Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with software and utility

Help me find a long lost app!

flyingcowofdoom — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:08:15 -0800

Help me find a windows application that monitors processes CPU usage and adjusts their priority accordingly. I used to have a utility installed that would sit in the tray and monitor all of the running processes' CPU usage. If a process' CPU usage spiked, it would automatically adjust that process' priorty down. I have since reformatted my PC and I lost the installer for this utility. For the life of me I cannot find it! ISTR that it was called ProcessMinder or ProcessMaster or something like that but I cannot find it! I do remember that the tray icon was a little black scale, like the scales of justice. Has anyone else used this program? TIA!

Anyone know of a comparative DOS speed tester software?

lifeless — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 10:36:46 -0800

I'm looking for a DOS-based CPU speed tester that I remember seeing years ago. It told you how your machine compared to various pre-measured setups. I don't remember how it presented the speed (MIPS, maybe?), but there was a large table of CPU types (386SX/25MHz, 486DX/50MHZ etc.) that it compared the measured result against. Anyone know of such a program? Specifically, I'm looking to use the software inside DOSBox to get a ballpark figure of how many "emulation cycles" are needed on my host machine to correspond to various historical CPUs type. I would then write these settings down to create several DOSBox configs, one for each type of machine.

The software wasn't a CPU ID solution (it might have made a guess, I don't remember), but an app to specifically see comparisons to other hardware. CPU and other hardware identification would be rather nonsensical inside DOSBox.

The benchmark/speed test results are bound to be rough and inexact given timing discrepancies and other emulation quirks, and need to be fine-tuned inside the actual games, but a tool like this would still be nice to have.

I remember that the software (or one of many, I have probably tested more than one) had a real-time "ticker" and a sliding scale. I vaguely remember testing one of these inside DOSBox many years ago, and recall seeing the sliding scale move as I adjusted the cycles setting. Naturally, I've lost and forgotten the software since.

Doesn't matter if the software is free or not. I've googled up some things but not the one I remember seeing. Any help will be appreciated.

How do I track time spent in "Spaces"?

kcalder — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:41:41 -0800

Is there a way to keep track of how much time you spend in each "space" in Spaces in MacOS? I would like to use different Spaces on my laptop to keep track of different activities, and at the end of the day be able to see how much time I spent in each "space". I tried looking for a utility that could do this, and haven't been able to find one. Does anyone know of a program that does this?

Revision/version control software for stuff that isn't source code...

Chunder — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:40:18 -0800

Is there such a thing as version/revision control software for printed documents? Software developers have version control for their source code, but what about people who write sales brochures? I work in a large multinational corporation, the marketing department of which generates a large volume of outward-facing literature - brochures, applications, etc. These are written in-house, artworked by an agency into pdf, and then reviewed/amended/signed-off prior to being printed and distributed; changes to any given item are frequent and reasonably regular (usually 6 monthly), and may need to be amended and reviewed by a number of people (usually 4-6).

Unfortunately, the relevant department has no concept of the re-use of identical elements across documents (e.g. common paragraphs, tables, etc.) - every document is completely independent of the others, no matter how much copy text is duplicated; they manage version control completely manually; they are inconsistent in handling updates to one document, and frequently do not apply them across other similar documents; and lastly, they operate in a non-collaborative manner regarding review and sign-off - so any changes suggested by one person aren't seen by the others until all of the changes have been re-applied to the document, incurring extra artworking costs and time delays.

I'm absolutely certain that there is some software out there somewhere that - in effect - does source-code version control for printed literature, and will help to resolve all of the issues that we have... but I have no idea what I'm looking for! Every search I do just returns source code versioning.

Does anyone out there work for a publishing house, or a document production agency, or something, who use software such as this to control all of these aspects of printed literature lifecycle? Something that gives collaborative review of documents; something that links "paragraphs" between documents (so one change updates multiple documents, or at least identifies them for you); something that helps to control which version of a document was available at any particular time, irrespective of the subsequent changes...
I'm coming at this from a business analysis background (it's not my job any more, it's just a habit I can't shake!), and it really frustrates me that a core part of such a large business is totally dependent upon inefficient and inaccurate manual processes... but is my only solution to roll up my sleeves and learn to code something suitable?

