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Microsoft GIF Animator
Supported Systems: Windows 95 and up
NOTE: I have removed the link to the download at CNET and am instead providing a SnapFiles link. SnapFiles has a good rating with WOT and McAfee Site Advisor, and I've scanned the download with multiple antivirus programs and found no problems. Regardless, please inform me immediately if you find any safety problems with this download link.
This program is no longer supported by Microsoft or even hosted on their site, but it serves its purpose well as a simple GIF animation creator. You can create new frames from the clipboard or from files, you can set the duration of individual frames, you can configure looping and transparency, and a few other features. It isn't very fancy, but it does about everything you need if you create your frames in a separate program like Paint or Photoshop. (Review)
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Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE)
 | Supported Systems: Windows XP and up
Additional Requirements:Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (32-bit / 64-bit), .NET Framework 4
ICE is a panorama stitcher – it takes a group of overlapping photos and uses them to form a panoramic image, including panoramas that span a full 360 degrees. It also allows you to tweak settings, such as cropping, panoramic rotation, types of projection, and in which format to export. Formats include JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG, HD Photo, and Deep Zoom - exporting in the Deep Zoom format will allow you to view the panorama in HD View, another excellent Microsoft tool (see below). You can also upload and share your panoramas on Photosynth, where others can view them interactively by rotating and zooming. If you visit Photosynth, you can find many awesome examples that show off what ICE can do.
When started writing this list, I had not previously used Microsoft ICE. After I used it, I could instantly tell why it receives so much praise. I really hope the requirements don't put off too many people because it really is one of the best Microsoft programs out there. The installer will redirect you to all of its dependencies, but I've provide links for those who want them. The Photosynth application and a free Live account are also required to upload to the Photosynth site.
(ICE Review)
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HD View
Supported Systems: Windows XP and up
HD View was pointed out to me by a reader, and I'm awfully glad of it. HD View allows you to view very large high-definition images in your web browser, particularly panoramas. These images can be so large some of them push 4 gigapixels - HD View allows you to explore these images by panning and zooming in and out, viewing the fine details, and I highly recommend viewing some examples.
You can use Microsoft ICE to create HD View images if you export them using the Deep Zoom format. I recommend exporting into a new folder because multiple files are created in the process - double-click on the html file to view your image in your web browser.
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Cliplets
| Supported Systems: Windows 7
What do you get when you take a single frame from a video, but then you select an isolated region of the frame in which the video plays back? You get what Microsoft calls a "Cliplet", and this neat program lets you make cliplets easily. The website offers a handy video tutorial to help get you started.
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Image Resizer
Supported Systems: Windows XP only
One of the PowerToys for Windows XP, Image Resizer lets you quickly resize one or multiple images to fit within a certain length and width. You right-click on the file(s) and select "Resize pictures" to bring up a simple interface, where you can select one of four pre-set sizes, or specify your own. You can also choose whether to save over the original files or create new files. Unfortunately it does not have its own dedicated page so you need to click on the "PowerToys" tab to locate it.
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Windows Live Photo Gallery
Supported Systems: Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7; Click here for an XP version
Photo Gallery lets you organize, tag, upload, and edit your photos, among other features. The editing features are no replacement for programs like Photoshop, but they are handy for quick and easy alterations. (Review)
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Windows Live Movie Maker
Supported Systems: Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 (XP users can find "Windows Movie Maker" in their Programs menu, but the features are not as up-to-date)
Movie Maker doesn't boast a set of advanced features, but the features it includes are sufficient for many users and are ideal for putting together slide shows and short videos. Plus, you can use it to publish your videos on SkyDrive, Youtube, Facebook and Flickr.
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Screenrecorder
| Supported Systems: Windows XP and up
Additional Requirements: If you are running Vista or 7 32-bit, you may need to install this fix to make the program work.
The aptly named Screen Recorder utility provides a quick and easy way to record your screen, whether it's your entire screen or a specified window. The simplicity of the program makes it perfect for the novice computer user, and even experts may find it handy for recording quick videos. The installation is a bit annoying- on the blog page, download the file "UtilityOnlineMarch092009_03.exe". Run this file to extract the 32 and 64-bit installers, then run the appropriate one. If you don't have Windows Media Encoder 9 Series installed, the installer will install this first. Re-run the installer and the program will finally be installed on your system.
If you'd like a more robust program with more options, see Expression Encoder 4 below.
