The Open Source/Freeware Thread

[Lucifer]

I've just found some great software for making panoramic photos:

Hugin

I found this over at opensource living.com, (which if you've never been there, is a great list of open source software. I've been looking for some time for something decent and free, since Photoshop Elements does an unsatisfactory job of compiling the shots into a coherent image. This is a very easy system, basically load the images you want to compile and the program takes over, shows you a preview and then joins the images...and voila:



I then used GIMP photo software to crop the ragged edges of the panorama and compressed it for uploading to the net, cause it turned out to be a 92MB shot!

[boink]

hey that's a cool thing there ^^


I have an app for equilizing the volume levels of your mp3 collection. so the relative volumes is fairly close...so you don't need to constantly change the volume ya know.
MP3Gain Downloads

[biznatch]

Originally Posted by boink

hey that's a cool thing there ^^


I have an app for equilizing the volume levels of your mp3 collection. so the relative volumes is fairly close...so you don't need to constantly change the volume ya know.
MP3Gain Downloads

I'm wondering if batch editing the volume levels of MP3s would alter the sound quality at all. Of course, maybe I should look into it myself rather than just wonder aloud.
EDIT: yep, shoulda checked the FAQs. Apparently no harm is done to quality. Thanks for the app, boink.

[Halx]

Best Free Application for ____________

Some of these are open source, some of these are free, some of these have free versions. Either way, they're free and good and have my personal stamp of approval.

FTP: FileZilla
FileZilla - The free FTP solution
There is a free client and server application. I use both personally and professionally. Some applications that you have to pay for are absolutely crap compared to this. The live edit mode is great for modifying files directly on the server. Other applications make you upload a new file every time, this program will upload every time you save the file.

HTML/Coding: Notepad++
.:: NOTEPAD++ ::.
This application has code highlighting for a plethora of programs. The only one that it is missing is ColdFusion.

CD Ripping: CDex
CDex | Open Source Digital Audio CD Extractor with more than 37,000,000 downloads

DVD Ripping: Handbrake
HandBrake

Audio/MP3 Editing: Audacity
Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder

Video/Media Player: VLC Player
VideoLAN - Free and Open Source software and video streaming solutions for every OS!

MP3 Player: Winamp
Winamp Media Player - MP3, Multimedia, and Music Player

Image Viewing: IrfanView
IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide

Torrents: Vuse
Azureus, now called Vuze : Bittorrent Client
Java-based torrent application. It consumes very little memory and CPU time while allowing you to download specific files out of your torrents (as opposed to the whole chunk).

Video Editing: (TBA)

Email: Gmail
http://www.google.com/gmail
Web-based email with the BEST spam filtering and the BEST user interface of any mail system.

Web Browser: FireFox
Mozilla.org - Home of the Mozilla Project

Operating System: Ubuntu Linux
UBUNTU - World Forum of Civil Society Networks
These guys have busted their asses to make a desktop OS that rivals windows in usability and funtion. Some would argue that they've surpassed.

[tracyjump]

How to Find the Perfect Christmas Gift at convert-video-dvd site

[SecretMethod70]

Synergy

This is a great little app that allows one computer to act as a keyboard/mouse server for another. For example, I often use my laptop on the keyboard shelf for my desktop, thereby blocking the desktop keyboard. That used to mean that I couldn't really use my desktop at the same time as my laptop, but now my laptop acts as a keyboard/mouse server for my desktop. I just scroll the mouse up and the pointer switches over to the desktop screen which is above my laptop. The keyboard automatically switches over too. And I can even copy/paste text across computers!

[Jove]

WhoCrashed

Summary: Whenever a computer running Windows suddenly reboots without displaying any notice or blue screen of death, the first thing that is often though about is a hardware failure. In reality, most crashes are caused by malfunctioning device drivers and kernel modules. In case of a kernel error, most computers running Windows do not show a blue screen unless they are configured to do so. Instead these systems suddenly reboot without any notice.

WhoCrashed shows the drivers which have been crashing computer with a single click. Normally, debugging skills and a set of debugging tools are required to do post-mortem crash dump analysis. This program checks for available crash dump files and checks for reponsible modules. In most cases it can pinpoint the offending drivers which have been causing misery on your computer system in the past. It does post-mortem crashdump analysis and presents all gathered information in a comprehensible way.