I Wish I Had a Diffy

adipocere — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:46:09 -0800

I'm searching for the ultimate in hand-holding, peel-my-grape recursive directory diff tools for the lazy. I'm looking for something that does (and here's where my vocabulary fails me) a "diff" between two directory structures. Like many things for which I've searched and not found, it's probably either a result of me not knowing the correct terminology or just being insanely specific.

Beyond Compare, from a similar thread, looked nifty, but I don't need comparisons within files, just between them, that is, either the files are the same, or they aren't. And they aren't all text, either, which the product page indicates is an issue. ExamDiff Pro doesn't seem to do subdirectories.

Supposing I have three directories. The third directory is empty and called "duplicates." The first two directories are filled with files, subdirectories, and files in those subdirectories. They're mostly similar. And that's the problem, they're mostly just duplicates. Text files, compressed video, Word documents, all kinds of stuff.

I'm looking for a utility that recursively compares the first directory to the second. Should it find a file in the second directory that has the same filename and is, upon a binary comparison, the same file as one in the first directory, the software moves it to the third "duplicates" directory, preserving the overall directory structure.

This would leave the first directory a mostly-empty skeleton with just a few files in it, the second directory untouched, and the third directory a bunch of redundant files in a similar directory structure to the first and filled with yummy deletable files.

I've written non-recursive scripts that do this on a very small scale, but I don't quite have the confidence, time, or inclination to really expand it. Alternatively, I could handle a readout that just displayed the files that were "new" or "different," while ignoring files that are "same" or "missing." It wouldn't be as convenient, but I'm willing to settle.

My two requirements for it are:

1) Runs on Windows, preferably NTFS-friendly
2) Either freeware, shareware, or something relatively cheap. I'm not looking to spend $200 on it.

What on Earth do you call such software, aside from automagically delicious? Which do you use, and why do you like it?

No, CVS/Subversion isn't a solution at the moment.

Best font-management tool for Windows?

perissodactyl — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:31:09 -0800

What is the best font-management utility for Windows? I have many, many fonts I need to manage. Install/uninstall, preview, search, etc... What is the best tool for this?

Help Migrate Data from Ancient Machine

chitlin — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:56:34 -0800

Help me transfer selected files from a computer running DOS to an XP machine via a parallel cable, and let's see if we can do it for free. One of the partners at my company has been using a DOS based machine since 1992 for some number crunching(that, incidentally, also has Windows 3.1, if that's any help at all).

The only files I will need off of the old machine are several thousand ASCII files (space-delimited text files), so the file sizes will be small.

The machine has a CD-ROM, but no ethernet or USB. I am hesitant to pull the hard drive out and put it in the new machine because I will probably get fired if the data is lost! It's pretty important stuff.

I have a Laplink parallel cable and I would like to know what software I may need on both machines to handle this. Is there any kind of DOS utility that will work like InterLnk or something?

Is there an OS X script or app that will quickly join images?

Typographica — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 08:28:40 -0800

Is there an OS X script or app that will quickly join images? I want to:

1. join multiple images, either vertically or horizontally
2. save as a new file without (or with very little) re-compression

I'd prefer something quick-and-dirty/drag-and-drop and that does not require Photoshop (though a PS action is ok as a last resort) or any dialog input.

What is the best CPU/RAM meter for OS X?

Typographica — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 17:52:25 -0800

What is the best (small, simple, and efficient) CPU/RAM meter for OS X? One of the best ways to keep OS X running fast and smooth is through constant monitoring of system resources. I'm using the Activity Monitor and like the way it displays a pie chart in the dock. What I'd like is something that can show both RAM and CPU use at the same time with a fairly frequent update or the ability to set the time between updates.

Requirement summary:

Must show overall RAM and CPU usage in dock, small floating window, or menu bar. (No widgets please - want to see meter without switching views.)

Must use very few resources. (Some of the more popular meters tend to be memory or CPU hogs. How ironic.)

