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Best Free Windows 64-bit Software
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Best Free Windows 64-bit Software - Page Index
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Best Free Windows 64-bit Screen Session Recorder
CamStudio will "capture video, sound, or both. It can save videos in both AVI and FLV format. … it is simple and easy to use. … as with most video capture programs, you can set the recording area. This program has a lot of useful features such as annotations, watermarks, and customizable interface. You can also set it to either stay on screen while recording or you can hide it to pull up later." (Best Free Screen Session Recorder)
Best Free Windows 64-bit Icon Tool
SillySol's Iconoid allows you to change the colour of text associated with your desktop icons. You can also save and restore the position of desktop icons and, optionally, hide and restore icons by clicking on the desktop.
In order to use Iconoid to change the colour of text you must first turn off drop shadows for icon text. This must be done via Control Panel, System, Advanced System Settings, and then click on the Settings button under Performance. Right clicking on Computer, and then choosing Properties, will only change settings until you logoff or the PC is rebooted.
IcoFX has become a commercial product but the free version remains available although it is unsupported.
IcoFX "has a wealth of tools and is equipped with more than 40 image effects. … The program allows you to create icons for your programs, setup files, or favicons for your website or blog. It also allows you to convert your favorite images to icons, or icons to images. Conversion between Macintosh and Windows icons are supported. Other features include supporting Vista icons with PNG compression, true color, transparency (alpha channel) and batch processing capability. IcoFX allows you to create icon libraries, extract and patch icons inside the executable files. However, on some executable files which I tried, the former seems work better than the latter." (Best Free Icon Editor and Replacer)
If you get an error message "The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect." then you will need to install 32-bit Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1
Version: 21 August 2010
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It will definitely be done by the end of May, hopefully before then.
Rik
I'm having a bit of an issue with Win 7 x64's behaviour with legacy 32 bit apps. Since the last Win update many that ran well initially now need compatibility and UAC tweaking, and will usually take minutes to load. I realise this is not the venue for Windows troubleshooting, but the situation has forced me to look harder for 64 bit replacements.
IgorWare makes some fine lightweight portable 64 bit freeware (http://www.igorware.com):
File Joiner (one of the 32 bit apps that is suffering from my UAC disease is HJSplit, and this is an ideal replacement).
Small Player (a tiny audio player that plays MP3, WMA, and lossless FLAC and APE, out of the box. Sound quality is excellent).
Hasher (for checksums - I'm not using it yet).
Of course these are not multifunction "killer" apps, but each one focuses on one task and performs it very well. Highly recommended, and worth a mention in any x64 "Utilities" section.
Cheers,
Alan
Alan, a Utilities section is something that I had planned to add, thanks for suggesting it though.
If things that used to work fine on your PC no longer do then I suggest you carry out virus and malware scans. I certainly haven't seen any drop in performance following the latest 'Tuesday' update.
Rik
Thanks Rik, but I've done full scans with a couple of recommended anti-malware/anti-virus apps. It's taken hours, but nothing was found. The problem is intermittent and sometimes even the specific icons of these apps won't show in the Start Menu. This sort of behaviour is hardly stealthy! I'm guessing something about the WoW64 emulator has changed, causing these legacy 32 bit apps to behave less predictably.
Regards,
Alan
i believe the new version of cdburnerxp (2064) is completely X64, now.
http://cdburnerxp.se/download
click on the "more download options" link to get the x64 version.
* I {Robert D. Jewell} am sad to be the bearer of bad news, but the
* codec(s) is no longer free--'free,' as in donation ware. Because very * few donated, it now has a price attached--although at first an
* introductory price, viz (reply to my e-mail):
"Hi,
I always want to put an ‘e’ here (that’s how the word is spelled in my language, French). I’ve corrected the text, thanks.
Marketing is a mystery and finding the right price spot is art… in particular when most customers arrives with the idea that the product somehow should be free.
That said it’s much better to sell 10’000 at $30 than 50’000 at $6, considering the (inevitable) support issues associated with more orders. I’ve dealt with a dozen “can’t download” emails just this afternoon (we have nothing to do with this as RegNow handles the complete transaction and file hosting, they probably had a server glitch or something but we still get the support emails…)
Thanks,
Axel
________________________________________________________________
" What happened to the free version?
