The rebirth of the neat application I found thread...

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LordDaMan

LordDaMan

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  • #1
    Some time back we had a thread about the neat apps we came across on the internet. I miss finding out the apps here and there that no one has heard of that really help in some way.

    To start it off:

    PDFgear

    PDFgear - Bring Accessible PDF Software to the Masses

    PDFgear is a piece of full-featured PDF management software for Windows, Mac, and mobile, and it’s completely free to use. Help share it to spread the love!
    www.pdfgear.com www.pdfgear.com

    Lots of various tools to work with PDFs. All free, no sign-ins or limits. Even has a compress PDF feature that actually works right as I had some massive PDFs from humblebundle that where 2 gigs(!) in size and that app was the only one that could compress them down and even resulted in a fraction of the size at medium compression (50k!!)
     
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    LordDaMan

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  • #2
    Typedown

    apps.microsoft.com

    Typedown - Official app in the Microsoft Store

    Typedown is a lightweight Markdown editor designed specifically for the Windows platform. With the WinUI framework, it provides users with a seamless interface and efficient editing experience that perfectly matches the operating system. Whether you're writing technical documents, academic...
    apps.microsoft.com

    It's a markdown editor / viewer for windows 10/11. What's nice it's made to resemble win 11's new notepad. It's very quick and works great. No tabs though. Also supports rich input so you can say copy some of the ars forums content and it will preserve links

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    Andrewcw

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  • #3
    Well because the mods shutdown all the older threads I could never tell people of a Macrium Reflect Free alternative.

    Miray offers a cloning tool. It works. No bells an whistles unless you pay of course. But if you get a Drive that doesn't come with a clone tool. Here you go.

    HDClone | Miray Software

    Miray is the manufacturer of the embeddable RTOSes Sphere, µnOS and Symobi and the software tools HDClone, HDShredder, PCISniffer, DiskSpy, DiskCheck and NetSniffer.
    www.miray.de www.miray.de
     
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    rodalpho

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  • #4
    Man, I used to love this thread!

    WinLayout saves your window locations, very handy for a laptop plugged into multiple monitors in particular because Windows sucks at this. Only 52 stars on github, but nothing comes up on virustotal and it works for me. I wish there was a better solution.
    github.com

    GitHub - pngan/winlayout

    Contribute to pngan/winlayout development by creating an account on GitHub.
    github.com github.com

    EarTrumpet is very well-known but belongs in this thread. It adds a useful volume mixer to your taskbar. The new improved one added to Windows last month still sucks in comparison. (also in winget)

    EarTrumpet

    Volume control for Windows
    eartrumpet.app

    CrystalDiskInfo shows SMART data on your disks. (also in winget)
    crystalmark.info

    CrystalDiskInfo

    About CrystalDiskInfo A HDD/SSD utility software which supports a part of USB, Intel RAID and NVMe. Aoi Edition Standard Edition Shizuku Edition Kurei Kei Edition Download System Requirements OS Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10/11Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022 Architecture x86/x64/ARM64...
    crystalmark.info

    FanControl does what it says on the box. But it also lets you control your fan speed curves based on your GPU temperature, which is helpful for gamers.
    github.com

    GitHub - Rem0o/FanControl.Releases: This is the release repository for Fan Control, a highly customizable fan controlling software for Windows.

    This is the release repository for Fan Control, a highly customizable fan controlling software for Windows. - Rem0o/FanControl.Releases
    github.com github.com

    OpenRefine is extremely powerful and useful if you need to sort through and make sense of large volumes of unstructured data. It lets you cluster together similar words. You'll know if you need it, most of you won't.

    OpenRefine

    openrefine.org openrefine.org

    O&O Shutup10 and WinAero Tweaker allow you to disable all the various telemetry, spyware, and advertisements infesting Windows 10 and 11. (Shutup10 also in winget)

    O&O ShutUp10++ – Free antispy tool for Windows 10 and 11

    With the freeware O&O ShutUp10++, unwanted Windows 10 and 11 features can be disabled and the transfer of sensitive personal data onto Microsoft prevented.
    www.oo-software.com www.oo-software.com
    winaero.com

    Winaero Tweaker

    Winaero Tweaker is a free app for all versions of Windows that lets you adjust (i.e. tweak) hidden secret settings that Microsoft does not let you adjust
    winaero.com
     
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    Wheels Of Confusion

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  • #7
    MKVToolnix

    MKVToolNix news – Matroska tools for Linux/Unix and Windows

    mkvtoolnix.download mkvtoolnix.download
    I have used the Windows GUI version for simple stuff. Like attaching a separate video file of English credits to the foreign films from the same disc, but that weren't baked into the same file on the disc, and for chopping up some home-shot footage by timestamp, without having to use an actual video editor.
     