Prefer no visible UI of its own. (Don't want it to act like a foreground process occupying my cmd-tabby switcher.)

Thank you so much for your recommendations.

Menumeters for Windows?

gsb — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 10:29:25 -0800

I have to start using Windows XP for a while, but I'm a Mac user. I'm trying to find equivalent software for the Windows machine. Specifically, I'm looking for a tool like MenuMeters, that can give a real time sampling of Network Throughput, CPU usage and RAM consumption. It would be great if the application could run in the background and consume very few CPU cycles, itself. And extra bonus points if the application is free.

The mouse in the house goes on the second monitor

icetaco — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 14:23:34 -0800

MultipleMoniterFileter: My Google-Fu is suprisingly useless today. I know there's a utility for OSX that allows one mouse to move across all networked monitors, but cannot locate it.

I need a freeware that will scan an NCSA logfile

ZenMasterThis — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 08:36:47 -0800

I want a utility (freeware?) which will scan an NCSA extended logfile and create a simple report on which referrers generated how many sales transactions.

Any recommendations?

DVD copy protection

Drylnn — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:39:09 -0800

DVD Copy Protection Question: I'm trying to figure out what the best program is to scan a dvd for copy protection. Before anyone goes thinking I'm illegally doing something: I have a GPS dvd "Map for the Eclipse Navigation System" that you keep in the car in order to help the device. The problem is that pulling the dvd in and out of the system is causing it to scratch. So I'd like to have a copy of it for the car (it'd be useless for anyone else anyways). The problem is that it didn't work as a copy the first time, so I'm thinking there's some sort of protection. I know there are cd scan programs which do the job for CDs (ClonyXXL and such), but is there such for DVDs?

Help me find a decent PDA/GPS combo

skwm — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 08:39:42 -0800

PDA recommendations:
Needs: Must have CF slot, 802.11b.
Wants: External GPS unit which will work with both my laptop & the PDA
Budget: 399$ or less, not including GPS/additional memory. Must come with standard accessories - cradle, cable, charger, etc.
Etc: Add-on software for viewing PDFs, Word/Excel files, map software.

Real media streams: Saving, splitting, converting to mp3?

dobbs — Sun, 19 Sep 2004 23:10:31 -0800

My own blue thread makes me want to know how I can record these concerts (Real media streams) to my hard drive and then convert to MP3 and then break them up into individual tracks. I'm on OS X Panther and prefer iTunes but will download whatever.

How can I tell when my IM buddies are online?

skylar — Tue, 10 Aug 2004 22:22:01 -0800

Isn't there a site or application which can monitor the times at which your chat/ messenger contacts are online? I've done some serious Googling and MeFi searching on this but have turned up nothing, so maybe I'm searching for the wrong thing.

Best DVD authoring tools?

skallas — Tue, 20 Jul 2004 03:56:59 -0800

DVD authoring tools. What are you guys using? Whats the best "bang for the buck" software out there for casual (non-professional) work? I'm really getting sick of running video and audio through virtudub and tmpgenc. I'm looking for a one stop solution. I'm eyeing the Nero Suite. I'd love to hear what other people are using or if Nero is worth buying.

Shortening URL auto-complete

grumblebee — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 13:13:20 -0800

I really like the common browser feature of auto completing a URL request as I'm typing it. But it drives me crazy that, when I'm trying to go to Amazon.com, it auto-completes with http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060557540/qid%3D1087167862/sr%3D2-1/ref%3Dsr%5F2%5F1/103-9997594-7563029, which is the most recent sub-page I've visited at amazon's site. Is there a browser out there that will always auto complete with a site's home page -- maybe when you use a keyboard shortcut or something?

post-its for the internet?

ferociouskitty — Sun, 23 May 2004 14:02:16 -0800

Internet Sticky Notes: Does the software I want exist? [More Inside] I’m looking for some kind of program to construct user-created pop-ups, essentially. For example, every time I look at a menu for a certain restaurant when I’m making a take-out order, the red-skinned potatoes look really good, so I order them. When I get them, I remember that they’re terrible, and they’re terrible every time. I’d love for something to pop up when I go to that web site to remind me that I hate their red-skinned potatoes. Ideally, it would have a recurring function (pops up every time I visit the site), and also a one-time only function, say for example, when I visited AskMe, a note would pop up reminding me to check for new replies on a question I found interesting. So --- anything like this exist?

