41–50 of 59 posts
NirLauncher is a portable software package containing over 200 of these utilities. https://launcher.nirsoft.net/ And here's the top 10, sorted by downloads https://www.nirsoft.net/top_utilities_downloads.html
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> releasing the source code costs nothing When you release code, you need to do following. 1. Ensure it builds. Old software can only be built with old compilers, with old Windows SDK. Sometimes they also rely on old custom build tools. Other times builds requires manual steps. 2. Ensure you have not violated any copyrights or patents. The relevant laws are ridiculous these days, potentially, you can get in legal tro…
Arguably, point 2 is the only real concern about releasing the source code - 1 and 3 are optional responsibilities that people take to a varying degree, with "Works On My Machine (tm) - no documentation - here be dragons" being a valid (though in my opinion not very kind) option.
The most useful tool I've seen from here is BlueScreenView ( https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html ). Blue screens on Windows aren't remotely as common as people think they are, but this tool will look at your dump file and can tell you very quickly what caused the error (typically, which driver). Back in the day this helped to identify a problem from the network driver that was affecting a certain subs…
For me, there was one that would transfer/edit the autocomplete files in Outlook, when formatting or transferring to a new computer, or fixing Exchange migration issues. Previously with IT client work (2002-2015 before cloud email took over) it was a godsend.
Only for Windows, right? Even so, it’s still a pretty cool list. Congratulations to the author!
Most other OSes have the functionality of these tools as built-ins. If anything it’s concerning to see that Windows still doesn’t include features out of the box.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For me, there was one that would transfer/edit the autocomplete files in Outlook, when formatting or transferring to a new computer, or fixing Exchange migration issues. Previously with IT client work (2002-2015 before cloud email took over) it was a godsend.
N2KEdit. Yeah, that's a good one, too. Another case of an automated feature becoming too smart for it's own good.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
First of all, not really. GNU doesn't do everything. It's important to remember that distros -- BSD or Linux -- are aggregations of software packages from many different developers, most of whom have no relationship to each other. Other operating systems including Android, Mac OS, and even iOS use these same open source tools, too, so they can't really be said to include these tools as a result of their own developme…
you managed to write two paragraphs and the only relevant arguments you made were the words "not really." you conflate GNU with the concept of a distro, pretend that a distro is something other than an operating system, and then bizarrely give microsoft credit for "WinAPI" like other operating systems don't have APIs. What it boils down to is almost all of these tools are readily available as vetted and integrated pa…
That's because that was the argument. You're comparing apples and oranges.
First, none of the NirSoft utilities are core OS features. Those that look like they might be are just alternate versions of what Microsoft provided.
So your argument isn't a criticism of operating system design. It's a criticism of software distribution model. You're not saying that Windows isn't capable of doing these things, you're just saying, "Windows doesn't have a universal package manager that allows me to easily install them." If Windows did have a good, universal package manager for free user and system utilities, these utilities would almost certainly be in that repository. However, they don't fit well into the design of NuGet (which is developer focused) or Chocolatey (which is generic, but enterprise focused) or PowerShell Gallery (which is PowerShell exclusive) or the Windows Store (which has no traction).
Maybe you're too young to remember when not all distros had package managers and repositories, but having to find your utilities online, having to download them and then compile and install them yourself used to be completely normal. That was standard. It's not an inherently flawed system. The only reason Linux had to go that way from that model was because of dependency hell. There were too many pieces moving in too many different directions and too many breaking changes. In other words, Linux had such a rats nest of incompatible versions that it required someone to create distributions which included vetted package management because it was an absurd amount of work to maintain a system otherwise. That's why even today Linux distros tell their users not to download and install software that didn't pass through their testing process.
Windows has never had that problem because Microsoft worked very hard not to break backward compatibility, even between edtions, so it was never considered necessary. That is, until Apple decided to open their own package manager: the Apple store. And it made Apple even richer. And the Google Play store does the same for Google. And now you see why package managers and repositories can also be bad: they can be walled gardens or revenue farms, neither of which are necessarily acting for the benefit of the user.
So your argument kind of boils down to, "Microsoft doesn't have a walled garden!" You're right! It doesn't! That's not a bad thing!
Windows is an OS. That's all. Linux distributions are an OS and an extremely diverse set of other software components which tells it's users to only use their vetted software unless you're prepared to deal with dependency hell again.
The most useful tool I've seen from here is BlueScreenView ( https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html ). Blue screens on Windows aren't remotely as common as people think they are, but this tool will look at your dump file and can tell you very quickly what caused the error (typically, which driver). Back in the day this helped to identify a problem from the network driver that was affecting a certain subs…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So have some requirements and make sure it builds. File any other complaints in NUL.
And then you get a reputation for ignoring your users. Some days you just can't win.
Everybody else can go take a long walk off a short pier, if they're going to send angry emails about not being able to build something they didn't pay me for.