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  • #12
    Screenbox
    apps.microsoft.com

    Screenbox Media Player - Official app in the Microsoft Store

    Screenbox is a modern media player that strives to bring a fresh new take on the classic application. It offers a sleek and intuitive user interface that can adapt to your system's capabilities. Designed for a seamless experience across a wide range of Windows devices and Xbox consoles...
    apps.microsoft.com

    It's The win 11 media player app, only it's using LibVLC for playback.
     
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    caffeinated

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  • #13
    Nirsoft's Volumouse I've been using this super-convenient, alternate volume control for years.

    Volumouse - control the sound volume with a wheel mouse

    Control the sound volume with a wheel mouse
    www.nirsoft.net


    PDFsam Basic A handy little utility for simple PDF manipulation.
    pdfsam.org

    PDF Split And Merge

    A free and open source software to merge, split, rotate and extract pages from PDF files
    pdfsam.org pdfsam.org
     
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  • #14
    FreeOffice

    FreeOffice: Overview of features

    Learn more about FreeOffice for Windows, Mac and Linux, the best and free alternative to Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
    www.freeoffice.com www.freeoffice.com

    It's a somewhat cut down version of softmaker office for free. Great office suite that may not have every bell and whistle, but it's speedy, fast, and free. Even has the ability to use the ribbon or the "classic" toolbar/menu interface.
     
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    LordDaMan

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  • #16
    Media Player Classic - Home Cinema
    github.com

    GitHub - clsid2/mpc-hc: Media Player Classic

    Media Player Classic. Contribute to clsid2/mpc-hc development by creating an account on GitHub.
    github.com github.com

    This is a more modern fork of the old Media player Classic - Home Cinema that existed some years back, which itself was a fork from Media Player Classic, which was itself a media player based on wmp 6.

    This adds hardware acceleration for pretty much everything, more modern codecs, x64 support, a "modern" skin to fit into windows better, and numerous other features

    Screenshot 2023-12-28 103819.png
     
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    caffeinated

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  • #17
    SuperF4 is the tool you need when Alt+F4 isn't getting the job done.

    stefansundin.github.io

    SuperF4

    Kill programs instantly with Ctrl+Alt+F4.
    stefansundin.github.io stefansundin.github.io

    In addition to its Ctrl+Alt+F4 (default) use, if you let the utility run on startup, you can right-click its icon in your systray and access a very handy xkill function.
     
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    Lord Evermore

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  • #18
    Andrewcw said:
    Well because the mods shutdown all the older threads I could never tell people of a Macrium Reflect Free alternative.

    Miray offers a cloning tool. It works. No bells an whistles unless you pay of course. But if you get a Drive that doesn't come with a clone tool. Here you go.
    Click to expand...
    A partial tool anyway without paying, given the pretty major limitations. One issue that many people don't consider: Will it clone from a drive with 512-byte sectors to one with 4K-native sectors? (Not in 512e mode.) Almost no backup or cloning tools will do that. They won't even try and result in a non-bootable drive, the applications will just refuse to do it. Miray's forums have one user that asked, and it sounds like the Basic version might have the capability but it's not completely clear. (Waiting for registration approval so I can ask.) The only one I found that works is Casper which is a time-limited trial but the bootable USB stick you can make seems to work forever. It sometimes has the same problem I found even with restoring backups from True Image and Reflect, in that I get an error about the winload.efi file and it requires a recovery boot drive to repair the BCD, but at least it works.

    Casper
     
    s@nDOk@n

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  • #19
    Hey...This isn't an app per se, but it is a free service I find to be useful.

    Download the ISO of the operating system you need in a few clicks

    os.click is a web app that facilitates the download of Windows or Linux ISO.

    Downloading the ISO you want from the operating system publisher's site can often be complicated and tedious.

    os.click allows you to go faster and obtain in a few clicks the download link of the exact version of the operating system that you want to install on your computer. No need to search for hours the ISO you wanted!
    Click to expand...

    os.click
     
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    andygoblins

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  • #22
    LordDaMan said:
    Far Manager

    Far Manager Official Site : main

    www.farmanager.com www.farmanager.com

    It's another text mode file manager in the style of Norton Commander. It has a nice plugin system with lots of plugins available It's cool that you can use one of the picture plugins and view a picture in cmd/windows terminal
    Click to expand...
    Far is definitely my favorite Windows util. I much prefer it vs juggling two Explorer windows for file browsing and manipulation.
     
