{OT} Has Windows 2K / XP made freeware / pricelessware obsolete ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter * ProteanThread *
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* ProteanThread *

or will LongHorn (next ver of Windows) be the death of freeware?

The reason I am asking is that a lot of utilities (not all but many)
have not been updated since Windows ME (or in quite a few cases
Windows 98) and their functions have been "absorbed" or "copied" into
2K or XP. For example, I used both Freedom of Association (omega is
gonna "flame" me just for mentioning PC Mag's $$$ ware but it "WAS"
free at one time) and irfanview when I had Windows 98 but now XP has
pretty much made those two programs obsolete for me (esp. when coupled
with Microsofts Powertoys for XP).

Another take on this is look how many "Last full freeware" versions of
this or that are out there (such as Mailwasher) compared to even last
year or a cpl yrs ago.

On the other hand it may say something about the state of the economy
( a lot of programs have gone from freeware to donateware instead of
shareware ) but before you accuse Bush or excuse him, take note of
"The president doesn't control the economy but rather its the economy
that controls the presidency"

Ok, back to my original subject, "quality" freeware (esp. that which
works from one ver of Windows to the next) is becoming a rarity (minus
the few notable pricelessware mentions). Could it really be because
of the economy or could it be simply the natural revolution /
evolution of Microsoft's Windows? Eventually, will the pricelessware
list be wittled down to a few "last freeware versions" and pretty much
be the same list year after year thereby never really needing any
updating (minus the few that work with possible future versions of
Windows)? Supposedly Microsoft will be offering tabbed browsing and
pop up blocking in the next version of IE (nearly making MyIE, Avant,
or Slimbrowser obsolete).

Another example is PowerDesk Lite which worked great on my Windows 98
machine but I refuse to re-install it on my Windows XP machine. Still
another example is Zipguy's PDF creator. For some reason, I could
never get that program to work on XP (or even 2K) so I resorted to
using PDF995 (*GASP* I mentioned a $$$ ware so slap me with a wet
noodle, omega). I'm sure there are countless others (not just who's
functions have been already absorbed by current and future versions of
Winodws). Even those that say XP won't work properly or don't perform
as good as they would on pervious versions of Windows.

Can anyone name other versions of freeware that won't work with 2K or
XP (or 2003 Server or LongHorn, etc. I'm sure you get the idea)?

CFi shell toys is another prime example. After I installed that
little program (great add on for the explorer right click context
menu) it hosed (or disabled I should say) major XP explorer functions
(such as Open With).

What if we compiled a list of programs Written for 9x / NT / 2K / XP
that not only contained which vers of Windows it works best on but
what happens (either major crashes or minor blips) when installed on
various Windows? I mean, if a program was written for 9x or NT
doesn't necessarily mean it'll work on ME or even XP, some may want to
know what happens or happened when said program was installed on these
newer Windows? Too much work, I guess...


....Sorry for the ranting guys, After just doing another rollback in
Windows XP for the umpteenth time after installing a freeware program
I had to vent my frustrations. I would've posted this in
alt.comp.freeware.discussion but google refused posting it there; said
something about I can't post there yet...
 
or will LongHorn (next ver of Windows) be the death of freeware?
Click to expand...

I don't know until I see Longhorn. XP has made no noticeable
difference, really. One of the two XP PCs I use daily has nothing on
it but freeware apart from the OS.
The reason I am asking is that a lot of utilities (not all but many)
have not been updated since Windows ME (or in quite a few cases
Windows 98) and their functions have been "absorbed" or "copied" into
2K or XP. For example, I used both Freedom of Association (omega is
gonna "flame" me just for mentioning PC Mag's $$$ ware but it "WAS"
free at one time) and irfanview when I had Windows 98 but now XP has
pretty much made those two programs obsolete for me (esp. when coupled
with Microsofts Powertoys for XP).
Click to expand...

I still use Irfanview which has a host of facilities that XP doesn't
provide. I use most of the same freeware programs that I did on my
Windows 98 machine, including utilities.
Another take on this is look how many "Last full freeware" versions of
this or that are out there (such as Mailwasher) compared to even last
year or a cpl yrs ago.
Click to expand...

That has always happened. There may be more last full freeware apps
around, but the net amount of freeware appears to be growing too.
Can anyone name other versions of freeware that won't work with 2K or
XP (or 2003 Server or LongHorn, etc. I'm sure you get the idea)?
Click to expand...

