Cool Apps For PCs, Macs, Phones, whatever, not Games. - Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras

Dean · 2010-04-29, 02:12 PM

This is kind of like the New Games thread, but for software/apps of all non-game flavors for PCs or phones or to ask for help finding an app to do something you need/want

Enough of us are geeks that we see stuff that does something cool most every day but may not think to share it.

I may keep a running list in this thread, but might get lazy and let you search.

Oh, please include links to the developer/publisher's web site if at all possible, not CNET or Downloads.com Don't make us go search for stuff.

Jeikun · 2010-04-29, 02:25 PM

I've been using istat menus for my mac. It's a pretty cool program, shows me my CPU usage, the programs pinging my CPU, memory, network, temps and fan speeds all on my top bar. Version 3 is apparently a paid version and I'm not sure if I'm going to upgrade from version two or not though. It's pretty useful.

Dean · 2010-04-29, 02:28 PM

Yesterday's find was Input Director, kind of a cross between a virtual KVM switch without the V and VNC.

My 10 year old IR wireless Keytronic keyboard with touchpad I have been using for my HTPC died and I did not want to pay $40 for a new one and needed something now. The old 15' USB extension and such was not going to cut it for long.

I also have a computer with a 17" LCD next to my couch and a wired 3/4 keyboard with touchpad.

I did not want to run full blown VNC as I did not want the CPU impact on the HTPC and did not need to see the video anyway, it is 50" across right in front of me, so I went searching for something to send Keyboard and Mouse input from one PC to another.

At first I found Synergy, which is a great multi-OS option, but does not work well on Vista or Windows 7's new security model and interacting with the pre-desktop environment. But one thread discussing how to sort of work around that led me to ID!

After installing the service on each machine, you set one as master and as many slaves as you want and then layout the displays like you would a single PC with multiple monitors.

When my mouse pointer hits the right edge of my couch computer's LCD, it jumps seamlessly to the left side of my HDTV! You could just as easily do this with a laptop, or if you have more than one computer and display in place of a KVM!

It also supports clipboard and file transfers. cut and paste text, files, whatever from one PC to another as if they were on one...

You can also set it up with hot keys to change screens if you don't like the mouse jumping displays.

Very cool, and did I mention FREE!!! Enjoy.

100_Percent_Juice · 2010-04-29, 02:28 PM

The Snipping Tool on windows7 is pretty cool.

EDIT:
An easy tool for taking a screen shot of anything on your computer and then saving it for later use. Works better than most of the other ones that I have tried.

Dean · 2010-04-29, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

The Snipping Tool on windows7 is pretty cool.

Why? What does it do? Description, links, how are you using it?

Dean · 2010-04-29, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeikun

I've been using istat menus for my mac. It's a pretty cool program, shows me my CPU usage, the programs pinging my CPU, memory, network, temps and fan speeds all on my top bar. Version 3 is apparently a paid version and I'm not sure if I'm going to upgrade from version two or not though. It's pretty useful.

So, kind of like Windows Task Manager? Links?

tysonK · 2010-04-29, 09:45 PM

The only thing I use my pc for is video management and fixing pictures

cody · 2010-04-30, 08:08 AM

I like Cobian Amanita for backups. It has all the features you'd want. The most impressive feature for me is the ability to use Volume Shadow Copy which makes it possible to backup open files. I run it on my file server at work to backup the network folders to an eSATA drive every night.

http://www.cobiansoft.com/

Off the top of my head, a quick list of the other free programs I like:

IMGBurn (Disc Burning SW)
Microsoft Security Essentials (AV)
Avast Home (AV) < I used to think it was the best but got two Trojans while running it so now I run MSE.
OpenOffice.org (Sun's free MS Office alternative)
Malware-Bytes (Malware Removal Tool)
Firefox (browser)
Utorrent (Bit Torrent Client)
Imagresize.exe (Powertoy from MS for XP to enable easy right-click batch resize of images)
VSO Image Resizer (Similar to Imageresize.exe for newer OS's)
PDFCreator (Print to PDF, etc.)
Foxit Reader (Alternative to Adobe Reader) <Watch out, installs the Ask browser tool bar.

Clonezilla (Alternative to Ghost)
Seagate DiscWizard (Rebranded Acronis disc imaging SW)
gparted (Disc Partitioning boot disc)
Handbrake (Movie Ripping SW) <Never actually used it.
MPC-HC (Media Player that supports hardware acceleration)
VLC Player (Media Player that plays everything but no HWA)
Haali Media Splitter (Supposedly all you need to play every video with WMP or WMC in Windows 7) <So far, seems to be true
Tversity (Streaming audio/video to your PS3 or other media extender, HTPC, etc.) <Didn't have the best quality on my "G" network to my PS3 a year ago, haven't revisited it yet.

bigrobwoot · 2010-04-30, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

The Snipping Tool on windows7 is pretty cool.

EDIT:
An easy tool for taking a screen shot of anything on your computer and then saving it for later use. Works better than most of the other ones that I have tried.

Like the print screen key?

