important computer things you should know about

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hydrometeor

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I decided to make a list. A lot of these are probably obvious.

Software you should have installed:

Adobe Photoshop
SSH
Microsoft Office
MATLAB
Firefox with Adblock and Chatzilla extensions
xvid codec
BitTornado
Alcohol 120%
PSPad (best text editor)
Aim Ad Hack (AOL instant messenger without ads or spyware)
PDF Creator
AVG Free

Non-obvious websites you need to know about/visit:

www.drudgereport.com (most important news site, directs all national news channels)
http://www.smacki.com/mp3 search using google (to search for mp3s)
www.thepiratebay.org (best torrent site)
www.stickam.com (myspace + webcam chatrooms)
http://www.pierceive.com/ (use this site to set your adblock filters)
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ (make sure a movie has a good rating before you watch it)


Feel free to add to this list!
 
I presume it's acceptable to post additions? For example, Irfanview, NoScript for Firefox, mIRC.
 
Utilities you should use:
Type in "msconfig" in Run to get a window where you can disable all the annoying software running in the background - speeds up your computer.

Shortcuts you should know:
Firefox:
Ctrl+Shift+Tab - go to the next tab
Ctrl+T - opens new tab
Ctrl+F - opens the Find toolbar

Windows:
Alt+Tab - select windows currently open
Ctrl+Shift+C - copies the contents of a pop-up window onto the clipboard. This is really handy for when you get an error. I used to have to type the whole bloody error myself, until I found this trick.

Software you should have:
Launchy
 
while I know you're trying to help, is it acceptable to this forum to post directions for illegally downloading music through google? Also a lot of our members are young, so perhaps you shouldn't have that porn link in there.

Did you ask a moderator what was acceptable before you posted?
 
CCleaner, Ad-Aware and Steam are of regular use for me.

And now so will a certain site in the OP. :p
 
Some things in that list aren't essential, Hydro. Matlab's only useful for programming; it's probably not something everyone needs installed. Also, while this is the internet and you can get everything for free, there are some legally free alternatives to some of the software on your list.

OpenOffice Suite - Free, opensource office package. Word processor, spreadsheet, database, powerpoint, some other programs. Can open and save MSOffice file formats.

Gimp - Photoshop alternative. Contains many of the same features, and it's free.

SnoopFree Privacy Shield - This is a good supplement to your preventive software (antivirus, firewall, spyware scanner). What this does is protect you against keyloggers and programs that take unauthorized screencaptures.

HijackThis - Another piece of security software, HJT creates a log file of processes running on your computer. You have to sort out what's good and bad yourself, but it's handy if you suspect something malicious might be running.

PrcView - Similar to above. Lists processes running, file location, allows you to set priority and kill.

Codecs - Xvid codec, which Hydro listed, but you might also want to grab some other codecs like the Community Codec Pack and ffdshow (which has support for Xvid, FLV, Vorbis).

Links:
Savetube - Save Youtube videos. You'll need a desktop flv player or flv-to-video conversion software to watch.

Also, there are lots of sites like redtube...pornotube, xxxtube, but they're all shit. Those aren't the best free porn video sites on the internet, because 80% of the time you can't find what you're looking for and then 50% of the time the videos don't even work. Best free porn video site on the internet is Ask Jolene. You're welcome.
 
Daemontools?
Or is that a little lower than semi-legal?
 
daemon tools - virtual cd simulator.
launchy - application launcher , cant function without it.
notepad++ - notepad on steroids.
slickedit - one of my favourite IDEs.
 
While the topic is in the wrong forum, and it seems an almost bizzare idea... and is worded quite poorly... and the title not even capitilised...

I feel it necessary to include the only useful program ever created.
The useful of all utilities
The program above all others
The Lord among "little helpful programs"

And yes, once you install it... you won't be able to live without it.

It is...

Launchy!

Seriously guys, this little program is surprisingly useful. At home, without internet, I'm constantly Alt+Spacing (although I'll probably change the shortcut... again) and am like... where's my Launchy?! :(

Edit: I'm aware it's been mentioned, but I saw no link.
 
sea said:
Notepad is good enough already, heathen.
Click to expand...

err, no..

notepad++ is awesome, and necessary if you're editing source at all.

MATLAB - not really necessary unless you're doing math/science homework a lot

BitTornado - utorrent is much better

Aim Ad Hack (AOL instant messenger without ads or spyware) - if you're gonna use aim, use pidgin (used to be gaim)
 
Trillian is better than all the other AIM alternatives... you can use AIM, MSN, ICQ, and I believe Yahoo as well, all in one client. Plus, no ads.
 
oh please... MATLAB? and who the hell still uses mIRC these days. get with the times, people.
 
Some really useful sites/progs in this thread that I didn't know about. :)

Darkside55 said:
Links:
Savetube - Save Youtube videos.

Also, there are lots of sites like redtube...pornotube, xxxtube, but they're all shit. Those aren't the best free porn video sites on the internet, because 80% of the time you can't find what you're looking for and then 50% of the time the videos don't even work. Best free porn video site on the internet is Ask Jolene. You're welcome.
Click to expand...

