The computer tweek out continues

Update to my inherited Gateway: I decided since I was going to all the effort of giving my "new" PC some stonger "legs" via upgrading the memory to 3.5 GB of RAM, I noticed the motherboard had SATA ports built-in I decided to go buy a couple of Western Digital 500GB Caviar Black SATA drives. I geared up and popped of the case ready to install my new drives. I carefully removed the main fan, unplugged the preinstalled drives IDE cable and Molex power, and pulled the drive bay housing completely out for easy access. I unpacked the drive and decided that since I had never worked with SATA before it might be worth reading the included manual. I know, I know, how very unmannly of me reading directions before starting, but bear in mind I did have my system in pieces on the kitchen table :) . Browsing over to the installation page and "read" the pictures, happening to glance at the plugs in the drive, specifically noting that I saw nowhere to put a molex plug. "Hmmm, how will this fancy new drive get power?", I thought. Now, I was forced to actually read the complete page. Turns out, that had I done a little more homework I would have realized that SATA drive require specific SATA power plugs, and needless to say my little OEM PC did not come with them. So now I'm stuck waiting for the post man again for my molex to SATA connectors.

WINDOWS WARES free and open source 3

Part 3

UTILITIES

Rarely as sexy as other applications. Utility tools and programs are infinitely valuable on any system.

ARCHIVING & FILE MANAGEMENT

7-zip

An (almost) unrivaled archiving and compression application. From my experience the 7z compression format tends to offer one of the best compression rates. While you will specifically need 7-zip to open the file in the future this "con" is paled by the "pros" of the supported formats, low system overhead and encryption support for 7z and ZIP files. It offers great integration within windows and for those with the moxy to jump into the command line, it offers options there as well. Though the GUI lacks some of the friendliness of others, its shear power is worth it.

Zip Genius

Another free file compression software suite, with an emphasis on "Suite", ZipGenius offers a warm and fuzzy graphical interface that can allow even the most inexperienced user the ability to reclaim drive space. It too handles an array of formats (ZIP, RAR, LHA, TAR, RPM, CAB, & ACE to name just a few). Add that to the fact that it offers some slick options for handling and pictures, support for images from TWAIN devices. Like 7-zip it allows multiple encryption options for your archived folders/files. And unlike the former is "skinable" giving even more latitude on the user interface. With its Add-ons giving the you FTP support, "Scan & Zip", the ability to "cut" large archive files into smaller parts, production of self-extracting files, and the conversion of ZIP to ISO format ZipGenius truly is a sweet utility suite.

Foldersize

the one

Ext2FSD

For the Linux/UNIX users out there looking to use there ext2 disks/partitions in windows Ext2 File System Driver opens read/write support when your stuck in a windows world. All in all a handy tool with limited uses. But if you need it, you'll love it.

WINDOWS WARES free & open source 2

Part 2

GRAPHICS and IMAGES

Whether or not you consider yourself an illustrator, photo enthusiast, or power user. In the windows environment graphics and images are a part the experience. Finding the best tools can be a daunting task. But here are some of the top contenders, with a quick list of runners-up in each category (but without descriptions).

EDITING

the Gimp

Open source with features that will amaze you and is equivalent an many aspects to Photoshop. It is simply the open-source "gold standard" image manipulation, illustration, and photo editing. The bad news, it's learning curve is very steep, and very high (especially if you have not had any Photoshop experience). While documentation and tutorials have improved significantly over the years, be prepared to do a lot of learning! If you are unfamiliar with open-source versioning even the windows download page may be confusing. But, you want the GIMP for Windows Base Package.

Associated tool: abrViewer which lets you view your old Photoshop brushes or borrowed ones and convert them to Gimp brushes. I’ve actually used this a couple of times, the whole conversion was a bit of a headache, but it did work.

Paint.NET

A free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.

Hugin

A panoramic photo tool, ". . .with hugin you can assemble a mosaic of photographs into a complete immersive panorama, stitch any series of overlapping pictures and much more."

ImageMagick

While it doesn't have a graphical user interface, ImageMagick is incrediably powerful. I give it a low rating not lack of abilities, just the lack of easy accessibility to the average user.

MANAGEMENT

Picasa

A free Picture organizer and editor that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized. Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips.

IMAGE VIEWERS

Irfranview

It's fast, it's compact, and it's full of function. While you could call a simple image viewer, that does not beging to capture everything that irfranview can do. It's a more then capable image editor and convertor. It supports just about any image file type you could have. All that and offers drag-and-drop support, directory viewing, TWAIN support, slide shows, batch conversion, and modifications such as, resize, color depth, crop, blur, and sharpen. Includes support for Adobe Photoshop Filters.

VECTOR IMAGES

Inkscape

This IS the premier open source image editor.

3-D

Blender

Honorable mention: K-3D | Art of Illusion |