD, mini CD/DVD, and DVD labels)
X Video Converter (for converting pretty much any video file to any other video file format)
Shareaza (p2p)
Kazaa Lite Revolution (p2p)
GetRight (for downloading files/grabbing embedded content off of sites)
AnalogX Capure (captures screen to a bmp file)
Gmail Notifier (for my gmail accounts)
MSN Messenger (for Hotmail accounts)

For Half-Life 2 mapping I use the above, plus:

GoldWave (for making HL1 and HL2 loopable wav files)
Fraps (for capturing in-game videos to .avi)
vtf2tga (for converting HL2 textures to .tga)
vmex (for checking maps' entity setups)

Yes. I use pretty much all of those on a regular basis except for a couple of them, which I use every so often. I defrag my comp every so often with the windows bundled defragger, but I should really get a different one (so ppl say).

Dats it :smile:

These are things i use most

-Apps-

Photoshop

Microsoft anti spyware

Microsoft Office

3ds Max

Macromedia Studio (Flash Mx, Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX)

WinRAR

MSN Messanger

Limewire

-Games-

Steam

UT2004

TMSunrise

Im currently downloading that autopatcher to see if it can help me out.

Dark Tree said:
SmartRipper for decoding DVDs that can't be done by AnyDVD or PowerDVD)
FlaskMPEG for converting .VOB 'raw DVD files' into .AVIs)

I used to use the same, until FlaskMPEG started crashing on large VOB-merged (i.e. 5+gb) films, so now I use DVD Decrypter and Gordian Knot instead (the latter is much more complicated to use than Flask, but it gets the job done and has more options).

Really...I use FlaskMEG .6 (from 2001) because any later versions don't even run on any of my comps...and when they do, they produce s**tty results or nothing at all.

SmartRipper on the otherhand works very nicely...although I don't usually like to use it because it takes a half hour to rip 8 gigs onto my comp, whereas AnyDVD just decodes and works hand in hand with CloneDVD, which compresses+burns the DVD.

I am just used to those because I have used them for YEARS....they basically haven't even updated in 3 or 4 years, but they still work...so...what the heck.

I will google for Gordian Knot...sounds pretty good. Options are ALWAYS good.

Edit:

I had to use SmartRipper just now.....The Pianist was giving me problems. Good movie though....worth the wait :smile:

If anybody needs any help with any DVD or CD media related issues: burning, ripping, authoring, menus, backup, just PM me....you can get the hook up, or at least pointed in the right direction. :bandit:

Am I the only person who doesn't listen to MP3 at all? I have a CD/DVD burner, but I've never used it. Not even once. I should try it to make sure that it at least works. I do plan to use it to burn some CD's for my wedding.

I find myself using my computer for the internet and for gaming. On rare occasions, I use it to modify digital images that I obtained from my camera.

I'm going to Google Limewire to see what it is. I've never heard of it, but it seems pretty popular among people at the SnarkPit.

[Edit]: So it's a filesharing program. I am afraid to download it because I might get sucked into the filesharing frenzy that has already afflicted many of my friends. I'll end up downloading files that I never knew existed and never needed until I found their existence on the network. Then I must have them.

I typically don't uninstall games from my computer after I'm done playing them, because I frequently go back and play them again at times. I am very scrupulous at buying and installing games, so I don't really have a gluttony of games installed. At this moment, I only have Steam and "Far Cry" installed, and nothing else.

I use less than six programs on a regular basis on my compter:

Microsoft Word; Microsoft Excel; FireFox; Steam; Paint Shop Pro

That's it. I don't count the defrag program that comes with the OS or Norton Antivirus. The cost of software is a very real thing for me because my fiance is a programmer and she doesn't condone any piracy, even on my part.

---

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

Things I use on a regular basis:

• Firefox
• iTunes
• AIM
• Steam
• Word
• Photoshop

That's it.

Don't think I could live without mp3's :biggrin: My entire CD collection is
ripped to my computer, and as my stereo is pretty crappy while my PC
speakers/headphones/soundcard are pretty good, everything sounds much
better on it. I also use an mp3 player a load while I'm out and about,
so about 90% of the time I listen to music its in mp3 form. I still buy
the vast majority of my music on CD though - I like to own a "hard
copy" even though I rarely use them, and its nice to support the bands/labels
you are keen on.

---

[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

Campaignjunkie said:
I think as far as most of us are concerned, the price is pretty irrelevant. :smile:

Ahem, stay out of my briefcase CJ.. :wink:

After I did the WinXP tweak guide thingy I posted, I have installed very few new things. Most recently was PSP 9, it is more resource demanding than PSP 8 was so if you are short on them, stick with 8.

