brinkiepie
7/26/2016 - 6:22 PM
Brinkie Pie's List of Must-Have Tools (Windows)
Brinkie Pie's List of Must-Have Tools (Windows)
== Brinkie Pie's List of Must-Have Tools (Windows) ==
List is optimized for Win8 and above.
My list for older versions of Windows would have the exact same tools, but also a few more to cover features that are now built-in in Windows 8 and above.
note: since Windows 8, apps cannot make themselves default for certain filetypes anymore. Instead, you have rightclick a file of each desired type and select "open with" to make the app default. For some well configured applications, you can also use Default Programs in the settings.
= Look'n'Feel =
Screen Dimmer:
- f.lux
https://justgetflux.com/
dims your screen at night, to reduce eye-strain and help you sleep better
first you gonna be like "WTF", but you quickly get used to it and will love me for it
Tabs for Windows Explorer:
- QTTabbar
http://qttabbar.wikidot.com/
add tabs to Windows (folder) Explorer
you will ETERNALLY LOVE ME for this
Font-Renderer:
- MacType
https://github.com/Klaudit/mactype
This will improve how text is displayed in most applications. Makes it look smoother, nicer to look at.
When the configuration window shows up in Chinese, click the language bar in the top-right and change to English
= Media =
Video Player:
(pick one)
- VLC Player
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/
most popular media player out there, it's great
- Light Alloy (great alternative to VLC player)
http://www.light-alloy.ru/
- recommended skin: Webform
advantages over VLC:
- click to pause
- click&drag to move window
- preview when moving mouse over seekbar
- Daum PotPlayer
http://potplayer.daum.net/
simple video player with many settings and features
GIF Viewer:
- GIFviewer
http://sourceforge.net/projects/gifviewer/
very simple application to view GIFs
alternatively, just set your favourite browser as GIF viewer (yes, that works!)
Image Viewer:
- PicasaPhotoViewer
http://gluek.info/wiki/software/picasa
sweet "lightbox" picture viewer that comes with Picasa, without having to install Picasa.
install this, if you do not want to install Picasa for looking at pics
Photo Manager:
- Picasa
http://filehippo.com/download_picasa/
definitely the best photo manager out there
has a built-in editor for colour adjustments; face recognition; easy to use (fool-proof)
comes with a great built-in picture viewer (see above)
officially, Picasa has been discontinued, but you can still use it
= Internet =
Video/Music Downloader:
- youtube-dlG
https://github.com/MrS0m30n3/youtube-dl-gui
let's you download videos/songs from just about any popular website
incl. Youtube, SoundCloud, Facebook
based on the super reliable and very well maintained commandline-tool youtube-dl
= Office/Productivity =
Quick Text Editor:
- Notepad2-mod
http://xhmikosr.io/notepad2-mod/
best leightweight notepad alternative for quickly editing single files
Office Suite:
- Kingsoft Office (aka. WPS Office)
http://www.ksosoft.com/product/office-free.html
good MS Office alternative
1:1 MS Office copy, most popular office in China
[note: if you are a fan of OpenOffice, move to LibreOffice instead. The OpenOffice team had to rename it to LibreOffice for licensing issues, so it is basically the same, but with more features & updates. when using OpenOffice, you will not be notified of the change, so many people just don't know about this]
= Security =
Adware Avoider:
- Unchecky
http://unchecky.com/
automatically deselects adware that comes with installers
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Virus Check:
- VirusTotalUploader
https://www.virustotal.com/en/documentation/desktop-applications/
quickly check a suspicious file (or anything you download) with >50 antivirus programs at once, by it to virustotal.com
Note on Security
even with VTUploader you should get a PROPER security software, like Kaspersky Internet Security!!!
Even if you think you "use common sense" and "only download bullshit", you probably are doing exactly that. Stop being an idiot, blinded by pride, and just get an AV!
= Tools =
(Un)Archiver:
- 7-Zip
http://7-zip.org/
7-Zip has its UNDISPUTED place as best archiver out there.
Screenshotter:
(there are a two REALLY GOOD ones out there, so take your pick)
- Greenshot
http://getgreenshot.org/
very lightweight and simple
- ShareX
https://getsharex.com/
more feature-ful than Greenshot
has a screenrecorder which can also output gifs
Screenrecorder:
(if you got ShareX, it has one built-in)
- LICEcap
http://cockos.com/licecap/
simple gif screenrecorder
Window Mover:
- AltDrag
https://stefansundin.github.io/altdrag/
hold down the ALT-key to drag around windows
once you've used this, you won't ever want to live without it
= System =
Audio Output-Device Switcher:
- PlaybackDevice
http://heilnizar.deviantart.com/art/PlaybackDevice-Audio-Output-Switch-285591834
switch your audio output device with a single click
I recommned having this as your first pinned program in my taskbar
so I can use Win+1 (or just click it) to switch between e.g. headset and loudspeaker
Backup:
- Veeam Endpoint Protection
https://www.veeam.com/endpoint-backup-free.html
Veeam specializes in backup software for Virtual Machines, but this goodie is great for regular computers. Best free backup tool I can recommend
- CrashPlan
https://store.crashplan.com/store/
popular backup tool; offers paid online backup
Prevent Win10 Update:
- GWX ControlPanel
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
let's you prevent Windows from updating to Windows 10
= Maintenance =
Graphics Driver Updater:
- GeForce Experience
http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience
if you have an NVIDIA gfx card, get GeForce Experience
- Catalyst
https://www.amd.com/en-us/innovations/software-technologies/catalyst
ATI/AMD gfx card users get Catalyst instead
Space analyser:
- TreeSize
http://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free/
quickly find large files/folders
pro tip: use this to check your online drives (e.g. Dropbox) to see what takes up space
File recovery:
(recover deleted files. also works on e.g. SD cards!)
- Recuva
http://www.piriform.com/recuva
easiest file recovery tool
- PhotoRec
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
more complicated to use, but has a slightly better recovery rate
== Tipps, etc ==
- Obsidian Cursor (NICE dark cursor) http://teft.deviantart.com/art/Obsidian-Cursor-set-78972293
- use your browser as default GIF and/or PDF viewer, if you don't want to have extra programs (right click > open with > [x] always open with ###)
- quickly cycle through windows when clicking the taskbar (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS) http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16334/make-the-taskbar-buttons-switch-to-the-last-active-window-in-windows-7/
- lotsa nice tweaks http://lifehacker.com/5384603/the-best-windows-tweaks-that-still-work-in-windows-7
- make show window titles in taskbar http://www.mydigitallife.info/how-to-display-text-on-taskbar-buttons-in-windows-7/
- don't group items in taskbar, but only show icons http://www.mydigitallife.info/never-combine-icons-or-only-combine-when-full-but-hide-labels-in-windows-7-taskbar/
== Additional Notes ==
Q: What about Java?
A: Do you play Minecraft? Then get Java. You don't play Minecraft? Then you probably don't need Java. At all. For anything.
Q: What about Chat/IM?
A: Depends on what services you use. I recommend Slack or Discord (if you use Discord, check out BetterDiscord which adds an addon-system). If you use Skype, you might wanna check out Skype Portable. If you use anything else, maybe a lightweight multi-messenger such as Trillian or Pidgin is right for you.
Q: What are those "older Windows version tools" you'd recommend?
A: WinCDEmu, 3RVX, AquaSnap, InfraRecorder, MyDefrag (Win8+'s built in defrag is bettter), OpenWith
Q: What about Peerblock to stay safe when torrenting?
A: Peerblock does not help you staying safe AT ALL. https://torrents.reddit.com/comments/17gold