Digital Fortress

Here are some of the application programs (excluding the obvious) that I use that definitely change the way I work with my computer. This might sound geeky but you could find something useful in this page so why not check it out?

Last Updated: 18 June 2006

OS:
Windows XP Pro - no other choice

ANTIVIRUS:
Avast 4.7 - the best antivirus that I’ve evr used. It detected viruses that Norton did’t

ANTI-SPYWARES:
Ad-aware
Spybot - Search & Destroy
CWShredder

BROWSER: (in order)
Opera Browser - I use this everyday. The fastest browser on the planet! Not to mention the basic features
Mozilla Firefox - I only use this on websites that are not compatible to Opera
IE 6 - If all browser fails…

DESKTOP ENHANCEMENTS:
WindowBlinds - I’m tired of those windows native skins…
IconPackager - …and also those native icons…

MEDIA PLAYER: (in order)
CoolPlayer - small, lightweight but powerful and fast-loading audio player (can’t play WMA though)
Windows Media Player - my favorite player (for now)
Quicktime - specifically for movie trailers
RealOne - I used to use this once more than Windows Media Player
Riva FLV Player - for videos downloaded from YouTube

PROGRAMMING:
Microsoft Visual Studio 2003
JCreator Pro
Java GUI Builder

PHOTO:
Photoshop CS2 - as usual.
GIF Movie Gear - for fast and easy GIF animation editor and creator
SMARTMORPH - for instant and seamless morphing of two pictures.

AUDIO:
Cool Edit Pro 2.0 - my one and only audio editor. This program has been purchased by Adobe and renamed it Adobe Audition. I still prefer the old version.

VIDEO:
Fraps - to capture DirectX videos. It can be used to record flying-in animations in Google Earth as well.
WM Recorder - used to record streaming WMV/WMA formats
Pinnacle Studio - my number one video editing software
Adobe Premiere Pro - I use this occasionally (my system can’t run this app smoothly)
Windows Movie Maker - for basic video editing.

SUBTITLE MANIPULATIONS:
DirectVobSub - used to display subtitles for movies on your computer. You can download movie subtitles at www.subscene.com
Time Adjuster - used to adjust subtitles.
Conversor - used to convert SRT subtitle format to SSA format
SubSync - used to adjust subtitles too but this one can “stretch” the subtitles given the the first and the last time stamp.
VirtualDub - this program has many uses but I use this to embed a subtitle into a video file. Meaning, the subtitle cannot be turned off. I do this when I copy movies into a VCD. TMPGEnc is also needed.
For a tutorials go here: http://www.videohelp.com/srtsubsvirtual.htm

UTLITIES:
RegScrubXP - a registry cleaner
PerformanceTest - used to benchmark your system

OTHER:
PixelRuler - used to literally measure pixels using an on-screen ruler
Anry Color Picker - realtime color picker that gives hexadecimal values and the like
TMPGEnc,TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress - one video file to standard MPEG formats
GoogleEarth - Nice app. But I need a broadband connection to appreciate it better.
ClearType PowerToy - Font smoothing tool that improves readability on color LCD displays with a digital interface, such as those in laptops and high-quality flat panel displays
WS_FTP - The only FTP Client that I’ve tried so far
Download Accelerator Plus - Best download accelerator
Limewire Pro - Any file, any time
Adobe Gamma Loader - Monitor calibration