Martin's list(s) of (free) stuff
MULTI-MEDIA STUFF
MULTI-MEDIA STUFF
Music is great! So are pictures, graphics, on-line radio stations and all that rot. But there is so much more you can do than just listen or look - you can mix, edit, bland, sample, make a movie, a slide show - the limit of your imagination is your only obstacle. Here is all the stuff that I use (or have used at one time or another) and like. Yes, there are TONS of good things on the Internet but there is lots of crap as well. I have compiled this list to let you benefit from my experience so hopefully you won't have to waste as much time as I have finding the good programs that actually work, are not bundled with loads of spy and adware, cause conflicts with other programs, cause conflicts with Windows, make you swear like a sailor with Turrets, make you stay up all night reinstalling your OS and apps from scratch, etc.
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ESSENTIAL STUFF anti-virus firewall anti-spyware browser zip utilities Adobe Reader software updater WEBMASTER STUFF web hosting HTML editor HTML stuff email hider java scripts code stuff |
USEFUL STUFF web browsers pop-up blocker text editors office suite FTP Telnet SSH RAM PDF creator search search-and-replace RSS reader TinyURL screen capture send large files calculator |
ADMIN/UTILITY STUFF DNS domains remote control remote reboot remote monitoring atomic clock sync hardware inventory registry backup/undelete service killer security boot disks hard drive cleaner TCP/IP Perl blat VPN file sync browser stuff wireless |
MUSIC [file types] media players internet radio music services MULTI-MEDIA rip/copy/burn encode convert share stream video graphics Flash Shockwave Java DirectX |
GAMES games FUN STUFF IM sounds power user toys bandwidth tests webcam FREE STUFF This is a list of some of the better sites I have found that feature freeware. |
So, like, you know; all the programs that will let you get, mess with, play, edit, stream and convert all this media. These are all free; and they should all be used in accordance with any laws that happen to be in effect at the time; natch.
Rip / Copy / Burn
CDBurnerXP - Rip, create, burn, even copy audio and data disks with one click. If you don't have Nero or Roxio this is the best free substitute I have found.
Exact Audio Copy - The most precise CD ripper I've found. Ever rip some songs only to find out you have hops, skips and other crap in the mp3 files...? This reads the CD several times until it gets it right. Every time. Sure, it's slower but it works.- FreeRIP - Don't like Windows Media Player or .wma files? No problem, use this to rip your CDs to .mp3 or .ogg files. For free.
StationRipper - Record live audio or video streams (like those from SHOUTcast stations).- DVD Decrypter - The best free DVD ripper.
- Automatically download your favorite TV shows.
- Windows Media Encoder 9 Series - If you have a server and need to make some streaming media, this is the tool to do it with.
- SUPER - This media encoder will convert most any file format to most any other file format; including iPod video. Now you can, for example, download YouTube videos (Flash) and then convert them so they will play on your iPod. Has a nice batch function as well. Nice.
LimeWire - "The fastest P2P file sharing program on the planet." And pretty much the only good one left.
Zeropaid - The logo says it all. A file sharing 'portal' if you will.
- SHOUTcast SHOUTcast - If you can program a complicated VCR, this is your streaming media server. Install it on a computer with an always-on internet connection, configure the Winamp plug-in and point it at your play list or music directory. Bingo! All your favorites all the time. And it's very configurable; you can reserve IP addresses so that only you or your friends can listen, you can block IP addresses, you can kick people off after any time period, etc. It's what I use.
- In addition to the SHOUTcast server, If you want to broadcast or be a DJ you will also need the latest 2x version of the Winamp player (SHOUTcast does not support version 3 or 5) which you can get here. Last I checked it was 2.95.
- Once you have the Winamp player installed, you also need the SHOUTcast DSP plug-in for Winamp. You can get that along with all the other broadcasting tools here.
SlimServer from Slim Devices - Another streaming media server. Perhaps a little easier to install and configure than SHOUTcast but not as many options and not as much management.
CamStudio Streaming Video Software - Record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly streaming Flash videos.
AnalogX - Lots of audio plug-ins and utilities including a cure little text-to-speech thingy (think 'robot speak') and a vocal remover for Winamp so you can turn your computer into a Karaoke machine. This site is mostly for power users.- SharePod - "A program for Windows which allows you to copy music to/from your iPod and share music with non-iPod friends." And, without using iTunes!
Windows Live Movie Maker - Create and edit digital movies.
- Inkscape - "Open Source Scalable Vector Graphics Editor" Like a free CorelDRAW Alternative... Martin like.
Adobe Flash Player - if you're going to have a broadband connection, you might as well get the most out of the interactive content that's out there, right?
Adobe Shockwave Player - see above.
Java - Not only will this plug-in allow you to view all the content on sites that use Java, it enables all the features of programs like OpenOffice.
- "The power of multi-media in Windows, DirectX gives you the best possible experience with graphics,sound, music, and 3-D animation." Put whatever marketing spin on it that you want, bottom line is the latest games require the latest version of DirectX.