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Expression Encoder 4 with SP2
Supported Systems: Windows XP SP3 and up
Other Requirements: .NET Framework 4.0, Silverlight 4.0, at least 1GHz processor and 1GB RAM- see website for additional requirements
The replacement for Windows Media Encoder, Expression Encoder 4 is a high-performance video encoding program. It is mainly geared toward Silverlight projects but it also exports in Windows Media format, and it includes some video editing features. One excellent feature (which alone makes it worth installing) is the screen capture component, which is easy to use and yields high quality videos that can be immediately opened in Expression Encoder for editing and exporting. The free version of the program leaves out some features, including support for some formats and a ten-minute screen capture limit (a features comparison table can be found here).
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Photo Story 3
Supported Systems: Windows XP and up | Alternate download location
A very easy yet powerful program for creating slideshows. The program walks you through each step, providing a variety of different feataures along the way. You can add effects of every sort, from photo effects to transition effects to panning and zooming effects. You can add text to each picture, narration, and background music. Overall I think this program is outstanding, and I wish I had started using it years ago. Just be aware of two things: the only video format it can save is wmv, and WGA validation is required if you download from Microsoft. (Review)
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I have just become the editor of this article but almost all the material is due to the previous editor. I will be gradually updating and adding as time goes on. Any suggestions you have are welcome.
Expression Web 4 - free web design programme from Microsoft, which I gather has only recently been made free - http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=36179 (NB 99MB download!)
for Windows XP - rktools - Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools - http://microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17657
Microsoft Research Cliplets
Links:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/cliplets-where-still-images-and-...
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/cliplets/
Many thanks! This one looks like a keeper.
Here's another recommendation for synctoy. I've been using it for a couple of years now to sync all my user files on my desktop and my laptop before I leave town and after I get back. It's worked flawlessly.
Thanks for your comment. I've had problems with SyncToy in the past, but I'll try it out again just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. It seems that many people find it useful and it doesn't give them problems.
Here are some additional items to consider adding to your list.
Kodu Game Lab
Kodu is a visual programming language made specifically for creating games.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=57A23884-9ECD-4C8A-9561-64BFD4FA2D3D&displaylang=en
Kodu Game Lab - Classroom Kit
The Kodu Classroom Kit is a set of lesson plans and activities for teachers, after school program instructors and administrators to run a variety of types of classes using Kodu.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=FD5AAD91-95C7-4F29-9898-B7517C915448&displaylang=en
SyncToy
SyncToy 2.1 is a free application that synchronizes files and folders between locations. Typical uses include sharing files, such as photos, with other computers and creating backup copies of files and folders.
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=15155
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to look into Kodu Game Lab. I had used SyncToy before and it was problematic for me, but I have received several comments about it so I may look into it again.
Aside from being only an on-demand scanner (as opposed to a real-time A-V), does "Microsoft Safety Scanner" find & fix the same malware as "Microsoft Security Essentials"?
- If so, is the difference between them that MSS is intended as an on-demand scanner for PCs that aren't using MSE as their real-time A-V?
- If not, is there something about the MSS scan & fix capability that is superior to that of MSE?
Thanks for the excellent article.
Microsoft Safety Scanner does use the same detection engine and virus definitions as MSE (and also Microsoft's commercial Forefront product), so I would venture to say the Safety Scanner would only be useful on a system that is running a non-Microsoft AV product. Besides being portable, I don't see any advantages over MSE.
Windows Defender Offline, on the other hand, has the advantage of being able to boot into its own operating system in order to clean out malware that might be blocking installed AV software, even if that installed AV is MSE. Another benefit of Windows Defender Offline is that you can install it and keep it updated on a USB flash drive, whereas the Safety Scanner expires after ten days and has to be replaced.
I didn't see Paint.Net listed anywhere in the Multimedia. If it is there, sorry I missed it. This is really great PhotoEditing software. Much easier for beginners to learn about layers and masks etc. than jumping straight into Gimp, and has fantastic plugins available as well as a good help system and tutorials. I love it.
Hi Desi. The reason I don't have it in my list is because, although it was previously a Microsoft-mentored project, it currently has no affiliation with Microsoft. As Jojoyee mentioned, I did reference it in my introduction because I have gotten a request to include it before.
Not for nothing, if it met the criteria for a Microsoft product, I'd include it in a heartbeat because it's my favorite image editor by far.
