pepoluan

Software Reviews by pepoluan

The reviews and opinions below are posted by SnapFiles visitors. They do not necessarily reflect our opinion, and they are solely based upon the experience of individual users.

Remote Desktop Organizer

Good, only one drawback

This is very good, helps tidy up my desktop by agglomerating the Remote Desktop Clients into one Window. One drawback, though: Can't use Win+E or Alt+Tab in the RDO window; those keys are captured by local Window. The original RDC can be configured to forward those key combos or not. So, if you *need* windows shortcuts, RDO comes up short. But if you're more mouse-oriented, RDO is a godsend. Verdict: Recommended, with a caveat. Price: Free

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ImgBurn

This is a part of my `swiss army utilities`

I've been burning every kind of image files, be it .iso, .bin+.cue, .nrg, whathaveyous . . . with this program, and it's a Godsend! Never fails... if it fails, then usually it's the fault of the media (scratches, splotches, etc). Very powerful. Many power-tools available in its menus, not too intuitive, but if you hunt around, you'll find all the gems. Price: Free

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Unlocker

More power than it seems!

I rarely have to delete a locked file, and I've known for a long time about this utility. But "Unlocker" really saved my ass when I happened upon some undeletable files... they're not locked, but their file names (i.e., ending with a period) prevent me from deleting them... from the Explorer, from CMD, even from a VBS script... I was ready to tear my hairs out when I tried Unlocker... as it detected a "Deletion Failure" it went to work, saying that it doesn't find any locking process, but offered to delete the file anyway... I approve... lo and behold! The file is deleted! Highly recommended to anyone trying to save their sanity when they happen upon undeletable files, whether locked and/or having strange undeletable names. Price: Free

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Orbit Downloader

Why pay if you can get the best for free!

Orbit is wonderful, it is right up there as the fastest downloader alongside IDM, which is not free. I have been using DTA previously, but hate keeping Firefox open. Then I used FDM, but it's resource hungry + slow. Then I stumbled upon Orbit Downloader, and the rest, as they say, is history. Only one quibble: The latest version I have (2.7.8) can't easily re-order the download list; I must use a tiring click+rightclick+select maneuver every time. If they can fix this, then this would be the ideal download manager. Price: Free

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AutoHotkey

This is a part of my `swiss army utilities`

Can't live without this one. With the help of AutoHotkey, I've: (1)Tamed the CapsLock key (2)Put a use to the Scroll Lock key (3)Control volume using my mousewheel (4)Control my audio player using keypad combo (5)Define custom shortcuts for actions I've often done (6)Automate LOTS of things I usually do on my workstation. In short, a godsend! Price: Free

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USB Safely Remove

Now I realize how much I need this...

It's not unusual to find 2-3 USB sticks plugged into my PC. Usually I have to hunt around on Windows Explorer trying to find out which drive letter gets assigned to which USB stick. With this, I can just click on the right brand and voila! the USB stick is unmounted. Price: Free Trial ($20.00)

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SpaceMonger

Not too stable, but really useful

I used to wonder where all the space in my hard disk go. I've used folder-size-analyzing programs before (like TreeSize), but they all have one drawback: You can see the TOTAL size of a folder, but you don't know just WHAT inhabits them. With SpaceMonger, I can easily see big misplaced .iso files, folders within folders that are uncharacteristically big, and so on. Note, though: This program is rather unstable. Just using it for some time will make it crash. Using right-click operations several times will also make it crash. But the crash seems to be clean; if it crashes, I just restart it. Highly recommended (with a note of DON'T PANIC written with big, friendly letters ;) Price: Free

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BullZip PDF Printer

The best free pdf printer out there

I hate Acrobat and it's sluggishness. It made my PC feel sooooo old. I tried many other PDF Printers, and they're either not good, or not worth the price. However BullZip is really good. All my PDF printing needs are served by BullZip. And the price can't be beaten! So, so long Acrobat, it was NOT fun while it lasted... Now I have found my true PDF soulmate :) Price: Free

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Startup Delayer

Really streamlines my work

In my job, I have to restart my PC several times a day. And every time I logged into Windows, I have to wait minutes -- ages! -- just for my PC to become usable. But when I find this gem... I can now use my PC just in 20 seconds (give or take a few) after logging in! Kewl! Oh, and I don't have any issue with the order of the icons in the SysTray; I can shuffle them around with Taskbar Shuffle (also available here in SnapFiles). Price: Free

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TeraCopy

The best thing since sliced bread!

I had originally wanted to try using "CH", which also claims to (1)Speed up file transfers, and (2)Skip problem files yet continuing to copy. But I forgot the program's name. So in desperation, I googled around, and lo! I found TeraCopy. I tried installing it, and... it's amazingly fast! Later on I did find CH's webpage... but the FAQ said there's a bug with CH that really freaks me out as the bug may cause me to lose files... I believe I'm safe with TeraCopy. It really make transferring files between PCs in my place real fast and real painless. And its integration with Windows Explorer is just... plain perfect! Two thumbs up for the developer! Oh, and it's actually free for home use. The Pro (paid) version does not offer anything that I need. Price: Free

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Free Launch Bar

A nice replacement to Quicklaunch

Prior to this I always hide the Quicklaunch toolbar as it gets unwieldy, and put shortcuts that I don't use too often on the Desktop, making the Desktop really cluttered. Now, these shortcuts get dumped into the LaunchBar and I can have a clean desktop... I can see the wallpaper it its full glory. Price: Free

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TaskSwitchXP

This is what alt-tab should be!

