List of Useful and Free Software v2

[Genocidicbunny]

I dont think that is possible. There is no one way a file can be a corrupt.

For instance, lets say I have a .rar file. If I rename it to a .jpg, it will be a corrupt jpeg, but still a valid rar archive. You'd need a program that can recognize not only every type of file (damn near impossible, there are tons of file name extensions) or recognizes the type of data in the file (same problem) and can then see if it corrupt.

One of my CS professors used to tell us: "There is but one way a file can be non-corrupted but an infinite number of ways it can be corrupted."

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

That makes sense. But the program BadPeggy it can check the JPEGs and say exactly whats wrong with them (e.g. bad Huffman code, whatever that is). I thought thered be some equalivant (I dont think I spelled that right) for PNGs.

 

[PeteAtoms]

As an alternative to Skype, Google Voice has been made open to the public recently,

 

[candle86]

Ok your missing stables of the PC industry which are free

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Cleanup
Combofix

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I stumbled on this site by accident. Though not specifically software it has some nice icons. Ive downloaded some already.
Iconspedia

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Here's another one, courtesy of Reddit for pointing it out:
http://new.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/

Can match most fonts from an image.

 

[Zack]

I didn't see Glary Utilities anywhere, it's pretty awesome.

 

[PeteAtoms]

I didn't see Glary Utilities anywhere, it's pretty awesome.

It's been mentioned. It came up while I was making a list of the stuff from the first thread, which Genocidicbunny will hopefully use to update the OP someday.

 

[PeteAtoms]

A free webapp/service called IORAD was featured at Lifehacker today.

If you're the one who has to explain computer things to co-workers, friends, or family members, IORAD knows your pain. The webapp is set up specifically to capture screens and video demonstrations, then annotate them with easy-to-grasp tools.

IORAD is a Java-based webapp, which normally elicits groans 'round these parts. But that back-end gives IORAD a bit more power in capturing your desktop, or specific application screens, in powerful ways. You can either capture a single window and annotate it with text, arrows, and other common image editing tools, or grab a video of everything you do inside a window to demonstrate mouse actions or multi-step processes. When you're done clicking about, IORAD automatically adds arrow pointers and highlights to provide a template for explaining what just went down. It might take a few minutes to get used to the interface, but it's probably a long-term time saver over laborious screen capture and manual image editing.

I think I'm going to make some simple tutorials for my parents. When I move out of the house in a couple months, they are going to be completely lost. I still have to show them how to attach files to emails So I'm gonna give this thing a go.

 

[civ_king]

I have found ClickToFlash a delightful program, it does increase page load speeds slightly, but you only run flash when you need it, thus saving you valuable battery life for your laptop

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

AntiDupl.NET it finds duplicate pictures like VisiPics. It picks up some stuff VisiPics doesnt but theres more false positives too, you can change the threshold in the options.

 

[Zack]

Google Docs is better than Microsoft Office... and it's free.

 

[PeteAtoms]

Google Docs is better than Microsoft Office... and it's free.

Microsoft Web Apps was released to get MS Office in Google Doc's market.

Zoho is also another popular alternative to Google Docs. (I think it's been added before though).

Also Doc.com if you have Facebook.

 

[Zelig]

Google Docs is better than Microsoft Office... and it's free.

Calling Google Docs better than MS Office is a real stretch.

 

[Mise]

Google Docs is pathetic compared to MS Office. The only redeeming feature is that it is free, but even then, if you want a free office suit, OpenOffice is 100x better than Google Docs.

Google Docs is useful for storage, and for recording things collaboratively (e.g. bill payments), but even then it's easier to do the spreadsheet in MS Office, and then upload it to Google Docs when it's complete. Creating something even minimally complicated from scratch in Google Docs is an absolute nightmare.

 

[PeteAtoms]

I agree. I did a PowerPoint/presentation using Google Docs for a marketing project, and it looked awful. No where near as useful as OpenOffice Impress.

 

[Zack]

Sorry, I meant better for sharing with others.

 

[Mise]

BTW, are there any of these online office app things that can work on a mobile? As in, to edit spreadsheets or text documents via a web-enabled smartphone?

 

[Zelig]

BTW, are there any of these online office app things that can work on a mobile? As in, to edit spreadsheets or text documents via a web-enabled smartphone?

I probably wouldn't bother trying with any other than Google or MS.

At the moment, it looks like only Google has something worth using, and it looks like it's mostly geared towards businesses.

http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/mobile.html

FWIW, it should be pretty easy to set up pretty much anything for editing plaintext, rather than full-featured office documents: http://simplenoteapp.com/ (Works with Android as well)

 

[Mise]

Yeah, the mobile version of Google Docs isn't very good... You can't edit or create documents, but you can view them. It's a shame because, to me, that would be the ideal use for Google Docs -- a web-based platform that does all the hard work remotely and just returns some basic graphical interface instructions to the mobile device. Oh well...