Favorite Files

1. 1by1
2. 7-Zip (32-bit)
3. AC3Filter
4. ATI Tray Tools
5. BonkEnc Development
6. CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack)
7. ChromePlus
8. ClamAV
9. DirectX Redistributable
10. FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder
11. Google Chrome for Windows
12. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
13. Media Player Classic for Windows 2000/XP
14. OpenOffice.org for Windows
15. Safari for Windows
16. SavageEd
17. Sumatra PDF
18. The GIMP
19. Vista Codec Package
20. VLC (VideoLAN) for Windows
21. Windows Essentials Codec Pack
22. XPize
23. µTorrent for Windows

Recent Posts

1. 
   Review - Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE)

   6 Update 17 (Nov 6, 2009)

   If OpenOffice and my webmail app didn't require this, I wouldn't install it. Especially now that Java Quick Start is running as a service. So I have to modify services to stop it, as the Java control Panel app setting no longer works. So I cannot give this ever larger and ever more unnecessary program a good rating.

2. 
   Review - CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack)

   2009-09-19 Beta (Sep 21, 2009)

   I tried this pack after getting tired of how many extras the VistaCodecPack installs. It had a few gliches with settings, but that turned out to be how the HomeCinema edition of MediaPlayerClassic was setup. Once I solved that problem, it works just fine. It plays a ogm file and others without problem. So why not give it a 5?
   Well, the file association part of its wizard won't work and some of the setting choices seem a bit vague.

3. 
   Review - RealPlayer SP

   1.0 Build 12.0.0.297 (Aug 26, 2009)

   Wow, you've got to love a program that cannot play it's own content once installed. Okay, it could play the content AFTER I downloaded yet more codecs for it to use. That's ridiculous though, the default install should have been able to play realmedia WITHOUT need to installed more bits.

4. 
   Review - XPize

   5 Beta 5 (Aug 17, 2009)

   I tried the previous beta release (which was the final????) and I uninstalled it in about half an hour. Oh the icons are pretty enough, but it rewrote customized settings to its need. For example, I already had my own pdf icon, but XPize set it to a new one.
   Also, I didn't see an option to NOT install and use the task switcher that comes with XPIZE.
   It needs to leave MY settings alone or only be installed during a new install.

5. 
   Review - Vista Codec Package

   5.3.5 (Jul 23, 2009)

   Overall, this is a good package though I wonder about some of the choices of settings. For example, ever since 5.3.x I've had problems with opening folders with incompletely downloaded video files. Explorer cpu usage would shoot up to 99 and all manner of freezes and crashing would happen. Fortunately, I figured out the problem is Xvid. It tries to create thumbnails and since the file is incomplete, it fails causing the Explorer issues. But I can disable Xvid and use the other demuxers just fine. So I will give it a five for having failsafe measures.

6. Comment - Mozilla CEO: Apple Safari update is 'just wrong'

   5.3.5 (Mar 25, 2008 - 10:49 AM)

   I think that Lily is being a major hypocrite about Apple and Safari. After all Firefox pushes updates the same way, just more intently. Every time I run Firefox, either 2.0.12 or Minefield, and there is an update to an extension or to the browser I get informed that an update is ready. And in some cases such as a new browser version, the update will be preloaded and I have to accept or reject the install.