Coolwares as in cool freeware(s) (⌐■_■)
Since learning how to use a computer, I've used several free and paid applications to make my computer experience worthwhile. I've mostly tinkered with freeware because they're easier to access and get the job done most of the time. I've always thought it was crazy that most of the applications I use on PC are free and aren't crippled by ads, compared to what I experience on mobile where almost every premium feature is locked by a subscription.
I've been a Windows user for years, since Windows 95 to Windows 10. Windows 11 doesn't run on my hardware, boo, but I don't plan on upgrading anytime soon. The only macOS I've tinkered was my friends' and different flavors of Linux via Live CD. I'm planning on buying an old ThinkPad to play with different Linux distros, but I digress. I'm quite familiar with Windows so Windows apps we'll explore.
Note:
I've used and been using these apps over time so I can confidently recommend them. Most are free, paid ones are labeled. You don't have to trust me on these recs but you can check them out yourself. Let's go. (⌐■_■)
MUSIC:
WACUP - Winamp mod / modern Winamp
Mp3tag - edit song tags and more
Equalizer APO - equalizer for Windows
Peace Equalizer - gui for Equalizer APO and more
Advanced Renamer - rename files and folders
Spek - analyze audio spectrogram
CUETools - split FLAC files and more
dBpoweramp - music converter (paid)
XMPlay - lightweight music player
Nulloy - really lightweight music player
VIDEO:
mpv - lightweight media player
MKVToolNix - video converter
FFmpeg - powerful video and audio tool
IMAGE:
JPEGView - lightweight image viewer and editor
XnConvert - powerful batch image converter
FastStone Capture - free screenshot tool, color picker and more (last free version 5.3)
Pngyu - compress png images using pngquant
PNGoo - compress png images using pngquant
Pinga - compress and remove EXIF metadata from images
ExifTool - can be used to drag and drop images to remove EXIF metadata
GAMES:
CHDMAN - convert game roms to CHD
Lunar IPS / Rom Patcher JS - apply rom hacks to roms
INTERNET:
Internet Download Manager (IDM) - powerful download tool (paid)
JDownloader 2 - batch download tool (adware-free version)
yt-dlp - download YouTube videos and audio
aria2 - command line download tool
Sideloadly - sideload iOS apps
Mullvad VPN - Mullvad VPN desktop app, no port forwarding
ENCRYPTION:
VeraCrypt - encrypt a partition or drive on Windows
Cryptomator - encrypt files before uploading to cloud storage
BOOTABLE DRIVES:
Ventoy - create bootable USB drives
Tails OS - portable os
Hiren's BootCD PE - oldie but goldie bootable toolkit
Medicat USB - bootable backup and restore, data recovery, repair and more toolkit
Sergei Strelec's WinPE - bootable backup and restore, data recovery, repair and more toolkit
SECURITY:
Tron - script to run to clean your infected pc
Malwarebytes - detect and remove malware from your pc
TEXT AND CODE EDITORS:
Notepad2 - like notepad.exe but with themes and syntax highlighting
Metapad - also like notepad but customizable
Notepad++ - powerful text and code editor
MISC:
f.lux - love your eyes
MacType - enhance font rendering on Windows
Everything - search files and folders instantly
AutoHotkey - make keyboard shortcuts or hotkeys
WinRAR - create or extract RAR or ZIP files (paid)
7-Zip - like WinRAR but free
DeskPins - pin applications on top of other applications
Kotatogram Desktop - for faster Telegram uploads
Sumatra PDF - PDF, eBook viewer