[Hain]

I need to come back to TFP at some point and update my thread-jacks (posts). I have a lot of new toys.

Electric Sheep screen saver - bad ass

Sandboxie - condom for your computer.

FixVTS - repairs DVD information in VOBs. Many of my backed up DVDs' menus no longer play correctly with the latest VLC. I have had to run FixVTS on all of them so that it recognizes the buttons on the menus. Stupid new VLC.

And everything I use is from Portable Apps now.

[Hain]

• Sandboxie (Homepage)(Filehippo)(5/5)(W) - "Sandboxie runs your programs in an isolated space which prevents them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your computer." - Think of it as a condom for your computer. You get to do all that dirty stuff while still able to tie of that sandbox and throw it away--squeeky clean. I always run my browsers sandboxed. (link here)
  
• KeePass Password Safe Portable (Homepage)(5/5)(W) - "the popular KeePass Password Safe packaged as a portable app, so you can securely carry your email, internet and other passwords with you. You can place it on your USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive or a CD and use it on any computer, without leaving any personal information behind." - Even better than the original! Portable Keepass is the sweetest since I never need worry about Keepass leaving anything behind on a system. (link here)

[biznatch]

Cool, I got pointed to this app: Adobe Consulting | User Experience Hub: New Flex Style Explorer: Jam-Packed with New Features
It can run in browser from the adobe site, or you can download it to run it offline. This app allows you to edit the CSS attributes directly, with a great GUI; I'm extremely impressed with how easy this app is to use.
This works on all platforms. This tool is amazing for web developpers and webdesigners.

[dippin]

a couple of free security programs:

Comodo firewall- Free Firewall Antivirus Software Download by Comodo easier to maintain and lighter to use than ZA

and second the avast recommendation:

avast - Download FREE antivirus software - avast! Home Edition
I switched to this one on my laptop because for some reason it would always crash when AVG was trying to apply certain updates.

[dippin]

2 additional freeware programs, one which might interest more people, and the other is pretty specific:

Stellarium Stellarium
A planetarium freeware program. Plug in your coordinates, it gets hour/date from your computer, and voila, you can see the stars, nebulas and planets outside, complete with names, constellations, coordinates, distance and other interesting info for the amateur astronomer.

Deep sky stacker: DeepSkyStacker - Free
For those interested in astro photography, this program automatically aligns multiple pictures if you are doing the multiple exposure/stacking thing

[Hain]

I tried out Stellarium since I am in an astronomy class, and it is really cool. There is a version of it at portableapps, too ( Stellarium Portable | PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives ).

I have some BAT scripts that make ImgBurn and Skype portable. Both have command switches to engage them as portable but it is a shame that they can't be set permanently (yet).

Portable Skype Instructions   click to show 

Create a directory structure that is "\<PATH>\Skype\Phone\Data". Take the skype.exe from an installation (from the installed Skype's "Phone" directory) and copy it into the new Phone directory. Change the path (at the CD line) to the new Phone directory without specifying the drive letter. This is the BAT script:

@ECHO OFF
TITLE Starting Portable Skype
ECHO Skype will start in Removable Mode
ECHO skype.exe /datapath:"Data" /removable
ECHO -  -  -  -  - 
ECHO It is safe to close this command dialog once Skype has started
ECHO For further information, go to
ECHO http://www.von-phone.com/portable-skype.php
ECHO or Google search 'portable skype'
CD "\<PATH>\Skype\Phone"
START skype.exe /datapath:"Data" /removable
EXIT

Portable Skype Example   click to show 

1. My USB flash drive is drive F (in Windows). I have PortableApps on this drive as well. The Skype folder is

   F:\PortableApps\Skype

   The full directory tree, as outlined in the instructions, is

   F:\PortableApps\Skype\Phone\Data\

2. With an existing installation of Skype, I copied the skype.exe from the Phone directory of the installation and put it into the new Phone directory on my flash drive.
3. You can use Notepad to create a BAT file by saving it as "PortableSkype.BAT". My BAT script looks like:
   

   @ECHO OFF
   TITLE Starting Portable Skype
   ECHO Skype is starting in Removable Mode
   ECHO skype.exe /datapath:"Data" /removable
   ECHO -  -  -  -  - 
   ECHO It is safe to close this command dialog once Skype has started
   ECHO For further information, go to
   ECHO http://www.von-phone.com/portable-skype.php
   ECHO or Google search 'portable skype'
   CD "\PortableApps\Skype\Phone"
   START skype.exe /datapath:"Data" /removable
   EXIT

4. I keep this BAT script on the root of the USB flash drive so that I can start Skype quickly. I also keep a copy in the Skype folder, but it is unnecessary to do so.