100_Percent_Juice · 2010-04-30, 09:31 AM

no Rob. Not like the print screen key.

cody · 2010-04-30, 10:33 AM

HotSwap!

http://mt-naka.com/hotswap/index_enu.htm

For some stupid reason, MS OS's don't give you the "safely remove hardware" little green arrow for eSATA and SATA drives like they do for USB attached drives, despite the fact that SATA technology includes hotswapping as a feature, just like USB does.

This is a simple little app that allows you to easily hotswap SATA/eSATA drives from the majority of motherboards/eSATA cards that I've tried it with. It puts a red arrow in the clock tray that looks like the green arrow you're used to. You can use it to safely remove (and add) SATA and eSATA drives without shutting down the computer.

ScottyS · 2010-04-30, 12:52 PM

My fav phone app: http://www.precisionworkbench.com/

Actually, a really good everyday app for MS OS's is: Microsoft SyncToy

tysonK · 2010-05-04, 06:13 AM

wow I just put swype on my phone and I really can text input faster
This is a really cool program

This will be big

Nick Koan · 2010-05-04, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tysonK

wow I just put swype on my phone and I really can text input faster
This is a really cool program

This will be big

Is that the one where you can just swipe your fingers across the keyboard rather than touch type? I remember seeing it a while back and thinking it would be huge for touchscreen keyboards.

bigrobwoot · 2010-05-04, 10:33 AM

I always felt like learning to swipe the keys instead of typing would slow me down.

tysonK · 2010-05-04, 12:26 PM

Nick yes it is you can go to swype inc to see the videos

Rob it's absolutely intuitive

2010-04-29, 02:12 PM	#1
Dean Señor Cheap Bastarde Real Name: Dean Join Date: May 2003 Location: $99 Tire Store Posts: 9,294 Car: $.04 STI Class: Fast,Cheap & Reliable=STI Deal, did somebody say Deal? Oh, Dean, yeah that's me.	Cool Apps For PCs, Macs, Phones, whatever, not Games. This is kind of like the New Games thread, but for software/apps of all non-game flavors for PCs or phones or to ask for help finding an app to do something you need/want Enough of us are geeks that we see stuff that does something cool most every day but may not think to share it. I may keep a running list in this thread, but might get lazy and let you search. Oh, please include links to the developer/publisher's web site if at all possible, not CNET or Downloads.com Don't make us go search for stuff. __________________ I am a Commodore PET --- Now get off my lawn you kids... Last edited by Dean; 2010-04-29 at 02:33 PM.

2010-04-29, 02:25 PM	#2
Jeikun EJ22 Real Name: Jake Niedle Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Damonte Ranch Posts: 427 Car: 2006 WRX Limited Class: little to none	I've been using istat menus for my mac. It's a pretty cool program, shows me my CPU usage, the programs pinging my CPU, memory, network, temps and fan speeds all on my top bar. Version 3 is apparently a paid version and I'm not sure if I'm going to upgrade from version two or not though. It's pretty useful. __________________ Cook bacon in your underwear. It adds danger to breakfast and makes you feel like you are welding. - Juice Last edited by Jeikun; 2010-04-29 at 02:26 PM. Reason: Edit: iStat Menus not iStat Pro

2010-04-29, 02:28 PM	#3
Dean Señor Cheap Bastarde Real Name: Dean Join Date: May 2003 Location: $99 Tire Store Posts: 9,294 Car: $.04 STI Class: Fast,Cheap & Reliable=STI Deal, did somebody say Deal? Oh, Dean, yeah that's me.	Input Director Yesterday's find was Input Director, kind of a cross between a virtual KVM switch without the V and VNC. My 10 year old IR wireless Keytronic keyboard with touchpad I have been using for my HTPC died and I did not want to pay $40 for a new one and needed something now. The old 15' USB extension and such was not going to cut it for long. I also have a computer with a 17" LCD next to my couch and a wired 3/4 keyboard with touchpad. I did not want to run full blown VNC as I did not want the CPU impact on the HTPC and did not need to see the video anyway, it is 50" across right in front of me, so I went searching for something to send Keyboard and Mouse input from one PC to another. At first I found Synergy, which is a great multi-OS option, but does not work well on Vista or Windows 7's new security model and interacting with the pre-desktop environment. But one thread discussing how to sort of work around that led me to ID! After installing the service on each machine, you set one as master and as many slaves as you want and then layout the displays like you would a single PC with multiple monitors. When my mouse pointer hits the right edge of my couch computer's LCD, it jumps seamlessly to the left side of my HDTV! You could just as easily do this with a laptop, or if you have more than one computer and display in place of a KVM! It also supports clipboard and file transfers. cut and paste text, files, whatever from one PC to another as if they were on one... You can also set it up with hot keys to change screens if you don't like the mouse jumping displays. Very cool, and did I mention FREE!!! Enjoy. __________________ I am a Commodore PET --- Now get off my lawn you kids... Last edited by Dean; 2010-04-29 at 02:37 PM.

