Favorite Files

1. 7-Zip (32-bit)
2. 7-Zip (64-bit)
3. ActivePerl for Windows
4. AppGet
5. Audacity for Windows
6. AutoHotkey
7. Bulk Rename Utility
8. CCleaner
9. CloneSpy
10. cURL for Windows
11. DC++
12. Direct MP3 Joiner
13. Duplicate File Finder
14. DVD43
15. Exact Audio Copy
16. FastStone Image Viewer
17. foobar2000
18. Foxit Reader
19. Free Download Manager
20. Google Chrome for Windows
21. HijackThis
22. HWiNFO32
23. HWiNFO32 (Beta)
24. ImgBurn
25. Internet Download Manager
26. Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE)
27. Juice (formerly iPodder) for Windows
28. K-Lite Codec Pack 64-bit
29. K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
30. K-Meleon
31. KeePass Password Safe Classic Edition
32. KeePass Password Safe Professional Edition
33. KeyNote
34. Komodo IDE for Windows
35. Launchy
36. Link200
37. Locate
38. mIRC
39. Mozilla Sunbird Portable Edition
40. Mozilla Thunderbird Portable Edition
41. mp3DirectCut
42. MusicBrainz Picard
43. MusicBrainz Tagger
44. nLite
45. Notepad++
46. OpenOffice.org for Windows
47. Opera for Windows
48. Paint.NET
49. PDF Explorer
50. Pidgin for Windows
51. Portable Gaim
52. Process Lasso (x32)
53. ProtoWall
54. RyanVM Addon Pack
55. RyanVM Integrator
56. TaskSwitchXP
57. UltraVNC
58. VLC (VideoLAN) for Windows
59. WinAudit
60. Windows PowerShell
61. WinRAR (32-bit)
62. WinRAR (64-bit)
63. µTorrent for Windows

Recent Posts

1. 
   Review - MusicBrainz Picard

   0.10 (Nov 21, 2008)

   Useful software package and now at the core of my MP3 tagging. Previous version's instability is gone, haven't had a crash since the upgrade. Picard's interface is much better than Tagger's at importing albums. Wish the input interface for various artist compilations was less of a kludge.

2. 
   Review - Sysinternals Suite

   Build 04/17/08 (May 8, 2008)

   The best set of tools for working with Windows internals available. The PS suite is required for command line junkies and deep troubleshooting always benefits from Process Explorer, Registry Monitor, TCPView and File Monitor.

3. 
   Review - NOD32 for Windows NT/2000/2003/XP (32-bit)

   3.0.621 (Feb 26, 2008)

   I love this program. The primary reason I was in the market was that antivirus software I was using (Symantec) was killing my beefy system (Core2 Duo 2.2/4G RAM) in CPU utilization and file access times. I tried other solutions but NOD32's performance blew me away and I was hooked when I realized how much more effective it was at detecting malware. Full scans are several times faster than any scanner I've ever used. It's entirely unobtrusive unless it is alerting me that it has updated definitions (which seems to happen multiple times a day) or when it has found a possible violation. It's discovered oodles of malware that got past Symantec, McAfee and ClamAV scanners and were already stored on my systems. It's even captured attempted compromises from websites (javascript exploits/CDRF). The interface is minimal and clean but could use some work on useability.

4. 
   Review - Mozilla Sunbird Portable Edition

   0.5 (Jul 5, 2007)

   Works like a charm. The version of Portable Sunbird available here is now 0.5, which is the latest version of Sunbird.

5. 
   Review - Break Reminder

   3.11.3 (Apr 27, 2007)

   It's a fine program for what it does but the pricing is ridiculous. $59 is for one year support. Five years support is $109.59. I see a future Microsoft executive in the making.

6. Comment - White hat hackers infiltrate a power grid in one day

   3.11.3 (Apr 14, 2008 - 11:30 AM)

   Y'all are right. It's IMPOSSIBLE to do the things they are saying. It's IMPOSSIBLE that an upgrade to some electronic equipment in the US power grid could cause a blackout. (Because everyone knows that HUMANS are the controls, not humans responding to alerts from General Electric Energy's Unix-based XA/21 energy management system.) It's IMPOSSIBLE that poorly educated radicals could hijack a bunch of airplanes and crash them into buildings. It's IMPOSSIBLE for control systems at a power generation plant to be taken over because of inadequate security. It's IMPOSSIBLE that the Japanese could launch an attack on Pearl Harbor. It's IMPOSSIBLE that power grids running at capacity loads could be triggered into cascading failures by changes affected through command and control of local SCADA systems.
   
   Thank goodness we live in a world where all this nasty security stuff is sorted out and we are all nice and safe. Because unsafe conditions are IMPOSSIBLE!

7. Comment - AMD and ATI head for uncharted territory with 'Spider'

   3.11.3 (Nov 19, 2007 - 3:02 PM)

   In my experience Tom's Hardware has had a bias towards Intel products. When AMD was leading Intel in processor performance they were the standard bearers for Intel. So I would take any review of AMD hardware by them with a grain of salt and await a broader base of technical reviews before drawing conclusions regarding actual performance.

8. Comment - Microsoft to Debut Zune 2 on Tuesday

   3.11.3 (Oct 1, 2007 - 4:04 PM)

   I purchased a new Zune during the recent steep discount promotions (or should I say dumping?) of first edition Zunes. At $250 I wasn't attracted to the devices but at $130 I thought it was a great deal. After using it for a few days I am not entirely convinced of the value of the purchase.
   
   $130 for 30GB of portable media player is great.
   
   $130 for 30GB of locked tight with DRM, not usable as disk space, limited media formats, lack of automated video conversion, very grabby desktop client, short battery life, proprietary connection on the device, portable media player is not so great.
   
   I wish Rockbox had a port to this device.

9. Comment - Web OS Aims to Mimic Windows

   3.11.3 (Sep 11, 2007 - 3:01 PM)

   I note that simple.com is still around. I can't be sure of the date they first launched but I think they may have been the earliest example of a functional web-based windowing 'OS' system. I know it's the first one I saw operating.

10. Comment - Web OS Aims to Mimic Windows

    3.11.3 (Sep 11, 2007 - 2:50 PM)

    "ajaxWindows" will get sued right after Microsoft finishes suing "xWindows". Because Microsoft product names couldn't possibly be derivative.