Portable Skype, ''How to Run Skype from a USB Flash Memory Drive'' (website)   click to show 

From Run Skype from a USB Flash Memory Drive

How to Run Skype from a USB Flash Memory Drive

Skype is a portable application, which means it can be run from a USB flash drive, on any PC (even if Skype is not installed on the PC). This is useful when you are traveling and want to use Skype on a publicly available computer, for example, at a hotel, Internet cafe, library, etc.



How to set up Skype to run from a USB flash drive:

1. Download Skype and install it on your computer. (or, if you have already installed Skype on your computer, continue to step 2)
2. Find skype.exe file where it was installed. (Normally found at C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\skype.exe)
3. On your USB drive create a folder and name it "Skype" and copy skype.exe into this folder
4. Create another folder in this Skype folder on the USB drive and name it "Data"
5. Create a new file in Notepad and name it "skype.bat"
6. Open the "skype.bat" file and add the following text:
skype.exe /datapath:"Data" /removable

That's all! Now you are ready to run Skype from your USB drive. Just plug it into any PC and click on the skype.bat file. This will run Skype from your USB drive.



When you're done, exit the Skype program, unplug the USB flash drive and go. Your call history, account settings and other personal Skype settings stay on your USB flash drive, not on the computer. This is a portable, "clean" and secure way to run Skype on any PC, without installing Skype.



Note: The first time you run Skype from your USB drive you will need to log into Skype with your ID and password. On subsequent uses, you will be logged in automatically when you run "skype.bat.

Portable ImgBurn Instructions   click to show 

Create a directory structure like this: "\<PATH>\ImgBurn\App". Copy an existing ImgBurn installation into the App directory. If one does not exist, create an empty INI file named "ImgBurn.INI" in the App directory. The BAT file is:

@ECHO OFF
TITLE Portable ImgBurn
ECHO Starting ImgBurn in Portable Mode
ECHO ImgBurn.exe /PORTABLE /SETTINGS "ImgBurn.ini"
ECHO -  -  -  -  - 
ECHO It is safe to close this command dialog once ImgBurn has started
ECHO For further information, go to
ECHO http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=4725
ECHO or Google search 'portable imgburn'
CD "\<PATH>\Imgburn\App\"
START ImgBurn.exe /PORTABLE /SETTINGS "ImgBurn.ini"
EXIT

Portable ImgBurn Example   click to show 

1. My USB flash drive is drive F (in Windows). I have PortableApps on this drive as well. The new ImgBurn folder is

   F:\PortableApps\ImgBurn

   The full directory tree, as outlined in the instructions, is

   F:\PortableApps\ImgBurn\App\

2. I copied an existing installation of ImgBurn into the App folder on my flash drive.
3. You can use Notepad to create a BAT file by saving it as "PortableImgBurn.BAT". My BAT script looks like:
   

   @ECHO OFF
   TITLE Portable ImgBurn
   ECHO Starting ImgBurn in Portable Mode
   ECHO ImgBurn.exe /PORTABLE /SETTINGS "ImgBurn.ini"
   ECHO -  -  -  -  - 
   ECHO It is safe to close this command dialog once ImgBurn has started
   ECHO For further information, go to
   ECHO http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=4725
   ECHO or Google search 'portable imgburn'
   CD "\PortableApps\Imgburn\App\"
   START ImgBurn.exe /PORTABLE /SETTINGS "ImgBurn.ini"
   EXIT

4. I keep this BAT script on the root of the USB flash drive so that I can start ImgBurn quickly. I also keep a copy in the ImgBurn folder, but it is unnecessary to do so.

Portable ImgBurn, ''Portable ImgBurn - ImgBurn Support Forum'' (website)   click to show 

From Portable ImgBurn - ImgBurn Support Forum

Posted by: mmalves Aug 25 2007, 04:04 AM

There are 2 CLI switches that do what you want:
QUOTE (ImgBurn Read Me)
/SETTINGS "<File Name>"
Used to override loading the settings from the registry, and instead load from / save to the specified file.
If the file does not exist, default settings will be used and the program will attempt to save to the specified file when it's closed.