2010-04-29, 02:28 PM	#4
100_Percent_Juice (40 percent vodka) Real Name: Joel Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 4,446 Car: 2004WRX Class: Baby-Hauler/GroceryGetter	The Snipping Tool on windows7 is pretty cool. EDIT: An easy tool for taking a screen shot of anything on your computer and then saving it for later use. Works better than most of the other ones that I have tried. __________________ "A power nap is when you sleep on someone who is weaker than you." - Dimitri Martin Last edited by 100_Percent_Juice; 2010-04-29 at 08:56 PM.

2010-04-29, 09:45 PM	#7
tysonK warehouse SECCS Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: SoCal... Posts: 6,253 Car: 04 Evo 99 Cadillac Class: street de le mod	The only thing I use my pc for is video management and fixing pictures __________________ Anjali? Anjali?

2010-04-30, 08:08 AM	#8
cody Candy Mountain Real Name: Cody Join Date: May 2005 Location: Californication Posts: 7,751 Car: 03 Pussy Wagon, now with more pink! Class: TESP OMG Internet!	I like Cobian Amanita for backups. It has all the features you'd want. The most impressive feature for me is the ability to use Volume Shadow Copy which makes it possible to backup open files. I run it on my file server at work to backup the network folders to an eSATA drive every night. http://www.cobiansoft.com/ Off the top of my head, a quick list of the other free programs I like: IMGBurn (Disc Burning SW) Microsoft Security Essentials (AV) Avast Home (AV) < I used to think it was the best but got two Trojans while running it so now I run MSE. OpenOffice.org (Sun's free MS Office alternative) Malware-Bytes (Malware Removal Tool) Firefox (browser) Utorrent (Bit Torrent Client) Imagresize.exe (Powertoy from MS for XP to enable easy right-click batch resize of images) VSO Image Resizer (Similar to Imageresize.exe for newer OS's) PDFCreator (Print to PDF, etc.) Foxit Reader (Alternative to Adobe Reader) <Watch out, installs the Ask browser tool bar. Clonezilla (Alternative to Ghost) Seagate DiscWizard (Rebranded Acronis disc imaging SW) gparted (Disc Partitioning boot disc) Handbrake (Movie Ripping SW) <Never actually used it. MPC-HC (Media Player that supports hardware acceleration) VLC Player (Media Player that plays everything but no HWA) Haali Media Splitter (Supposedly all you need to play every video with WMP or WMC in Windows 7) <So far, seems to be true Tversity (Streaming audio/video to your PS3 or other media extender, HTPC, etc.) <Didn't have the best quality on my "G" network to my PS3 a year ago, haven't revisited it yet. __________________ Slow and low, that is the tempo. Last edited by cody; 2010-04-30 at 08:19 AM.

2010-04-30, 09:31 AM	#10
100_Percent_Juice (40 percent vodka) Real Name: Joel Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 4,446 Car: 2004WRX Class: Baby-Hauler/GroceryGetter	no Rob. Not like the print screen key. __________________ "A power nap is when you sleep on someone who is weaker than you." - Dimitri Martin

2010-04-30, 10:33 AM	#11
cody Candy Mountain Real Name: Cody Join Date: May 2005 Location: Californication Posts: 7,751 Car: 03 Pussy Wagon, now with more pink! Class: TESP OMG Internet!	HotSwap! http://mt-naka.com/hotswap/index_enu.htm For some stupid reason, MS OS's don't give you the "safely remove hardware" little green arrow for eSATA and SATA drives like they do for USB attached drives, despite the fact that SATA technology includes hotswapping as a feature, just like USB does. This is a simple little app that allows you to easily hotswap SATA/eSATA drives from the majority of motherboards/eSATA cards that I've tried it with. It puts a red arrow in the clock tray that looks like the green arrow you're used to. You can use it to safely remove (and add) SATA and eSATA drives without shutting down the computer. __________________ Slow and low, that is the tempo.

2010-04-30, 12:52 PM	#12
ScottyS EJ205 Real Name: It is real! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: RNO Posts: 2,367 Car: 1998 Impreza Wagon, 1991 Legacy Turbo Sedan, 2003 Nissan Xterra Class: tvFree Yes, I'll fix it for you. Again.	My fav phone app: http://www.precisionworkbench.com/ Actually, a really good everyday app for MS OS's is: Microsoft SyncToy __________________ "Trend Number One is that people aren't getting any smarter." Dogbert

2010-05-04, 06:13 AM	#13
tysonK warehouse SECCS Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: SoCal... Posts: 6,253 Car: 04 Evo 99 Cadillac Class: street de le mod	wow I just put swype on my phone and I really can text input faster This is a really cool program This will be big __________________ Anjali? Anjali?

2010-05-04, 10:33 AM	#15
bigrobwoot EJ251 Real Name: Rob Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Reno Posts: 679 Car: 2019 CBS WRX Premium Class: Middle Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss, you'll still be among the stars	I always felt like learning to swipe the keys instead of typing would slow me down.

2010-05-04, 12:26 PM	#16
tysonK warehouse SECCS Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: SoCal... Posts: 6,253 Car: 04 Evo 99 Cadillac Class: street de le mod	Nick yes it is you can go to swype inc to see the videos Rob it's absolutely intuitive __________________ Anjali? Anjali?