I always used iTube because I could save the videos and watch them in iTunes. I'll have to check this out.

As far as AskJolene, I see there are only "promo" sample videos. Meh. Redtube, Youporn, etc., provide full-fledged videos, and better ones at that.
 
Oh, speaking of game news, Stern reminded me of a good gaming news site most people have never heard about: www.the-magicbox.com. It's strictly console, but really good about the latest news and release dates, especially for stuff coming out of .jp.

joule said:
As far as AskJolene, I see there are only "promo" sample videos. Meh. Redtube, Youporn, etc., provide full-fledged videos, and better ones at that.
Click to expand...
When they work. Most of the time they don't, and selection's limited unless you just want run-of-the-mainstream stuff. And porn connoisseurs live off of samples and linkjumps. Bread and butter, man. If you really want full-fledged videos just grab yourself a puretna account (google it) or hit up rapidsearch.
 
tehsolace said:
oh please... MATLAB? and who the hell still uses mIRC these days. get with the times, people.
Click to expand...

Omg... if I ever bother to read the previous thread to find out who even considered using Matlab... I swear I'll find a use for my crowbar!
 
Darkside55 said:
When they work. Most of the time they don't, and selection's limited unless you just want run-of-the-mainstream stuff. And porn connoisseurs live off of samples and linkjumps. Bread and butter, man. If you really want full-fledged videos just grab yourself a puretna account (google it) or hit up rapidsearch.
Click to expand...

Hm, I prefer to stream.

BugMeNot - Helps at times when you don't feel like registering to a site.

Defraggler and Recuva - Made by the same folks who brought you CCleaner. Excellent freeware to defragment your files and restore files that you may have accidentally deleted.

www.tweakguides.com - One of the first bookmarks I hit. Prime source for useful tweaks to the latest games and latest tech/game news.

Side question: Is Trillian better than Pidgin(formerly Gaim)?
 
I've used AVG for years with Source games...I've never had a problem with it.
 
Uninstalling it stopped the crashes I got every five minutes or so. Not just programme exits, but full-blown trousers-down white-flag-surrenders by my PC. I think I probably spent more time booting up and getting ready to play Episode One than I actually spent playing it!
 
Don't put your computer in a fire. I'm not sure if there is a program to stop you from doing this.
 
dekstar said:
while I know you're trying to help, is it acceptable to this forum to post directions for illegally downloading music through google? Also a lot of our members are young, so perhaps you shouldn't have that porn link in there.

Did you ask a moderator what was acceptable before you posted?
Click to expand...

hows it illegal, theres millions of free mp3's and cd samples that people might be searching for.
 
BitLord does me so much better...

And stewie, you're not a moderator, get off your high horse. If it needs to be moved, they will do it. They won't ask for your permission.
 
Druckles said:
I'm constantly Alt+Spacing (although I'll probably change the shortcut... again) and am like... where's my Launchy?! :(
Click to expand...
that happens to me ALL the time , i sit down in my computer lab or at the library and attempt to just launch my way to the browser or IDE. you should try ALT+x alt+space gets annoying when you try to expand or minimize windows.
 
Object Dock. Oh how lost I would be without my customizable docks.
 
Well, most of the good ones have been mentioned, but here's a couple of programs that I use frequently:

Windows Power Toys - I use the power toy calculator almost daily (when I'm not using Mathematica)

VLC Media Player - A media player that can play just about anything.

KM Player - Like VLC player, but with a sexier interface. Worlds better than Windows media player.

Opera Browser - Not exactly "essential," but its a good alternative to firefox.

SVN - Lot's of devs are using this now I think.

LyX (LaTeX) - LaTeX with a gui. Essential of you do equation heavy word processing and you want to get it done quickly without it looking like crap (ie, not MS Word)

Ad-Aware - A spyware hunter. Sometimes it finds things that ccleaner misses.

Fraps - A somewhat decent and popular digital recoriding device (for taking videos of a computer game and the like)

If you're in to editing for the source engine, these are a must:

GCFScape - Lets you browse the contents (eg textures and maps) of source games.

VTFEdit - A program for importing, exporting, and editing VTF files

Also, as for "special entertainment," the absolute best I have ever found without a doubt is:
http://www.spankwire.com/ - seriously, it's awesome
 
Adobe Photoshop you say? It's kinda expensive isn't it? :p
 
Firefox is terrible. I had it open for the better part of a day and it was taking up 700 mb of ram by the end
 
Hmmm... Media Player Classic? With the Community Codec Pack, it's all I really need in terms of movies and crap. I can play pretty much anything, I find.

If you ever have tech troubles look out for Belarc Advisor, it's great. It tells you all the possible stats of your computer, hardware and software.
 
CyberPitz said:
And stewie, you're not a moderator, get off your high horse. If it needs to be moved, they will do it. They won't ask for your permission.
Click to expand...
Stewies's got a point. However, I'm leaving this here for now as it's not exactly specifically concerning technical issues: rather, it's an attempt to provide people with a great big list of useful stuff. To my mind that better belongs in The Lounge, both because of its subject and because more people will look at it.

I can't believe I forgot OpenOffice.
 
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