Even if this switch is not specified, the program will attempt to load from 'ImgBurn.ini' in the application exe's directory BEFORE it loads from the registry.

/NOSAVESETTINGS
Used to tell the program not to save ANY settings when it's closed.

Posted by: LIGHTNING UK! Aug 25 2007, 10:05 AM

I've also added a '/PORTABLE' CLI command (and reg setting) for the next version so it will save settings (to an ini file or whatever it's configured to do) but won't touch the file extension stuff (which it normally would regardless) that is always registry based.

So now there are combinations to suit everyone's needs.

---------- Post added at 12:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:19 AM ----------

Sometimes I feel like a five-year old...

"Look what I did mommy!"
"Wow sweetie! Let's put that on the fridge so everyone can see."

[Willravel]

Does anyone have experience with using Ubuntu via Boot Camp on a mac? I've done a bit of research and it seems fairly straightforward, but it'd be nice if someone had done it and had any tips.

[tiltedreader]

Have you tried PDF995? I've tried several document to PDF applications, and this one works best for me. It will translate webpages, image files and word files to PDF. You can save the created PDF under a user-specified filename or just print it.[/COLOR]

[Hain]

I have found a Windows application that will format any size drive to FAT32. Other programs have limitations in them which are unacceptable. The software is h2format, and I have a separate thread dedicated to this program.

H2Format: Formatting large hard drives (>32GB) in FAT32

[Runningwater]

Another very nice open-source/freeware program that runs across multiple OS/Platforms is X-Box Media Center. It's what I use for my media center on an XP box. I have put all my DVD's in an ISO format and XBMC picks them up and uses different scrapers to find Poster art, cast and crew, synopsis, etc. You can also use it for your music and it will also scrap for album covers, etc.

[freeload]

Originally Posted by Runningwater

Another very nice open-source/freeware program that runs across multiple OS/Platforms is X-Box Media Center...

Even better: If you have your ISO image split into like 50 rar files it still shows as just one ISO. No need to un-rar stuff you have...eh...created a nice backup of

[Hain]

I had been experiencing a ton of errors on a set of laptop computers recently where the .NET 3.5 assistant and Silverlight were corrupted on install. The corruption prevented any kind of update or uninstall. After a few Google searches I came across these:

Windows Installer CleanUp Utility

When you are working on your computer and installing a new program, the installation suddenly fails. Now you are left with a partly installed program. You try to install the program again, but you are unsuccessful. Or, maybe you have problems trying to remove an old program because the installation files are corrupted.

Do not worry. Windows Installer CleanUp Utility might be able to help. You can use the utility to remove installation information for programs that were installed by using Windows Installer. Be aware that Windows Installer CleanUp Utility will not remove the actual program from your computer. However, it will remove the installation files so that you can start the installation, upgrade, or uninstall over.

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility

That solved the Silverlight problem.

This solved the .NET problem

Automated cleanup tool to remove the .NET Framework 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5

I have posted an updated version of the .NET Framework cleanup tool that now contains support for automatically cleaning up the .NET Framework 1.0, the .NET Framework 1.1, the .NET Framework 2.0, the .NET Framework 3.0 and the .NET Framework 3.5.

This tool automates the manual cleanup steps for the .NET Framework 2.0 that I posted a while ago. These steps have helped solve most of the known .NET Framework 2.0 beta uninstall issues that I know of. In addition, the tool can be useful to return your system to a known (relatively clean) state in case you run into any .NET Framework 2.0 installation failures so that you can try to install again.

The updated version of the cleanup tool contains options to clean up the .NET Framework 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 separately and all versions simultaneously in a single step. The cleanup tool contains logic so that if it is run on an OS version that includes the .NET Framework as an OS component, it will not offer the option to clean it up. This means that running the cleanup tool on Windows XP Media Center Edition or Tablet PC Edition will not offer the option to clean up the .NET Framework 1.0, running it on Windows Server 2003 will not offer the option to clean up the .NET Framework 1.1 and running it on Windows Vista will not offer the option to clean up the .NET Framework 2.0 or the .NET Framework 3.0.

Aaron Stebner's WebLog : Automated cleanup tool to remove the .NET Framework 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5

[Zweiblumen]

Here is a website that lists open software alternatives to commercial software.
Find Open Source Alternatives to commercial software | Open Source Alternative - osalt.com