The FastPictureViewer Codec Pack was initially released for 6 full months as "donationware" with free downloads, meaning that users electing to keep the codecs on their computer(s) were supposed to make a donation, of an amount left to their appreciation, in order to support the developement of possible future versions. We had a killer product that everyone would want so web traffic would surge, everyone would love to finally see pictures instead of just blank icons, and most would give a few bucks (or more) to support the effort! At least, that was The Plan...
To make a long story short, it did not work. Web traffic did surge and people did love the codecs, but after 106,661 downloads from our server (and 117,738 hits on the post-install web page), only about 0.2% of the downloaders actually donated anything: one fifth of a percent of all users is a disappointing figure at best."
_____________________________________________________________________
>>"FastPictureViewer Codec Pack 2.1, now only $5.99"
>>Good solution at a most reasonable* price!
>>_________________________________________________________
>>*My guess is that $6.00 will bring in more total revenue than the 30 buck >>price?"
I don't know whether this is the correct response but I had 2.80 64 bit version which was working with my w7 pro. After updating to 3.00 it would not defrag unless I uninstalled McAfee AV then reinstall after defrag.So to avoid any conflict I thought it better to remove/uninstall FRD 3.0 & am awaiting their response before I reinstall it. Anyone else having issues with AV for this programme?
Alan,
I certainly haven't noticed anything myself but I've been using mostly Windows based Linux server support tools over recent weeks. As you point out the behaviour is hardly steathly but could be caused by a number of things. I think this issue is important so I would encourage you to register and post details in the forum. I suspect others may have hit the same problem and it would be great to identify the cause and an appropriate solution.
I should mention that this issue is not without precedent. After many months of running 32 bit Windows Vista I found that certain 16 bit applications that worked fine under XP would either no longer run or take forever to load. Unfortunately, I never did get to the bottom of the problem.
Rik
Thanks for the comments re my problems with old 32 bit apps Rik. I've replaced them with 64 bit equivalents or removed them, and fingers are crossed for my other legacy stuff.
I went looking for 64 bit freeware to render digital TV (I have a Compro DVB-T card) and came up with ProgDVB6:
http://www.progdvb.com/download_progdvb_prerelease.html
At this stage I'd say it's not as polished as Media Center (MC) and the high def video quality is not as good. But it is easier to use, more flexible and offers a comprehensive interface for Internet TV. Also I don't particularly want to get bogged down in the latest flavour of DRM and the WTV file format when I record a show for later. ProgDVB dumps transport stream MPEG2, much more compatible.
In my experience MC doesn't play nice with other decoders and starts bitching that "the tuner isn't available". So it's really either MC or ProgDVB for a given Windows session.
On balance I think ProgDVB is worth considering as an alternative.
Regards,
Alan
Moderators comment:
Only the pre-release is free and is very much "crippleware". Link changed to point to this option.
My apologies. The Moderator is correct.
I made sure ProgDVB would do what I needed re digital TV and deferred exploring the rest of its functionality until later. Turns out, there wasn't much functionality remaining to be explored!
Oops,
Alan
Thanks for this list. I've started using Q-Dir and like it. However, it does not handle RAR archives as subdirectory yet (although it does handle other archives as a sub). However, it does get updated 2 times a month or so with new features, so this might be coming soon. I am going to try Double Commander when it comes out of beta.
Just a note on your MyDefrag review. You state that you use MyDrefrag's FastOptimize script. However, it has a three included optimize scripts: Optimize Daily, Optimize Weekly, and Optimize Monthly. FastOptimize might have been in an old version.
Thanks for the feedback, the point about Q-Dir handling archives, RAR apart, is important and will be given a specific mention as it shows how flexible it is.
Double Commander is a 'work in progress.' The 'beta' label just means that they haven't finished all the functionality yet, the stuff already done is great.
Oops, I've been upgrading MyDefrag but copying across my custom version of FastOptimize. I've been found out, sorry :)
Many thanks again,
Rik
Outstanding information on this website! Layout is wonderful and the info overloads the senses in a good way! One thing I noticed was missing Panda Cloud Antivirus!
Its Windows 7 certified.
http://blog.cloudantivirus.com/2010/01/14/windows-7-certification/
And ICSA Labs certified as well.
http://blog.cloudantivirus.com/2010/03/16/icsalabs-certifies-cloud-antiv...
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the kind feedback :)
As far as AV software is concerned, I've stuck with the top two, Avira and Avast! A full review, much more than I can do, is available here.