Probably, but I've found very few freeware programs that don't work on
XP and I've had no trouble in finding freeware alternatives to those
few, mostly courtesy of this group.
CFi shell toys is another prime example. After I installed that
little program (great add on for the explorer right click context
menu) it hosed (or disabled I should say) major XP explorer functions
(such as Open With).

What if we compiled a list of programs Written for 9x / NT / 2K / XP
that not only contained which vers of Windows it works best on but
what happens (either major crashes or minor blips) when installed on
various Windows? I mean, if a program was written for 9x or NT
doesn't necessarily mean it'll work on ME or even XP, some may want to
know what happens or happened when said program was installed on these
newer Windows? Too much work, I guess...
Click to expand...

That might be useful.
...Sorry for the ranting guys, After just doing another rollback in
Windows XP for the umpteenth time after installing a freeware program
I had to vent my frustrations. I would've posted this in
alt.comp.freeware.discussion but google refused posting it there; said
something about I can't post there yet...
Click to expand...

Perhaps it's the kind of programs that you use that causes the
problem, but my experience is entirely different. I've had XP since
12/2001 and I've never had to do a rollback.

In answer to the question in the subject line, I'd say no,
resoundingly. The freeware scene is robust and healthy and the more
recent operating systems don't significantly reduce the freeware
programs you can use. Longhorn may be another matter; time will tell.

From time to time, you'll see threads in this group where people list
the freeware apps they regularly use. I've never contributed to one
of those, because it would take me all day to list them. Yes, I have
a few payware programs on this machine but far more freeware ones. In
addition, I look after seven PCs for a non-profit organisation and
they all run freeware only, on XP.

That suggests to me that freeware is not only not obsolete, it's
burgeoning.
 
or will LongHorn (next ver of Windows) be the death of freeware?
Click to expand...

Hi Protean

Irfanview I find much better than any windows component.

File explorer in XP is awful and slow - many other freeware
alternatives exist.

I haven't found any of my fave freeware which doesn't work on XP at
all.

So - in short, I think there will always be freeware useful on XP
platforms.

You sound very unlucky with your freeware installations - if you use
the pricelessware pages, you should not fo far wrong - any problems
with windows versions tend to get flagged up either by the authors or
by folk voting for them.

Which freeware do you find causes you problems ?
 
I just want to show my support for IrfanView. This is the second time I've
seen this guy try to say that XP made IrfanView obsolote. HE IS COMPLETELY,
NOT SUBJECTIVELY, WRONG! IrfanView has effects, batch conversion, EXIF info,
yada, yada, yada, HTML slideshows, screensaver slideshows, TWAIN acquire,
yada, and the built in viewing function in XP sucks. If you own a digital
camera IrfanView is one of the first things that should be installed on your
windows machine period. And yeah I know about the power toys resize and html
functions: They don't compare.

www.irfanview.com
 
Alastair Smeaton said:
Hi Protean

Irfanview I find much better than any windows component.

File explorer in XP is awful and slow - many other freeware
alternatives exist.

I haven't found any of my fave freeware which doesn't work on XP at
all.

So - in short, I think there will always be freeware useful on XP
platforms.

You sound very unlucky with your freeware installations - if you use
the pricelessware pages, you should not fo far wrong - any problems
with windows versions tend to get flagged up either by the authors or
by folk voting for them.

Which freeware do you find causes you problems ?
Click to expand...


Items like or similiar to "Freedom of Association" or "Context Menu Edit"
(since XP and 2K have Open With); winamp; guys pdf creator; csi shelltoys;
certain tweak programs (most only work on 9x anyways); etc. I guess I
should've kept a list that may help others avoid what I've gone thru.....
 
don't get me wrong. irfanview is a great program for Windows 9x or NT;
but, imho, useless to me when running under XP. with Windows XP power
toys and the built in viewer that XP has, imho, made irfanview overkill;
to me it is a LOT simplier and a lot faster to right click on a batch of
images in Windows Explorer and do what windows does best rather than
sending the batch to a 3rd party program. what i am saying is, unless the
freeware program offers a significant improvement for what windows can
already do (or what you need it to do) then that freeware program either
is useless or has become obsolete. it'd be interesting to see what's
gonna happen when LongHorn comes out....
 