I am really getting annoyed with the new codec craze however. Every time I update to the best, some asshole updates to something still newer and I spend a half day attempting to locate them. Why cannot people stick to what works for a little while at least. :/

For the record, XAT still makes the very best optimiser program available.. PERIOD!.

---

The best things in life, aren't things.

The programs I use on a regular basis are...

Steam

Hammer

MSN

Paintshop Pro

Firefox

Ad-aware SE

• Auto Gordian Knot (very simplified version of GK)

• Britannica 2004, MS Encarta (Encylopaedias)

• dBpower Amp Music converter (MP3 ripper)

• FavOrg (to keep the little icons in the favorites list)

• Flashget (download manager)

• JV16 power tools, Ad Aware SE (registry cleaners)

• PowerToys for windows XP (Advanced calculator and a windows tweaking tool)

And my everyday tools: AutoCAD 2004, 3DS Max 6.0, Photoshop CS

FireFox (web browsing)

Maya 6.(something, cant remember) (as part of my class im in right now)

Steam (for hammer 4)

Hammer 3.5 (for HL1 maps)

iTunes (for mp3s)

Ad-aware (pesky spyware and adware!)

World Of Warcraft (play this alot)

MSN messenger (for chatting)

mIRC (for irc channels)

LimeWire (for downloading stuff, but right now its not working :razz: )

BitTorrent (for downloading TV shows taboo)

Sonic DVD (burning DVDs/CDs..duhhh)

TortoiseSVN (great program for keeping a mod's code up-to-date, currently eternal silence 2 uses it)

and those are just the first few, i use a lot more.

---

Posting And You

Programming/Webdesign

Dev C++ (Free C editor)

Context

Reshack

Sun Java SDK

UPX Packer

Flash MX

Dreamweaver MX (got those buth MX'es with my student license)

SmartFTP (the best FTP client around, it's free)

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Multimedia</span>

Winamp 5.08d

Bsplayer

Virtualdub

AviProxy

Windows Movie Maker

Photo Story 3

Tuareg (synth)

Audacity (editor)

Paint.Net (Photo Editing)

Irfanview

Shareaza (also handles Bittorrent, handy as hell.)

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cleaning / Security

</span>Ccleaner (very good)

Ad-Aware

Spybot Search and Destroy

ProceXP

Agnitum Outpost Firewall

HBedv Antivir Free

AnalogX Script Defender

X-Setup Pro

Tweak UI

Bootvis

TuneXP

Easycleaner

Jv16 Powertools

Browsing / E-mail / Desktop

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mailwasher (still using an older version, the new ones aren't free anymore)

OpenOffice.org 2.0 b?ta (great !)

Most of the programs on the list are freeware.

<span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">
</span></span>

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:: Forceflow.be :: Nuclear Dawn developer

Leperous said:
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Dark Tree</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>SmartRipper for decoding DVDs that can't be done by AnyDVD or PowerDVD)
FlaskMPEG for converting .VOB 'raw DVD files' into .AVIs)

I used to use the same, until FlaskMPEG started crashing on large VOB-merged (i.e. 5+gb) films, so now I use DVD Decrypter and Gordian Knot instead (the latter is much more complicated to use than Flask, but it gets the job done and has more options).</div></div>
Not 100% sure but I think "DrDivX" does all that for you in one swift program thats the best around (my flatmate uses it and he seems to rip DVD's to AVI at incredible speeds)...

---

-[Better to be Honest than Kind]-

Satchmo, you should go scavage the game stores for the cheap games, 3
days ago i baught DTM race driver for only 10 euro's, its a great game
and it looks fine! I usualy go out and search for the cheaper quality
games.

---

RUST Gamedesign
pepper design

The strength of the turbulence is directly proportional to the temperature of your coffee.

Leperous said:
so now I use DVD Decrypter and Gordian Knot instead

I tried Gordian Knot, Auto Gordian Knot, and DVD Decrypter.

The results?

GK: Ultra clunky, somewhat confusing to use and install, and many useless programs come with it.

AGK: A bit simpler, but still with too many pointless bells n whistles

DVD Decrypter: Now THIS program is very nice. It makes my Smartripper obsolete...as it fills in bad sectors with dummy files which has greatly improved my media backup capabilities. Sweetness.

Dark Tree said:
DVD Decrypter: Now THIS program is very nice. It makes my Smartripper obsolete...as it fills in bad sectors with dummy files which has greatly improved my media backup capabilities. Sweetness.

I was.. ahem yeah you know.. anyway, I had a DVD that was throwing all my decrypters for loops.. this new version seems to be cutting it just fine.. yeah baby :biggrin:

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The best things in life, aren't things.