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Pepping Up Windows

Posted by Zonk on from the work-with-what-you've-got dept.

PhairOh writes "Toms Hardware has an article about improving Windows with free and Open Source Software. It features everything from the obvious like Gimp and OpenOffice and also some interesting choices like Virtuawin. From the article: 'The average Windows user tends to be less than satisfied with Windows. And that's no surprise, either, given the rather woeful state of its default applications.'"

9 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. My Brother, The Windows Fanboy by geomon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My older brother is a 100% MS man. He spend about half of our visits together telling me how I have wasted the last 10 years working with Linux. On one of his last visits he saw me switching virtual windows in X and thought that looked like a cool app. I searched the web and Virtuawin. When he came over I installed it on his laptop and he has reported that his productivity has increased. I don't know what he is using for a metric, but he likes the idea of switching windows to applications that aren't buried behind muliple instances of IE.

    I guess there are still some ways that *NIX can influence Microsoft, but at this point everyone is using and recycling each other ideas. Few companies are actually building new and interesting interfaces.

    --
    "Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
  2. how many people actually _like_ windows? by tjr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I get the impression that there are more users who actually _like_ (not just put up with) Mac OS X (or maybe even GNU/Linux) than there are who actually _like_ (not just put up with) Windows. Anyone here actually like Windows? I'm not trolling, just want to know. If you do, what do you like about it?

    1. Re:how many people actually _like_ windows? by CyricZ · · Score: 3, Interesting

      These days I find that different Windows apps are beginning to look nothing alike. You have renegades like WinAmp, with their godawful themes. Then there is the removal of the toolbar in the upcoming release of Office. Of course there's also Mozilla-based software with its themes. And software like GAIM, which can use various GTK+ themes.

      At least with most X11 toolkits you can go with a fairly standard Motif theme, if you really want consistency.

      --
      Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
    2. Re:how many people actually _like_ windows? by geomon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      These days I find that different Windows apps are beginning to look nothing alike.

      It is funny that you had that observation because I was thinking the same thing when I was writing my post. I noticed that my brother and his circle of friends will often *avoid* apps that do not have the same theme/look as other Windows apps. They are completely locked in to the way Microsoft presents options to them.

      If Vista breaks too much with the original thematic concept from the Win9X desktop (by brother and his friends opt for the Windows "Classic" theme), then he might refuse to upgrade.

      --
      "Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
    3. Re:how many people actually _like_ windows? by Kaa · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Anyone here actually like Windows? I'm not trolling, just want to know. If you do, what do you like about it?

      It runs software (from Photoshop to World of Warcraft) that I want to run and does it on generic hardware.

      --

      Kaa
      Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
  3. My suggestions: by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Media Player Classic (open source). Who needs WMP anyway? :)
    IrfanView (freeware) for image browsing and very basic manipulation, like gamma correction or applying photoshop filters

  4. Paint.NET by Eslyjah · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Rather than messing with the GIMP on Windows, I prefer to use Paint.NET for my light graphics needs. It's not as powerful as Photoshop or the GIMP, but it is quite nice and available under an MIT license.

  5. Re:Linux Version by swillden · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Also check out Konqueror's "File Size View". It provides a graphical view of space used where files and folders are represented as nested boxes, with the size of the box proportional to the amount of storage consumed. A folder that consumes 50% of the space will cover 50% of the Konq window.

    --
    Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  6. Re:WinDir by L.+VeGas · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Not to pimp my own site too much, but the entire site is dedicated to free tools to improve Windows. It includes many of the tools just listed here. nedwolf.com

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    Best Windows Freeware