(e-mail address removed) (* ProteanThread *) wrote in
or will LongHorn (next ver of Windows) be the death of freeware?
Click to expand...

No, because there are many tens of thousands of people who will never
install Windows XP, to say nothing of Longhorn. People who don't like Bill
Gates, don't trust him, and who don't want him mucking around inside their
computers, telling them what they can and can't run, etc.

Think this is an exaggeration? The framework for it is already there in
WinXP. Wait till you see what Longhorn has in store!
 
don't get me wrong. irfanview is a great program for Windows 9x or NT;
but, imho, useless to me when running under XP. with Windows XP power
Click to expand...

I find the XP viewer is very close to being usable, but not quite. Quick
toggling between pictures with the space bar, full screen, and 1 key exit
are sorely missed.
is useless or has become obsolete. it'd be interesting to see what's
gonna happen when LongHorn comes out....
Click to expand...

Or perhaps even XP SP-2! Has anyone checked it out?

Bob

Remove "kins" from address to reply.
 
So far from what I've read, I've heard some very positive things about XP
SP2. Almost a BIG improvement (like 98 to 98SE) according to cnet.
 
* ProteanThread * said:
or will LongHorn (next ver of Windows) be the death of freeware?

The reason I am asking is that a lot of utilities (not all but many)
have not been updated since Windows ME (or in quite a few cases
Windows 98) and their functions have been "absorbed" or "copied" into
2K or XP. For example, I used both Freedom of Association (omega is
gonna "flame" me just for mentioning PC Mag's $$$ ware but it "WAS"
free at one time) and irfanview when I had Windows 98 but now XP has
pretty much made those two programs obsolete for me (esp. when coupled
with Microsofts Powertoys for XP).
Click to expand...

Depends on what your using irfanview for. I don't imagine, it'll
disappear quite that quickly as it still offers a lot the XP viwer does
not.
Another take on this is look how many "Last full freeware" versions of
this or that are out there (such as Mailwasher) compared to even last
year or a cpl yrs ago.
Click to expand...

For every one of those I'd bet there is more than one new and different
freeware being released. Mailwasher has gone commercial, I don't think
it's freeware status is or was OS dependent. JV16 Powertools is the
same, and I know there are many more, the OS version has nothing to do
with these programs going non-freeware.
Ok, back to my original subject, "quality" freeware (esp. that which
works from one ver of Windows to the next) is becoming a rarity (minus
the few notable pricelessware mentions). Could it really be because
of the economy or could it be simply the natural revolution /
evolution of Microsoft's Windows? Eventually, will the pricelessware
list be wittled down to a few "last freeware versions" and pretty much
be the same list year after year thereby never really needing any
updating (minus the few that work with possible future versions of
Windows)? Supposedly Microsoft will be offering tabbed browsing and
pop up blocking in the next version of IE (nearly making MyIE, Avant,
or Slimbrowser obsolete).
Click to expand...

These browswers are just IE extensions anyway, if more than one of these
can exist, whay would Microsoft's version eliminate everything else? I
don't see the Mozilla projact ramping down anytime soon.
Another example is PowerDesk Lite which worked great on my Windows 98
machine but I refuse to re-install it on my Windows XP machine. Still
another example is Zipguy's PDF creator. For some reason, I could
never get that program to work on XP (or even 2K) so I resorted to
using PDF995 (*GASP* I mentioned a $$$ ware so slap me with a wet
noodle, omega).
Click to expand...

I have no idea why Zipguy's PDF creator wouldn't work under XP as it is
a simple redirection from Redmon to Ghostscript. I actually used his
concept to write my own in VB for my own use, it gave me the ability to
build in more options. There are many other free options out there thoug
for PDF creation and if you paid anything for a PDF distiller when
FreePDF worked for you then you paid way too much. Look at PDF Creator
at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/
Can anyone name other versions of freeware that won't work with 2K or
XP (or 2003 Server or LongHorn, etc. I'm sure you get the idea)?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen one yet that was made completely redundant by XP, other
than FAT16/32 dependant utilities, and maybe some registry utilities.
CFi shell toys is another prime example. After I installed that
little program (great add on for the explorer right click context
menu) it hosed (or disabled I should say) major XP explorer functions
(such as Open With).
Click to expand...