Microsoft made a 'Powertoy' similar to this, but TaskSwitchXP adds more features, better screen capture capabilities, and much more customizable interface. I like especially how it shows dialog boxes that sometimes pop up but not focusable using Alt-Tab (must minimize all other windows first). So, a great productivity enhancer for me! Price: Free

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Taskbar Shuffle

Should be included in windows

This enables me to rearrange those buttons on WinXP's taskbar. Really makes using my PC more enjoyable. Price: Free

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EverNote

Completely changes my life

Evernote revolutionized my life! I used to have myriads of text files lying around, plus hundreds of saved web pages. All of them are now grouped into an Evernote database. I really like its multi-category ability, and web clipping, and also templates like to-do, expenses, etc. Price: Free

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avast! Professional Edition

The best antivirus there is!

I've used BitDefender, AntiVir, Norton, Symantec, McAffee, Kaspersky, Panda, AVG... and I settled on Avast. It successfully caught some viruses that the heavyweights let through, cleaned up a PC from 3-4 viruses (it previously had ****** on it). It's helper applications (called 'providers') provide all round protection from trojans and viruses exploiting open ports, and also it scans scripts. With Avast, your computer is not only equipped with self-defense/antibodies; it also now has an Level 4 environmental biohazard sterile suit. Awesome thing! Some drawbacks: The interface is not as slick as some of its competitors... really functional though. And when scanning, your system feels slightly sluggish... but it roots out more diseases so it's a tradeoff. Price: Free Trial ($39.95)

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QuickFind

Almost good enough for me

I used to use an AutoHotkey script to save me from having to wade through a bloated Start menu... except that the script is slow and sometimes failed. I tried this and it is very similar in how the script works. Unfortunately, unlike my script, QuickFind cannot define custom folders to search in (I have some programs not listed in the Start menu). Which is why I find QuickStart (somewhere in SnapFiles) more to my liking. Price: Free

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HashCalc

The best file hash utility there is

Programs (and files) distributed via the Internet nowadays comes equipped with MD5 or SHA1 checksums, to ensure that said programs (and files) have not been tampered with. Most MD5/SHA1 tools I've used are command line versions, and most calculate either MD5 or SHA1, but rarely both. With HashCalc, I can just drag-and-drop a file onto its window, and HashCalc calculates hash I want, in one fell swoop. Alright, it perhaps does not give an easy way to compare its result to the precalculated result (by the maker of the program/file), but I found it to be no big deal. Just paste HashCalc's result into notepad, and paste makers' numbers into notepad underneath. Besides, most MD5/SHA1 hashes are given as text snippets in web pages. Price: Free

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Bulk Rename Utility

Saves my bacon lots of times

I used to use arcane command line scripts to do some exotic renaming procedures... usually with disastrous first results, necessitating me to always backup the files first before doing it. With BRU, no more. I can easily see a 'preview' of how the result will be. I can easily choose which files to rename and which to leave as it is. And the renaming rules... really powerful! I've done many many kinds of exotic renaming procedures... nothing that can't be done by BRU. It's so powerful it might get classified as mass-destruction weaponry :-) ... there's a downside, of course. The interface may be confusing at first. Just tweak around (and read the very good Help), and you'll get the hang of it. Soon enough you'll start to wonder how in the world could you live without BRU before. Price: Free

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Mp3Tag

(almost) the ultimate tag editor

I've been searching high and low for a tagger that can tag both MP3 and OGG files. Truthfully, I overlooked this one the first time around, as the name implies (incorrectly) that it supports only MP3's. But actually it supports both. I can easily tag/rename/retag lots of files easily from the interface. The only drawback is it is not that easy when you want to copy between different tag standards (i.e. ID3v1, ID3v2, and APEv2), for which I still rely on TagScanner. Price: Free

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uTorrent

Best torrent client ever was or will be

It's small, it's free, it's blazingly fast, it's thrifty on resources, it's amazingly configurable... what else? You can even make it portable: move the three .dat files from Application DatauTorrent into the utorrent.exe folder, and it becomes user-insensitive. Copy all of them (and the torrent download directories) onto a flash drive... and you can download your torrent anywhere! Price: Free

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IrfanView

Swiss-army knife

It supports virtually all formats in the world (except .mbm, sadly). It can convert any picture file into wallpaper. It can resize/resample. It can change bit depths. It can crop. It can set brightness/contrast/gamma. On top of it, it can do all this in batches (i.e. multiple files in one operation). Ultimately, it's free! Price: Free

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Cathy

Hands-down, the best cataloger there is

I've been using many catalogers, and most of them are behemoths, consuming space, and running slow. Not Cathy. Cataloging one CD is extremely fast: Disc spins up, Disc spins down, Disc ejects. Done. Less than 10 seconds. Searches? Happen in a blink, even through around 50 CD's. What's more beautiful, it does not need to be installed; I copied Cathy and its database files into my flash drive, and now I can search my catalogs anywhere I'm at! Granted, the interface is not schnitzy, but it is a straightforward frontend to a blazingly fast database (and cataloger) engine. After some time, you'll get used to it, and you'll appreciate its simplicity. And you definitely can't beat the price! Price: Free

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Software Reviews by pepoluan

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