Rik
OK, I gave DC a try. I couldn't figure out how to get tree views. Perhaps it doesn't have any. If not, then it is not my king of file manager. If it has trees, I will give it another try. However, Q-Dir will give up to 4 directories (and each directory can have multiple tabs!). The more I play with Q-Dir, the more I like it. Just wish the docs were more 'Readable'. I guess English is the author's second language, so it takes a little longer to get things from the documentation. Luckily, Q-Dir is pretty easy to just play around with and discover things.
Again, thanks for a great post on all x64 software.
Glad yoy like Q-Dir. Can you explain what you mean by tree views?
Thanks,
Rik
I'm sure what they meant was what is called "Folders" in the standard Windows (well, XP anyway) Explorer windows. The nested listing of folders on the side of the window.
I'm a fan of "Folders", too. That is why I have been using FreeCommander. I'm not sure if they have a 64 bit version or not.
Sorry, not sure if tree is the correct term. A listing of the directory structure going down the side, Q-Dir does this and calls it Tree View. You can set up None (for no tree view), One 4 All 4 (So one tree for all panes) or All Have One (for a tree view for each pane).
Even Windows Explorer has this. In Organize/Layout, and select Navigation Pane. So Q-Dir calls it a Tree and Explorer calls it a Navigation Pane. But, I could not find how to turn this layout on in DC. Perhaps it has and I couldn't find, or perhaps it does not.
Thanks
Hmm, I'll have a look at FreeCommander and see.
Rik
Very well done! I feel I have a fairly good better understanding of
some of the best quality software available out there now that
I have visited this site.
In regards to antivirus software, I have tried AVG, Avira
Antivir Personal Edition and Avast! Free AntiVirus. And in
my own personal experience, I would say AVG's detection rate
is probably the least effective in detecting malware. And
I would pretty much agree that Avira is probably slightly
better than Avast! in the detection rate department. Without
a doubt I think Avira is a first rate antivrus product.
However, in my own humble opinion, I would rate Avast!
slightly higher than Avira OVERALL because I feel Avast!
clearly is more comprehensive in protection as well as
also having more features . Avast! has some features that
not even some of the paid AVs that I used in the past
had. Moreover, I found Avast! not to be quite as intrusive
as Avira was. Avira would constantly flash "nag screens."
With Avast!, I have hardly noticed it was even running.
This is a minor issue in my mind, however, if all things
are equal or negligible, I would probably be swayed into
opting for the least annoying software in my decision-making
process.
For my own personal use, I have decided to go with Avast!.
However, after reading this report, I may decide to add
Avira as well.
Thanks so much for all the geat insight!
Joe
Joe, thanks for the feedback.
Both Avast! and Avira are great applications, either should give you great protection. Currently I use Avast!, but with the (not so) recent Avira 10 I might switch. Depends :)
Rik
Hmmm...Rik. You've given me food for thought. I have to look into this
Avira 10, now!
Before you change I suggest you check out our review. There's much more stuff there than I can produce.
Rik
Thanx, Rik. I think I will :)
This article is topnotch! You all do great work for us less knowledgeable users.
Question: I can't seem to be able to find my Network files with Double Commander. Is is possible, and if so how?
Does Double Commander allow access to network files? I can't see network drives.
Hi Joe,
As a beta tester for Microsoft Security Essentials I can tell you, you will have virtually no false positive w/ MSE and no nag screens or pop ups wanting you to buy it b/c it's free! Not to mention the fact that the download is less than 13mb. I'm excited to say that it protects @ the binary level as well and the UI is less complex than both Avira and Avast!. The editors have so smartly sandwiched MSE between Avira and Avast on this website and I applaud them for that. Security Essentials is something of an enigma in the AV world. It's flying under the radar but slowly amassing a large following. Check out the five star reviews for this 5 star gem!
http://download.cnet.com/Microsoft-Security-Essentials/3000-2239_4-10969...
Happy trails and computing!
I wouldn't use Avira. Google "Avira screenshots" and you'll see what I mean.
The user interface is way more complex than Microsoft Security Essentials and sometimes when it's downloading updates from their server it takes forever.
Many thanks for the kind feedback.
The network drive functionality is 'under development' and having written code like that myself I doubt it will be long in coming. I'll monitor progress on this and report back as soon as it is available. I'll also update the article to indicate that this is an issue.
Thanks again,
Rik