That would be because it was written for a registry other than XP's.
This would be because the author has decided to discontinue development.
This is the nature of freeware, much of it is created to fulfill a
specific need by one person. The author either does not need a version
for XP or has decided that what XP provides is sufficient. I'm sure XP
has inspired some XP only freeware, as a need came up and was not
considered for past OS's.
What if we compiled a list of programs Written for 9x / NT / 2K / XP
that not only contained which vers of Windows it works best on but
what happens (either major crashes or minor blips) when installed on
various Windows? I mean, if a program was written for 9x or NT
doesn't necessarily mean it'll work on ME or even XP, some may want to
know what happens or happened when said program was installed on these
newer Windows? Too much work, I guess...
Click to expand...

Your idea, you start.
...Sorry for the ranting guys, After just doing another rollback in
Windows XP for the umpteenth time after installing a freeware program
I had to vent my frustrations. I would've posted this in
alt.comp.freeware.discussion but google refused posting it there; said
something about I can't post there yet...
Click to expand...

I know that this sort of thing can be frustrating, but I honestly
believe that whatever MS can build into the OS, there will be some
features or function someone needs that will not be built in, because if
they do build it in, someone will write freeware to disable or eliminate
it. If they don't build it in someone will need it and create it. Just
look at IE. Many like it just the way it is, many want it extended,
while others want it off of their system completely. Such is the nature
of computing. Besides, By the time Longhorn is out of the chute, viable
alternatives on the OS front will have presented themselves, and start
the whole cycle over again.
HK
 
(or what you need it to do) then that freeware program either is useless
Click to expand...


Obviously what YOU need from an image application is satisfied by WinXP.
That is no justificaton for knocking IrfanView just because it does so much
more than you require.
 
Obviously what YOU need from an image application is satisfied by WinXP.
That is no justificaton for knocking IrfanView just because it does so much
more than you require.
Click to expand...

I think PT was speaking of a pure picture viewer. A good picture viewer does
little more than quickly view and convert pictures.

IrfanView is a wonderful software, but I can't tell you what it really is.
It's certainly not just a picture viewer.

I don't want my picture viewer playing sounds and movies any more than I
want my gardener doing surgery on me. ;)

Bob

Remove "kins" from address to reply.
 
(e-mail address removed) (* ProteanThread *) wrote in


No, because there are many tens of thousands of people who will never
install Windows XP, to say nothing of Longhorn. People who don't like Bill
Gates, don't trust him, and who don't want him mucking around inside their
computers, telling them what they can and can't run, etc.

Think this is an exaggeration? The framework for it is already there in
WinXP. Wait till you see what Longhorn has in store!
Click to expand...

After neutering WindowsXP with XP-AntiSpy - I kinda like it. ;-) Anything
that I build for family/friends/myself has Win2000 and Suse/[Insert
favorite Linux distro here]. I'm not anti Micro$ or Bill$, I hate WinXP's
product activation BS.

Dud
 
H-Man said:
Your idea, you start.
Click to expand...

Done! I created a message board (for now) on my website to report freeware
bugs (esp. useful for freeware that is no longer maintained)....its a
temporary site (for now) and which freeware has problems on particular
operating systems.

Anyone interested in the link?
 
Bob said:
I don't want my picture viewer playing sounds and movies any > more than I
Click to expand...
want my gardener doing surgery on me. ;)

IrfanView is usefull for those that use their computer for more than
downloading freeware all day.
 
Done! I created a message board (for now) on my website to report freeware
bugs (esp. useful for freeware that is no longer maintained)....its a
temporary site (for now) and which freeware has problems on particular
operating systems.

Anyone interested in the link?
Click to expand...

post away
 
want my gardener doing surgery on me. ;)

IrfanView is usefull for those that use their computer for more than
downloading freeware all day.
Click to expand...

IrfanView does a lot of things, but I don't see where it does anything
especially well. I don't even know how to classify IrfanView. I suppose it's
fine for less demanding users, because a lot of people really like it.

Bob

Remove "kins" from address to reply.
 
IrfanView does a lot of things, but I don't see where it does anything
especially well. I don't even know how to classify IrfanView. I
suppose it's fine for less demanding users, because a lot of people
really like it.
Click to expand...

I couldn't figure out how to get it to do something as simple as centering
the image in the display window.
 
I couldn't figure out how to get it to do something as simple as centering
the image in the display window.
Click to expand...

I can't view pictures full-screen and exit the program without pressing ESC
twice.

Bob

Remove "kins" from address to reply.
 
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