How can I convert a scanned pdf to searchable text?

nomis — Thu, 06 May 2004 00:23:57 -0800

I need to convert a scanned pdf to searchable text, without printing it out and scanning it back in using OCR. Also, I'd like a cheap or free solution since I'm not likely to use it ~~often~~ ever again.

Free Windows Backup Needed

Witty — Wed, 05 May 2004 23:54:26 -0800

Can you recommend a FREE backup utility for Windows? [More Inside!] I have a bunch of {ehem} data on one drive that I want to backup to another drive. I'd like to be able to schedule the task to run routinely. It would also be nice if it would just backup anything new or anything that has recently changed (rather than backing up the entire drive each time). My searches have turned up a few options, but most of them cost a fair amount of money and my "data" just isn't THAT important. Thanks!

I have a virus. Can you help?

banished — Wed, 28 Apr 2004 23:22:48 -0800

Virus Question: I have something nasty. It closes any type of anti-virus application I install, closes regedit if I try to get in there, prevents access to anti-virus websites, and yes, there's [more inside]. A friend suggested I use an online anti-virus program, but unfortunately the virus blocked my access to antivirus.com. I eventually got McAfee 8.0 to install in safemode, but I can't liveupdate any of the anti-viral software I install because the virus is blocking access to those sites. Luckily, I got into McAfee's help site, and they had a way to download a file to update 8.0 manually. Unfortunately, that download didn't work because of this virus blocking their site. I searched google and found the file on some foreign site, so I was saved... McAfee found several versions of the Gaobot virus. This still hasn't cleaned everything, because I ran the Panda online virus scanner I found online, and that found 7 more things. Now, after a brief period of being able to access anti-viral sites like the Panda online scanner, it seems I can't access them anymore, and the virus has taken over again.

Symptoms include 3 DOS windows that pop up in succession and disappear too fast to read them, closing of antiviral software and regedit within a few seconds of opening them (or not allowing their liveupdates to work), not allowing access to anti-viral internet sites, and slowing my computer down so it runs terribly. If someone knows what I have, please let me know. I've never run into anything this good. They got me on this one.

recommendations for autobiography/memoir/family history software

gluechunk — Fri, 23 Apr 2004 01:23:39 -0800

Give my parents some recommendations for autobiography/memoir/family history software. [mi] Some years back I got my parents a copy of My Life after I read some decent reviews of it. Unfortunately the software has a horrible interface, which isn't ideal for parents who sometimes click on the wrong thing. Also, it looks like the company sold the life.com domain to Life magazine at some point. I'm guessing that the software is pretty dead support-wise. After a lengthy break from the program, my mom is starting to poke around My Life again. I'd like to get her on a different path.

Do you have any recommendations for similar autobiography-related software that is parents-friendly? Either Mac or Win. The best thing about My Life is that it contained about 50K questions that branched off of main sections. It also allowed publishing to the web, although I'm not too interested in that kind of feature at the moment. It's more important to be able to export the written text to plain text or to other programs.

What I'm not looking for:

- general books on writing family histories and memoirs (unless you know of especially good books on this topic)
- software that is primary focused on family genealogy/tree matters

Freeware/shareware VCD player for Mac?

turbanhead — Sat, 03 Apr 2004 17:19:50 -0800

VCD Player for Mac - Is there a freeware or shareware program that y'all recommend for playing VCDs on a mac running OS X? As a Windows user, I was shocked to find that my VCD wasn't even recognized by any of the applications on the mac.

I have a mystery CD burner; how do I tell what model it is? Also recommendations for free CD burner programs?

Frasermoo — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 02:49:01 -0800

I've just bought a CD-Burner from ebay. No maker's mark on it, so how can I tell what model it is? (lots of serial numbers all over it). Also, I need a good CD burning program. Can anyone recommend any free applications? Ignore first part of that. I googled E118405 and it came up with Philips.