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    Andrewcw

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  • #23
    Ok i found this out of the need of a particular Dell model laptop keyboard that keys die from a manufacturing flaw. So like on one keyboard neither of the control keys work so i try to remap the ALT key to Control. I tried powertoys/tools but that only intercepted the keyboard call.

    This app goes to the registry and remaps the key so i have one ALT key working as CNTL. You could manually type it all in. But this one makes it so much more convienent.

    So a Keyboard Remapper for Windows.

    www.medo64.com

    Scancode Map 1.11

    It all stated by me getting annoyed with F1 key. As it is only a registry change, I did it manually; easy enough. But then I got another laptop that had no context key (damn you HP). So I remapped Right Alt to Context menu. But I also wanted F1. And for my media computer…
    www.medo64.com www.medo64.com
     
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  • #25
    Jellyfin

    jellyfin.org

    The Free Software Media System | Jellyfin

    The volunteer-built media solution that puts you in control of your media. Stream to any device from your own server, with no strings attached.
    jellyfin.org jellyfin.org

    A nice PVR/Media Center. It's like NVPR but much simpler to set up and nicer to use. Worked like a charm with my hdhomerun.
     
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    Tushmeister

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  • #26
    Lord Evermore said:
    A little risky, downloading OS images from an unofficial site. And of course illegal for them to be hosting images of all of Microsoft's OS releases.
    Click to expand...

    I was thinking the exact same thing when I visited the website. But then again, how can such a website exist without Microsoft's consent? In this day & age of instant searches, wouldn't they (MS) have found out about this by now and served with a DCMA notice? I'm thinking they probably have their consent, otherwise they probably wouldn't be operating in daylight. Just my thoughts.
     
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    Lord Evermore

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  • #29
    Tushmeister said:
    I was thinking the exact same thing when I visited the website. But then again, how can such a website exist without Microsoft's consent? In this day & age of instant searches, wouldn't they (MS) have found out about this by now and served with a DCMA notice? I'm thinking they probably have their consent, otherwise they probably wouldn't be operating in daylight. Just my thoughts.
    Click to expand...
    Plenty of sites operate openly for long periods before getting shut down. If they were in any way affiliated with or authorized by Microsoft, they would have mentioned it on the site very clearly. Microsoft may not be trying to get them shut down but that doesn't make them legitimate or certain to be safe. They're also using weird methods to even host some of the files, with "SmartVersion" files that require downloading yet another piece of software to re-assemble them. All the Linux images seem to be linking directly to the distro's own servers or mirrors.
     
    Paladin

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  • #31
    I actually don't think it is at all illegal for them to host downloads of Windows ISO files. Lots of people do that. Using it to make money might raise some red flags at Microsoft but it doesn't seem they are doing that. There may be questions of license compliance or something that might justify a civil suit but nothing seems criminal about it. If Microsoft wants them to stop, they certainly have the lawyers on staff to send a C&D letter.
     
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    Tushmeister

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  • #32
    Lord Evermore said:
    Plenty of sites operate openly for long periods before getting shut down. If they were in any way affiliated with or authorized by Microsoft, they would have mentioned it on the site very clearly. Microsoft may not be trying to get them shut down but that doesn't make them legitimate or certain to be safe. They're also using weird methods to even host some of the files, with "SmartVersion" files that require downloading yet another piece of software to re-assemble them. All the Linux images seem to be linking directly to the distro's own servers or mirrors.
    Click to expand...

    We have plenty of savvy users on this forum who have been around for a long time. They can make up their own damn minds about whether that website is safe or not and where to find alternatives if they feel uneasy about it. I personally think you're making a bigger deal out of this than necessary.
     
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    Tushmeister

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  • #33
    Getting back to the point of this thread.

    I found about Aria2. It's a download accelerator for YT-DLP (formerly youtube-dl). I was skeptical at first but it really does a nice job of splitting the download stream into different threads. To use, simply unzip the package into a folder of your choosing. It can be anywhere really. Then just point YT-DLP to it using the built-in option: --downloader aria2c. Or you can simply put that into a configuration file eliminating the need to type it out each time when performing a download. If you want to use the example I just provided (--downloader aria2c) you'll have to include that into the system PATH variable so Windows knows where to find the executable. Otherwise you'll need to include the full path to aria2c with with double quotation marks if it contains any spaces.. e.g. --downloader "C:\Some folder\aria2c.exe"


    If you've never used YT-DLP before, it's completely command line driven. There is a front-end GUI for it but I don't think it's really that necessary. (Learning how to use YT-DLP is fairly simple & straightforward).
     
