Free Utilities for Windows
September 19th, 2006Each new release of Windows includes more functionality which reduces the need to use third party utilities to handle various needs. WinZip was the big daddy of third party utilities for years, but now we have Compressed Folders built into Windows Explorer. Unfortunately, it does not always work.
Over the last few months I have had trouble with it creating zip archives which some people could not unzip and now I am finding that it does not include sub-folders on my home machine, but the machine at the office does. I have not made any changes to options to cause this change in behavior, although my home machine has IE7 installed. Such Microsoft updates tend to disrupt the existing system in unexpected ways. Like I said before, Windows is the virus.
These problems reminded me of utilities I can use so that I do not have to tolerate these Windows issues. Here are the top 3 I have used recently.
FoxIt Reader
This utility is a PDF reader, but instead of being loaded with bloated garbage like the Acrobat Reader, this one actually works quickly without a huge memory footprint. [ FoxIt Reader ]
CDBurnerXP Pro
Occasionally I have an ISO file which I need to burn to CD. Strangely enough, this is not an native feature of Windows XP. A couple of years ago I found CDBurnXP Pro which can burn ISO and other formats and it does so for free. It works great for my needs. But since I purchased an external DVD burner from Sony I have been using a licensed copy of Nero which has handled my needs lately. [ CDBurnerXP Pro ]
IZarc
Lastly, to overcome my recent trouble with Compressed Folders I can return to IZarc, a free utlility which closely mirrors how WinZip worked years ago. [ IZarc ]
What are your top free utilities? I will keep a list on my link blog as the list grows.
September 19th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
For compression apps, I highly recommend 7-Zip. (I've never heard of IZarc before, it may be just as good). I left WinZip years ago and never looked back.
For ISO burning, I use ISORecorder V2
I see you've already got Fiddler on your link blog, that's a good one.
Some other mentionables I see browsing through my Start Menu:JGoodies JDiskReportqliner HotKeysSysinternals Process ExplorerAutoITPuTTYUltraVNCTrueCryptVarious GnuWin32 utilities
I also have some things that I keep floating around, although I rarely actually use them. But when I have needed a tool for whatever special niche they fill, they've performed reasonably. FileZilla@icon sushiCDexAudacityRainlendarEtherealSysinternals pstools
Lastly, no 'free applications' list would be complete without WordWeb. Seriously, this is just about the first app I install on any new system, and I use it practically every day.
September 20th, 2006 at 10:13 am
To edit text files, I still prefer Notepad2 with the installer I created to add the "Open in Notepad2" option to the context menu in Windows Explorer.
http://brennan.offwhite.net/blog/2006/05/25/notepad2-installer-with-registry-hack/
It has replaced all of the other text editors I use to use. And I have it installed on every Windows workstation and server I use. It is great to have the same editor on each system.
September 20th, 2006 at 3:00 pm
>Strangely enough, this is not an native feature of Windows XP
You ever get the feeling microsoft is more concerned with DRM than end users?
And no list of free utilities is complete without TimeSnapper
http://TimeSnapper.com
This thing has saved me from myself more times than I'd like to admit.
September 27th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
I think you should have a look at http://www.developertoolz.com, Its a list I have been putting togather for a LONG time and now that put them up on a website. All free, no advertising or anything
also checkout http://www.imetasoft.com/icodelibrary (very handy utility for snippets)