@Desi, Paint.Net is not listed but mentioned in the Introduction Section.
Gee, I didn't know there were so many freeware from MS. Great article, thanks! I wish you had explained differences between Skype and Windows Live Messenger. It seems to me Skype has all the features of WLM. I don't know why they provide the two similar products. Perhaps WLM will be absorbed into Skype in the near future?
Thanks for bringing this up - it's actually an interesting point. The reason we see two separate products is because Windows Live Messenger has been offered by Microsoft for many years (it was known as MSN Messenger back in the day), but Skype was a separate company that Microsoft bought out just last October. While Skype's primary function is a robust video conferencing solution, WLM is designed as an instant messenger first with video chat being an extra feature. WLM also includes some other features, such as interoperability with other messenger services and integration with Facebook. To me, it does sound like a plausible prediction that Microsoft might converge the two in some way in the future, bringing the best features of both into one solution. It'll be interesting to see what Microsoft decides to do.
There's also Microsoft Lync, "The unified communications platform integrated into Microsoft Office including IM, Audio, Video, Web Conferencing and Presence", which I'm currently using as part of Office 365. It seems MS is aiming Lync at the business comms market, Messenger at consumers, and Skype somewhere in the middle for now--maybe the Skype acquisition was simply a user base acquisition, aimed mostly as giving the new Win Phone a kick start.
http://lync.microsoft.com/en-us
I agree. That and the shiny new Windows 8 tablets.
Thanks to your explanation, I understand the difference now. And yes, it'll be really interesting to see decision of MS. It seems Skype is currently most popular among all the messengers/internet phone services while MS messenger has the much longer history. Let's see what MS decides to do.
Mouse without Borders is fantastic!
I am running it on two computers, one with XP (32bit)and a single monitor and the other W7 (64bit) and duel monitors. The W7 uses Logitech mouse drivers and the other Windows drivers. It installs with only a couple clicks and works flawlessly.
I would like to know if there is a program or whatever that will let you add "Colors" to the standard set of colors in microsoft office programs.
I looked into this, but I couldn't find a solution good enough to recommend. It is possible to choose custom colors by going to the color chooser and selecting "More colors...", but you're probably looking for something to permanently add custom colors to the palette, if I'm not mistaken. I don't have anything I can recommend right now, but I will keep looking.
I am searching for a utility/tool that I can use to "wipe clean" every single bit of information on a HDD..., including any files found in the MBR.
If there isn't anything here than can help me, could you make a suggestion?
One last comment, I really liked the "Blue Screen of Death" screensaver. I imagine the simulated reboot will really get people's attention. I wouldn't use this on anyone but my best friends.
Jeff, I must apologize for my delayed response. I can tell you that Microsoft does offer a secure deletion method in its SysInternals section, but I find the open-source program Eraser to be much better. You can read about it and some other secure erasing programs here: http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-secure-erase-utility.htm
Another free Microsoft product which might be included in your List, is "The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility" (MSICUU2.exe).
It was conceived to be used only as a last attempt when dealing with a buggy program; when nothing else works.
For example, I have use it to uninstall some older, "rebel", versions of Java, and OpenOffice.
You can read a short description of this application, in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer_CleanUp_Utility
More useful info, here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.08.utilityspotlight.aspx
Here's what Microsoft Corp. say:
"Important: The Windows Installer Cleanup utility (MSICUU2.exe) (...) has been retired. While the Windows Installer Cleanup utility resolved some installation problems, it sometimes damaged other components installed on the computer. Because of this, the tool has been removed from the Microsoft Download Center. The Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter is a replacement for that utility."
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/Program_Install_and_Uninstall
Well, I am still using the old MSICUU2.exe...
I want to thank you for your recommendation. I did try it out, but I feel that the Fix it Solution Center utility that replaces it is more stable and safer to use.
MS has a bunch of good old games. Any of them free now?
I looked into this, and the MSN Games site ( http://zone.msn.com/en-us/home ) looks like a good starting point. There are a ton of games posted on this site that weren't developed by Microsoft, but I am hoping to get a collection of some of the Microsoft-made ones to include on this list in the future.
Another one.
Joulemeter : http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/fe9e10c5-5c5b-450c-a674-da...
Thanks for the suggestion. I had tried this utility, but it kept crashing on me. I'm not sure why that is, but I plan on trying it out on a different machine.