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    Lord Evermore

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  • #34
    Tushmeister said:
    We have plenty of savvy users on this forum who have been around for a long time. They can make up their own damn minds about whether that website is safe or not and where to find alternatives if they feel uneasy about it. I personally think you're making a bigger deal out of this than necessary.
    Click to expand...
    And that's my right. But I was just pointing it out. Not one of the multiple people feeling the need to defend it. Let those savvy users do what they will with my original comment.
     
    LordDaMan

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  • #35
    This one is pretty niche but a lifesaver:

    zap2xml

    github.com

    GitHub - jef/zap2xml: 📺 Automate zap2it TV guide to XMLTV

    📺 Automate zap2it TV guide to XMLTV. Contribute to jef/zap2xml development by creating an account on GitHub.
    github.com github.com

    Most of the PVR systems require some sort of listings in order to use the PVR function correctly. Most (all?) of them can use what's called a xmltv xml file to get listings from. The app I posted is a command line app that goes to the zap2it website, converts their listings for the week into a properly formatted xmltv file, and then exports a xml file to be used with the PVR. I have a little batch that's runs every day at midnight that uses this to generate a xml which jellyfin (look a few posts above) uses.
     
    Paladin

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  • #37
    In case you need to expose a system to the internet (Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012R2 or later, I think) for things like RDP, exchange, etc. that put user login failures into the windows logs, this little friend basically replicates the Fail2Ban capability that people have used for ages in Linux into a very nice little service in Windows.

    github.com

    GitHub - DigitalRuby/IPBan: Since 2011, IPBan is the worlds most trusted, free security software to block hackers and botnets. With both Windows and Linux support, IPBan has your dedicated or cloud server protected. Upgrade to IPBan Pro today and get

    Since 2011, IPBan is the worlds most trusted, free security software to block hackers and botnets. With both Windows and Linux support, IPBan has your dedicated or cloud server protected. Upgrade t...
    github.com github.com

    It also integrates with IPThreat to populate your windows firewall with a choice of IP lists for rated threats.

    IPThreat - Integration with IPBan

    IPThreat is a 100% free and community powered ip address database of hackers and botnets. Protect your computers today and create a free account.
    ipthreat.net ipthreat.net

    The free version does not have much UI beyond a text config file but it has a huge set of options and I think it can pull a config from a URL if you want to centralize/automate it a bit. The config file has a ton of options for various whitelisting, rate limiting and other options for managing the way IPs get banned, how long, etc. It seems very mature.
     
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    rodalpho

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  • #38
    That reminds me of another great program, Windows Firewall Control. It's an extremely lightweight program that sits in your taskbar and coordinates the built-in Windows Firewall, adding pop-ups to allow/disallow connections. I've used it for like a decade. Now owned by Malwarebytes but they completely left it alone. Only downside is it is unfortunately not open-source.

    Windows Firewall Control

    Windows Firewall Control is a powerful tool which extends the functionality of Windows Firewall by adding outbound notifications and many other features.
    www.binisoft.org www.binisoft.org
     
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    LordDaMan

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  • #39
    Kasa Smart Control

    apps.microsoft.com

    Kasa Smart Control - Official app in the Microsoft Store

    Using your TP-Link tplinkcloud.com account Kasa Smart Control allows you to toggle, switch on and off and show the status of TP-Link Smart Plugs (HS, and some KP) and TP-Link Smart Bulbs (you can set the brightness of bulbs that have that feature), in Windows and not just on your phone. This...
    apps.microsoft.com

    For some reason TP Link enabled smart devices (plugs/bulbs/sockets) don't have a windows based control. This is a pretty barebones program to control them. I used it during Xmas for my lights outside.
     
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    LordDaMan

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  • #40
    QuickLook

    github.com

    GitHub - QL-Win/QuickLook: Bring macOS “Quick Look” feature to Windows

    Bring macOS “Quick Look” feature to Windows. Contribute to QL-Win/QuickLook development by creating an account on GitHub.
    github.com github.com

    It's a clone of MacOS quick look utility. It's updated often and even has a plugin system. I find it much faster and somewhat better UI then ms powertool's peek
     
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